HE IS OURS!

COURT APPROVED!!!!!

 This was my favorite email that was sent to me from our caseworker. So grateful for our agency and the courts for working so hard to clear up the issue with our documents.

So with no further ado, may I proudly introduce to the world the newest member of the Michael family, 

MOSES BAYISA MICHAEL.

Moses is 13 months old and is such a sweet and happy baby. We will keep his Ethiopian name, Bayisa, as his middle name, and give him the name Moses when he comes home to us. I can't wait for our friends and family to finally meet him in person. He has no clue how loved he already is! It feels AMAZING to be a momma to 3 kids finally! We still have a lot to do in preparing for our second trip and preparing for Moses to come home!

So, what is the next step in our adoption journey?

Our agency in Ethiopia will now obtain Moses' birth certificate and passport and start applying for all of the paperwork needed for our Embassy appointment that we will attend during our second trip. The US Embassy will do another round of medicals on him and look over our HUGE stack of paperwork. Once they look over that they will notify us that we are clear to travel and attend our Embassy appointment to obtain his visa to come home! This process currently has been taking around 6-8 weeks. Currently, I am up to my ears in paperwork (yes, again) and trying to do everything I can in my power to make the rest of our process go as fast as possible. We are still in a very important (and stressful) stage of the process, and are praying for everything to go smoothly and in a timely manner.

To all of our friends and family, we still need your support!

-Please pray for the agency in Ethiopia getting together all of our documents on our behalf. Pray that all the documents are filled out correctly and in a timely manner.
-Pray that the US Embassy looks over our documents and everything is approved without any hold-ups along the way.
-Pray for our family. Pray that we get through this wait time peacefully and joyfully. Pray that God continues to watch over us during this INCREDIBLY hard time of transition of being thousands of miles away from our son and that we don't go crazy with our busy schedule for the next 2 months.
-Pray for my health. The past month I have been having some health issues, whichhave been causing me pain and lots of doctor visits. Pray for my healing.
-Pray for baby Moses. Pray that he stays healthy and that he remembers us from our last visit with him.
-Pray over our finances and God's provision. We know that Satan is working hard right now, and he doesn't want to see God's will come into fruition. He can try to tie up our finances by breaking our washing machines, cars, and giving us some health problems to pay for, but HE DOESN'T WIN IN THE END!

ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO SUPPORT OUR JOURNEY....

Please go and visit a fellow adoptive momma's online store and buy some really cool jewelry! 45% of the proceeds for the month of June will go directly to our travel/legal expenses for our next Ethiopia trip. Isn't that cool, she picked our family to partner with for the month of June. God is good!! Share the website with your friends, family, Facebook, coworkers, whoever you pass by.

The blog post is: http://www.hannahjamesblog.com/2012/06/meet-michael-family.html. You will find an icon for her store on the right side of this blog post.

Can't find it???.......You can also just click here. Or type in http://hannahjames.storenvy.com/

Where We Are Now...

