That sweet smile of his....

What a week! We have been home now for 8 days and we have had so much fun with our little guy! He is so stinkin cute and he keeps us on our toes for sure! We are sooo glad he isn't sick anymore-- we heard from Vandy last night that his labs showed it was just a viral... a regular 'ol Viral... nothing tropical..probably something he picked up on the plane, in the airport or at home! He does have a UTI so we are treating that now, but he seems just fine! No fever now for 3 1/2 days!! Yippee!!!

Even though he was sick we still had fun.. his little personality REAKS "FUN"... sick or not!

He LOVES his daddy to pieces! and I mean LOVES him! Trusts him! Loves to PLAY with him!

I am a little jealous because daddy gets Hugs ALL DAY LONG from him. It truly is sickening and I am like chopped liver over here dying for a couple of HUGS! LOL . Those 2 have bonded beyond measure!

He is also VERY attatched to his Caitlin-lin-lin and Robby! He LOVES them soo much! and they love him soo much! I took the big kids shopping yesterday for a few hours to spend some of their Chritmas money and they were quite excited about going home so they could PLAY with Mamo! They missed him in just the few hours we were away from him!! :)

He is picking up some English and with that African accent it is the CUTEST thing you have EVER heard! :) I hope he keeps that cute accent!!! He calls out for me when he is going to bed and doesn't want to (yes, the honeymoon is over and we have a 3 year old boy at home!) I think I am the "comforter" for him... probably picked that up from our 7 hour ER visit in which he and I spent most of our time in the rocking chair together... :) When he screams Mommy, you better believe I am coming!! I am the snuggler!!! :)
As I was saying, our Honeymoon period has ended and all of the things he EASILY did before are not so easy... taking a bath, putting on new clothes, changing into our pj's, brushing our teeth, going to bed has become quite an ordeal. LOL. I emailed some other Ethiopian adoptive mothers to figure out "what we were doing wrong" and they all dropped the "Honeymoon is over bomb on me!" He is very much a 3 year old boy-- he needs some control and he likes to do things himself! So he has a choice now in his clothes selection for the day and for his PJ's at night and that has helped... bathtime is the worst. I think he is FREEZING here and he just doesnt want to get naked!!!

Christmas this year was magical...( eventhough we spent 7 hours in the Vandy Children's ER)... :) It was great to have little toys in the house again and to see that Chrismtas morning excitement through his eyes... It was so sweet!

Mamo was able to spend some time with each set of grandparents (there are 3) at different times and it was real sweet. Each grandparent of course spolied him and brought him a "ride" of some sort (trike, inch worm and skooter) so he is all over this house vrooming vrooming...
Can't wait till it gets warm and we can go outside to play!!! He is NOT a big fan of the cold, and he has been sickly, so momma hasn't let the little guy outside. Again, that is not much of a fight because he HATES the coldnesss here!

We did break all the rules of "cocooning when they first come home" and we took him to my mom's house the day after Christmas to meet all of my crazy family on my mom's side. 10 cousins, 5 aunts, 5 uncles, and his Memaw and Papa. He fit right in and did GREAT!
We stayed for 4 hours and he ate Christmas dinner (He loves ham, turkey, mom's dressing and my grandma's watergate salad!)Mom had a SPRITE for him too, so he was in heavan. The other 9 grandchidren spent a large part of the day on the 4 wheelers and being pulled on the sleigh behind the fourwheelers. He loved to watch them out the window!!! We were shocked at the end of the day when he pointed at the sleigh that Caitlin was on and then at him. We were like Woah, he wants to go on the sleigh??? We explained that he would have to put on his coat and go outside (again, he's not a fan), and he put on his coat so fast and he jumped on that sleigh with his Caitlin-lin-lin. It was so cute. He was ALL smiles! We couldnt believe that he went sledding but he did! He didnt stay out long-- He had been fever free for 2 days and I wasnt pushing it! We were just amazed that he wanted to do it!!!



YES he does smile like this ALL the time! He could easily be a little Ethiopian baby model! Isn't he just soo good looking?? :)
I know I am partial to thinking so, but his little smile is just so contagious! We have a doctor appointment on Wednesday (possibly starting our shots) and his first dentist appointment on Friday! Doesn't that sound like fun?? Philip is going back to work today so Mama will be on her own for the next few days... I know I still have some blog catching up to do. Next posts we are going backwards to our trip in Ethiopia and our welcome home post! More to come!!! :)

What the heck is it?? and a glimpse of our first Christmas together as a family of 5!!!!

