The Insider

This is how we feel on the inside ...

and it's starting to show on the outside.

No referrals + no explanations + delays at the US Embassy + a full transition home + courts still being closed + unanswered emails = one emotionally exhausted couple!

In the beginning, we humbly came before our family and friends and asked for both your emotional and financial support to help us create our family through adoption. You were AMAZING!!! I mean SUPER AMAZING!!! Through your overwhelming generosity we raised over $20,000 in 6 short months. WOW!! I still get chills just thinking about it ... who says there aren't angels among us?!

These days we find ourselves in need of hugs ... LOTS of HUGS, shoulders to be used as snot rags and warm bodies to hold our punching bags. We may not have a lot to say because frankly there isn't a lot of information being relayed but we could use the warmth and love of our friends and family just being there. We're in a rough spot right now ... we feel so close but in all reality we're still so far away.

I hope to share more news with you soon. Right now we're anxiously awaiting the courts to reopen, praying for families to pass Embassy, and REALLY hoping that our agency gives out referrals soon. The most heartbreaking thing about all the waiting is that the need for forever families has not changed ... orphanages and transition homes are still full of orphans ... the sad truth is that a mountain of bureaucracy is just standing between the two.

"Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Matthew 11:23-24 


Praying,

Tenth Month Waiting

Last week our agency announced in their weekly update that they are still within their projected wait times for referrals. We were told when we signed up with Children's Hope International (CHI) that the average wait time for a female 0-12 months old was a 7-11 month wait time. I pray they're right because that would mean that our referral is getting close because TODAY marks our 10th month waiting. YEAH!!!

Two of our favorite people, Aunt Vivi and Uncle Jim celebrated our 10th month waiting on a recent trip to Louisville. Both Vivian and Jim have been so supportive of our adoption, we are forever thankful for their love and support throughout the process.

This picture was taken in Costco ~ they're brave souls.

I also wanted to share this extra special gift Aunt Vivi recently gave us to celebrate our adoption. She purchased it at August House Studio in Chicago which hosts the annual Dumela Contemporary African Art Show in her local neighborhood. The artwork comes from Africa and is created by African artists (this piece was hand painted by an artist from Ghana).  We are in love with this painting, it reminds us of HER and her birth mother, it's beautifully done and warms our hearts, we'll treasure it always! Thank You Aunt Vivi!

Last Friday marked 3 months with no referrals given out from our agency. GEEZ! Talk about challenging! Our patience have been tested BUT we are in a good place (emotionally speaking - at least for now anyways) and hopeful all this waiting will result in us seeing our little girl's face sooner than later.

Please join us in praying for the CHI Staff and everyone involved with Ethiopian adoptions, the orphans waiting to be referred and matched, their birth families, and all the other waiting families across the world longing to have their children in their arms forever. It's a hard battle to fight but worth every stresser and heartache encountered along the way.

Marcus Samuelsson Rocks!

Has it really been almost a month since the last time I blogged?! Oops.

Guess we've been too busy hanging out with our new friends ...

Yes, we're besties with Ryan Seacrest and Julianne Hough these days! No, not really but we did run into them in Chicago and they were kind enough to chat and pose for this picture with us. They're a really cute couple.

Bret and I snuck in a Labor Day getaway to Chicago by piggy-backing on a work trip I had to the Windy City. We spent time touring the city, eating, shopping and hanging with our Aunt Vivi. We had a fabulous weekend!

We started the week out right by visiting Ethiopian born Chef Marcus Samuelsson's C-House restaurant located in the Affinia Hotel in downtown Chicago.

Date Night!


Here is just a sample of our yummy cuisine:

Gunthorp Farm Pork Chop ~ roast summer squash, white peaches, and crispy polenta

Red Snapper ~ tempura fried squash blossoms, maitakes, broccoli, and basil

Mac & Cheese ~ pork sausage and goat cheddar

We had never heard of Chef Marcus Samuelsson until about a month ago (where have we been?!) ... we were milling around the house watching HGTV and they were featuring famous celebrities homes (HGTV's version of "Cribs"), when I saw Samuelson point to an Amharic Alphabet and then explain he was born in Ethiopia and adopted by a Swedish couple.

Bret and I stopped what we were doing and instantly started paying more attention to the t.v. We seem to have super sonic hearing when it comes to words like: "Ethiopia", "Adoption" and "Africa" - they tend to peak our interest and divert our attention. We looked into Samuelsson a little more after the show and discovered that he had two restaurants in Chicago - where we were headed in a few short weeks - YEAH! His food was absolutely FANTASTIC!

Marc Burger was his other restaurant that we visited. It was located in Macy's food court in downtown Chicago and it was delicious.

Bret, embrassed of me taking his picture in the food court.

Smoky BBQ Burger with paprika, applewood bacon, and homemade bbq sauce

Classic Cheeseburger with homemade slaw and pickles

Strawberry Custard Shake

The Decor`

We are officially Marcus Samuelsson fans! Now, if we can just make it to New York to visit his Red Rooster Restaurant in Harlem we'd be in good shape.

Thanks for staying tuned. We'll try to be more active on our blog in the coming months. Hopefully we'll have some good news to announce before 2012.

Thanks for your continued love and support,