Shy Girl

I just talked to my parents on the phone today, and the power had gone out at the hotel, so they couldn't check all the e-mails I sent them. Apparently, Fasika is very shy. When Mom and Dad took her to the hotel, she cried when she looked at them, when they picked her up, when they put her down, etc. They went to the orphanage and asked if they were doing something wrong, and the people there said that Fasika was just a shy baby. But, surprisingly, she slept through the night (10 1/2 hours! I don't even sleep that long - and she's a baby!). I'm sure the baby will warm up to our family, though. Please continue praying for them and for the baby. Also, please pray for someone I know (I'd tell you who but I'm not sure if the person wants this to be something shared) because this person is ill and in the hospital. Things aren't looking the greatest right now for that person. Thank you so much!
God bless you!

Fasika Will Fit Right In!

Hey, everybody! This is Talia. Sorry I have not posted on here. I tried one time, but this computer was acting weird. Fasika, our Ethiopian Princess, is staying with my parents tonight and for the next couple of nights. You know what? Fasika will fit right in with our family! She walks around (she's the only one walking in the section she's in), takes toys from other kids, and hides them! Ha! :) We are going to have so much fun with her (and it's going to be quite an adventure sharing a room with a walking baby who likes to get into things!)! I have not met Fasika, but I already love her. She is so adorable and I'm so thankful God placed her with our family. He has a purpose for her to be with us. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. I will try to post later!

Jeremiah 29:11

From Venice to Ethiopia

We're in the Venice airport business center and we have a few moments before our flight to Ethiopia... so we thought we'd give you a quick update. We were blessed to be able to stop in Venice, Italy on our way. It was a real treat since I (Dave) am Italian but have never been to "the mother land". Venice is beautiful... we'll try and post some pics when we get home. If you ever plan to travel there.. CALL US FIRST! We've learned a lot from our mistakes.... like dragging 4 huge suitcases (50 lbs each) across half the island, up and down stairs and bridges... through small passages in 80 degree weather with everyone laughing at us and Kristen almost crying. Whee! BTW... 3 of the bags are donations to the orphanage in Ethiopia.. only 1 had our clothes and stuff. We took an easier way when we left this morning.

We didn't know our room had an air conditioner until this morning! It was hiding behind a couch! :)

The food was great and the city was beautiful! But we're REALLY excited to get to Ethiopia and see our little princess! We should arrive there about midnight tonight (our time) and we'll see Fasika tomorrow morning!!!!!

Please continue to pray for us on this trip... and pray that we'll be able to bond with her quickly.

And pray that those 4 huge suitcases make it to Ethiopia! :)

God bless!!!!

posted by Dave... who's feeling a bit humid.

Here We Go

We will be leaving in a few days to pick up our precious Ethiopian princess. It's been a very stressful week with only 7 days notice to get everything ready, but we are very excited for this trip and to meet our girly in person. While we are gone, Talia is going to try to keep the blog updated. It's hard to communicate from Ethiopia sometimes...rolling blackouts, slow dial-up internet, etc. We will do our best to keep in touch with our children and hopefully you'll get to follow along as well. Please pray that everything goes well with the visas we need for Fasika. Some paperwork has not made it to Addis that needs to be there before our Embassy appointment. We also have to stay a day later than the other families to get a transit visa to go through the airport in Germany. Please pray that we find favor with both governments! Also pray as we meet our Compassion International boy and Haley's boy that she sponsors. Compassion is bringing the boys to Addis to meet us. We are very excited! I'm also going to need prayer about being away from the kids for so long. I'm sure it's going to go quickly, but it's still hard. They're going to be having a fantastic time with grandma and grandpa, and lots of friends. Thank you everyone who's helping with them during this time! Thank you to so many of you who have helped us out with resources, time, and money. We only had $200 to start this process last year, and now we are traveling with everything paid for. God is soooo good!

The Journey of a Thousand Miles....

...starts when you take your first step. When Kristen and I first committed this whole adoption idea to the Lord in February of '08 we knew it would be a long road. While we were in the midst of it, it seemed as though we were waiting forever for some of the pieces to fall into place... waiting for a placement... waiting for more pictures... waiting for a court date... waiting for travel dates. But now that we have our travel dates and will be leaving soon to pick up Fasika, it all feels like it's gone by so fast... and now we're scrambling to get everything ready to go. I thank God that I'm married to a VERY organized woman who has all the legal stuff in order and checklists of what we need. If keeping track of all the details were up to me, this wouldn't be happening.

We just arrived home from a wonderful baby shower that some dear friends put together for us... lots of cute stuff for our new baby girl! :) These are people who have gone along on this journey with us in their prayers and support. It was neat to reflect back on how God has worked all of this out and has been so faithful to provide us with the means and the mind to do this.

We (and the kids) are so glad that we took that first step of faith. We would have missed out on so much! And there's so much more to go!


posted by Dave

We Passed Court! (posted by Talia)

Good news! We passed court! The Lord is so good, isn't he?! He keeps surprising us - first, we thought the chances of getting a boy would be higher than the chances of us getting a girl, but we are! We thought it would be a miracle if we passed court, but we did! Holt is going to contact us soon with travel dates - how exciting! Thank you so much for your prayers and may the Lord greatly bless you!

7 Days of Prayer for Fasika

We have one week until our Ethiopian court date (April 24th, which will be the night of April 23rd here), and are asking for you to consider praying for Fasika for the next 7 days. We REALLY would like to pass court the first time. We're told that only about 50% of the cases pass the first time. Would you pray with us that ours would be one of those! Here are 7 things to pray for the next 7 days. Thank you!

1. That we'll pass court on the 24th and she will officially be our girly!
2. For health and safety for Fasika.
3. For a travel miracle! (That we'd be able to use air miles gifted to us...with very short notice.)
4. For travel safety for us.
5. Comfort for our other three children while we are gone.
6. That Fasika would bond well with the whole family.
7. That she would give her heart to Jesus at a very young age.