Ok, so the last week has had bits of fun while our little guys fever was down, but for the most part the fever was UP and nights were long! We have had a TEAM of doctors trying to figure out WHAT he has and we landed back in the Vandy ER on Christmas Eve. :( The poked, they prodded, they took samples of all kinds of things from all kinds of places and called in some REALLY smart doctors... We ruled out a few things that would have kept us in the ER overnight (yay), so we are still waiting for a final verdict. Some type of viral they think, just not sure which one. Funny how some of the virals they mentioned we began praying for,(that we NEVER thought we would be praying for) because we surely didn't want to have some of the other scary diseases they were checking for and wanting to rule out! They were really good at the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. They took really good care of us, and like I said they called in some REALLY smart people from their Christmas Eve celebrations to help us figure this mystery temperature out! Mamo got his FIRST stocking in the hospital, filled with toys and before we left they brought us another one!

He is getting REALLY good at receiving gifts!! He began feeling better once we got some meds in him and believe it or not we went the ENTIRE night without re-dosing!! God is good! We have had whatever this is now for 6 days so we are hoping that we are the end of this mystery viral that he seems to have brought to America with him! I can tell you this... he HATES hospitals! Poor little guy-- it was so terrible watching his sweet little body have to go through all of those tests. By the way, Philip is the light weight in all of this-- he was dying when Mamo was screaming "Daddy, Daddy...". But we had to let the doctors do their work!!!

So, we all came home from the hospital (7 hours after we checked in), opened our CE presents



(Christmas Eve present which every year is cute new PJ's) and off to bed we went. Mamo just collapsed. Emotionally, physically and mentally it was a LONG day for him and also for us! We were so glad to see our pillow..we were all wiped out!

We got up this am not sure what to expect from him and we were greatly surprised! He jumped straight out of bed ( No fever) and when he went into the living room he saw presents everywhere! He may have never had a Christmas before in Africa, but let me tell you...he caught on REAL quick that some of these presents were HIS!


He has been in the BEST mood ALL DAY!!!! We have had a blast having a little one in the house again!! He moved around this house bouncing from toy to toy like he was a "professional!" I guess somethings are "universal" because he "got" that these were his new toys!!! He was sooo happy and in the sweetest mood all day long!


His favorite things he got was a SPRITE in his stocking, M&M's, his new red and blue tent and gobs of playdough! He also LOVED his new Thomas underwear that were in his stocking...cracks me up!!!


He helped mommy cook breakfast,


dueled with daddy with his toy swords in his tent,


made playdough hamburgers for everyone...


had a blast playing with his Robby and Caitlin-lin-lin....



and he has marvelled all day at the pretty snow!!!

Promise I'm not a BAD mom...(he's been sickly) so we were outside for about 2 minutes max! :)

He has also eaten up a storm-- which is a first in the last few days!! It was literally like we got our little boy back!

He got some cute snow/rain boots from Santa..but we couldn't get him to put them on..but he did put on sissy's new Uggs...


He is doing better..and we have all had a wonderful Christmas!!! So excited to be a family of 5 this year and to experience all of these "firsts" with him! Thanks to all of you for all of your prayers! We have felt them and they are working! Keep praying while we await test results please! He keeps pointing to his tummy so we know something isn't right there! It is awful not being able to do anything about it! We just pray that the docs find out soon so we can begin to treat his tummy and his pain!

Merry Christmas to all! What a glorious day it was and may we all remember the true meaning of Christmas!

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.

Feels like we have been on a rollercoaster...and I HATE rollercoasters!

Well, our little guy was welcomed into Music City USA by tons of family and friends Sunday evening! He LOVES his new house..he was running from room to room and throwing himself, while laughing hysterically on every bed and couch in our home! He LOVES all the mirrors too-- which makes sense, because at the Orphanage they LOVE to have their photo taken and then to see a glimpse of themselves since we are digital now! He mostly LOVED his Robby and his Caitlin-lin-lin! They all INSTANTLY fell in LOVE with each other! He is such a happy child and so sweet! He is going to fit right in with us and all of our family and friends! Our prayer is for him to adjust well and be happy. We are all so blessed that God joined him into our family and he into ours! There is no LUCK here...he is not a "lucky" boy; he has lost so much at such a young age and has had to learn to be a survivor. That is something we don't wish upon ANY child or any human being. So we like to say we aren't lucky, he isn't lucky but that we are all richly blessed to have found each other. No doubt about it...it was God's will for us all to be together!

The ONLY thing that Daniel Mamo didn't like was our doggies! He absoultely LOST it ( Fullout tears and screaming) when he saw them on Monday when they arrived home from the doggie jail... and he wouldn't come downstairs for two hours... thanks to my friend Beth's advice he is now petting them and letting them lick his hand. He is still cautious but for the most part he is walking along side of them and bossing them around. LOL. Copper had sat by his bed when he was sick just watching over him... he loves him so much too! Yesterday morning Copper jumped in the bed with him and Mamo just laughed and let him lick his hand! That is progress my friends, that is progress! Thanks so much Beth! ( BTW, Ethiopian children are TERRIFIED of dogs because they are taught as children to stay away from dogs-- dogs are NOT pets in ET- think hyenas and African wild dogs-- they eat small children... this fear is the eqivalent of us swimming in the gulf with sharks and someone telling us it's ok and that they won't hurt you!) Huge progess here--our dogs are inside small dogs so we had to quickly get him to understand they are ok and that they would NOT hurt him!)

