Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Our day from Monday....so it's late!
11/27/2006 4:00 PM
What an amazing day. We slept in, due to the fact that we were up from 1am-4am….we are almost over our jet lag! Yeah! We then proceeded out to the plaza in Campo de Fiori (a 1 minute jaunt) where it was transformed from a bustling party plaza the night before into a huge open air market, full of fresh flowers, fruit, and even mobile butcher shops! We bought some bright red strawberries and then followed a narrow street down to a bread shop we had visited the day before. There, we added to our breakfast; a fresh apple and walnut turnover for me (it was so fresh, that I even bit into a stray walnut shell!) and Em chose the chocolate croissant.
We then headed over to a small hole in the wall café (which most are in Rome), where we ordered 2 café lattes and stood at the bar as we drank them, which is customary in Rome.
After that it was off to wait for the #62 bus. We waited, and waited, looking at the electronic sign, which said it was only minutes away. Once the sign no longer posted #62 as an arriving bus, we decided the 20 minutes we wasted was long enough. We then hopped on these tour buses that just go around the city and stop at 10 different locations. You can get on and off all day long, and it has headphones so you can hear the audio of the tour. And it’s a double-decker! Cool!
We rode that for a while and decided to get off the bus once we hit the Coliseum. We wrote about that earlier, but it was just spectacular the sites there. We went from the Coliseum to the Forum, which is right across the street. The Forum is full of the archeological treasures of ancient Rome, from the famous Arch of Titus to the picturesque tria columna of the Temple of Castor and Pollux. It was extremely fun , yet powerful.
We then enjoyed a late lunch at a small pizzeria, where Em decided that a meat dish looked good, but after finding out that it was an additional 9 euros and that it didn’t taste too good to her, I had to choke it down to get my money’s worth! At least I wasn’t hungry aftwards!
Finally, we walked and walked, trying to find somewhere where we could get wireless. Rome needs to go WiFi….you would think it’s some kind of ancient city or something. Well, praise be to God, as he lead us to a small café called News Café, where as long as you ordered something, you could you their high-speed WiFi for free. We were able to see our precious girls and video chat with them, and give Emilee’s mom and dad an update. It’s only been a couple of days, yet we dearly miss our girls! These next few weeks are going to be tough!
Well, that’s enough for now. We are off to bed, as we have a big day tomorrow visiting Vatican City, and then preparing ourselves for the trip to Ethiopia.
What an amazing day. We slept in, due to the fact that we were up from 1am-4am….we are almost over our jet lag! Yeah! We then proceeded out to the plaza in Campo de Fiori (a 1 minute jaunt) where it was transformed from a bustling party plaza the night before into a huge open air market, full of fresh flowers, fruit, and even mobile butcher shops! We bought some bright red strawberries and then followed a narrow street down to a bread shop we had visited the day before. There, we added to our breakfast; a fresh apple and walnut turnover for me (it was so fresh, that I even bit into a stray walnut shell!) and Em chose the chocolate croissant.
We then headed over to a small hole in the wall café (which most are in Rome), where we ordered 2 café lattes and stood at the bar as we drank them, which is customary in Rome.
After that it was off to wait for the #62 bus. We waited, and waited, looking at the electronic sign, which said it was only minutes away. Once the sign no longer posted #62 as an arriving bus, we decided the 20 minutes we wasted was long enough. We then hopped on these tour buses that just go around the city and stop at 10 different locations. You can get on and off all day long, and it has headphones so you can hear the audio of the tour. And it’s a double-decker! Cool!
We rode that for a while and decided to get off the bus once we hit the Coliseum. We wrote about that earlier, but it was just spectacular the sites there. We went from the Coliseum to the Forum, which is right across the street. The Forum is full of the archeological treasures of ancient Rome, from the famous Arch of Titus to the picturesque tria columna of the Temple of Castor and Pollux. It was extremely fun , yet powerful.
We then enjoyed a late lunch at a small pizzeria, where Em decided that a meat dish looked good, but after finding out that it was an additional 9 euros and that it didn’t taste too good to her, I had to choke it down to get my money’s worth! At least I wasn’t hungry aftwards!
