Christmas

I cringe a little when people say that this is Kad's first Christmas. I know its well meaning, but this is actually Kad's second Christmas. He did have a life and a history that did not include us, and I always want to honor and respect that. But, this is Kad's first Christmas with us, and we were so blessed to get to fly back to Indiana for two weeks to celebrate with our family!

We had a great time visiting, laughing, eating (a lot!)and making memories with our sweet little boy. Oh...he did get spoiled rotten with gifts too!

Here are a few of our favorite Christmas pictures:

In the airport...ready to fly!

First Elliott Family Christmas Breakfast:

The best gift under the tree:

His first 4-wheeler from Grandpa and Meme:

Kad LOVED the Elmo hat he got from his great Aunt Rossi & Uncle Richard:

I couldn't get a good picture, but my parents got Kad some monster feet slippers that he REFUSED to take off. Seriously...he wore them everywhere!

We couldn't have asked for a better first Chrismas with our Little Monster Man, and we're looking forward to many more to come!

First Haircut

Since we're back in Indiana for Christmas, we decided it was time for Kad's first haircut. His very talented Aunt Meg volunteered to help tame Kad's crazy curls, and we were so grateful! We were nervous that our squirmy little boy would make this a traumatic expereince for all of us, but he did SO GOOD!

He sat on Mike's lap, and he was eating up all the attention he was getting from everyone else in the salon. He smiled and giggled and before we knew it, our curly haired baby looked like a stylish little toddler!

In the chair:

Being such a brave boy:

Loving his new look:

Happy Thanksgiving

Its so fitting that our first official holiday with Kad home and in our family is Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for, and our sweet Little Man is near the top of our list!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have a walker!

Its official....Kad is walking! I can't believe how much our Little Man is growing. Just four months ago, he could barely hold his head up and now he's taking steps!

Here's a short video of Kad's walking debut:




I'm sure it won't be long until we're chasing him around the house!

Twin Falls

I never thought I would trade my heels for hiking boots, but with hundreds of thousands of miles of incredible hiking tails in Washington, its becoming our new favorite hobby!

I can't believe how beautiful it is here, and Mike and I say at least once on our hikes, "We actually live here!" Twin Falls was no exception. It was an easy hike, but it was absolutely amazing!

I have a feeling there will be a lot more Washington state hiking in our future!

First Day

So, you know how your parents used to take obnoxious pictures of you on your first day of school? You know...where you're awkwardly posed in front of your door holding your backpack and lunch bag?

Yeah...I did that to Mike today:

Happy first day of work, honey!

...and you can totally be mad at me for this post later. I deserve it.

One Year Old!

I can't believe this day is actually here. Kad's first birthday! Through our adoption process, even before our referral, we kept praying, "Lord, if its your will, we would love to have our child home for their first birthday." And, here it is...a tangible, real, amazing, answered prayer.

With our entire family and all of our friends in Indiana, we had a small little "party" for him here at home...just the three of us. He still gets pretty overwhelmed with lots of people and lots of attention, so it was actually PERFECT! We had cupcakes, baloons, gifts shipped to him from his grandparents, and lots of smiles and giggles. I consider that a birthday success!

He was a little hesitant with the cupcake at first:

But it didn't take long before he went in face first:

Happy first birthday, Kad! We are so blessed to be your parents and to have the opportunity to celebrate this milestone with you home!

Football

Our first Sunday in Washington, and it wouldn't be complete without watching football! Of course...we're cheering for a new team:

(...but if you can keep a secret, we're still closet Colts fans!)

Happy Sunday everyone!

Hello Washington!

We've officially been Washington residents for four days, and we're slowly getting used to our new home. We expected lots of rain, but it has been beautiful every single day!

We've been told that its still summer here and the "great gray blanket" will appear over the area soon. For now we'll be enjoying views like this:

...and this:

Its been a lot of fun to explore our new area before Mike has to start work on Monday. I have a feeling Pike Market will be a favorite of mine!

Even Kad is amazed at this fresh seafood!

I know its going to take a while before Washington feels like "home", but we're off to a good start!

Goodbye Indiana

It has been an exciting, exhausting, emotional couple of weeks. Its so hard to say goodbye to our friends and family. This life we have in Indiana is safe and comfortable...but those are two adjectives we said that we never want to use to describe our life.

We're not called to safe and comfortable.

We're called to live in the center of God's will for our life...and that rarely means living within a fifty mile radius of "safe" and "comfortable". The peace in knowing that makes these goodbyes sting a little less...well, that and knowing that we'll be back soon for Christmas :)

For now, our house is packed up. Mike is somewhere on an interstate in Montana. My dear friends Jen and Mary are coming over soon with coffee and muffins. The movers will be here this morning for our car, and my mom will be here this afternoon to pick up Kad and I for a night in Brazil before we fly out from Indy in the morning.

So thankful for the encouragement, prayers and support from so many of you. This will be my last blog post from Indiana...we're Washington bound in the morning!

Our New Adventure

...no we're not adopting again (yet)! But, WE'RE MOVING! Not down the street, or even across town. We're moving 1,875 miles away to WASHINGTON STATE!!

This news might be shocking considering we just got home with our first child and are far from "settled" (...but should we ever really strive for feeling "settled"?). But, we know without a doubt that this is exactly what God has planned for our family and we're so excited to see what He has waiting for us in our new hometown of Seattle, Washington.

To fill you in a bit on the backstory, Mike has always felt like God has more in store for him than working day in and day out at Toyota. He always said, "I wish I could do exactly what I do at Toyota (logistics), but instead of arranging transportation of parts for cars, I wish I could arrange transportation of aide to those who need it." Well...in January of this year, he was informed about a job to do just that. It wasn't the right time AT ALL since we were in the middle of our adoption and our life was essentially on lockdown, but we both felt God nudging us to find out more. So in March, after a series of phone conversations, Mike flew to Federal Way, WA to meet with the team at WorldVision.

If you're not familiar with WorldVision, they are a Christian humanitarian relief organization, and they are AMAZING at what they do, and their mission aligns perfectly with the passion of our family:

"...to follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice, and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of God."

It is, in every sense, Mike's dream job!

