First A&M Game of the Season = First Big Family Breakfast

In honor of the first Aggie game of the season, oh wait, maybe it was in honor of our entire (new and old) family together, or perhaps it was in honor of my sis turning the big, old 30. Whichever, we had a kick A breakfast this morning! My parents have an awesome outdoor kitchen where they made everyone pancakes with real maple syrup, sausage, bacon, eggs, orange juice, apple juice, coffee, you name it! While the food was cookin the kids played yard games. It was fabulous. We are SO blessed to be so close and have this amazing family that just continues to grow. We are letting the good times role and are following this morning up with horseback riding this evening followed by a birthday party tomorrow after church. Then Monday my uncle and his family are coming over to met they're newest cousin! What a great way to role into September!

Cousin Benny

Cousin Ben is four years old and had some confusion about his new cousin Bennet...Ben says "Tia, if Toufiq hurts himself will he bleed red?" I reply, "Yes, he will in fact bleed red." I love those Potts, they always have some really good questions!

My Favorite Models!

Things are going pretty well so far as a family of four. Bennet was sick yesterday and feeling pretty ruff but today he is fever free and feeling much better. We braved church this morning, he did great, almost made through the whole service! We have a ped. appointment for Bennet on thurs. which I'm looking forward to. I want to get him checked out and feeling good! I will post soon about our trip, I have so many things to write about but haven't gotten all my thoughts together yet. More to come...

THEY MADE IT!!

They are finally home! What a wonderful day!!!! After an extremely difficult journey, Jason and Toufiq are finally home! Jason said that Toufiq slept for about 6 hours of the journey and cried the rest. He went through three sets of clothes, due to some very dirty diapers, which I'm sure was amazing to change on the plane. The first class flight attendants were less than pleased to have them in their section. But...WHO CARES...they're home! It took Toufiq about five minutes and then he warmed back up to me. He loves his sister and she is thrilled to have them home. Last night went fairly well. He went to bed at 8 and woke up at 5, so all and all not too bad! I will write more later. Thank you so much for all of those that have had us in their prayers, it has been such a long journey bringing him home and we are just so blessed and overjoyed to have this little boy in our lives.

Almost home!

Here is an email that Jason sent yesterday about his Embassy appointment:





So me and Belay were at the Em. today. We waited and waited and then they finally called my name. We walk up to the guy that looks exactly like the skinny guy in That 70's show, and he ask is your wife here, I say no she already flew back to the US. "Well she needs to sign this I-600 form and come back when it is signed. I will keep the paperwork warm for you" My heart sank and my blood pressure shot up. So then we got ahold of you my sweet darling and you came through in the clutch and we halled ass back to the embassy and it closes at 5pm and we get there at 4:27pm. All the windows are shut except one and they tell us to take a seat. What happened to keep the paperwork warm???? 4 minutes before 5pm the skinny guy walks up to the window and goes through our paperwork and then does some little stupid interview that doesn't even matter. THEN he says it will be ready for you on Wednesday after lunch. I about have a heart attack. I said I am on a plane tomorrow and the next available flight is September 6th is there anything we can do and is this a problem. He says "It's not my problem and then laughs" If there wasn't plexy glass there I would have killed him. I say again is there a request or something that I can file to expedite this because there are no alternatives. He then says let me check and see what I can do. It will be ready by 10am tomorrow. I then had a sense of relief and almost passed out.

So I love this story. I love how the Embassy guy was totally just messing with him. I think if that was my job I would do the same. Say the person is NEVER gonna leave and then just watch their face, awesome! I dont think Jason is finding the humor. Well, all is set, I talked to him last night and he was packing. He says he's a little nervous about the plane ride. Toufiq tends to be a normal 20 month old and loves to throw fits in public. Everyone knows how that goes. God Bless Jason, he's really been a trooper for his boy. I told him that know one says childbirth is easy!! At least it didnt go on for nine months! Heres Toufiq livin it up in the van on the way to crater lake. Wonder how he feels about carseats?

Random Ethiopia Pics

This is the view from our balcony. These are homes to many Ethiopians, and cover the city, pretty much every area looks close to this.

This is Solomon, our driver! I cannot say enough wonderful things about his man. He was such a life saver. He took awesome care of us and taught us so much of his country. He is such a gentle, intelligent, funny man, we will miss him!
Here is a fruit stand. We stopped on day one to get bananas and oranges to hand out to people that came to our car. Our first attempt at this didnt go so well, we were handing them out to children and one little girl grab three and was teasing the others. Solomon got angry at her and said the was greedy. Many Ethiopians do not like to give hand outs to children because they feel it only continues the problem. They say they should be in school but like begging better because they get something. Its very hard to see and not want to give them anything you have.