Ok, how did he do on the plane ride??? Well, amazing-- that is all I can say! He couldn't get on that plane fast enough! We had given him a toy airplane the day we were to leave and he played with it ALL day! It had a string on it you could pull and the airplane would run across the floor. The manager at the guest home told us he kept saying that "he hoped the plane would make it all the way to America!!!" :) He was so happy to be going to America! He was of course fasicnated with the REAL airplane...Lots of buttons to push, lights to turn on, headsets to put on, movies to watch, yummy food to eat and cokes to drink! He slept the first 12 hours of the 17 hour plane ride, so Philip and I were also able to get a little sleep! We had an "emergency kit" of toys, but we only had to pull out 2 toys to keep him entertained! That was a blessing! We landed in Washington and then flew off to Atlanta and then to Nashville! He is fascinated with Aeroplanes! He loved to watch them on the runway and show off his counting skills as he counted all the planes!

We were welcomed home by so many family members and friends!!


It was as if the papparzzi showed up! Good thing for him that he loves to flash that cutie patootie smile at everyone! He loved it! :)


Thanks everyone for giving us all such a BIG warm welcome! When we landed in Nashville we all clapped on the plane and said "We are Home!" Keep in mind he doesn't speak English, so we then said "Robby and Caitlin are here" and -- HE LIT UP! He has seen thier pictures since November and he just couldn't wait to see them! I think that is how he understood we were home! Robby and Caitlin were allowed special permission to come up to our gate (Thanks Kurtis and Alicia) and he smiled so BIG when he saw them, passed out BIG hugs to his brother and sister and then immediately grabbed his sister's hand to walk up to meet everyone awaiting our arrival! So sweet! :)

Then the roller coaster ride begins! We were tucking him into bed after we finally convinced him he HAD to go to sleep (he was running on an overdrive of Adrenalin!) and Caitlin said wow, he is HOT! and she wasn't kidding! He had been running a temperature and we didn't even know it! He had been having the time of his life playing in our home all evening, so we didn't even suspect it.... my neighbor Susan hooked us up with some Children's Tylenol and we all crashed! We contined to check on him through the night and he was just burning up... so little sleep was had and we began to worry for the little guy! What a tough re-entry to the US! He woke up still with a low grade fever and played all morning as if nothing was wrong. We had a sick child appointment that afternoon and his fever was off the charts by the time we got there ( we were still dosing his meds to bring it down). They did chest Xrays (which are awful for kids by the way- Philip nealy lost it) and we ruled out Pneumonia and TB. He had a terrible cough while we were in Ethiopia, and we had been giving him some medicine from their local pharmacy while we were there... so we knew he had some type of upper rsepirtory something! Our doctor ruled it as Bronchitis, which is what he had when Robby and I met him in July on the mission trip. (I had remembered that on his medical report that they had treated him with cough syrup...) So I felt very happy that he at least got sick here and that we could TREAT him here with an antibiotic and lots of cuddling. By that night, he was WIPED out and crashed out for 12 hours. We were up all night giving him meds (American med's dont taste so great!) He ran crazy temps all night and by morning he sprung out of bed ready to play! We thought his fever must have broken! He played and ate everything in site the next 8 hours and then the fever came back... 98 to 103..just like that! Poor baby! So we were up all night again, praying that the antibiotic would soon begin to work in his body and then he slept the next 14hours! Repeat again -- woke up with no fever, in the best mood, and wanting to play and eat everything in site. By now we were so perplexed... we receieved an email from our agency director that we might need to rule out Malaria, since it is common that fevers spike and go away quickly. We called out doctors office and he thought that was also a good idea... We pulled him off all meds for fever and just waited and watched... again we went from 98 to 102 in a matter of hours so off to Vanderbilt we went. Bless his heart-- we did a whole battery of blood tests and we are still awaiting the results. We were praying to have heard something last night, but we never did. My mom says that must be a good thing. There must not have been anything alarming for my doctor to say-- GO back to Vanderbilt. After his blood test we pumped him back up with Ibuprofen and by the time we got home his fever was coming down fast!

Philip had went earlier in the day to get him some food from ABAY (Our Ethiopian Resturant) and he devoured it when we got home from the hospital! :) I think a little taste from something from home also helped a lot!

