10 Days of Birthday!

Oh my word, y'all... I can't even believe this picture was taken JUST one year ago today. (And I can't believe it's been 9 months since I blogged?! What!!? Where did that time go?!!!) On this day, one year ago today, we were anxiously awaiting news about Eliyas' waiver. We REALLY thought it could be any day and I could hardly stand the thought of one more hour of uncertainty, or another plate of pasta, tibs, or puffy pancakes. Wow. There are just no words to describe how thankful we are that we are here as a family of 3. I am crying my eyes out just remembering that month... the fear, the worry, the anxiety... the thought of leaving my son for 9 MONTHS?!  BUT God. God is faithful. God had a plan far beyond what any doctor or USCIS official could see. God would move mountains and perform miracles and we would find ourselves in the good ol' US of A just 6 short days later. If you're unfamiliar with our fun story, you can read about those miracles in this post and go back from there. :)

And now? 1 year from this picture? Now I can't wait to get back on the next plane to Ethiopia. After Eliyas has an American passport and has no chance of getting stuck again, of course. :) It didn't take long for me to miss it... much shorter than I thought actually. I can almost smell it when I see pictures. We do hope to get back just as soon as we can. Well, really sooner than we "can". As soon as we can afford to I should say. 

So what have we been up to? I'll try to fill you in! I've wanted to post before now, but I've struggled with exactly what to share. For one, life isn't near as interesting or suspenseful, (thank goodness!) as it was when we were in Ethiopia. No news is good news, right?! Also, it's hard to know how much to share... E is pretty private, well, he at least doesn't want his pictures and life story going out on Facebook. (So just pretend you never read this really. :) ) We've had some tough days, sure, and at some point maybe I will be able to give a brief synopsis of our first year- if for nothing else so people that are walking down the same path we are can know what to expect. But for now, let me just share the fun stuff. :) 

We are celebrating Eliyas' "10 Days of Birthday" this week! Eliyas asked for some bath toys a month or 2 ago and I was SO excited to run to Target and buy some bath toys and fizzy color drops. We missed the years filled with those sorts of things and I was thrilled to be able to get some "little kid" things for him. As I was driving home that day I thought of doing a 10 day birthday celebration to celebrate the years we missed leading up to his 10th birthday on the 10th! His golden birthday! He's never celebrated his birthday before, nor did he even know his birthday in Ethiopia, so we wanted to make this super special for him. So November 1st we celebrated his "1st Birthday" and he received a book of fairy tales to read at bedtime. (He loves Jack & The Giant Beanstalk and Three Billy Goats Gruff!) For his "2nd Day of Birthday" he got Silly Putty, a puzzle, and some laser finger lights. On his 3rd day he got a magnetic toy and glow stars to put on his wall. The best so far was tonight, his "4th Day of Birthday", when he received an over-the-door basketball goal for his room! Tonight as he was getting ready for bed he found the card we gave him on the first day on the floor of his room, it had fallen out of the book, and he picked it up and said, "Mom! Don't throw this away! I am keeping this forever, it is so special to me." I about melted in a puddle on the floor. 

We are excited to continue the 10 day birthday marathon with his Nerf wars & obstacle course birthday party this weekend! It is so fun to celebrate him. He is for sure enjoying it, and the way he says, "Thanks Mom & Dad!" every day just melts my heart. Where we are today... compared to where we were a year ago... well, literally and figuratively, I just can't believe it. God has been so good to us.

This last year has brought with it challenges for sure, but more than that we are aware more every day of the wonderful blessing we have received. I still can't believe that God chose us to receive this blessing. At the beginning of this school year, Eliyas had to write an acrostic poem using his name. I was poking around in his desk during parent/teacher night and found this. I couldn't think of truer words to describe this little light of our lives and my heart just about bursted knowing that he could see these things about himself. God has definitely given him some confidence. :) And hello?! He hasn't been speaking English that long, he did this way better than I would have!!! 

E - "Energetic" He definitely has lots of energy, but typically not the crazy "boy" type of energy where he can't sit down. He has those days, but he can usually be tamed... especially if the TV is on! Ha! On the soccer field or basketball court, or playing outside though, he does seem to have endless energy and lots of stamina. He is an amazing and natural athlete.

