Sharing the Rest of the Story...Part 2

In case you missed it, you can catch up on Part 1 here...again, all parts are very detailed =)

We woke up Wednesday without hearing from the embassy, but knew that sometimes it took another day before the All-Important Email is sent.  That day we just needed to hear from our agency that the interview had happened and all was well.  It wasn't unreasonable to expect to hear pretty early in the morning, but morning came and went without word.  It was a loooong morning to say the least!  Finally around 3pm I got a call from our agency rep letting me know that the important person in our case did make it to the embassy for the appointment, BUT that the embassy rescheduled the appointment for the next day so a new translator could accompany them.  W H A T???

The interview was rescheduled for 2:30 pm, and because it was so late in the day we were concerned that we might not hear (yet again) from the embassy the same day.  Still, I slept light and woke up every hour or so to check my phone in the middle of the night hoping the email would come!  We only had a couple of days left before we were scheduled to leave for Ethiopia, so we were officially IN crunch time.  Wed night/ Thurs morning came and went with no email- UGH!  So, we waited again to hear from our agency about the interview.  Around mid-morning we got a call that the interview happened (with the new translator) and went well- we were happy to hear this for sure!  This was my last day at work until our trip so I was busy getting everything set to be away.  Even with the news that the interview went well, we still needed embassy clearance to travel, so my mind wasn't totally at rest.  Trace and I were busy that night getting ready, and I went to bed just SURE the email would come and Friday would be my joyous preparation day to get things ready to FINALLY.BRING. MY. SON. HOME!

On Fridays in Ethiopia the embassy is only open a half day, so I expected to get the email anytime from 11pm Thurs night to 4am Fri morning.  I stayed up until about midnight, then decided to try and get some rest since I still hadn't heard anything.  I woke up around 2am to check my phone- still nothing. Now I was officially nervous.  Only and hour or two left before the embassy would be closed for the weekend!  I pretty much stayed awake until 4 am constantly checking my phone...to no avail. The email never came.  In despair I tried to go back to sleep.

In the morning Trace got up to get ready for work before I did.  Once the reality of the situation hit me- that we were NOT cleared by the embassy and our flight was scheduled to leave the very next day- I cried.  I cried harder than I had in a very long time.  No one from our agency had trouble with the embassy clearance if the interview went well, so we just couldn't understand what happened!  We had booked changeable/ refundable tickets but with 3 work days in the week when the (first) interview was scheduled we expected to know (one way or the other) whether our case had passed or whether there was trouble and have plenty of time to change our tickets if needed.  Since we didn't hear anything either way we didn't know what was happening and essentially had to decide what to do!  Should we go to Ethiopia without clearance???  We thought everything was OK and the embassy just didn't get around to sending the email, but then there was also the risk that something was wrong with our case and we would possibly have to extend our trip.  After Trace went to work I honestly wallowed for a while in the travesty of the situation.  In my mind at that time, THIS WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!  We had already been through so much and this was supposed to be the "easy" part!  My joyous preparation day was out the window!

I texted a few people and asked for prayer- I couldn't think straight and didn't have peace about going OR staying.   After three nights of little sleep and a very emotional morning I decided that I needed to take a nap- I wasn't being very productive anyway.  After my nap, I felt more rested and the same thought that I'd had for the past several weeks filled my mind, "it's TIME, Simmie needs to be with us as soon as possible."  That was it for me!  When Trace and I talked he wanted me to pray and seek the Lord for myself so I would be sure of His voice instead of just relying on Trace to make the decision.  Once I did and realized it was time, that was it, and I was ready to get busy!  Trace and I agreed and decided that even though we didn't know what was going to happen we would be in Ethiopia with our son.  So off we went...

Sharing the Rest of the Story...Part 1

So, hi there.  You probably thought this poor, neglected little blog was a thing of the past, and to tell you the truth, some days I thought it just might be.  Then I realized that even if no one else cares I want to document the details of the last part of our adoption journey to bring Simmie home.  And these posts will be filled with lots of details.

So here it goes- in several parts mind you.  My days are filled in a different sort of way now, and blogging is definitely not a top priority.

However, this is a pretty great story, and again, if no one else reads it, someday I will be happy that I took the time to write it....

                                **********************************************

We passed court to become Simmie's parents during our first trip to Ethiopia on July 30th.  At that time is was becoming typical for families to expect to travel for their second trip to appear before the US embassy in 6-8 weeks.  Of course we were hoping for closer to 6, making it mid- September when we could return to pick up our son.  We actually did great the first month we were home, and then we began to miss him more and more everyday.  The baby showers began in late August and they found me sharing about his personality and how much we adored him.  The gifts we received and the baby "gear" we were collecting started taking over the house.  I had to get serious about decorating the nursery.  All the preparations highlighted the obvious- he wasn't home yet, and we didn't quite know when we would be.

The weeks kept piling up and the delays in getting our case to the embassy (so we could obtain the all-important visa to bring him to the U.S.) were adding up.  The prime minister of Ethiopia died, so the medical clinic was closed the day Simmie was scheduled to have his last exam for the embassy- so it had to be rescheduled.  Then once that paperwork was ready to be submitted the day our agency is assigned to appear (once a week) the embassy was closed (unannounced) for New Years Eve (New Years is Sept 11th in Ethiopia).  They were able to submit the paperwork a few days later, and we *thought* everything was OK, but when 3 working days (including a dreaded weekend) went by without word from the embassy we inquired about whether things were alright and found out that the embassy was requesting copies of our visas.  By this time we'd lost almost 2 weeks- UGH!  Once the visa copies were received we DID hear from the embassy via email stating that they were reviewing our case and would be in touch!  A couple of days later we received another email from them saying that they were requesting an interview with a key person in our case and it was set for 2.5 weeks away.  We were expecting the interview to be requested but were hoping it would be sooner than this.  The slight disappointment gave way to excitement since this meant that immediately after the interview our case should be complete and we would be CLEARED to travel and go get Simmie!