Oh yeah, my parents came up while we went to Vandy to be with our other two kiddos and we also had plans to have Christmas with them that evening. We weren't sure how Mamo would do- we were expecting him to crash out again, but once again his fever went away VERY quickly and he was ALL over this house playing and feeling good! So glad that my parents were able to see his sweet personality and have the chance to spend some time with their newest grandson! We opened presents (he didnt get this AT ALL!!) At the end my parents wheeled in a Mac Daddy Trike and let me tell you...He GOT THAT! Equipped with a bell and all and he was on his ride the rest of the night! :)


Back to bed again and his fever was back...it's lower than it has been since Sunday so we are hoping that is a good thing! Waiting for test results this am! We receieved so many prayers for him over the past few days! Thanks to everyone-- he is LOVED so much! I know many of you are dying to meet him.... we just have to get him better first!!!

Love to all and we will keep continue to keep everyone updated!!!

WE are HOME!!!

Ok, I know there is A LOT of blog catching up to do! I just got out of the shower and its already 1:30pm.... I dont know where the day has gone! I have tons of laundry to finish, unpacking to do, clothes to buy and Christmas to finish up! (Maybe tomorrow!)( Not to mention thank you notes and over 100 emails... :)
I will start catching you all up on what happend while we were in Ethiopia to us arriving home in The Good 'Ol USA over the blog hopefully in the next few days! I have to get some time to do this and get in my blog place! :)

He's Home! He's Home! Forever!!!

He's upstairs playing in his room right now; he's about to take his first trip to the American doctor (Oh boy!)! He LOVES his Robby and his Caitlin!!! and they LOVE him! He charmed us the whole trip, charmed the ladies at the guest home, charmed the Ethiopian security guard, the American airline flight attendent (he earned his wings after 3 airplanes to get HOME! We were so blessed to have so many family and friends at the airport to welcome us home! There were balloons and signs awaiting us as we arrived home!

He loved EVERYTHING-- especially all of the mirrors (LOL!)

He did NOT love the dogs when they came home today-- full out tears-- thanks to advice from our friend Beth, he is now feeding them treats and playing fetch with them. She is the Ethiopian child dog whisperer! Take that Ceasar Milan! LOL

Thanks again to everyone!!! We love all of you and we really know how blessed we are!!! We have seen so many less fortuanate than us on this trip of a lifetime and we will never forget what we saw. We promise to ACT on what we saw and what we learned. Thanks again so much to ALL of you!! Pics and videos to post later!!! :) Love ya! Off to the doctor--wish us luck- parasite check and off to treat a terrible cough and fever!!! He gets to ride in his new CAR SEAT.

We are sooo in love with this little guy!

He just steals your heart!

Philip said if we could figure out a way to bottle up his sweet laughter we would be RICH! He's just sooo stinking sweet! :) It was definitely a "God thing" from how we met him to how fast this adoption happend! We believed before but man, after this, our faith has grown abundantly. Its funny how CLEARLY he speaks to you when you listen!!! Follow your heart...that is God whispering to you! He led us straight to Ethiopia and we found him when I was ready to come home! He said. Oh yeah? Look at him! :) He is yours, and we obediently pursued this little miracle. Never, ever, would I have ever, thought about going on a 20+ hour plane ride to bring a new addition into our family...all the way to AFRICA... and it happend JUST LIKE THAT! So glad it did! I never want to imagine life without him!

So happy to be at home to love on our other two...

now we are complete...

Family of 5 at last!

We are preparing for travel!!!!! :) Busy, Busy!

Well, it has been SUPER busy around here...

We got the call (email) this past Wednesday, December 8th that we have been cleared for travel and we have received the Embassy date of December 16th (this Thursday)for the final step of this adoption of Daniel Mamo. Can you please PRAY that all is cleared on that date for us to bring this little boy home!!! :) We leave next Monday, December 13th and we have booked 3 (THREE) return tickets arriving into Nashville on December 19th! Please pray for our kiddos here too- this week will be exam week and Grandma will be cracking the "study hard" whip! :)

So, I am now officially on vacation with my work and my Maternity leave will kick in next Thursday in Africa as long as we are cleared for our travel to return home! Phil is taking the next 2 weeks off- one week for travel and the other week to hang out with all of us when we get home! :)

We still can't believe Mamo is going to be home for Christmas! We never really thought this was possible! Mamo is going to think we are mad when he sees a lit up tree in our home! Can you imagine what he will think? America in general will be a shock (as well as this antartic weather we are having here this year!)Can't wait to hear all those sweet ooh's and ahh's....and Brrr's...

