Dossier
This is the package that carried our hearts through Paris, Dubai, and on to Ethiopia :)
Friday, July 29, 2011
Shower
Our church is having an adoption shower for us tomorrow, and we are so excited! It will be an awesome celebration of the boys. I wish that they could be there for it, but I know that it would probably be extremely overwhelming for them. They have no idea how loved they are! We are blessed to have a church family that loves these boys so much without having met them. We are so thankful for their support and love. We are looking forward to celebrating the boys tomorrow and being able to show some pictures! We haven't passed court yet so we cannot post pics online or through slideshow or anything, but we do have a beautiful picture book that was made for us with pictures of our trip that we will bring. Hope to see you there! :)
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Language Barrier
So Noelle had asked about the language barrier that will be present between us and the boys, and it's an excellent question! Our boys speak Amharic, the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. We know about five Amharic words which include how to say soccer goalie, dog, car, good, ...and butt. Our boys can speak more English than we can Amharic, and they are currently working on learning more as they wait for us to return for them. They can say I love you, mom and dad, come on, happy, soccer, play, eat, hungry, and many other words that I just cannot recall right now.
Each day that we were there, they remembered words we had taught them from the previous day. We were so proud of them! They are eager to learn, and they retain so much. We made use of hand signals when we needed to to get by, and it seemed to help. The language barrier will present some complications for us all in the beginning, as we could already tell from our time there with them. The hardest part was when the boys got into an argument, and we couldn't communicate with them to find out who was at fault, what happened, etc. Thankfully, several of the men on staff at America World were able to step in and help, to which I asked "Can you please come to the states with us too??". They were lifesavers. We also had a funny instance one day which had me temporarly panicking! N spotted a cat and said "mom - cat eat!" as he was rubbing his belly. I yelled over to Shane, "Babe, do they eat cats here? Please tell me they do not eat cats here!". N said again "Mom - cat! Eat!", but he was rubbing his belly this time with a sympathetic look on his face. I then realized that he was trying to tell me that the cat was hungry and needed to eat. Phew! He has sympathy for the cat, not desire to eat.
We are working on English/Amharic flashcards already which will help us to communicate with the boys during travel home, and we also have some English first words flashcards we will go through. A friend at church who is a teacher also has an online program she is going to go through with us that will help the boys a lot. They can see the words and hear the pronunciation of them, etc. We of course are nervous about the language barrier, but mostly because we want them to be able to communicate their needs to us. In many ways, it will be like having newborn babies who cannot tell you what they need, except for our boys will hopefully at least be able to show us. They are young, and we are confident they will learn quickly. Add that to your prayer lists! :)
Each day that we were there, they remembered words we had taught them from the previous day. We were so proud of them! They are eager to learn, and they retain so much. We made use of hand signals when we needed to to get by, and it seemed to help. The language barrier will present some complications for us all in the beginning, as we could already tell from our time there with them. The hardest part was when the boys got into an argument, and we couldn't communicate with them to find out who was at fault, what happened, etc. Thankfully, several of the men on staff at America World were able to step in and help, to which I asked "Can you please come to the states with us too??". They were lifesavers. We also had a funny instance one day which had me temporarly panicking! N spotted a cat and said "mom - cat eat!" as he was rubbing his belly. I yelled over to Shane, "Babe, do they eat cats here? Please tell me they do not eat cats here!". N said again "Mom - cat! Eat!", but he was rubbing his belly this time with a sympathetic look on his face. I then realized that he was trying to tell me that the cat was hungry and needed to eat. Phew! He has sympathy for the cat, not desire to eat.
We are working on English/Amharic flashcards already which will help us to communicate with the boys during travel home, and we also have some English first words flashcards we will go through. A friend at church who is a teacher also has an online program she is going to go through with us that will help the boys a lot. They can see the words and hear the pronunciation of them, etc. We of course are nervous about the language barrier, but mostly because we want them to be able to communicate their needs to us. In many ways, it will be like having newborn babies who cannot tell you what they need, except for our boys will hopefully at least be able to show us. They are young, and we are confident they will learn quickly. Add that to your prayer lists! :)
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Details!
I'm incredibly sorry that it has taken me so long to post! We were so busy while we were in Ethiopia, and then we pretty much went straight to summer camp with the teens once we got back! To sum up our trip to meet our boys, it was the best week of our lives and also the worst week of our lives.