Well..he got an offer and they told him that they would be willing to hold the position for him until our adoption was final and we were able to relocate. Not only that, but all of these months that we have struggled with the uncertainties of Kad's health, they have been lifting our family and our little boy up in prayer every step of the way. They have truly been a blessing to us without even having met us yet.

While it was a difficult decision to go, and we will miss our family and friends so much that it hurts, we know with complete certainty that we HAVE to do this. So, Mike will be packing up the van and making the three day drive from Indiana to Washington in a couple weeks, and Kad and I will be flying out to join him on September 19th.

Its going to be a BUSY two weeks, and we would appreciate your prayers and support as we make this exciting (but difficult) transition. We're so excited to see what God has planned for our little family next....

Praying them all home

I had the opportunity to spend time with many families as they traveled to Ethiopia to meet their kids for the first time, and I follow-up with each and every one of them through message boards, blogs, emails & phone calls. Most of these families, with loving homes and longing hearts, are STILL waiting to bring their kids home and I pray for them every day to get that long waited phone call saying, "you've been cleared to travel".

And, then there's "Baby Boy K" that I was blessed to meet in Ethiopia after one of my adoption friends received his referral. I got to take his picture and hold him and whisper in his ear "you have a mom and dad who love you, and they'll be here soon". I'm so looking forward to the day when I hear that family share news that they have a court date and get to meet their sweet little boy.

And, last by certainly not least, one of my dearest friends is hanging onto hope that soon she will get the news that she will meet her three waiting children in Ethiopia for the first time. These kids know that they have a family who loves them, but there's a vague, open ended timeline on when they will be held in their mama's arms and smothered with kisses. I pray for her adoption as fervently as I prayed for my own, and I ache for the day when I'm standing in the airport welcoming them home just as she was for me.

Today two of my adoption friends, Megan & Mike and Courtney & Bob, will be flying to Ethiopia to pick up their sweet babies (Baby Boy "K" and Baby Girl "A"). We all started this adventure within weeks of one another, and have been supporting and encouraging each other every step of the way. I couldn't be happier that they're finally bringing their little one's home, and praying more families get the same good news soon.

Biggest Struggle

It seems that most adoptive parents have similar struggles when they bring their babies home. The biggest, of course, is attachment. That's something that all adoptive parents will deal with to varying degrees no matter what age their kids are when they come home, and all social workers & agencies do a good job preparing us for that struggle.

Other than attachment, my biggest worries were: Bath Time & The Car Seat

So, we prayed and prayed and prayed that those would be smooth transitions for him. And, guess what...they were not an issue at all!

The one thing that wasn't on my radar (that probably should have been) was sleep. I didn't even think that my 8-month old child wouldn't sleep, but Mr. Kad is not a fan of night time. Since the day we picked him up, he would wake up every hour for a little reassurance that we wouldn't leave him. This went on for the entire stay in Ethiopia and continued once we came home.

Don't get me wrong, I love any opportunity to spend time with my little man, but it was making for very tired parents after nearly three months! I have read more books & websites than I care to mention, but they all recommended "crying-it-out" for periods of time, and that just wasn't something that we felt comfortable with. After all, we want Kad to know that when he cries we're here for him. We just prayed and prayed that eventually he would understand that and feel better about sleeping through the night.

And then, this morning it happened. Mike and I both woke up at 5:30 am and said, "Did you get up with Kad last night?" And then we both said, "No..did you?"

HE ACTUALLY SLEPT ALL NIGHT!!! He would whimper every few hours but would put himself right back to sleep.

Please God, let this be the new normal around here!!

Here's a picture of him when we checked on him this morning (because yes, we had the standard "new-parent-panic" moment when we wanted to make sure he was still breathing):



Seriously..isn't he one of the cutest things you've ever seen?!?

New Job

It was clear after meeting Mr. Kad that there was no possible way that I could miss another minute of his little life...so after returning home I made a career change -- from engineer to stay at home mom! I have to say...this is hands down the most difficult job I've ever had, but I absolutely love it!

Instead of sitting at a desk, this is how I'm spending my days at my new job:


Making baby food....




Cuddling with my little boy....




Playing, Playing, Playing....




I think I have the best job on Earth!

Anniversary

Today, Michael and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary.

I never could have dreamed, seven years ago, that our life would look the way that it does today. We are living proof that God's plans are ALWAYS better than our own. And, there is no one I would rather live this wonderful life with than my sweet, sincere, just-the-right-amount-of-crazy husband!


There's no way we could exclude Mr. Kad from our anniversary plans, so the three of us went out to dinner to celebrate.



Okay...so Kad may have been a little bored:



Happy anniversary, Michael. I love you, and I can't wait to see what our family looks like seven years from now!!

Cincinnati Children's

Anyone who has been following our adoption story at all, will know that we absolutely love, love, love Dr. Mary Staat and the team at the International Adoption Clinic at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. They have walked through this with us, illness by illness, since we accepted our referral. They have reviewed hospital reports, guided us on what tests to request, analyzed results that often made absolutely no sense, comforted us when we felt that we couldn't handle anymore, told us the straight-up honest truth even when it was difficult, and wrote letter after letter to the Ethiopian government & the US Embassy to get our little boy home.

Did I mention that they're AMAZING?!?!?

And, today, we finally got to introduce Kad to the team that has fought so hard to get him healthy and get him home. We arrived at the Children's Hospital this morning for a multi-day evaluation extravaganza. Poor baby Kad is not going to love this team as much as we do for the next few days as he gets evaluations, injections, blood draws, etc. But..its all necessary as we work with CCH to finally understand everything that's going on with our little guy's health and work to put together a plan of treatment.

And, I just have to share how wonderful my husband is for holding Kad during the 11-vial blood draw. I couldn't even watch them take his blood as he screamed and cried. Way to go dad..you're the best!!

Here's our brave little man after his first day of evaluations. Yes...he cried himself to sleep...poor baby.



Oh, and did I mention that today is my birthday? This is what we did to celebrate:



Not many people can say that they spent their birthday taking their child's stool samples, huh?

In His Crib

Kad is asleep right now --- in in our house --- in the crib that has been set up and waiting for him for months. I used to sit in his room and dream of the day when I would be rocking him to sleep and laying him in this bed, and now here he is.