Finally, we walked and walked, trying to find somewhere where we could get wireless. Rome needs to go WiFi….you would think it’s some kind of ancient city or something. Well, praise be to God, as he lead us to a small café called News Café, where as long as you ordered something, you could you their high-speed WiFi for free. We were able to see our precious girls and video chat with them, and give Emilee’s mom and dad an update. It’s only been a couple of days, yet we dearly miss our girls! These next few weeks are going to be tough!
Well, that’s enough for now. We are off to bed, as we have a big day tomorrow visiting Vatican City, and then preparing ourselves for the trip to Ethiopia.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
11-28-06 4:00am
It is 11am here in Rome, and we have just gotten back from visiting Vatican City. We hopped on the local Metro and got off right in front of St. Peter's Square. We managed to look inside where the Pietra is (absolutely breath taking) and the memorials to many of the pope's are there too. But Em tripped on a cobble stone 2 days ago, and today her leg is really bothering her. She was limping really badly and she iced it at the Vatican information station and we decided to go back for some rest. So she is back at the pensione, on the roof overlooking the the courtyard from the previous posts' picture and a beautiful church in back, reading a book.
Thank you eveyone who has posted so far for your support and prayers. Em and I can feel your prayers halfway across the world. We feel such peace and know that God is in control of everything. We spent a long time in prayer last night, in praise of Him and in thanksgiving of such wonderful family and friends!
I am going to head out now, in search of some Ben-Gay type stuff, only it's called Voltaren and it smells a lot better. Oh, and Em wants a walking stick, just like her family had when they visited Europe :) so I need to find one.
I will try and post more pictures and a synopsis of our day yesterday. I am at an internet cafe right now, so I am not using my laptop. Ciao for now!
Thank you eveyone who has posted so far for your support and prayers. Em and I can feel your prayers halfway across the world. We feel such peace and know that God is in control of everything. We spent a long time in prayer last night, in praise of Him and in thanksgiving of such wonderful family and friends!
I am going to head out now, in search of some Ben-Gay type stuff, only it's called Voltaren and it smells a lot better. Oh, and Em wants a walking stick, just like her family had when they visited Europe :) so I need to find one.
I will try and post more pictures and a synopsis of our day yesterday. I am at an internet cafe right now, so I am not using my laptop. Ciao for now!
Monday, November 27, 2006
11/27/2006 11:30 AM
A pic of the view from our room. Sparse inside, but it does the job. The view is quite nice of an inner plaza.
11/27/2006 11:12 AM
We just heard back from the agency. They want us to go to Ethiopia still, and we will go before the judge there to plead our case. So it looks like we'll have to stay at least another week in Ethiopia to wait for everything to get processed before the Embassy visit.
We are still the process of deciding if both of us will stay the extended time, or if one of us will go on ahead with Isayas as planned.
We might get a senator involved, to get the U.S. side of things expediated.
We still would love thoughts and prayers!
We are still the process of deciding if both of us will stay the extended time, or if one of us will go on ahead with Isayas as planned.
We might get a senator involved, to get the U.S. side of things expediated.
We still would love thoughts and prayers!
11/27/2006 6:53 AM
Em and I are now sitting on some steps inside the Coliseum. You can feel the heaviness of history in the air. We prayed as we walked around the Coliseum to enter it, thanking God for our religious freedom and for those that have been persecuted before us. While it is beautiful, it is also disturbing to realize the purpose of this arena.
I know the pic isn't the Coliseum, but I like it. It's from yesterday.
11/26/2006 7:06 PM
Well, despite the bit of bad news we received today, we did still manage to walk around a large portion of old Rome. It is amazing to travel along the little side streets, it looks just like the pictures, with narrow roads and tall buildings, even clothes hanging on clothes lines from window to window!
The highlight was probably the Pantheon. It is in the Piazza Della Rotunda and when you first walk into this large open plaza, you can’t help but be drawn to this huge, extremely well preserved ancient building. There are scores of people milling about, taking pictures and sitting within history. We of course joined them. What’s looks fun too in the plaza is that there are several cafés and restaurants right there, where you can enjoy a meal or snack out on the patio, all the while gazing upon the Pantheon.