What a smile!! I love how his whole face crinkles up when he laughs! Too cute!
So handsome!!

weight loss, head lice, and lost luggage

Alrighty, so I got an email from Jason this morning and heres the newest. He and Toufiq were at one of the orphanages with our FABULOUS driver, Solomon. Solomon was playing with toufiq when he noticed a little something something. Drum role....he has head lice!!! I know I know, he lived in an orphanage, he was surrounded by other children, the odds are good that he may have this, BUT I am freaking out a bit! Solomon took Jason and Toufiq to a local barber that he said wouldnt make Toufiq cry and shaved his hair. Now i'm thinking perhaps it was a trick. See all the Ethiopians keep asking Jason if Toufiq is a little girl because his hair has gotten so long. Side note: it is only a few inches and has the most beautiful curls ever. So I'm telling myself that there was no problem but they just wanted his hair cut! Now Jason and Toufiq are sanitizing what they call Prison Cell 721 (the hotel room). And for those who are thinking it but wont ask, NO so far I do not have lice and am NOT going to get it, I refuse! I am buying a kit today and will treat him when he steps off the plane! What if we had to shave off Ella's beautiful mane, she would loose it, ha ha !!!

As for our paperwork...it finally was sent by CIS electronically to the NVC and is now in Addis!! Let me hear an AMEN!!! He tried to get his passport today but it didnt show up at the Em. until 11am and the man that needed to sign off left at 10. They close at noon on Friday, love it!!! AWESOME! So they promised that he would get his stuff on Monday and be on the plane on Tuesday and home by Wednesday. I told Jason that this is almost as painful as childbirth and that perhaps we are 1-1 with children! I at least had drugs! Maybe he should pick up some Chat (Ethiopian plant that they chew and 'medicates' them. It turns they're gums bright green).

As for me. I am going to sleep around 8 and waking up around 4am! I weighed myself yesterday and I lost a total of 10 lbs. If you know me, you know that I am blessed in the weight department and really didnt have 10 lbs to loose. I look like I might blow away! Dont worry, I've already chowed down on steak, fried chicken, and every fruit and salad imaginable! Tonight I have a nice tub of bluebell waiting!

As for families that I promised pics for. The airlines lost my bag, I just received it so I will go through it all and mail those out today or tomorrow. The babies and children are beautiful and it was such an honor to met them and stand in for their mothers for a day!

Home again, Home again

I'm home!!!! After the 21hr travels I have made it back to the US. I am so happy to be home with Ella. It is bittersweet, Jason and Toufiq are still on the other side of the world, in Addis. The paperwork was not fixed in time and they had to stay behind. The whole situation is so completely ridiculous. I will go into further detail but not now. I am too happy to be home with Ella and too tired to go into it all right now. I will say that hopefully Jason and Toufiq will be home next Wednesday. Thats right, Jason will have been in Addis for 18 days. Not only are we not home as a family after ALL this time, but we are spending a billion just on travel only. Its a blessing that Jason is self employed but at the same time, if he doesn't work, we don't get paid. The stress level is just a bit high! I know that in a year from now it will all have been forgotten but as of now it is tough to have traveled all that way, been in Addis for 10 days and still not be together as a family. Please pray that things move quickly and Jason makes his plane on Tuesday. The flights out of Addis are few and far between, like booked up until Sept. 6th so its very important that he gets on that flight. Oh, and don't worry that flight is only available first class which is about $1400 more than coach. I hate complaining about money in this situation but what the heck? We're kinda over the ol travel budget.
Ok, i'm done complaining on to the most important, TOUFIQ! He is such a doll. It was so amazing to see him grow in such a short time. On day one he was literally a blank stare. He attached to me right away which was such a blessing but only to me. He just sat and stared, wouldnt play, wouldnt walk, it was extremely hard to see. For some reason I hadnt prepared myself for that. On day two we went to the care centers to visit which was hard for him. He had one care taker that was very special to him so it set him back again when we left. Day three was still hard, he wouldnt go to Jason, in fact would slap at him if he got too close. He wouldnt go to either of my parents and still wouldnt play. Finally on day four, the walls began to fall. He started to smile, to interact with me and Jason. Day after day he started to blossom and grow. When I left he was loveing his father and belly laughing. He is such a wonderful blessing and gift. He has the best smile and awesome sense of humor, which if you know us that is important! I promise I will post pics but I havent gotten a chance to download them to this computer yet (my computer is with jason). I have so many things to write about. So many beautiful things, and so many sad things to share. Thank you to everyone that has followed our story thus far and has been praying for us. It has been amazing to see God's hand at work and how he hand picked the children he did for each family. Truly an amazing journey. I promise more to come.