The interview was scheduled for Oct 10th, and we thought we would likely hear from the embassy that day or the next about our case.  This was to be the FINAL hurdle in our adoption!  We looked at flight options and decided to book changeable/ refundable tickets because even if things didn't go well and the interview needed to be rescheduled there would be three work days to do so between the interview and our desired flight that Sat. the 13th.  So, we focused on finishing up our fundraising, getting things set at work, and preparation to become parents in those two weeks leading up to the embassy interview.  We packed, and incessantly talked about how we couldn't wait to finally GO. GET. OUR. SON!  Anticipation for heading back to Ethiopia and getting ready filled our thoughts because the interview was just a formality. Right?!?

During the day on the 9th I anxiously waited to hear the news that the person to be interviewed in our case had arrived in the capital of Addis Ababa and was ready to head to the embassy the next morning.  Instead we found out that they did not make it to the city (as planned) but would be sure to be at the embassy and meet our staff representative at 7:30am the next morning.  This was not what we had hoped to hear, but we had to trust that all would be well and they would make it there as promised.  Since the time zone in Ethiopia is 8 hours ahead of CST where we live, the interview was scheduled to take place at approx 11pm on Oct 9th our time.  We prayed and that it would go smoothly and rallied many of our family and friends to join us in this request.  I was anticipating hearing via email from the embassy as early as that night, so I woke up several times throughout the night and checked my phone for the email we'd waited to receive for almost three years- the email that essentially said "all is well, come to Ethiopia to pick up your son!"  That night the email did not come...

To be continued...

What's In a Name???

It's getting close now!  We are in the final part of the process to bring our son home from Ethiopia!!!  We are busy getting ready, things like putting his nursery together, deep cleaning the house, washing all the baby stuff (who knew that would be a big project?) and such.  Once his nursery is done I'll share it on the blog for those that care!

By far, the thing we do the most is think about and pray for our son, and dream about what life will be like when we bring him home. 

I thought that it might be fun to share with you Simmie's full name and how we came to decide on each part of it. 

His full name is Simeon Trace Nazerawi Jones. 

Simeon:  About 4 years ago Trace strongly felt that the Lord gave him the name Simeon for our first son.  When he told me this, I wasn't immediately certain about it, but I decided to research the meaning of the name at a later time.   I did finally look up the name to discover that is means "God Heard" and KNEW it was the right name!  At that point we hadn't even begun the serious infertility treatment let alone prayed about adoption, and I assumed it meant that God heard the cry of our hearts to be parents.  Now, I believe it means much more.  I feel that "God Heard" means that He heard the cry of Simeon's heart to have a family, the cry of his birth family's heart for him to have a future, as well as the cry of our hearts to have children.  It feels so complete and perfect to me now.

Trace: It is really important to Trace for his sons to have his name.  Many of you know that his "real" name is Morgan, but to most everyone- including me, he is Trace.  When we thought and prayed about whether he was Simeon Trace or Simeon Morgan, we both agreed that Trace was "it".  I love that our son will have a part of his father's name grafted into his own!

Nazerawi: This is his Ethiopian given name and we want him to keep it as an important part of his beginnings.  We searched for a while to no avail to find out the meaning of this name.  Even while we were in Ethiopia on our first trip we asked if people knew of it's origin, and were told it was in the Bible!  At least 3 people told me it came from the Bible- the Old Testament- and was not an Ethiopian name originally.  I searched even more but could not figure it out!  I decided to enlist some help and asked my sister-in-law Terri to help search.  About a week later I received a call from Terri and she told me that through her efforts she *is pretty sure* she found the meaning!  All that she found pointed back to the word "Nazrai" (incidentally our son's nickname given by his nannies in Ethiopia!) also translated Nazarite.  Nazarite means "Set Apart"!  I totally got chills when she shared this- how amazing would it be?!? 

Jones:  Um, this is our last name, so YAY! he will be a JONES!!!

We never thought we were the two middle names type- but this fits so beautifully that we are excited how it came together!  God is faithful and we are so thankful that we will be bringing our son home soon!

Keepin' It Real

So, lately on the blog I've definitely been focusing on the excitement of Simmie coming home "soon", but I haven't really touched on the hard parts of what we experience at times.

And believe me, some moments are H A R D!!!

The whole adoption process is not natural in itself, but on top of that to meet your child (and hear them declared legally yours) and then fly back home across the world actually feels a lot like ripping your heart in half sometimes.  I really do feel like Simmie is my son, and I don't like that I am missing  bath times, play time, cuddling him to sleep and watching him grow.  Frankly, I'm over this waiting-for-Embassy-to-clear-him stuff!

For the most part we are doing well- patient even, but as the weeks have gone on we've begun to notice his absence more and more.  There is a giant hole missing in our family.  It might be a little weird to plan so much around a child that isn't present.  I feel like everything I do outside of work is either: A) to get him home (fundraisers, paperwork etc.) or B) preparation for him being home (nursery set up, getting the house ready, errands that I can't imagine doing as a new parent etc.)  We plan our time and spend our energy (and money) on all things pertaining to Simmie...but he isn't here yet. 

I've heard more times than I can count, "How did you leave him in Ethiopia???"  Sometimes I wonder this myself. The reality is that I knew it was part of the process and that I HAD to leave him in order to get back to him sooner.  That "sooner" has stretched out longer than I imagined/ hoped it would, and now every day the process doesn't move forward feels like a week. 

Why do I tell you this when 90% of the time I am simply THRILLED that we are close to bringing him home?  I wanted to share this, because it's honest and the reality we are walking through right now.