We have received a court update over the weekend on our status. Unfortunately, the courts had to close down a couple of days last week, postponing our date, yet again. A lot of people have been asking about when we get to travel again to go and pick up our son. The answer is, until we get court approval It is still unknown. We are basically at a stand still until court approval. Once we get court approval, the wait between court approval to second travel for Embassy has been about 6-8 weeks recently. Adoption is one of those things that the timing and the process is constantly changing, so you have to just roll with the punches. We are now readjourned for June 11. Please join with us in praying for our new court date, and if God's will, we get court clearance to call our son OURS! Pray for our judge that she looks at our case and she is satisfied with all of our documents and that the courts stay open and on schedule. pray for our agency in Ethiopia as they will be standing in on our behalf. Also, if you could please pray for Jordan and I right now and our hearts. We knew that this wait was going to be hard. I didn't know it was going to be to this degree. I am a big time reader, and have read SO many book about adoption and the process to educate myself about what to expect, but it doesn't matter how much you read, nothing can prepare you for the real thing. I know that one day this will all pass and he will be home, but I just wish my head could tell my heart. The gravity of everything is really setting in, and to tell you simply, I extremely miss my little boy and I am very sad and grieving over our separation right now. I feel like I live everyday right now, waking up and first thing checking my phone or email to hear news from our agency, and when I don't hear anything, I want to just crawl back in bed and wake up the next day to check again. Every day that passes is another day that I cant be with him and its another day that we are missing out on attaching and bonding with him. We are trying really hard to go back to normal life in Austin, but nothing is the same. I find myself looking through a different perspective now, and the transition between Ethiopia back to the US has been emotionally overwhelming for me, whether it is going grocery shopping or having a conversation. Part of me knows that eventually I will get use to everything again, but there is another part of me that doesn't want to. I don't want to get used to how complex we make our lives and how many stipulations we put on just simply loving each other. Something that I have noticed since my trip is how much personal cost and gain weighs in when it comes to our relationships with one another. We can't just simply love. Love is not complex, love doesn't have boundaries, love doesn't come with disclaimers. We are so quick to weigh in on if it's worth it to love someone as opposed to just jumping right in and loving your neighbor, no questions asked. That is the gospel, that is God, that is Jesus! One of the ways God used Ethiopia to teach me is by exposing the guilt in my own heart of how I have made loving others less about others and more about myself. One of my favorite quotes as a believer is, "we were called to love, not to be loved." Sometimes it is so much more satisfying in the here and now, to love someone and be loved in return, but I say there is so much more of a lasting joy to love somebody without caring what you will get out of it or how much you sacrifice from it. I pray that my life will reflect that for His glory, because this is what He does for me. There are no stipulations or disclaimers about His love. And isnt that the point, believers, to love like Jesus? I am at a place, right now, where I am trying to seek understanding about everything, and even though I don't feel it as strongly right now, I still know and believe that God is sovereign, this is part of our story, and He knows when and how our journey ends. He is faithful through and through and He will carry us through this difficult time. Praise God, even when we can't see it or it is very dim, his love and faithfulness is always there and it never changes based on the circumstances we are in. Thank you so much for your love and encouragement since we have been back. It is helping us get through this tough time of waiting. Please keep praying with us! "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever." Psalm 30:11-12

Ethiopia Days 5 & 6

We woke up Monday morning, in anticipation excited to spend time with our sweet boy all morning. We had missed him all weekend, and were beginning to realize the predicament the next couple of months were going to be in. We really missed Stella and Max back at home, but were happy to be with the baby, and just thinking about coming back to the States made us excited to see Stella and Max, but we knew that we were going to desperately miss our baby. no matter where we were, we were going to feel that missing piece. This last leg of waiting was, without a doubt, going to be the hardest of all.

We arrived at Acacia Village that morning, and they brought the babies out again to see their parents. We had a great time playing with him, and he was still very warm and loving towards us. As we were playing, I asked one of the nannies if it would be ok to sneak a visit in before court the next day if we hired a driver to bring us back to Acacia Village. She said that it wouldn't be a problem. Score! We were going to get to see him one last time before we had to go back home. I was relieved, especially since that second day he was having some teething issues, and you could tell he wasn't feeling his best. We got to feed him, and then he fell asleep in my arms. I waited a bit to put him in his bed for some extra cuddle time! We were walking to the infant room to put him in his bed, and there in the hallway were about 6 toddlers all lined up on training potties going to the bathroom and waving and smiling at us. It was the absolute cutest thing ever! I wish my 2 year old son could have seen it, they could have shown him a thing or two. When we went into the room to lay him in his crib, it was once again so peaceful seeing all those precious babies sleeping. Before we went to Ethiopia, I had sewed the baby a quilt of all of our old t-shirts and up to that point we had been sleeping with it everyday. That afternoon, I got to snuggle my baby boy up in his crib with his blanket, and I was overwhelmed with joy seeing him all snuggled up with it. We kissed him goodbye and knew that we only had one more opportunity to see him before we left, and every time we saw him, the realization became clearer that it was going to be extremely difficult to leave him. We decided to get to bed early since the next day we had a busy day of visitations, court, and we would be departing Addis after court.