L - "Loveing" Oh so true. (I mean, he does have his days where this might not be my first word of choice. ;-) We all have those days, of course!) He is quick to give out hugs and kisses, tells us he loves us all the time, tells us what he loves about us, he is caring and compassionate. (All HUGE, HUGE things for us as we were prepared for attachment to be an issue... as with any adopted child you have to worry about that, especially with an older child. We don't take these things for granted for one second.) He loves little kids, especially little girls. He is waiting to have a little sister of his own, he thinks if he has a sister she will listen to him. A brother might not listen to him he says. ;-) 

I - "I like to play" Ha! If you ask Eliyas what he misses most about Ethiopia, he will tell you, "playing outside." :) When he first came home, one of his biggest struggles was that we wouldn't let him just go off wherever and whenever he pleased. (Now that we know him better, we know that we can trust him to be careful, responsible, and he's actually probably more street smart that I am, we have loosened up on this A LOT. And life is easier because of it.)  He loves playing outside with neighborhood friends, or just riding his bike. He loves to be outside.

Y - "You are going to like me" Oh sweet boy, you nailed it. He is sweet, charming, endearing, and the life of the party. Unless maybe you've caught him on a day where he didn't get enough sleep (he may or may not be like his mama on that one), you can't help but like him. His smile lights up a room, his little shrug of his shoulders and eyebrow moves... let's just say he doesn't have a hard time getting what he wants and he has us wrapped around his finger. 

A - "Always smiling" And he seriously has the best smile. Hands down. You really can't stay upset with him when he flashes that million dollar smile! He is going to be breaking hearts all over town, sooner than I would like to think, I am sure! :-/

S - "Silly funny" Ah, yes. He keeps us laughing all the time. He's always joking, hiding behind doors to scare us, and is amazingly witty, for not even being completely fluent in English yet! Chase said something on Sunday with "y'all" in the sentence and Eliyas said, "You talk like you've never seen the city before!" If I could just bottle up his laugh and share it with everyone, I think we could solve all the problems in the world. 

To sum it up, our Eliyas is simply amazing. I know, we all say that about our kids, but really. He is. ;-) He fits perfectly into our family and some days I really can't believe that he hasn't been with us for the last 9 years. I can't wait to spend the next 70 years as his mom! What an honor.

So I thought I would fill you in on the last year and tell you about how school has gone, basketball, and soccer, his first Halloween... but it's now midnight so I will try to get back to it another time. As we celebrate Eliyas' "10 Days of Birthday"  this week and as we are coming up on our one year homecoming anniversary... I am reminded of ALL of you who prayed, loved, and supported us home... and prayed, loved, and supported us once we got home, of course. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I can't imagine those 32 days in Ethiopia without the support we had both in Ethiopia and across the world. God was with us every step of the way, and He's been right there with us the last 359 days. We are blessed beyond measure. 

Ephesians 2:20-21 

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

watching airplanes

The people have asked for a blog update and I think it is about time. I meant to be better at updating this, but it's just kind of different when there aren't any big specific events happening. 

What have we been up to? One way to describe where we are right now is "watching airplanes." You know the song, "I'm just sitting round here watching airplanes take off and fly..." Well, in the adoption world, the first few months home with your child where things are all rainbows and butterflies are known as "the honeymoon." Our first few weeks in Ethiopia with Eliyas were rough. We were expecting our honeymoon to start right away, so we were a little shocked that there was no champagne or roses. By God's grace we got through and about the third week we turned a huge corner. It was like he all the sudden started trusting us and believing we truly loved him. I can only imagine all that was going on in his heart and his head those first few weeks. Why weren't we picking him up and going home like all the other families? We weren't telling him much about the whole waiver dilemma, we just kept saying we were waiting on embassy. But he is a smart kid, and I'm learning more every day how observant he is. He had to have been picking up on the fact that I was a WRECK. Things were crazy. Chase was sick, I was falling apart at the seams. 

