We were given a gift today....

Today we received new pictures of our boys from a traveling Mamma. They change so much each time. It's amazing. She also took foot prints of the boys so we can buy them shoes. I know it seems small, but every time we walk by the shoe department I look. And I have no idea where they size up regarding shoe size; so here was our first glimpse at our boys feet...

This translates to a 3.5

and this translates to about a 12.

Plus she had some wonderful things to say about them, "I didn't realize these were your boys. They caught my eye on the waiting child list and I was praying for them to find a family. They are absolutely beautiful. Dawit is as sweet as he can be. He kept sharing all his goodies with anyone he could. My son and Sintayehu played basketball and were big buddies. You are so lucky. They are absolutely precious, I am so happy they are going to be yours!!!!"

Hear that? We are so lucky. She captured it. We are the lucky ones in this miracle. Nick and I are the ones being blessed. Thank you Lord for these boys.

And for the finale, I leave you with new images of the Crain Kiddos.

Don't you just want to hold him?

He looks so much older already

Our Handsome Boys

I think Sintayehu is going to hate this picture when he is older

This kid has the best smile in the world.

I love them so much it hurts.

Well Good Night All. Please remember to Praise God for this miracle.

It's Official

We passed today!!!! On February 8th, these two beautiful boys became Crains. Introducing Sintayehu (Sin-ty-you) Isaiah Crain and Dawit Micah Crain. S is the older son and D is the little, shy one. Behold....

They leave me breathless. We are in love!!!

Not Great News

I swear, this journey is the hardest journey we have ever been on. So we did not pass court today. We were approved by MOWA, which is great. We had all of the paper work in order. Which is awesome. However, the judge wanted an additional piece of paperwork from the father. The paper was already done once, but she wanted a newer version on Addis letterhead. So, our agency went and got it signed already so we are rescheduled for Monday. Hopefully we will pass this time. If we don't, I guess we will keep fighting.

The good news is that if we pass on Monday, our embassy date is still March 18 so there shouldn't be a delay in when we can go get them. Just a delay in anxiety. So please continue to pray. Our pastor called and cheered me up. He reminded me that it took the Pharaoh 10 plagues before he let His people go. Not 5 not 7 but 10. We are close to 10 delays I think. Thanks for all of the supportive comments and emails. It has really helped me get through. Monday its only four days away. We can hold on till then. We have no choice :)

GroundHogs day repeat

So after being completely nervous all day yesterday, tossing and turning all night and waking up in the bathroom we finally got the call from Ashley. And the news was that our case was not heard and we will get our chance tomorrow. So within the next 6 hours, a judge will decide if our boys are legally ours. Here's to another sleepless night.

Please continue praying. Congrats to Shannon who passed last night and has the most beautiful daughter.

Hold on boys, we are coming sooner or later.

18 more hours

So I have been praying all day. Long prayers, short prayers, interspersed throughout the day with all my 5th graders. I have such a knot in my stomach. I know not to expect to pass, but it's our turn. We have hit so many dang bumps I think we actually flipped upside down. So I am trying to stay calm. Every time I feel nervous, I just look to the maker. If He can create all life in seven days, this should be cake.

So tomorrow I may be legally a Mom maybe not. The thing I know for sure is I am a Mom through my heart. Check back tomorrow to find out.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for being the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I come before You knowing that I am insignificant and unworthy, Yet You tell us You know the hairs of our head. You created us in our mother's womb. There is promise upon promise that You have made Lord. And you have always kept Your word. Please God hear our prayers. Make us a family tonight. And if it is not your will for it to happen tonight; give us peace and serenity. I thank you Lord for being the Great One, our Maker, the Creator of all things. I pray that Your will be done.

Amen

Anticipation

Ok, so we have 4 days until court and I feel like I am going to explode. This is crazy. I don't care for it at all. To make matters worse, Nick is leaving tomorrow for the week. He has been out of town for all of the transitions of this adoption. When we were approved for the addendum and received our first pictures of our sons, Nick was in San Luis Obispo. When we found out the adoption was on hold, he was in a very important meeting. Now while we are waiting to find out if S and D are ours, he will be in San Francisco. What a ride.