So, we are frantically getting Mamo's room ready (we will call him Mamo when he gets home)...it now has a fresh coat of blue paint. I am a khaki kind of girl, so this was hard for me! We will be finishing his room tomorrow! My in-laws will be here with the kids holding the fort down for us this week while we travel to Ethiopia! Thank you soo much! :)

I LOVE this video... looking back over this year, I just can't believe that I am going to Africa again (3 times) this year and that Philip will have been twice. This time last year AFRICA wasn't even on our radar.... Things can happen real fast when God has his hand in it! :) Africa is IN our hearts now and forever... Watch this! I just love this place!!! It is so AMAZING!!! (Mute our music player at bottom right of page) :)

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SOME THINGS BEAR REPEATING AND RE-READING...

Ok, so tonight we sit hear waiting, hoping for news tomorrow or the next day, or the next day, that we are cleared for travel. We still feel like it's a long shot to be going in one week from today to bring our son home forever,and I started thinking about the day we met him....

One thing I have learned with this adoption is that God's been in control from Day 1...there is no doubt this was HIS plan for our family! He knows when we will be traveling to bring our son home and we will trust that his timing will be PERFECT! :) He has handled every step in our journey, so we will continue to wait and pray for this little guy to join our family forever...even though the waiting is so much harder than we thought! :)

Some things bear repeating....

This was the day when my heart skipped a beat and I couldn't get that sweet smile out of my mind.. This was the day that my somewhat relucatant husband at the time answered God's call for us to adopt! I texted him and told him about this sweet boy, and his text back was "what do we need to do to bring him home?" He started our homestudy process right then and there... my son and I were still in Africa. Our hearts fell in love with this sweet little boy who found himself in an oprhanage and had arrived just the day before... Here is our original post from our mission trip with Ordinary Hero this past July... ( Day 5)



Day 5
I am exhausted. I am tired and I am cold. It is raining again. My shoes are still dirty from the trash dump and it is so muddy here. Flip flops and crocs are not the ideal choice in this mud. I am emotionally tired. I am not looking forward to going to anymore orphanages today. I need a day to fill up my love tank. It is depleted. I am keeping this honest and real. This is how I feel. After breakfast we found out that the orphange we were going to didn't call back with directions, so we were going into town to shop! Ye Haw! This is what this American girl NEEDED! Something LESS emotional. I think I was just beginning to process what I had seen at the first orphange, at the trash dump and at Ararat. I was thinking about all that I had seen and I was somewhere between mad, sad, disgusted and numb.

We spent the morning shopping which was so fun! I was grateful I had my mathematician Robby with me to help me figure out how much birr an item is to the American dollar! This was exactly what I needed! I felt so much better afterwards!

Afterwards, Kelly, our team leader, announced that we were splitting into 3 groups for the rest of the day. One group was going back to the trashdump for the afternoon, one group was going to a new orphanage that just had 8 children arrive the day before, and the last group was going to a transitional home (where children who have been placed with adoptive families are waiting for all of their paperwork and court work to be completed.) Robby and I went to the new orphange with the new children.



As many of you know, we are considering adoption and I have been hoping for a "connection" with a child on this trip that I could possibly go home and try to bring home. No, this is not the normal way things are done here. I was just hoping that it MIGHT work out that way. I realize this is a LONG shot. There were 8 kids who had just arrived the day before. Driving here, I started thinking that this was going to be tough. This was going to be different from the other orphanages and the trashdump. These children were probably going to be in shock. Their world as they had known it had changed for them forever, just the day before. I simply can't imagine how they would be feeling. They didn't have any clothes except the clothes they were wearing. When we pulled in they were all holding 2 toys each, with some type of death grip. I went up to one adorable little girl and she hit me with her toy and ran away. Ok, this was a first. It was ok, I'd be mad too if my whole world had changed overnight. It was a lot to take in. ALL of the kids here were amazingly cute, funny and precious! They lit up when we got them in their new clothes. We gave them some toys and we handed out makenas ( matchbox cars) again. Thanks to all of you who donated them! They were quite a hit! We stopped at a grocery on the way there and Robby & I bought juice and cookies for the kids. Robby had a blast playing with the boys-- there was a BASEBALL BAT at this orphange and he had so much fun helping them learn the Great, All American Pasttime! Robby LOVES baseball, so this was RIGHT up his alley! He and the agency directors huband were teaching the kids (and the adults) how to swing a bat! It was great! I helped clothe the children and watched them SHINE after they put on some underwear, new clothes and new shoes! There was one little girl that was such a diva! Yes, girls in AFRICA who have virtually nothing, like sparkles, skirts and anything PINK!!!! See, that is a GOD thing! He MAKES them this way! She was adorable and she was sooo trying to squeeze her foot into the shoes with the bling! They didn't fit, but she wanted them anyway!!Ha! Ha! Sounds like some of my girlfriends! What we do for the perfect pair of shoes!!!!