We also managed to make it to Trevi Fountain, which is amazing and beautiful. We hear that it’s even better at night, so we need to make another trip over there, but today, we just hit the wall here. Took some pictures, bought some wine, and headed back to the penseone for a nap (which ended up being 3 hours of drop-dead deep sleep).
We went to a little restaurante in Campo De Fiori, where we are staying, for supper. Had amazing an caprese salad and some delicious pasta with a creamy red sauce. I don’t think we can ever visit Olive Garden or Buca di Bepo’s again. Amazing!
Well, we are now up at 2:30am Rome time, since we slept too much today. I’ll think we’ll watch King Kong now. More updates to follow!
The highlight was probably the Pantheon. It is in the Piazza Della Rotunda and when you first walk into this large open plaza, you can’t help but be drawn to this huge, extremely well preserved ancient building. There are scores of people milling about, taking pictures and sitting within history. We of course joined them. What’s looks fun too in the plaza is that there are several cafés and restaurants right there, where you can enjoy a meal or snack out on the patio, all the while gazing upon the Pantheon.
We also managed to make it to Trevi Fountain, which is amazing and beautiful. We hear that it’s even better at night, so we need to make another trip over there, but today, we just hit the wall here. Took some pictures, bought some wine, and headed back to the penseone for a nap (which ended up being 3 hours of drop-dead deep sleep).
We went to a little restaurante in Campo De Fiori, where we are staying, for supper. Had amazing an caprese salad and some delicious pasta with a creamy red sauce. I don’t think we can ever visit Olive Garden or Buca di Bepo’s again. Amazing!
Well, we are now up at 2:30am Rome time, since we slept too much today. I’ll think we’ll watch King Kong now. More updates to follow!
Sunday, November 26, 2006
11/26/2006 10:25 AM
Alright, we've hit a snag. We just got word from the adoption agency in Minnesota (through an email that we missed by 2 hours!) that Molla's paperwork was not processed properly in conjunction with Isaya's, we apparently it goes back to court to get processed. This normally takes a couple of weeks, so the agency is saying that we most likely won't be able to travel until December 22nd.
As you can see, this is a bit of a problem as we are already in Italy!! While it's lovely and spectacular, with this news it puts a bit of a damper on things.
Please pray that God's hand is in this and that the details are worked out, one way or the other. Please pray that God gives us peace and joy, even in this time of uncertainty.
We are going back to our hotel to see if we can make some phone calls to get more info.
As you can see, this is a bit of a problem as we are already in Italy!! While it's lovely and spectacular, with this news it puts a bit of a damper on things.
Please pray that God's hand is in this and that the details are worked out, one way or the other. Please pray that God gives us peace and joy, even in this time of uncertainty.
We are going back to our hotel to see if we can make some phone calls to get more info.
11/26/2006 12:09 AM
We are about to complete our 7.5 hour cross-Atlantic flight into Rome. Got to watch Talledaga Nights (dumb) and dinner wasn’t too bad (salad and a hot sandwich). Got only about an hour or two of sleep total, but it was often interrupted with turbulence and the occasional smack in the face as someone quickly walked by on their way to the bathroom.
It was strange seeing the sunset in Newark at 5:30 and then seeing the sunrise a mere 6 hours later. Can’t wait to see how I feel later today, which will be the middle of the night to my body.
Em and I so excited to get into Rome and get settled in our hotel room and then start roaming. We’ve already exchanged the lowly dollar for the mighty Euro, with the exchange rate being $0.68. It didn’t feel too good to give the lady $300 and only get back $200 in Euro….grrrrrrr.
Well, off to wait in line so the can rifle through our luggage. Ciao.
It was strange seeing the sunset in Newark at 5:30 and then seeing the sunrise a mere 6 hours later. Can’t wait to see how I feel later today, which will be the middle of the night to my body.
Em and I so excited to get into Rome and get settled in our hotel room and then start roaming. We’ve already exchanged the lowly dollar for the mighty Euro, with the exchange rate being $0.68. It didn’t feel too good to give the lady $300 and only get back $200 in Euro….grrrrrrr.
Well, off to wait in line so the can rifle through our luggage. Ciao.
11/25/2006 11:36 AM
Woke up this morning and of course, was running a little late! I had to still pack my backpack and do a few last minute things. We got out of the house and headed to the airport only 30 minutes later than we wanted, but so far we’re only missing extra camcorder tapes….DOH!
