Next Steps

So, many people want to know what is coming next in the process so here you go. 

We are waiting for our PCR results to be received back to the US Embassy.  This is

the test to show whether or not our girls actually have HIV.  However I have heard

the results aren't always accurate so we will retest them when they come home 

regardless.  I did confirm that our test was done on July 15th so Monday would be 4  

weeks. Once that is done we will be submitted to Embassy the following Wednesday. 

The results could possibly come in on Monday based on other families timelines 

but could be a couple more weeks as there is no guarantee.  I am trying not to 

hang my hat on Monday but I can’t lie & say that I’m not!!!  (my fellow adoptive 

mommas understand the craziness that comes as you get closer & closer!!!)  I 

have done EXTREMELY well, considering, but it’s getting harder & harder as time 

goes on.  Once we are submitted to the US Embassy they will be in direct contact 

with us during the process from what I understand from other families.  There 

will be an initial intake process which could be a few days to a week+.  Then 

they will schedule our finder interview.  This is when the police officer from 

Adama will come to the Embassy & confirm the facts of our case.  Many people 

clear the same day as the finder interview.  This interview could be as early 

as 1 week after submission but it appears they have been booked up & delayed on 

this portion with the last couple groups of people.  Praying they will catch up 

when it’s our time so this last step will be quick!  I’m still counting on 

traveling the 1st week in September hopefully!!!  That will work out perfectly 

with time off of work with FMLA & will put me coming back to work right after 

Thanksgiving week.  If we travel sooner I will have to come back before 

Thanksgiving which will screw up our plans to travel to be with family & we 

will have to drive ALL night Wednesday night with 3 children & be super tired 

on Thanksgiving day.  Not so fun!!!   

We will be in country for about 4 days for Embassy & then travel a LONG 17 hours

from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to DC with 2 babies!!!  Ahhh!  That’s going to be a 

LONG flight!  Praying they sleep most of the time & that we will be able to get 

a bassinet on the plane.  I will fight someone to the death to get one!!!  (or they can

listen to 2 screaming babies, their choice!!!  haha  That way we can have one of them

in there & one on a lap & the other person can trade off resting. 

We want anyone & EVERYONE to come to our airport homecoming if possible!  We 

would love to have a TON of people there to welcome our girls home!  We have had SO

many people  supporting us physically, financially & prayerfully & they are a BIG part 

of this adoption!  We are going to try to make it so we arrive on a weekend if possible 

so more people can come!  I’ve never been to an airport homecoming before but I have 

heard they are AMAZING!  Unfortunately no one from our agency is from Cincinnati so 

I haven't gotten to go to any. :(  I have seen LOTS of pictures & love it!  We will keep you

updated of when we will arrive so you can make arrangements to be there!

We can't thank you all enough for your prayers & support!  Keep our girls in your prayer

for continued health in our absence!   

I can't wait to have them in my arms again!!!

I will leave you with another picture of our girls.

This is from 4 months ago in early April.  They have grown SO much!  So grateful for the care that they have received!!

They're OURS!!! (sorry for the delay)

Well this post is WAY overdue but we want to introduce to you....

Chelsea Ann Beiment (pernounced beh-meh-net) Lance

AND

Lillina "Lina" Dibora (pernounced Dee-bor-uh) Lance

We officially passed court on June 26th & they are legally ours!  Sorry for the delay in getting this posted!  We've had lots to do since being back & still have LOTS left to do!

They are absolutely amazing!  We love them so much!!!  They are so beautiful!  I can't wait until you all can meet them in person!  You will be in love too! 

We had an amazing time learning about their country while we were there.  We were able to visit the city they were from.  We spent a couple hours with them each day.  I could spend forever telling you every detail of the trip but that would take forever.  Instead how about I just show you pictures of them!!!

Had enough cuteness for one day????

So now what, now we are waiting for the PCR results to come back for HIV & then we can be submitted to the US Embassy.  They should hopefully be in next week!!!  Praying!  We can only be submitted on Wednesday's so the following Wednesday after the results come in we should be submitted.  We could clear in 1-8 weeks from then.  Praying for 1 week!  Praying to travel the 1st week of September & that airfare will go down some by then as it is OUTRAGEOUS right now!  More info to come on what will happen when we bring the girls home!  We definitely want to have a HUGE airport homecoming & would love for anyone & everyone to come!  We will be going into at least a partial hibernation for attachment but more to come on that later!

Court Date!!!

We FINALLY have our court date! June 26^th!!! Lord willing we will officially be deemed the parents of our daughters although they have been our children in our hears for 3 months now!

We will leave here THIS Thursday afternoon & arrive in Ethiopia Friday evening. (they are 7 hours ahead of us) We will get to meet our girls Saturday morning. I CAN'T wait! We don't know what all we will do while we're there. I know we will spend a few hours each day with our girls & will go around to various areas of the city/country. They like for you to experience Ethiopia as much as possible to be able to share with your children. Plus they don't want you spending TOO much time with your children so you don't get too attached & the children don't get attached & off their normal schedule since we will be leaving them. :( We requested to visit the hospital that our girls spent a few weeks in & their home town.

