Ready For Our Girls

I was at Surplus Herbies one day where I was buying skipping ropes and frisbies to take to Ethiopia for 88 cents each! While there I found the perfect little suitcases for the girls. I do NOT like Barbie. Sorry people. Barbie is out in my house. *smile* These little bags were Hello Kitty and they were in the colours that we have chosen for the girls: purple and pink.

For those that don't know me, we have a colour for each child. Thankfully IKEA makes dishes in 6 colours. This worked until we decided to adopt. We have towels in each colour as well. It makes it very easy to find the culprit when you find a towel lying around or a dish outside. You know exactly who was responsible!

I have packed the girls' clothes and also their backpacks. I bought a bunch of fun stuff for their packs. Then I bought a few new things for the hotel room: playdough, and fun flashlights, and then a few more things for the trip home. More than they need I am sure. But it was fun buying it and I have been quite modest when it came to stocking up their room with toys.

Packing

Packed

I have also finished the girls' room. There are a few little leftovers to complete, but nothing worth mentioning.

Gadisae is the blue bed and Mesai the pink. The bedding I chose has other pastel colours so I bought a bunch of pillow cases and some alternate colour sheets, so we can have fun changing the scheme when we want to.

I looked everywhere for the perfect rug and couldn't find anything that I liked. Finally, in my own tiny town, as I was leaving the carpet store I saw this rug hanging on a hook. I said to the lady, "That is perfect!" And then I saw the price tag. I inhaled sharply and said, "Oooh! Wow!" It was $249!! The lady immediately said I could have it for $99! Whoa! I took it home to see if it actually went with my room. When my sister came to visit she told me she felt that it made the room. Another meant to be thing. A little blessing from God to perfect our girls' room!




The beds turned out beautiful even with the repainting job I had to do. I was so fortunate because I was trying very hard to find a bookcase that I could use for toys, display, and of course, books. The only one I could find online (living out of range of stores like I do) was at IKEA. Days before my sister was to make a trip into the store for me to pick it up I fell across a little out of the way store in a town near me.

It was a mattress store, and lo and behold, it had unfinished pine furniture!! I snapped up the beautiful bookcase immediately. Well, actually, I had to take another trip back cause I had to leave the kids at home as there was no way I could get it in there with five kids on board!! If you look carefully you will see that the back of the bookcase is all slats, just like the pattern on the head and footboards of the bed. A meant to be find, no doubt!! And of course, I *joyfully* (dripping with sarcasm) jumped right back into painting furniture again!!!




I found an old wooden fruit box in a junk store and took it home and painted it up. It is now a pretty pink laundry box. The boxes on the shelves were all from JYSK. They were unfinished pine and my hubby found them for me when he was on a trip out of town. I painted them the same colour as I painted the little table and chairs. That table and chairs was bought at a garage sale when our oldest was 4 years old - when I had a preschool.





I went through all our pictures of our girls and found some really good ones of them with friends at the Transition House. I then put them in a collage frame. I am sure I will have more to display in frames before they come home!

Above each of the girl's beds I hung a framed picture of them. I then painted a white shape on the wall and had my hubby frame in the white shape. Voila! They will know which is their bed.

Cooper had lots of fun helping me set up the doll house. It is funny. As soon as I started putting that thing together old memories started cropping up. Not really memories - more of the warm fuzzies from playing with my little sister's dollhouse. It was a tiny one - four rooms. But she was 7 years younger than me and so I, at age 12, would tell her all kinds of interesting stories about the adventures that the characters had. You know, there is something to having a daughter. I am sure I am going to experience little warm fuzzies in ways that a father experiences with a son.

I have not ever bought my sons a dollhouse. Not because I don't think it's right. Because the manufacturers insist on selling 'girly' dollhouses. I object to that! Boys love to play house too. Well, this dollhouse is Calico Critters and it is wonderful. Since I have put it up I have had everyone want a turn from the 3 year old to the 11 year old. There are so many little bits and pieces, furniture, and all the little critters. Lots of fun imaginations coming out!

Little Touches in the Room

A Beautiful African Family

I was picking up a prescription the other day and while I was waiting, I browsed through the magazine and book section. I was thrilled to find some remarkable finds!! A complete volume of Hans Christian Anderson stories that I loved as a girl. I remember just drinking in the words from those old fairy tales. Then I found a beautiful large illustrated book of The Secret Garden, and a really nice picture book about spring time animals. Plus, I had already collected a complete set of The Bobbsey Twins, Anne of Green Gables, and Little House on the Praire! I hope I have little girls who like to read!

