the olive tree

Mahlet sharing about Martin Luther King Jr.

2012-01-15T13:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNY5XCTiZXk&feature=share

the kids

2011-10-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

the girls

2011-10-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

about 3 months later...

2011-05-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

well here we all are, and i would say everyone is feeling good, johnny is happy happy baby, a little asthma, and just crazy for his momma, he cries when he sees me and must be held or in a pack on my back and then he laughs as i hold him all day long, 26 lbs of love,he is a joy, tigist so very funny and smart loves to tell me how to mother and how i should not be holding him so much, she is such a care giver and would do anything for me, sometimes she sees i am tired and tells me go, go to sleep and she is serious, now this is during the day and so i don't take her offer to run the house while i sleep, she loves all animals, deeply, loves to ride horses and is so confident and a great friend, and one of her favorite things is to boss her sister around, and fighting over shoes and clothes, woo hoo, i'd say they are excellent at that now, thankfully they do have their sisterly momments, like the other night, they should have been asleep and i go up and they are just sitting there talking, one on a stool and the other on the potty, oh mom, they tell me, we are just talking about our outfits and justin bieber, well of course! she is such a blessing, a perfect fit for our family, my older kids have been great, and my husband.... the very best, lucky me

a few photos

2011-03-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

everyone adjusting finally, beautifully! busy busy busy, don't know how you blogger friends keep up, girls are doing great,they have decided they love each other, after many weeks of a fussy, but sweet as pie baby, he's getting tubes in his ears monday, yay, never thought i would say that, we are blessed by these children, they are amazing

Praying for Ethiopian adoptions

2011-03-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

My heart is heavy, praying for all my friends who are waiting

the adventures of tigist, mahlet and johnny

2011-03-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

my sweet dog says it all!

we are home!

2011-02-24T18:50:00.000-08:00

everyone home safe and sound, it has been wild and crazy with 7 kiddos, would not trade it for anything, everyone is adjusting to each other and finding their new place, and oh my, i have a baby again, that crawls! and did i say that my wonderful husband brought them both home all by himself, life is full!

Got our embassy date! Next week!

2011-02-11T20:21:00.000-08:00

Well the plan was in march or April to pick up the kids, Gods plans..
.. next week! We are so excited! A sweet bloggy friend helped me do all the paperwork, unbelievable, what gift! Got everything notarized today. My kids all helped me move furniture and fix up the girls room, mahlet packed up all the suitcases and filled the diaper bag, she is soooo excited, she has shared her favorite things with her new sister, laid out her outfits she thinks she will like and has snacks packed for all of them, tomorrow, paint the baby room and fill it! Thank you friends

we passed!

2011-01-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

we passed court, they are ours, they were both as sweet as i could have imagined, a new journey begins, now we will get rooms ready and prepare for them to come home, how do you really do that? we are now waiting for an embassy date, who knows when that will be, we expext to be traveling in march sometime to bring them home, they really were both all smiles and full of joy, they are amazing,it was very hard to leave them there,i believe she understands we are coming back and what is going on, she wanted to go on the airlplane with us, break my heart... thank you again for all your prayers

update!

2011-01-10T13:36:00.000-08:00

a quick update, we leave in just a few days, our court date is Jan 18, praying to pass for 2 kiddos, we have received many updates and photos of our sweet ones waiting in Ethiopia, both are all smiles we hear, amazing! we can't wait to meet them so very soon, Mahlet is such a snuggle bug, loves getting kissed and dishing them out, prays for both of them everyday and reminds me of how i am going to have to change his diaper and carry him, and how she will be twins now with her new sister because they are the same.....and her hair, yes we added extensions to her own hair and it is rather messy, it's starting to all twist together(i untwist it daily), so we will see how long it will last.

can you say sassy?

2010-12-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

yes as you can see mahlet has long curly hair now, 5 and a half hours later.... oh geez, she loves it and theoretically we don't have to do anything for 3 months, hmmmm, she looks 15 is that a problem? YES! sending christmas wishes to all our bloggy friends, PEACE JOY and LOVE

merry christmas and all we want for christmas are 2 more kiddos

2010-12-10T14:38:00.000-08:00

january 18th is our court date for a little 6 yr old girl and a 1 yr old boy, would love prayer over all the details, clearly looking at these photos we are, shall i say, a bit out of the ordinary, and we love it that way! oh and wondering what name you guys like better, "johnny " or "mac"

Prayer

2010-12-02T19:22:00.000-08:00

Thank you bloggy friends, would love prayer for direction! And peace! And wisdom! Will share all the details soon :)))

Court date Jan 18

2010-11-30T15:24:00.000-08:00

We are in Christmas mode, have been busy turning 42 ugh, 22 yrs of marriage, yeah! Our court date is Jan 18 in Ethiopia , praying all goes well and we might be bringing home 2.......

