Five days and we're off

We leave in 5 days. I can't believe we are that close. I have so many emotions running through me. Excitement, nervousness, anticipation, etc. Luckily, we have been so busy getting ready that the time has flown by. I feel like there is still so much to do. We need to pack, get the kids stocked up on their stuff, finish filling out forms, etc. Too much to think about at this point.
On a side note, Troy has two interviews this week! I know, what a week for all of that. Please pray that God will lead him to the right job. I know he has great plans for us. I'm just curious to see how it all unfolds.
Kid update: Collette has started gymnastics and is loving it. Her teacher said that she is really good and picks up on things quickly. She even got to walk on the big balance beam. I will take pictures on Tuesday and post them. They also have an indoor playground. So, Dakota plays on that while Collette is in class. It's a win/win situation for both of the kids.
Dakota is as wild and crazy as ever. He likes to keep us on our toes at all times. He still loves to sing and listen to music. We had a choir come to church on Sunday to sing some songs for us. He was mesmerized the entire time. Now, if we could just figure out how to keep that going during the sermon.

Ready or Not?

We leave in a little over a week and I'm starting to get overwhelmed. But the nice thing is that we have gotten a lot done. The upstairs remodel is done! I just need to decorate it a little. I will post pics as soon as it is decorated. Clothes are hung and washed. Most of our forms are filled out. Grandparents are coming to town to babysit! My sister is dog sitting. Collette has even learned how to change a diaper. So, really I should just be ready to go, right? Wrong. I would just like it all to be done so I can sit back and enjoy.

On a better note, we are very excited about the day we get to meet Elliott. Not only do we get to meet our third child, we get to meet him on our anniversary! How cool is that. Now we will have that much more to celebrate! Ready to meet you baby boy and hold you in our arms.

For those of you who want us to take pics or packages, email me: carterkellie@sbcglobal.net

Travel Tips, anyone?

We have our flights booked for June 5th-13th! We have our reservation in at the BJoe house. Troy's parents are flying in on the 3rd.

Now we just need to get ready, but I need your help. If you have any useful travel tips you would like to share then we are all ears. I am especially interested to know about communication to the US. Did you use a cell phone, skype, etc? I really want to stay in contact with my kiddos the best that I can while we are gone. Please share!!!!

Also, we are offering to take pictures and care packages to Ethiopia with us. We want to pay it forward to those of you waiting to bring home your babies. We had so many wonderful people take picture and video. It meant so much to get those updates as often as possible. Feel free to email me at carterkellie@sbcglobal.net
If you want pics we need Name, house #, ID # and a picture.
We are looking forward to delivery all these special items!

Introducing...

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

While we are asleep,

our case will be in court in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is 8 hour ahead of us, so by the time we wake up the decision will already be made. I ask that you remember us and Baby H in your evening prayers.
I hope and pray that tomorrow we will be able to introduce you to the precious face that we have fallen in love with. Stay Tuned...

ONE MORE DAY!!!

Ok, we have one more day before our court date. I am so excited and so anxious all at the same time. Luckily, Troy and I have been busy finishing our remodel of the upstairs. It has helped keep my mind off of the clock. We also got to hang out with a bunch of great friends tonight. That helps more then they know.
So, here is what is going on in Ethiopa today. First off, the Schmidts will be meeting Baby H today and taking our care package to him. I know Baby H will recieve lots of love today.
Also, today our paperwork is being reviewed by The Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA). They will go through our paperwork with a fine tooth comb and make sure that all of our i's are dotted and t's are crossed. They will say whether or not we can go ahead to court or not. Today is as big as tomorrow. Please pray that we will be approved today and that we will make it through court tomorrow. *Fingers crossed*

2 days

Two more days until our court date!!!

And two more days until Troy's 6th interview with the OKC Thunder. He has been interviewing for this job since October. We are getting closer to finding out if that is a reality as well. Thanks for your prayers.

Any suggestions???

