Disappointing News

Edited again to add (from Dan this time): Someone we know who is well connected in Washington has been helping us with the Visa issue. He has made one of Secretary Clinton folks aware of our issue and he texted me at 4:30 this morning to let me know he was now going to ask him to intervene on our case.

On another note, Dr. Sofia (the Embassy Doctor) saw Evangeline and wrote: "I saw Tarikua on Feb 6th. Now she is able to creep, sits without support, says baba -dada and feeds self holding a bottle. Her over all growth and development is good"

-Dan

Edited to add: Unfortunately, our I-600A approval is still not on the Embassy's database site. Now we're sweatin' it! It's Tuesday in Addis. There is a nine hour time difference for those of us here in central time. So we essentially have three business days - Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to get this resolved. Our Embassy date is on Monday, the 22nd. The Embassy Visa clerk won't even let us speak with an American at the Embassy. She just says she can't help us. Now we are wondering if we're making the right choice to by going since we might not be able to bring her home! We have a layover in Houston tomorrow from 10:30a-4:30p so hopefully we can work on it then. Unfortunately, the Embassy will be closed by then. We are just sick about this. Please pray that it gets resolved ASAP.

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We're pretty much ready to go... just staying up waiting to call the Embassy.

Packing Fatigue

Nine Days?!

Can you believe half this stuff is for one sixteen pound person?! According to her weight/length measurements, she's in between 3-6 mo and 6-12 mo clothing sizes, so we had to pack a wide range of options. What doesn't fit will be donated to the orphanage.

I wanted to write a few specific prayer requests before we leave. If you have a moment to pray for us about these things, we would really appreciate it.

1. Please pray for Jude and Indigo. We have never been away from them for more than an overnight before. They have been incredibly upbeat about staying with Chris and Dell, Aunt Mi-Mi and Gaga, but tonight reality began to sink in for Jude. I was getting him ready for bed and I could tell he was starting to get choked up. He said, "Mommy, I am going to miss you sooo much." I could see he was holding back tears. He started to talk about doing a countdown about when we'd get home. So we talked about that a bit. I could see he was still worried. I asked, "Are you worried about us being away?" He got a little teary, held his thumb and index finger about an inch apart and said, "About this much". I asked what he was worried about specifically and he just said he was going to miss me. Thinking of him missing me makes it harder to leave...

2. Please pray that we all stay healthy. I've had a bit of a stomach thing going on for the last few days. I'm not sure if it's nerves or a little bug. Please pray that we are healthy in-country and that Evie is, too.

3. Please pray that bonding goes well. I know that bonding and attachment are processes that require time and investment. But please pray that we get off to a great start with Evie.

4. Please pray that we have safe travels.

Shall we end with a stroll down memory lane? We moved a bunch of photos off of our laptop because it was slowing it down, but for some reason these old photos remained. These were all taken on various trips to "Gaga's Farm".

Baby Jude

Jude and me, 6 months pregnant with Indigo. This was at my mom's friend, Margie's farm.

Jude pulling a wagon which was restored by his Great-Grandfather

Doin' farm chores

Jude and baby Indigo