20 days

Yep, 20 days until we fly to Ethiopia to meet our daughters. We received more pictures of our girls tonight. I must say that our agency, CCI, is amazing. They are so good at sending any pictures they get from the nannies or other families. My girls look happy. I finally saw a little smile on Ava. And Eliza looks like she is full of attitude and we probably have our hands full with that one!!! Oh man, is she cute. Longest eyelashes EVER!!!!!! Ava is just georgous. Her face is beautiful. I cannot wait to meet them. I cannot wait until I can show all of you just how sweet they are!!!!
20 days, 20 days, 20 days. That's all I got.......nothing else to really say, just 20 days. :)

Getting Ready for a Change

Well, I am down to 23 days until we fly to Ethiopia, but who's counting??

I have been doing some shopping for donations to take with us. I went to the dollar store and loaded up on coloring books, crayons, puzzles, bouncy balls and stickers. I also picked up super cute band aids. What kids doesn't love a cute band aid? Owen's class at Church is collecting money to buy vitamins for us to take. Those kids are so sweet and caring. Miss Cindy is wonderful!!!!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks. We have been really busy at the bakery. A lot of special orders and we participated in a fall festival in Monticello. We had a booth set up selling cookies, bars and pie. It was a nice day out, not too hot. It turned out to be a very long day, but we did ok. We started icing cookies at 7 am and I think we finally got home around 6-6:30...I don't even remember I was so tired. I slept for 12 hours straight that night. It was wonderful. I wore my new Dansko shoes that day to break them in before the trip and my feet felt pretty good considering I had only wore them once before for a couple of hours. They are so cute. They are leopard print...for those of you who know me well, I am bit of a fashion diva. I'll try anything once :) Hey, I went to a Fashion College and now I am baking pies...so all that schooling has to go to something....so I use all that education for shopping for super cute shoes!!!!!

We have also been very lucky the past few weeks to receive pictures of the girls and a few days later we received a video too!!! Oh my gosh. I cried through the entire thing. It shows Eliza "trying" to walk...she's not real steady yet...still holds on to a finger to take a step. It also shows Ava playing with some other kids outside on a slide. She is very serious and quiet. She doesn't really smile...that just broke my heart. But I also have to consider the girls just got moved to the transition home a day or so before the video was shot so I am guessing she was a little scared and confused. They are both so cute. I know all parents are bias, but seriously.....Ava is just pretty..she has a beautiful face, her lips are that perfect heart shape. And Eliza has HUGE brown eyes with the longest eyelashes I have ever seen. I can't wait to see them. I just want to hug them and give them kisses. I know they will probably be scared to death of me, but I will do my best to love on them without totally freaking them out :)

We got another picture today. Both girls side by side and Ava has her arm around Liza. It looks a little half hearted, like Ava is thinking....who is this kid? and why do they want me to hug her? Well sweetie, she is your baby sister!!!!! I wonder if they realize that yet? Anyway, back to the picture.....to my surprise...Ava is now bald too!!!! For those of you following along this crazy journey of ours, you will remember that a few weeks back I got pictures of Eliza with a shaved head because she had ringworm and it's just easier to care for it if the nannies don't have to mess with all that hair. Not sure why Ava's head is shaved....our agency director, Sue, wasn't sure. I don't think she has ringworm.....at least I couldn't see it, if she does. So who knows. Hopefully, I will find out soon. It just killed me to see that!!!! She had a really pretty head of hair, nice soft curls. And the day before I got the picture, I had gone to Sephora and bought a ton of Carol's Daughter's product to take on the trip. Guess that will lighten my load a little bit!!!!! Looks like I need to invest in hats and headbands instead..... :)

Our iPad contest is almost over....we draw the winner this Saturday. So if you want any last minute tickets, let me know. We have been so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family participate. THANK YOU. We also had a surprise visit the other night.....I won't give names....but a very nice young man from our church came by....I though he came over to talk to Darren. We are friends with his family and he helps out with the youth group. I figured he just wanted to talk. Well, that wasn't it at all. He decided that he wanted to help with our adoption expenses and gave us a good sum of money towards the cause. I freaked, and cried. We tried to give it back....what 18 year old doesn't need money??? But he, of course, refused. He said he thought long and hard and really felt it in his heart that he wanted to do this. I'm crying now just thinking about it. Both Darren and I were humbled and so full of joy. I could not believe there was a teenager out there in this crazy mixed up world, who would rather give their money to us...to help bring home our babies. Seriously, most boys that age would be buying a new car stereo. What a super God loving man. He is such a good kid and his parents are so lucky and I know they are so proud of him. He is a blessing to us and our church.