Anyways... since we've been home, things have been going pretty smoothly. Sure we have our hard days, tears, breakdowns... but luckily for us, this is all new. Parenting, parenting an older child, parenting an adopted child, parenting a child from a hard place... We have nothing to compare this to. There are days when I can't imagine having another child. Then there are days when I'm ready to sign up to adopt again, heck maybe siblings next time! (By the way, babies seriously scare me now. Children who sleep 11 hours a night and can get their own OJ from the fridge and banana off the counter when mom wants to sleep in till 10 AM... those are some pretty awesome children to introduce you to the parenthood thing.) We are learning so much every day, all three of us. We read lots of books before E came home, I've read tons of blogs, but nothing really prepares you for what it's like in real life. I forget most of what the books say, what I do remember doesn't seem to work. Ask for a do-over in this house? World War 3. "Would you like a compromise?" gets you a nice, "Would YOU like a compromise??!?!!!" The things a 9 year old with limited (though getting scarily better by the day) English can say are pretty shocking. (Surely I was nothing like this as a 9 year old, right Mom???? :)) I am finding new things every day that "work" as far as disciplining goes, and celebrate the little victories. Disciplining a 9 year old, who has probably never been disciplined before, is like setting boundaries for a 2 year old in a 9 year old's body. It's new for him and it's scary. 

I'm getting to the airplanes part, I promise... we have had some wonderful days with Eliyas home. His laugh is amazing. His smile will melt your heart... not to mention it helps him get away with a whole lot. He is trusting us more every day with pieces of his past. I sometimes feel like there is no way he has been somewhere else the past 9 years, surely he's always slept in his little fortress of a bed a few feet away from us. Then there's the tears and grief to remind us of the truth. He has been through more than I could ever imagine. And he's come out smiling and loving. Wow. What grace. He told me this week, "Now I know that you're my mom." I said, "What do you mean?" And he said, "In Ethiopia, I was scared. Now, I know you're my mom and I love you." I pray he knows this deep down. He is forever loved, forever our son, and we are not going anywhere. 

What is Eliyas like? What does he like to do? He loves playing outside; soccer, basketball (probably his new favorite), football, riding his bike... he loves going to Main Event or Gattiland and playing video games. He loves watching movies or playing video games at home as well. :) He loves going to Jumpstreet (note, any trampoline is now called "jumpstreet" due to the name of the indoor trampoline park. :)) Let me share with you some of our favorite things about our precious boy. He is a protector. Some days, when he's about to go outside and play with his friends, he tells me, "If you're scared, I can stay inside with you." He insists that I lock the front door or close the garage door behind him. He is loving and caring. When I see him playing with friends (from a distance... because play dates in our home or on our terms are a whole different game :)), he is always making sure they're okay if they fall, taking the blame if someone got hurt, even when it clearly wasn't his fault, giving hugs if someone is upset or crying. Kids are always coming to the door asking if he can play. We are blessed to have a group of kids right around the corner from him that he gets to play with almost every day. Little did we know when we moved in this neighborhood, that God would have this group of older boys, ranging from probably 2nd grade to 8th grade, to be our boy's friend. They're so sweet with him. They love to play soccer with him and tell him, and us, how good he is. They even say his name right! Which always surprises me. :) He is so brave and he is so smart. He started school on January 7th and he is just amazing us with how well he is doing. The first couple of days at home, after school, were tough. The adjustment brought out lots of emotions and it was hard. Really hard. 

Hard moments, like the first week of school, are moments that make me scared the honeymoon is over. We read so much about the really hard stuff in adoption, people tell you constantly, "Oh, it's just the honeymoon phase..." Hinting that the crazy is about to come out. It's like I am constantly waiting for the bottom to fall out. For the most part I feel like I do a decent job of living in the now, appreciating the tiny victories, the big victories. Celebrating the good days. When the hard stuff does come out, i.e. first week of school, I immediately go to this place of terror that this is it. The other shoe has dropped. Stuff is about to hit the fan. He's going to start lying, hoarding food, destroying things, manipulating, and on and on. When you mention in an adoption Facebook group that things aren't going so well, you might hear something like, "At about 3 months, they start becoming more comfortable with you so lots of these behaviors come out." And you don't really know what life after the honeymoon is like. You hear stories that are scary. You wonder how you could possibly go through what these families go through.