Three more days! Please continue to pray for us. We are so close to Baby H.

We are in need of some suggestions. We can't decide which guest house we would like to stay in. We are trying to chose between Bejoe and The Ethiopian Guest House. If you have any suggestions, good or bad, please leave ua a comment. This will really help us decide.

Four Days

Four days until court! We are gettind so excited and so motivated to get things done. This weekend, after we finished the fundraiser dinner, we came home and started working on finishing our remodel of the upstairs. The exciting thing is that we are almost done! We should be completed by the end of the week. Then we can check one more thing off of our list. It feels so good to get things done. Hopefully, we will be able to check off our court date this week as well.

Day 5 and Fully Funded

We have five more days until court!!!

And our fundraiser dinner last night was a success. We are now 100% funded because of the wonderful friends and family God has put in our lives. We are so blessed.
As Stephanie Rummel put it, "We now have stock in your son." Which also means that when he is in jr high and having bad grades, I have plenty of tutors to take him on. Or when he is 2 and throwing a fit at church, I can say to everyone else, "Control your child." So, be ready for the responsibility if you hold stock!

Really, we are excited about how everyone has surrounded us with love and support. Thank you all!

Let the celebrations begin

6 days, 6 DAYS. I can't believe we are less then a week from our court date. I go back and forth between total agony of the wait and feeling like I don't have enough time to get everything done. I know once we pass court it will be a mad dash to get everything and everyone organized. We have to coordinate our travel, Troy's parents travel here to take care of the kiddos, lists of kids daily activities, humanitarian aid items, etc. So much to think about.

Today though, I am going to focus on our fundraiser dinner that is tonight. We have so many wonderful friends who have bent over backward to make this event happen. Our friends at Copper Cup Catering are providing the meal (contact me if you ever need a caterer, they are great). Brown's Bakery providing desserts, about 40 auction items, and 6 vendors who are donating a portion of their profits to our adoption. Wow, what a blessing. God is so good.

On a great note, http://myfamilymyjourney.blogspot.com passed court! Go check out their beautiful boys! We are so happy for you. Hopefully, we will follow in 6 short days!

7 days

or just 1 week! I can't believe we are only a week away from our court date. We are so very excited to be this close. Luckily, we have been staying super busy this week. We are working on getting everything ready for our fundraiser dinner. So far, we have 36 auction items, 4 vendors, 1 auctioner, and 1 great catering company coming to the event. Hopefully, we will have a great turn out and a really fun time. I will post pictures as soon as I get a chance.

Please be in prayer for http://myfamilymyjourney.blogspot.com

They are going to court today for the 2nd time and had one court date postponed because of a holiday. They are ready to get their boys asap.

Eight days

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:33-34

As we draw closer and closer to the time when we can bring Elliott home we struggle with the stress of all we have yet to do between now and then. But thankfully God has been constantly reminding us that he is in control and he is the one who will make it all happen. Isn't it great to have a God who's shoulders are broader than ours and can take all our stress away and carry it for us.

-Troy

Nine Days

Another day closer to our court date. I recieved an update on Baby H yesterday. Here it is:

“I found "H" enjoying some tummy time today when I came to visit him. All his buddies were asleep, but this little guy was wide-awake. I watched him for a little while on the floor as he did “pushups” and played with a toy lying next to him. Then, as I picked him up and began talking to him, a shy smile spread across his face. When you interact with him, he often turns his face away and smiles. It’s pretty cute. He’s got a sweet disposition—sort of shy but you can also tell he likes to interact. He doesn’t seem to be afraid of strangers but he does seem to save his most expressive self for those he’s familiar with. What a delightful little guy!”



I read this to Troy then we both looked at each other and said "He sounds just like Dakota". That discription could have been written about Dakota at that age. Just another way God is showing me that Baby H was meant to be with us. I can't wait to see that precious smile for myself.

Let the count down begin...

Ten days until we go to court! Please continue praying that we will pass on May 13th so that we can pick up our precious baby boy.