Gifts for Our Girls

We got beautiful new pictures of our girls. A fellow adoptive mum was so kind to take a package to our girls. They were having nap when she arrived with her gifts, and so the caregivers woke the girls up. She said "they were very excited and soooooo cute!!"

They each received their tshirt with our picture, a pack of little markers, and a little stuffed cat. You might notice that Mesai's hair looks rather short. I can only guess that they had to cut it again. Well, when once she is home her hair will have a chance to grow long and beautiful! It seems to grow rather quickly, where Gadisae's hair seems to grow very slowly.

Then our agency took our photo albums that I had made for the girls. There is always so much 'stuff' in the background when pictures are taken, so it was fun to play with the photos a little and remove the excess.

Gadisae

Mesai

Such delicate little fingers. This little girl is such a petite little thing! She'll fit right in with our skinny genes!

Games in Africa

Please scroll to the bottom and hit the pause button on my music. You can then watch the video of the children playing in Africa. I wonder which of these games our little girls played before they entered the Transition Home?

Ethiopia - Food Crisis

Right now, the most devastating food crisis is going on in Ethiopia.

When people show surprise that our girls are not 'true orphans', I try to explain that is not simply their mother giving them away. Poverty in Ethiopia is not the same as poverty in Canada. In Canada, we have food stamps, welfare, help in many forms. In Ethiopia, poverty means death to many people.

Can you imagine being in a position that you will see in the following video. Could you or would you hold onto your child, until it was too late? Or would you sacrifice your love for your child to give them a chance to live?

That is a question that I am so thankful I don't have to answer, but it breaks my heart that my little girls' mum had to. I think of the fact that Mesai is old enough to remember her mum and understand that she had to give her up. It breaks my heart to think that one day she is going to realize that her mother, while giving her up to give her a chance for life, did not have that same chance herself.

How will this affect her? Will it grieve her deeply? Will it haunt her? It causes my heart pain to think of my daughter aching for her mother's sacrifice. I can only hope that I will be able to offer her the comfort and words she needs to hear when that time comes.

Please watch this video and see the tragedy that is enfolding right now. Give if you can give. Pray either way. This does not need to happen. England is giving $10,000,000 right now. What is Canada giving? I can only pray that our country is reaching out.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7444998.stm

Well, Apparently...

My wait for Visa began on June 3rd. That puts us at 3 weeks 1 day waiting and not the 6 days that I thought I was at!

We had our Court date on May 16, and we had: our Adoption Court Order, the girls' Birth Certificate, and Passports, all by June 3rd. At this time, they were sent to Nairobi and that is when the official Visa wait began. I got this from 'higher up', so I know it is accurate. I have been told the wait for Visa could be 8-10 weeks.

Well, that leaves us at 5-7 weeks left now that 3 weeks have gone by. But, according to what I have seen in the past, it could also mean, 2-4 weeks! Who knows!

All I know it my room is getting worked on, I have my travel list to organize, my sister-in-law is helping me with travel arrangements (since she is a travel agent - yeah!), and I have begun packing the girls' clothes. Onward!

Continuing the Room

The last two days have shot by. I did the third and final coat of paint on the furniture today; am I glad that is done! I dapped all the holes in the trim and then painted it white. Then after all that painting was done we unpacked the toys and started to set up the room.

Cooper wasn't feeling well today, so while I was painting the trim, I let him build some of the Fairyland Playmobile I bought for the girls. These cute little sets have fairies and such. He had a great time building it.

Later, it was Cassidy's turn to build the sets. Don't tell me that boys don't enjoy girl toys, too! Yes, they may prefer boy toys, but they certainly have fun with the other stuff too!

Building the Sets

Completed Fairyland

After this was done we opened all the doll clothes packages and put them in the little doll box and then Cassidy, Briton, and Austin worked together building the cradle and highchair. Briton mostly hid the screws, while Cassidy and Austin build the stuff. *smile*

Briton was also my little garbage man. He took this job seriously.

Cooper Enjoying the Baby Dolls

Mary Jane's

When I was a little girl I had a pair of Mary Janes. I always thought that if I had a little girl I would love some classic little girl shoes to wear with her dresses. Well, lucky for me, a couple years ago Mary Janes came back in style. I bought a number of pairs, in case I can't buy them when they outgrow the first ones.