All of the emotions of this journey are finally hitting me. Its actually over. The waiting, the longing, the wondering if its REALLY going to happen. Its over.

He's home.

This poem sums up my thoughts tonight perfectly:

WELCOME HOME

Tonight as you lay sleeping
for the first time in your bed
There must be something lasting
and profound that must be said.

But as your face is gazed upon
Framed by your black hair
No words can tell or quite express
the feelings that we share.

The wait is finally over
You're home, at last, to stay
And there will always be the memories
of the joy that filled this day.

With a love that's running over
By the sight of you alone
Welcome home, dear cherished child
At long last...welcome home!

~ Author Unknown

Here is a picture of me putting sweet baby Kad in his crib for the very first time:

Welcome Home, Kad!

I can't even express in words how AMAZING it was to step off of the airplane and into the Indianapolis airport this morning!!! I will truly never forget turning the corner and seeing our friends and family with signs and cameras, tears in their eyes, ready to meet our little boy for the first time.

Joining us at the airport were:

Mom & Dad Elliott
Mom & Dad Williams
Jenny & Jeremy
Grandma Dorthy & Pop Williams
Jen, Justin & Sadie
Mary & Bob
Donna & Ms. May

(...and of course Darla & Todd, Jill & Jeff, Jenny & Matt who were all in the terminal waiting but had to miss "the big moment" to head for Guatemala)

Thank you all so much for coming to support our little family of three and to witness us crossing the finish line of this long adoption journey!

Here are a few pictures of our airport welcome:

Coming Home

...and even Kad is helping us pack!

 

I can't believe that we're actually leaving Ethiopia tonight!  We're so excited to be coming home, but a little sad to be leaving Ethiopia behind.  These are just a few of the things we'll miss about this beautiful country:

 

10.  Long walks with goats and donkeys

9.   The sound of roosters in the morning

8.   THE FOOD (especially shiro  & "real" injera)

7.   Orange Mirenda and Apple Ambo

6.   The amazing Bethany staff (Sisay, Frio, Abel, Netsanet, Sanite...just to name a few)

5.   Morning Coffee Guesthouse

4.   The smell of Berbere

3.   pick-up basketball games with Ethiopian locals

2.   Getting to know so many adoptive families coming for court & embassy

1.   Birtukan, Nesibu & their beautiful children -- our Ethiopian family

 

This very long adoption chapter is coming to a close, and now real life is going to start.  We are so, so blessed to have had this time with our little man in his birth country, but we can't wait to see his little feet on American soil.

 

One more thing....I was wrong about our flight information.  We will actually be arriving in Indianapolis at 1:50 pm EST on Saturday.  Sorry about the confusion, and we look forward to seeing you all soon!!

 

Introducing....

 

BEFEKADUGETA ("KAD") MICHAEL WILLIAMS

 

 

We're so happy to announce that we completed our embassy interview this morning and finally heard the words we've been so longing to hear..."You're adoption is now complete and final!"

 

Not only does this mean that Kad is officially ours in the eyes of Ethiopia and the United States, but it also means that:

 

WE'RE COMING HOME!!!!   

 

Our flight will leave Ethiopia on Friday night and we'll arrive in Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. EST.    Its so hard to believe that our adoption is final and our stay in Ethiopia is coming to a close.  These seven weeks in Kad's birth country have been a life-changing experience that we will always treasure, but we are so excited to come home WITH OUR SON!

 

Anyone who is willing to make the drive to Indy is more than welcome to come to the airport, but we also understand that its a long drive for a very short visit and we completely understand if you would rather wait and meet Kad after we settle in at home.  We'll be keeping close to our house for a while when we get back just to let Kad get used to his new environment (trust me...the sights and smells of Ethiopia are MUCH different than Haubstadt!), but we'll be sure to let you all know when he's ready to have visitors. 

 

Thank you all so much for praying us through this process.  Kad is truly a miracle and we are so blessed to officially be his parents! 

Sorry to keep you all waiting....

I know its been a LONG time since I've posted, and SO much has happened!  We were advised not to post he details at the time, but I can now tell you that we have had custody of Kad for nearly one month now, and on June 14th he officially became a Williams!   We have passed court and our case has now been submitted to the US Embassy for review.

 

This last month has been wonderful, frustrating, difficult and emotional.  On June 7th, I was handed a tiny, weak little boy who had no idea how to respond to a mother's love.  Now, four weeks later, this same child is smiling, crawling and reaching for his mama.  He has gained nearly five pounds in the last month and, once again, has those chubby little cheeks that we saw at referral time.  He is truly a miracle! 

 

I had every intention of posting about each day that I've had with him here in Ethiopia, but looking back, these days have been so precious and personal and I think they're better left unpublished.  I would, however, love to share with you some of the things that I've learned and loved about my son:

 

1.)  He has the cutest little dimple under his right eye when he smiles

2.)  He holds my index finger when he eats his bottle

3.)  He laughs the hardest when his daddy kisses his belly

4.)  He loves to have his socks off so he can play with his toes

5.)  He knows and responds to his name (his Ethiopian name)

6.)  He has a soft mess of black curls on the top of his head, but the sides are straight

7.)  He already has a blankie that he loves and he refuses to sleep without it

8.)  He loves for his mom to rock him to sleep

9.)  He barely fits into his 9-month clothes anymore....his getting too chubby!

10.)  He already has his bottom two front teeth and he loves to show them off

 

Thank you again for all of your prayers.  We love our little boy more than words can express and we're so, so excited for you all to meet him.   We are praying for an embassy date soon.  I have enjoyed my time in Ethiopia, but I really can not wait to be home! 

Court

Thank you all for your prayers! We definitely felt them as we went through the court process yesterday.

 

Unfortunately our letter was not written in time for our hearing, so we did not pass.  The number of letters that are being written each day has been drastically reduced, and there is now a back-log in cases.  Our agency is unsure of when they may get to our case, but we know that God's timing is perfect and we'll just wait as long as it takes to bring our little boy home.

 

We had to move guesthouses yesterday, so we are now much closer to Kad's orphanage.  Its a bit more difficult to get Internet access here, so it may be a few days before I can post again. Just know that we are SO appreciative of all of your love, prayers & support.  We're very much at peace with the way things are, even though there have been some setbacks.  We hope to have lots of good news to share with you all soon!!

