Updates...

I have been terrible about updates but, as you can imagine, life has been pretty hectic since we returned home almost two weeks ago. Let me start by simply saying that Derartu is doing fabulously! I only mention Derartu because we hit yet another snag and weren't able to bring Abdu home. More on that later in the post.

With Derartu we couldn't have asked for an easier transition so far. We had heard horror stories of children scared out of their minds which resulted in acting out in crazy ways, being inconsolible or just being generally depressed. Thankfully we have dealt with none of this. Tami and I truly believe the saving grace was having Kyle and Faith with us in Ethiopia. She immediately took to them and built a great rapport before we even left Ethiopia. That certainly helped us to get off on the right foot. Looking back I can't believe we ever questioned whether or not we should take Kyle and Faith. They had an experience of a lifetime and they were beyond perfect with the way they behaved and helped out. They are awesome kids and we are so thankful they were with us.

Since we have been home Derartu has come a long way. She has been a good eater and sleeper which has been a big help. She has already started to learn and use a lot of english. She has built a super relationshiop with the kids and she is really building a great, loving relationship with Tami. It has been a little slower with her and I. It is not unusual for many of these kids to find it hard to bond with a male and that is what is happening in Derartu's case. Having said that, we make little strides every day. There is nothing like flat out rejection happening, just a little hesitation to let me in too far. We play games, I paint her finger and toe nails and she has joined in some wrestling sessions as well. I keep begging for the kiss good night but I haven't got it yet. I think it is coming soon. It will be an awesome day when I finally get her to do it. So overall, things are going great.

Unfortunately Abdu wasn't able to come home with us. We knew that this was a possibility when we went, so it wasn't like we were totally caught off guard. While we were there the US Embassy obtained some information that differed from some of the initial information received about Abdu's background. Because of that, the US Embassy asked that the case go back in front of the judge to get a new decree that reflected this new information. Since this could possibly take a while I changed my flights and came home with everyone else instead of staying the extra five days to bring Abdu home.

We received an update yesterday about Abdu's case. Apparently our agency went back to Abdu's birth place to do a little more investigating into this new information before they brought it before the judge. Turns out that the investigation brought out new information that was different than everything else. So naturally the judge said she can't change the decree based on information that doesn't appear to exist by all first and second hand accounts. The new plan is that next Wednesday there is going to be another birth-family interview with the US Embassy. We are hoping and praying after this 2nd interview at the Embassy they will clear the case and allow us to go back and get Abdu. However, the result of that interview could delay things longer or even put the whole situation at an impasse. Only time will tell...

I had originally planned on returning alone to get Abdu because we weren't going to leave Derartu so that we could both go back. The great news is that my dad agreed to return with me so I didn't have to travel all that way alone. My mom was on the first trip, which was great for us and for her. So she returned and "nudged" dad toward returning with me and he finally decided that this is what he wanted to do. I can't say enough about my mom and dad. They both recently went through a renewal weekend at church and have become even better people than they were before. It is wonderful to see God working so much in their lives. Going to Ethiopia is something I don't know if my dad would have even considered before this conversion. He is seeing and living his life so differently now and it is wonderful for all of his family to witness.

Our time in Ethiopia was great. I will save all the details for another post. Please pray for the positive resolution of Abdu's case and that I will find myself on an airplane traveling around the world in the next couple of weeks.

Some Pictures Since We've Been Home

Here are several pictures of Derartu now that she is home. She is doing great! More to come...

We are leaving today!

Well, the clowns in Washington decided not to let the government shut down which is great news for us. We were plastered to the news until the announcement last night and we very happy to hear that we would be able to leave today. I had to get online at nearly midnight to reserve a hotel room in Washington for our layover tonight. So now a whole new and different kind of joy, fear and anxiety come into play. When Tami and I were talking late last evening I said to her that after we leave our home today that our family will never be the same. Much like having a new baby, there is much anticipation and joy but at the same time there is a good measure of anxiety and fear. The six of us have life down pretty well. We live a good, happy and easy life together. We certainly think our new family members will change everything for the better but it is that "change" thing that always brings about some unknowns and that is always a little unnerving. Tami, my mom, Kyle, Faith and Derartu will return next Saturday 4/16. I will return on 4/22 with Abdu if everything works out and he is cleared by the Embassy when we are over there. We pray for a safe and easy trip. We pray also that God gives us the wisdom, patience and perseverance to be good parents and protectors of our children on this new chapter of our lives. See you on the other side!

Just when we started to celebrate.....

