Bringing Them Home!

So...first off, I wanted to acknowledge that we stink at blogging just to point out the elephant in the room .

As an answer to so many prayers, we finally were able to bring our children home from Ethiopia last Saturday.  After 34 hours of straight traveling, we arrived to an amazing group of friends waiting to welcome us home.  The children did amazingly well.  I’m not sure who was grumpier…us or them.  But hours of being in a plane, or weaving in and out of people at various airports can make anyone edgy.  I travel for a living, and this was definitely over-the-top. 

Anyway, we’ve been home for one week now and I wanted to give you an update on their progress.  The short of it is that we’re adjusting really well to each other.  Our Case Workers have noted that we’re ahead of the curve, as we seemed to have skipped the “honeymoon phase” and went straight into the boundary testing phase.  Although hard….we’ve been assured this is a good sign that they trust us and see us as their parents.  We’re learning that we don’t accept demanding attitudes and that pouting gets you nowhere.  For the most part they’re getting it!  

It’s amazing how adding 2 children to the mix seemed to multiply the activity around here.  So much going on at all times of the day.  After a full day of activity, and the kids are in bed, Becky and I just sit and stare at the wall for an hour or so.  Interestingly, it’s pretty therapeutic.  We appreciate all that our friends and family have done for us over these past several weeks as we were overseas and now are making this huge adjustment. Thank you for the prayers, the food, and the support!  This transition is difficult, but sooo worth it.  These children are precious.  Becky and I were reflecting about how none of our children, biological or adoptive, are really ours anyway.  They’re His!  We’re here to nurture, protect, educate and love them…but most importantly, we’re here to train them up to Love Jesus and be His hands and feet in this decaying world. How that will eventually manifest, is completely in His capable hands. 

 

 

It’s been pretty interesting to see how this change has affected our natural children.  When asked how it’s going, Kaelyn, our oldest has reasoned that it’s been tough, but good.  It’s been hardest on Lydia, our second born, and when Autumn, our third born is asked, well…It’s AWESOME!    Our 2 boys, just sit around and laugh hysterically…they’ve been able to communicate quite well without words.  Or they’re fighting over a toy…just like brothers. 

So far, so good!  We’re going to have our moments, as we already have.  But then again, that comes with testing our limits.  As someone blessed us:  “May you parents set boundaries, and may your children test them…and may you both perform the task well.”  Please continue to pray that the lines be held, but with a loving spirit, and that we continue to bond with each other.  During this Thanksgiving holiday, we truly have more to be thankful about than ever before!  Love you all.

Jeff Reese, on behalf of:

The Reese’s – Jeff, Becky, Kaelyn, Lydia, Bontu, Autumn, Sintayehu & Jonah

Calling all Prayer Warriors!!

I wanted to bring you up-to-date, as I know it has been awhile!  Due to several setbacks, we’ve had some difficult weeks of waiting for our paperwork to be changed.  Right now, we do have people working on our case, and we are rallying the troops to pray!!  Please pray that they find the information we need for our case to be approved by Embassy.  We cannot travel to Ethiopian Court without Embassy approval. 

We have been asked several times when we think we may be heading over there, and I wish I knew the answer!  Once the paperwork is changed, (we are going on 11 weeks of waiting for that to happen, but who’s counting?) it takes another week or two for the documents to be translated into English to submit to Embassy.  Then we hope that Embassy approves it!  Once they do, they will send us a letter that can take 2-3 weeks for us to receive.  As soon as we have that letter, we can travel to court.  Ethiopian Court is the first of two trips we have to make to Africa.  The second trip will be about a month later, where we’ll finally be able to bring our sweet kiddos home!

One thing that is looming is the onset of rainy season (mid-August through October), where the Ethiopian courts close for its duration.  So right now, we are praying for God to move mountains (or rains in this case) so we can travel for our first trip before the courts close!  The wait is so hard!!  Would you please pray with us??

 

Also, as many of you know, we are taking our oldest 2 girls with us on our first trip to Ethiopia!  They are selling the rest of our Mudlove bracelets to raise funds for their trip.  You can either order by clicking the ‘fundraisers’ tab at the top of this page, or you can just e-mail me if you’re interested in helping in this way.  Please continue to pray for ‘B’ & ‘S’ as they also have to wait, with no understanding as to why.   We appreciate all of you. It’s awesome to know so many family and friends are supporting us, praying for us and helping us get our children home!  Prayers are needed more than anything!!  These sweet kids pray everyday for their new brother and sister to come home soon:

Modeling their Mudlove bracelets!  :)

Hurry up and wait!