Tonight while we sleep our agency is going to be submitting our case to the US Embassy in Ethiopia.  Will you pray with us that our file is complete and accepted right away?  Once this happens the final steps of the process will be set in motion.  We are so close, yet we could still encounter bumps that could delay his homecoming. We are praying everything goes smoothly so we can bring this Sweetie home SOON!

Seriously- if you had this Cutie waiting to be picked up wouldn't you be a little batty right now too???

"Hi Mommy!"

[Concentrating]

"Victory!!!"

 

Puzzle Update #3

I think it's time for a little pre-Labor-Day-Weekend update!  We are 10 days into our Puzzle Fundraiser to finish out raising the money needed to bring Simmie home and are past the half way mark at exactly 60% complete!!!   We are AMAZED and so THANKFUL!

Here is the progress at is stands right now:

Where we were on August 27th:

Where we were August 23rd:

YAY for progress!!!

HOW IT WORKS:

• Each puzzle piece costs $10, and you can choose any number of them to buy. Even 1 is a huge blessing for us!
• There are 252 pieces in this puzzle bringing the total to $2,520 when they all sell!
• We had two identical puzzles made, so the first one will be sent out to those that "bought" a piece. Yes, we are going to mail you the puzzle piece you bought so you can remember that you are really part of bringing Simmie home!
• The second puzzle is going to be put together as the pieces are bought, and we are going to write the name of the person/ family that purchased them on the back so we will always have the memory of who helped be the last pieces of the puzzle to get Simmie here! This puzzle will ultimately be framed and put up in his room.
• We plan on updating our blog every few days with the progress of the puzzle so everyone can see how it's coming together.

You can buy puzzle pieces in one of two ways:

1- The PayPal button on the top right hand side of our blog is a fast and easy way!

2- We also have an account set up with Helping Hands Ministries, and they offer a tax-deductible receipt for any donations to our adoption account. To donate this way go to Helping Hands Ministries site and under "Project Category" select "Adoption" and then under "Project" select Morgan and Randee Jones (yes, Trace is Morgan =) Once our fundraiser is over a check will be sent directly to our agency with the funds raised through Helping Hands. The important thing to remember if you choose to make a donation this way is to email us letting us know so we can get your address and send the puzzle pieces to you!

Whether you are able to buy any puzzle pieces or not, we ask for your prayers! We are truly in the home stretch of getting everything ready to bring our son home and appreciate your prayers as we move closer and closer to that wonderful day!

The Home Stretch

It still AMAZES me that we are so close to bringing our sweet son HOME forever!!!  Ever since his referral I feel like we've been going non-stop with planning, preparation in various forms, and doing what we can to wrap up "loose ends" so we are ready for his homecoming.

One particular area that has been in the forefront of our minds and a main focus is gathering all that is needed to completely fund our adoption.  You see, we have been working as diligently as we possible could to save and raise the money needed for this adoption, but several curve balls were thrown our way during the last 2 years.

1.  Curve ball #1- when our adoption from Ethiopia was delayed in Feb we began to pursue other paths at the recommendation of our agency.  We ended up spending around $1,500 updating our home study and getting things ready to work with other agencies.  Obviously we are thrilled that our ET adoption came back around- just not as thrilled with spending the money when we could sure use it now!

2- MAJOR Curve ball #2- when we began our adoption we were given a fee list of pretty much all the expenses we should expect to pay over the course of our adoption- some of these were agency specific and some were fees we'd pay to the US government and for travel and so on.  Then, again in Feb of 2012 we were sent a revision to the fee schedule INCREASING the required fees by over $7,800!  You better believe we asked a lot of questions (aka 3 phone calls) to get clarification on the reasoning behind this.  After many questions, we could see the need to increase some fees, but it was still so frustrating that we fell under the new fee schedule even though we'd been in the program so long.  [We do not suspect any fraud on the side of our agency- if you have any questions please feel free to contact me.]

THE GOOD NEWS is that even in the midst of the crazy curve balls the Lord has been steadily providing for our adoption needs!  To date we've held seven yards sales, and had a very successful raffle fundraiser about 1.5 years ago.  Other money has come in through generous people, our personal savings, a scholarship, and a few other pretty awesome ways!  We feel His hand on us as we've been plugging away over the past 2.5 years.

BUT NOW WE'RE IN THE HOME STRETCH BECAUSE SIMMIE IS GETTING READY TO COME HOME!!!

We've crunched the numbers and have done our best to figure out what exactly is needed to complete this part of his adoption and bring him home.  After one last yard sale, and a few others things we already have in the works- it looks like $2,500 should do it!  We even got airline ticket quotes, so unless those go up significantly between now and when we book this should be all that we need!

Now, $2,500 is not a super tiny number but it COULD BE if we had a bunch of people rally behind us and get involved.  A long time ago we had an idea to do a PUZZLE FUNDRAISER that would earn about $2,500, so that's what we are doing!


HOW IT WORKS:

• Each puzzle piece costs $10, and you can choose any number of them to buy.  Even 1 is a huge blessing for us! 
• There are 252 pieces in this puzzle bringing the total to $2,520 when they all sell!
• We had two identical puzzles made, so the first one will be sent out to those that "bought" a piece.  Yes, we are going to mail you the puzzle piece you bought so you can remember that you are really part of bringing Simmie home!
• The second puzzle is going to be put together as the pieces are bought, and we are going to write the name of the person/ family that purchased them on the back so we will always have the memory of who helped be the last pieces of the puzzle to get Simmie here!  This puzzle will ultimately be framed and put up in his room.
• We plan on updating our blog every few days with the progress of the puzzle so everyone can see how it's coming together.

You can buy puzzle pieces in one of two ways:

1- The PayPal button on the top right hand side of our blog is a fast and easy way!

