We are Home!

So glad to be back home and to finally have Marley on U.S. soil! I will be posting my journal entries in the next few days. I just had to give you a teaser of our little angel!

Thanksgiving Update!

I received a long email from Elisa today!! They got to spend the day with the babies and kids at the HOH. She said she was able to get all of the pictures people requested and deliver gifts. She said the children and babies are very well-cared for and happy. She described the HOH as a very busy place! They will be back in the US this weekend and I am sure she will post tons of video of her precious little Marley!!!!

Missy

Another update

I got another call from Elisa today. Things are going really well. They are enjoying Ethiopia and Marley, of course!! They will be spending all day on Thursday at the HOH with the kids! They stopped by there really quick yesterday to drop off some paperwork and the older kids were playing in the courtyard. They all ran up to the van yelling, "My name is...". Elisa said it was SO cute and she can't wait to play with them on Thanksgiving!! I will probably post one more update from her, then they will be home...can't wait to see tons of pics!!!

Missy

An Update

I talked to Elisa this morning. They have Marley!! She said Marley is perfect and things are going very well!!! They are planning on spending Thursday at the HOH, visiting the kiddos, taking pictures, and delivering lots of love (and some little gifts) from the parents! Hopefully, I will hear from her again on Friday....keep you posted...

Missy

In Ethiopia!!

Hi, everyone! This is Missy, Elisa's guest blogger for the week. Just got an email from Elisa....they are safely in Ethiopia and waiting for their ride to the HOH!!!!! In just a short while, they will have Marley in their arms.....finally!! I'll keep you posted throughout the week.

Missy :)

Today!

As I sit in the Dulles USO, I am overhelmed by the emotions that I am feeling. We are checked in on Etiopian Airlines and I was so overtaken by just the sight of Ethiopians. Crazy, I know! They are just beautiful people and resemble my baby. Crazy, just crazy! So this will be my last post until after we are back on U.S. soil. My friend, Missy,will be blogging for me. I am not sure how often of if I will be able to call or get internet access to update, but I will attempt to. I can't wait to share the rest of our story with y'all! PEACE OUT!

TOMORROW!!!

Tomorrow is the day we head out to pick up our beautiful little girl. Tomorrow we get on that plane and pray, cry, and dream of holding her in our arms. Tomorrow we fly to Ethiopia, the birthplace of our baby girl. Emotions are high, oh so high. Worry, a part of human nature, has taken over me. I'm trying so hard to let it go, and truly give it to God. The hard part is over. Or at least the journey to her. Now our journey together begins.
We felt led to adopt on Mother's Day 2006. We began to pray and ask God to lead us in the right direction and give us confirmation on His will. We knew we were called to adopt from Africa. After going our own way and trying to adopt through the state of Texas, we were reminded that our daughter was in Africa. In October of 2007, we decided we were changing agencies and going to adopt through Ethiopia. In January of 2008, we submitted our application. In July of 2008, our dossier was in Ethiopia and we were officially on the waiting list. In July of 2009, we saw Marley's face for the first time. And now, in November of 2009, we will have her in our arms forever! What a journey!

Two DAYS!

We are busy packing and making sure we have everything we need in the Hyman house! We packed all the donations and all we have left to pack is our clothes! I'm a list queen, so lists are everywhere! Lists of what I still need to do, what I still need to pack, instructions for my in-laws and friends, instructions for teachers/bus driver, lists of questions to ask Amaye, lists of children of other adoptive families to take pictures of, lists of who to get gifts for and what to get, and a list of my lists! I know, crazy...but it's just how my brain works!
While we are away, I will attempt to call my in-laws and my guest blogger, Missy, to keep them updated. Missy will be blogging for me while I'm away. Missy's baby just legally became hers this week and since I'm her "auntie", I am hoping to get to love all over her before her mommy goes to pick her up! This is truly going to be one of the highlights of my trip. Missy is such a close friend of mine and we were hoping to travel together. Since we aren't, I get to smooch on that baby for her! So keep checking out the blog to hear what's going on. I won't be able to load pictures until we get back. Two more days baby!

Donations

Thank you all for donating all these goodies for us to take to House of Hope and Beru Zemen (name shortened) Orphanage. We received way more that we had anticipated and are so thankful! A quick shot out to a friend of a friend who really loaded us up. THANK YOU! You all were very generous with your donations and paying for shipping to mail them here, for buying brand new items and medications. THANK YOU! Now I'm off to pack...lol!

Three Days!

I can't believe we are leaving in just three days! It's so surreal! We are in a packing frenzy! Marley is packed, and that is about it...lol. We are busy finalizing all the arrangements for Miles. Here are a few pictures of my cousins wedding we went to last weekend in D.C.. Miles had a blast and we are soooooo glad we were able to make it!

