Is it good news or just more news???

We received another update from our agency yesterday and are being told it is good news. You can imagine after 4 months of being jerked around we are a little cautious about believing that any news is good news.

So here is the news: Last week Wednesday Derartu's case was finally submitted again to the US Embassy. Our thought is that there is nothing else they could possibly need at this point considering the full investigation her case went through. Oh but we were wrong. Yesterday the US Embassy said they need another document from the orphanage where Derartu came from. Our agency made it sound like this document was a formality and easy to get. They tried to make it sound like this request is a positive sign. The problem is that this is just another request on top of many other requests that will just push things out a little further.

There was a bit of what we consider good news in their communication with us. Apparently Abdu's post-court paperwork is progressing well and they hope to be able to submit it to the Embassy next week on 3/23. If this happens and they get that other document for Derartu our kids could be assigned one Embassy date together which is definitely good news.

Don't get me wrong, we see that God's plan may be at work here with the timing. It would be wonderful logistically and financially to go one time and bring both of them home which it appears that we will likely be able to do at this point. However, this timeline is only positive if the Embassy doesn't ask for more documentation on Derartu or, heaven forbid, they take Abdu's case down the same path that they took Derartu's which would delay him for months. The bottom line is that we won't know until his case is submitted and the Embassy can review it.

One other tactic that we have taken is to get our local US Congressman's, Marlin Stutzman, office involved. They were absolutely wonderful in getting a couple of things done for us late last year with some things that we needed from government agencies. The lady that we are working with has an extensive background in international adoption within the government and is well connected there. As I type this she is putting an inquiry into the Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to get an explanation as to all that is happening with our case. Our agency is wonderful but they don't give us a lot of detailed explanation about what is happening, so hopefully this will yield some results.

Our agency did end their message to us yesterday by saying that if all goes well we should be able to bring both of them home in early April. So we need everyone to pray hard for us! We need for these little ones to come home and be with their family and we sure could use to get rid of all the anxiety, stress, frustration and worry.

The rest of the family is doing great. Tami's grandmother passed last week so we attended that funeral over the weekend. What a GREAT lady and a GREAT example of discipleship. Grandma Rita will certainly be missed! It was truly a celebration as she was a strong woman of God and we know that she wasn't afraid, but rather looking forward to her homecoming.

The kids are doing wonderfully in school now that we are through this horrible winter and they are actually attending school on a regular schedule. Faith is on a break from winter swimming and the two older boys are playing Upward basketball. Faith also tried out for the school play but didn't get a part:( She was very disappointed and so was I as I was at the cut and had to watch as she anxiously awaited the calling of her name that never happened. But she rebounded quickly that evening which was promising as sometimes she really lingers on bad news.

We hope all is well with our friends and family who follow our pathetic little blog. We pray for all of you often in our family shared prayer each evening before bed. I hope to have some good news to post about our adoption really soon!