2- We also have an account set up with Helping Hands Ministries, and they offer a tax-deductible receipt for any donations to our adoption account.  To donate this way go to Helping Hands Ministries site and under "Project Category" select "Adoption" and then under "Project" select Morgan and Randee Jones (yes, Trace is Morgan =)  Once our fundraiser is over a check will be sent directly to our agency with the funds raised through Helping Hands.  The important thing to remember if you choose to make a donation this way is to email us letting us know so we can get your address and send the puzzle pieces to you!

Whether you are able to buy any puzzle pieces or not, we ask for your prayers!  We are truly in the home stretch of getting everything ready to bring our son home and appreciate your prayers as we move closer and closer to that wonderful day!

Ethiopia First Trip Scoop

Oh my, where to start????

Perhaps I'll start right after our referral since I haven't shared much since then.  Just a warning- this is a looong post, so if details are your thing I got you covered...

We first saw the picture of our son on June 21st- what an incredible day that was and we documented it here!  From that day forward it was a rush to get submitted to court so we would have a possibility of receiving a court date before the impending rainy season court closure.  Yup, court CLOSURE.  For up to 2 months.  You better believe we were praying like crazy [and asked many of you to join us!] and we followed up with our agency regularly just to make sure our case was on their radar.  We finally got news on July 13th [incidentally the anniversary of our engagement] that our court date was scheduled for JULY 30TH!  PRAISE THE LORD!!!  Honestly, after every setback and delay, this felt like an absolute miracle and we were thrilled.

(Fast forward through the frantic preparation to get there...)

We arrived in Ethiopia Friday night the 27th pretty late.  Our plane landed around 9pm, and by the time we got through immigration, exchanged money, located our luggage, and found our ride, it was close to 10:30 already.  The 22 hours of flight time plus 7 more of layovers contributed to a very sleepy Trace and Randee.  We slept fabulously that night even though the next day we would meet Simmie for the first time.  At this point everything felt surreal.  We were excited and thankful but it didn't feel "real"- like what we had been praying for and dreaming of for years was finally happening. 

Sat morning came and I nervously got ready.  I couldn't believe THIS was the day I'd been waiting on for so long!  The guest home we stayed in provided breakfast so we headed down there to try and eat.  It was there that I discovered one of my favorite things about Ethiopia- the amazing coffee!  I ordered a macchiato and Trace ordered a cappucchino.  That's right, my never-drinking-hot-drinks husband ventured out and ordered coffee!  I was so proud =)  We had a great breakfast and waited for our ride to come pick us up to take us to the transition home.

Finally the time came to go to the home where our little guy lived!  When we arrived we walked into a downstairs sitting room that was empty.  In a few minutes we were ushered upstairs to go to the baby room, but on the way the ADORABLE toddlers and older kids found us and "hi's" and hugs began.  [I had seen many of these kids in pictures before, but seeing them in person was thrilling!  They are super precious and it was a blessing to get to love on them during our time in Ethiopia.]  Even though we had a beautiful 'detour' we made it to Simmie's room pretty quickly, and OH MY how wonderful it was to finally hold our sweet son!!!

Trace captured me seeing Simmie for the first time on video, and I'm so thankful because that time is really priceless.  I don't think words can describe the pure joy I felt in holding and kissing him for the first time.  This picture above probably shows a bit of that [even though I'm smiling so big it appears I have no eyes...]  Simmie is even more beautiful, sweet and perfect than we ever could have dreamed he would be.  Every day I spent with him I was in awe that we would be entrusted with such a special baby.

This day was incredible.  We started to get to know a little about his personality [laid back] and discovered that he loves to be held and cuddled.  We took turns holding him making an effort to prefer each other as we each assumed the other was dying to hold our sweet boy.  Trace was amazing and deferred to me a lot.  Even though I treasured every moment I held him there was something indescribably special about seeing Trace with his long prayed for son.  Here is one of my favorite pics of this.

On Sunday another couple with our agency arrived to meet their baby girl and for court.  It was fun to get to know, and spend time with them as we visited our kiddos, ate our meals, and shopped that week.  It blesses me to see how God leads families with different backgrounds and stories to adopt and change an orphan into a son or daughter!

The next BIG day was Monday when we were scheduled for court!  The four of us were surprisingly relaxed as we had breakfast and headed over to meet our lawyer at the courthouse that morning.  We followed him into an elevator and walked into a room where lots of other people were sitting quietly.  There were lots of white faces [adopting couples] as well as brown faces [lawyers or other Ethiopians there for family court] and we found some seats and settled in to wait our turn.  [side note:  in the court room I met a woman whose blog I had been following for over a year!  She and her husband were adopting their second child from Ethiopia.  It was another surreal experience!]  My nerves were more excitement at this point as we fully expected everything to go well.

After a pretty short wait we were ushered into the room where the judge was along with the other couple from our agency and our lawyer.  The judge spoke to a clerk and our lawyer back and forth in Amharic and kept saying our son's name.  The problem was that she wasn't saying the other baby's name nearly as much AND she didn't look particularly happy.  We were told our file wasn't on her desk at it should be and someone went to search for it. That is when we started getting nervous!  We chatted with the judge and waited  for a really loooonnnggg 5-7 mins.  She is a very nice woman =)  Anyway, the clerk came back in and after she located our file- HALLELUJAH!  After that it went pretty quickly as she asked a few questions and then said that our file was complete and asked if we understood that when she rules that the adoption is final and cannot be undone?  We emphatically said "YES!" [although not that loudly] and we were done! 

With the essential reason for the trip completed successfully, we couldn't wait to go back to the transition home and see Simmie!  I got to feed him a bottle for the first time and I'm certain I cared a lot more about that than he did =)  For me, I think this was the day when it all clicked and it felt "real".   I'm not sure if there was something spiritual about passing court and hearing the words "he is yours", but I think maybe there was.