Dossier being translated!

2010-10-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

Can't believe it but the paperwork is over, yay, now waiting for a court date and fingerprints ect........ Saw video of our little girl today, she is of course beautiful and very smart her special mother said, and loves to help with cooking, we all love to cook over here, she's 6 yrs old and we can't wait to meet her, we feel so blessed!

learning about life through my 5 yr old

2010-10-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

i am so amazed at how my african daughter lives life so well, she puts me to shame, she is able to move forward in life with so much joy, yet she has had so much trauma, so young, she wakes up happy, showering everyone with her affection, never complaining, enjoying every new experience, fully, happy, happy, happy, today she was riding a horse, so comfortable, and joyful, actually letting go of the reins...really, this is true, adapting so well to everything as i grip to my horse worrying that something " might" happen, and every once in a while she will share about her life in ethiopia, tonight she did again, it's on her mind, we are adopting a sister from ethiopia, she is worried for us," there are mean mommies and daddies, they will hurt you, they take you away to a bad place, please be safe and call me everyday, especially you mom, don't ride in the small cars" it goes on and on, " the water is bad and so is the food" ect.... this breaks my heart, watching her is humbling, there are not words that can express how thankful i am for her, she has taught me how to live and live well no matter what has happened, watching her go to sleep and her trust in us is amazing, how much MORE should we trust our Father in heaven

big hair and my highschool senior

2010-10-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

mahlet's hair also looks like this :)))))) and her brother harry, who's a senior in highschool"80's day" scare me some more!

hair- her favorite style EVERYDAY!

2010-09-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

Andrew Peterson - Dancing in the Minefields (Official Video)

2010-09-14T12:27:00.001-07:00

our story also :)

Happy Fall

2010-09-08T08:13:00.000-07:00

yep, this is the family all home for the weekend... hopefully in spring we will have our daughter home from ethiopia, we are thankful, happy fall

family

2010-09-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

Healthy:))))))

2010-08-31T14:14:00.000-07:00

Had a perfect doctors appointment with the neurologist, all is well! What could be better? Thank you for all the prayers !

"The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for."

2010-08-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

the harvest, daughter 16, 2nd one to college, friends we met adopting in ethiopia, and we are adopting again, a 6 yr old waiting daughter from ethiopia, maybe in about 6 months through celebrate children international, we are sooo excited!!!!!

A year later...

2010-08-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

Tennessee was beautiful, we were blessed to meet in person so many bloggy friends! Mahlet is doing well, still doing the hand thing -sometimes, doctors appointment is soon, will update when we have new info, it's almost been a year for her to be home with us, she is a joy, she has shared many stories about Africa, her most recent one last night about how the children of Africa are crying, she's right , she has shared " she had a bad family, and now she has a good family and she is happy " thank you Jesus for blessing us with unsurpassed joy in a little ethiopian girl

update!!!

2010-07-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

mahlet is doing sooooo much better!!!! thank you for all the prayers, we will see the neurologist the end of august, he said because we can bring her out of these "episodes " he does not think these are seizures and could just be from being tired, therefore we will be heading to the AGCI weekend to meet all of our bloggy friends, hurray, can't wait to meet everyone, mahlet just wants to meet hannah montana, she is screaming "i'm going to tennesseee" and praying to meet her, funny girl, see you all soon!

Prayer please

2010-07-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

Mahlet has been having weird hand and arm tremors( arm twisting like a snake) the last 2 weeks along with staring into space please pray that she is healthy and just over tired, I am calling the neurologist Monday morning, very stressful!

we love these boots!!!