I have bitten my nails to stubs, paced the hallway, toss and turn all night, cleaned the house, made to do lists. None of them actually keep my mind from racing. I am very nervous about the whole thing. A family, who has been through the same number of upsets, didn't pass for the second time this week. My heart aches for them. I cried when I read her blog. I cried for there precious little girl. I cried for the empty nursery they have to walk by. I cried for the additional weeks that they will miss in her life. Then I cried for us. I cried for fear. Fear of not passing for a ridiculous piece of paper that isn't signed. I pray for certainty that we pass first time through. I pray. I pray. I pray and that is the only time I feel safe from the uncertainty.

New Pictures!!!

This morning I woke up to find I had 3 new pictures of the boys. My goodness. I fall in love more every time I see them. They are absolutely beautiful. The extra treat was the video. It is only nine seconds but I have watched it at least 50 times already. Big S is saying "chow" and waving the whole time. We have been told by three families that Big S is absolutely adorable outgoing and has a great smile. The families also told us that Little D is really shy. It is apparent in all of the pictures. He doesn't look directly at the camera in any of the pictures.

I can't wait until I can reveal our beautiful boys. Hopefully Next Wednesday you will be able to see the boys that have captured our hearts. Please continue to pray for smooth sailing. We need to pass court, have the TB tests completed and a confirmed March 18th embassy appointment. We are ready for them to be here, in their rooms.

I can't wait for the sound of laughter. IT is the BEST sound in the whole world.

Ps. Thank you Julie

Only in California

Only in California can you go to the beach on Tuesday...

My dad and Grandpa enjoying the surf and sunset

And Play in the snow on Friday!!!

Look at all that beautiful snow...

I know California has it's share of problems (and taxes)

but I don't think I could live anywhere else.

Same old... till it isn't

So I had planned on Blogging about my hair cut (Which I love by the way) and about the beautiful weather we had this weekend (4-6 in of snow which is rare for us). Buuuuuutttt today Ashley (our case worker) called us with our court date. And it's next week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited. I know that we still have to pass before I can start making plans, but next week. It is the first break we have seem to catch. I just emailed Ashley yesterday asking if there was any news. She had said no news and that there are some families that received referrals in December that were still waiting for a date so it could still be a while. After I had myself a good cry and then a very long prayer, I picked up my class from recess and went about my day.

But this morning, while I was working on report cards, (those kids probably received elevated grades :) Ashley called and told me that we received a court date and it is for February the third. Next Wednesday. She was teared up on the other end. This has been a long journey. I cried. Called Nick. Cried some more. My coworker walked in. Told him. Cried some more. Then called my parents. Cried more. Realized they will be on a cruise while we are in Ethioipia. Oh Well.

My class thinks I am nuts I am sure, but they got to waste like 35 min while they asked me questions about Ethiopia, when we would leave, who their sub would be. They were really excited. Maybe they were excited to have a sub who knows. But there was lots of cheering and smiling going on in G-10 this morning.

So now that all this said, PLEASE continue to pray. We need a smooth court hearing. I don't know if I could handle not passing. I am fragile these days. Well, I know I would survive, God will get us through. But it would be such a huge blessing to pass the first time. Which most families do. We have just had more difficulty than most. Oh yeah, We could maybe travel as soon as March 13th for a March 18th Visa appointment. That's like in 6 weeks. Hallelujah!!! So Please continue to pray. I don't trust any of this to fate or luck. I trust it all to Him.

Control

Tomorrow I am cutting and changing the color of my hair. I probably wouldn't be cutting my hair off if I felt like I had control of much of my life, but I don't. I can however, control the cut and color of my hair.

I have been trying to grow it out for a year and a half but it's getting to a ratty stage, so tomorrow, I will come home with a new style and color. I am staying rational and making sure its long enough that I can still throw it up. This is important because its curly and I wont have time to blow dry it all of the time, (hopefully in the near future). I'll post a pic of the new do tomorrow.