4 Months

Elias is 4 months old today! So, here are 4 things we love about Elias...

1) We love that you love to cuddle! So far we have talked to 3 people who have met you and everyone says you LOVE to snuggle. We can't wait!! Your Daddy and I have already talked about how long it will be before we finally stop arguing about whose turn it is to hold you.

2) We love your precious lips! When they are fully revealed you have the perfect pucker. We talk often about how excited we are to give you some smoochin'. In a lot of your pictures your bottom lip is covered. We think maybe you might like to suck on your bottom lip. It is super cute!

3) We love your beautiful eyelashes. We just got pictures yesterday and they really show off some long full eyelashes. They make your DEEP brown eyes even more intoxicating!

4) We love your round face! Your Daddy is so excited that you "look like him!" I love both by boys and their big round heads :) I bought you some hats and now I am wondering if they will even fit. Hmmm...it is so hard to tell how big you are from pictures.

We got some updated photos of Elias B. yesterday. We were so excited!!! I cried a little. Our baby is changing so much! We are so happy that we can at least see these changes through ocassional photos. We still haven't seen him smile and I am dying to see what that face looks like all lit up! I can't post photos but what I can tell you is we are dealing with a serious CUTIE!!! There is absolutely no bias here...all will agree he is adorable!

Congratulations to Bethany, Kami, and Melissa who all got their travel dates! December 7th!! Michelle and Jana we are praying for sweet reunions with your little ones on Monday!

Calling All Elves

Thanks to the future Mimi we are having a fundraiser to help us put a dent in the estimated $3800 we are currently short for travel expenses. The fact that we have come this far in the adoption debt free still amazes us. Thank you to all of you who have supported us through prayers and financial gifts. We truly could not have done this without you! When we first contemplated this adoption Brian's biggest concern was finances and I told him we would just have to go on faith with this one. This was a temporary role reversal for us as normally I am the one worrying about money. Anyway, God did not let us down and we thank you who were a part of that. If you're feeling guilty because that sentence didn't apply to you, NOW is your chance to redeem yourself (just kidding!).

My Mom has organized a fundraiser for us on Saturday December 13th. We will be working a gift wrapping booth at Walmart on Los Coches from 8am-8pm. Our booth will be just outside the exit doors. Here's what you can do to help:

1) Donate Supplies

• wrapping paper
• ribbon
• bows
• tissue paper
• gift bags
• shirt boxes
• tape

2) Work a Shift - no you don't have to be an expert gift wrapper. A so-so wrapper will do. So don't let that be your excuse! We are talking about Walmart in East County people so I can't imagine expectations will be that high. I am kind of kidding :) If you are thinking about being offended, don't be. I shop there too.

3) Come by the booth and let us wrap your gifts! (Although for you we will be expert wrappers and not just so-so wrappers).

News

Well we received news of our court date, December 31st! What a way to end 2008 :) We definitely have mixed emotions. We got a little more detail as to what happened to our baby boy's paperwork. Apparently his paperwork had to be authenticated and this "just took longer" for our son than for others. We are trying not to dwell on the fact that it took a couple months longer and are working on being grateful for what we have: 1) paperwork that is in order and 2) a court date. Christmas will be difficult. We started this process in January specifically so we wouldn't be in the exact position we are in. We didn't want to know who our baby was and yet be separated for our first holiday. Unfortunately, each step of this process has taken quite a bit longer than anticipated. We are hoping that the end of December means a better chance of passing court the first time around. Right now it is really hit and miss with our agency. If we don't pass the first time we will be rescheduled. Since the Ethiopian Christmas is in the beginning of January, we were told a rescheduled court date may be 6-8 weeks out.

God has really been working on our hearts and minds during this time of waiting. We have learned more about what it means to truly rely on God. We have felt God nudging us toward a new life direction. We aren't quite ready to publicly share the details but we can see how God is using the adoption to help move us in a direction that He wants us to go. I know this sounds cryptic and we will share more once we have some confirmation one way or another. Right now we are moving along on life direction A. We have felt God calling us to follow life direction B (which happens to be everything opposite of the current direction A). If we pass court on December 31st, we can already see how that would be perfect timing for us to continue pursuing life direction B. If we don't pass court on December 31st, it will absolutely close the door on pursuing life direction B at this time. That might just mean we misunderstood God's timing or He has something totally different in mind and pursuing direction B was just preparation.

What we are sure of is God did not create us to let our passions go to waste. God has given Brian and I similar goals, desires and dreams. These are very specifically and uniquely ours. He did not create us to be typical but to be passionate and to act with purpose. We know that God has the next 3 months and 3 years of our lives planned out. Despite this predetermined nature, we are supposed to present our requests to God. Please help us pray that we pass court on December 31st. We would love nothing more than to become parents in 2008!! Please also pray that God continues to show us His plan for us. We are ready and excited for direction B but we want to have open hearts if God has something different in store for us.