First feeding

Trace getting some cuddle time after we passed court

We had more special times with Simmie that week, but this post is getting quite long!  There is much more I'd like to share about Ethiopia and our trip, but I'll save that for another day.

To try and sum up so many aspects of this trip, I can honestly say that JOY is the word I would use.  We felt peace the first time we saw his picture, and now having seen and held him we both feel so blessed that we have the privilege of being his parents!

[Stay tuned for an update on when we get to bring him home for good!]

Cuteness Personified

Here is the debut of our son Simeon, but I will be calling him Simmie!  

OK- I might be a weeeeeee bit biased, but I think our little guy is pretty much the most beautiful baby in the world!  Being that we had no role in his genetics, perhaps I can say this more boldly than most parents- but I know they all think it of their own =)

And because I know that more than anything else you just want to see pictures of him- here you go!  These are some of my favorites from our first trip to meet him and legally become his parents.  I will post the details of the story in a few days.

Enjoy!

Holding my baby for the first time!

Dad with Simmie for the first time.

Can you tell that I'm a little happy?

Simmie's first football.  This was a precious moment of Trace just taking him in.

FAMILY PICTURE!!!

Giving him a tiger- he liked it!

Right after we passed court!  MY baby from now on.  Such a good day!

The day we passed court.  

Simmie was sick most of the time we were there so we got lots of cuddle time.    Such a sweet baby boy.

Like father, like son =)

Cutest little Cowboys fan =)

Finally some good smiles!

Melt my heart!

We couldn't get enough kisses in!

SURPRISE!!! Everything is Changing...Again

[This is what we were thinking in April as we found out that our adoption journey had turned yet another corner...]

So, I am writing this on May 9th knowing that I will not publish it until after we announce (God willing soon!!!) that we have accepted a referral from ETHIOPIA!  Yup- Ethiopia.  Even as I sit here I can barely believe that is a very real possibility at this moment.  You see, we just recently found out that there are children in our age range and gender preference AT THE HOME in Ethiopia!  They arrived very recently and unexpectedly (to us), but oh what a welcome surprise that news has been =)  Right now the children are getting medical exams and final paperwork translated so the staff can match them with families!!!  They will be looking at all the "details" and then praying about what child should be matched with what family- talk about amazing!  Needless to say we are praying a whole lot for wisdom and discernment for our agency staff right now...

It was exactly 3 months ago today that we were told that Ethiopia no longer looked like an option for our first adoption.  We were devastated, but since it was beyond our control we knew we had to seek the Lord for direction.  We haven't talked about it on this blog, but after much research, discussion, and prayer we felt we should start down the path with domestic infant adoption. 

The night/ day differences between international Ethiopia adoption and US infant adoption nearly drove me batty!  Preparation of the heart and mind (not to mention the stuff you need!) is so different that I struggled to reconcile the transition in my heart.  Even still we began working on updating our homestudy to include domestic adoption...and more paperwork.  I will say (patting myself on the back a teeny bit) that Trace and I have become VERY good at gathering paperwork over the past 2 years!  We owned it and often had each "stage" of paperwork complete in 2-3 days.  After 15 months it actually felt good to be DOING something other than just waiting!  Once the paperwork was complete we reached the final {dreaded} stage of putting together a profile book.  This book threatened to push me over the edge!  How do you convey...in a book...who you are and what is important to you in hopes that a potential birthmother will choose you to parent her precious baby?!?  This book took much longer to compile than any paperwork ever could.  It was personal, honest and heartfelt.  We got some feedback and the consensus was that it did indeed reflect us- so we got 4 copies of it printed.  As of today 3 of those copies reside with two different domestic adoption agencies waiting to be shown to potential birthmothers (we kept one for ourselves).  As soon as we have our referral call we will contact both agencies and ask them to take us off their waiting list. 

Even today as we wait with expectation (and a surprising amount of patience!) we talk and pray about "meeting" our son when we see his first pictures and hear about his story.  We hope it will be a matter of days and not long weeks or months before we are able to share our happy news!

Officially Expecting From Ethoipia!!!

 BIG does not even feel large enough to describe our announcement, but here it is...

WE HAVE ACCEPTED THE REFERRAL OF A GORGEOUS BABY BOY FROM ETHIOPIA!!!

I will save more of the "back story" of how this came to be for another day, but you can surely bet that we are experiencing joy unspeakable as we look at the face of the baby that will become our son!  We feel blessed that the Lord would choose us to parent this precious boy for the rest of our lives.


How did we "meet" our son you ask????


So, Thursday June 21st is the day that we saw pictures of Baby "S"(as we will refer to him on our blog) for the first time.  The emails came through while we were still at work that day, but we decided long ago that is was essential that we were together at the all important moment when we looked at his face.  I know as I was driving home, I was trying to hard to focus and not get into an accident!  I arrived home to discover that Trace had already set up our computer station, which consisted of two laptops- one to read the emails, and one to capture the moment.  The time was FINALLY HERE!!!  


What we found upon opening those files was the most beautiful and perfect little baby boy we could have dreamed up.  Honestly, although we know we are biased, he is gorgeous and if you see us ask to see his pictures- we have them with us at all times!  There was immediate joy and peace in seeing his face, and the deep feeling that this was a sacred moment.  More than relief at finally clearing a hurdle, but more like a long-awaited promise taking on a face and starting to be fulfilled.  There are few such moments like this in a life time.


So what did we do???  Celebrate of course!!!


Trace declared that we needed to go have Ethiopian food to celebrate...in Dallas.  So away we went!  

Starbucks stop halfway between our house and Dallas!

Drinking some celebratory mango juice while holding up Baby "S" picture (and sorry we can't show it yet!) 