We woke up that next morning and packed up all of our stuff in anticipation for Alazar to come pick us up to see the baby. We were really sad to be leaving Ethiopia. We were also fearful of coming back to the States after being in a country like this for 6 days, just the culture shock we would have, since we had both felt an internal change over the past week. Our wonderful guest lodge had a relaxing terrace on the rooftop and every day and night Jordan and I would go up there and just reflect on everything and take everything in. It had become kind of our spot when we needed to go and make sense of things. We were up on the rooftop when we saw Alazar drive up to take us to the orphanage. When we go to the orphanage, our sweet boy was all smiles, and we knew he remembered us from the day before. It made my heart happy knowing we would be leaving him on a happy note. We had such a great visit with him on our last visitation, and I wish we could have stayed longer, but we had court that afternoon. We told him we loved him, hugged and kissed all over him, and promised that we would come back for him as soon as we can to bring him home. There was happiness when we left. A peace. I felt secure in knowing that he was being cared for at Acacia Village. That if he wasn't able to be with us, there is no other place I would want him to be than with those sweet ladies that care for those children as if they are their own.

We left just in time to get back to our lodge and then get back on another van to go to court. Court was a very different setting than in the US. It was way more laid back and there was no court room. Just an office that we were called in when it was our turn. I had this heavy feeling the whole time, and I didn't know why, and I just wanted to stay hopeful, so I just kept trying to ignore it. We walked in the room where the judge was with the 2 other families from our agency, and we all had court together. After she asked us a few questions, she told the other 2 families that their babies were officially theirs and she said that our case was still pending, because of a document. She readjourned our court date to June 1st and said she would look over our case again then. I honestly don't remember much after that. The heaviness I had been feeling just kept getting stronger and I could sense that sadness and anger in Jordan. I couldn't breathe. I was absolutely heartbroken. We finally got back to the guest lodge and I immediately ran up the 6 flights of stairs to the terrace, my safe place, to get some air. I just completely lost it. I just cried and cried and we just stood in silence.

I know these things happen in adoption. It is a very common thing for things to be delayed. Our agency did a fantastic job informing us about this happening, but at that point it didn't matter how much I knew or what I was expecting. It hurt... It hurt so bad. I believe in God' sovereignty, I trust in His perfect timing. I  was constantly repeating that to myself, trying to believe those words even though at that moment my hope was so dim. I was praying for his loving kindness to just swarm around me at that very moment, to allow me to see Him and find that hope again that only He can give me. I went inside to send an email on my laptop to our caseworker just to clarify some things, and as I opened it, a notification popped up on my screen from a fellow Ethiopian adoptive momma that read:

"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." Isaiah 55:12

I went back up to the terrace and just gazed at the beautiful mountains and trees that surrounded me and this city and these people. This peace and protection came over me. Looking at His beautiful creations that I had been mesmerized with the entire time we were there, realizing it didn't matter if my heart was full of joy, full of sorrow,  full of worry, or full of despair, these mountains, everyday, shouted His name. All I could think was, He is faithful all the time and every time. He never leaves. Even in our deepest despairs, he does not waiver or change. No matter what, the mountains and trees are singing His praise. Charles Spurgeon once said, "Think not believer, that your sorrows are out of God's plan; they are necessary parts of it. We must, through much tribulations, enter the kingdom. Learn, then, even to count it all joy." I think he was onto something when he said this. The people of Ethiopia were also a true testament to this. No matter what, we can always be joyful. He once again carried me out of that place and set my feet on solid ground, and we left that rooftop in peace.

We arrived back safely in Houston on Wednesday, and drove back to Austin on Thursday. Here is the update since we have been back in the States....

One of our documents is unclear at the moment that is interfering with our court approval to make our baby boy officially ours. Our court date is readjourned for June 1st and, if God's will, hopefully we will get court approval. Our agency will be standing in for us at this date, and we pray he brings good news. The transition back has been overwhelming both physically and emotionally. I didn't think we it would have been this hard getting back into our normal lives. We need our prayer warriors to cover us in prayer...

-Pray for our June 1st court date. They are a half day ahead of us in Ethiopia, so we will hopefully hear something the morning of June 1st (our time.)

-Pray for our transition. We are feeling a lot of heaviness on our heart about Ethiopia and REALLY missing our little boy.

