Clearance!! We are coming, girls!!

Last night was a night of no sleep.  I was wrestling in prayer for a meeting halfway across the world.


I didn't know if we would find out the results over night, or if we were in for more days of waiting.  But this morning at 5:20AM, the sweetest email was viewed.  FISH Family clearance!!  We are coming girls, we are coming!  


What a Christmas present.  :)


Reading a blog this morning, I came across this quote.  It's everything I've felt wrapped up.  Thanks, Sara from everythingbitterissweet.com


"Adoption is for the hungry. If you want to know more of Jesus and are willing to get a little undone in the meantime, sign up. You can’t pursue a child without being consumed by His pursuit of you."

Scenario 2

A lot of you have been asking, and I haven't updated.  Sorry!

We found out last Friday that the Embassy is requesting another interview that will hopefully happen on Monday the 19th. 

Please pray that they will get the information they need, so that we can be cleared to pick up our girls.

Submitted!!

So, we were submitted to the Embassy today.  I know all of you already know, as I've been shouting it from the rooftops!!  :)  Just a little excited. 

What's next?  One of three scenarios:
1.  We are cleared very quickly with our current file.  This could happen in a week or a month.  :)
2.  The Embassy asks for clarification/more paperwork/interviews.  If this happens, it will likely delay our clearance for 1-2 months.
3.  The Embassy decides they can not clear us, and we are sent to another office to have them review our paperwork.  This is recently common, and delays us more...

Obviously, we are hoping for scenario number 1.  :)

Also have to add...  I joined Pinterest today.  You know, one more time waster, as I wait for emails.  :)  What should appear on the first page I looked at?  A pin for Exodus 14:14, of course!  Lest I forget:

God, you are good, and I'm trying really hard to be still.  :)

Catchup to today - Part 6

What relief we felt when we knew the girls whereabouts were known.  They were to be moved over the weekend.  The weekend was LONG...  Monday came and my phone was silent.  I must have checked it one thousand times!!  I finally got an email around 12p that they had gotten no word from Ethiopia that day.  :(  Unfortunately, our agency is 11 hours behind Ethiopia.  Basically, by the time they come to work in the morning, Ethiopia staff are home for the evening.  It makes for a 24 hour lag...  Which is really frustrating when you're waiting to hear about the safety of your children that have been missing for around 3 weeks!

I admit, I lost my cool.  Our agency wanted to wait until Tuesday.  Not happening!  I called and pretty much demanded they call the staff at home.  I know, I know...  It doesn't really make any difference in the whole scheme of things.  But I had to know!  They were finally able to get someone and let us know that the girls had been "on the way" when they left the office.  At least somewhat comforting.  :)

Tuesday, we got the happy call that they had arrived Monday evening, and seemed to be doing well.  Next steps were more paperwork for the Ethiopia staff and then Embassy submission! 

Thanksgiving came and went.  We were so, so thankful to know that our girls were safe.  We had a wonderful time celebrating with Mark's family here in Iowa.  Then Friday, the kids and I packed up and drove to meet my wonderful sister and kiddos in Kearney, NE.  (the halfway point between her and I).  She had graciously volunteered to take our big dog, Max, for awhile, as we have heard over and over that dogs are terrifying for most Ethiopian kiddos.  I was so grateful to have one less thing on my plate!  We had a great time together.  The kids swam, we ate out, we went to see The Muppets, we gave Parker her bday presents and both she and Jack their Christmas presents.  Then after less than 24 hours, we parted ways.  It was so fun and way too short.

We now are in the next wait for Embassy submission.  We found out Friday that both girls now have passports!  So, we are really hoping to be submitted this next week!  Embassy clearance timing is random, so we will wait and see....  But the time is finally coming soon!

 Can't wait for some more of this...

 And this...

And I even can't wait for this!!  The girl has some spunk.  Love it!  :)

Sunday and beyond - Part 5

God continued to show himself to me daily.  Just when I was loosing hope, He would provide again and again.  I've never felt God so near, never has He spoken so clearly, never have I waited so expectantly for Him to show up!