Baby Showers

So this post is really over-due but here are the photos of our baby showers. We had a great time and are very thankful to everyone who came to help us celebrate. Mom, Aunt Tammy, and Emily thank you so much for putting it all together. I asked for beautiful and that's exactly what we got. We are blessed!

Photo Tag

So I was tagged by Michelle. I am supposed to post the 4th photo in the 4th file on my computer and tell the story behind it.This is Lido who used to be our cat. He is laying in the laundry basket in between the two seats of the moving truck. His "twin brother" Frisco was the A.D.D. one of the two and never lied calmly in the laundry basket. At the time this photo was taken, Frisco was probably climbing up the back of my seat or trying to jump on the Brian's lap. When we moved "home" from Washington DC in May 2006, we brought along our boys - Frisco and Lido. We created a cat haven for them in our car which we towed behind us. Their litter box, food dishes, water and lots of blankets were in the car. We cracked the windows, locked the doors and after a few hours of ear piercing shrills they seemed to actually like it. Once we hit Arizona the heat got to be too much and the kitties had to come into the moving truck cab with us where they could stick their faces in the air conditioning. Things got a little wild but all-in-all it wasn't so bad. After 6 months back in SD we were having major problems with the kitties :( Frisco broke through screens to go outside (which isn't allowed in our condo complex). He had a special friend even though he was supposedly fixed. He would run away when we opened the door and pound his head against the windows trying to get out at all times of the day or night. Shortly after they ruined our very first set of non-hand-me-down couches we decided maybe it would be best for all of us to be animal-less. So, our kitties were adopted out and we specifically asked for a nice home where they could be indoor/outdoor cats. We do miss cuddling with Lido (Frisco never could stand still long enough to let you pet him) but soon we will have a baby who can lay on Brian's belly and watch t.v. with us! Don't worry we won't adopt out our son if he ruins the furniture or tries to sneak out the window to meet with a mystery girlfriend.

I don't feel like posting links so if you want to be tagged consider it done!

Good Bye Emily and an update

Emily left today to spend a year of her life in Ethiopia. You can check out her blog here. I am so excited for her. She is going on her own as a volunteer but will be working with Celebrate Children International in their transition house for a few months. She will then be heading to a number of orphanages outside of Addis and staying at each for a few weeks or months. I have really loved having her home since she finished school and will miss her tons. I can't wait to hear all her stories though, and what God is doing in her life and in Ethiopia. (These pictures are from our graduation celebration NYC trip a couple weeks ago. And yes, the unrecognizable dark blob to the left of my Mom's banana split really is Sandra Bullock (gasp!).News on the adoption front:
I spoke with our case manager yesterday and was told she has not yet been able to get ahold of the HH director but is hoping to touch base today. We should hear more details as to what is going on with our case and what is being done to fix the problems by the end of the week. We have also learned that the previous photo misunderstanding may, in fact, be correct and all of us are more or less waiting for confirmation that other traveling families will no longer be allowed to take photos for us. I have not lost all hope yet as we haven't heard any of this from AGCI directly but we are fairly certain this will be the case. Since AGCI doesn't do child updates or photos until just weeks before travel this could mean an even more difficult next few months. We will see. We were very blessed though to hear from 2 families who traveled about our baby boy. Here is what we heard:

Hey Autumn, I held your little one in Ethiopia! He is so sweet and so very small still. He is getting better head control and loves to be held. He did NOT appreciate being put down :) He just stares into your eyes and is waiting for you to snuggle and hold him! It was such a pleasure to see him. He still looks like the picture you have just a little more filled out with a slightly rounder face. Sorry I was not able to take pics... Thank you again for the honor of holding your baby! -Connie

I did get to see B. He seemed really little and is super cute! I saw him outside in the courtyard the last day (Doug escorted us over). Most of the time he was sleeping, but he seemed like a very content and happy baby when he woke up. -Kendra

Thank you so much Connie and Kendra for taking notes on Elias B. These few sentences are so helpful during this temporary separation. After reading these updates Brian let me know he is ready to snuggle!

Prayers and Praises

Congratulations Cosgrove Family on bringing Maleia home! Their homecoming video is great! Congratulations to Michelle & Michael and Jana & Rob who all legally became parents (again) on 11/3! They will be traveling in a matter of days. CB & Shannon, Melissa, Kami & Eddie, and Bethany & Aaron we are praying for favorable outcomes for your court cases this week.