In FOUR Days!

In four days we will take off on one of three planes that will bring us to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In six days, she will be in our arms forever! And 12 days she will be on U.S. soil! I can not explain how we feel right now. The excitement is outrageous. The joy is tremendous. The anxiety is beginning to set in! I feel such a love for little Marley, my heart could burst. I'm very very emotional right now. I think of seeing her for the first time. I see the room, the sofa, the empty open doorway, and then I see a blurred face carrying a bundle in her arms walking towards us. I feel the tears pouring down my face and the burning in my heart. The day we get to meet our daughter! I'm then overtaken by the emotional meeting of her Amaye. The things I want to say to her. The love I want to express. The questions I want to ask. All starting in just four days...

My Silly Doubt

Many times in my life's journey I have doubted people. I have wanted things in my time and in my way. Oh how I have questioned God and His divine purpose for my life, His will and His timing. Then I get a big fat I told you so thrown in my face. Okay, so it's not that dramatic. It's more of a loving reminder that He is in control. I soooooo don't like hearing that. It's true, I know it, but please PLEASE don't remind me. I get it....lol. So back to my silly doubt.
If you are new to my blog, a new blog stalker, welcome! For y'all seasoned folk, you know I get all emotional, complain and then WHAM, we are given His favor and then I feel so grateful and a little embarrassed. Recently, I was worried about travel arrangements and childcare. Our original travel date was postponed by two weeks. It sucked, I complained. Then things started to fall into place. We were assigned a new travel date, which happened to be better for Brandon to take off of work, My in-laws are able to come up and take care of Miles, and we get to spend Thanksgiving in Ethiopia! Silly me. I doubted God's timing, His plan and then He showed me...lol.
I am a work in progress. He is teaching me everyday. Recently, I've had a new worry. I haven't shared it with anyone. It's just been something that I secretly was worried about. My last post was asking for donations for Marley's orphanage. I didn't want to bother people with this, it's just something that we are passionate about. The last thing I wanted to do was guilt someone into helping out. I wanted to offer the opportunity to others to share in the blessing of giving. I know not everyone is passionate about our passion, I just wanted to put it out there. So right after I hit post on my blog, I immediately felt worry. Worry what people were going to think about me asking for orphanage donations, worrying if anyone would respond, worried about how we would make up the difference if no one offered anything. In a little way, I doubted that anyone would want to help, so I guess I doubted God for making this happen. We are allowed four 50lbs. bags, before additional fees, and I worried that we wouldn't have enough to meet that....haha! Oh my silly doubt!
So I have received emails from other adoptive parents, who are mailing items. I have friends of friends gathering things and buying medications. It touches me, it sincerely touches me. I am again wondered at the way God works in/through people to get things done. And I am again embarrassed to have doubted it!

We Have a Travel Date!

We are leaving in two weeks! The day after my birthday! AND, we will be spending Thanksgiving in Ethiopia. What a wonderful birthday present and appropriate holiday to spend getting our daughter! Marley will have just turned six months old. Her suitcase is all packed, well repacked after a trip to Target yesterday...lol!
Our trip is totally in God's hands. It's so crazy and amazing how he orchestrates everything. We were so worried about getting to her and about being delayed another two weeks. It ended up being the perfect timing for childcare. My in-laws will be coming up to Springfield to take care of Miles. He is sooooo thrilled. I'm also excited to actually have a fan club waiting for our return in the airport...haha! Sweet Marley. Precious baby!
We will get to visit Marley's orphanage where she came from and hope to bless the pants off of them with donations. Some of the items they need are:

• toys
• clothes
  
• shoes
  
• socks and underwear (new)
  
• coloring books, crayons
  
• cloth diapers
  
• blankets
  
• bottles
  
• formula
• Children's Medications (Tylenol, etc.)
• Band Aids
• Thermometers
• Toothbrushes/Toothpastes
• jump ropes
• coats, jackets and sweaters
  

If you would like to contribute any of these items for us to take, we'd love to share this opportunity, to be giving, with you. We are allowed four bags up to 50 lbs. Additional bags, we will handle the fees associated with them. We do ask that items be gently used or new. If you are in Springfield, please let me know if you would like to donate any of these items and I would gladly pick them up. If you are out of the area and would like to make a monetary donation, I will see to it that it is used to purchase needed items. November is National Adoption Awareness Month, and God calls us to care for his children and those in need. I really hope that you all, my friends and family, are able to share in the joy of giving and help us to show appreciation for the orphanage that helped nurse our sweet baby to health and brought her to us!

You can contact me at hymanshouse@yahoo.com