It was the best week because we got to meet our kids for the first time! Our first meeting was precious. Our hearts were racing as we waited on the front porch of the transition home for them to bring the boys out. We could hear them coming down the hall, and as they caught sight of us, little N started running and squealing and jumped up into my arms. A went straight to Shane and hugged him, and then we switched. I will never forget how I felt as I held each of my children for the first time. I got to hold them, kiss them, study their faces, pick them up, and show them the love that our hearts had already felt long before our face to face meeting. We also were called "mom" and "dad" for the first time. In that moment, every step of our long journey became worth it.
I can't wait for everyone to meet them and see their personalities! N is hilarious! He makes really funny faces, says funny things, sings funny songs, wears his socks up to his knees, and marches around sticking his belly out. He cracked us up the whole time! He has the best giggles too. A is super amazing at soccer! He is also a thinker and a very old soul. He loves God SO much. We asked if he would show us some traditional dance, and his nanny interpreted that he said in response "no- I only sing songs of God now". I took his clothes one night back to our place to wash them, and in his pocket I found the first letter we had sent them. It was all folded up, and on the outside he had written "dad" and "mum". He wants to be a pastor when he grows up. Our sons might look different from us, but they are totally our sons in every way!
We spent most of our time at the baby transition home with the boys, but we did get to walk down the street one afternoon with the boys to the older child home where they live. We took pictures of their beds and their room...it was sad. Eight children sleeping in a like 10x10 room, nothing on the walls, and pathetic pillows (in which A had hidden several items). They have lived that way their whole lives so it's no big deal to them, but it was sad to us.
We got to meet with the boys and the child psychologist on staff there. He is so great and we are blessed that he has been a part of their lives! They have a great relationship with him, and I know that he has been instrumental in helping them to process everything going on in their lives. We had him ask the boys if they were happy, and they both said they are very happy. They know they are moving to Florida and can point it out on the map. We had him explain to them that they could keep their Ethiopian names if they wanted to, or they could choose American names. They both wanted American names, and A said he wanted his to be "Florida". :) We told him he wouldn't want to be named that! We let them look at a list of names and their meanings that we had chosen. A picked the name that I knew he would pick because of it's meaning. He chose the name Christian- "follower of Christ". N picked the name Joash- "given by the Lord". Their names are perfect.
We had our court date on July 13th. We went in knowing that we would not pass unless by miracle. The MOWCYA is twenty days behind on approval letters, so no families are currently passing the first time. Right now we are just waiting and praying! We need to pass court by the time rainy season starts over there (August 7th) because court closes down for like two months I believe. If we don't pass before then, it means we cannot be a family for at least 3-4 more months. We are hopeful that the Lord will intervene, and that we will have that letter very soon! Please join us in praying! It is in the best interest of the boys that we go get them soon. We are a family and we need to be together!
So earlier in the post I said that it was the worst week of our lives too, right? Well, that was because of having to leave our boys. We had asked if we could meet with the psychologist again on the last day so that he could reassure them that we loved them so much, that we are a family, and that we would be coming back for them very very soon. Christian A. started crying first, then me, then Joash N., then Shane. Our hearts were breaking. We asked the boys if they had any questions, and Christian A. said that he just wanted us to know that he loved us so much. We tried the rest of the afternoon to just have fun with the boys, but we were all pretty somber. Joash was able to laugh and play with Shane a little, but I just sat and held Christian. He kept looking at Shane's watch he was wearing, and then when the van pulled in to pick us up, he went and sat under a bush and sobbed. We said our goodbyes, squeezed them both, and told them how much we loved them, and then we got in the van and left. We were all four crying. Heartbreaking. I will never forget their faces as we pulled out of the drive.
On a happy note, our reunion is going to be so so sweet and we will be a forever family next time.
We were singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness" at church this morning, and I could totally relate to a line of it..."strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine with ten thousand beside. Great is they faithfulness!" We live each day being apart from them with His strength, and we have bright hope for our "tomorrow"!
There are so many more details of our trip that I would love to share, but some just too personal to put out on the world wide web. We would love to show you pictures in person and give you more details of the trip...we always love talking about our boys. :)
It was the best week because we got to meet our kids for the first time! Our first meeting was precious. Our hearts were racing as we waited on the front porch of the transition home for them to bring the boys out. We could hear them coming down the hall, and as they caught sight of us, little N started running and squealing and jumped up into my arms. A went straight to Shane and hugged him, and then we switched. I will never forget how I felt as I held each of my children for the first time. I got to hold them, kiss them, study their faces, pick them up, and show them the love that our hearts had already felt long before our face to face meeting. We also were called "mom" and "dad" for the first time. In that moment, every step of our long journey became worth it.