My Little Artists and Updates on Them

Our agency sends a monthy update on our girls, once we have passed Court. I recently received a little write-up on Gadisae and Mesai, as well as some drawings they had done for us!

Gadisae is right where Briton, who is also 3 1/2 is, in drawing ability. Briton draws little circles. Gadisae is drawing little 'C's' all over her paper.

Mesai is showing more development. She and Cooper, who is nearly her age, are drawing very similar. It is wonderful to get our girls first art work!

We also heard a little bit about them.

Mesai is an active, alert, and beautiful little girl. She is healthy and active. Mesai likes to play indoor and outdoor games with her friends. Her favourite toys are dolls. She takes a 2 hour nap every day. Mesai has grown 4cm and gained .5 kg over the last 2.5 months. She likes to eat pasta, rice, soup, macaroni, and any cereals.

Gadisae is fine and a happy girl. She is healthy and alert. She is very active and likes to play with bicycles. Her favourite toys are dolls and mobile toys. She takes a 2 hour nap every day. Gadisae has grown 4 cm and gained .5 kg over the last 2.5 months. Gadisae likes to eat pasta, rice, fruit, macaroni, and all cereals.

These are two update pictures we received. Mesai looks so sad. It made me so sad to see her eyes. But my 'oh so wise, thoughtful, and kind friend', Denise reassured me that it is probably only because she doesn't like her hat. *grin* But seeing these pictures just makes me want to get our girls NOW!

It looks like Gadisae has a little swelling in her right eye. This happened once to Mesai, but it quickly went away. Must be related to the colds they seem to get. I also notice that Gadisae is getting more and more hair each time I see her!

It is so wonderful to get a little insight into their lives in the Transition House. It is nice they both like baby dolls, as we have bought them a few and a crib and high chair, plus some little outfits.

Little Tidbits - Painting and More

Pink! Did I Ever Think I Would Use this Colour?

I said I wasn't going to show you much until the video was updated. But I did say I would give you a hint of my room.

The Boys Room Patching Holes Before It Becomes a Girl's Room

Me Painting Trim in My Lovely Painter Clothes

Your Hint of Colour (I bet you thought I'd use blue, right? LOL)

(Cassidy scrubbing paint off the floor.)

Today was a rather annoying day. Yesterday, Ray drove an hour north of us to pick up the 2 beds, dresser, and night table for the girls. Trust me, before I chose this bed I did *painstaking* research to get exactly what I wanted!!!

Things have changed over the years. God has blessed us in the last 2 years. Funny enough, He blessed us just previous to us deciding to adopt. Interesting timing!! *smile* In years past, having a big family meant that our boys had cast down or makeshift beds. When we built this house we were blessed with being able to buy new beds for those that needed it. A real treat. Not only that we got new living room furniture.

Ever since we decided to adopt and stepped out in faith, (intending to spend money we *didn't have*, *knowing* that God would provide since He gave us the vision,) He has met our every need. Not only that, He has made sure that we have had more than enough for this adoption!!! It is inspiring enought to do it all again!! *laugh* Scared some of you there, didn't I?! Well, God has led us to do it in the past, who knows the future!!!

So we were able to buy the girls a nice bedroom set. The one I chose had to fit in with a clean, crisp colour scheme. It had to be white. Do you know how hard it is to find a nice white bedroom set?! Well, I found one. Stark white.

Then last night, Ray calls me from the store. "The bedroom set is not stark white. It's cream. It looks kind of like an antique."

WHAT?!! I decided to have him bring it home and I would check it out and make my decision from there.

An hour or two later, he arrived and the truck bed was full.

P.J. Boy Unloading Boxes

(When I took his picture in his PJ's and told him it was going on my blog, he said, "What I'll do for my sisters!" Said with an attitude of pleasure that he has sisters to do things for. *smile*)

There was no chance I would be returning it in my van!! It was way too big to fit! That would mean another wasted $50 in gas to take it back if Ray returned it for me. Great! I quickly ripped open a box to see how bad the colour was.

It didn't seem too bad in the outside light. Hopeful, we carried the headboard upstairs and then looked at it again, against my crisp white walls - Yep, it was cream. No mistaking it.

So now I had a decision to make. Keep it cream; return it and begin my hunt all over again - even knowing I have company of five people arriving in a week; or my third choice - paint it!

My dad, the genius, would be able to help me. He is an antique refinisher and he would know if I could paint this and how I could do it so it looked store bought. The next day, Ray drove to my dad's with a bed leg, and my dad told him what to buy, how to do it and home Ray came with sponge rollers, sandpaper and more.