This is one of those days where the waiting is SO hard… We’re so very close, yet it seems so distant…  We just need some paperwork to be changed, but we have no idea how long this will take.  We cannot wait to meet our precious kiddos!  Would you please pray for us!  Pray that the rest of the paperwork goes quickly and smoothly and that we can go SOON! 

In the meantime, we will be collecting donations to take to the transition home, where our children live.  If you’re interested in donating any items, please let us know!  Their greatest need is formula, diapers, baby cereal (rice, oatmeal, or multi grain cereal), and hand sanitizer.  They will also accept disposable gloves, wipes, baby shampoo, baby lotion, baby oil, cotton swabs, Vitamin D, Poly Vitamins, and Multivitamin Gummies. 

In addition, our oldest two biological children, who will be traveling with us, have decided to collect beanie babies or other small stuffed animals to pass out to children in need, as we see them.  They were broken-hearted to learn that so many children in Ethiopia have no toys; no stuffed animals to snuggle…  So we will be taking those, along with some small snacks, to give to those who are hungry.  Thank you for reaching out with your prayers and thoughtfulness.

Our Adoption Story Continues to Unfold

We wanted to provide you an update as to what’s been happening with our adoption process over the past few months.  It’s been quite remarkable, as we’re absolutely amazed at how God has been actively orchestrating relationships and ultimately weaving this story into “one for the books”. 

And they will know you are mine by the love you show for one another:  John 13:35

So, I recently joined an internet group for families who’ve adopted from the Gambela region in Ethiopia, where our kids are from.  I was browsing pictures taken by a family this past July while on their mission trip.  I thought it would be a good way to get an idea of what the region is like, as we will most likely not be going there on our trips.

There were pictures of amazing people & unbelievable landscapes they experienced while in Gambela. They were doing some remodeling of the orphanage where our children lived up until October.  As I was scrolling through, I mentioned to Jeff that it’d be cool if they had a picture of our children.  Jeff sat down with me to look at the pictures, and in 2 clicks a couple of familiar faces graced our screen!  Unreal!  It was THEM.  What can you do but gasp and cry?  I don’t know why we gasped…as we both know how God works, and we SHOULD expect something like this from Him…but none-the-less, it startled us.  I pretty much immediately commented on the picture through Facebook, telling them how excited we were that they had a picture of them! 

The next day they responded in amazement, as it was just a ‘random’ picture of some cute kids!  They were walking with some people from their little hotel to the prison, taking pictures along the way, and they saw them standing in front of their home.   She thought they were so adorable she had to take a few pictures of them, including a close-up…the one we had just seen on our screen.   She sent us a few more pictures she took of their home, which was little more than a glorified shack.

 

 

The pictures were taken about a month or so before the children were relinquished to the orphanage for adoption!  It still floors me that out of 35,000+ people, we were looking a picture of our kids, who weren’t even at the orphanage, which was taken by a random stranger.  And then for me to ‘happen’ to run across them??  As an aside, she mentioned that a friend of hers has been praying for our two precious children ever since she saw their picture last July!  The prayers worked, and she didn’t even know what she was praying for them.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  Matthew 7:7

Also, I have recently connected online with the adoptive families of our sweet ‘B’s best friends!  One family has already had their court date, and recently met their little girl for the first time!  They were also able to meet and interact with our children!!  And through this connection, we learned that ‘B’s’ sweet, and loves to sing & play with dolls! They now await their Embassy appointment so they can go pick her up.  The second family is waiting for their court date to be able to go meet their precious children (B’s other best friend and her brother) – please pray for them, that they can both go soon!

Since we learned that ‘B’ loves to play dolls, I learned that Target sells these multicultural “Hearts 4 Hearts” dolls, and one of them was Ethiopian!  So we began our hunt. After about 329 exasperating trips to Target stores, only to find Afghanistan and Native American dolls EVERYWHERE (Oh, how they mock me!), it finally sank in that the Ethiopian dolls were going to be hard to come by!  Ok, so the number of trips may be a bit exaggerated, but this is how a mere 3 outings to Target feel to Jeff...and he stopped in at least 6.  So I did what any desperate mother looking for an Ethiopian doll would do…put my plea out on Facebook. And there were many who took up the cause in what became a nation-wide search… They visited and/or called their local Target stores…They took trips to neighboring cities to see if they may have one….but nothing…

Then, when all hope of finding this allusive doll seemed to be lost, I received a message from a friend in North Carolina!  She’d been talking to the store manager of her local Target about it, and it turns out HE had adopted from Ethiopia as well!  Since he understood the joy this might bring our daughter, he took it upon himself to call the manufacturer, and he convinced them to search through their entire inventory until they found one…and they DID!  So he had it sent to my friend for free & she sent it out to us today!!  What a blessing.  I have such sweet friends & family.  Thanks to all of you who helped in this quest.

