Welcome home Cora!!

Destination Denver (aka deep thoughts by Steve)

We received Cora's visa this afternoon. This is the last document that we needed to bring her home. No more paperwork to complete, appointments to be had, fees to be paid, files to process. Nothing. All that stands between us and home is the plane ride.

As I write this, I am reminded of one of my favorite bible verses - Philippians 4:13 - "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". This will be my motto, my plea, and my cry over the next thirty hours and I will probably say it in my head over a thousand times on our journey home.

I also know that once we are home, this process will seem like a distant memory but we are very thankful and humbled by our time here. The country, people, and culture have been more amazing and kinder than we could have ever imagined. We are not sure when we will be back again but we know we will be.

And with that, we are headed home. In thirty hours this journey will be over and the next chapter that God is writing with our family will begin. Thank you all for the support and prayers during this journey. See you soon.

Love and Godspeed,
Steve, Kelly, and Cora

Greetings from Ethiopia!

It is our fourth full day here in Ethiopia and we are enjoying every minute with Cora. We are also busy trying to figure her out just as much as she is trying to figure us out. The nights so far with her have been a bit restless as she wakes up every hour or two and tries to find her bottle but as soon as she does or we find it for her, she is back to sleep. The days so far have been relaxing and we are slowly figuring out her nap schedule. We haven't ventured away from the hotel much due to the cultural sensitivities of having her in public, but having time to just be with Cora and to also to just sit and read for a while and not have something to do is a blessing in and of itself.

Today was our embassy appointment and it was a little like going to the DMV. After clearing security, we waited in a long row of chairs and waited to be called to a window. We were asked a couple of questions and were told her visa would be ready tomorrow at four (it is supposed to take 48 hours to process but the embassy guy did not seemed concerned that our return flight was a day earlier than it was supposed to be).

That all being said and God willing, tomorrow night at 11pm Ethiopian time (2pm Denver time), we will be getting on a plane and after stops in Sudan(first time visiting), changing planes in Frankfurt, getting on another plane to Chicago, clearing immigration, and then getting on another plane to Denver, we will be home! It will take a little over 24 hours and both layovers in Frankfurt and Chicago are very short (which in typical situations is a good thing) but we are trusting in God that all will go smoothly and our journey to bring our daughter home will be complete. Please pray for safe and smooth travels for us and that God's peace and warmth surround us as well. Also please pray for the lucky people who will get to sit next to us on our flights too!

Godspeed,

Steve (my first ever blog post!)

She's Ours!

For some reason, I can't get the picture to email like it should, but here's just a quick update anyway... We picked Cora up yesterday afternoon and things are going great! We're still trying to figure each other out, but I'm sure that will take awhile. We're hoping figuring out sleeping doesn't take quite as long! ;) Embassy on Tuesday, until then we're just enjoying Ethiopia!

Best Email EVER!

Steve and I didn't sleep a wink last night.

At 7:30 this morning we got the email we've been waiting for!  The subject line read "B.. Family - Cleared Case".  With shaky hands and lots of help from 2 little boys I somehow replied to the US Embassy, requesting our visa appointment for Cora.

Tomorrow, before the sun comes up, we'll be on our way back to Ethiopia.  Saturday morning she'll be in our arms forever!

(Just got this picture a couple days ago...she looks sooooo big!!)

The Longest Week.

Next Wednesday, a week from today, Cora's birth mother will go before the US embassy and give her testimony. If all goes well, we will get clearance that morning and hop on a plane 2 days later to finally bring her home!

12 weeks after she became our daughter in court we will hopefully be holding her again. It has been a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG 12 weeks, to say the least. I've only seen a couple pics of her since we left and I just can't imagine how much she's grown and changed during that time. The selfish mommy in me prays she isn't walking quite yet...and I may have even told some traveling families to push her down if they see her trying. ;)

So...please pray for her mother's long travel to Addis, that she would make it to the appointment on time, that the embassy would be satisfied with her answers and issue us clearance that morning, that we would be able to find a reasonably priced flight, and that the trip back would go smoothly! Thank all of you for the support and prayers!

A rose by any other name....

Mekdes Steven B...

Right now, this is our daughter's legal name. It's what is on her birth certificate, passport, and every other legal document we've received since passing court. Ethiopians don't generally have last names...they have their birth name, then their father's first name as their second name. Hence, Mekdes Steven!  As beautiful as that sounds, we decided to nix the Steven...

What to name her has been a hot topic the last few months. (It may or may not have been the first time marriage counseling was ever brought up in our house!) I am happy to report that we have finally settled on a name, no counseling necessary. ;)

Introducing Cora Mekdes B...!

For those wondering, the runners up were Hollis, Joss, Samara, Reese, Olive and Lainey...

Now, we're all ready for sweet, spunky Cora to come home!