As we got dropped off by Emilee’s mother, the realization that Mom and Dad were actually leaving hit Maya. The fact that we really weren’t taking her with us got the tears and sobs going. That was hard. But Chloe and Vicki (Emilee’s mom) were troopers and were so happy for us.
It took us exactly 23 minutes to check our baggage and go through security. So much for the Thanksgiving rush.
We are now on the plane (which is quite small, I might add) heading to Newark, New Jersey. We keep thinking about our boys and how are lives are about to change forever. That we really have 4 kids now, and that simply going to the grocery store or giving baths is forever going to be different…but worth it. I can’t wait!
Well, I just enjoyed the onboard snack: Trail Mix, Peppercorn Parmesan Cheese spread and crackers, pepperoni and M & M’s. Unfortunately, I can no longer talk to Em, as our breath smells most rancid, but I am quite full and ready to take a sleepy now.
As we got dropped off by Emilee’s mother, the realization that Mom and Dad were actually leaving hit Maya. The fact that we really weren’t taking her with us got the tears and sobs going. That was hard. But Chloe and Vicki (Emilee’s mom) were troopers and were so happy for us.
It took us exactly 23 minutes to check our baggage and go through security. So much for the Thanksgiving rush.
We are now on the plane (which is quite small, I might add) heading to Newark, New Jersey. We keep thinking about our boys and how are lives are about to change forever. That we really have 4 kids now, and that simply going to the grocery store or giving baths is forever going to be different…but worth it. I can’t wait!
Well, I just enjoyed the onboard snack: Trail Mix, Peppercorn Parmesan Cheese spread and crackers, pepperoni and M & M’s. Unfortunately, I can no longer talk to Em, as our breath smells most rancid, but I am quite full and ready to take a sleepy now.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Just under the wire!
Whew! Looks like we just got in! It's official over in Ethiopia, Isayas and Joshua are ours now! We have exhaled and can now continue our frantic packing process.
We leave this Saturday, November 25th for Rome! Whoo hoo! And then we get to meet our boys in Addis Ababa on December 3rd or 4th. Amazing.
Thank you Lord!
We leave this Saturday, November 25th for Rome! Whoo hoo! And then we get to meet our boys in Addis Ababa on December 3rd or 4th. Amazing.
Thank you Lord!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Wow!
Well, we got a call from the adoption agency last Monday, and they gave us the good news that we can travel early!! Yeah!
That is.....if the courts process our papers in time. Based on they speed of those ahead of us, the adoption agency made a best guess and gave us that info, although things are very precarious right now. We have plane tickets booked to leave this Saturday for Rome and then on to Ethiopia, but if they can't process the birth certificates before we go...then we need to wait. Arrrggh!
So, I still have hope that we will be leaving this Saturday, but who knows! It's all in God's hands at this point. More to come....
That is.....if the courts process our papers in time. Based on they speed of those ahead of us, the adoption agency made a best guess and gave us that info, although things are very precarious right now. We have plane tickets booked to leave this Saturday for Rome and then on to Ethiopia, but if they can't process the birth certificates before we go...then we need to wait. Arrrggh!
So, I still have hope that we will be leaving this Saturday, but who knows! It's all in God's hands at this point. More to come....
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Gettin' Ready
Well, it looks like we will be traveling the week of December 11th, as we are expected to be in Addis Ababa by December 15th. We will be spending a week in Addis with out boys, waiting for the paperwork to be completed.
As we don't have out itinerary or plane tickets yet from the travel agent, we aren't sure when we'll be getting back, but it will most likely be December 23rd or 24th. It's gonna be a crazy Christmas!
More details to come...
As we don't have out itinerary or plane tickets yet from the travel agent, we aren't sure when we'll be getting back, but it will most likely be December 23rd or 24th. It's gonna be a crazy Christmas!
More details to come...
Saturday, October 21, 2006
"I have some wonderful news for you..."
That is what Emilee heard on the afternoon of Thursday, October 12th when our social worker called us with "The Call!" She proceeded to tell Emilee that we were referred 2 boys: Isayas (age 3.5) and Molla (age 4 months). Our social worker explained the boys' story about their family and how they came to the care center in Addis Ababa, a story that we will save for our boys to tell another day to those they wish.