-Pray for our wait time. Pray that God brings us patience and peace throughout the last leg of our journey, as it's only been a week, and it feels like an eternity.

-Pray for us as we start preparing for our second trip both emotionally and financially. Pray for our health and for God to protect and provide.

Everyone's kind words, prayers, and encouragement, have been amazing the past week. It really is helping us get through these hard times of transitions, and we honestly could not get through it without all of the love and support. We thank you from the bottoms of our hearts!

Ethiopia Day 3 & 4

We couldn't go and visit our boy over the weekend, so it allowed us some time to go and see the sights and dive into the culture of Ethiopia. We hired our driver, Alazar, for Saturday and Sunday and he was fantastic! We couldn't have asked for a better driver. He is the owner of Addis Flower Guest House in Ethiopia (which we got to tour, and I would definitely recommend.) We first, went up Mount Entoto where we were able to catch a glimpse of the rural area of Ethiopia. It was absolutely beautiful everywhere you turned. Looking from on top of the mountain you could look out and see the entire city of Addis. There was something so peaceful and safe about the lay of the land. That there was this city down below full of poverty and needy people completely surrounded by this beautiful landscape of trees and mountains. It was as if the mountains and trees were protecting the city and its people. Here are some pictures of the beautiful view!

Mt. Entoto overlooking the town of Addis Ababa.

Overlooking Addis Ababa.

With our new friends, Darik and Tracy. Love them!

One of my favorite parts was watching these women carrying down from the mountain massive tree branches bundled up on their backs. Alazar told us that the women get up early in the morning to go up the mountain. They gather as many branches they can and walk them back down the mountain to make a living. It takes them half the day to get down the mountain. Just watching the way of the people and realizing how different our lives were, I was taken aback. Seeing how hard they worked, and how much they did in one day with a smile and pride on their face, was such an humbling experience. The people were so peaceful and whether they were bringing their herd of donkeys down the mountain or playing soccer in a random field with their friends, you saw this inner joy radiating out of them, and it completely rocked my world!

THE PEOPLE OF MT. ENTOTO

These women are amazing! Every morning they walk
up the mountain and collect tree branches.
 It takes them half a day to walk back down the mountain
with the branches. All to earn a living.

More resilient Ethiopian women.

donkeys, donkeys everywhere!

The kids of Mt. Entoto playing soccer.

Fields on Mt. Entoto ready for the rainy season.

While on the mountain we were able to visit some Ethiopian churches and museums. Ethiopia is a part Christian part Muslim nation. All is at peace, and they are very religious. We enjoyed learning about their customs and seeing some of the oldest churches in the history of the world. It was beautiful seeing and learning how other people halfway across the world worshipped the same God as me. They weren't afraid to lift their hands and dance and sing really loud!

The monastery of the priests and deacons from the
octagonal church on Mt. Entoto

Limestone communion cave carved out by hand during the
days of King David.

100 year old paintings depicting Jesus' miracles
inside the octagonal church.

More paintings within the church of Jesus serving His people.

The first Christian church in Addis

Another church in Addis. They believe that the Arch of the
Covenant is inside.

St. George Cathedral

Beautiful stain glass window in the bell tower
outside the St. George Cathedral

We also got to do some shopping at the market places. This is where we got the most interaction with the people. Seeing all the street children running up to us and wanting us to buy what they had offer was the most humbling of all. You see images and even some documentaries about life in a third world country from afar and I think one, you don't believe it is as bad as they are depicting it, or two, maybe you see how bad it is, but it is easier to turn the channel or turn your head, than deal with the reality of how these kids live. Seeing it with my own two eyes, was absolutely sobering. These kids are real. Their situations are real. They work day to day to provide for themselves and/or their siblings and all of them exuded so much joy and happiness, as if they had everything they needed in the world. We have so much stuff, and yet, I find myself every day complaining about something. We get upset because we want better paychecks, a better government, better healthcare, or drama-free relationships, and these people don't have any of that. Most don't have parents to fight with, healthcare when they are sick, or a government system that cannot possibly help all of the 8 million orphaned children in need of food and shelter. Their needs are OVERWHELMING but they are completely satisfied with what they are given. They praise their God everyday no matter what, and they are completely satisfied with Him and what He has given them. I had such humbling interactions that I cannot get out of my head, and don't think I ever will.