 

For those of you that are waiting for pictures of your kiddos from me -- They are letting me get them this afternoon or tomorrow morning!!  Trust me, there have been attempts made, but things seen to operate a little differently around (smiles). 

 

Just to leave things on a positive note -- We got to give Kad a bath yesterday and he LOVED it!  I thought he would scream like crazy, but he liked to splash around in the water.  He's so funny!  And, for all of you who were anxiously awaiting our first diaper change -- it happened!  We had an all-out diaper blow-out yesterday afternoon that Mike and I had to tag team.  I think we handled it pretty well for rookies.  

Ethiopia Day 4

We had another wonderful day today with Kad!  He was in a really good mood, and he seemed to be feeling much better than he was on Friday.  He liked to sit on Mike's lap while I played with his feet,  He would smile and giggle -- so cute!  I got to feed him for the first time today.  He isn't able to eat a lot at one time, but we noticed that he liked to chew on the bottle and rub it against his gums.  We opened his mouth, and we saw that he has two tiny little teeth (the bottom front two)!  He's such a big boy!   After he ate, he got really tired and fell asleep again.  He's such a good baby!!

 

Another highlight today was meeting with Dr. Daniel.  He is the doctor who has been taking such good care of Kad here.  It was actually his day off, but he's leaving the country for a conference and wanted to make sure he met us before he left.  He was unbelievable!  He shared all that Kad has been through and about all of the prayer services that were held for him while he was in the hospital.  It really hit us just how sick he really was.  We told Dr. Daniel that we would tell Kad that he saved him, and Dr. Daniel said, "You tell him that God saved him".  So true!  We were able to get a picture of Dr. Daniel holding Kad that we will always treasure.  He has been such a blessing to our family.

 

Now, we're leaving for court.  The cards are definitely stacked against us, but we know that if its God's will we'll have everything we need to pass,   Please pray!! We found out yesterday that there may be some complications with us taking custody of Kad if we don't pass, so we're having faith that everything will work out just as it needs to.

 

Internet has been very limited the past two days, but I'll post again as soon as I can.  Thank you for your prayers!!

Ethiopia Days 2 & 3

Since we couldn't visit Kad on Saturday, our agency let us do a little site seeing and shopping around Addis.  We were able to visit Entoto Mountain and the first Ethiopian Orthodox Church.  It was BEAUTIFUL!  This church site was on the top of the mountain and was over 700 years old.  The original church was chiseled by hand out of the limestone mountain side.  The king ordered the building of the current church structure nearly 200 years ago. Every wall inside was covered with paintings of various scenes from the Bible.  The guide walked us through and explained the symbolism and significance of every detail.  It was incredible!

 

At the top of the mountain, you could really see just how beautiful the city of Addis truly is.  Of course, all we kept wondering is where Kad's orphanage is amongst all of the tiny little buildings we could see.  We never stop thinking about our little boy!

 

Today (Sunday) we went to the International Evangelical Church.  It was unbelievable!  They have five services every Sunday morning, each one in a different language.  We went to the English service, of course, and there were so many Americans & Europeans there!  Most of them were missionaries who serve here in Ethiopia, but there were also several other adoptive family groups there with their kids.  I think this church is going to be a blessing to me while I'm here without Mike in the coming weeks.  It really felt like you were at church back home! 

 

After church we went out for lunch, where I had pizza..yes, PIZZA!  Loved it!   I can't complain about the food here at all. Our host family makes the BEST meals and you never leave the table hungry.  Even when you tell Birtukan that you can't eat another bite, she scoops more food on your plate and says, "here just a little more".  We love her! 

 

First thing tomorrow morning we get to go back to Kad's orphanage and spend at least FOUR HOURS with him!   We can't wait to see him again!  We also get the blessing of delivering packages to our dear friend's three little ones here in the city.  So excited to meet these precious kids and tell them all about their family who loves them so much!  Its going to be such an amazing day!

In Ethiopia

...and we couldn't be more excited!

 

Internet connection isn't the best, so I'll keep this post brief.  We just wanted to let you all know that we made it safe, all of our bags have arrived, and......

 

WE HAVE HELD OUR LITTLE BOY!!

 

At 4:00 this afternoon we arrived at the orphanage and were able to spend two hours with Kad.  Our first meeting couldn't have been more perfect.  He was smiling, giggling, and he even fell asleep in my arms.  We're so in love!

 

We aren't able to visit the orphanage on weekends, so we had to say goodbye until Monday.  It was so hard leaving him, but it helps to know he will soon be in our arms for good.  

 

Thank you so much for your prayers.  PLEASE keep praying that we pass court on Tuesday so this process can move forward quickly and we can get Kad home.  Our court date is at 9:00 AM Ethiopia-time, so that's 1:00 AM at home. 

Ethiopia Bound

We're all packed and ready to go meet our little boy!! We leave in an hour to start our journey to Ethiopia!

This is what it looks like to pack for a 10-week stay in another country with a baby:



I wish we could call, text, visit, or email ALL of you one last time before we leave, but I'm realizing its just not possible. So...for our sanity, take this post as your official "THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND LOVE!" We will be emailing and blogging while we're in Ethiopia, so check back here for updates.

We're praying to have LOTS of great news to share soon!

8 Months Old

Kad is 8-months old today!

I woke up this morning a little sad that this is yet another little milestone that we're not able to share with our Little Guy, but then I realized....this is THE LAST little milestone that we will miss -- because, we leave for Ethiopia one week from today!!

I never want to forget exactly how I feel in these days leading up to our trip. I am excited, anxious, exhausted, and a little stressed about the details to be honest. I find myself second guessing each little decision I've made....what formula to take, what brand of diapers to buy, what type of bottles to use.

Its also started to sink in that, from this day forward, my trips to Target will look like this:



Oh, how our lives are about to change!

The only thing that makes the anxious feelings go away is when I close my eyes and think about THAT MOMENT...the one when Mike and I are standing in an orphanage room and a nanny comes down the hall and hands me this sweet, tiny, beautiful 8-month old baby boy...my baby boy!

Dreaming about THAT MOMENT makes all of the anxiety melt away and turn to pure joy.

