We Have a Son!!

We are sooo thrilled to have received the referral for our son!! We set out on this journey expecting to go from a family of 4 to a family of 6 overnight.  While we still plan on “making it 2 less orphans & 2 more Jenkins” it looks like we are going to do it one at a time.  Changes at the US embassy in Ethiopia along with other factors contributed to this change of plans but I’ll get on to the reason you all are reading…our son!

Thursday Dan was at work and I was teaching a nursing clinical at a downtown hospital.  I walked to the local farmers market in the cold to get a yummy lunch and was trying to find a quiet place to eat when I checked my phone only to find a missed call from our agency.  Last Wednesday marked our dossier being in country 6 months, the day had passed with a little disappointment that we still had no referral.  So of course I called our coordinator back immediately.  We discussed a few things and she said, “Well I have a little boy who needs a home.”  “Well, we want to give him one!"  I told Lesley I’d go plug my computer in and call her right back.  I found a tiny room in the back of the medical library and plugged my computer in (it took forever to come on and load my email!!).  I called Dan and caught him up to speed and we conference called Lesley (Yay for iphones).  By this time Dan’s email was already up and I could hear his enthusiasm as he went on about how cute our little boy is.  My email FINALLY loaded and I got my first look at our little guy.  He’s currently about 4 months old and in an orphanage about 8 hours from the capital.  We went over some things about his short little life and excitedly accepted the referral. 

This day has long been anticipated and I had imagined how I would feel in those moments. The happiness, anticipation, and gratefulness to our God, an amazing provider, was overwhelming.  He is so precious.  He has curly hair, chubby cheeks, and lips that kind of look like our oldest daughter’s.  We can’t publicly post pictures of him until he’s legally ours, but if I see you I’ll have his picture out before you can ask!  We have also decided what his name will be.  Officially, his first name will be Noah, which means rest/comfort.  We are praying those things for him while he is still so far from home.

When we got home Thursday we showed the girls his picture.  Bella Kate said “He’s so cute! Where’s his mommy and daddy?”  I explained to her that I am his mommy and Dan is his daddy.  She looked at me like I was crazy! But now when she walks past his picture on the fridge she is very excited to announce, “That’s my brother, baby Noah!” Claire also learned how to say “brother” and I love that she is now a big sister!  We were not anticipating an infant.  We were really expecting a toddler.  But I know C is going to make a great big sister!

So what now?  We got our contract notarized Friday and mailed to our agency.  We contacted Show Hope and Lifesong, who have graciously partnered with us financially, to let them know to send funds to our agency.  Now we wait.  Again.  We should be “filed” this week, meaning our paperwork gets together with little guy’s paperwork and we wait for a court date.  Two to four weeks after we are filed we should be assigned a court date.  Then we will travel to Ethiopia and meet Noah!!! We will go to court and he will be legally our son.  (Insert WOOOHOOO here).  Then we wait.  Yep.  Wait.  Again.  Then he will get a new birth certificate with our name on it, a passport, exit/entry visas, and we will wait to be cleared by the US embassy in Ethiopia.  Once that takes place (8-10) weeks after court) we will go and bring him home to his forever family. 

I thought I would let you know what we are praying for our sweet Noah so you can join us in praying for him too!

First, he has to make the 8 hour journey to the transition house where he will stay until we bring him home.  This 8 hour journey is not like a ride on the interstate.  The roads are poor (as in dirt).  There are no car seats or airbags.  So please pray that he gets moved soon and gets there safely. 

Second, we are praying for a speedy court date! We want our little guy home ASAP.  Specifically, we are praying to pass court this year.  So not only would that mean going to court but that MOWA would have our approval letter in our file on our court date.  Without that letter, our case is not final. 

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement.  We can’t wait for you to meet our son!

Words that put me on the Defense.