This was a very short visit to this orphanage but a GREAT short visit. I met a little one there who stole my heart. I don't know what God's plans are for this child, but Philip and I are officially starting our homestudy this Thursday (tomorrow). I texted Philip from Africa and he set up our first appointment for us. I know that that sweet, precious child will find a loving family. Selfishly, I hope and pray it is mine. This orphange visit was NOT scheduled on our iteniary. Our family picture was NOT planned to be taken in front of the African continent. I know there are NO such things as accidents or coincidences. Robby and I found this mission trip 3 days before they purchased airfare. It was a really a 24 hour decision to go or NOT to go. AND WE WENT. God is in control. I was crabby, moody, tired and cold today when I woke up. I didn't want to go to an orphanage. I felt completley IN LOVE by the end of the day. I know that if this is God's will for my family, then it will be. I know that he already has a child picked out for us. THIS I know and will leave the rest to him!

To make this day even a little bit better, after we left the orphanage we went to Starbucks! :) but it is called Kaldi's in Ethiopia! Their logo is a knockoff of Starbucks and Yes, it looks and smells like Starbucks! Hallelujah! It was soo wonderful! After that we went OUT for dinner and Robby and I had good ol' PIZZA! It was so stinking good! This was a great ending to a very emotional day for me! My battery is now recharged...bring on more Orphans! :)



God works in mysterious ways, huh? :) What is so funny too as I reflect back on this post is at the amazing friendships we have made with other families that are adopting these children in these photos or referenced to in this posts... they have become very dear friends of ours... who knew? I thought we just wanted this sweet little guy, but HE has also put some amazing people in our lives to be on this journey with! We are so blessed!

HOMERUN KIND OF DAY!!!

We received

2

bits of

AMAZING

news today!!!

#1 was that we MAY have a chance to travel on the 16th of December to bring our guy home!!! That is in like 11 days if we get approved ( remember it takes a little while to get there, so that is my wierd math)! Our case was submitted this morning!!! So now we PRAY that we get clearance for travel for the December 16th Embassy appointment!!! :) He just MIGHT be home for Christmas!!! Praying!!! :)

#2 Did you read my post about "T" who was STILL waiting at Mamo's orphanage??? Did you watch that video HOPE IS FADING??? Well guess what? Hot off the press tonight...HE HAS BEEN PICKED!!!! Thanks to all of you who prayed for him!!! Our family is sooo excited...we have been hoping someone would pick him!...since July! :)

So with that bit of news today, I am so happy, so thankful, very blessed and VERY satisfied! There is one less Orphan in the world tonight, someone who now has a forever family and another special guy who just might need to start packing his back pack to come home REAL soon to America! God is Good! Amen!

gina payne shared a clip with you on Vimeo

gina payne shared this with you:
http://vimeo.com/12307403

( ***Please Mute my music at bottom right hand side of the blog- scroll down to the bottom. This way you can hear the video) :) Special Prayer for "T".*****

Hope is Fading http://vimeo.com/12307403 Please watch this. When I see this video I think of "T", who is waiting at my son's orphange. He is the last of the original bus load of children who arrived the same day my son did. He is 6/7 years old, plays well with others, is great at soccer, LOVES to have his photo taken,speaks wonderful ENGLISH and despeately wants a FOREVER family. Could it be you? About this video: "This was my capstone Senior project at the University of Cincinnati. The animations were for a site that doesn't really exist, but would have promoted adoption."

Forward this email to your friends and family so that they can see it, too.

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LOVE,

MORE progress and a SPECIAL prayer request for "T"!

Well, more GREAT news this week... I love getting emails from our agency director, Sue Hedberg!!!! :)
Keep them coming Sue!!! :) We just need a few more! :)

This week we got his medical clearance, they also have his passport and it is all being submitted to the Embassy on December 2nd! ( this Thursday!) Woo HOO! So more waiting, but things are indeed moving along and we are getting closer to having him HOME with us FOREVER! :)

We are praying for an Embassy date of December 16th or December 30th! :) We prefer the earlier one, but so do a lot of other families! I keep reminding myself that God already knows when he is coming home and that his timing will be PERFECT! I am so ready for tomorrow to be December already and I just PRAY this is his HOMECOMING month! :)

In the meantime, he did get a musical card from us yesterday! You meet a lot of new friends when you wait for an adoption! Our new friend went to his orphanage this week went to bring her son HOME! What a joy! We are so happy for her family and for her new son! We were so grateful for our son to receive something as simple as a card and a few photos to hopefully ensure him we are thinking about him and coming soon for him! Our friend just said he kept staring at the pictures! :) That sounds about right! He loves his photos!!! :) Love you little guy! We miss you soo much!!