Moses and his story has been continually brought to me.  Moses felt sure he wasn't the one, felt unqualified, scared, unprepared.  But through that, God showed Himself qualified, mighty, and so prepared!  We teach Sunday school and our lesson that week, not suprisingly Moses.  God is the deliverer.  Exodus 14:14 has shown up over and over.  Carson's memory verse at school and Carson's memory verse at church!  Are you kidding me?!  I guess I need a lot of reminding.  :)

Other verses that have spoken to me:
1Thessalonians 5:24 - The one who calls you is faithful, and HE WILL DO IT. 
Psalm 112, Psalm 73, Psalm 34

And the amazing part is none of these verses were found by me.  God provided them all!!  All by different ways - my devotional, my friends and family, church lessons, kid's lessons, etc.  Isn't God good.  I would wake in the morning asking God to meet me that day.  To provide for me each moment, and He did and so much more!

Friday the 18th was just another day, I really didn't feel like we would hear anything until the next week.  I got a phone call at 1pm that day that the officials had been arrested and agreed to take the police to find our girls!  Praise God!  A weight was lifted...  He had delivered, while we were still.  :)

This picture isn't the best quality, but shows my utter joy to be with these precious girls...

Part 4

Friday night was a long night.  I had nightmares all night about the girls.  I dreamed they were found and then Mark and I went to get them and after Mark left (the original plan) the people that took them came back and beat me up and took the girls again.  I dreamed this over and over.  I woke up so discouraged.  I felt like even if the girls were found, what was to keep these evil people from doing it again and again.

I went to my bible, the best comfort.  I was prompted to read Isaiah 43 again.  It had so encouraged me on Friday...  Friday, I had only read through verse 7.  Saturday, I decided to read the rest of the chapter.

Again, God showed up, big time.  This day it was verse 13 that spoke to me:

¹³ Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
   When I act, who can reverse it?” 

Only God can deliver!!  And when He acts it can't be reversed!!

I of course want you all to know, there were LOTS of tears these days.  I was so comforted and felt the Lord SO near, but I struggled so much with anxiety, fear, sadness, etc.  My children, that I had held in my arms had been kidnapped!

I also want to document here how held up we were by our family and friends.  My sister-in-law got me out of the house on Friday night, dear friends brought food and hung out with us Friday night, amazing friends took us out to eat Saturday night, and so many people prayed, sent us encouraging words and scripture. Someone even bought a birthday present for our son (his birthday was the 13th), because we weren't prepared.  I've also made a group of friends online that know exactly what we are going through, because they are too.  15 children from our agency have been held up in orphanages longer than necessary because of this mess.  These families have become friends, and I can't wait to meet them someday when all of our children are home.

the story - part 3

November 11, 2011, I was driving home from my friend's house, when I heard a devotional from Max Lucado about hard things that come into our lives.  He talked about how nothing happens to us outside of God's love for us and His protection of us.  Exactly what I needed to hear.  The scripture he quoted was Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters,
   I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
   they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
   you will not be burned;
   the flames will not set you ablaze.

When I got home, I decided to read the rest of Isaiah 43 and was blown away.  I read through verse 7 and was particularly fond of the last 3 verses.  :)


Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
   I will bring your children from the east
   and gather you from the west.
⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
   and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
   and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
⁷ everyone who is called by my name,
   whom I created for my glory,
   whom I formed and made.”

Does God care?  Absolutely!!  His word is alive and active.  Amazing...

 Zoe late October 2011

 Etta late October 2011

Also, have to interrupt this story to tell you the girls are in Addis, safe and sound, and will hopefully be submitted to Embassy soon!!  The rest of the story coming soon.  :)

waiting - Part 2

'Waiting is one of God's most powerful tools of grace. God doesn't just give us
grace for the wait. The wait itself is a gift of grace. You see, waiting is not
only about what you will receive at the end of the wait. Waiting is about what
you will be come as you wait.' ~Paul David Tripp

 Etta Ehitinesh

 Zoe Firehiwot

The quote above became mine.  Waiting has been so hard...  Especially since we met the girls in June and after we passed court in August and thought our time was soon.  It was not to be.  But because of it, we've become stronger.  God has held us so tightly and been so near!

Our agency decided to petition the judge to get our girls moved.  She did make several orders, but the southern government was not obeying and on November 11th we heard the hardest news yet.  Our girls had been taken to an undisclosed location by government officials in order to slow/stop our adoption.  I was heart broken.  I don't think I've ever cried so many tears...