Maybe we aren't going this weekend! How in the world can this be right. Any of you who know me well know that I have been a pretty unhappy guy with our politicians and the state of our political system. Truth be told I can be described as a conservative. However, my anger towards our representatives and the system as a whole is beyond any party or ideology. If you are paying any attention to the news right now you know that we could possibly have a government shut down if congress does not come to an agreement on the budget by Friday evening at midnight. Well, guess what? If the government shuts down that means that all non-essential functions at foreign embassies will be discontinued. The whole point of our upcoming trip is to attend a Visa appointment at the Embassy. Therefore if the government shuts down then there is no reason for us to go because we can't bring our children home. So I thought I was sick and tired and angry about our government before, this just ticked it up to another level. Now this can all be avoided if they pass a continuing resolution or agree on a budget before Friday at midnight. I have contacted my congressmen and both of my senators today urging them to avoid the shut down. I may have overlooked a few of my beliefs in this case due to my selfishness, but so be it. Call me a hypocrite, a flip-flopper or whatever you will. Frankly, I don't care. We are sick of waiting and having issue after issue stand in the way of uniting our family. Having said that, I have been reminded by my wonderful wife and by my mother that God's hand is in this and I need to trust. This has something that I have always struggled with in my relationship with Him because I like to drive the bus. But they are exactly right. We may not understand or like the way things unfold but there isn't one time in my life that I can say that God has failed me. That fact and his perfectness require me to submit to His will. I am trying hard to do that today. With that in mind, I am not angry with God but I am certainly not letting go of my anger with our political leaders and their lack of leadership.

We are finally going!!!!!!!!!!

I can't begin to explain how crazy this day has been. When I checked our email this morning before leaving for work we had an email in our inbox had an email from the US Embassy in Ethiopia. The email was actually to our agency director in Ethiopia but copied us which I thought was unusual as this had never happened before. In the email it stated that for Abdu's case they wanted to interview someone from his birth family before they would clear him and that doing this interview would probably prevent a prolonged investigation. Well you can imagine that our reaction was, "Here we go again!" Derartu has finally passed and is clear to come home but no Abdu was going to be delayed for some time. We decided that it was a good idea to email the director of our agency to ask how long it was going to take to get a member of his family to show up for this interview. If it was going to take a few weeks then we wanted to go over there now and bring Derartu home. Then I would return on a second trip when Abdu is cleared some time down the road. When the director emailed back she said that they planned to have the member of the birth family in for the interview with the Embassy this coming Monday, 4/11. She suggested that we come now and have Derartu's embassy appointment on Wednesday, 4/13. She said if we arrive on Monday we can meet Abdu's family member which is something we thought we wanted to do anyway. Then if the interview goes well with the embassy, Abdu could be assigned an Embassy date as soon as early the week of 4/18. After receiving the invitation to travel to Africa this weekend it didn't take us long to say yes. We checked with our travel agency who specializes in adoption travel and they told us that they don't have advanced purchase requirements so the price would be what it normally is. We had already arranged with Kyle and Faith's school that they might be off next week, so the school sent home all of their homework for the week ahead. They are so great, they actually gave Faith and Kyle far less work than what their classmates will have in order to not burden them on this trip. Their hard work in the classroom paid off as part of the reason for this decision by the school is because they are such good students. We are scheduled to leave on Saturday afternoon and arrive in Addis Ababa on Monday morning. We are bringing Kyle and Faith and my (Scott's) mom is also coming with us. Since we are looking at two different embassy dates about a week apart we will be departing Ethiopia separately. Tami, mom, Kyle, Faith and Derartu will be leaving at the end of next week to return to the US. I will be staying in Ethiopia for an extra 4 days to attend Abdu's embassy date and to bring him home. The only catch could be that the Embassy still requests more information and/or wants to do a full investigation even after interviewing someone from Abdu's birth family. If this happens I will simply change my flight to return with the rest of the family and then return to Ethiopia when Abdu eventually is cleared by the Embassy. This isn't they way we envisioned everything going down, but after all of the waiting and snags we have encountered we will take whatever we can get! It is almost surreal to think that these kids will finally be home as a part of our family in the next two weeks. It is also a little scary and unnerving. Much like having a new baby come into the world, I don't think there is any way to be completely prepared for the changes and what it will take to get to our "new normal." However, I am confident that we have more than enough love and faith in God in our home to get through any trials that lay ahead with this transition. Derartu and Abdu, you're almost home! We have prayed incessantly for this day to come and we love you so much!