I can't wait for everyone to meet them and see their personalities! N is hilarious! He makes really funny faces, says funny things, sings funny songs, wears his socks up to his knees, and marches around sticking his belly out. He cracked us up the whole time! He has the best giggles too. A is super amazing at soccer! He is also a thinker and a very old soul. He loves God SO much. We asked if he would show us some traditional dance, and his nanny interpreted that he said in response "no- I only sing songs of God now". I took his clothes one night back to our place to wash them, and in his pocket I found the first letter we had sent them. It was all folded up, and on the outside he had written "dad" and "mum". He wants to be a pastor when he grows up. Our sons might look different from us, but they are totally our sons in every way!
We spent most of our time at the baby transition home with the boys, but we did get to walk down the street one afternoon with the boys to the older child home where they live. We took pictures of their beds and their room...it was sad. Eight children sleeping in a like 10x10 room, nothing on the walls, and pathetic pillows (in which A had hidden several items). They have lived that way their whole lives so it's no big deal to them, but it was sad to us.
We got to meet with the boys and the child psychologist on staff there. He is so great and we are blessed that he has been a part of their lives! They have a great relationship with him, and I know that he has been instrumental in helping them to process everything going on in their lives. We had him ask the boys if they were happy, and they both said they are very happy. They know they are moving to Florida and can point it out on the map. We had him explain to them that they could keep their Ethiopian names if they wanted to, or they could choose American names. They both wanted American names, and A said he wanted his to be "Florida". :) We told him he wouldn't want to be named that! We let them look at a list of names and their meanings that we had chosen. A picked the name that I knew he would pick because of it's meaning. He chose the name Christian- "follower of Christ". N picked the name Joash- "given by the Lord". Their names are perfect.
We had our court date on July 13th. We went in knowing that we would not pass unless by miracle. The MOWCYA is twenty days behind on approval letters, so no families are currently passing the first time. Right now we are just waiting and praying! We need to pass court by the time rainy season starts over there (August 7th) because court closes down for like two months I believe. If we don't pass before then, it means we cannot be a family for at least 3-4 more months. We are hopeful that the Lord will intervene, and that we will have that letter very soon! Please join us in praying! It is in the best interest of the boys that we go get them soon. We are a family and we need to be together!
So earlier in the post I said that it was the worst week of our lives too, right? Well, that was because of having to leave our boys. We had asked if we could meet with the psychologist again on the last day so that he could reassure them that we loved them so much, that we are a family, and that we would be coming back for them very very soon. Christian A. started crying first, then me, then Joash N., then Shane. Our hearts were breaking. We asked the boys if they had any questions, and Christian A. said that he just wanted us to know that he loved us so much. We tried the rest of the afternoon to just have fun with the boys, but we were all pretty somber. Joash was able to laugh and play with Shane a little, but I just sat and held Christian. He kept looking at Shane's watch he was wearing, and then when the van pulled in to pick us up, he went and sat under a bush and sobbed. We said our goodbyes, squeezed them both, and told them how much we loved them, and then we got in the van and left. We were all four crying. Heartbreaking. I will never forget their faces as we pulled out of the drive.
On a happy note, our reunion is going to be so so sweet and we will be a forever family next time.
We were singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness" at church this morning, and I could totally relate to a line of it..."strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine with ten thousand beside. Great is they faithfulness!" We live each day being apart from them with His strength, and we have bright hope for our "tomorrow"!
There are so many more details of our trip that I would love to share, but some just too personal to put out on the world wide web. We would love to show you pictures in person and give you more details of the trip...we always love talking about our boys. :)
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Overwhelmed
I was just looking at pictures of my boys opening up the care package we sent them, and a tidal wave of emotion came over me. I just had to stop and say "Thank you, God". That was enough - God already knows what my heart is feeling! I thank Him for being sovereign, for having a much better plan for our lives than we had for ourselves, for giving us "blessings through raindrops", and for A and N who have already changed our lives forever!
They are BEAUTIFUL! They have the most amazing smiles and dimples. They have so much joy for two little guys who have been through so much. I wish that I could post pictures! Please pray for us as we travel to Ethiopia next week. Pray for safe travels, for us to stay healthy, that we will have an amazing time with our boys just being a family, and that we will pass court the first time. Only 50% of families pass the first time. The longer it takes us to pass, the longer we have to be away from our boys. Please also pray for their little hearts and minds - so much for them to process.
We will try to post while we are in Ethiopia next week - should have internet access where we are staying. Keep us in your prayers!