...and THAT MOMENT is only a week away!

What have we been doing??

We've been doing this:






Because...

WE LEAVE FOR ETHIOPIA IN 10 DAYS!!!!

Oh...and it gets better...I have absolutely no idea how long I'll be there!

Since Kad's been so sick, our international pediatrician has stressed that he needs to be removed from the orphanage environment as soon as possible. His little immune system just can't handle some of the viruses & infections that inevitably get passed around. The only way to help him get healthy is to stay in Ethiopia between our court appointment and our embassy appointment so he can stay with us in our guest house. So, that's exactly what we're going to do!

Since it could take up to three months to pass court and get cleared by the U.S. Embassy, I'm going to stay in Ethiopia with Kad while Mike comes back home and finishes preparing for Kad's arrival (besides, one of us has to make a living!). He'll fly back to Ethiopia once we get our embassy appointment scheduled (which we're PRAYING is much faster than expected). Then, we'll fly home together as a family of three!

I never thought I would potentially be spending the entire summer in Ethiopia, but there is no place on Earth that I would rather be!

Status Update

Oh my...I have sat in front of this computer screen so many times to write this week but as soon as I get a post drafted, things change and start going in an entirely different direction. So, I'm going to attempt to fill you in on the current status with us and with Kad.

First, Kad is sick. Really sick. He was admitted to the hospital on Easter Sunday and he's still there. His little immune system is just so weak that he can't fully recover from one illness, infection or virus before he gets ANOTHER illness, infection or virus. Our little guy has been through a lot, but EVERY DAY he proves that he's a fighter, and he has given us such perspective on what it means to be strong and courageous.

Of course, when he gets hospitalized it sparks a flurry of activity. This is pretty much the routine (which we sadly know all too well!):

Step 1: Our wonderful agency coordinator, Kim, calls to tell us he's sick and gives us a brief overview from the nurse on his status

Step 2: Kim forwards us an email from Kad's doctor in Ethiopia detailing his symptoms and initial diagnosis

Step 3: We forward the email to our international pediatrician in Cincinnati

Step 4: Our pediatrician calls / emails with comments, questions & requests for various tests

Step 5: We call our coordinator to pass along our pediatrician's feedback

Step 6: She contacts his doctor in Ethiopia to share the information. He then gives her Kad's current status (which has usually changed drastically from the initial information)

Step 7: Our coordinator calls us to give us the new information

....and the cycle repeats and repeats and repeats.

As you can imagine, its like the telephone game only with medical terms in two languages. Couple that with the emotional impact of learning how sick your child is on the other side of the globe, and it adds up to EXHAUSTED PARENTS!

We are so grateful to have so many friends, family and perfect strangers PRAYING for our little boy and for our family. We can tell you with absolute certainty that your prayers are being answered!

The good news is that we are closer than ever to meeting our little boy. We can't share details yet, but as soon as plans get a little more clear I'll fill you all in! In the meantime, please continue to pray for little Kad and for his doctors here and in Ethiopia who are making decisions on his treatment and for the people here and in Ethiopia who are making decisions on our case.

Stay tuned..things are about to get REALLY exciting!

7-months old

Our little guy is 7-months old today! Its hard to believe that we've had his referral for nearly two months now. Its been a while since I've filled you in on where we are in terms of "the process", so I thought I would give you an update.

This is the good news....

All of our paperwork is in Ethiopia - Done!
All of Kad's paperwork is gathered and complete - Done!
Our complete file is submitted to the courts - Done!

...so what are we waiting on?

We're waiting for the courts to assign us a court date which will be our first trip to Ethiopia. We're PRAYING that date is in early June so if there are any problems, we have some time to get them corrected before the courts close for the rainy season in August and September. Once we pass court, we wait for Kad's birth certificate and passport to be issued and then we return to Ethiopia for our embassy interview to get Kad a U.S. visa. There's really no way to know how long all of that will take (I've stopped trying to guess on time-lines!).

Right now we're just praying that he gets healthy and that we're able to have him home by his first birthday!

World Malaria Day

Today is officially World Malaria Day and we have been overwhelmed by the response to our plea for bed-nets! In just under one week, you all have donated a total of: $732

...which will purchase 61 bed nets

...which will save 244 people from ever suffering from malaria!!

And, the checks keep coming in! We still need funds for 39 nets, so keep them coming! We still have a few fundraising ideas to debut, so I'm confident that we'll have all 100 nets in Ethiopia before the rainy season hits.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who said, "Yes...this is personal for me too!" and responded with your prayers and donations. Two of my favorite memories this week was when our littlest supporters handed me their donations and said the following:

Adi (21 months): "'pport Kad"

Samuel (3 yrs): "Nets for Kad...where is he?"
....oh, Samuel, how I wish he was home to play with you!

I love these little future world-changers!!

Malaria will forever be a part of our family story, but because of your support, that is not the case for 61 families in rural Ethiopia. I just can't wait to tell Kad one day about all of you here fighting malaria while he was in Ethiopia fighting too!

Deadliest Predator

the Top Ten deadliest predators in the world are:

10.) Poison Dart Frogs -- Kill 200 people / year
9.) Cape Buffalo -- Kill 270 people / year
8.) Box Jellyfish -- Kill 300 people / year
7.) Polar Bears -- Kill 450 people / year
6.) Elephants -- Kill 500 people / year
5.) Saltwater Crocodiles -- Kill 800 people / year
4.) African Lions -- Kill 950 people / year
3.) Asian Cobras -- Kill 2,700 people / year
2.) Hippos -- Kill 12,000 people / year
1.) MOSQUITOES -- Kill 1,095,000 people / year



Mosquitoes kill more people each year than all other animals COMBINED!

NOBODY should die from a mosquito bite, but this is the tragic reality for more than 3,000 people EVERY DAY. Our generation has the power and the resources to eliminate malaria FOREVER....the question is, do we have the compassion?

For a lot of you, the answer has been YES! In three days, we've raised: $480.00

.....which will buy 40 bed nets

.....which will save 160 LIVES!!!!

We're 40% to our goal and WE NEED YOUR HELP to purchase the remaining 60 bed nets!

Watch and ACT...