The news came while we were shopping at Target for the girls, as we thought good news was coming (they were to be moved on the 10th).  The kids were all with me, and with my tears came theirs.  Carson was lying on the floor in the baby section sobbing.  Our hopes were dashed, we were so crushed.  All I could think to do was gather my three little ones right there in Target and pray.  By God's grace we made it out of the store and to a friends house to re-group.  I called Mark and my parents in the parking lot.

I talked to my friend who's adopted and also talked to a dear friend made through this process (that I've not yet gotten to meet in real life).  They were so kind.  The kids played with their friends and were able to forget the heart break for a little while.  

God met me right where I was.  The night before this happened, we had been contemplating what to do, and were even considering a trip to Ethiopia to help get this all figured out.  My sister-in-law had called me with a word.  She doesn't do this often, and she was nervous to do so, but felt she had to.

She read Exodus 14:13-14 to me:

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

When she read it to me, I didn't know what it meant.  However, later, it had so much meaning.  The Lord would deliver them.  I was to be still...

The back story - part 1

Where to start... 

First of all let me show you the cuteness behind all of this:

Precious Etta (Ehitinesh) in the orange and Zoe (Firehiwot) in Dora.  :)  Evidentally a fav, as she's been in it twice in the few pictures we have of her!!

Etta is 6 and Zoe is 3.  This picture was taken in the Wolayta orphanage when we went to visit in June.  Etta is very outgoing.  She loves people and was hilarious.  Even though we didn't speak the same language, she was making us laugh, A LOT.  Zoe is pretty quiet and snuggled right into us.  I could have stayed there all day with her on my lap.

So, soon after we left them (we were there June 13th) the orphanage they were in was closed.  They were moved to another orphanage, without our agencies knowledge, and we had a scarey few days in early July, wondering if they would be found.  They were found, and were together with a few other Holt children at another orphanage in the same town.  They remained there for several months.  We found out in early August that we had passed court, and were so excited.  We hadn't passed in June due to some missing paperwork.  In early August, we assumed the girls would be moved to Addis any day (which is typical process) and that we would be going to get them within a few months.

Well, obviously this didn't happen.  We received picture updates once at the end of June, and they looked OK, but their hair was really messy...  My mama heart didn't think my girls were getting very well taken care of.

In late August we found out that the government in the south (where our girls are from) was resisting them being moved, and in fact told our agency they could not move them, despite the fact that we were their guardians!  Again, we wait.

Court closed for rainy season from early August until mid October, so we hoped with the court re-opening that we would hear something soon...

Going private...

Hey, to all 10 of you that read my blog.  :)  I decided that instead of thinking, I want to say that but really shouldn't, just in case, that I should make the blog private and then say it!!

Our case has turned into something more out of a suspense movie, and so...  private we go in 24 hours.



Comment here or send me an email at efish47@yahoo.com with your email to be added.

See you on the other side.  :)

My hope is in you

I haven't posted in forever...  Mostly nothing to say.  Nothing I wanted to say, anyway.  We are waiting, still.  But learning a lot in the wait.  Celebrating not being in control.  Working on other relationships, other tasks, keeping busy with the fall.  Wondering what God has in store.  Longing for our girls.

Lately worship music has been keeping my head in the right place.  When worries come (and believe me we've had so many) it reminds me where I need to go.  Yesterday my Bible study took me to the end of 1 Thes.  Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  Wow, I needed that.  It's been going through my head all day.  God's word never ceases to amaze me.  God's word to me!!  Amazing...

Aaron Shust's song "My Hope is in You" is my anthem right now.  When life is hard, when your kids are stuck half way across the ocean, my hope is in HIM.  Because He alone is worthy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RRZgr7wNDs

Listen and worship. 