They are BEAUTIFUL! They have the most amazing smiles and dimples. They have so much joy for two little guys who have been through so much. I wish that I could post pictures! Please pray for us as we travel to Ethiopia next week. Pray for safe travels, for us to stay healthy, that we will have an amazing time with our boys just being a family, and that we will pass court the first time. Only 50% of families pass the first time. The longer it takes us to pass, the longer we have to be away from our boys. Please also pray for their little hearts and minds - so much for them to process.
We will try to post while we are in Ethiopia next week - should have internet access where we are staying. Keep us in your prayers!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Court Date!
We got a call today from our travel coordinator...our court date is set for July 13th, 2011! We will get to officially meet our boys in around four weeks!!! *Sigh of relief.* To say that we are excited would be the understatement of the century. :) Will keep everyone updated as to when we will actually be leaving for Africa, etc.
This last week has held a lot of joy for us. Last Wednesday our friend and worship pastor, Jason, spoke in church about "holding on to the dreams that are holding on to you", and asked if we would share our story from beginning to now. I don't do public speaking, so Shane shared. He started from when we first decided we wanted to start a family, to infertility/treatment, to infant adoption, to now older child adoption. It was incredibly cleansing and freeing to hear our story out loud amongst those who love and support us at our church. At the end, Shane shared our great news about our boys, and then Pastor Danny had a special prayer for our boys and the adoption, as those closest to us laid hands on us. Praise the Lord! There were lots of tears and hugs. It was a special night that we will never forget!
We also joined our adoption agency's Yahoo chat group for families that are adopting from Ethiopia. We have heard from several families that have met and spent time with our sons when they have been over there with their children! It has been amazing to be connected with these families and hear cute little stories about our boys! Our oldest is apparently very good at soccer, has amazing dimples, and smiles all the time! Our littlest is a little trickster, loves to hold hands, and also smiles all the time. SO looking forward to having stories of our own to share next month. :)
We have been asked by a couple of people if there is a tax-deductible way that they can help financially. We are so incredibly grateful! We have an account set up at our church for the adoption. Any checks can be sent to:
Eastpoint Fellowship
15060 Old Cheney Hwy
Orlando, FL 32828
Please remember to mark in the memo line that it is for "Shane and Summer Somers-adoption."
Thank you so much!
This last week has held a lot of joy for us. Last Wednesday our friend and worship pastor, Jason, spoke in church about "holding on to the dreams that are holding on to you", and asked if we would share our story from beginning to now. I don't do public speaking, so Shane shared. He started from when we first decided we wanted to start a family, to infertility/treatment, to infant adoption, to now older child adoption. It was incredibly cleansing and freeing to hear our story out loud amongst those who love and support us at our church. At the end, Shane shared our great news about our boys, and then Pastor Danny had a special prayer for our boys and the adoption, as those closest to us laid hands on us. Praise the Lord! There were lots of tears and hugs. It was a special night that we will never forget!
We also joined our adoption agency's Yahoo chat group for families that are adopting from Ethiopia. We have heard from several families that have met and spent time with our sons when they have been over there with their children! It has been amazing to be connected with these families and hear cute little stories about our boys! Our oldest is apparently very good at soccer, has amazing dimples, and smiles all the time! Our littlest is a little trickster, loves to hold hands, and also smiles all the time. SO looking forward to having stories of our own to share next month. :)
We have been asked by a couple of people if there is a tax-deductible way that they can help financially. We are so incredibly grateful! We have an account set up at our church for the adoption. Any checks can be sent to:
Eastpoint Fellowship
15060 Old Cheney Hwy
Orlando, FL 32828
Please remember to mark in the memo line that it is for "Shane and Summer Somers-adoption."
Thank you so much!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
BIG news!
So if you read our last post from April, you would understand that our hearts were pretty sad. After the infertility battle and then so many changes with the adoption, it felt like we would never get good news! We knew in our hearts though that God had something so much greater for us as a family, and that good news had to be right around the bend!
Truth is, when I wrote that post, God was already working on something. He had started working on our hearts several weeks before and was asking us to do something big! We were just in the middle of praying and struggling - we wanted to make the right decision and not an emotional decision. The possibility was exciting and terrifying all at the same time! Were we to put the infant adoption (that seemed to get further and further away)on hold and pursue this new path of becoming parents?
In the end of March, we got an email from our adoption agency encouraging all families to take a look at the waiting children list. This list is password protected and holds pictures and bios of children who are older and less likely to be adopted. Shane and I were in different rooms when we got the email and looked at the list. We would later that day discover that God had tugged at both of our hearts with a certain picture/bio. I had immediately fallen in love, and asked God to please give them a good family right away if they weren't supposed to be a part of our family. I wanted more info, but was scared and confused at the prospect of changing our adoption from infant to older child. We decided we would pray and have our parents to pray with us for wisdom. We felt Him push us to take the next step. It took four weeks to get the info because our agency had some holes in their info and wanted to make sure everything was entire and accurate. They were at the mercy of the staff in Africa to get the updated information, and it took like what seemed an eternity! Once we got the information, we spent time pouring over it and having a doctor look at it. We spent more time in prayer and asking questions... and then we officially accepted the referral for two beautiful boys...elementary age, biological brothers,beautiful.
