We are excited to announce that we
received & accepted a referral for twin girls that are 2 months
old! We received a surprising call on Monday night!!!
So back up a little. Our dossier
arrived in Ethiopia on February 25th & we were
officially added to the list at that time. We were #11 on the HIV
waiting list. We were originally told 6-9 months for a referral. We
were originally requesting a child 0-12 months either gender &
open to a sibling of the opposite gender up to 3 years old. Then a
week or 2 ago we decided we should open our parameters to 1 or 2
children 0-4 years old of either gender or 1 of each if there were 2.
We felt God wanted us to be more open. Our agency then told us the
expected 4-8 months for a referral.
Last week we received a $6,000 grant
from Show Hope for our adoption. I was so excited about this &
had in the back of my mind that maybe we got it because something was
coming sooner! I tried to tell my self to stop thinking that because
it was so early. It stayed in my mind for several days. Monday all
day I kept feeling like something was coming but again tried to talk
myself out of getting my hopes up. I had butterflies in my stomach &
was nervous for some reason.
Then Monday night at 7:01pm I received
a call from a long distance # I didn't recognize. I don't always
answer the phone if I don't know the number but I did. I don't fully
remember the conversation but I remember our caseworker Koni was on
the phone & said it was Koni. I had never actually spoken to her
only emailed her so didn't know how her name was pronounced. I
thought it was Cone-E but it's pronounced like Connie so it threw me
off. She said she was with West Sands. I started getting so nervous
because I didn't know any other reason she would call me! She said
she had Sheila on the phone who is the director. They started
talking to me about our paperwork just being done & our criteria.
They asked about how much money we had & when we would be ready
for a referral. I told her how much we had but that we would find
the money if it came before. She then told me she wanted to tell me
about twin girls that were 2 months old. She just told me a little
bit of information on them but not much. She said there was no
obligation but just wanted to offer us the referral. Well, Jeremy
wasn't home at the time. He was guest speaking at a broadcasting
school at that time. I told her I would try to get a hold of him &
get back with her before she sent any pictures. I didn't want to get
my hopes up too much or promise anything without talking to him. I
was shaking like crazy. My face was blood red. The whole time we
were on the phone Jack was screaming because he wanted his pancake
that took 10 seconds in the microwave, then wanted a fruit cup, then
wanted another. I was shoving things in his face to keep him quiet
so I could hear the phone! As soon as I got off the phone I sent him
a text to call me AS SOON as he got done! I waited for what seemed
like an eternity but was only like 20-30 minutes. Then he called me.
I told him the news & asked what he thought. He said let's go
for it. He was going to be home in 15-20 minutes. I wanted to wait
to call Sheila back to send us pictures until he got home because
otherwise I wouldn't have been able to wait to look at them if they
arrived. As soon as we got home I called her & she gave me a
little more information on them now that she knew we were interested.
Then she sent us their pictures & file. We set up the laptop on
the table & set up the video camera to capture the moment. Jack
sat on my lap so we could all look together. Jeremy pulled up the
email & we saw our precious beautiful baby girls for the 1st
time. I thought I would cry but I was still in such shock &
shaking! Jack pointed & we had him blow them kisses. After we
put him to bed we made calls to family to let them know the amazing
news! Everyone was also in shock & so excited. I wish we could
post their pictures but until we pass court we are not allowed to
post them publicly on the internet. We can however show them to you
individually and are more than happy to show them off! They are
beautiful & tiny! They are preemies so they're still small but
appear to be doing very well now!
The problem... we needed to raise
another $10,450 within 10 days to accept our referral! Seems
impossible right??? Well God had other plans! We raised $8849 in 24
hours!!!! This clearly showed this WAS God's plan & he WAS
providing the money! I was just blown away by the support from
friends, family & strangers! As of this moment we have raised
$9354.55!
So what now? Once we complete raising
this portion of fees we will be submitted to court. We will travel
to meet our daughters for the first time in about 3 months. At that
time we will attend court where they will hopefully be pronounced
“ours” legally! We will need about another $5,000 before we
travel for this trip. Most people find out they are traveling within
days or hours of when they need to hop on a plane. Last week several
people found out their court date like 3 weeks ahead of time but from
what I've seen that is extremely unusual. The norm seems to be 2-3
days! That is from the time we get the call to when we hop on the
plane! We will have to contact our travel agent immediately to
arrange airfare! We will be there about a week & unfortunately
return to the U.S. WITHOUT THEM! According to Ethiopian Government
we are their parents but the US Embassy doesn't recognize that &
won't allow them in the US yet. They will do their own
investigation, medical clearance, etc. This process takes about 2-4
months. Then we will receive another call that they have been
cleared & come home! We will then return & bring them home
forever! We will need about another $5000 for that trip. So even
after we raise this current money we are still in need of $10,000+
but have no doubt that God will provide that as well!
For now we are still requesting
donations & lots of prayers! We have a Facebook-a-thon going on requesting people to spread the word to all of their friends & family to give just $5 or $10. We are still selling sheets! (If
you haven't checked these out, they really are amazing! I'm not just
saying that to get you to buy them) We are trying out a scarf
fundraiser. We have someone offering a great deal on a cut &
color gift certificate & sharing profit with us. We have had
many other ideas from people for fundraisers!
Ok, I think I've made you read enough
for now! Thank you all for your love & support for our family!
We can never show how truly grateful we are!
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