Our agency yahoo group had posted a comment to give scripture that has been meaningful to us throughout the adoption process.....I loved seeing what everyone wrote.
Here are some of my favorites and I think these really fit "us" right now....enjoy....

"Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
This is the way, walk in it." Is 30:21


Habakkuk 2:3 "But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place. It will not be late bay a single day."


"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18


And Last but not Least....

From Mother Teresa: "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I
just wish that He didn't trust me so much."

41 days...and counting

Yes, it is 41 days until I meet my little girls. It's really happening. I can't believe it...but it is finally starting to feel real. Just not too long ago...this day felt like it was never going to happen and now it actually coming up pretty fast. I am sooo happy.

I received new pictures of the girls last week and they look so different in just a months time. For one, Eliza is now bald.....she has ringworm. Poor baby. With no hair, it makes her eyes look even bigger and more beautiful...trying to find the good in the big bald head :) In the new pictures, Ava's hair is out of braids....she has a beautiful head of hair and there are some pictures of her smiling!! I still can't figure out how big she is.....after googling the size of the slide she was standing next to...yes, I googled it....I think she may be small for her age. Although, I am still not sure how old she really is.....either turning 3 or 4 in December. I just can't wait to see them!!!! I am getting so excited. I am beginning to think about packing. We are planning on taking one suitcase full of donations for the orphanage. Sue, our agency director, said to bring anything and everything. The basics for kids. Diapers, lotion, vitamins, diaper rash cream, etc. So if you want to donate anything to the orphanage just get it to me before we leave. If the girls come and stay at the guest house with us for a few days, we will need to take everything we need for them.....clothes, diapers, sippy cups, etc. Everything. Packing is going to be insane.

We have booked our flights. Yeah us!!!! We are taking a bit of a pit stop in Cairo, Egypt. There is a 10 hour layover in Cairo and we have set up a fast and furious tour of all the major sites. It is going to be awesome, but so tiring. We figured we would never go back to Cairo..so why not see it while we can. And the tour was totally cheap. I can't wait. Then off to meet our girls!!!!! We arrive at 3 am so I'm guessing we will try to sleep a bit-yea right- then go to the transition home and meet our babies. I have no idea how they will react to us. I have a feeling I will be a blubbering mess. Do you think they will be scared of a crying white lady stranger who is trying to hug and kiss on them??? Nah...I'm sure they won't mind. :)

Psalm 27:14
God's timing is different than ours--He operates on a completely different scale than we do. It can thus sometimes seem like He is slow to act or to intervene where He's needed. But we are encouraged here to be patient, confident that the Lord will act in His good timing.

iPad Giveaway

We are raffling off an iPad 16GB to help bring our girls home. Let me know if you would like to purchase tickets. You can call me at 217-778-0200, facebook, or email at tbodine@prairieinet.net
If you know of anyone who you think might want to join in the fun, I can send you extra tickets to sell.
Thank you!!!!!!

Win an iPad and help bring our little girls home from Ethiopia.

Tickets $10 each or 6 for $50
★ Grand prize - One iPad 16 GB
★ 2nd prize-1 pie a month for a year from Pies by Inge
★ 3rd prize - dessert of your choice from Pies by Inge

Drawing to be held on September 25th.
Winners will be notified by phone.
Thank you!!! The Johns and Bodine Families

Perfectly Said...

My wonderful friend and business partner, Jennifer, is also adopting. Think about that.....both of us will have babies around the same time...what are we going to do with the bakery??? We joke that we will strap them on our backs and bake. We may have to....The whole issue is bonding. The experts say to cocoon your self for several months. Meaning, show your child that YOU and the immediate family are there for them, be the sole provider for food, love, comfort, etc. The kids in an orphange are so used to having anyone meet their needs. It's a big change to go into a family situation. Anyway, it's going to be tough running a small business. We just can't shut down for 2 months. We really aren't sure what we are going to do yet. Anyway, I digress.....
The point of this post was to lead you to my friends blog. We have had many people question us about the "cost" of adoption. Well, honestly we don't know for sure where the money is coming from...other than God will provide. It's a leap of faith. But when you feel so strongly about something you just do it. Honestly, this adoption will cost us 30+ thousand. Probably even more so, since we are adopting two girls. We will get a tax return once the adoptions are final so that will help. But you know what, it's weird. But I am totally fine with NOT knowing where the money is coming from. I am totally trusting in God. It feels so good. Anyway, check out Jen's blog, she expresses my feelings perfectly about the money question. She has a teacher background so she writes beautifully, but she is also a little kooky, so she makes me laugh all the time. Enjoy!

http://johnsfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/

Yes, that's chocolate all over her hands.....baking is a messy job!!!!