We've been so blessed by the kind words and support we've received so far in our campaign to raise funds for 100 insecticide treated bed-nets.

In one day, $124 was contributed in on-line donations and an additional $12 donated in person for a one-day total of $136! That's just over 11 bed nets -- 11 FAMILIES that will never suffer from malaria. Those of you who contributed today have literally SAVED LIVES.... THANK YOU!!

We still have a long way to go to blanket an ENTIRE village in bed nets, so my prayer is that you will watch this video and be moved to ACT:



You can donate on-line by using the Chip-In link in the sidebar of this page, or you can donate by cash or check by emailing us at Nets4Kad@hotmail.com and we'll arrange payment.

Please prayerfully consider partnering with us in the effort to save lives in Africa!

Malaria No More

One week from today, April 25th, is World Malaria Day. Some good friends have been helping me plan an event to educate people in our community about this horrible disease and to advocate for the MILLIONS of people around the world that suffer needlessly each year.

The main goal for our event was to raise enough funds to blanket an entire village in Ethiopia with life saving bed nets. We were going to have displays, show an incredible video, and Mike and I were going to share a little more of Kad's story and the impact Malaria has had already on our family.

Unfortunately, we found out over the weekend that the facility we had planned on using feels that this isn't the right time to focus on malaria advocacy.

Well...we're just going to have to disagree. We are confident that NOW is exactly the time to advocate for malaria...because the families who need these nets simply don't have a "later".

This is a quote from Richard Sterns, the CEO of World Vision in his book "The Hole in the Gospel":

"Our problem is that the plight of suffering children in a far off land simply hasn't gotten personal for us. We may hear about them with sorrow, but we haven't really been able to look at them as if they were our own children. If we could, then we would surly grieve more deeply in our spirits. We would weep for their parents and we would respond with far greater urgency."

That sums up so well how Mike and I are feeling. We're "grieving deeply in our spirits" because this IS PERSONAL for us. When we think of the children going to sleep tonight completely vulnerable to a deadly infection we think of our sweet little boy, and we know we have to act NOW on behalf of those children!

With little time to find another venue, there will be no organized event next Monday for World Malaria Day. Instead, we're going to be posting malaria facts & stories throughout this week in hopes that YOU will help us meet our goal of providing 100 bed nets to a village in Ethiopia!

PLEASE donate by using the Chip-In link in the sidebar or emailing us at Nets4Kad@hotmail.com...$12.00 will save a family of four for four years! Spread the word to family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, complete strangers, and please leave us a comment or send us an email letting us know that its PERSONAL for you too and that you're with us in this fight to make MALARIA NO MORE!

April Update

Each month, we will receive updates on Kad while he waits to come home. These monthly updates are a BIG deal, all of us waiting parents jump for joy when the updates come through. Why, you ask?? Well..because they not only contain an updated assessment on the child's development, but they have UPDATED PICTURES!! Several families received their April updates earlier this week, but nothing for us. I refreshed my email inbox about a million times on Monday and Tuesday in hopes that one would come through, but nothing....

I realized Wednesday that because Kad has been in the hospital so much this past month, the social workers in Ethiopia probably weren't able to get his update completed. I finally just accepted it and counted April out for us.

Guess what...I WAS WRONG!! We got our first update on Kad since our referral, and it was WONDERFUL! I love reading through the social worker's comments on what he's doing and what he likes. My favorite comment in this month's update is that he likes to take naps after eating his meals. This comment was followed by a picture of Kad kicked back, eyes all sleepy, holding a bottle in his hands. He is just ADORABLE!

He's doing so much better! These are his stats now:

Age: 6-months
Weight: 14.32 lbs
Length: 26.37"

We're just so, so blessed! Hopefully, only a couple more monthly updates until we're taking pictures of him ourselves!!

The Name

Mike and I honestly didn't discuss names for our child prior to getting our referral. We had our heart set on keeping our child's given Ethiopian name if at all possible. When we got our referral and saw "B's name in writing for the first time, we knew it would be a very difficult name for him to grow up with. You see...its six syllables long and VERY unique. However, his name is beautiful and it has a very significant meaning for us and for his birth family.

I can't share publicly what his Ethiopian name is, but I can tell you that its translated meaning is "Through the Lord's Will". Through this entire process, we have prayed that we wanted to get our referral, "but only if its the Lord's Will". We said this prayer so much that Hebrews 10:36 became a verse that I would cling to when the waiting was difficult:

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of the Lord, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:36

Needless to say, his name was further affirmation that this is exactly the child God had hand picked before time began to be our son. So...we just couldn't imagine changing it. Instead, we have decided to keep his Ethiopian name but we will shorten it to make it easier for him to grow up with and for others to pronounce. So, we are happy to share that Baby "B"s official name will be:

KAD WILLIAMS

We aren't able to share yet what his middle name will be, as it is also a very important name to his family in Ethiopia and we need to wait until after court to make that public. I can tell you that its translation also has a connection to our family...so amazing!

We just can't wait to have our little family of three together under one roof...Michael, Krista & Kad....sounds pretty perfect, huh?

Update on "B"...and some good news!

So many of you have asked how our little guy is doing since his diagnosis. Thank you for your love and prayers! We are happy to report that he is doing much, much better. He has finished his IV malaria treatment and is now taking oral malaria medication. He is also off all of the IV antibiotics, so no more needles for our little boy! In his last update, the doctor said that Baby "B" was happy and smiling....I would be smiling too if I had multiple IVs removed after a week!

It still just infuriates me to think that for $6, Baby "B" could have had a bed net that would have prevented him from ever getting infected and suffering for the past month, but we are so blessed that he was able to get the treatment he needed before his malaria progressed to what the doctor referred to as "the point of no return". He has now been fever-free for 48 hours and is well on his way to recovery.

As if this wasn't exciting enough, we received more wonderful news today. All of "B"s documents have been gathered, and our file was formally submitted to the Ethiopian courts today!! On Friday, we were told that this may not happen until July, so this was VERY unexpected and the first time ANYTHING in this process has happened "ahead of schedule" for us! It was so good to hear this news after such an emotionally difficult week.

So, what's next? Well....in two to four weeks we will find out our actual court date which they are estimating to be in late June or early July. That means that in about twelve weeks we will be in Ethiopia with sweet Baby "B" in our arms!!

