The Long Awaited Day has come!

WE GOT OUR COURT DATE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think we're both still in shock! I know I am! We were actually in Babies R Us today checking out a few of the big items we still need for Abe (carseat, highchair) and Ben got an email from our agency saying we got our court date! I immediately felt like I was going to vomit! I justcouldn't believe it! We just laughed and hugged, and laughed and hugged some more...I wonder what the people around us were thinking. :) We bought Abe some celebratory pj's after that.

So...we will be traveling to Ethiopia on Sunday, July 10th. We'll have a 3-4 hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany and then arrive in Addis Ababa on the 11th. I think the first flight is 10 hours and the second close to 7. We'll get to see Abe for a couple of hours each day we are there (so we've been told), and then we'll appear before the court on the 14th. We'll leave to come home on the 16th with a short layover again in Germany - so we'll actually get home on the 17th. We've been told the time between this first trip and our trip to bring Abe home will be between 4 and 6 weeks.

We're amazed at God's timing. Of course we would be perfectly content to travel anytime, but it is really neat that we won't be missing any of the really big youth and college trips this summer. We'll still be traveling A LOT, though. Izzie may not recognize us after this summer! But she'll be one excited little puppy to have a little boy running around the house at the end of it.

We are so blessed to have such amazing parents who are helping us with our plane tickets and hotel expenses. It is amazing how expensive this part of the process is - but God is so faithful, His timing is perfect, and our parents are so loving toward us and their little grandson. God is taking care of everything. We've recently also been provided with a new vehicle which will allow us two cars to be able to transport Abe in. And that allowed us to give our truck away to another family who needed it- and they in turn gave away a vehicle to yet another family who needed a car. God is teaching us so much right now - and stretching us inso many ways. We're learning a lot about prayer, contentment, patience, trust, obedience, grace, sacrificial giving......this entire process has shown us new things about the Lord, new things about ourselves, and new ways to be part of what He intends for His people to do and be about.

We are "over the moon" with excitement about meeting our son. I am so OVERWHELMED. I spent a few hours today on a roller coaster of emotions - times of tears, excitement, anxiety, and prayer. Please keep us and Abe in your prayers. There are so many things topray for, and we really really covet your prayers for us and for him. Please pray with us:

- Pray for Abe's health and safety as he is still in the orphanage for the time being
- Pray for those who are taking care of him (we've been told there as many as 28 people involved in his care)
- Pray that we would be good stewards of the things the Lord is providing us with (finances, resources, time, etc.)
- Pray for my anxiety as we prepare for this trip and as we take the long flights to Ethiopia
- Pray for the time we get to spend with Abe while in Ethiopia (for quick bonding with him,good quality time, a good connection between the 3 of us, and that he would recognize us when we return)
- Pray for us as we prepare to be parents, and as we seek to raise Abe in a Godly home
- Pray for his adjustment to the transition home when he is moved (we are not sure when that will be)
- Pray for his adjustment to our home later on and our adjustment to having a little boy
- Pray for our court date and all of the legal issues between now and the time he is officiallyours and comes home
- Pray for the other orphans in Ethiopia - their health, safety, and that God would unite them with families
- Pray about adoption - what is your part in caring for the orphans? I closed myself off to the idea of adopting for some time, and the Lord moved in my heart and now is bringing a sweet baby boy out of loneliness and into a loving family. I encourage you to open up your heart and seek God's heart. We never know what He has for us.
- Pray for our finances as we still have quite a few things to pay out and more to save and raise before the process is finished

Thank you for your love, kindness, provision, prayers, and support. Thank you foralready loving our son. We cannot wait to bring him home!