2010-07-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

these are handme downs from our friends who have a western store Will Wyatt's too cute

still here

2010-06-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

we have been busy- my mom's birthday with her sister, soccer, cheer, gardening, riding her pony kayla, farmstead's, even though we live on one, growing 6 inches since she came home last august, re-adoption, and hearing about her stories from ethiopia, these are not happy one's, she does not want to go back, let's just say she was mistreated by her family and teachers, however, she is extremely happy and tells me everyday how she loves us so, her joy is remarkable, God is GREAT and we are so thankful for her!!!!! by the way justin bieber is her favorite, oh geez

kansas state cheerleader!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-05-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

my second son just made the cheer team at k-state, we are so excited!!!!!!

Prom and Mahlet

2010-04-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

'Top Chef Master' Marcus Samuelsson Talks Reality TV, Cooking at the White House and More

2010-04-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

'Top Chef Master' Marcus Samuelsson Talks Reality TV, Cooking at the White House and More this is awesome!! another Ethiopian in the news!!!

the sweetest girl i know!

2010-04-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

happy easter weekend

2010-04-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

what we have been up to: loosing a first tooth, skiing in colorado, cleaning out the garden, 1st son finishing his sophmore yr in college, second son a senior in high school graduating in may, asking his girl friend to his senior prom,he carved a heart in a tree and had flowers under it in a vase made of snow, too sweet, 3rd son finishing his junior yr spending his time cheerleading with all the girls, that's right and so does my senior, they want to do it in college, oldest daughter finishing her freshman year playing soccer and my youngest growing so fast and looking so old i can't believe it!!!have a great easter

the hair is growing!!!

2010-03-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

well my back is working again, thanking God for this, mahlet's hair is getting long, it is very thin and silky like curls that go pretty straight, she loves it DOWN, no braids or pony tails, a bit hard to control, learning everyday how to tame the frizz, today i was trimming my apple trees and she remebered when she first got here that we would pick apples everyday and she asked if this summer we would be going on an airplane, i asked her to ethiopia and she said yes and that she did not want to go there again, but stay here with her family, she still has not shared any of her past, i think it was probably very sad, this broke my heart, and you just hope you say the right thing, however this being said she is still very happy, full of complete JOY, we are thankful, oh and if it always looks like she's in summer dresses, she is, and then we change again and again, we have winter here

my back is out

2010-02-22T15:22:00.000-08:00

well my back is out, hard to function, no pic's this time, things are well other than my old body,i have been thinking about how much do you share at this age, " you are from ethiopia, ect..." i was adopted and i just wanted to belong to my family, my 15 yr old from romania is now interested in romania, before she too wanted to just belong, this path is interesting no guide, every child different, each future difficult to predict, i do know that it is hard, a huge trusting of God that He is in control, i have been blog reading lately about attachment disorders, we have been dealing with that for 14 yrs, very hard, mahlet seems to naturally attach, thanking God for His provision, this is one of the blogs http://www.storinguptreasures.com/2010/02/why-cant-i-love-my-adopted-child.html mother of 10 beautiful children, bio and adopted

Be Mine

2010-02-15T11:56:00.000-08:00

she had her first valentine party at school, she loved it!! her language continues to increase like crazy, she is doing well,seems very content, she has never spoken of ethiopia, i wonder when she will, i read about other children doing so and how hard it seems, and will i know what to say....

plodding along

2010-01-19T13:34:00.000-08:00

after many snow days and a long weekend we are all still stuck inside, thinking happy thoughts of spring to come quickly, gardens and flowers, just being outside on a sunny day, or even just having the sun shine!!!! oh the good ol midwest, well the fungus that started on mahlet is now on my other daughter and today i found it on me, my head, yuck, well we push on to rid this also, she is doing well, her vocabulary continues to improve and she understands eveything we say, she has become a "sassypants" highschool musical her very favorite, and she wants to marry Harry, her brother, the cleaning has ended, darn, now i have to ask her to pick up after herself, she eats most anything and continues to be happy, i do see times when she see's old photos of ethiopia when she is confused and then is sad, i think this age is difficult, trying to be present in the present and the past so incredibly different from her day to day, the photos of haiti on the news bother her tremendously, her past is unknown to us, we continue to pray for joy for her heart and healing, still love reading everyone's stories when i can