Court Date!!!

We received word yesterday that we have been assigned a court date!!!!! Which was a huge surprise since the courts are supposed to be closed. So maybe there is one lone person in there doing a little work. We got an email saying that the birth parent court date was scheduled for October 20th and we need to appear in court on November 19th. Which is a big gap....most times the 2 court date are only a few weeks apart. Not sure why our dates are spread out.....But our agency also said that they are working on getting "our" court date (along with some other families in the same situation) moved to the same time as the birth parents. Which means a month earlier!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can not put enough exclimation points to show how excited I would be to go in October. We won't know for awhile if the date will be changed, so for now we have to hold off buying plane tickets. Another reason I would love for our date to be moved to October would be because of work. Thanksgiving is our busiest time of year. The week prior and of Thanksgiving is insane. And of course our date right now is the Friday before Thanksgiving. Poor Jennifer....she can not bake a zillion pies by herself...well, let me clarify that....she could totally bake a zillion pies by herself....she is a super sonic baker...seriously, she is so fast that half the time I don't even know she put a pie in the oven until I open it to put one of my pies in and the space is filled. So, Jen could totally do it, but she would be a crazy women and her family might have to put her away....So for all of our sake's...pray that our court date gets moved to October. The sooner we go to court, the sooner we are able to bring our girls home.

Settling in for the long haul.......

I haven't posted for awhile because it's been kind of quiet. It just got quieter....As of this weekend, the Ethiopian courts are now closed for the rainy season. So even though our case has been submitted to the courts, we probably won't hear of a court date until the end of September-beginning of October. I was so wishing we would hear of a date, but I think we are in for the long haul now.....

There is so much going on in my mind, I really don't know where to start. I guess one thing I need to say is that I can't believe how in love I am with my babies. My heart aches for them. I look at their pictures a million times a day. We have them all over the place. My computer screen saver is pictures of the girls....I just sit and watch as it changes.....and smile. They are so sweet and beautiful. We did get some family background this past week about the girls. Of course, it's sad...but it helps me understand where they are coming from and why their parents needed them to find forever families. There are also some age differences in this paperwork compared to the earlier information. So we really don't know how old the girls are.....Ava is either going to turn 3 or 4 in December...not sure which. And this info says that Eliza turned 1 in June. I guess we will have to see them and compare milestones to really judge how old they are once we get them home. We also received a video of the girls!!! Sue took video of the kids when she was in ET. It shows Liza crawling and smiling. She has the longest eyelashes ever!!!!!! And Ava is all decked out like a "girly girl". She has lots of bows in her hair and she is wearing sparkly butterfly wings. She looks tiny on the video and so stinking cute.

I have been working on the girls bedroom. I put together Ava's bed and rearranged the room. It's tight fit, but I'm sure they won't care. As soon as I get the finishing touches on the room I will post pictures. I also bought a car seat for Eliza. Still looking for a seat for Ava...just not sure of her size and age. I have been worrying about the car situation...We have an 8 seater, but with 2 car seats-it is going to be tricky for the big kids to climb in the third seat. Not sure how we will configure that......I keep teasing Darren that I may have to go back to the big Suburban. I loved that car, but my Pilot is much easier to drive and park. Maybe a 12 passenger van....Hannah would die of embarrassment....we will see... Also, as we sat down for dinner last night, Darren points out that our dining room table only seats 6 people. Well, that's a problem. I have my grandmother's old antique table that has several leaves with it. I think maybe someone along the way made extra leaves to fit, but didn't worry about matching the wood or stain. Wondering if I could get it refinished to all match? Or would that end up costing me as much or more than buying a new table? What's a girl to do?????? Well, I have several months to figure all of this out.

For now, I ask for prayers. Prayers that Ava and Eliza stay healthy and safe until we can bring them home. Prayers that we as a family cherish this time together and prepare our home and hearts for a big change. The best change, two special little girls.