So that is what I mean by watching airplanes. I'd say we are still on the honeymoon, for the most part, or maybe starting to become comfortable newlyweds. I'm not saying it's all sunshine and roses, but for the most part, things are good. So I kind of live in this stage of waiting for the airplane to come to take us to the island of really hard stuff. I pray it doesn't. I pray that God would help me to live in the now, and to not worry about what could come. I pray that if we do get to that island, that I would be reminded of God's goodness. Of his promises that I know are true. I have learned so much on our journey. Gained SO many new, amazing, lifelong friends. (If you feel like you don't have any friends, just adopt. You'll gain this indescribably amazing community that will carry you through on days when you feel like you can't walk on your own.) I have learned that things aren't always easy, that life isn't always easy, and that God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called. So whatever lies ahead, I know that our God will sustain us. He will guide us and direct our steps. 

We are blessed beyond measure. At the end of the day, we are still in awe that God chose us to be this boy's parents. As I was telling a friend today, it feels crazy that they let us get on a plane and take him to America. We never took a test. (Or maybe that's called a home study... lol) Some days I don't feel like we are ready for this, but yet he trusts us anyways, loves us, forgives us when we make mistakes. And I think Chase and I are reminded on a daily basis that we are just blessed to be here. To be home as a family of 3. There were plenty of days in Ethiopia that we weren't sure that that was going to happen anytime in the next 9 months. God has performed miracle after miracle, and we are so thankful. 

We had a great time celebrating Eliyas at a "Welcome Home" party a couple weeks ago.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

i'm gonna make this place your home

hold on to me as we go

as we roll down this unfamiliar road

and although this wave is stringing us along

just know you're not alone

cause i'm gonna make this place your home

We have been home 29 days. Some tiring, some hard, but mostly beautiful and full of joy and laughter. 29 days and a few hours ago, we finally landed in Austin after 32 long days in Ethiopia. I don't even have words to describe how I felt when the plane touched down in Austin, it was such a relief. I guess I'll fill you in on how our trip home went and go from there. To be honest, this blog is more helpful for me than it is to anyone else, because it forces me to write things down so I can remember this stuff in the future!

We departed Addis mostly without a hitch. Eliyas got the biggest kick out of the escalator. He got on it just fine so I thought he must have known what it was, then once it started moving he got the strangest look on his face and said, "I don't like!!" Then when we got to the top he said again that he didn't like it, he preferred to use his legs! We were pulled off to the side and questioned for 15-20 minutes about all the jewelry we were bringing home with us (14:Hope) and then found out that our seats were not together, after we were assured by the lady at the Ethiopian Airlines office the day before, and the lady at the ticket counter at the airport that we were. We all had middle seats, so the people who we forced into our middle seats so we could sit next to Eliyas weren't very happy... It is a 17 hour flight after all. I took 3mg melatonin, put on my eyemask and earplugs and all in all, slept probably 14-15 hours of the flight. It was quite wonderful. Chase and Eliyas weren't so lucky, but Eliyas did amazingly well. He watched movies or played games on the tablet and never complained or got antsy. I couldn't believe it! We had a long layover at Dulles and he and his traveling buddy, Mulualem, got to have their first American meal, Wendy's. It was fun having the Walkers at the airport with us, and fun for Eliyas to have Mulualem to talk to and hang out with as he was experiencing America for the first time. He may or may not have tried to speak Amharic to the first African American person he saw. :) We wondered if he would do that! 

Just landed at Dulles! America's newest citizens!!

settle down, it'll all be clear

don't pay no mind to the demons

they fill you with fear

the trouble it might drag you down

if you get lost, you can always be found

We had a beautiful reunion in Austin with our family and closest friends. Eliyas made his rounds meeting his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and made quick friends with Nahom and Dagne, our Ethiopian friends. It was such a blessing to have them there, for Eliyas to be able to feel a little bit of normalcy and speak his language in the midst of all these crazy Americans. After a quick meal at Chuy's, and it was better than I remembered, we made it home. As we walked around showing Eliyas everything, it felt like he has always been here, like he had just been away for a while and was finally back. I cannot imagine this house without him. I can't imagine going to sleep without checking on him or waking up without his, "Good morning, honey!" as he has started this week. :) Our days have been filled with learning how to ride his bike, playing soccer, basketball, watching movies (loving Cinderella!), running errands with mom, meeting new friends and family, and our daily visit from the health department nurse for TB meds. In general, he is easy going and happy, but he definitely has an opinion about things, especially clothes!! All these cute outfits I had planned for him... he won't wear any of them. :) He is kind and caring and gives lots of hugs and kisses. His smile and laugh bring me so much joy. 