Merry Christmas

2009-12-14T19:05:00.000-08:00

ugh! i have not been able to post or upload photos lately, here's our christmas card photo, things are still going well, she started pre-school last week and loves it, she can finally kiss and say goodbye to me without screaming, she loves being around other children and BABIES, she is crazy about BABIES, that is all she talks about, can a baby do this or that and when am i having one, very funny i know, she loves the movie charlotte's web and chicken and french fries and does not want injera, and the laundry must be done, no piles left around, our machine broke 6 days ago and she is going crazy telling me i need to wash the clothes, yes i know and no sight ahead of where the broken part is located as far as the repair guys know....and merry christmas we are full with our bundle of joy

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2009-11-25T17:16:00.000-08:00

we are thankful for all of our children from all over the world to little ol kansas, we are blessed!!!!( Mahlet's swim lesson and Harry got dreads in honor of his sis, did not last long)we will be spending the weekend with family and friends, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

caution: overly emotinal woman

2009-11-15T18:18:00.000-08:00

i must confess my love for this child, who would have known she would bring so much love and joy to our home, i truly cry at night watching her sleep, thanking God for who she is, her kisses that last for several minutes, how she continually is telling me "good job mommy" and rushes to help me complete anything i am doing with pure joy,happy, happy, happy and how she makes my husband weak in the knees, and how my kids are crazy for her! we are truly blessed to have her in our family!last night i was starting to get out christmas stuff and she saw mary and joseph and baby jesus which led to the christmas story, then the cross, she was in tears, truly understanding what i was saying and she was crying for jesus, i was as overwhelmed as she was, she has a great understanding of birthdays because she has had 2 in the past 2 months, so to say she is excited for jesus birthday is an understatement, we repeated her birthday because she had only been home a week and we had celebrated quietly, this time it was chucke cheese,riding all the rides, her brothers winning her 600 tickets for that "special necklace" in about 45 minutes, pizza, soda, balloons, eating her cake like cookie monster, thanks to her brothers, and dancing, and of course wearing her favorite ehtiopian dresses, it was wonderful!!!!! we are thankful!!!!!

okay, so i'm 41

2009-11-09T12:09:00.000-08:00

there i said it on paper, i am into my forties, sure, i'm okay with this, uh hmmmmm, anyway, my kiddos and their girlfriends celebrated with me, i was missing my oldest son in college, we still had fun, Mahlet was VERY upset it was my birthday, even though we celebrated hers already, i think we had been home such a short time she didn't even know what was going on, so i tried to explain everyone has a birthday, she's next! so we will be re-doing her birthday, she is very excited, she is still doing very well, i can't believe it, she is still not ready for me to leave her except with my mom, we are doing little mommy and me classes, hopefully this will help her adjust slowly to being away from me, remember, i'm an older mom, i need little breaks away from my mini me

so she does like candy....

2009-11-02T05:33:00.000-08:00

Mahlet has found candy and chocolate and soda to be quite delicious, up until sat night( we were pirates) she wanted nothing to do with sugar, well things have changed!!!!!! woo hoo for her, not me, darn, was hoping she would keep that habit, she still eats very healthy, she is doing great adjusting to all the new things in her life, she even is interested in horses, yea!!! and school, i think she is missing all her little friends from Hannah's Hope, she keeps telling me she wants to go to school like her siblings, but she won't let me out of her sight, so we will see... enjoy the rest of the fall

Our family of 7 and our newly 20 yr old son!

2009-10-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

finally a photo of all 7 of us and my oldest who turned 20, who i had 20 years ago, on octber 20th!

JOY

2009-10-10T13:12:00.000-07:00

this child continues to amaze me, she is always joyful, unless it's bedtime or that new pink dress in the store i had to say no to, she is truly remarkable, and so resilent, i would never know she has had such a painful past, and her past makes her this incredible person, you can just tell she has experienced so much, when we pick apples or garden she knows what she is doing, she cleans and organizes like crazy and will start setting the table when i start cooking, she has so much pride in her, i marvel at all of this she is just plain fun to be around, now i am not saying i am not exausted, and best of all she loves any kind of food, the food you would never eat with your 4 yr old and of course reminds me to pray before every meal,she is teaching me about JOY, living each day and enjoying the little things, this is her favorite pink scarf that we got in Ethiopia that she loves to wear and sleep with, thanking God for my sweet daughter all the way from Africa

our new red dress

2009-10-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

we are all still adjusting, quiet time is getting better, sleep? well she ends up in the hallway on the floor after visiting everyone all night long, english is amazing and she is eating more and more things, she loves lunch out and shopping, and anything sparkly, her attachment to us has been instant, thank you God, and she remains very very joyful!!!!