Court Post #4 (last)

Loading up the donations

In the courtyard, with our "court clothes" on

Holt office and files

Our court day was here!  We were up and dressed early, had breakfast and were off to the Holt Ethiopia office.  It was fun to meet some more of the staff there, and hear about their side of the process.  My favorite part was seeing our daughters' file.  It was FULL of all the paperwork - theirs, ours (all translated) and some precious pictures we hadn't seen.  We also brought all of our donations to the office, to be distributed as needed to all of the different care centers.  We were so blessed by our friends through a shower given for the care center.  We brought 2, 50 pound bags full.  :)

After our orientation we were off to the High Court of Ethiopia.  Really, just another building with a sign out front.  We were frisked inside (a little more personal than I would EVER want again) and then proceeded upstairs to wait for our hearing.  We were all nervous and emotional.  The waiting room was full of birth families (not ours) and other adoptive families.  It was hard to think about the wide range of emotions in the room.  We were called in after about 90 minutes, as a group.  We were all asked to identify ourselves and then asked several questions.  The judge than reiterated that once finalized the adoption was final and irreversible!  Talk about emotional...  She then told us that none of us would pass that day due to missing letters.  I was as sad for our group as I would have been for us.

Next up, a traditional Ethiopian meal and shopping.  Change gears and keep going!  The meal was great and the conversation lively.  We loved the group.

Traditional meal

Coffee ceremony, Ethiopian style

Our precious group

Shopping was fast and intense.  Beggars, active shop keepers, bartering (which I HATE), and one hour to get it all done!  We got a few things that we wanted and know what we will get next time.  My favorite purchase was the traditional dolls for all 3 girls.

The trip home began that night.  We were at the airport about 10pm, we were shocked as we wrote on our exit paperwork: in to country 6/13/11, out of country 6/15/11.  We sure did a lot for a short time!  We went through security about 10 times before getting home, but the trip was really pretty uneventful.  It was sad to leave, but we were ready to get home and pass the days, so we could return to get our daughters!

Court Post #3

We left our beautiful daughters with tears from me.  They were happy as can be, they've seen the process happen more than a few times.  So, I tried to hide my sadness from them.  A few more precious hugs and goodbyes, and we were on our way.  Back down the muddy hill in the dark!  Luckily, I had put a small flashlight in my purse.  It was the only light we had.  I remember that I screamed quite a few times, as my slip on shoes came off my feet, and that everyone was laughing.  We made it back to the van.  From our schedule, we were to stay the night at the Lewi Hotel near Lake Awassa.  We were looking forward to this as we had heard about it from other families.  Unfortunately the "need to know" culture in Ethiopia came into play.  We arrived at a hotel just blocks from the girls' care center and were told to get out.  We were staying there!  There were several men sitting in the waiting area, and they didn't look that friendly.  After a lot of discussion between the front desk manager and our guide, we got 2 rooms.  We dropped off the other couple at their room, and got to our room.  At this point our guide tells us...  See you in the morning, have a great night.  Grab dinner if you want to, see you later.  They were staying somewhere else!

Sodo room

View from our room of Sodo

Our friendly vulture

Our room was fine.  How can we complain, when we know that our accomodations are nicer than everyone else's in town.  We kept our perspective.  I share this, just to remember it ourselves. Evidently the two rooms we got were the only 2 with running water.  It was pretty smelly, and their were mosquitos in our room.  We didn't bring nets, because the other hotel had them in the rooms.  Whoops!  We were taking medication, so we hoped we would be ok.  The beds were incredibly hard, they made the Jemimah bed feel soo soft.  We had slim jims and granola bars for dinner.  We didn't feel like going out on our own after dark was probably a great idea.  Oh, forgot to mention.  We  had NO bottled water with us.  Or other drinks for that matter.  Amazingly, God took care of us.  We were not even that thirsty.    We both were awake at 2am and watched an entire movie on the ipad.  The morning couldn't come soon enough.

In the morning, Mark asked if I thought it would be ok for him to use one of the 2 towels provided (both hand towels) to clean his shoes.  They were caked with red clay mud and we had tried hitting, shaking, scraping, to no success.  We both took wet wipe showers, as the water was a trickle and COLD!  (But again, better than none.  NOT complaining.)  After much deliberation, he used the towel for his shoes.  We then left to go downstairs to meet our travel group.

After we checked out and paid for our room ($13 US), we were waiting for our driver in the lobby.  The manager came down the stairs holding a towel covered in red mud and was obviously MAD.  We sunk down into  the couches...  Then we noticed that the other couple did as well.  The manager carried on for quite some time with another staff member and we all were holding our breath.  We felt so bad...  I asked Mark if he thought we should offer to pay for it.  The manager never came back before we left, but we learned the other couple had done the exact same thing as we did!  :(  We told our guide that American's may not be welcome back there.  I still feel bad about it.

