wedding pics

Here are a few pics from the wedding reception I did.

The bride wanted a "vintage" feel, and if you know me at all you know I am crazy about "vintage" right now. I have a variety of vintage glassware, and used it for some of the centerpieces. I used a variety of flowers from my mother-in-laws garden, and herbs. I made artichoke hearts into candle holders, and covered a few vases with asparagus. I even had a great vintage suitcase for the cards. I forgot to take a picture of the old wedding photos we displayed at one end of the building. The white wreaths you see I made from coffee filters. They cost me about $8.00 a piece to make. We also had paper lanterns, and lights hanging from the ceiling. I am not sure why I did not get a picture of that. It was a great experience and I would love to do another one. Here the pics...


This was what an example of what was in each centerpiece.











This was what I displayed the place cards on. It was an old window I had purchased from a thrift store for a few bucks, and knew something could be done with it. I stapled ribbon to it, added small clothespins, and hung it. I did have to use the table for a few of the place cards also. I put them on the table and secured them with strands of black ribbon.

May number and June numbers

I am so sorry I never posted our May number. We were number....



I was ok with this small movement last month. Jason was more discouraged than I was. However I just opened our update email for June. Our new number this month is...


I am feeling a bit discouraged. I know they have prepared us for a longer wait time, but waiting is hard. I feel for those families who are waiting for their first child. I cannot imagine how the wait for them may seem soooo much longer.
I have three beautiful daughters at home to keep me busy. Sometimes it feels like we will never get there. I remember our social worker telling me there will be hard times during the wait, but I could not imagine that. I hate paperwork, so I thought as long as I was not doing paperwork life was grand. She was right, waiting is not as great as I thought it would be.

Spring is always busy for us. Jason coaches high school soccer, attends crazy amounts of graduation open houses, and has so many school obligations. I am on the steering committee for our community Vacation Bible School, and did my first wedding (I will try to post pics soon). The wedding was sooo fun, and would have been even better if it wasn't the week before VBS started. I am so glad to have Gabbie home for the summer. The girls have been in the pool nonstop, and playing with the neighbors. I love summer!!!!

That's all for now. Please continue to pray for this process.

Mother's Prayer

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! My mother's day was fabulous. We spent the day at my parent's house eating and relaxing while the kids played in their barn, and rode their golf cart in the woods. We surprised my mom in the morning by showing up at their church. Their service starts at 9:00 so we had to be out of the house with all the kids by 8:00. We made it with no problem, but I can't help but wonder if it will be that easy with 4 kids. Hopefully this will be my last mother's day without our "little man".






Besides getting married to Jason, becoming a mom is the most rewarding, stressful, humbling, and amazing blessing in my life. I love the fact that I get the chance to be home with my girls and wish I could have this job forever. I know being a mom is a job I will forever have, but I will not have the job of raising them and shaping them forever. I came across a song that explains perfectly what I desire for my children.

April Numbers

This will be a quick one.
I was so excited last night to open my email from our caseworker and see that we are now number.................



I can hardly believe that we are in the 20's. This was a great news and it is great to see movement despite the decrease they were talking about.

I thought the birthday cake was perfect because my baby turns 2 today!




HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAIA!

New number and New news

That is our NEW number! The last few months we did not move at all so we are so thankful to see some movement despite the unrest in Ethiopia. We also receive good news from our caseworker about the decision in Ethiopia. They put it much better than I could explain it so I will quote my email.

We have spent the entirety of this week and last connecting with our own Foreign Staff, participating in caucus calls led by Joint Council and the US Department of State, and independently collaborating with other Adoption Service Providers to get clear and accurate information concerning this matter. Your grace and patience has been so appreciated during this time! What we know as facts are:

1. MOWA posted a notice indicating as of March 10th they would be reducing the number of adoptions processed through their office to 5 cases a day.

2. Within days of this announcement, the director of MOWA and several other staff members from the ministry have been terminated.

Today we want to update you on the feedback we received yesterday from our foreign staff in Ethiopia, which was confirmed in a discussion with our adoption colleagues in a Joint Council caucus call later in the day.
At this time, all Foreign Staff on the ground in Ethiopia are reporting that MOWA has completed their staffing changes and are now currently working at full capacity to complete those adoption cases currently re-scheduled or assigned a court appointment through the courts of Addis Ababa. Our staff believe this to be around 800 cases they are working at full force to complete with no restrictions on the number of cases processed each day. This is great news! We are thrilled to hear these drastic changes do not seem to be going into full effect.
We are also pleased to report that for new cases moving forward; it appears the original changes proposed by MOWA will not be implemented to the degree of 5 cases a day. At this time it is unknown whether or not MOWA will issue a formal statement regarding how they will process cases in the future, but from all discussions it will not be a drastic decrease from before. Through the continued work, meetings, and advocacy of many Foreign Staff members in Ethiopia, it appears any future changes within the case processing for MOWA will avoid sweeping and disproportionate alterations to the number of cases processed each day. Rather, the hope is that MOWA, Joint Council, Adoption Service Providers, the US Department of State and other NGO organizations can come together to support the government of Ethiopia in strengthening the process for ethical adoptions to continue while also improving the general social structures to assist with family preservation in Ethiopia. This plan was acknowledged in the recent posting by the US State Department this morning at http://adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia.html. We understand the US Department of State cannot issue a formal statement without MOWA issuing a retraction. Based on the information we are receiving, MOWA is concentrating on processing the current adoptions and the new staff is not focused on numbers, but doing their jobs.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support.

I don't want my children to be happy

I came across this blog and was so moved by this woman's post in reaction to negative comments about their decision to adoption. She hits is right on. It is one of those posts you read as a parent and want to print it out and hang it on the bathroom mirror so you never forget it.
The title of the post is "I Don't Want My Children to Be Happy". You can find it here

Scary Changes for Ethiopia. PLEASE READ AND TAKE ACTION

Statement on the Pending Reduction of Intercountry Adoption in Ethiopia

Last week the Ethiopian Ministry of Women’s, Children’s and Youth Affairs announced their intention to reduce intercountry adoptions by 90% beginning March 10, 2011. The Ministry’s plan for a dramatic reduction is apparently based on two primary issues; 1) the assumption that corruption in intercountry adoption is systemic and rampant and 2) the Ministry’s resources should be focused on the children for whom intercountry adoption is not an option. Without further announcements by the Government of Ethiopia, it is our understanding that the Ministry’s plan will be initiated this week.
The Ministry’s plan is a tragic, unnecessary and disproportionate reaction to concerns of isolated abuses in the adoption process and fails to reflect the overwhelmingly positive, ethical and legal services provided to children and families through intercountry adoption. Rather than eliminate the right of Ethiopian children to a permanent family, we encourage the Ministry to accept the partnerships offered by governments, NGOs, and foundations. Such partnerships could increase the Ministry’s capacity to regulate service providers and further ensure ethical adoptions.
The Ministry’s plan, which calls for the processing of only five adoption cases per work day, will result not only in systemic and lasting damage to a large sector of social services, but will have an immediate impact on the lives and futures of children. Moving from over 4,000 adoptions per year to less than 500 will result in thousands of children languishing in under-regulated and poorly resourced institutions for years. For those children who are currently institutionalized and legally available for adoption, the Ministry’s plan will increase their time languishing in institutions for up to 7-years.
Joint Council respectfully urges the Ministry of Women’s, Children’s and Youth Affairs to reconsider their plan and to partner with governments, NGOs and foundations to achieve their goals and avoid the coming tragedy for children and families.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Go to this website http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43714.html and encourage anyone you know to sign this petition.