new updates

2009-09-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

yes happy fall to everyone, and hello to all of you bloggy friends i have neglected, blogging is sloooowwww these days,did i say i have a four yr old!! our daughter continues to thrive, loving her brothers and sister, especially daddy!!! she is bonding with me too much, she screams bloody murder when i leave and won't sleep unless it's in my bed, so we are still adjusting, some time in her bed some in mine, she is the best helper, loves to cook and clean, set the table and eat as much spicy food as she can, she is trying most food these days, if we eat it she will try it, still no dairy or sweets, wish i could develop that habit, and she is funny, and happy happy, sings all the time and tries to teach me amharic as i teach her english, oh and very bossy, we are so blessed to have her and love reading every one's stories when we can, enjoy the fall!

aerobics anyone????

2009-09-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

aerobics -
Aerobics, [Gr.,=with oxygen], system of endurance exercises that promote cardiovascular fitness by producing and sustaining an elevated heart rate for a prolonged period of time, thereby pumping an increased amount of oxygen-rich blood to the muscles...more
this is how i would describe my day, all day, until about 7pm, i don't encourage a nap or it would go on until 10pm, and they said she was shy, she is wonderful, happy, ACTIVE, and very funny, God was right JOY JOY JOY!!!!!!

Here's what we have been up too!!!!!!!! BUSY!

2009-09-13T17:25:00.000-07:00

Leaving on a jet plane...

2009-08-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

well are bags are packed and the day is almost here, a day i've dreamed about for many years, we leave tomorrow for Africa! i just love even typing that word, i am certain of one thing, that God is in control, i haven't liked all His choices but i do know He has a plan and we are in His perfect timing, and that Mahlet was chosen by Him to be in our family and we are so thankful, and soon i will be a momma again! so yes we are finally leaving on a jet plane.......................to be continued

SHE'S TB FREE!!!!!!!!

2009-08-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

After waiting 10 weeks for a TB culture she's coming home!!!!! She's TB free and we can't wait to get our hands on her! We leave Saturday, it doesn't seem real, I just thought I would wait forever..... thank you faithful friends who have encouraged me and cheered me on, God is faithful!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bring on the JOY!!!

TB? will we ever know?

2009-08-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

so it's been 9 weeks of waiting and our agency has informed us that maybe next week we will know, sure why not let's keep waiting, clearly we are their first case with this problem , i don't know what to say except i guess i will cry some more, and then later cry again, will this ever end?

we are in colorado!!!

2009-08-08T06:16:00.000-07:00

yay, we made it to breckenridge, colorado, it's beautiful! my mom's at home with 2 campers home sick, they are feeling better,and fever free, it was a quick flu, at least my youngest son stayed at camp,we went on a 6 mile hike yesterday, at about 12,000 feet, we were really feeling old, our bodies were talking to us bigtime! thanks again for all your prayers and support, we still have not heard a thing about Mahlet, it's been 8 weeks, and it will be 9 thursday august 13th, what i understand is that is the final time they have to report to us, so i guess we will wait until the last minute, we have tickets to leave aug 22, yes we are hopeful, we will post hopefully good news next week, thanks again my bloggy friends

swine flu?

2009-08-04T15:25:00.001-07:00

well we were off to colorado tomorrow morning to relax a minute while our older son watched everything, when we got a call from kanakuk, our daughter has the flu, i assume the swine flu, so tomorrow instead of flying to denver we will be driving to branson, mo, we have 2 other teenagers there, hope fully the will not get sick, i was sooooooooo looking forward towards the mountains, darn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no news on Mahlet.....boooooooooooooooooo!

senior boys and football

2009-08-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

well my second son is a senior in high school, i can't believe it!!! he has been working out all summer for football and got his official team shirt the other day, oh to have a senior boy, they think they are the kings of the world!!! it's only august 2nd, it feels like summer....yet it seems to be ending way too soon, i want to hold on to these lazy days, yet in 2 weeks school begins, schedules become crazy, my oldest leaves again for college, the good news? well hopefully we WILL get good news on Mahlet, thanks again for all the prayers for our family, esp Mahlet