PRAISING, PRAISING, PRAISING GOD!

Making it Personal

Every 45 seconds a child in Africa dies of Malaria

Children under 5 account for 85% of malaria deaths

91% of all malaria deaths occur in Africa

Malaria was eradicated in the US in 1951

Malaria is PREVENTABLE

These statistics became very personal this week. Sweet Baby "B" was hospitalized on Sunday and we got the official diagnosis...malaria. All of a sudden malaria wasn't a sad statistic or a cause to donate to....this is OUR SON. Now its personal and I'm mad. I'm mad for all of the mothers in Africa who watch their children become infected with an illness that they can't get treatment for. I'm mad for all of the doctors at clinics who watch patients walk through the door looking for medicine that can't be found. I'm mad for all of the children who go to sleep at night wondering if that is the night they'll get the mosquito bite that seals their fate. I'm mad -- and I want to make you mad too!

Baby "B" was blessed to be at an orphanage who has nannies who are educated and experienced. They recognized his need for care and took him immediately. Because he is in the process of being adopted, he was admitted to a private hospital with a great doctor who had the resources and medication to diagnose and begin treatment. Not only that, but as he's being treated he has an army of people on both sides of the world PRAYING that his little body is able to fight!

We praise God that "B" had all of these factors in his favor, but that's simply not the case for one child...someone else's Baby "B"...every 45 seconds. We truly believe that God has made this personal to make us mad and to make us ACT.

As Baby "B" fights Malaria, we're going to fight to! April 25th is World Malaria Day, so mark your calendars and check back for details.

A Room for Baby "B"

Oh how I have looked forward to having some "baby-ness" around our house! The time has FINALLY come to start transforming our guest room into Baby "B"s nursery! I don't know that there have been two parents more excited to paint, assemble furniture & decorate!

I promise to post a picture of the finished product as soon as its complete, but here are a few pics of the progress so far:

Mike assembling the crib (a gift to Baby "B" from my parents):



...and assembling the dresser (a gift to Baby "B" from Mike's parents)



Here's a picture of me painting -- yes, we went with Baby Boy BLUE! (oh, and L.M. stands for Little Man)




"B"s nursery is already my favorite room in the house. I just can't wait to see our Little Guy curled up in his crib fast asleep...or sitting in his crib wide awake at 2 AM... I just want him home!!

Mourning to Dancing

I've realized the past few days that I've been mourning....not the loss of a person, but the loss of time. Time with my son. Time that I will never get back.

Its interesting that God put this verse on my heart yesterday:

"You have turned my mourning into dancing" Psalms 30:11

When I read that, I kept thinking about how tired I am of mourning and how much I would love to dance! (I tell Mike all the time that I was born to dance...right before I bust a move in the middle of the kitchen that looks more like a seizure)

Well -- I'm happy to report that today I'm DANCING!!

There are "unofficial" reports from Ethiopia indicating that discussions are moving in a positive direction. It sounds like they are seriously considering increasing the number of cases that they're processing and that they are committed to clearing a portion of the backlog of cases that have been accumulating over the past two weeks. We won't know anything official for a little while longer, but we're hoping that these reports are true!

If you thought that was great news, keep on reading because it just gets better....

I got a phone call this morning from another adoptive mom who happens to be in Ethiopia right now picking up her daughter. Her sweet little girl is at the same orphanage as "B", and she got to love on him for us today! Not only that, but she called me all the way from Ethiopia to tell me a little more about our little man. THANK YOU, SARAH!

She said that he is a very happy, healthy, little guy! There are three other babies in his room with one nanny who cares for the four of them. She said that they were playing Ethiopian music in his room and sweet little "B" was smiling and giggling and kicking his feet to the music.

So.... not only am I dancing today, but my adorable little boy is half way around the world dancing too! (I guess he was born to dance, just like his mama -- sorry, Mike)

It was SO good to hear that he's doing well! I'm so, so appreciative to have heard this news first hand from Sarah, and I can never thank her enough for checking-in on him for us and then taking the time to call us right away. She even said that she got a few pictures for us and she'll try to send them soon. God is so good! He definitely turned my mourning into dancing today....and dancing has never felt so good!

This week's events

On Thursday March 3rd, the day after we received our referral, we did this...



...we completed all of our paperwork to formally accept "B" as our son!! By Friday afternoon, March 4th, our agency had already sent our paperwork off to Ethiopia so the team there can begin gathering all of "B's" documents for court. We didn't expect to hear anything back for about a month on the status of our court date, but expected to travel for court mid-July and hoped to be home with "B" by the end of August.

Then, on Saturday (3/5), everything changed. The Ministry in Ethiopia who oversees adoptions made an announcement that they planned to drastically reduce the number of adoption cases they process each day. The initial reports were that they currently process fifty cases per day and the new proposal was to process only five beginning March 10th. A reduction of 90% -- WOW!

You can imagine the concern this sent through the Ethiopian adoption community. There have been petitions, phone conferences, letters written to embassies, campaigns on every social media network that exists. We have all waited on pins and needles for March 10th to see if they would actually implement this new process.

On March 10th, we got a call from our coordinator that confirmed the news we hoped wouldn't come. The Ministry in Ethiopia only processed five cases. Yesterday, March 11th, we got the same news...only five cases again.

What does this mean for us? Well...the more important question is..What does this mean for the millions of orphaned children in Ethiopia? The U.S. Department of State held a conference call for prospective Ethiopian adoptive parents yesterday and reassured us that they are committed to keeping the Ethiopian Adoption program open. They are doing everything they can to understand the Ministry's concerns and to support them to continue to process cases in the best interest of the children in Ethiopia. Its simply not in the best interest of the children for them to remain in orphanages for years longer than they would otherwise.

For us, it means that we might be watching our little boy grow up through pictures and orphanage updates for the next year or more. We are still praying that this decision is overturned QUICKLY. Every two-days that the Ministry processes only five cases will extend our wait time by one month. It will break our heart to love our son from a distance for that long, but we have peace in knowing that ultimately God is in control and His plans are always perfect.

There will be meetings between the US Embassy and the Ethiopian Government on Monday. Please join us in praying for a resolution that best serves the children in Ethiopia who desperately wait for their families.