So guess what I began doing at 5:00 pm today?! Painting beds, dressers, and night tables, Oh JOY!! Man, I just finished the first coat and it is nearly 11:00 pm!!! But it looks GOOD!!! So now I will show you a few things from the room. *smile*

Headboards and Footboards

As I am working in the room it is almost surreal. Our girls are coming home. I really can't believe it. They are so close I can almost touch them. We got the most precious video the other day of our girls. I really feel I know a bit about them.

Gadisae is a cute, spunky, funny little girl. She loves the camera and will do anything to be the centre of the picture. She is smart!! So smart. She can say, Mummy and Daddy in English. How do I know? Because I saw a video where a friend asked her to say, Mum. And she responded by saying, "Mummy, Daddy". Then when it was a little friend's turn to answer (and she didn't respond), Gadisae could be heard speaking beside her, "Mummy, Daddy." So adorable!! After this the children noticed the LCD on the camcorder and my friend, Rob, turned it around so the kids could see themselves. Well, that was the funniest thing. They just laughed! Then Gadisae and another little girl started making funny faces at themselves. So now we know she is a ham!!

Mesai has a sweet, gentle, calm spirit. She is a little reserved but a happy little girl. Mesai did not speak for the camera, but we did hear her utter a little, "Yes", twice. It is amazing how you *hang* on that little word. I know her exact accent. Very sweet! I can't wait to hear them speak for real!

Here are some room pictures for you now:

This is Their Closet

(The closet will be painted pink and white inside to match the room.) I just *had* to hang their clothes in the closet, so I could see all that pink hanging somewhere! I was thrilled to find out that Mary Jane shoes are back in fashion!! Yeah, I bought sizes 12-2, cause they didn't have tinier ones. The lady at the store has told me she will send me the sizes 9-11 when they come in. I have to have them!! LOL!

Pink and White Done

Painting Trim

Room With Trim and Bed Boxes

My Own Personal Carpenter Putting Up Colonial Rectangles

Now a story. I was NOT happy on day two of this painting day. This story has actually taken 3 days to complete. Day 1: bought furniture and began painting. Day 2: painting furniture and repairing damage hubby did. Day 3: painting furniture and repairing damage hubby did. (again)

Day 2 was NOT a good day!

So, Day 1, Ray and I were working side by side. I was painting my furniture and he was doing the trim. He was doing a fabulous job, as usual. I see he has put up one of his Colonial rectangles and moved onto the next one. There is dripping glue all around his rectangle. I ask him if he needs to wipe the glue? No, it just peels off later, he says. Great! We continue to work. The room is looking better by the minute.

Day 2: I discover my camera will not upload pictures. My computer freezes as soon as I plug in the camera. Brand new camera. Nothing I do stops this problem. I have a year end baseball tournament to photograph for three sons today, plus all our decorating pics, not to mention our upcoming Africa trip. I was not impressed! Oh, and I misplaced my receipt, so could I even take the camera back!!! ARRRGGHH

Next, as I am blow-drying my hair my dryer starts sparking and getting red! It nearly caught fire!!! Great and I have to go out in public!!! You should see my hair when I don't dry it! I NEED a blow dryer. Strike 2 on my day! grimace.

Don't forget I am *still* repainting this furniture (after how many hours???) that was a mistaken order due to the website misadvertising. Double grimace! (Do you know how many grooves there are??? And NO I could NOT accept it was cream. It would wreck my planned room. *wry grin*)

Okay, so back onto my afternoon. It is now after the ballgames, and Ray and I are back on the room, and he is building the bed, and I am helping. I notice the stuff on the walls. It has not 'peeled off'. It is not 'picking off'. It is not 'pick axing off'. It is NOT coming off!!!!

So what did I have to do???? Get out the electric SANDER. Can you imagine??? I have these beautiful walls that are DONE, FINISHED, COMPLETE, and I have to sand blast them to remove this furniture glue!!! Triple ARRGGHHH!!

Ohhh, but it gets better. As I am using this thing on the first rectangle (and we have glue on about 3 or 4 of them), it starts making noises. I turn it off and show my husband. He in his Tim the Tool-Man Taylor mode checks it over, figures 'whatever', shrugs, and hands it back to me.