7 weeks waiting and feeling ill

2009-07-29T05:21:00.000-07:00

today marks 7 weeks of Mahlet's TB sputum culture, we passed court may 15th, to say this has been stressful is an understatement, i'm really thinking i have an ulcer at this point! hopefully we will know her results soon, at the latest i believe it will be aug 13th, and then traveling the week of aug 24th, we are just hoping and praying she is well, on a good note my youngest 3 are going to kanakuk kamp, yay and we are going to try and relax a bit before school starts up again, enjoy the rest of your summer, i'll post when we hear our news, thanks again for praying her home, this is my daughter patiently waiting for good news of her sister

this will make you smile all day

2009-07-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

yellow squash casserole, yum! believe it or not

2009-07-21T17:00:00.000-07:00

5 lbs med yellow squash thickly sliced
2 eggs beaten
1c wholewheat breadcrumbs
1/2c parmesean cheese
1/2c butter melted
1/2c honey
2 tbsp chopped onoin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
cook squash with enough water to cover until tender, drain well, mash and mix rest of ingredients, spray casserole dish, cover with extra breadcrumbs, bake 350, 20 min, it really is good, i grow lots of squash, it uses it up well, enjoy

we are barely still here and still waiting

2009-07-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

well we are still waiting, no word yet, it has been 5 and a half weeks of waiting since they called the day before we were supposed to travel,it has been very depressing and i have been trying to understand all of this,i am trying to rest in HIM and that He is in control, we will probably hear about her sputum result week 9, mid august, if it is neg i assume we travel soon after, if it is positive she stays for about a year more, i'm sure i will not have a nervous breakdown... sure... so we would love any pray warriors out there to pray for a negative sputum for our little 4 year old daughter mahlet who knew we were coming for her and we still haven't showed up, thank you

african children's choir

2009-07-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

they are coming to a church near us july 24th-25th, i can't wait to see them, i'll be dreaming of my little girl!!!!and this is so sweet i can't stand it!!!

happy late 4th of july!

2009-07-05T08:41:00.001-07:00

we spent the day hanging out with our kiddos and all their friends, we got up early to road bike which we love so we could come home and babysit teenage boys with lots and lots of fireworks, no one got hurt, which is great news, however we could not ignore our heavy hearts, as we are always thinking of our little girl far far away, hoping and praying she is TB free, and will come home soon, hopefully in august....

please read this if adoption means something to you

2009-06-30T07:57:00.000-07:00

http://anotherespressoplease.blogspot.com/ please visit this mom's site and let your voices be heard about adoption, this will make a difference in all adopted children's rights!

blogging and waiting

2009-06-22T07:03:00.000-07:00

i can't seem to blog these days, can you tell? we are still waiting, we've received new photo's of Mahlet, even a video from a traveling family, we are so thankful to have these, they ease the pain, however we feel we are missing more of her life now than ever, we are hoping to hear some news today, i'm not sure what they'll say, but our senator's office called the u.s embassy in ethiopia last week to inquire about the x-rays, they told us we would have a reply today, our 8 week sputum culture will be done august 6, so we wait, did i say i hate to wait? this waiting mother says it well http://anotherespressoplease.blogspot.com/ by the way, we have 2 paso fino horses, FREE to good home, they are the white ones

Romans 8:26-27

2009-06-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will"

Hold my heart

2009-06-19T11:11:00.001-07:00

new news

2009-06-15T16:45:00.000-07:00

as it stands things are confusing, we are now involving our senator to help bring home our girl, we are again asking for prayer, however now we hope that the cdc will recognize her x-rays as pneumonia, as the radiologist has suggested in ethiopia, and bring her home before 8 weeks, again your prayers are covetted!!!!!!!

prayer please

2009-06-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

we are asking for prayer for our daughter Mahlet, that she would have a negative sputum culture, this takes around 8weeks to grow, and for our family, to continue to have faith through all of this, thank you

Psalm 57

2009-06-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

"I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until disaster has passed, I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; God sends his love and his faithfulness" Psalm 57:1-3

blogging out

2009-06-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

well AGCI can't confirm anything so Mahlet has been put in the collect bacteria pile and wait 8 weeks the gov. does not care to look at any other x-rays so that's it, and if it's positive 6 or so months of treatment, the end blogging out

please pray with us

2009-06-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

Mahlet has had 2 new x-rays yesterday, they could possibly be reading them tonight as we sleep, we need a miracle that her lungs are clear, this is our only hope or it will be a long time before we bring her home, if we even get a chance, we were supposed to leave today at 2pm, sadness has consumed our home, thank you for you prayers

very bad news

2009-06-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

we were just called by our agency, we will not be leaving to pick up our daughter, for some reason they gave her a x-ray today and said it looked "suspicious", this means a couple months to wait for the culture to grow then 6 months more of treatment in Ethiopia if she has TB, her skin test was negative, so we are devastated, we are packed don't know what to do but cry and cry......

last one before i leave,it's the best one, pause other music at bottom of page

2009-06-10T06:17:00.000-07:00

When my four were little/ Mahlet's age now!