Yes, God has certainly been making amazing connections.  It is no accident that he has brought so many together.  As many know, my sister has adopted from Ethiopia, and although we have been considering adoption since before we were married, it was her adopted son who God used to convict us to get of our rear ends and do it… We have connected with many great friends who are in the process or have adopted from there…and we’ve connected with a family from Ethiopia who lives in this area who want to mentor us in the culture, teach us Amharic & how to make Ethiopian food!  We are so thankful for them, and we are so thankful for the amazing friends and family who have been praying for us and supporting us through this process. 

Prayer needed:

Please pray for our adoptive families that are still going through the process, as several are so close and have met their children.  It must be heartbreaking to meet them, then have to leave for what must seem like an eternity until they can return to bring them home.

Please pray for the PAIR interview, which is scheduled for April 8^th.  Please pray that the right person shows up and that it will go smoothly!  If all goes well, we could potentially travel in May! 

We’re trusting in God’s timing, but also praying that we can go soon!  And please pray that God will continue to break our hearts for what breaks his and that He will work through us – and that our faith will continue to strengthen through this process.

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders,
Let me walk upon the waters,
Wherever You would call me;
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander,
And my faith will be made stronger,
In the presence of my Savior.           

Excerpt from ‘Oceans’ by Hillsong United

Waiting...

Well, to say that it’s been an interesting several months is an understatement….We probably should have blogged more often during these turn of events, but time just got the better of us.

Our family has faced some difficult times, along with moments of celebration during these past several months….  In September, we had to say goodbye to Jeff’s father, who passed away from a painful battle with Melanoma.  Very soon after, Jeff’s mother was diagnosed with lymphoma.  She is currently undergoing some difficult treatments for that, but doctors are very hopeful.  However, she is experiencing some tough side effects!

We were able to make it back up to Indiana to have thanksgiving with our family and attend the wedding of Nathan (Jeff's brother) & Misty in November, which was a very nice and musical celebration.    

Just after Christmas, we had to say goodbye to our sweet dog, who had been a part of our family for almost 13 years.  And not long after, we got a call from Becky (Jeff’s sister -yes, wife and sister share the same name!) that her husband John wasn’t doing well.  He passed away with his wife and parents at his side just a few days later.  We just returned from his celebration of life.  We’re so happy that we were able to see John in September and at Thanksgiving, as we had no idea it would be the last time.   

Regarding our adoption, the great news is we have ALL of our paperwork submitted for the adoption process!  So now it’s just a waiting game… A very difficult waiting game!  Every time we get a new picture and see those two sweet little faces, we long to see them in person… to hug them… to hold them… to love them… At this point, we could be looking at about four more months before we can travel to see them.  We are praying for sooner, but trusting in God’s timing!  It just seems so far away…

Would you please join us in praying for our family?  Please pray for healing for Jeff's Mom!!  And praying for healing for Jeff’s sister’s heart, as she grieves.  We’ve had to make 3 unexpected trips to Indiana (yay for Jeff's airline miles!), and we’re trying to conserve as much capital as possible for this adoption…. So we’re just praying for good health for our family overall!  And we're praising Him for providing for us along the way!

And please pray that the rest of this adoption process goes smoothly – that all the paperwork will be processed quickly, and that we won’t run into any more obstacles (adoption-related or otherwise).   More paperwork needs to be gathered from Ethiopia, so we are praying that can happen quickly as well.  The waiting is really hard! 
 

But God has orchestrated some really strategic and timely connections!  We were able to connect online with the adoptive mommas of our little girl’s two best friends.  Each of our families are in different stages of the process.  One of which has recently traveled to Ethiopia and has met her new daughter along with OUR little ones!  She sent us a slew of pictures of our kiddos playing with their friends.  The pictures, along with our new friend’s eyewitness account, have given us wonderful insight into their personalities.  That helps ease the pain in waiting…and yet makes us long for them more – God is undeniably amazing!  Lord, help us be patient for your perfect timing! 

Colossians 1:11-12a - We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.



**We still have bracelets available, if you're interested in purchasing any.  All proceeds go to our adoption fund! - See the 'Fundraising' tab above.