More sweet children of Ethiopia getting ready to tour a museum.

Making scarves.

The food and the coffee was absolutely fabulous. I think my husband ate more in Ethiopia than he does in the States! There was coffee everywhere you turned and all of the food was delicious.

Delicious Caramel Macchiato at Kaldi's Coffee
(equivalent to Starbucks). YUM!

Jordan's favorite Ethiopian meal which he ate almost everyday.
Tibbs and injera bread all eaten with just your hands.

Tamaco Coffee Shop with Tracy and Darik.
Met some extremely nice Ethiopian men there who were great
company. The people are so warm.

While we were out one day we were invited inside of an Ethiopian traditional wedding. They only happen 3 or 4 times a year, so it was an honor to be a part of it. We walked up and the people inside said, "please come in," and escorted us in and sat us down in the middle of the ceremony. The people around us literally were hand feeding us and shoving meat filled injera into our mouths. They got us all up and the little kids around us were showing Jordan and I the dance and rhythm of the clapping. It was unbelievable watching these people celebrate. They were even friendly towards wedding crashers!

We were invited into a traditional Ethiopian wedding.
They only have 3 or 4 a year, so it was a special and
unforgettable experience.

Beautiful little girl at the wedding.

This little boy was a doll!
He was teaching Jordan and I the song and dance
that the people were doing.

We had an unbelievable weekend, but we were so ready to go see our boy again at the orphanage, and ready to go to court so we could hear the words HE IS OURS!

Ethiopia Day 1 & 2

We had such an unbelievable experience in Ethiopia! We had an amazing 6 days that will forever change our hearts and we long for the day when we will soon return...


We arrived in Ethiopia on Wednesday night at 10pm. After a 19 hour flight with an 8 hour time change, we had just enough energy to check-in to our guest lodge and walk down the street  to grab a pizza at Bruno's, which ended up being one of our favorite places to eat. When we got back to the guest lodge, we were welcomed with a power outage (in true Ethiopian style). Thank goodness we listened and brought a flashlight. I looked at Jordan and said, "This is Africa." We went to sleep with such anticipation, knowing the next day we would be meeting our precious boy for the very first time.

Here are some pictures from our guest lodge and the streets of Bole in Addis Ababa. We loved this friendly neighborhood and all the local eateries and shops around it.

The view from our room at Afro Land Lodge. To the left are families' homes,
and along the streets are shops and local businesses. And, of course, everywhere
 you look is the beautiful Ethiopian background of mountains and
clouds that go for days.

Jordan on the lodge rooftop. I am in love with this man!

"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains will burst
 into song before you, and all the trees in the fields will clap their hands."
Isaiah 55:12

THE PEOPLE OF BOLE, ADDIS ABABA

The produce stand on the corner.

The local hangout.
Love how affectionate everyone is towards one another!
Everywhere you turned there were people embracing each other.

Ethiopian woman preparing a meal for her family at her home.
We enjoyed getting a bird's eye view into people's day to day lives.

Enjoyed watching the neighborhood children play at their homes.
They were so incredibly cute! 

Ethiopian woman washing dishes.
These women work so hard from sun up to sun down whether it be washing
and hanging out laundry, preparing and cleaning up meals, or taking care of
their children. 

Friday morning came around quickly. We woke up to a wonderful breakfast  prepared by the guest lodge with some amazing coffee! (puts my morning coffee at home to shame) Before we knew it, we were told by the front desk that our CWA driver had arrived to take us to the orphanage to meet our son. We were the first of 3 families picked up that were also in Ethiopia meeting their children for the first time. It was such a relief meeting other families that were in the exact same position as we were, and it was great to be able to share our feelings about everything going on! We couldn't have asked for better families to travel with and walk along beside us through this part of our journey. I will never forget traveling the streets of Ethiopia. The traffic is absolutely crazy, and the streets are filled with people.

THE STREETS OF ADDIS ABABA

Imagine NYC traffic without traffic lights, stop signs, unmarked roads,
and people and donkeys everywhere you look!
The driver kept telling me to close my eyes!



