Court went well and Eli is officially a WEIMER!
PRAISE GOD!
2
We are here safe and sound, the flights went well. We were reminded of how long they are. Can't get to excited to turn around and do this again soon. I have not adjusted to the food well, been sick since we got here but the owner of the guesthouse is a real sweety. She keeps bringing me bland bread and sprite. She is sensitive to everyones needs and is wonderful at hospitality. The guesthouse is full of families. Two families picked up their children this week. The days have some ups and downs. Birtukan is a huge asset to these families.
Now onto the news everyone is waiting on...... Eli is WONDERFUL!!!!!! We met him today and the meeting went even better than we could've asked or imagined. He came right to me and hugged me right away. They had already prepared him that we are his mom and dad. He warmed up to us so well. His first american word was DaDa. Jim was thrilled. He then said MaMa, uh-oh, and boom. He LOVES bubbles!!! We played with bubbles for over one hour. He gave us lots of kisses and hugs and they were all wonderful. It is going to be so hard to leave him. Pray the time goes quickly. When we went to leave him today he kept putting his arms up to me wanting me to take him with us. The manager of the orphanage said this is so good, he loves you already. :) We can't wait to see him again tomorrow.
Our schedule is this.... tomorrow go to Bethany in the morning. Lunch at Guesthouse, then on to see Eli. Which by the way his orphanage is so nice, he is well cared for and loved. Tomorrow morning they will go over what to expect at court. Then tomorrow night we will go to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant. I am looking forward to the experience but dreading the food. Friday we have court at 9:00. We are 8 hours ahead of you so please pray. We must pass court!!!! Then off to a restaurant and then to the orphanage. Saturday and Sunday we can't see him but have a full schedule of sight seeing planned. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday more time with Eli.
Please pray for my stomach. I would love to feel well so I can fully enjoy this experience. Otherwise things are so good. Love Eli sooooo much. Tell Trey and Lauren that their brother is going to be so much fun. He is going to love them. We did get a lot of video and pictures of him today. We even got him giggling on video and him kissing us.
We love you all so much and can't wait to share our precious Eli with you!!!! Will try to email after court if possible. Internet connection is difficult to get. Thanks!
Love you all,
Erin
Now onto the news everyone is waiting on...... Eli is WONDERFUL!!!!!! We met him today and the meeting went even better than we could've asked or imagined. He came right to me and hugged me right away. They had already prepared him that we are his mom and dad. He warmed up to us so well. His first american word was DaDa. Jim was thrilled. He then said MaMa, uh-oh, and boom. He LOVES bubbles!!! We played with bubbles for over one hour. He gave us lots of kisses and hugs and they were all wonderful. It is going to be so hard to leave him. Pray the time goes quickly. When we went to leave him today he kept putting his arms up to me wanting me to take him with us. The manager of the orphanage said this is so good, he loves you already. :) We can't wait to see him again tomorrow.
Our schedule is this.... tomorrow go to Bethany in the morning. Lunch at Guesthouse, then on to see Eli. Which by the way his orphanage is so nice, he is well cared for and loved. Tomorrow morning they will go over what to expect at court. Then tomorrow night we will go to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant. I am looking forward to the experience but dreading the food. Friday we have court at 9:00. We are 8 hours ahead of you so please pray. We must pass court!!!! Then off to a restaurant and then to the orphanage. Saturday and Sunday we can't see him but have a full schedule of sight seeing planned. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday more time with Eli.
Please pray for my stomach. I would love to feel well so I can fully enjoy this experience. Otherwise things are so good. Love Eli sooooo much. Tell Trey and Lauren that their brother is going to be so much fun. He is going to love them. We did get a lot of video and pictures of him today. We even got him giggling on video and him kissing us.
We love you all so much and can't wait to share our precious Eli with you!!!! Will try to email after court if possible. Internet connection is difficult to get. Thanks!
Love you all,
Erin
Many of you are wondering how the pool party or should I really say bake sale turned out on Friday night? : ) The grand total from everything was $2,573!!!!!! We are humbled by the generosity of so many despite the weather. Thanks for all the words of encouragement. Jim and I feel so loved and encouraged as we head off to meet Eli tomorrow. We have a great support system of many wonderful people. Praising God this morning for all of his blessings!
So as we leave tomorrow, we do have a list of prayer requests....
1. For our kids as we leave them home with grandparents, for their safety and that they can really enjoy spending time with both sets of grandparents. We are so thankful to have both families so willing to love on our kids why we are gone. Both of you are the best!
2. For our flights especially on Monday, July 19th. We have a VERY narrow window to make our connection in Chicago, please pray we make it! And also that all of our luggage and donations for the orphanage make it.
3. To prepare our hearts and Eli's heart. It is overwhelming to think we will be meeting our son on Tuesday. What does he know about us? Will he be ready to receive love from us? Pray that we can begin to form a bond, that he will feel a connection with us and be drawn to us.
4. Pray that we pass court the FIRST time on July 23rd. Pray that all of the paperwork is there and in order. That everyone that needs to will show up and that the judge passes us on to the next stage of our adoption.
5. Pray for good health. Erin has a very sensitive stomach, so pray that we can manage all of the food changes. Also for the adjustment to a different time zone, that our bodies will adjust quickly.
