Hello from Ethiopia! We are here & doing great! Internet has been down, and so this is the first i'm able to write. I won't be able to write a lot, but just wanted you all to know that we are okay. One surprise....Abnet is actually Abinet : ) We've been spending a lot of time at Hannah's Hope. And already were able to meet with Abinet's mom...more to come once we get back. The group we have traveled with is WONDERFUL! We are having so much fun! I can't wait to tell you all everything! & for those of you waiting for referalls...oh man, have I taken lots of pictures! please continue to pray for all of the families....there is definitly some sprititual warfare going on. Everyone's doing good, but it is hard & your prayers would be appreciated.

Not sure if i'll be able to update again before we leave...but we love you all & can't wait to fill you in with everything!

~amy

We're Off

We leave for the airport in about 7 hours! It still hasn't completely hit me yet! Rachel is with my sister for Thanksgiving, so I had to say goodbye to her on Wednesday. It was really weird, I just kept thinking how this was the last time it would just be the three of us...it's just weird that the next time we'll see Rachel we'll have her little brother with us! Very exciting!

Here's a schedule to give you a little bit of an idea of what we'll be doing while we are in Ethiopia.

Saturday: we'll arrive Saturday morning, and get to go to Hannah's Hope and meet Abnet!
Sunday: we'll go to church in the morning, and then have some free time in the afternoon.
Monday: Today we'll do all of our paperwork & go to the embassy to apply for Abnet's visa.
Tuesday: We'll have a chance to go the a government run orphanage, and also to a hospital.
Wednesday: Our visa should be ready today.
Thursday: Leave this evening.
Friday: arrive back in D.C. @7:30am

I'm not sure if we will be able to blog while we are in Ethiopia. I've heard rumors that blogger doesn't work while you are there, so we'll have to see.

Thanks for all your prayers! We are so excited and a little nervous, but we just can't wait till we are there!

Metrobaby

I just have to tell you about the sling I just got. I've been talking about getting one for a while, but for one I've been a little overwhelmed with my choices, and two, I'm a procrastinator. :) So even though I'm leave in a few days I hadn't bought one yet. So anyway I'm talking with my friend the other day how I was wanting one, and she tells me how she used to work with a girl who makes them. She forwards me the website. I go on, and am pleasantly surprised. For one they are very cute. There are a lot of different patterns (uh oh, more choices) & they weren't $100 which was what I was finding else where. So I decide to buy one. But as I'm typing in all the details I get nervous that I might not get it in time, so I write an email to the company telling them my situation. I get a call 30 minutes later. The lady tells me that she would be more than willing to meet me at the Target close to my house, and bring me one! So 1 hour later, I'm home with a new beautiful sling, and I even got a free lesson on how to use it! Very cool! Let's just hope Abnet likes it too.

This is the pattern that I got. (it's reversible too!)

What Are You Thankful For?

Rachel came home from school with this today...


it just made me smile.

I'm A Genius!

Not really but according to "The blog readablitly test" you have to be a genius in order to understand my blog. WHAT?! I saw this on my friend Julie's blog. At first I didn't want to try it, b/c I was a little afraid what would come back something like "preschool level"...i was definitely not expecting this. But you know, I just had to face the facts... I mean these things are very reliable, and hey if you're reading my blog... it means your a genius! I knew I had smart friends! :)

7 DAYS!!!!

okay I know it's been a while since I've posted anything...but things are going as you probably figured...CRAZY!!! I can not believe we leave in a week! I'm trying to get our house in order, b/c while we are gone, my parents (who live overseas) are coming into town and will be staying here w/ Rachel. So I also need to have everything written out for them, so they know when & where Rachel needs to be at things that week.

We also have a dog, and being that we are leaving Thanksgiving weekend, but didn't know until a couple of weeks ago, ALL kennels are full. It's crazy...they book up at least 6 weeks before Thanksgiving! But thankfully, we've had a couple of offers from the teenagers we have discipleship with that they would be willing to watch her...let's just hope their parents think it's a good idea too! :) So other than that, this weekend is going to continue to be crazy! We are going to try to get everything packed this weekend, squeezing everything into 4 bags. (hopefully most of the bags will be full of stuff for Hannah's Hope.)

This weekend is also a sad weekend for us, b/c our good friends (who also are our church's youth pastor & wife) are moving. So we are going to a couple of goodbye parties for them, but I just can't seem to get my head around that they are really leaving. It's been hard too, b/c we've been so busy with getting ready for Abnet that I feel like we haven't really been able to be there for them. Please pray for them as they make this transition. (& us too as we will miss them terribly)

Something To Be Thankful For

We have tickets! We are leaving Friday, November 23rd at 9:30am!!!!!!! So we will be nice and stuffed as we get on our long plane ride. We'll get back on Friday the 30th at 7:20am. I can't believe this time has come. & I have so much to do!

For all those of you out there who have already done this...give me advice on what I need to make sure I bring or do! Thanks!

oh yeah, and good job on the 5 of you out there that guessed right!

Big Sis

We got this great shirt in the mail from Jesse's sis. Thank you Melanie!
Rachel is so excited to be a big sister. Yes, her world is going to change more then she realizes, but I think overall she is going to be great. & boy does she need a sibling! She's been an only for a little too long. :)


& speaking of family, we have been truly blessed to have our family support us fully in our journey. Everyone is so excited to meet Abnet & we are so grateful that he will be loved on by everyone. It's heartbreaking to hear others' stories about how they've struggled with families who not only don't understand why they are adopting, but why they would be adopting a child of a different color. So thank you family for loving us (including Rachel & Abnet) in such a wonderful way!

Happy Halloween!

At the pumpkin patch
Cleaning out the pumpkins...it took Rachel a while to think that this was actually going to be fun
The finished product

Rachel's preschool party

Our cute little bunny

Sorting all the candy

Hope you all had a fun day!