I turn it on and it resumes its odd noise - and I resume my sanding and then BANG, POP, BLOWOUT and it nearly catches fire!!!! I nearly throw the thing at my poor husband and burst out in frustration, "You are supposed to protect me!" (Visualizing a Knight in Shining Armour saving me from dangerous items, robbers, bandits and such) and he looks at me like I am nuts and innocently says, "From what?"

"From exploding sand blasters, that's what!!" I stalk from the room complaining about computers not working, hair dryers catching fire, blowing up sanders, and repainting furniture that was supposed to be white!

I head downstairs and burn off my adrenaline with the fastest broom in the west, followed by the fastest mop in the east! In 30 minutes the downstairs was spotless and I was a little cooler. Meanwhile, my ever-patient, long-suffering husband quietly feeds the kids and removes the rest of the caked on yellow "concrete" glue from the walls and then puts drywall mud on the damage.

The calm resumes in the house. But I am still left with frizzy hair and no hookup for my camera to download to my computer!

What a day!

Wouldn't You Know It?!

The second I start to 'wonder' if the Medical is ever going to come in.... it DID!!!

This morning I woke up, rolled over and looked at the clock: 7:30am - no phone call. Probably no Medical. Depressing. Rolled over and lay there for a while.

Oh well, on we go. Tons to do. Starting with my dump of a bedroom. You got one of those rooms that is lucky enough to be the dumping grounds for all the house? I keep the whole house spotless, but my bedroom seems to catch things.

I headed downstairs and was reading some blogs when I saw an email come in. I figured it might be our agency replying to a message I sent. I had asked if they could DHL my package to our girls, since we had missed Sue going to Ethiopia this month. Sue goes to Ethiopia once every 4-6 weeks, and it had been 4 weeks since court and it would be another 4 weeks til she went again. That meant our girls were 'legally' our girls for 8 weeks and would still have not have received their care package from our family.

Families send little goodie bags with photos and treats when they pass court. Some people have their packages to their kids within days of court. We have not been so lucky. The agency told me that since our package was so tiny (I split it between two people travelling) that they could squeeze it into a DHL package going next week, but they don't normally DHL packages for parents because it costs $500 a package! Whoa!

I am thankful as our girls still don't know what we look like!

Anyhow, this email comes in and it is Levina, our caseworker:

Hi Ray & Justine,

Guess what?!

YOUR MEDICAL HAS ARRIVED! This is a BIG step in the process and I am so thrilled to bring you this good news!

YIPPEE!!!

Okay, so I immediately felt nauseaus - kind of like I did when we passed Court.

Do you know how significant this is? This means that we will be travelling in 4-7 weeks! WEEKS!!

(yeah, yeah, I know our caseworker 'told us' that Immigration has the right to take up to six months to issue a Visa, but you know, I have never seen a Visa take longer than 7 weeks. Oh, and that family I mentioned yesterday? Isabelle? Well, double yippee! They got their Visa today, too!! They left for the airport 2 HOURS later!! LOL!! They have an adorable little baby girl waiting for them and they have been waiting many more months than us!)

So, now that we are down to weeks, this means that I have so much to do. I am very thankful that up to this point I have been busting my butt getting everything done that I can.

So this is where we are:

The girls room is painted pink and white. The trim is being painted and hung this weekend. The bedding has been ordered from an amazingly discounted store in the States - 60-70% off. Thanks to Denise, my good buddy, who was willing to field a frantic phone call at 11:15 pm. "There's a SALE!! I need coordinating help!!"

LOL! We were on the phone til 1:30 am!!! But, I got my order in and saved hundreds of dollars! Can you imagine that bedding can be so expensive? I was paying $5 for sheets, down from $20, and $13 for bedskirts, down from $45. It was fun!

Ray drives to the town north of us tomorrow, after work, to get the girls beds, dresser, and night table.

I have had lots of fun being very modest in my toy buying. I bought a number of black baby dolls, a beautiful white wooden doll crib and high chair - matches the girls room. Plus, I have ordered the Calico Critters doll house and furniture. I love the detail and I love the fact that the little occupants are animals, and not people! I bought the hamster family, plus added twins that were bunnies. Cause we are going to be a blended family, and so it only seems right that their little doll house family is not all one kind.

Now, I have to investigate hotels, flights, which countries are best to fly through: Amsterdam or London etc etc!!

Here we go!!!!

Eight Weeks

EIGHT WEEKS

Today is the Eight Week Mark for waiting for our Medical. I have not been anxious, as I have so much to do!!! But there is also something 'new' in the thinking now.