I'm also excited that there will be several other families there with us visiting their children. There is a Facebook group for families in our agency. We have all gone through so much together through this journey via Facebook & it will be great to meet some of them in person!

We will leave Ethiopia late Thursday evening June 27^th. It will be a HARD leaving our girls. The last 3 months have been hard but will be nothing compared to how hard it will be meeting our girls & then LEAVING them for 3-4 months! I am going to be a ball of emotions! Please bare with me during this time! We expect to bring them home around October. There are many steps that need to take place during court & Embassy. When we pass court they will legally be our children but the US doesn't recognize that so they have to do their part of the process. More to come on that part.

I have a LOT to get done between now & Thursday!

Thank you all for your prayers during this journey! They have been felt by us & God has definitely blessed us! Continue your prayers. Pray for us as we leave Jack on Thursday as I've not left him for more than 2 days. Pray for travel safety. Pray for us as we leave our girls. Pray for health & safety for our girls until we can bring them home. Pray for a quick Embassy process so we can bring them home FOREVER!

Countdown to PH & Money!

We're on our 1^st of many countdowns towards getting our girls home! Our Preliminary Hearing (PH) is set for this Friday May 31.  That's only 5 days! At this hearing they will review our girls' file & officially deam them orphans so they may be adopted. From what we've heard, no news is good news after this hearing. We will hopefully hear something 1-2 weeks after this with our travel date. We could have a few days notice or a few weeks. It varies. Also at or shortly after this hearing MOWA (who is like our children's service) will review OUR file & give their approval for us to adopt these precious girls. We are praying this goes smoothly & quickly. We are praying there are no problems, delays or follow up questions. Praying they do not have ANY issues with Jeremy's health & that they will simply look at the medical letter that says he is fit to parent & leave it at that, no additional questions. Will you commit to praying the same? We are praying that we will travel by the end of June. We can't wait to meet our girls. I can't wait to have them in my arms. To hug them & kiss them to pieces! I can't wait to see all their little features. Learn their personalities. But I am NOT looking forward to leaving them for 3-4 months. That will be the worst thing in my life! I'm trying not to think about that part.

Also just wanted to give a recap of our fundraising. God has provided non stop throughout this adoption. I could never have imagined that this would go as quickly & smoothly as it has. It seems like it's been forever but it's only been about a year since the very beginning & in the adoption world that is very quick. God has provided all of the money that we needed when we needed it! We got a $6,000 Grant from Show Hope the week before we got our referral. We just got a $7500 Grant from Gift of Adoption Fund last week in time for our travel! We only need about $1800 or so for the remainder of our adoption expenses. That is just amazing! Some of the costs are estimated & won't know for sure for a while but I have no doubt God will provide this money when we need it!

Thank you all for your love & support! I will try to keep you all updated. Also if you haven't been following since the beginning I do want to apologize for my writing skills. I am NOT a writer & never claim to be. I just want to keep you all up to date on our adoption. Thanks for baring with me!

Also if you didn't see it on Facebook, here's our girls cute feet! (I can't wait until I can post their faces on here!)

Chelsea is on the left & Lina is on right. 

Thermometer

Check out the thermometer to the right!!!  Yes it is correct!!!  We are almost there!  I will try to post more later but so many of you helped us so much in getting to where we are that I felt you needed to see that yes it IS making a difference!  Even if it was only a little bit.  It ALL adds up!

Amazon Fundraiser

How often do you buy off of Amazon?  We have set up an account so we can raise money for our adoption by your every day purchases from Amazon.  You can use your same account, buy the same things & pay the same price.  We just earn a small portion of your purchases for our adoption.  All you have to do is use the below link.  You can save it as a favorite or put it on your task bar so you don't forget about it when you go to buy.  Easy enough right?  We're not asking you to go buy something just to help us but if you're already going to buy something on Amazon you might as well use our link so it can help us bring our girls home.

Lance Amazon Fundraiser

Please share with others!  Every little bit helps!

Thanks!

Soap Fundraiser

We're trying out a new fundraiser.  A fellow adoptive mother started a business selling handmade soaps.  Most soap you buy in the store has lots of chemicals.  These are made with natural ingredients.

Haven Bath & Body uses natural ingredients including sustainable palm oil and local non-pasteurized honey. Haven Bath & Body currently features 3 soaps, Oats & Honey, Lavender & Cedarwood and Cocoa Butter. Each 4 – 4.5 oz. bar retails is $5 (plus shipping if not picking up).  I have a sample of each of these if you would like to see, feel or smell them!  They are also introducing a new Tea Tree Oil Soap but I do not have a sample of that. 

Oats & Honey is good for exfoliating & moisturizing.
Lavender & Cedarwood is relaxing & calming.  This would be good for baby's night time bath.
Cocoa Butter is very creamy & moisturizing.
Tea Tree Oil is good for skin conditions like Eczema.


I must order at least 9 bars at a time.  Once the order is placed it will take 3+ weeks as they are made to order.    I am planning on taking orders now through May 19th & then will re-evaluate if we will place additional orders.


If you have any questions on this soap, please let me know & I will find out for you.


UPDATE: Check out this article on why this type of soap is better than commercial soap.
http://www.gardenofbeauty.net/5-reasons-why-natural-handmade-soaps-are-better-than-commercial/