2009-06-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

packing

2009-06-07T15:46:00.000-07:00

it's finally here, we are packing, i'd say i'm overwhelmed, leaving 4 teenagers behind, 3 that drive, with my mother, well that just is something i can't think about, even though i have, and i have tried to write down everything they can and can't do! trying to focus on the prize, our little sweetie, probably won't write again until we return, we are still praying for all you bloggy adoption friends, at all your different stages, there is an end to the madness, it's been about a year for us and we are so thankful to almost hold the gift! thank you for all your support and prayers, blessings, tara and dan

this song started my journey, pause music at bottomof the page, we will never be the same

2009-06-04T19:23:00.000-07:00

she's coming home!!!!

2009-05-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1 we are praising God for His FAITHFULNESS that our daughter is TB free, thank you for all your prayers through this long journey, we will be in Ethiopia the week of June 15th picking her up, we can't wait to meet her! Yes, I am very HAPPY!

adoption

2009-05-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

it seems to me that lately that adoption is VERY difficult, it is breaking my heart and families all over the world, babies are dying before they are even getting to ever have a family, some older children that have been waiting for a long time to have a family are now maybe not going to be able to have one, families that have been loving a photo of a far away baby may not get to bring them home because of new abandonement laws, and we continue to wait even though legally our 4 yr old Ethiopian daughter is ours for a TB test that determines our future....thinking and praying for all those families I know of in our agency that these things are happening to...

pool time

2009-05-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

this is my mother and her babies, i mean her dogs, yes those are life jackets and she brings them to swim in our pool along with our 8 dogs ,well not all of them swim!!!!!!! just in case you are questioning our sanity, we live on land with horses and chickens and many children, hoping and praying for more, well just one right now, enjoy the long weekend and the start of summer, we are praying for all you bloggy friends adopting!!!

mud again!!

2009-05-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

this is my youngest son Harry and his friends, needless to say we have a lot of laundry and mud and many teenagers around! Harry is the one flipping and doing handstands, this keeps me busy while i wait:)

Travel postponed

2009-05-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

we will not be leaving may 30th, our daughter has not recieved her TB test so hopefully we will be traveling June 14th if she passes, this is long and painful

Healing

2009-05-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

so last night i was reading and praying and read this, "Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed that very hour." all i could think of was my daughter in ethiopia and that she was healed last night, thanking God for being in control! still waiting on our TB test.........

waiting again

2009-05-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

i must be honest, i am NOT good at waiting, i open my presents early, i cannot buy christmas gifts early or i give them to whom ever i bought them for, this is a problem i know, we are now waiting again to see if she passes her TB test, ugh! the good news is we could be traveling may 29 or 30th, thank you Lord! well only if she is healthy, sooooo we would cherish more prayers over our little one, THANK YOU

we passed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

our caseworker just called, we can't believe it, we passed, we now officially have a 4 yr old daughter, we are soo very humbled and filled with JOY, thank you for all your prayers, they worked, we are going to bask in this JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tonights the night

2009-05-14T13:29:00.000-07:00

as we sleep tonight our court case will be heard on our 4yr old daughter to officially make her ours, here's a little something of what we hope is to come our way soon..."may He grant you according to your heart's desire, and fulfill all your purpose" Psalm20:4

2 days left

2009-05-13T15:51:00.000-07:00

Track meet with the boys, is the family feeling the STRESS, oh ya baby!!!!!! 2 days left, please pray with us tomorrow night for our court date, many thanks, we covet your prayers......everything rides on HOPE now.....

mothers day

2009-05-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

my kiddos and their girlfriends, my mom and brother couldn't get everyone to sit, i know not a good look on my face!