We have always been geared towards 3-5 weeks waiting for our Visa, once the Magical Medical comes in. Sadly, lately we have noticed some poor families waiting eight weeks for their Visa. Now, so far, these families I am talking about have not yet received their Visas! I am praying that they all receive them this week. I can't imagine it dragging out so long!

This is worrying! We have never seen the wait longer than 6 weeks, so we all felt there was an end in sight, once we received our Medical - a maximum of another 6 weeks and then travel.

But maybe not so!

We were told 2-12 weeks waiting for Medical, with the average being 4-8 weeks. Well, we passed average and no Medical. Months ago, Medicals were taking upwards of 20 weeks. Please God, don't let us go there again!! That would be so painful. We have seen our girls. We have fallen in love with them. We so desperately want to bring them home.

We continue to wait patiently. On one hand, having the Medical take its time was 'sort of' good, cause it meant our oldest could probably go with us, but knowing there are no guarantees on how long it might take is a bit hard at times.

I DO trust that God knows what is best and in HIS time, not mine, the Medicals will come in, and the Visas will follow. Again, in His time.

Still, I do jump when the phone rings. Sometimes, I almost feel like it will never happen! *laugh* I know, I know. Have patience. I do. Usually! *grin*

What's In A Name?

When you are inspired to give your child a certain name do you think it is coincidence? I don't think so.

Our oldest son bears the name Joshua as one of his middle names. Like Joshua, in the Bible, he is certainly a leader! At this moment, he has earned his way to the position of Regimental Seargant Major - top position - in his cadet corp. In everyday life, he has also shown himself to be a leader - not bowing into peer pressure, but instead showing that their are better alternatives.

Dane has always been my 'Ray' of Sunshine. I have always called him my "Sunshine Boy". He has always kept us laughing and happy. His middle name is Ray.

When we named Gadisae Song Savannah it was an inspired name. The words, "She is a song in my heart," sprang from my lips when I heard the name Song. I just knew it was for our second daughter, who at that time was yet unknown to us.

The same friend, Denise, who blessed me with that name, was also the one who sent me this neat story of a little orphan girl named Gadise. I am not sure when she sent it to me if she realized how much this story would mean to me.

I hope you will read this sweet story that really makes me feel that Gadise was blessed with the name "Song", for a reason!

Our girls come from a culture that tells stories and passes them down to the children. When I read this story I think that I will try to learn it from heart and share it with Gadise as a special story that shows that God cares about little girls, especially little girls name Gadise.


In a town near a beach and crowded with people there lived an orphan girl. Her name was Gadise. Her parents died when she was small. Since then, she lived with her aunt. Unfortunately, her aunt was very poor and had a bad temper. She was always being cruel to Gadise.

Gadise was a diligent girl; she was always doing her job well. One of her jobs was getting water from a well. In a beach area, it was not easy to get pure water. The location of the well was very far from her home. When she was going to get water Gadise always came to sit under a big tree with dense leaves. At this time, she could rest for a while and be hidden from the hard sunlight.

Sometimes, Gadise cried under that tree, as she felt all alone in this world. She didn't know to whom she could tell her sadness. Between her tears, she always prayed to God asking for His protection.

Strangely, each time she cried, the tree always spread out its branches. The leaves waved slowly and made a beautiful sound, so that it seemed the tree was singing. The sound amazed Gadise and made her happy. The rhythm of the song cheered up her sorrow and made her forget all her sadness. The song became a lullaby. Soon, the little girl slept under the tree, and the big tree lowered its branches, so the sunlight could not harm her body. Whenever she slept too long, the tree woke her up by dropping one leaf onto her cheek.

Day by day, time went by, and one day there was big news that the King wanted to make a new royal ship. Many old trees being cut down. The wood was used to make that new ship. Gadise was worried as she remembered her big old tree. She wondered if the tree has been cut down, too.

One day, after she got water, she ran to her tree. She found there was a white cross marked on the tree, which meant her lovely tree would be cut too. Gadise was so sad, she could not say a single word.

Her tears dropped, and she hugged the tree tightly. "My beloved tree, perhaps this is the last day we'll ever meet. Tomorrow they will cut you down, and I will lose you forever. What's making sad is that I cannot do anything to stop it. Good-bye my beloved tree", she cried.

The tree lowered its branches. It seemed he wanted to hug that little girl too. The leaves wiped her tears softly, and suddenly there was a sound.