We had a yard sale a couple weeks ago to raise money for the adoption.  A big shout out to those who donated stuff for us to sell!  You made the fundraiser a success!!  So just like last time we advertised that we were hosting this as a fundraiser for our adoption.  One because we like to talk about adoption and once you meet someone who have adopted it doesn't seem like an impossible thing to do.  Second people tend to be more generous if they know it's to raise money, so they might actually pay the 50 cents marked on an item instead of asking if I'll take a quarter for it.  


I had some encouraging conversations and we were making sales when a couple of ladies came over to purchase their items.  The first question is "Well why aren't you adopting from America??" in a very condescending tone.  I smiled and politely explained to her exactly why (you can see my post Why Ethiopia? for the full explanation).  There is potential that I had a little tone of my own when telling her what happens to most orphans when they "age out" of the orphanage in most countries.  I don't think she caught it though because her next question was, "Won't they be black?" This one actually took me off guard, looking back I wish I had been more witty but it surprised me so much that all I could say was "Yes mam they will be."  "You all must really love kids!" she said a little disgusted sounding.  By this point my heart was much more sad than I could muster up anger.  I told her we do in fact love children and that we think all children are a blessing from the Lord.  "God loves children" I told her and we want to be after God's own heart.  It's words like that that make me stand up tall like the mama bear protecting her young....I think I might have actually been standing on my tip toes and stretching out my neck as I answered her.  I'm on the defense.  It's funny because they aren't even home yet!  


The next night I had the sweet privilege of going on a date with my husband to celebrate his birthday.  We always joke when we're out what we'll look like at a restaurant as a family of 6, the looks we'll get, and maybe the comments.  I tend to think, surely people won't say ugly things in front of my kids.  But people continue to surprise me.  So I wonder how many times I'll have to take my kids out in public for me to get down off my tip toes.  Because even without knowing what their faces look like I am defending them.  I will fiercely do so to anyone who questions their worth.  It's a precious thing to pray for them, to ask the God who knit together my girls in my womb to protect my children that He knit together so far away.  Even though the womb that gave birth to them won't be called "mom" she is a precious lady who loved her kids enough to give them life.  I'm so thankful for her and to our incredible God who has allowed me to be called "mommy".  

We are a Show Hope Family!

God's faithfulness continues to amaze us!  We received a letter this week notifying us that Show Hope has awarded us with a $4,000 grant!  We are so humbled and grateful.  We are very close to having all the funds to pay for not only our referral fee but for our travel expenses as well.  Saying "Thank you" seems so small and insignificant but we are so thankful to Show Hope, Lifesong, and our friends and family who have given to help bring our kids home!  It literally could not have happened otherwise.  We cannot wait to introduce you to our kids!

My heart aches for my kids that I don't know yet.  I pray that they know they are loved already and will soon be home with their forever family.  Claire fell down today and immediately cried "Mommy!" and I was there to pick her up and comfort her.  At times like that I can't help but wonder who is comforting my kids in Ethiopia, who do they cry for?  Or do they not cry at all because no one is there?  Please pray with me that they will get home soon.  And pray for the families that are considering adoption...that they would step out in faith and be so blessed with a child. 

Thank you Show Hope and Show Hope Sponsors!!  You've helped change our lives and the lives of 2 soon to be ex-orphans!  An anonymous donor is currently pledging $1 for every new "like" on Show Hope's Facebook page up to $25,000.  So to help other families like us get on your FB and like Show Hope!!

A Friend and a Fundraiser :)

My dear friend (and cousin!) is helping to support our adoption by doing her own fundraiser through Mary Kay.  We are so very appreciative! In efforts to help her help our kids I'm posting the info below.  So if you use Mary Kay or know someone who does please pass it along! 

Jacqulyn Myers Would Like to Invite You to Be a Part of The Dan & Ashley Jenkins Adoption Fundraiser!  They will earn 25% of sales through July 24, 2011.  Visit this website:
www.marykay.com/michelemcgaha and shop on your seat and not your feet!  Please be sure to write "Jenkins Adoption" in the comment section so they will get credit for the order.  Products will be delivered by Jacqulyn Myers or shipped to you if you don't live near by.