After the intial phone call, Em called me at work and I basically just sat there, stunned, listening to Emilee tell me all about my new boys. BOYS! Wow. It took nearly the entire weekend for everything to really sink in.
Em and I are in the process of getting everything ready. Their rooms, their clothes, paperwork, finances, etc. We have no word on travel yet, but our guess at this point is that we will be traveling in mid-December, but this all depends on how fast the courts process paperwork in Ethiopia.
Pray for us as we prepare for this amazing adventure and trip. Pray for our boys in Africa, that they stay healthy and happy, that they are well taken care of and that all of us will be prepared for this very strange, yet fateful blending of families.
Oh yes, if you would like to see pictures, please email me at starrio@gmail.com and I will send them to you. Unfortunately, until the adoption is final, we are unable to post any pictures of the boys.
After the intial phone call, Em called me at work and I basically just sat there, stunned, listening to Emilee tell me all about my new boys. BOYS! Wow. It took nearly the entire weekend for everything to really sink in.
Em and I are in the process of getting everything ready. Their rooms, their clothes, paperwork, finances, etc. We have no word on travel yet, but our guess at this point is that we will be traveling in mid-December, but this all depends on how fast the courts process paperwork in Ethiopia.
Pray for us as we prepare for this amazing adventure and trip. Pray for our boys in Africa, that they stay healthy and happy, that they are well taken care of and that all of us will be prepared for this very strange, yet fateful blending of families.
Oh yes, if you would like to see pictures, please email me at starrio@gmail.com and I will send them to you. Unfortunately, until the adoption is final, we are unable to post any pictures of the boys.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Patience....
Well, so much for my declaration from August that I would post more frequently!!
It's now October 8th, and still no word. While we are moving up on the list as those above get their referrals, it's still hard to wait and wait. The courts apparently just opened this last week, and they are backlogged. From what we hear, we need to wait for this first round of people to get accepted by the courts and then have travel dates before we really hear much.
Which is really hard, since we kinda though we would have heard something by now.
I am also anxious about the end of the year. We want to travel before Dec 31st, for work reasons, for holiday reasons, for tax reasons :). But I know it's all in God's timing.
It's now October 8th, and still no word. While we are moving up on the list as those above get their referrals, it's still hard to wait and wait. The courts apparently just opened this last week, and they are backlogged. From what we hear, we need to wait for this first round of people to get accepted by the courts and then have travel dates before we really hear much.
Which is really hard, since we kinda though we would have heard something by now.
I am also anxious about the end of the year. We want to travel before Dec 31st, for work reasons, for holiday reasons, for tax reasons :). But I know it's all in God's timing.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Still Waiting....
It's now August 19th and we are still waiting. No surprise really. The courts are still closed in Ethiopia and CHSFS is holding all referrals until sometime in September. Em thinks Sept 1st they'll start handing them out again, but my thought is Sept 15th.
So we wait patiently for a call and email with pictures of our kids and medical information. In the meantime, Em and I really need to get our shots....that will be fun. I think we have to get between 5-8, depending on what we don't want to catch in Ethiopia.
I have secured about 3 weeks of vacation time at work, so I am hoping that we can go this year....as my vacation time doesn't carry over. But I am sure work would make an exception :)
As the referral quickly approaches, the fact that we are adopting (and adopting two!!) is starting to kick in. I am very excited for the adventure we'll be having, traveling to Washington DC, Ethiopia, somewhere in Europe....but I also realize how difficult it will be when we get home with a couple of kids. But that too is an adventure that I am so looking forward to.
We got a little practice last week, as we got to babysit a co-workers 8 month old...Chloe and Maya loved it!! They were so happy to have a baby and they were very maternal and took good care of Dylan!
I'll post updates more frequently now, as we approach referral day!
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Aaaahh! I need to catch up!
Well, as you can see, it's been a while since my last update. With summer, work, two little girls who don't stop until I drug them to sleep (that's a joke Child Protection Services, just a joke), and house projects, I forgot to update our adoption blog. So sorry Mom! Here's some new info.