They Have Toufiq!!

This update is from Stephanee - Ashley's sister. Ash is having trouble with the internet and can't update the blog herself or load pics - so I haven't seen any either. Hopefully soon!


We made it!!! We are here in Ethiopia, we got here sunday night and met our son on monday! Toufiq could not be any more handsome! He has really bonded to me, not his father so much but doesn't let me get out of his sight! A blessing and a challenge! He love to be tickeled and has the cutest little grin. Travis brought him to us on monday instead of us going to the care center which made it a little bit easier. He cried for a few minutes and then decided I wasn't that bad. Today we went to the care center which was emotional for him. There is one lady there that is amazing and really really loves him and him her, so it was hard to take him away from her. She got him an ethiopian outfit, shoes and all! If you have a baby at one of the care center rest assured that they are loved! The women there are wonderful and the house is very nice. All the babies seem happy and loved.

It has been a whirlwind of a trip so far. We have seen so much. Addis is such a huge city with a lot of beauty and a lot of poverty. Some things are very hard to see and very eye opening. Friday we will go to the government orphanages which will be hard but fun at the same time. I am really looking forward to meeting the kids and playing with them. We are buying an ox, yes I said an ox, for the boys. They do not get meat unless someone buys it for them. There are ox and goats walking the streets so finding one should not be hard! Travis said the he'd take care of the rest, something about leading the ox to the butcher may be a bit hard!

We are still hoping to get to come home all together at the same time but we went to the embassy today and our paperwork was not there yet. We're going back tomorrow and hoping for better luck. Belay seems very confidant. Hopefully I will be able to update again but the internet here has a mind of its own, so we'll see.

Last post in the good ol USA!!

Well, all I can say is that today has been a day... It all started with me catching a cold about two days ago so this morning I slept in when I was woken by a call from Natalie at Gladney (Mary was out of the office for the day). Apparently there was a mistake in our home study that was sent to CIS months ago. Since then we caught the mistake but didn't realize that the update should have been sent to CIS. In our home study it said that we are approved to adopt a child 12 months and younger, seeing that Toufiq is 19 months, 15 months at referral (which is what the embassy will honor) its a bit of a problem for getting him his visa. Belay contacted Gladney with this info this morning. So here we are a day before leaving with an issue...you can imagine my state! We contacted our Congressmen who is helping with the issue along with a friend that is getting in touch with a Senator whom I'm hoping will speed things up. So all day we we're faced with the dilemma to still fly out tomorrow or wait until we get paperwork fixed. Those of you in the process know that NOTHING happens overnight when dealing with government offices, and sending things to a foreign embassy. After talking to our travel agent we found out that if we do not go now, we cant go until the very very end of aug. b/c of the flights out of Ethiopia. So we are going as planned but not knowing how long we will all have to be there. If the paperwork doesn't get there in time one of us will have to stay and wait it out. Because of flights its not an option for us both to stay longer. At this point we haven't decided who that person will be, we will cross that bridge when we get there.

Adoption has been such a roller coaster. It truly has its ups and downs and unexpected turns right when you think you've got it all figured out. God has asked me to trust in Him and in His timing trough out this whole process. What a learning experience this has been. I have been amazed and surprised at what I can accomplish and the patience and trust that only God can provide. So what all is going through my mind the night before travel across the country on a journey to hold my son for the first time? At this point all I can think is wow. We are so incredibly blessed. Blessed to have the resources to do this, blessed to have such an amazing circle of family and friends willing to help. Whether, loving our daughter while we're gone or taking care of our pets. Without them we could not do this, thank you. Lastly we are so blessed to have such an amazing, faithful Lord that has lead us on this path and supported us the whole way. What an amazing peace that comes with that.

Please keep us in your prayers. Please pray that our paperwork is fixed in time for us to all travel home together. Please pray for safe travel tomorrow and while we're there and that we are able to truly soak up our son's homeland and cherish each moment.

We will land in Ethiopia the night of Aug. 3rd and will update as much and as often as we can!