6. Pray that we will be able to absorb and learn as much as we can about Eli's home. We want to able to fondly share with him some day all of the wonderful things about Ethiopia.
7. Most importantly, pray that we will show Jesus' love to everyone we see and have contact with.
God has been so good to us every step of this adoption process and to him we give thanks! We also thank so many wonderful people who gave of their time, talents, and money to support us this last Friday night. We could've never done it without you, so thank you! And to our families who have prayed for us without ceasing, please keep it up. We are going to meet the newest addition to the Weimer/Larsen clan- can't wait to share everything with you when we get back. We will try to have some updates while we are gone if at all possible, we have been told that communication can be unpredicatable. If not when we return we will update you. Keep praying!!
Just a reminder tomorrow night at 8:45 at the Cedar Falls Aquatic Center will be a fundraiser to help us bring home Eli. We will have swimming, a bake sale, tshirts and necklaces for sale, and also the concessions. ALL proceeds will go directly into our adoption account to help with our travel costs. If you can't come but know someone that can please help us pass the word. We appreciate so many people who have helped us with this event. Thanking God for his goodness!! Hope to see you tomorrow night.
Today we received an update on our sweet Eli! New pictures, new measurements, and new information about what he is doing currently (we aren't allowed to share pictures online, but you can see them in person). It is so great to have 6 new photos of him. We thought he was adorable in the first two pics but now that we can see him smile, he is sooooooooooooo cute!! His eyes light up and are so beautiful and dark. I can't wait to look into them, only a few days now. :) Also he has gained 2 lbs. We are thankful to hear that he has been eating well, he should fit perfectly into the Weimer family.
Today we received an update on our sweet Eli! New pictures, new measurements, and new information about what he is doing currently (we aren't allowed to share pictures online, but you can see them in person). It is so great to have 6 new photos of him. We thought he was adorable in the first two pics but now that we can see him smile, he is sooooooooooooo cute!! His eyes light up and are so beautiful and dark. I can't wait to look into them, only a few days now. :) Also he has gained 2 lbs. We are thankful to hear that he has been eating well, he should fit perfectly into the Weimer family.
Details, Details, Details.
Things are quickly falling into place. It is crazy how you go from one week of waiting and wondering into another week of lots of planning and packing. We confirmed plane tickets, a place to stay, the vet, and most importantly who will have our children!!! So now it is just getting the packing done and preparing to meet our precious son.
Many have asked where we stand financially, we are still $7,000 short. We are hoping that between the pool party, sales of tshirts and necklaces, and another garage sale that we could get this covered. God has faithfully been providing and we look forward to wrapping up the fundraising so that we can prepare more for bringing Eli home.
Things are quickly falling into place. It is crazy how you go from one week of waiting and wondering into another week of lots of planning and packing. We confirmed plane tickets, a place to stay, the vet, and most importantly who will have our children!!! So now it is just getting the packing done and preparing to meet our precious son.
Many have asked where we stand financially, we are still $7,000 short. We are hoping that between the pool party, sales of tshirts and necklaces, and another garage sale that we could get this covered. God has faithfully been providing and we look forward to wrapping up the fundraising so that we can prepare more for bringing Eli home.
WE HAVE A COURT DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I received "the call" from Leah while shopping at Wal-Mart this afternoon. Two weeks from today- July 23rd!!! Praise the Lord we will be traveling to Ethiopia soon. I can't even believe it. God is so good!!! We are praising him for his timing and his provision. I will post more very soon. Thanks for praying! Keep praying as we make reservations and buy plane tickets that God will continue to provide.
This week has been a rollercoaster of emotions and to be honest I am not exactly sure where we are at on this ride. The week started with some discouraging news coming out of Ethiopia that made a court date not appear anytime soon. Needless to say that was a huge disappointment for all of us because we thought we would be traveling sometime in July. Then yesterday while I was home eatting lunch with the kids our Bethany worker called and needed us to send some new paperwork in and felt like things are looking more optimistic for us. You think I would learn by now that nothing is positive in the adoption process, but somehow I can't always get my heart to follow my mind. In the saddness and frustration of Tuesday I realized just how much we love Eli Solomon. The thought of not having him with us soon about broke me. The thing I have to go back to is GOD KNOWS THE TIMING AND DOES NOT MAKE MISTAKES!!
So PLEASE be in prayer with us- this next week or two is very important in us getting to Eli soon. The Ethiopian court system shuts down in the fall for a period of time and we pray we make it in before that happens. Pray that our paperwork gets into the right hands and that MOWA has all of our paperwork together. Thanks for praying us through this ride of adoption, we are so blessed to have so many who care. We will definately keep you posted as new updates arrive.
And don't forget to save JULY 16th on your calendar for our swimming party. We are hoping to have great weather and a great turnout. Keep inviting people to come, we would love to pack out The Falls!!!!!!
So PLEASE be in prayer with us- this next week or two is very important in us getting to Eli soon. The Ethiopian court system shuts down in the fall for a period of time and we pray we make it in before that happens. Pray that our paperwork gets into the right hands and that MOWA has all of our paperwork together. Thanks for praying us through this ride of adoption, we are so blessed to have so many who care. We will definately keep you posted as new updates arrive.
And don't forget to save JULY 16th on your calendar for our swimming party. We are hoping to have great weather and a great turnout. Keep inviting people to come, we would love to pack out The Falls!!!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