"Please don't be sad, my child. The royal ship will not sail without your wish. You must come aboard and together with me we will sail together."

That morning the big tree was cut. Some months later the ship was done. The King was very happy and had a big celebration. The biggest party was made to celebrate it. However, when they wanted to launch the ship into the water, the ship could not move. Many people tried to push the ship into the water, but still the ship could not move. The King became upset and angry.

The news about the royal ship which could not move came to Gadise's ear. She remembered the last message from her big tree. She tried hard to go to the harbor and finally she met the King. She asked his permission to sail the ship. The King did not believe that she could because there had been many efforts to make the ship move. Finally when the ship still could not move he decided to allow her.

Gadise came to the ship, with her love she swept the steer. "My tree, please help me. Move and sail! All the people want to see you sailing the ocean". All the people watched and waited to see what was going to happen.

The ship moved inch by inch into the ocean slowly. People who saw it yelled happily. The happiest man was the King himself. He asked, "How could you make this ship sail?"

"With God's blessing, Your Honor. The ship was made from the wood of my friend, the old big tree," answered Gadise politely. Gadise told King all about her life. The heart of King was touched and because he did not have a child he adopted Gadise as a princess.

More Pics of Our Girls

Smiley Gadisae

Learning English: 10-12 A.M. Week Day Mornings

Happy Mesai

Sweet Sisters

Such a Happy Home!

Every parent that comes home from picking up their children just go on and on about the incredible care and love that our children are receiving in the Transition House - Imagine Adoptions is our agency and I am proud to pass on their name to any prospective parents. The care that the children receive in this home, while waiting for us to come and get them, is incredible!

It's Been A While!

Well, I am home again! It was an amazing road trip. I had the opportunity to spend time with four adoptive families that I met on the Yahoo group. Michelle, I am sorry I missed you in Cranbrook! I fully intended on visiting and then life took over. Next time I am there we will meet for sure!

I cannot believe it has been one week since I got home. I cannot believe it has been 7 weeks waiting for our Medical. I cannot believe it has been two months today, since we got our referral!! Time has passed so incredibly fast!!

I have not had a moment to feel bad about timeframes. I have way to much to do. On Monday morning I have butterflies as I wait to see if I will get a call from Imagine telling us that our Medical is in the pouch. When I see that there is no Pouch that week, or that we have nothing, I have a momentary feeling of disappointment. But I don't dwell on it. If I did that I would go nuts!

So I immediatley think: "Okay, so that gives me SIX days to get.... done." And trust me, I always have a LONG list of things to do!!! This is not because I don't want our girls home, or that I am okay with them being gone from us. Not in the least. But my dwelling on that will just cause me to be stressed out and make me miserable. I do think I am a cup half full person, and it does make things easier. If the kids spill something, as I am grumbling *grin*, I am also rejoicing that I can clean those chair legs that never get cleaned. Truly.

And right now we are in a situation that most people wouldn't get. Our oldest son is supposed to be going to Ethiopia with us. We have planned for this since basically Day 1. I am so excited for him to go, because he has such a compassionate heart. He is the one that wants to build a boys home. Whether anything comes of it or not, time will tell. But I know that this trip to Ethiopia will touch his heart. He has also been saving money and has about $800 to invest in orphanages and needy people when he goes.

At the same time, he is a Cadet. He has been in Cadets for three years. He has risen in the ranks and recently been awarded the highest position in their Corp. He has worked hard for this. He fought for the last six months against two other top cadets for this position. He won it and it was well deserved. Recently, he and his brother took home three awards each at the Cadet Annual Review. Amazing!

Okay, so how does this play into it? Because this year he is going to Vernon to the Cadet Summer Camp as Staff. This is a step up the ladder for him. Each year there are only so many opportunties that are offered before you 'age out'. This is an exciting opportunity for him, especially as he is hoping to join the military one day.

The problem? We seriously thought our court dates would take longer, thus pushing us into a fall pickup of the girls. We had no idea that we would be looking at a possible July/August travel date!! That is simply amazing!

The sad (actually for our son and me - devastating is the word) thing is that he may be in a position of having to choose between Africa and Cadets. If he chooses Cadets he misses a once in a lifetime opportunity - meeting his sisters in their homeland and helping in Africa. If he chooses Africa he may throw the rest of his next two years in Cadets - someone else will bump ahead of him in seniority and he will be left in the dust. Being 17 this is not a 'kiddie type decision' - it is career related.