The product is 100% satisfaction guaranteed!  Michele McGaha will cover any shipping charges!

For questions or to schedule your own fundraiser, contact Michele McGaha (502)295-6359
michelemcgaha@marykay.com or visit her site above.

Thanks Jacqulyn and Michele!!!

Almost in the "window"

Next week will mark our dossier being in country for 3 months!!! Yes, 3 months.  While I had hoped, against odds, that we would have had our referral by now, it wasn't super realistic of me.  But that's why we call it hope :) From the beginning we were told a 3-6 month wait for a referral is realistic but sometimes they come sooner.  The Jenkins don't fall into the "sometimes" category in this case.  Although, I would be elated to retract that statement if we get a referral before next Thursday! So with quite a bit of excitement we enter "the window" of 3-6 months.  We have been fairly warned that because we want 2 kids our wait will be closer to 5-6 months.  Doesn't make much sense to you?  Me either...at first.  We thought (with some guidance from those in the know) our case would go faster because we want 2 kids.  So if a sibling group came through we would be bumped up on the list.  While normally that's the case...there has been a sudden wave of families who want 2 kids also.  And 12 of them are ahead of us on the list!  While that makes me happy that families are stepping up and taking in 2 kids that don't have a home...I'm honestly bummed that we have to wait longer.  I trust that God knows my kids and provided just a time as this for us to grow our family. 

So to sum up, we're still waiting and we still need your prayers.  That God would prepare us for travel away from the girls, for bringing 2 more kids home, for the girls to adjust, and to be prepared for whatever comes with bringing kids into the Jenkins family that have likely suffered loss and are grieving and lots of other transitional things that comes with international adoption.  We are so excited and cannot wait to get them home.  We are hoping that God would allow them to get home before Christmas, but if not we will have Christmas when they get here!

So thankful for our friends and family who keep encouraging us on this long journey!

I600A APPROVAL!!!

Dan came in from cutting grass with the mail in his hands and said, "Be excited!".  I looked at him and the mail and back at him.  "How excited?" I had to clarify that we were on the same subject...sometimes we aren't :).  He just grinned and shook his head yes. And in the mail was a large envelope with the return address "Department of Homeland Security" that we have been waiting 6 long weeks for.  In the envelope was a surprisingly boring looking piece of paper that stated "NOTICE OF FAVORABLE DETERMINATION..." Some of the most precious words I have ever read!
So this means that we can receive our referral ANY DAY!  It could still be several weeks before we do but it is a wonderful feeling and an answered prayer to finally be so close to seeing the faces of our children.

An Officer and some CPK...not a bad week

So after almost 5 weeks, my impatience got the best of me and I called the good old USCIS (United States Citizenship & Immigration Services) to check on the status of our I600A.  And we were told that on the 13th we had been assigned an officer to review our application.  I was informed that it typically takes 1-2 weeks to receive our approval after being assigned an officer.  While I was hoping for something sooner, I'm excited to know something and that our case is being processed.  And we are still beating the average on the USCIS site, that says it is typically taking 75 days to approve them so basically don't bother us until it's been 75 days.  So I won't bother them, I'll just pray that the officer we are assigned is efficient and having a good week so we can get our approval this week instead of mid-June (which is 75 days from when they received our application).  The approval is at the discretion of each individual officer and my agency told me today that some officers have been known to deny applicants when the applicant calls too often to check their status.  While this is unfair, I'm sure it is frustrating to not be able to do your job because anxious parents like me keep interrupting your work.  Once we get the approval we can get our referral ANY DAY!!! This week our dossier will have been in Ethiopia a month and we are so excited to see the faces of our children!
In other news, California Pizza Kitchen is hosting a fundraiser for us tomorrow and is donating 20% of sales to those who bring in a flyer for our adoption.  While any fundraiser is super exciting, I love CPK and haven't eaten there in probably 2 years, so I am especially looking forward to eating dinner with family and friends around some incredible food! If anyone wants to join us let me know and I can email you a flyer!