Scenic view

One of the three wheeled "taxis"

The gas station we used.  Full service!

We left for the drive home.  Same drive, enjoyed the scenery again.  The landscape is so beautiful.  Addis is at about 8,000 feet and the drive south was all downhill.  The drive back was uphill and had gorgeous views.  We were able to see better this time as it had been very hazy the day before.  One thing I haven't mentioned is that all the children, even in the south, which is so rural know the English word "candy."  When our van stopped,  they appeared from out of nowhere!  Evidentally, that's what most Americans bring to hand out.  We didn't disappoint.  :)  We finally arrived back in Addis about 2:30.  We had lunch in the hotel and then waited for the other members of our group, some of whom we hadn't met, to come back from shopping.  When they returned it was great to meet the other members and we looked at all their purchases.

They were going to grab dinner out, and we joined them.  We ended up at the Sheraton, which was again culture shock.  It was gorgeous, and similar to any 5 star hotel in the US.  There were many diplomats and flight attendants in the lobby and everyone was dressed up!  We felt very under dressed in our jeans and t-shirts.  The African United Nations is next door and Hilliary Clinton had spoken there the previous day.  We had a wonderful Italian meal and even better conversation.  We got to know the families and hear about their first meetings with their children.  We felt so connected to them all and couldn't believe we had only met all but one of them that day.  We then explored the grounds:  beautiful fountains,  pools, and a band and people dancing with popular songs from here.  Our driver was waiting for us, so we headed back out to return to the Jemimah.

We decided to use Ambien that night, and finally got our first night of sleep since leaving home.  It was Tuesday night and our next day was court.  We had to be up early and dressed up.  We knew before we left that due to a missing paper we would not pass, but were so hopeful that the others would...

Court trip post #2

Monday, June 13th is a day we will always remember.  It was a lot like the other three days I gave birth.  We began the day with breakfast at the Jemimah House.  We had fried eggs, the yolk was white!  Otherwise, everything was completely like here.  We got ready to leave for Wolayta, which was scheduled for 10:30AM.  We left at 11:30AM.  :)  We got very familiar with "Ethiopia time."  We got to know the other couple traveling south with us.  Their daughter was in the same care center as ours.  We traveled with a Holt social worker, a driver, and the four of us.  The van was very nice (a Toyota, Jessica!) and our driver VERY skilled.  The road was paved the entire way, but filled with people, animals (cows, donkeys, goat/sheep), and other vehicles.  Our driver did an amazing job navigating all the hazards at high speed.

We stopped twice, and sat down both times.  Once for Cokes, and once for lunch.  We were beyond anxious to get there, but we quickly learned this is not a drive through culture.  :)  Our social worker filled us in on all the crops (it was planting time), and what people were doing, where they were going, where we were.  We were restrained and only asked twice, "are we there yet?"

 The beautiful countryside, and tukuls (round houses).

 Our lunch stop and our first taste of Ethiopian food.  Beef tibs and Injera, delicious!

 The van and our driver and social worker.    

Sodo

The walk up the hill.

The gate of the Wolayta care center.

The courtyard, trying to get the mud off our shoes.  Our daughters are here!!

Our girls sleep in the orange bed together.

Finally in Sodo!!  The town where are girls are!!  It had been raining all day and was really muddy.  Our driver and social worker were talking for some time.  We finally discovered they were concerned because the van couldn't drive all the way to the care center because of the mud.  We all pretty much screamed, we will walk, we don't care how far!!  Thankfully, it wasn't far in the mud.  We all made it up the hill, laughing.  The children were also laughing at all the funny white people.  :)  We made it to the gate, and were let in.  At this point, I'm in the last stages of labor, and so much adrenaline, I hardly remember walking in.  :)  I know that we changed shoes, saw E through the window, she was so excited.  Mark went in first, E ran to him and kissed him.  We didn't recognize F without braids in her hair.  I felt so bad.  E is so outgoing, funny, and reminds us a lot of Callie at her age.  F was very reserved at first, but warmed up at the end.  She let us both hold her and snuggled in.  It was so wonderful to spend time with them.  We gave them gifts.  They LOVED the family books I made with their pictures on the front cover.  The punching balls and stretchy bands were also big hits.  The barbies, not so much.  We traced their feet and hands, loved them, held them, played with them...  And all too soon, our time was up.  It felt like 5 minutes, even though it was 2 hours.  We both felt so good about their health, their caregivers, everything about them was perfect.  We officially felt like the parents of 5.