So here we sit, *wanting* our medical to come in, but at the same time, watching the calendar and thinking that if it is held up, it pushes us closer to our son not having to make this choice. It is a strange place to be in.

I was starting to stress about this and trying to explain why this is not simply a 'child's organization' but related to my son's future and it *is* a very difficult choice, to a friend. She told me that God is in it and to just rest in that.

That night I went to bed and thought I hadn't been woken in a long while. "Besides," I thought to myself as I drifted off to sleep at 11:00 pm, "My mind is just so fuzzy these days when I wake in the night. It is a good thing God has nothing to share when I wake up! I can't keep my eyes open to read any devotions!"

40 minutes later, I was woken by a cough. One of our sons has a cough and I thought I would be up with him again. But no. It was just one cough and then all was silent. I tried to go back to sleep, but sleep evaded me. Finally, in desperation I headed downstairs to read my devotions. I have been rather lax lately and thought this might be a good time. And hey! Wouldn't you know it? I was wide awake!! *laugh* Coincidence? I think not!! That little cough woke me after I had a power nap!! *grin*

I open my devotions to June 9 and this is what I get:

"Feed on his faithfulness." Psalm 37:3

I once met a poor coloured woman, who earned a precarious living by hard daily labour; but who was a joyous triumphant Christian. "Ah, Nancy," said a gloomy Christian lady to her one day, "it is well enough to be happy now; but I should think the thoughts of your future would sober you.

Only suppose, for instance, you should have a spell of sickness, and be unable to work; or suppose your present employers should move away, and no one else should give you anything to do; or suppose--"

"Stop!" cried Nancy, "I never suppose. De Lord is my Shepherd, and I knows I shall not want. And, Honey," she added, to her gloomy friend, "it's all dem supposes as is makin' you so mis'able. You'd better give dem all up, and just trust de Lord."

There is one text that will take all the "supposes" out of a believer's life, if it be received and acted on in childlike faith; it is Hebrews 13:5,6: "Be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." H.W.S.

There's a stream of trouble across my path;
It is black and deep and wide.
Bitter the hour the future hath
When I cross its swelling tide.
But I smile and sing and say:
'I will hope and trust alway;
I'll bear the sorrow that comes tomorrow,
But I'll borrow none today."

The eagle that soars in the upper air does not worry itself as to how it is to cross rivers." Selected.

God is so faithful. I have not been faithful in my time with Him, but He does not *give* based on what He gets from us. He knew I needed a Word, and He sent it.

I still may not know what the future holds, but I will not worry myself about the timelines. I will rest assured that God knows best if Colt is to go with us, or to Camp, or perhaps our timelines will push us past August. I rest in that.

Turning Down the Audio

Don't forget that if you want to watch any videos on my blog you have to scroll down to the bottom and pause the music.

Ethiopian Adoption

This video is incredibly moving. It starts slow for the first minute or so, but please wait through. I cannot imagine the bittersweet feelings of a mother that is dying and desperately wants to find a family for her boys before she dies. It moved me to tears.

What Kind of Names Do You Like?

You Like Names That Are Cutting Edge and Exotic

You love creative names and names from foreign cultures. You believe names should be expressive and interesting. You like names that are unusual, striking, and powerful. You couldn't imagine naming your child or pet anything "normal." Some female names you might like: Amaya, Celestine, Danessa, Fawn, Kenya, Monet, Serenity, and Tia Some male names you might like: Drake, Flint, Harley, Kendrick, Pascal, Romeo, and Timber

What Kind of Names Do You Like?

Court Documents and Passports

After a successful court date, we are then waiting for the Adoption Court Order and the Passports. Eleven days after court we received our Adoption Court Order.

Today, we were pleased to see the girls' scanned images of their Passports in our email box! According to the passports our girls names are Gadise Raymond and Mesay Raymond. *smile*

One step closer!

Packages to Ethiopia

Today, while at Corrie's house, I packed up some goodies for our girls. Another adoptive parent who is picking up her daughter on the 12th has offered to take the girls a present. We have sent her a tshirt for each of the girls with our family picture on it, plus a stuffed animal, and a tiny pack of markers.

We also know that the director of our agency is supposed to be going on June 12th and our worker has told us that she can also take a package. So I have sent her a little photo album with a ton of family pictures and they are all labelled with the Amharic transliteration. We also put in a little dark-skinned doll, a tiny purse and necklace.

Hopefully we will get pictures when they get their gifts.