Houston, we have a baby!!!!!

We have officially passed court and Rahel is now a Lemon! We are beside ourselves with happiness and gratitude this morning! Faith was jumping for joy when she heard the news (o: She finally has a sister! She said a special prayer this morning for Rahel to thank Heavenly Father that she is now her sister! How sweet. We're also grateful for all of your friendships and your support through this process. It has helped so much knowing that we're not alone in this. Thanks for sharing our sorrows and now our joys!

I'm voting for round 5

We're out of quarantine! Hooray! Faith and Melanie took a round with H1N1 this weekend. Our fevers have broken and we're on the mend.

About court. After sending out 3 emails to try and find out any news of our hearing, I called the information number at our agency. - I was desperate okay? Anyway, I was able to talk to one of the directors (I think) and she informed me that our case was in fact heard in court and viewed favorably BUT our MOWA letter was not attached properly so court was forced to not pass our case. Now that our MOWA letter is attached "properly" - whatever that means- we only need to wait "a few" days -whatever that means- for court to pass our case. At least we don't have to wait for another court date (o: We've decided to give them until Thursday until we pester them about a result. They are working hard to get Rahel home to us. It was MOWA's fault this time and I've been told that they usually mess things up for court hearings, so our case is not special in that way. I'm just glad that the waiting is almost at an end.

Court mishaps AGAIN

Maybe the 4th time around will be our magic one. Again, we were told the wrong date for court. Our new court date is on Monday. One day we won't even remember the pain of waiting and delays, all we will know is Rahel home and sharing life with us. I'm just trying to keep my mind off of it and not give into the corner that's calling my name - I really need a good cry!

Request for your prayers and faith

Tomorrow is our day! Please pray for our case tonight. I will post as soon as I know if we passed or when we passed I should say - faith is a good thing. We appreciate all of your support and love through this process. It's nice to have family and friends to share our experience with. Thank you!

Autumn party

Saturday we had our friends over for some fall fun :o) We carved pumpkins, enjoyed caramel apples, rode a pony and ate lots of chili and corn bread! Fun for all! The kids especially enjoyed jumping on the trampoline - a very new experience for some them! How nice to enjoy the fall and not have to work on the house!

More good news!

Temesgen, our legal representative in Ethiopia just let us know that he got us a sooner date for court! It is Oct. 22 - one week from tomorrow! How exciting (:
I just received a phone call from an Ethiopian friend also letting us know that she has 3 brothers in Addis Ababa and that they would love to take us around - be our guides, translators etc. She said they would be waiting for us at the air port in Addis Ababa with pink flowers! We feel so blessed and taken care of. This definitely puts a damper on my worries - I feel so much safer now! Our Ethiopian friends are like family to us. We are together every day and it is so comfortable and warm. I know that the Lord led us to each other at this time. They came here and received their green cards within 2 weeks of their arrival - unheard of! We've been fast friends from the very start. We love each other so much! We've been supplying them with winter gear since they have none and aren't used to such cold winters and they take care of us in every other way. It will be much easier keeping Rahel's culture alive for her now!
I am so grateful that we will have a connection in Ethiopia. Thank you!

New court date!

Turns out we already have a court date! Who knew?! We're scheduled for October 26 with a possibility of Oct. 22. We'll not get our hopes up for the 22nd though (; Maybe 3rd times a charm.
Rahel - we still love you and we promise we'll get there soon!

Court has finally opened!

Court officially opened yesterday, October 12, 2009! Hooray! This sure has been a bumpy ride for us. October 6 was our 3rd court date that was missed. Hopefully we'll hit a winner this time. After some research online, I found out that other agencies already have issued new court dates for their families who "missed" court opening. I contacted our agency and was told that nothing was known. I'm ready to jump agencies. This is just silly. Thomas called a lady in Washington at our agency and found out that tomorrow is our agency's court date to acquire court dates for families. Come to find out, our name wasn't even on the list of families to get a court date for. We are breaking the bank and our hearts for this adoption and it seems that we are slipping through the cracks. - How gloomy. Happy thoughts are welcome ( : Prayers are also welcome.

Ethiopian festival

We had such a good time at the festival in S.L.C.! We took our refugee friend and showed him the sights of Salt Lake and He taught us how to dance! We had LOTS of injera and so many delicious meats and veg. for dinner and enjoyed the dance shows. Afterward, a professional ehiopian singer entertained while we danced for the rest of the night.

More bad news

Ethiopian court didn't open quite on time this year, omiting our court date. Thank you to all who joined us in fasting and praying to bring Rahel home. We'll post when we get a new date for court.
p.s. Good luck to our friends who have their homestudy visit today! You know who you are (; We love you guys!