He is doing amazingly well. I know this is our honeymoon phase, but we are praying that things stay this easy. He seems to be attaching very well, we are so thankful for that. He has started telling us things about his life in Ethiopia, and little stories of when he was younger. We're so thankful he is trusting us with his past and love learning about the years we missed with him. We are both aware that we might have some rough days ahead as he starts grieving what he has lost and everything sinks in... but for now we are soaking up the laughter and smiles and praying for his sweet heart as he transitions. His English is getting SO good. It's a little sad though, because we know he will probably soon lose his Amharic, speaking it anyways. They say they will be able to understand it, but won't be able to speak it very well after as little as 6 months. He already told me he is forgetting how to write it and it seemed to make him a little sad. :( Poor guy. Even these little things are such a reminder of all he has been through in his short life. 

just know you're not alone

cause i'm gonna make this place your home

I'll share some of our favorite cute & funny sayings:

- "Good morning, my honey!" He has started calling me honey this week, "Thank you honey!" "Hello, my honey!" He just melts my heart 10,000 times a day!
- things are "strong" if they are too hard, too hot
- upstairs and downstairs are used to describe a lot of things. When he wants the sunroof in my car opened, "Mom, upstairs!" When he wants to go to the park that is further away, rather than the one a couple houses down, "Park downstairs."  Same with backyard and frontyard.
- E: Mom, talk to me. Don't just drive. 
Me: Okay, what do you want to talk about?

E: Love. Like family. You, me, dad, family. Family is love.

- "All of us day" = all the time, every day

- "You no smile me" = don't laugh at me

- "working" = cooking, "Mom, you work my food?"

- "Thank you God, forgive us, have a nice lunch," as he fell off his bike :)

We are thankful every day for this blessing God has entrusted us with. We cannot believe we get to be his parents. This time last year we were still waiting to send off our dossier, I think we had just received our finalized home study at the beginning of December. We never imagined he would be in our lives already. We were thinking we had 2-3 years of waiting ahead of us as we waited for a 0-2 year old. I am so thankful that God opened our hearts to the older child, he is the biggest blessing we have ever experienced. (Not to mention... there are no diapers, no sleepless nights, no potty training... :)) I am kinda loving my 9 hours of sleep a night... at this point I don't know if we will ever do the baby thing!! At first, I was hesitant to adopt an older child because we had never been parents before. How in the heck are we supposed to know what to do with a 9 year old?! But, hey, you gotta start somewhere. We wouldn't know what to do with a 6 month old either. While it definitely has its different challenges, I think in some ways we are lucky because we have no one to compare him to. He doesn't have older siblings who did or didn't do this at the age of 9, so we all have a clean slate. To be honest, there are hard times, as there are with any child. The first 3 weeks in Ethiopia were rough. We turned a corner at 3 weeks and things have been completely different since then. And I know we might turn another corner, but no matter what happens or how hard it gets, this is what God has called us to. He will see us through. Nobody every promised it would be easy, parenting biological or adopted children.

Would you believe me if I told you I'm ready to go back to Ethiopia? I'm not sure if I'm missing it mostly for Eli's sake, as in, I want to take him to experience the comforts of his home, or if I'm missing the macchiatos, the simplicity of things, being together as a family 24/7. Maybe it's the "chiggaryehlem" ("no problem" in Amharic) way of life. Probably a combination of everything, but if someone offered us free plane tickets tonight, I would be on a plane in a heartbeat. Maybe just for a week or 10 days this time, but I am ready. :) I thought it would take 5 years before I would think about going back. I don't know how many times I said, "We will NEVER be coming back here," during those final days... never say never! 

I will leave you with some airport pictures below... I will try to post some other pictures soon! They're kind of hard to come by... he refuses to take pictures 99% of the time. We cannot thank you all enough for your support and prayers! 

awaiting USA, day 31. {never once did we ever walk alone}

standing on this mountain top
looking just how far we’ve come
knowing that for every step
You were with us

Wow. I still can't even believe I am finally writing this. Eliyas has his visa and is less than 48 hours away from officially becoming an American citizen. The reality of this is sinking in and all I have are tears to express how I feel. Tears of joy, for many reasons. And also the regular old fashioned tears. For us, we are going home to beautiful America. For Eliyas, he is leaving life as he knows it. His country, his culture, his language, his friends, his family, his tibs firfir, "mesmo" (Amharic Christian music), and everything he has ever known. 