After 2 years, 4 months, and 6 days into our adoption it feels like a true miracle to finally know about the little guy we have been waiting for.  You see,  Baby "S" is just 4-6 months old, so he was not around in any way when we got on the waiting list almost 20 months ago!  Let THAT sink in.  I am in awe at our God who knew we should endure a longer wait in order that just the right child would come into our family!  

Thank you to those that have encouraged, stood, cried and prayed with us the past 2 years.  This journey to Baby "S" still will (most likely) have some bumps, but now that we know where the road is leading we will joyfully move forward!

Tangible Love, My Coffee Ceremony Story...

This precious, almost sacred day happened long ago- January 28th to be exact.  I haven't been able to share it before now for a several reasons.  I wanted to share it right after it happened- but my heart was so full I had a hard time putting into words how unbelievably special it was to me.  We were in the middle of a long, hard wait and this was life to my very soul.  Then, two weeks after this day and before I was finished with the post we received the news that our adoption from Ethiopia was stalled- most likely not going to happen, and this happy, joyful recount didn't quite seem appropriate anymore.  Now, two months after our difficult news I want to share this because it impacted me so profoundly, and even served to comfort me when we found out the sad news about our Ethiopia adoption. 

God used this to prepare me in a way.  He used it to show me that He was thinking of me- that He loved me.  There have been many times over the past 8 years that I've felt forgotten, abandoned, or even like an outcast in my struggle with infertility.  With each disappointment, set back, and failure, these emotions rear their ugly heads.  But THIS time, there was a tangible reminder that He DOES see me and care for me, and it made such a difference. 

(the below was written before we found out that our Ethiopia adoption was probably not going to happen- so this was my perspective right after that wonderful day...)
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Saturday, January 28th I received an unexpected blessing.  A blessing that caused me to feel God's love in a more tangible way than I have in a long time.

Allow me first to share the back story...

Friday, January 27th marked 15 months since Trace and I were placed on the waiting list to be matched with a child.  15 months is double what we originally anticipated when we started in the Ethiopia program, so   needless to say, this is not a happy anniversary.  We had received some hopeful news in the beginning of December that "things" were starting to fall into place, but the lack of discernible movement two months later was taking its toll, and we were becoming weary again.

Knowing this, and having just adopted a little boy after a very long wait, my sweet friend Charlsie planned a time for us to get together so she could bless and encourage me.  That's all I knew.  We scheduled our "date" almost a month out, and there was talk of breakfast.  She asked me to pick her up due to company in town- no big deal, I was just happy we could spend time together!  About a week out I almost had to cancel due to an office relocation for my job, but I was determined to do everything possible to make this time work because our time together was rare and precious.  I had a stressful, very busy week as I orchestrated our office relocation, AND our puppy came to us a week earlier than we anticipated- right in the middle of it! 

Saturday finally came, and as I was getting ready I realized I had no idea what we were doing!  Usually I really like to plan (ask Trace, I am always asking him to make plans well ahead of time!) but my week was so busy that I hadn't asked.  As I left to pick up Charlsie I told Trace that I had no idea what we were doing or how long I'd be gone- see ya later!

When I arrived at Charlsie's home she greeted me with a hug and asked me to come in because she had a "little surprise" for me!  Even more than plans I LOVE surprises, so no matter what it was I knew it would be great!  She lead me to her backyard and opened the door to this...

Charlsie with the help of her dear friend Marla, transformed her backyard into the setting for an authentic Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony!!!  She planned and executed the details beautifully and invited several of my special friends to come to encourage and bless me! The first person I saw was my dear friend Ashley all the way from Tulsa, OK and I just about fell over!!!  Then I saw Alisa, Peg and Patty as well and the whole thing was so surreal- I felt like I was floating!  Here are a few pictures of my amazing surprise.

But even before I understood what was happening, I saw these beautiful woman standing there...



I simply LOVE the expressions on all their faces!

To say that I was surprised was an UNDERstatement!  Many of these woman didn't even know each other prior to driving up Charlsie's house that morning.  There are all precious women to me and from different areas of my life- I couldn't believe they were all together...for me!



 Ashley drove all the way (that morning!) from Tulsa OK to be there!!!  When I saw her I think I kept saying "how are you here?!?"  Pure amazement!

I hugged each woman and was filled with raw emotion- joy, love, surprise and wonder!  It really felt that a dream that was too good to be true.  I included the below picture so you can see a tiny bit of how I looked in this moment.



Hugging my friend Peg- not pretty, just keepin it real!

After the shock wore off a tiny bit, I think I was thanking everyone for coming, and tried to verbalize what this meant to me...

Next to me is sweet, amazing Charlise (left) and Ashley (right).

We settled in to our seats on blankets so we could start the "ceremony". Charlsie and Marla shared what the ceremony was, how it was done and began serving the coffee.  I mentioned this was authentic, because the coffee we had actually did come from Ethiopia!  Marla and her husband just brought their daughter home from Ethiopia last Oct, so she actually prepared the coffee beans for us and mixed them with the traditional spices she got while there!  I'm telling you it was A M A Z I N G!  Delicious and fun =)

Next, Charlsie initiated a time of prayer over me.  It was such a beautiful and powerful time, as I felt the Lord encouraging me and strengthening my heart.  It was literally like life was being poured into me and joy was being renewed.  In that moment I felt the Lord showing me that He has not forgotten me.  He put this on the hearts of my friends, and He was showing His love to me through them.  Wow!

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This is where my joyful recounting stopped- the above is all I wrote before everything changed in our adoption journey, but I was not quite finished.  After prayer and more beautiful fellowship, I also received presents!  The day was already above and beyond, so the gifts sent it over the top!  I was overjoyed, my heart was full, and the Lord truly made His love known as a result of this time.  It really was priceless, and I am still in awe of my dear friends that made this day so special for me.