Court trip post #1

I know, I know...  We've been home for weeks.  I've been slacking!

Here goes...

We left June 11th on the 6pm flight out of Des Moines.  We weren't able to check in online for some reason and when we arrived at the airport they had no seats for us.  Ummm, we're going to Africa?!  The flight was oversold.  We literally got the last two seats 5 minutes before boarding.  Sigh of relief!  Mark made me laugh by telling the lady, "we don't care if the seats aren't together.  We'll be together for over 24 hours on a plane anyway!"  We made it to Chicago and to the international terminal.  Through security again after a stop for some pizza.  Then we met the first of the families going to court with us.  They were so sweet and we swapped stories for a bit before loading up on the all turquoise flight for Istanbul.  Most of my memories of that flight were of how they feed you constantly and how they kept turning all the lights on!  It was the middle of the night for us, but daytime in Turkey.  Mark spent his time watching movies (mostly Harry Potter) and I mostly slept.  :)

We arrived in Turkey just in time to walk to our next gate, take a bathroom break, and go through security yet again.  Our next flight was a mere 5 1/2 hours, which seemed short after the 11 hour previous.  We got to Addis around 1AM local time.  We were wired, and not at all tired.  We went through the crazy visa process.  (Here's your $20 US, thanks for the sticker).  And then headed through customs.  We collected all of our luggage and met the driver for the Jemimah House.  The first memory of Ethiopia was "I can't believe we are here, and it was cold!"  The ride to the hotel was about 5 minutes, we checked in and went straight to our room.  It was quite nice.  It was now 2AM and we were not tired!  I read until my Kindle had no battery and then closed my eyes for a few minutes.  The next day was our trip south and meeting our girls!  You all know how well excitement and sleep mix?!

Our room in Jemimah House

The Jemimah House

Happy Birthday E!

Meeting E!

Our precious daughter, E, turned 6 on July 4th.  Sadly, we had to celebrate without her.  I can't wait for her to be here next year.  We love you, E.  And we can't wait to celebrate your birthday when we get you home!

Fear and our God

We had a great long weekend together.  Our son, Carson, broke down some major fear barriers.  It was so fun to watch him blossom.  He's our worrier.  He worries about swimming, when he hasn't done it for awhile.  He worries about tubing behind the boat.  He worries about jumping off the dock.  We had tried all summer to convince him to do these things.  We've tried bribery, friends have tried peer pressure, as has his sister...  To no avail.  Until, I had a duh moment this weekend.  He again had said he would tube and when the time came around...  He was crying, worried, scared.  He wanted to back out.  I asked him to pray with me.  I prayed that God would give him a spirit of courage.  That he would not be anxious but through prayer he could ask God to answer his prayers.  We agreed together in prayer.  And guess what?!  Our BIG God, who cares so much for our little requests, came through BIG TIME!!  I've never seen such a transformation in our Carson.  He went from a worrier, crying, scared, to tubing multiple times, once alone!!  He jumped off the dock!!  He went down the slide at the pool by himself and swam to the side.  And then jumped off the diving board by himself and got to the side.  Praise God!  So amazing for our little 6 year old to see God work in his life in one weekend in such a big way.

Amazing tool!

If you're like me, you have tons of digital pictures saved on your computer.  Once in awhile you print and then wonder...  "When will I ever have time to do anything with these pictures?"  Recently, I've become more aware of photo sharing via video.  LOVE this for events, adoption stories, gifts etc.  I'm definitely not talented enough...  But AHA, in steps a friend I grew up with and he's super talented. 

He takes your/my pics and voila!  Something beautiful.  You chose the music and send him the pictures.  He has recently started his own business.  I wanted you guys to see his work, and his beautiful fam.  They are the proud parents of three girlies, and one is from Ethiopia!  And, oh by the way...  don't you think his wife could be a model?!  Love the pictures of her in the Ethiopia video.  

Ethiopia Slideshow from Jesse Larvick on Vimeo.

