Our SW at Children's Home Society emailed today to tell us that our adoption case is scheduled in the Ethiopian courts this week!!! We should hear back on Thursday or Friday (Thank you Nikki for the detective work to find out which specific days)!!! Please pray that our case is not postponed (this happens quite frequently....sometimes for no apparent reason) and that everything goes smoothly. If we make it through court then they will give us a definate travel date!!!!

After a long battle with Darth Vader (Caleb P.) Bunny went on to defeat the Valient Sir Noah Short Shirt-alot


Happy Fall (Y'all!)

I just put away the last of the Christmas Decorations!!!! Only 4 weeks until we put it all back up....oh well, at least I got to check it off my to do list.

Someone from our agency got a travel date this week for November 8th!!!!! Upon hearing this, I kicked it into high gear.... we could be next!!! We have long list of home improvement stuff that needs to be done. We would normally spread out our to do list over the winter but we want to be 100% available for Keziah when she gets home. Since Sunday I have painted the hallway (including 7 coats on the trim and handrail to change them from dark brown to white), changed the hardware on the handrail, cleaned the carpets on the second floor (including "trimming" Keziah's carpet with scissors to get the blue and red paint out), cleaned out the 2 hallway closets, recaulked the bathtub, and started wire brushing the rust off of the garage door so we can repaint it. Unfortunately Monday I came down with a very bad chest cold that I have made worse by not resting and doing all of the above mentioned things. I can't seem to get rid of what Torrey calls my "dude voice" and I have pretty bad chest congestions with an ear ache but I just can't stop nesting! It is just like when I was pregnant with Carter and hit the nesting phase at 8 months were I had so much to do and only a little time to do it. I still have to steam clean the stairs, living room, and basement, finish wirebrushing the garage door, then prime and paint, strip and paint the front porch, put the top trim up in the hallway, and finish my Christmas calendars. It really seems like my list is slowly shrinking but I it is all a little overwhelming right now since we could be in Ethiopia in 4 WEEKS!!!! Craziness!!!!

Noah came home in tears yesterday. His friend from Kindergarten is ignoring him because another kid told him not to talk to Noah. Noah was so upset, he cried all the way home. It is so hard as a parent to feel powerless when someone is picking on your baby! For me in particular it was very very hard because it stirred so many old emotions from elementary school for me. I remember being the kid with the big coke bottle glasses and hand-me down clothes. No one wanted to talk to me let alone let me into thier games. I guess I thought I could help my own children avoid the same pain by making sure they are well dressed and thanking the Lord that they don't have vision problems but it doesn't seem to be enough. I am realizing that I cannot change the way that other people raise thier children or remove the nastiness of human nature. All I can do is pray for a better day for Noah, encourage him to find other children to talk to, and remind him that his family loves him and God love him ALWAYS!

We recieved an update today. Keziah Webitu has been struggling for the last 5 days with a double ear infection. She has had a cough, vomiting, high fever, and decreased appetite. The first round of antibiotics did not help so they switched to a stronger one today that seems to be helping but there is still blood in her ears. She lost 1.5 lbs. It is so heart wrenching to open up an email hoping for good news and find out that while you were doing everyday life your daughter was lying sick in a bed halfway across the world and there is absolutely nothing you can do.... but pray!!! Please pray for the courts to get things in order and set a date to hear Keziah's case so she will be officially ours (as of yet noone from our agency has a court date yet). We cannot travel until we hear from the courts and they have been slow in processing since they opened back up. Please pray that God would move in a miraculous way so that we can bring her home and care for her here.

Whoever dropped the dollhouse off on my front porch while I was picking Noah up from school... fess up! I never really thought that a doll house would make me cry so hard. (Noah asked why I was crying and I told him God is good....and he said "Happy tears again?!?)I have been blessed way too much!!! My friend Mindy was so awesome last week and showed up at my door with paint in hand and all the supplies to finish Keziah's room! She made curtains, sheets, bed ruffle, and a quilt!!! Then Mindy and Mary Jane came by 2 days later to do the second coat and trim!!! (I will post pictures later this week) Then this week we recieved several donations toward our adoption that gets us very close to the Grand Total! I am also overwhelmed with the love of all my friends who want give me an adoption shower! You are all too much!!! I feel like I have had such a bad attitude lately and I don't deserve all of this! Thank you all for your love...it truely touches my heart!