Looking back I realize that day I still believed that our first child would come from Ethiopia, and this ceremony was the start of tradition to come.  Now, I look back on it and think of it almost as a beautiful "farewell" to that dream.  While we still may be able to adopt from Ethiopia some day (and we REALLY hope that we do) it no longer appears it will happen any time soon.  Even two months later this is not an easy reality for us, however moments like this help us to see that God is ever present in our lives and DOES care to remind us of that. 
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Today is 8-17-12 and I've decided to amend this post since our first child IS coming from Ethiopia after all!!!  Looking back I see this day not as a farewell, but a PROMISE.  It was a holy moment for me, and remains a very treasured day.  Even then I knew it was a gift straight from the heart of God, but now I see how beyond perfect it truly was in communicating that the desire in my heart for my Ethiopia son was of Him.  I am amazed at how personal and real my God shows Himself...

Private

Family and Friends,
After some consideration Trace and I have decided that we need to make our blog private for a time.  As we pray and possibly move down new adoption paths we believe it is the best decision for now.  Even though I'm no great blogger, I am a bit sad as this little blog has been a fun way to publicly share our updates and connect with many of you.

But if you REALLY want to keep up with us I am able to add people to a list that will be able to view the blog still, I just need to input your address to do so!  If you would like to keep up with us this way please let me know either by emailing me at randee.jones@gmail.com or private messaging me through Facebook.

Hopefully this "private" season is short, but we'll see what happens!  I'll leave this message up for a few days so people can let me know if they want to be added to view it later...

A Brick Wall

There are reasons we've not shared an update on our adoption for some time.  Up until 2.5 weeks ago it had more to do with lack of "solid" news in our case.  We heard in early December that it looked like we would have a referral of a boy from Ethiopia within 1-3 months, and while we were ecstatic we didn't feel we should say much until we saw movement in the program and it seemed that our case was moving forward.

Then one month turned to two, and a couple of weeks later (less than three weeks before that 3 month "deadline") we found out there was an update.

But it turns out we hit a brick wall.

There were no referrals of children under 3 years old in our agency's Ethiopia program and they didn't know when or if there would be in the foreseeable future.


Even though we could stick with Ethiopia, we were encouraged to seek out additional adoption paths in order to build our family.

We were stunned.  At first we kept thinking that THIS couldn't be happening!  While there were no absolute guarantees, international adoption was supposed to be more of a "sure thing" than domestic adoption.  It was supposed to be less risky.   Of course, this was not the reason we chose to go down this road, but it was one factor that we thought would help vindicate the long, seemingly endless wait- that there WOULD be our Ethiopian son at the end of it.  Turns out, that might not be the case after all.

We've had a couple of weeks now to pray, cry a little, step back, think (perhaps more than we should) and talk.  While we are deeply sad that our adoption journey might not lead to a son in Ethiopia, we are not giving up on adoption.

We know that while infertility started us on this crazy road, God has genuinely changed our heart along the way, and now we cannot imagine NOT adopting!  If I were to get pregnant tomorrow, we would be dreaming about when and how our adopted child(ren) would also come into our family.  We are different people than when we began on this path just over two years ago.

As for where this path is taking us???  We wish we had the answer to that question ourselves...

Right now, we are remaining on the waiting list to adopt from Ethiopia rather than switching to another country that our agency has a program with.  We have believed for so long that our first child would come from this country that countless hours have been spent in prayer, dreams, and conversation reflecting just that.  So for now, we are not ready or willing to remove our dossier from the Ethiopia program as there is still the possibility that referrals of young children could become available.

We are praying about additional adoption opportunities, but feel no certainty and have made no decisions about which direction to go.  In many ways we feel that are starting from square one.  

If you know us and love us (or even like us!) we would REALLY appreciate your prayers for direction and wisdom that only the Lord can give.  We desire His grace and peace to make it through this rocky season.    

We have been beyond blessed by family and friends walking this journey with us even amidst the many "downs" of this road.   THANK YOU for sticking with us and believing along with us that God has a plan for our family!  Sometimes it's so hard to see when you feel like you are staring up at a big brick wall, but we choose to trust that this is just a change of direction and will lead to THE child that the Lord has for our family.

One Year...and Counting

So, Thursday, October 27th marked a full year on the waiting list.


I started this post in my head at least 12 times since then.  The "feel" or "tone" of it constantly changes as I've thought through it.


Some of my imaginary posts ran along the lines of, "Woe is me, nothing we ever do to add children to our family ever works out."


Pitiful, right?


And some of the other imaginary posts were more, "This past year has been tough, but I know we are going to see the fulfillment of our dream to adopt our child from Ethiopia soon."


The truth of where I'm at probably lies somewhere in between.


On one hand, at times I do feel that all our effort over the past 7 years (you read that right- S E V E N) to add children to our family has been in vain.   We still seem far from our dream of being parents.  However, there are days when I'm just SURE that it's bound to happen soon!  Any day we'll get the call that will really change the course of our life forever!


If there is one thing we've learned from experience this past 20+ months we've been on the adoption path, it is that nothing is certain.  We now try with all that is in us not to have expectations, because rarely will they match reality (bad or good.)


It's very difficult to sum up the roller coaster that has been this past year. but in the midst of the ride I know that Trace and I have become different people than when we jumped on. 


We better understand that adoption is a redemptive act born out of a child's loss. 


We lean on God's grace every day.


We've learned more about hope than any other time in our lives.


We miss a child we've never met, and tangibly feel his absence at times.


We pray...a lot.