So, we are busy getting the boys rooms changed around ( Robby is going to the extra bedroom). We have been busy cleaning closets ( donating more stuff to another Adoption Fundraiser Yard Sale that is THIS weekend), having the carpets cleaned ( Thanks Luke @ Mr B's Chem Dry!), and pulling stuff off the walls! Next job is a nice coat of paint! All that is left in Robby's room is his bed ( Now Mamo's) and a real cool Train table ( Thanks Kurtis and Alicia!) :)


We are also trying to get the rest of our ADOPTION T-SHIRTS sold!

So funny, but that is one of the TOP posts that people go to on our site! I know they are getting ideas for their fundraising and for their family T-Shirts-- we remember doing the same thing!

We have a FEW left---so get yours if you want them! They would be GREAT to wear to the airport when we have our welcome home party!!! I can't wait to be able to tell y'all when we are coming home!! Yay!!!

T-shirt sizes: (this is what we have left)

2 ladies Mediums

2 mens Mediums

1 mens XL

Who wants them? Ladies are $28 and Mens are $25!
5$ shipping and pick ups are FREE! You can pay through paypal, cash or check! :)

We also have a FEW Uganda beads left!

We don't have too many so if you want one or two as Christmas presents PLEASE let me know ASAP! I think we have like 14 left and then we are done!!!! They are $25 each!!!!


Thanks to all of our family and our friends (old and new) for your support of our family on this adoption journey! We have been so blessed by your support, generosity and your love!~ I can't wait until Daniel Mamo gets the chance to meet the people that loved him, believed in him and who are giving him the chance at life, as part of our family, long before they knew him!

I would like to request a very special prayer for a 6/7 year old boy, "T", who is still at Mamo's orphanage WAITING to be picked by his FOREVER family! He is the only one left waiting, of the original 8, that my son and I met on July 20th. Will you please PRAY that someone PICKS him soon! He is a doll, speaks wonderful English and is so loving! Robby helped teach "T" how to swing a baseball bat while we were there. Robby says he was really good at is too! We were pretty sure they had never seen a baseball bat before!!! It was a lot of fun watching them work that bat! LOL

When Philip and I stepped off the van when we arrived to see Mamo last month, "T" lit up when he saw me. He started swinging an air baseball bat-- then I knew he remembered me! (and he was looking around for Robby!) If you would like more information on this child I would love to tell you how AMAZING he is! He is school age and plays well with others! He is GREAT at soccer and is the BIG brother at the orphanage to all the little ones! My guy LOVES him! They all do!!! Ask my husband..this child is so sweet and NEEDS to be picked soon! He is a very special boy to our family and we are praying for him and are asking for your prayers too!

Someone PLEASE pick him! There are 6 kids from this orphanage coming to Middle Tennessee. I would so love if it were 7! He is watching all of us loving on our kids, watching the other kids with their mommies and daddies, he sees the other kids receiving care packages and he is just waiting!!! He just wants someone to LOVE him and call him their son FOREVER!

((I am trying to get a Video (not of him, but one that reminds me of him) on the blog. Not so great at this; IF I succeed you will need to mute our music player at the bottom right of the blog so you can hear the sound of the video). I keep trying!!! :))

Could it be you? Or someone you know?

Birth Certificate...CHECK! And Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We got news Tuesday that Daniel Mamo's birth certificate has arrived!!! and it matches what his father gave us! His birthday is April 28th, 2007! Can't wait to have this 3 1/2 year old boy home soon!!

Isn't he just a cutie??!! We are so excited to have a Spring birthday to add to our family!

Next item on the wait list is his Passport, then we are submitted to the Embassy! Ya -Hoo!!!

We are busy clearing out closets and transferring rooms now! Our carpets are getting cleaned Saturday and the "nesting" has officially started! There is a CHANCE he will be home BEFORE or right after Christmas, so we are getting ready!!! There is soo much to do!!! We have sooo much to be THANKFUL for!

We were also reminded today of another way we could help someone else today in Africa. God has spoken to us to help a friend in need and we were THANKFUL that we were able to do so. We have so many things to be THANKFUL for here in America. God continues to stir our hearts, place people in our lives that he wants us to see and help, and HE is calling us to do MORE. I LOVE that HE is STRETCHING our faith our budgets and our hearts!

Ok, hopefully we will post more updates REAL soon!

:) Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Please click HERE to read a special and beautiful Thanksgiving message from my friend Krisit Johnson. I echo her feelings today and wanted to share her blogpost with you. You can also contact Sue Hedberg at Celebrate Children (Our agency) to see WAITING kids with her agency (she will email you a password) who are WAITING for someone to say YES! I promise you it will FILL your heart to help the least of these! We have so much to give and to be THANKFUL for this holdiay. I know many of you have room in your hearts and in your homes to love ONE more! Go ahead, take a look! :)

I firmly beleive everyone has a role in the 163 million Orphan Crisis that we currently have in this world. I know not everyone had the calling to adopt- but I do beleive that EVERYONE has a calling in this CRISIS. PLEASE Support someone who is adopting by helping them financially, GO VISIT an ORPHAN, or Pray for the Orphan!