The week after we accepted the referral, our family coordinator sent us an email. She said that the boys had been sat down and told about us, and that they were "ecstatic". They took our pictures that had been cut out of our paperwork, and ran around the transition home showing everyone their new mommy and daddy! She said that they had waited so long. I'm sure they had had friends come and go with their new families, and wondered when it was their turn. Thank you Lord for setting the lonely in families! Thank you for choosing us to be their parents!
We couldn't be happier! My heart is so full, sometimes I feel like it could explode. Our days are spent now getting together a care package to send to our sons filled with outfits and 'Cars' flip flops and pictures and toys :) We are looking for bunk beds, and painting a room, and trying to figure what to do for school next year. Shane is on a Disney movie kick, making sure our boys have the movies that are out before "they go back in the vault"! :)We have soccer balls and nerf guns...but most of all we have SO MUCH love to give. We get to be parents...Praise the Lord.
I can't get a particular song out of my head by Laura Story. Some of the lyrics are as follows:
"We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise"
Amen.
Pray for us as we are waiting for a court date! Also pray that we will be able to raise the extra funds necessary to fly two boys home from Africa (estimated extra cost above what God has provided over the last year is $7,500). Pray that our boys will be safe and healthy, and that we will be able to bond quickly, even through our care package. We unfortunately cannot post names or pictures until we pass court, but we will keep everyone updated on travel, etc. through this blog.
Thank you for your prayers and support! We love you all!
Truth is, when I wrote that post, God was already working on something. He had started working on our hearts several weeks before and was asking us to do something big! We were just in the middle of praying and struggling - we wanted to make the right decision and not an emotional decision. The possibility was exciting and terrifying all at the same time! Were we to put the infant adoption (that seemed to get further and further away)on hold and pursue this new path of becoming parents?
In the end of March, we got an email from our adoption agency encouraging all families to take a look at the waiting children list. This list is password protected and holds pictures and bios of children who are older and less likely to be adopted. Shane and I were in different rooms when we got the email and looked at the list. We would later that day discover that God had tugged at both of our hearts with a certain picture/bio. I had immediately fallen in love, and asked God to please give them a good family right away if they weren't supposed to be a part of our family. I wanted more info, but was scared and confused at the prospect of changing our adoption from infant to older child. We decided we would pray and have our parents to pray with us for wisdom. We felt Him push us to take the next step. It took four weeks to get the info because our agency had some holes in their info and wanted to make sure everything was entire and accurate. They were at the mercy of the staff in Africa to get the updated information, and it took like what seemed an eternity! Once we got the information, we spent time pouring over it and having a doctor look at it. We spent more time in prayer and asking questions... and then we officially accepted the referral for two beautiful boys...elementary age, biological brothers,beautiful.
The week after we accepted the referral, our family coordinator sent us an email. She said that the boys had been sat down and told about us, and that they were "ecstatic". They took our pictures that had been cut out of our paperwork, and ran around the transition home showing everyone their new mommy and daddy! She said that they had waited so long. I'm sure they had had friends come and go with their new families, and wondered when it was their turn. Thank you Lord for setting the lonely in families! Thank you for choosing us to be their parents!
We couldn't be happier! My heart is so full, sometimes I feel like it could explode. Our days are spent now getting together a care package to send to our sons filled with outfits and 'Cars' flip flops and pictures and toys :) We are looking for bunk beds, and painting a room, and trying to figure what to do for school next year. Shane is on a Disney movie kick, making sure our boys have the movies that are out before "they go back in the vault"! :)We have soccer balls and nerf guns...but most of all we have SO MUCH love to give. We get to be parents...Praise the Lord.
I can't get a particular song out of my head by Laura Story. Some of the lyrics are as follows:
"We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise"
Amen.
Pray for us as we are waiting for a court date! Also pray that we will be able to raise the extra funds necessary to fly two boys home from Africa (estimated extra cost above what God has provided over the last year is $7,500). Pray that our boys will be safe and healthy, and that we will be able to bond quickly, even through our care package. We unfortunately cannot post names or pictures until we pass court, but we will keep everyone updated on travel, etc. through this blog.
Thank you for your prayers and support! We love you all!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)