REFERRAL!!

We absolutely fell in love today....

At 11:31 a.m. our lives changed forever and our hearts are overflowing.

These are the details:

I had decided to take the afternoon off work and I was on my way home when my phone rang. The number came up "Unknown" on my cell phone, so I had no idea that this was going to be THE CALL. When I answered, I heard the sweet voice of our coordinator saying, "Krista -- this is Kim from Bethany and I have a little boy I want to talk to you about."

That's right -- WE HAVE A LITTLE BOY!!

I instantly just melted. I had tears running down my face, so I pulled over as Kim proceeded to tell me details about our son. I did my best to take it all in, but I honestly just got his age, weight, length, and what orphanage he's in...and that's all I could handle. I think Kim knew I wasn't getting most of what she was saying because she said, "Why don't I just email this all to you, and you can call me when you're ready to discuss it." Great Idea!

So, as I sat on the side of the road praising God for this remarkable gift, barely able to see through my tears, all I wanted to do was tell Mike. This was not "over-the-phone" information, so I decided to drive back to work and get to his desk to tell him in person. He obviously knew I was emotional as soon as he saw me, and all I could get out of my mouth was "Ki..Ki...Ki...Kim called". We went into a conference room, and I just lost it. We both did -- it was amazing. We prayed for our son and thanked God for blessing us with this news at such an unexpected time.

We immediately left work and drove home to review his information. I can't even explain how it felt to see his picture for the first time. He's beautiful. Absolutely perfect. We love him more than words and we can't wait to bring him home!

Here are the stats on Little Boy "B":

Age - 5 months
Weight - 14 lbs
Length - 26"

My favorite comment on his assessment is "He likes to giggle and play with his toes" ....seriously how adorable is that?!?!?

We legally are not able to share his picture until after we pass court, but you can take our word for it that he's absolute perfection with a round little face and big brown eyes. Now, we have lots of paperwork to complete to formally accept his referral and then we wait to be submitted to court. Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement!! We would appreciate if you will continue to pray with us for our Little Guy's health and for everyone who's taking care of him right now as he gains a little weight. We'll keep everyone updated as we hear more.

God is so good!

Hope

One of my closest friends sent me this quote last week when I was really struggling:

"Hope does not necessarily take the form of excessive confidence; rather, it involves the simple willingness to take the next step." Stanley Hauerwas

Its March 1st today. I turned yet one more page in my calendar and looked ahead in curiosity if this would finally be the month that I can put a big red circle around a date and write in bold letters "REFERRAL". I don't know...but, like the quote reminds me, I'm just going to keep getting up each morning, going through my days in obedience, putting one foot in front of the other in hopes that the phone will ring with our good news.

It also gives me hope that this friend, the one who sent me the quote, is about to celebrate being home for one month with their beautiful (seriously...BEAUTIFUL) daughter from Ethiopia. Their family is a constant reminder that all of the waiting, the disappointment, and the setbacks will ultimately result in slobbery kisses, toothless smiles, and chubby little hands reaching to be picked up.

So we wait, and we hope...one step at a time.

"BIG" defined

Last Sunday I made the prediction that it was going to be a "BIG" week....and I love being right! Here's a rundown of the "BIG" things that happened:

First: "BIG" did mean "REFERRAL"....just not a referral for us. Our agency group has not had any infant referrals since October, but FINALLY one of our families was matched with a two month old little boy on Monday. Seeing some progress after so many months was "BIG"!

Second: I had a really, really tough week waiting (honestly, the hardest yet), but I have the most amazing friends and they stepped up in a "BIG" way with their prayers & encouragement. Thank you all for letting me fall apart for a few days (and for reminding me that its okay to fall apart!). My heart overflows with love and gratitude in a "BIG" way!

Third: Some dear friends of ours have been waiting for news in a situation and it finally came! I know that's really vague for those of you reading, but it was "BIG"....actually it was "HUGE"...and we are praising God for His deliverance this week!

And Last (but not at all least!): I have a close friend who has a burden for children who have waited far too long to have a family. Watching God grow and stretch her and her husband as they walk through the adoption process has been amazing. They made "BIG" progress this week, and it gives me chills to imagine what their family will look like later this year...oh, the possibilities! Its just a reminder to me how "BIG" our God is and how much "BIGGER" His plans are than our own.

So even though this week didn't bring about our referral, It was a "BIG" week in so many ways, and we're still hopeful for some "BIG" referral news to share soon!

8 Months

That's right -- Eight months ago today we submitted our dossier and we're STILL waiting for our referral. Each month gets a little tougher, so its no surprise that this one has been the most difficult. We have had a lot of changes in the last eight months -- changes in coordinators, changes in agencies, changes in the process -- and, we're just so relieved that this month has brought a little more stability.

We are working with a wonderful Christian agency, we have a coordinator who is willing and able to answer all of our questions (Thank You, Lord!), and the process seems to be more clearly defined than it has been recently. There were times last month when our question "When will we get our referral?" turned into "Will we get our referral?", but the activity this month has given us a renewed sense of assurance that WE WILL GET A REFERRAL!!

We are faithfully trusting God, but honestly we're also just really tired of waiting. I think that sums up our status this month, "Tired but Trusting!"

Sundays

Sunday has become one of my absolute favorite days of the week. I get to wake up to Mike making his famous pancakes. We get the opportunity to go to a church that's full of Christ's love and where Truth is spoken each and every week. We spend time with our good friends and four of the most BEAUTIFUL little girls you've ever met (I'll just call them "3-M's and a B"). All amazing things!

But I also love that Sunday means that a new week is beginning. Full of new hope and new possibilities. For some reason, I feel like this is going to be a "BIG" week. I don't know what exactly "BIG" means, but I'm hoping "BIG" means "REFERRAL"!

One Year Ago....

One year ago today, we were doing this.....



...and it began the adventure of our lives.

We never would have dreamed that, one year later, we would still be waiting to meet our child, but we have also never been more certain that God's timing is absolutely perfect. This year has been full of emotion -- joy, frustration, gratefulness, anxiety, fear --- but I'm happy to report that what we're feeling at this moment is an overwhelming peace about where we are and an unbelievable excitement about what's to come.