If (only) 7% of Christians would adopt ONE Orphan in this world, then there would be NONE left! Did you know...34% of Christians consider Adoption, but only 1% ACTUALLY do it! Please don't be in the 33% that does nothing if you are or have ever considered adopting! That is the ONE statistic that haunted me after I read it! We didn't want to be in that 33%! A lot of people do not adopt because of finances....Many of us can help someone say YES by helping our friends and our family financially!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!! :) We are sooooo blessed to have a strong marriage, a wonderful family, 2 smart and beautiful kids, a toddler on the way, a warm house, plenty of food on the table, and rich friendships!We are blessed to be able to WORSHIP and PRAISE God for all of our blessings!

Journey to the GORGE and back! Some of our memories from Ethiopia!

Well, the jet lag really hit me this trip.I was up again this morning at 4am. Last trip Robby and I didn't have ANY jet lag. Philip is fine too; just lucky me who can't sleep. At first I thought it was the adrenalin of everything that had just transpired, but now I am definitely blaming the jet lag and the 9 hour time difference! I will not be sleeping the first leg of the trip home next time. That is where I made the mistake! Lesson learned! :)

So, I shared our sweet son's photos and told y'all a little about his sweetness and his likes and dislikes. Now I want to show you his beautiful country.

The first full day we were there we went out into the countryside and saw the beauty of Ethiopia!
Now, when Robby and I were there in July we were there during the Rainy Season and their Winter Season. The DRY Season is a totally different Ethiopia that we were able to see this time! It was BEAUTIFUL! The temps were 75 degrees with a constant breeze and sunny skies every day (it FELT like being on vacation on an island). The weather was perfect! It felt GREAT everyday! You needed a jacket early in the morning and at night, but the daytime temperatures were superb! It was so nice to see EVERYTHING DRY as well. No mud on this trip! We were slathered in it last trip! So glad I was able to see both season's in this beautiful country! As as side note Ethiopia gets ALL of their rain from July-September. The other 9 months it DOES NOT RAIN. Crazy, huh?

Early Sunday morning, we drove 2 hours outside of the city to a Gorge (A.k.a as Ethiopia's Grand Canyon! We passed all kinds of remote villages, kids who were shepherding cattle and goats, kids playing in the fields, people walking to church, people walking to visit their friends houses!
Here you saw more of the HUT type houses and it looked like what you think Africa looks like. There is a BIG difference from city life in Ethiopia and life in the countryside. They still do all of their farming with Oxen and a wooden plow and they walk really long distances to gather water. We passed a well today and saw children using it.

It was a gorgeous drive and we went with some new friends of ours, Lisa and Mike from Buffalo New York! The scenery was breathtaking on the way there and the Gorge was spectacular!


We finally got to see monkeys (Baboons)! I didn't get a ton of pictures or many up close because they scurried as soon as they saw us! So, look REAL close in these photos!:)

There was a magnificent waterfall at the Gorge and we hiked down to it.
There was also a REALLY old bridge that was gorgeous!

We had a few "local" guides give us the "tour" and of course we bought a few handmade items from them!
The rolling green hills and the river at the base of the gorge were spectacular.It reminded Philip and I of the beauty we felt when we were in Lake Tahoe. Breathtaking beauty!



There were aloe Vera plants growing everywhere and lots of other flowers and plants. Our Christmas poinsettias grow wild here in Ethiopia too. And they grow BIG! Like Poinsettia trees! :)


It was such a beautiful morning and we were blessed to have been able to journey 2 hours outside the city to see this beautiful site! Our driver and tour guide, Alazar, taught us sooo much aboout Ethiopian culture and the differences from Ethiopian city life versus rural countryside life!
We made the 2 hour journey back and left for the orphanage where our kids were! They were all eagerly waiting for us when we pulled in!(Despite the van running over and exploding one of their soccer balls!- No worries we replaced the next day with 3 new soccer balls!)

Especially happy to see us was this sweet face! :)
We donated tons of clothes and shoes to the orphange (a lot of the good quality stuff that was left over from our MEGA yardsale). Today each of the kids were bathed and dressed in new clothes and shoes! They came out one at a time (one nanny bathed and washed all 20 kiddos, so this happend over a few hours...) We all made a big deal when each child came out so clean and with their new duds on! Their little faces just lit up! It was so sweet and it felt so good that they were getting great use of all of YOUR donations!!! It truly put a smile on all of their sweet faces, and ours too!!! :)