He can also do videos for graduations, memorials, or a year in the life.  Really, the sky is the limit!  So, give his new business a look.  I know you won't be disappointed.  This describes it all, by the artist himself. 

Vada Harvey Tribute from Jesse Larvick on Vimeo.

We're home!

We returned home from our court trip last Thursday.  And I'm just now feeling like writing about it.  Amazing trip, yes.  Difficult to put into words, yes.  A little hard to talk about because it makes me sad, yes!  I didn't expect that.  I knew it would be hard to leave them, but didn't anticipate the sadness the trip home would cause.  I was so ready to hug the other 3 kiddos.  I was so grateful to my parents for keeping them so that we really didn't worry about them a bit.  But, I wasn't ready to not want to share details and talk about the precious time with our girls, and their beautiful home country.


I've shared stories and pictures now with a few people including my sister-in-law who might as well be my big sister for my whole life.  She was so sweet to put my sadness into words...  "Erin, of course you're sad.  It's like you had a baby and had to leave it at the hospital."  Perfect analogy, really perfect.  That's exactly how I feel.  It felt strange to me to miss them soo much when we were together for just 2 hours.  But I do.  Heartache...  I want to be with them.

I will be posting my trip journal soon.  We were so, so busy the whole time we were there.  And our travel group?  Really, there couldn't be a cooler group of people.  We loved them all.

Court trip!!!

Mark and Erin’s trip to Ethiopia

This is our very brief trip schedule.  Please pray for us while we are gone!

1.       Leave from Des Moines 6:10pm on Saturday, June 11th to Chicago O’Hare.  Leave from Chicago to Istanbul, Turkey at 10:30pm (11 hour flight) and arrive at 5:05pm Sunday, June 12th.  Leave from Istanbul to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at 6:50pm and arrive in Ethiopia finally at 12:15am Monday June 13^th!!  Ethiopia is 8 hours ahead of us.

2.       Pray for a few hours of restful sleep before we get up early to drive south.  We will drive 6-6 ½ hours to Woyalita, Ethiopia.  This is where the girls are in an orphanage.  We will spend about 2 hours with them.  Pray for God to supernaturally extend this time, for us to connect, and for our departure as we leave them behind.

3.       We will then drive another 2 hours for Lewi, Ethiopia where we will be staying the night.  Pray for protection for us from mosquitoes that carry malaria.  We will be taking precautionary medication and will likely use a mosquito net this night.  Malaria is only an issue in the south not in the capital city.

4.       Tuesday we will drive back to Addis Ababa.  Pray for protection on the roads as we share it with many walking people and animals.

5.       Tuesday afternoon will likely be sightseeing and shopping. 

6.       Wednesday we will meet with our Ethiopian lawyer and our big court date.  Pray that all the paperwork is in order and we will hear the words, “they are yours!”  We are pretty prepared that this will not happen, as the last court groups have been missing one important piece of paper.  The ministry of women and children in Ethiopia has to sign off on all adoptions.  As of late they have been under intense scrutiny by outside sources due to unethical adoptions.  Thus, the process has become much slower.  But….  We believe in the power of God and believe it will all happen in His perfect timing!

7.       Wednesday afternoon will likely be more sightseeing/shopping until we head back to the airport to leave at 1:15am Thursday, June 16^th!

8.       We then arrive in Istanbul at 6:40am, then on to Chicago leaving at 11:20 am and arriving at 3:15pm.  We will be back in Des Moines at 7:20pm on Thursday. :) Whirlwind!!!  

      Please pray for the kids as they stay home with my parents while we are gone.  Pray for a fun week for them, safety, and good sleep for all. 

Dear Girls,

To our dear daughters E and F,

Not sure if you even know about us yet, but you're so a part of our world.  Drew asks to see you almost daily on my phone.  Your pictures are framed in our kitchen.  And we pray for you daily, at least!  Your room is getting ready for you.  It's been hard for me to work on because it makes me miss you so much.    Tonight Carson's prayer made me tear.  He prayed that all the bugs that carry bad diseases would stay away from you.  Can you tell we've been talking about Africa?  And Malaria?