Typical Ethiopian building. Everything was so colorful!

The streets of Ethiopia.

Almost to Acacia Village, the orphanage of our sweet boy.
Everywhere you looked the scenery was breathtaking.

We arrived at Acacia Village and were greeted by a few of the nannies that took care of our boy. We were escorted into a play area, and the reality hit me all at once that after 2 years of praying and waiting and longing and holding on to God's promise, we were FINALLY going to hold and love on our sweet boy in just a few moments. A little boy that had no idea how much he had been prayed for and how much he was already loved. A little boy that God set apart before he was even formed in his mother's womb. As we stood there in anticipation the nanny walked in with our sweet boy in her arms. He had just woken up from his morning nap and just looked at us intently with those big brown eyes, and I immediately stretched out my arms and embraced my precious baby boy for the very first time. I had waited for so long for this one moment, and it was so worth it, I would have waited a million more. He was very warm towards us and kept laying his head on my shoulder. I love that he loves to cuddle! We walked into the playroom and played on the floor with him. All I could do was just watch him with amazement that I was here in this moment. We made the most precious memories that morning of introducing him to his momma and his daddy! I absolutely adored watching Jordan become a father once again and falling in love with his son.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come for you." John 14:18

After awhile of playing and getting acquainted with our son we were taken on a tour of the beautiful Acacia Village. We were able to meet all of the nannies that were caring for our sons, and I felt so relieved seeing them interact with him with such love and kindness. And as if my heart wasn't full enough, we were introduced to all of the other children waiting for families that lived at the village. We got to interact and play with all of the children there, love on them, and get a glimpse of their daily routine. I was so overwhelmed with emotion, but was also trying to take in every little thing about our boy...his smile, his giggles, what he liked to eat, how he liked to sleep, how he liked to be held, what toys he liked to play with, and so forth and so forth.

Beautiful acacia tree outside the orphanage.

Beautiful Ethiopian scenery from Acacia Village.

Next, it was lunchtime, so we were invited into the dining area to feed our baby and a coffee ceremony. We noticed a lot of Ethiopians serve popcorn with their coffee. I loved that! Jordan was holding our boy as we were feeding him, and he looked up at Jordan's eyes and just close his eyes and fell right to sleep. It was the most precious thing. We were able to cuddle him a little while longer and then walked him to his room and lay him down into his crib. The entire room was full of little infants sleeping in their cribs. It was so quiet and peaceful! I didn't want to leave, but I leaned over and gave our sweet sleeping boy a goodbye kiss knowing that I would see him again in a couple of days. Our hearts were completely overflowing! We had fallen in love with precious little thing, and we were just in such amazement that God chose and entrusted us to be this sweet boy's parents. There was nothing better than seeing my husband overflowing with love for this sweet child. It made me fall in love with him all over again.

That night, we had quite the adventure in a taxi cab trying to find the Island Breeze restaurant that we were meeting up at with the other families. Luckily, when we were about to tell the cab driver to take us back to the guest lodge, Jordan looked up and saw the restaurant. That night we also discovered that Ethiopia is a place where the streets have no names, so google map really doesn't help when it comes to directions. It was so great to be able to talk with the other families about meeting our children for the first time and experiencing something that not too many people get to experience.

We went to bed that night, so in awe of God and His plan and His journey that He laid out for us, and in awe of the joy and love that came flowing into our lives by walking His path. Our hearts were full and it was just two days in. We had no idea what was ahead of us and how this place and these people would take a piece of our hearts and always be a part of us.

Court Update

We are leaving today at 4:20 and will arrive in Ethiopia tomorrow at 9:10pm. We heard from the agency this morning that our court date that was supposed to happen on May 14 was adjourned to May 22nd. This is the same date as when we will appear in court for the second court hearing. This commonly happens if they are missing documents that they need. We are waiting on a very important letter from the MoWCY that we have yet to get. Please pray that the letter comes in time before court, so our court date can actually happen!! It is very important that we get this letter. We hope to have some Internet in Ethiopia, but it is uncertain. I will try to post as much as I can if we do have Internet. Thanks so much for all of your prayers. Please keep them coming!!

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