Elijah slept great again last night. He took a bit longer to go to sleep than before, but overall I think he is doing well. He is showing a little more of his personality today. It is quite humorous to get his little attitude if he doesn't get his own way. We have had lots of happy giggles and laughs. He loves to play soccer. He was playing last night with two of the boys that live here and also with Mezalich - Mezzy.

This morning after breakfast we gave him his first bath. He wasn't so sure of it, but he only cried a little bit.
Mezzy and he played for a bit this morning. She is 8 and is so good with him. They were chasing each other around upstairs by her room. They were so cute. Today he has talked a lot and seems quite happy. I will try to post pictures in a bit. He loves to throw. He has quite an arm. :) He will fit in pretty well at home. :)

We are having fun,  but are ready to come home. We miss you all.

Today was Embassy Day

Today was Embassy day. All went well. We are done here except that we pick up Elijah Tekaye's visa on Thursday and then we can go home!! I am ready to come home and be with all THREE of my boys.

We have had a great trip so far. Satuday morning we arrived at 7:45AM... We had nothing to do Saturday or Sunday except rest and go to church. Good for prayer time. We are staying here with one of the families that we traveled with last time. They arrived Saturday night late. The company is nice. They are adopting an 8year old girl.

Monday we went to the Bethany office for them to review the embassy appointment with us. It was very quick. After this we were done early, so we were able to visit Elijah. That was awesome for me. We sat outside with him and looked at a book. When she handed him to me, he only cried briefly, but was very stiff because he was scared. We found a book to look at with him and he relaxed. By the time we left, he was leaning on me. The other family that we were with was outside too. Elijah seems to watch her to make sure things are okay. It is good that we are always together. I think it helps Elijah to relax a bit.

We went to lunch after our orphanage visit. Funny, I met a person that works for Bethany that lives in Grand Rapids at the restaurant. Small world. She is working on starting a campaign for sponsorship.

After lunch we went back to the orphanage. They had a farewell program for us at 2:30. They brought Mezalich (the little girl) and Elijah down in traditional clothing.  They prayed around us and then the kids sat with us, while the older kids sang songs. It was cool. They served a cake, which we both cut and popcorn. All of the kids and nannies said goodbye. We had few tears. The car ride was great... he seemed totally relaxed. We brought him in and he fell asleep on me. The whole night, he seemed nervous about Jeff... When Jeff left the room, he would smile and talk to me. So cute. He slept and ate well.

This morning I woke to a little head looking at me. He was a bit shy and quiet in the morning again. Jeff finally was able to hold him today. I went to take a shower and when I came out I heard him and Jeff playing and laughing. He loves soccer. :) I went outside to find them playing and kicking the soccer ball. He was doing a lot of talking.

We had our Embassy visit after lunch - right at nap time. Perfect. Elijah, so far, just seems to go with the flow. He fell asleep in the car, sat with me the whole time and barely made a noise. The visit was short and smooth. We were back here to the guest house by 2:30 and we just laid Elijah down for a nap.

I miss you all and appreciate all of your prayers!
Amanda and Jeff

It's late here, 9:25 at night. Elijah is sleeping.  Its official we have 3 boys..hurray.

I would like to compliment my wife today, she is only averaging about 4 hrs of sleep a night with the time difference and with a very upset stomach, she took a child that was crying to one that was laughing and not letting her out of her site.  I am very blessed to have such an amazing wife. 

Things went very smooth today..we had some extra time so stopped by the orphange to visit and then go to lunch and then back to officially pick him up. 

There was a very elaborate ceremony when we picked him up.  They had most of the orphanage kids sitting down, we had cake, songs, popcorn, and a coffee ceremony.  Everyone got a chance to say goodbye and lots of hugs from the care givers.  It was a memorable experience, very touching.  After that we were back at the guest house for some play time, dinner, and then bed.  Smooth so far, but that is because of my amazing wife. 

Its late here and expect an early morning.  Thanks for all prayers, we feel very blessed knowing that we are being lifted up in prayer by so many.

God bless you.

Jeff and Amanda.

Safe travels

Thank you so much for all of your prayers. We made it here safely, only one hick-up in Detroit when they couldn't get Amanda's boarding pass to print, but finally made it work.  13 hours on a plane (very bumpy ride this time, lots of movies, 100 games of solitaire, books and rest. :)

It is Saturday here and we are at the guest house, we are trying to stay awake so we can sleep tonight, but we are struggling, but it is 75 degrees and sunny, they said they haven't had rain since September..wow.  So, Amanda and I gave up coffee for Lent, is there some kind of Lent free pass for an occasion like this?

We can already feel the Holy Spirit at work, the owner of the guest house gave us a pep talk and reminded us to give it up to God and let the Holy Spirit work, great advice.  

We, unfortunately, do not get to pick up Elijah until Monday.  We have some down time and will be hanging out in the guest house today and Sunday.  There is an english speaking catholic church that they found for us last time so we will be going to mass there tomorrow, hopefully we can get there early and hear the Amharic mass  for a little while, I really enjoyed listening to the choir last time.

We miss you all!
Take care and God Bless.

Amanda & Jeff

We are going to get our little boy!

Hi everyone... Thank you for your continued prayers.

We have an appointment with the US Embassy (final step) on March 13 which means....

Back on the airplane March 9th and arrive to Ethiopia early Saturday morning. Sunday we will rest, and then we will Elijah up on Monday! Please pray for us, we are anticipating a very scared little boy and tears when we take him back to the guest house where we will be staying.

We have a meeting with the US Embassy Tuesday and then fly home late Thursday, March 15th (arriving Friday to the US)...

So if you are not tired of praying for us by then, we will really need them for the flight home. 17hrs from take off to landing in Washington DC, and then back home late Friday afternoon to meet his new brothers.

Please continue to pray for us. We are so happy and excited yet so nervous picking up our little boy whom we have only met for a teary 45 mins.

Jan 11, Elijah's birth certificate is secured

Jan 18, Elijah's passport is secured

Jan 24, our application is submitted to the US Embassy for review

Jan 31, Embassy confirms that they have our documents

Feb 2, the US Embassy requested an interview with Elijah's birth mother.

February 27 @7:30am Elijah's birth mother US Embassy interview (This is a new step.)

Feb 28 our case is cleared we wait to hear a date for our appt

Feb 29 we have a date!