30 days ago we got the news we never expected to hear, that he had TB. We were told by several different people that day that a waiver was unlikely due to his age. Without a waiver, Eliyas would have to stay in Ethiopia for 9 months for treatment and a retest. This news just about broke me. For a few days after, I felt like at any minute I was going to fall apart. It was hard to even breathe. Over the next 4.5 weeks, the Lord placed people in our paths and worked in ways that can only be explained by His grace. 


Romans 8:28 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

kneeling on this battleground
seeing just how much You've done
knowing every victory
was Your power in us

By His grace, the staff at the US Embassy in Addis Ababa was more than compassionate, understanding, and helpful. When we visited with them on October 16, they assured us they would do everything to help and everything to get us out of here ASAP. We were more than just another "family name," which we weren't expecting at all.  

By His grace, we were put in touch with a congressman, Kevin Brady, and his staff who fought tooth and nail for us. I am sure that without them, and without God, we would still be sitting here waiting. The even more amazing part of this piece of the story is he is not even OUR congressman. He is over another district and we cannot vote for him. We are forever thankful for what he has done for us. If you are in his district, please vote for him on our behalf!!

By His grace, I connected with a new friend on Facebook who started making calls for us, totally unsolicited. I briefly met this fellow adoptive mama at Eliyas' orphanage in July when they were there to pick up their beautiful daughter. We happened upon each other on Facebook a couple of weeks before we left for this trip and as soon as she heard the news she asked what she could do to help. She put us in contact with another adoptive mama who just brought her 12 year old son home from China, he also had TB and required the same waiver. This other mama's advice, encouragement, resources, and contacts have been invaluable. She put us in touch with the US' leading pediatric TB expert, who just so happens to consult for the CDC (who we needed on our side) and is in Houston, close enough for us to visit for treatment when we get home. She also gave us contact information for someone at the CDC. This was in the midst of the partial shutdown and that particular person was out on furlough, but there was another person listed to contact in her email auto reply. I reached out to her and she immediately got back to me, assuring me they would do everything they could to help. I couldn't believe it! Someone at the CDC actually cared? Over the next 20+ days, I came to realize this person is a doctor who is highly regarded at the CDC, not just another average Jane at a desk, and she would actually have a hand in approving our waiver. WOW. God is good. All the time.


1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

By His grace, our waiver was delivered to the USCIS lockbox in Phoenix on October 29 and we received our approval on November 7, nine long days later. After the approval, we received Eliyas' visa on last minute notice at the US Embassy this morning! They were nine long days for us, but in comparison to how long it could have taken (5 months is the average time for a waiver to be processed), it is nothing short of a miracle. We got our miracle! It wasn't exactly when we wanted it, but that's the thing about God's timing. As much as I struggle with it, it is perfect. Every time, all the time. I'm not going to lie, I have had days where I have struggled with trusting. I've had days where I have asked, "Why hasn't He let us go home yet?" I've had minutes where I thought everything was going to fall apart and wondered where He was. Why hasn't He stepping in to save the day the way I wanted Him to? 

scars and struggles on the way
but with joy our hearts can say

yes, our hearts can say

By His grace, our faith has been tested and we have come out stronger, no doubt. We have learned to depend on God in new ways as we have become parents (what a crash course in parenting!!), as we are learning about our son who has had 9 years of life without us. Yes, we are his parents and it is a beautiful thing that God has brought us together. But it's not forgotten that he has suffered loss and pain that we cannot imagine. As we try to figure out how to love him best, how to parent him best, we have relied on the Lord for the wisdom and strength, especially on days when we felt like we had no clue what we were doing. We have trusted in the Lord like never before as we have struggled with illnesses, horribly rough days filled with anxiety and fear. Fear of "losing" our child for 9 months, fear of the unknown financial situation, fear of this third world country that has been our home for the last month. In the last 31 days I have learned more about the Lord and more about my prayer life than I could have any other way. And I keep asking why He's left us here? I think I might have an answer. At least part of it- I may never understand all the reasons, thought I trust His plan is perfect. He has proven His faithfulness over and over.

