Full term

Nine months ago, we saw a picture of the precious face of our daughter and knew she was ours. And right on time, she is here.  Our 9 year old, full term baby girl. (-: We are so so happy and excited that she is home!

Jet-lagged sweetie pie

Of course it's hard to sum up this surreal time, but if I had to I would go with bittersweet. Don't get me wrong, I am obviously overjoyed that she is here, with us. But as I watch her silently take in everything around her, her face gives away some of what the language barrier hides: fear, excitement, curiosity, overload, sadness, and joy too.

I cannot speak here with anything but honesty, so know that while there are definitely happy moments (that I try to catch on camera), this transition is not easy, especially for our "newborn" daughter. I can't imagine all that must be going through her head and heart right now. We are doing all we can to try to connect with her and show her what love and family means. We might be working hard for her beautiful smiles and laughs now, but I hope that someday she will know she is safe and loved and her laughter will flow freely! We are truly blessed to have the privilege of being her parents. I still can't believe it, it seems too good to be true.

First family photo at Taco Bell did not quite go as planned. ha!

 As always, your prayers are appreciated much! This beautiful, messy process of becoming a family is just beginning and we trust God to lead us daily. All of your love and kind messages has also meant so much.

Sisters are the best!

Anyone have some extra training wheels?? (-:

Listening to us butcher Amharic words is always good for a laugh

Of all our movies, she chose Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred to watch. We are going to get shredded, folks.

No more waiting!

The in-between-trips-waiting stage had gotten really hard. It just feels so wrong to leave your child half way around the world, all alone, after you just met her. We were stuck waiting for that magical phone call saying that we could go pick up our little girl. Dean, ever the optimist, woke up every morning thinking "this will be the day that they call". I, on the other hand, kept telling myself it would be AT LEAST 2 more months, no matter how many weeks passed.

But in God's perfect timing, we got that call last week! I can't believe I'm writing this, but we are going to bring our daughter home! Soon! Praise the Lord!

We miss this girl!

 As I look back over the last few years of this process, it really seems as if God just took us in His hands and carried us right to this point. Not that it has been easy, but there has always been this peace that we are following Him in this path. We have seen His faithfulness and trust that He will continue to be with us as He creates our family.

God even gave us this sweet reminder of His faithfulness last night. Well, us and everyone else in the Chippewa Valley too.

 As our daughter joins our family, we know that it will take time for that familial bond to form. We want to do all we can to teach her that WE are her family, and show her what that means. To that end, we will be laying low for a while as we spend time together and build trust. We can't wait to introduce everyone to our wonderful little girl, but we are going to be patient (not my forte) and keep our world small for a time. Thank you all for your understanding and love and prayers, we will need them now more than ever! Please keep our girl in your prayers, as her whole world will be turned upside down.

To God be the glory, great things He has done!