Here is Noah's goal! He has been very aggressive this year in Soccer and Football. He said that he doesn't want to play basketball though because dribbling the ball is "a waste of time"

Go Noah Go!

Here is what Carter thinks about watching Destiny, Nathan, and Noah play Soccer....boring!

Here is what Carter thinks about gum that he dropped in the dirt and but claims is still clean! Who am I to challenge the 5 second rule!

Here is what I think about watching Des, Nate, and Noah play while snuggling my silly little Carter on a crisp Autumn evening....Bliss!

(even with my stress acne and sleepy racoon eyes)!

Parenting Noah has be full of ups and downs but I sometimes get a hint that we are doing something right. Noah gets allowence every two weeks and this week he decided to treat us all to a trip to Chuck-E-Cheeses. He used a coupon off the internet (that's my boy) to get 60 tokens. He happily gave half to Carter. Then when we were using our tokens we happened upon a basketball game that had a ticket left from a previous unknown player. He at first didn't want to play it because he didn't know what to do about the ticket (nobody was in the area and we didn't see anyone playing the game within the 5 minutes we were in sight of the game). I encouraged him to play the game and he got 6 tickets. Now most people would just take all the tickets on the machine but not Noah. He as very careful to leave 1 ticket on the machine so if the kid who earned it came back then it would still be there. Did I say I love this kid!

We received an update today for Keziah Webitu's height and weight. She is now is 26.4 lbs (+2.4lbs) and 34.3inches (+.3inches) as of September 15th. She seems to be doing great especially to show weight gain after her run in with Malaria! We also recieved a few more spelling for her name (Wubitu and Webit). This is rather normal for Ethopian adoption and several families have reported that they have 2-5 name spellings.

I have been very busy lately quiting stuff. That's right....I now concede that I am not the master of the universe and I can't keep up with my duties of trying to control everything around me that my children and I are involved in. Last week it hit me...I can't do this anymore! I had several days with only 5 hours of sleep and realized that the way that I felt that second day with lack of sleep will probably be the way the next year will go after Keziah Webitu comes home. I have been very unfair to my boys in the last few years with the number of commitments we have had to various ministries and part time jobs. Often they have been seen just wondering the halls at church or the YMCA (okay...usually wrestling, screaming, and running) while Torrey and I attend to our responsibilities with Junior Bible Quiz, Parent Pager Maintenance, Early Childhood, MOPS, and our tendencies to socialize after these activities. At home I have been known to be chained to the computer for 8 hours at a time to finish various projects for church and work. So we are finally simplifying (yes, I know I have been saying this for years.....but I really mean it this time....REALLY!) I am currently in the process of handing over my responsibilities as JBQ coordinator. This was especially hard since we have run the program for the last 8 years....it's our baby...we have been JBQing longer than we have been married or had children! I tried to waffle on this when I saw that we have our VERY OWN CLOSET in the new building! We even have a block of rooms! This is a huge step up from when we had class in the Chidren's ministry closet because there was no room for Pee Wee JBQ! But alas, Mary Jane has kept me accountable to my family and I have to forsake my love of office supplies and organization to be a better mother... the most important thing. I have stepped down from the MOPS stearing team and only have 3 more days left at the YMCA! I am feeling better already...bye, bye chest pains and stress acne!!!!

The next step will be to learn how to be home and just be home. I have never done it before. When Noah was born I was going to school full time and graduated 2 weeks after Carter was born at which time I continued watching Destiny and Nathan Full time and added working part time for Early Childhood and a year later part time at the YMCA.....I kind of collect responsibliities. I am learning to say this awesome two letter word but it doesn't come naturally it is...you guessed it....NO!

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how I fair without a mile long to do list....encourage me please...
I don't have to control everything
It is okay to say "no"
Repeat