We got more books last week and we're trying to learn a few words that we hope you will also know.  It makes us feel like we are doing something as we wait for you.  We were submitted to court almost five weeks ago.  Each week I desperately check my email every five minutes on Tuesday and lately Wednesday!  I can't wait to know when we will get to hold you both in our arms.  E, I wonder how you will react.  Will you be hesitant?  Will you know what's going on?  I'm betting so, it doesn't seem like you miss much from what we know about your cute personality!  Little F, I know you will be scared.  We pray for your little heart every night.  For protection, for comfort, that God would wrap you up in His big arms...  After all, He loves you both so much more than we ever will.  And that's hard to imagine!  I'm so glad you're both growing and getting healthier.  We love looking at how you are changing. 

This time is changing us too.  It's teaching us more about waiting.  And about being more thankful.  About appreciating the little things.  We CAN NOT wait for you to be here.  We can't wait to see how you fit perfectly into our family.  How you will spice it up.  :)  But most of all, we can't wait to tell you and show you how much you are loved.  You are daughters of the King!  Have a wonderful Sunday, beauties.  We are coming soon.

Mommy and Daddy

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's birthday.  He's 6 or 7.  :)  My kiddos all had to call him on facetime and sing Happy Birthday.  I LOVE facetime!!  So much easier than skype.

I have the best Dad and the best Papa to my kiddos.  He's fun, caring, smart, loving, and loves God.  I couldn't ask for a better Dad.  The crazy thing...  he didn't really have a Dad growing up.  His Dad (my Grandpa Zumbrun) died from the effects of asthma and epinephrine when my Dad was only 5.  He still has stories to tell us about the convenience/gas station that my grandpa worked at.  How he would pick up the phone and tell the operator, "I want to talk to my Daddy."  And she'd get him!  My Dad is and was an amazing Dad.  He loved to tell us stories of Tinkum and camp Whitley.  We LOVED them.  Just that touch of suspense that kept you hanging on.  He also loved to sing to us and pat us.  I still love it.  :)  My dad, though a very busy doctor, never (really I mean NEVER) missed a game or activity we were involved in.  We always knew he loved us, and he told us regularly.  I never knew any different!  He was and still is committed to my Mom.  What a gift for us kiddos.  I always knew/know I can count on my Dad.  He's a man of integrity.  One very vivid memory I have as an adolescent is of waking up and knowing that I'd find my Mom and Dad on their knees praying for us.  I didn't realize yet how rare this is.  He loves my kids and they love him.  He loves to play tickle monster still.  And they laugh until they can't breath.  I remember that too.  He and my Mom still pray, and if they tell you they are praying, you better believe it happens.

Dad, I know I've told you before, but THANK YOU.  Your actions and your love for the Lord and for us mean more than words can express.  I love you.  Thanks for being you and for being real with us.  Happy 67th Birthday!

4-0!!

Today my man is 40!  And so, today is all about him.  40 reasons I love Mark Douglas Fish and am so thankful that God gave me such a precious gift.

1. He loves God.
2. He loves me.
3. He's a great dad.
4. He's fun!
5. He makes me laugh.
6. He's a HARD worker.
7. He's smart.
8. He has many interests.
9. He's a techie.
10. He knows what I need.
11. He has a soft heart.
12. He's athletic.
13. He's tall.
14. He can fly a plane!
15. He's has a degree in youth ministry and medicine.
16. He can speak Spanish.
17. He loves his family.
18. We can share medical stories.
19. He has great friends. (like from high school!!)
20. He likes to go out to eat.  :)
21. He will eat anything I cook.  (without complaining.)
22. He loves to teach our kids how to do things.
23. He is really good at what he does.
24. He appreciates little things - like the kids decorations in our house last night.  ;)
25. He lets me be who I am.
26. He is a hunk!
27. He's competitive.
28. He does his own laundry when needed - without saying a word!
29. He can smoke meat like nobodies business.
30. He loves adventure.
31. He's always up for something new.
32. He plays the guitar.
33. He dresses really well.
34. He likes to play games.  (The kids love this one.)
35. He has a motorcycle, and he takes me for rides.
36. He's very loyal.
37. He smells good.  :)
38. He's always happy, well most of the time!
39. He processes by talking to me, and I LOVE that.
40. He told me when we were dating that he wanted 5 kids!!  And I was the one that said noway.  And here we are.  :)

Love you, Baby.  Can't wait to write another list at 80.  :)