We finally finished ALL the paperwork for the adoption, and we were approved by the government (yeah, we aren't criminals!) so we are now waiting for a referral from the adoption agency. Our agency stops handing out referrels as of June 15th due to the fact that Ethiopia's government shuts down for 2 months (August-September) during the monsoon season. So, we have to wait now, probably until Sept/Oct to get our referral.
We have been approved for up to 3 children, but our preference is for twins first, then sibling groups, and finally a single child. We have no gender preference and the oldest we child we will be able to take is 3-3.5, because Chloe will be 4.5 and we want to keep her as the oldest.
So now we wait, and wait, and wait! We are still working on the basement (yeah, mom, still! Sorry it's taking so long), but we are almost done! Next I am going to be building a bunk bed for the girls and they will move in with each other at the end of August (hopefully) and Em and I are going to be working on some fund raisers to help pay for the adoption.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
#5 More Paperwork
Well, we had our 2nd meeting with our social worker a couple of weeks ago and everything went great! Cory came to our house and met the girls, saw where the girl's rooms, and asked us more tough questions. When it was all done, she said we were approved for at least 2 kids! Yeah!
She also left us with a bunch of paperwork to do (our dossier) while she finalized the home study. This involves fingerprints, money, birth certificates, money, signatures, money...you get the idea. This process can take a few months due to government red tape, but once this is done, we will be ready to wait for a referral.
So in the meantime, we are still working on our basement. The tile is down and grouted, we are just cleaning now and getting ready to seal. We are also working on getting a new fridge that has more room for the new mouths to feed! So we are busy busy busy!
She also left us with a bunch of paperwork to do (our dossier) while she finalized the home study. This involves fingerprints, money, birth certificates, money, signatures, money...you get the idea. This process can take a few months due to government red tape, but once this is done, we will be ready to wait for a referral.
So in the meantime, we are still working on our basement. The tile is down and grouted, we are just cleaning now and getting ready to seal. We are also working on getting a new fridge that has more room for the new mouths to feed! So we are busy busy busy!
Sunday, March 26, 2006
#4- Homestudy
This past week, Em and I had the 1st of 2 meetings with our social worker (Cory) at Children's Home Society and Family Services (CHSFS). These meetings allow our social worker to get to know us better to be an advocate for us in the adoption process.
So we spent 3 hours on Tuesday, answering questions about our childhood, our family, our lives today, etc. Man, was that tough! Opening yourself up to display your strengths and weaknesses is hard enough, let alone in front of someone we just met.
We scheduled our next meeting for the 1st week in April. This will have Cory heading out to our house to finish the interrogation (ha ha!)
My mom and I are nearly done with the painting of the walls in the basement after some hard work from me and Andy with patching and drywalling. We are now getting ready to lay the tile (Andy is going to help with that too!). Things are looking good! I think we'll spend a lot more time down there now!
So we spent 3 hours on Tuesday, answering questions about our childhood, our family, our lives today, etc. Man, was that tough! Opening yourself up to display your strengths and weaknesses is hard enough, let alone in front of someone we just met.
We scheduled our next meeting for the 1st week in April. This will have Cory heading out to our house to finish the interrogation (ha ha!)
My mom and I are nearly done with the painting of the walls in the basement after some hard work from me and Andy with patching and drywalling. We are now getting ready to lay the tile (Andy is going to help with that too!). Things are looking good! I think we'll spend a lot more time down there now!
Thursday, March 02, 2006
#3- The wait begins
Well, we have our self-study into the agency and we are waiting for them to schedule the homestudy meetings and put their paperwork together. This will give us time to get some more books on Ethiopia to learn more about the culture. We also want to learn more of the language that the child might speak. There are several dialects, so we need to figure out which ones are most common.
My mom is going to help me redo the basement, painting, tiling, and bsically cleaning things up down there. This should give us some more room to breathe and play (and work in my case).
It sounds like the wait is still a little longer than normal, so we are preparing ourselves for an October trip....but August is still a possibility!!
My mom is going to help me redo the basement, painting, tiling, and bsically cleaning things up down there. This should give us some more room to breathe and play (and work in my case).
It sounds like the wait is still a little longer than normal, so we are preparing ourselves for an October trip....but August is still a possibility!!
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