4

2009-05-11T08:19:00.000-07:00

"oh Lord, I call to you, come quickly to me, hear my voice when I call to You, may my prayer be set before you like incense, may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice." Psalm 141:1-2 hope everyone had a Happy Mothers Day!

6

2009-05-09T15:31:00.000-07:00

Thankful- Thankful that God spoke to me today to be Thankful! I will be! Thankful for my family, friends, and especially my bloggy friends, and for adoption- I was adopted, my daughter is adopted and trying to adopt again, thankful! Hope is here!!!!

7

2009-05-08T19:12:00.000-07:00

well 7 days left until our court date, this alone will be a difficult accomplishment, then you have the ol TB test which is new for over 2 yr olds, they will take an extra week to test them, if it is positive, then about 2 weeks for a x-ray and if it is positive, then 8 weeks or so for a bacterial mucus test, if positive stay in addis ababa hospital for 6 or so months to be treated, sure.... sounds really swell and unrealistic, i know i am losing it, it is true! trying to find that hope i have known

9

2009-05-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

9 days left until our court date is heard, things are getting pretty hairy in the adoption world, it seems that if your child was abandoned, no info left about them ect.., the courts are now re-evaluating these cases, taking more time, keeping loving families temporarily stalled in their process, our daughter was brought to the orphanage by her birth father, her mother had passed away, we are not in this group, but we have obstacles in our journey, dad lives about 400 miles away and needs to be at court may 15th,yikes how does that happen, God please find him and bring him to court! we are praying and our little one needs to pass the TB test, please pray for us and all the families in a holding pattern right now, let's pray these babes home!!!

15 days till court

2009-05-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day! We are counting down the days now, only 15 left until our day in court! Please pray with us that we pass, the nerves are setting in.....wishing, hoping, freaking out, driving my husband mad! Love this song!

Hope

2009-04-29T12:28:00.000-07:00

Love this word of God as we we count down the days until our court date May 15th and pray for those also waiting ! "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching" Hebrews10:23-25"

2009-04-21T14:19:00.001-07:00

Ahhh... Spring Mud!

2009-04-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

What could be better than four wheeling in the mud, this is my second son's best friend from Denmark, they spent the day mudding , meanwhile sister is with Grandma, youngest son with his new girlfriend and oldest son going to Prom, just a glimpse of our weekends

One Day Without Shoes

2009-04-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

We have a court date!!!

2009-04-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

Hi all, received news of our court date this evening, yay!! it is May 15th, we are soo excited!!! We think we will be traveling early June, can't wait to see which AGCI families we will be traveling with!!

Pictures below

2009-04-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

Oh Geeeeezzzzzzzzzz forgot to write below the photos, these are some of the pictures we just sent to our little Ethiopian sweetie, we are going crazy for a court date, hoping it comes soon, the last picture is our junior in highschool going to the Prom, his date was a "friend" they had good clean fun, yay!!

Waiting for a court date!!!!

2009-04-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

it's a girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-21T15:07:00.000-07:00

when we officially started our adoption last summer(on my heart for years to adopt again)God spoke to me about "unsurpassed joy" I wanted this joy, but fearful of all the "what ifs????"we adopted our daughter from Romania 13 years ago, she was 11 months old from the worst orphanage in Romania, I was 27 with 3 little boys under 5, she was every failure to that there was, the doctors here thought she was blind, deaf and autistic, and definitely had a attachment disorder, the one thing I told God I could not do, today she is perfect, the road long? YES! Attached-YES, so this "joy" was out there, I wanted it and God was growing impatient with me, Galatians 4:20-at His wits end with me to be so blunt! so I start trusting in Him to do a great work and He chose for our family a four year old girl in Ethiopia, stupid me was thinking an infant and then He spoke to me telling me I would have a referral this week, and there she was, the only girl referral and we had just changed our ages up to 5, this has brought me to my knees and I could not get up, then JOY came, God is working, beyond my human comprehension! my cousin called and said that when she saw her picture she felt a spritual connection , an unexplainable JOY, this is true, and she is not a spiritual person, God is working! We are so thrilled and feel blessed beyond measure, please pray for "M" Joy(middle name) to know her mommy and daddy are comming for her and that she will adjust quickly to our crazy family! We are so thankful for God being in control! tara

Harry's braces are off after 2 and a half years!

2009-03-03T19:10:00.000-08:00

cute cute hubby and harry