Good Fruit

This post is just a bunch of random stuff that is going on with us.

1. We are sitting on the edge of our seats (so to speak) with the anticipation of the courts reopening in Addis next week (rumor has it). Will our case be heard right away? This is our hope, but we are trying to not be too hopeful. What a roller coaster this process can be. All I know is that I am ready to meet the girls, and have Marta home ASAP, and start the waiver process for Meklit yesterday!

We are also so happy and excited to hear from others who have been waiting for so long that will be in court right along with us. It is going to be a fruitful season.

2. I am starting to shop for the trip and for the girls, and for a guy who hates to shop, I can honestly say I can't wait to take my new teen aged daughter shopping. I ordered a bunch of beads and clips for their hair this week, and also got hair care products to take with me. Is it too early to pull out the rolling duffel bags and start packing? Hopefully only 6 weeks to go, and I think after this weekend I will get them out. Obsession can be a good thing.

3. I noticed yesterday that my post bumped off the last one about the girls, so there wasn't a picture of them on the active posts, and I thought I should remedy that. So here are a couple just because their wonderful faces should always be on here.

This is Meklit with a friend who is now home (have to crop faces of kids from her orphanage) looking at the friend's family photo album. It is a very cool part of the Ethiopian adoption experience that our girls each have friends in the US, and we are in contact with their families. That is rarely the case with China adoptions, and something I think will help the girls to not feel so alone and removed from their first home and culture.

And this is Marta with one of her friends, who will be coming home soon as well. This was taken by the dad of the little one during his visit to meet his daughter. What a sweetheart she is! I just can't get over the looks of adoration from both, and think this shows some of the depth of Marta's character. This is on our fridge and I stare at it every day, and count the seconds until I won't have to be satisfied with looking at a picture.

4. This weekend we are traveling up to Vancouver, BC to attend a wedding reception and banquet for my Chinese cousin who was just married. It should be quite an evening as Uncle Wai Mo knows how to throw a party! It will certainly be a feast like no other, with 20+ courses of amazing dishes, and our whole crew is already drooling with anticipation.

It will be our first time across a border with Joy and Song, so I am a little paranoid about having all the documents to make sure we can get them back in the country, but I am sure it will be fine. And Wai Mo has a big house if things don't work out.

5. We are a home schooling family, but we have just enrolled Song in the local public school to see what type of resources they can bring to the table with regard to teaching things like Braille. So yesterday we had a meeting and assessment with school teachers, and the lady leading the charge was down from Yakima. And let me tell you, what an answer to prayer she was! We will be able to have him at home still, full-time, and the teachers are going to come to us, and provide all of the resources needed for him. Lisa is beyond relieved to have this assistance and expertise, and Song should eat it up.

It seems like a busy time for us and for many others, but as I said before, it IS going to be a fruitful season. Thanks God.