James 1:2-8

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

never once 
did we ever walk alone

never once 
did You leave us on our own

You are faithful

God, You are faithful

By His grace, we have learned first-hand about our son's culture, food, country, sights, sounds, and yes, smells. Lots of them. We have picked up a few Amharic words and Eliyas' English has improved drastically. We have made new friends, both American & Ethiopian, who we will treasure for life. We have been blessed beyond measure by our friends, family, and amazing adoption community back home. We have learned that there will be people there to hold us up when we feel like we can't stand on our own. 

scars and struggles on the way
but with joy our hearts can say
never once did we ever walk alone
carried by Your constant grace
held within Your perfect peace
never once, no, we never walk alone

Over the last 31 days we have learned a lot about our Eliyas. He is so smart, caring, loving, an amazing athlete, and hilarious. Even more hilarious in Amharic because every driver, every sweet lady at the front desk, the guides, etc... are constantly cracking up at whatever he is saying. Can't wait till we get to hear more in English. We have played more games of HORSE than we can count. He keeps us on our toes! I have explained what "XOXO" means (still don't think he gets that one), we discuss our family name on a daily basis (the whole name system works differently here- people are known by their first name and father's name. So Eliyas Chase is the way his name would normally be known.) He cracks us up. Today, when asked how to say a number in Amharic he said, "I don't know, I'm American now!" He saw a sugar packet (instead of a bowl and spoon) and lawn sprinkler for the first time today and was amazed at both. We cannot wait to experience more firsts with him and see the world through his eyes. We have overcome some rough days and are seeing more of our sweet son every day. He volunteers hugs, kisses, "I love you's", jokes, asks questions... quite the change from the first few weeks. We are officially in our honeymoon stage and loving every second.

every step

we are breathing in Your grace

evermore we'll be

breathing out Your praise

You are faithful

God You are faithful

Tonight, as he goes to sleep for the last time (at least for quite a while) in his home country, we pray for his precious heart. Life as he knows it is about to change. He is leaving all that he knows. I can only imagine how overwhelming everything will be for him. From simple things like sugar packets, to big things like a new culture, new language, new people, new family and friends. We are praying that the Lord gives him peace and wraps His loving arms around him and comforts him in ways we never could. We ask for your prayers for Eliyas during this transition and for us, that we would be patient and understanding and seek guidance and wisdom from the Lord as we learn how to parent.

We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for how you have prayed for us, supported us, encouraged us, reminded us of scripture, loved us, and blessed us financially. I cannot even imagine these last 31 days without the outpouring of love that we have received. On days when I didn't think I could handle anymore, I was reminded of how much we are loved, which in turn reminded me of how faithful God is. We cannot wait to introduce the world to our sweet Eliyas Chase. We hope to have a welcoming party in the next couple of weeks once we see how he is adjusting. We discussed having a big ol' airport party, but just from what we have gotten to know of our son and advice from others who have gone before us, we are going to keep the airport homecoming low key with just immediate family and a few close friends so he's not too overwhelmed. Our initial days and weeks at home will be pretty quiet. We are not ignoring you or trying to keep people away, we just want to be mindful of how this transition will affect him. As you think about us in the coming weeks and months, please pray for us. We know we have some challenging days ahead, but they are worth it! 

Jeremiah 29:11-14

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Last thing... for real. Our dear family friends who I have known over half my life, Dale & Jeanne Warner, set up a PayPal account to collect funds on our behalf. Some of you have asked for the link so I wanted to share it again. You can find the PayPal link and more info here. The fund closes as soon as we get off the plane, so soon!!! :) We are completely blown away by how God has provided for us during this time of extra expenses and unexpected break from paychecks. Thank you, Warners, for this blessing, and our friends and family for blessing us beyond belief. "Thank you" doesn't even begin to describe our gratitude. 

Not sure how the blogging will go now that this part of our journey is over... I will try to keep you updated with how we are doing! Thank you for being a part of and following our journey!

XOXO!

**lyrics from Matt Redman's "Never Once"