About 2 weeks ago we sent an email out to some friends and family that have asked to stay in the loop about our adoption.  Here is a part of that email that shares our heart:


"How are we doing? Honestly, we have good days and not-such-good days. A year ago at this time we thought we’d be bringing our son home by now, instead we haven’t even seen his picture yet. This week we are weary of the uncertainty and wait. We wonder whether he already lives in an orphanage, how old he is, and if he is being loved on. We pray that his little heart stays soft and learns to trust even in the midst of what he might be going through. Many times I (Randee) can’t think about him with any of this detail or I don’t know if I could stand it. Overall, we DO feel that we’ve walked in a tremendous amount of grace over the past 20 months of our adoption journey (1 yr of that being on the waiting list), but there are times when it’s just plain hard to have to keep keepin’ on.


We would certainly appreciate your continued prayer for us. Adoption is complex in many ways, but one of the hardest to reconcile (by FAR) is that we can only adopt a child due to the fact that he is orphaned. We don’t wish for any child to lose their birth family, only to adopt one that already has. We believe that adoption is not God’s first plan for families, but a redemptive act to give some children a loving family that otherwise would not have one. So while this wait is difficult for us, we want to be careful how we pray."


If you pray and want to pray for our family- this is how you can join us:


· That the child who will become our son is safe, well cared for, and well loved.

· If there are people, processes or red-tape holding up our adoption that those “issues” would  be resolved
  so our adoption would move forward.
· That the Lord would calm our hearts and give us patience as we continue to wait.
· The Lord would orchestrate all the details of our adoption!
 
On the 27th I woke up with a heaviness thinking about our adoption process and our son and how our path has been much different than anticipated.  Then the phrase "But he is worth it" went through my mind.  I have been holding onto that simple, yet powerful phrase ever since.  The Lord knew exactly what I needed to hear to keep moving forward.


Thank you for sticking with us through our journey.  God is faithful, and one way He is faithful to show Himself to us is by the gift of friends and family.  We do feel truly blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives!

Yard Sale Proof

I know we've told you that we've held fundraiser yard sales, but have yet to show actual proof of one...until now!  On October 15th we hosted the FIFTH Jones Ethiopia Adoption Yard Sale at our home, and we are very happy to announce that we made right about $650!!!  This is especially wonderful considering that while we did have some new donations this time around, most of the items we sold were left over from our April, and even Aug 2010 sales!  We had a good amount of stuff and were thankful for lots of traffic and sales.

Knowing we could not do this alone we recruited a few volunteers to help out.  Alisa Stoner has helped with every single one of our yard sales (she is amazing!) and our parents from Houston drove all the way up to help for the weekend!  THANK YOU!!!  We are super grateful since we would not have been able to do this without you three!

And now for official "proof" of the sale...

We had a steady stream of people all day!

Mom shopping helping.  She may or may not have bought back some things she originally donated.
I will neither confirm nor deny...

When these cuties showed up with their mom it just made my day complete!

Thank you again to all that donated and helped- you really did make a difference in helping us get baby steps closer to bringing our son home!

Honest Reflections on the Journey so far...



When you are a little kid making it to the double digit age of 10 is a BIG deal.  One to be celebrated.  When you are on a waiting list that was only supposed to be 8 months AT THE MOST...not so much.

Technically, we are at 10.5 months on the waiting list now.  A whole lot has happened in the past 10 months- here are some of the "bigger" things:

• Held 4 yard sales to raise funds for our adoption (in two states)
• Raised 2 litters of puppies (and found great homes for them)
• Had an epic raffle fundraiser
• Roadtripped to Colorado for a fabulous get-a-way and attained highly needed rest and relaxation
• Had two potential domestic adoptions fall through (Pretty sure we haven't mentioned these on the blog before.  Crazy stories that I don't think we're quite ready to go into detail about.  We didn't seek these out...)
• 3 of our sisters had beautiful babies
• Randee discovered new hobby of home projects- much to Trace's dismay :)
• 5 families with our agency received referrals in August!!!

I'm sure I am forgetting some other major milestones, but these alone were enough to occupy much of our time and emotions the past 10 months.  What can't be measured is what has happened in our hearts over this time. 



There were many victories to be celebrated, but there were also many moments of feeling forgotten and wondering if God really cared about turning our "family story" into one that includes children.  When the months kept going by without any movement in our agency we questioned if we were on another dead end road.  In those times, one of us would remind the other of something we knew in the {brighter} days past- that we BELIEVE a son that will come to our family from Ethiopia, that God planned this for our family.  We encouraged each other in our weak moments.  We still do, as we are not "there" yet. 



I discovered that trusting God had turned into a complex concept for me.  I found that it was easier to trust Him with certain parts of my life than others, but really it's not trust if I don't give Him all parts of my life, fully.  I'm learning about the expectations I have of God and that often when I get disappointed (perhaps heartbroken is a more accurate word at times) I had mistakenly attributed that hurt to Him.



At the beginning of our adoption journey someone told me that, "sometimes you have to let go of the dreams you have for the plan God has for you."  There is beauty and pain mixed in that statement and it rings true in my heart.  I always said that I wanted God's plan for my life rather that go my own way, but I guess I thought infertility was off the table.  Most days I am excited that we are on the road to God's plan for our family, but some days I still mourn the loss of my original dreams too.  I think that's OK unless I wallow in disappointment and hold onto it rather than give it to the Lord and ask Him to continue working to make something beautiful of my life.  *Just to be clear, I am WHOLEHEARTEDLY excited about adopting our son from Ethiopia, and do not feel this path is "second best", rather just different than how I originally pictured my family to grow.*  I will not pretend to understand "our road" but I know that our hearts are softer than they ever have been regarding those that do not have a family to call their own.  We are truly different people because the path our lives have taken, and I hope, are better for it.  While I am SO READY to see the face of our son and travel to bring him home, I want the time while I'm waiting to matter as well.