Eyasu- We have him!!!!

Wow. Wow. Wow. What an unbelievable day so far. It is 5:00pm here in Ethiopia. We woke up this morning very early and had to wait until 9 to go get Eyasu. We have a dear driver, Yostaye, who drove us to the care center. Once the gate opened, a precious little boy came running...really he came running up to Moody!! It was priceless!! We spent some sweet time at the care center, saying goodbye to his friends and the care givers. The rest of the day we have spent just being together at the Bejoe guest house. It is beautiful here, so we spent most of the day out on the lawn, playing ball, reading books. Our dear friend Dereje came to visit as did the Funderburk. He is a dream. A smile that lights up a room. Smart as a whip!! Busy busy busy..a perfect fit for Team Alexander. Praise God for a wonderful first day!
btw, thanks for the prayers. I am feeling a lot better :-)

They got Eyasu!!!!!

They Have Him!!!!!! Mom and Dad say he is AMAZING!!!!!

Pictures coming soon!!!!

Love, Avery

They made it!!!!!

They made it!!!!!

Mom and Dad are in Ethiopia. They landed about 10 am our time this morning. Mom was a little sick on the way there, but is feeling better. They are excited to get to see Seth TOMORROW! wohoo! More posts to come :)

Love, Avery

not being anxious- small update

I told the kids this morning that I really thought the "packing fairies" were going to come in the middle of the night and get us all ready to roll! I have said before that organization is NOT my thing, but as always this will all come together and we will get on that plane Sunday!
It is such a blessing to be able to take so many care packages (that I promise to keep organized!!) and goodies for the kids in the orphanages.
Just can't even wait to get my hands on this cute boy! Seriously, look at that smile. I heard in a recent update that the talk of the toddler room is that Eyasu's "ferengi"(foreign in Amharic) parents are coming. After being there for over 13 months, it IS your turn my son. :)
Our sermon on Sunday was from Matthew 6:25- 34 and not being anxious. It has been so good for me this week to continually speak truth when I begin to get overwhelmed, etc with all that needs to get done as well as keep up with normal, everyday life.

I would greatly appreciate your prayers on that cute bear above. I am most anxious about leaving him. He has my heart and I can't imagine being away from him for a week. I know he will be in great hands and receiving so much love and attention. I just need to lay it all down, trust in the Lord and truly enjoy each moment that Moody and I have getting to know Eyasu. Thank you. Oh, if you could pray that he would sleep-- I'm sure my mom would really appreciate that too. :)

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is it's own trouble. " Matthew 6: 34

**update- after re-reading, I realize it may appear that I'm not going to miss the older 4- hardly the case! :) They can communicate their needs and are much more self sufficient- that's all. They will all be greatly missed.**

we're all in this together

Click here to find a theater near you that will be showing this documentary. It is ONE night only. November 4th- this Wednesday night. Support it.

**my kids saw the title and assumed they would see Troy and Gabriella dancing! :) awesome**

Happy Halloween!

Guess who thought about their costume before 5:45 pm today??? Sweet Avery and her bff, Abbi, have been planning to be Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Cat in the Hat for months- the rest of us, not so much. I ran Issy and Hill to the Halloween superstore at 5:45- after soccer and football games. Good times. If you haven't been to Halloween Mart on the actual day of Halloween, you have missed nothing, let me assure you. Slim pickings.

(How I love this child and at 10 she is far more organized than I will ever be!!!)

Hill found some bling for he and Wick and Issy, found nada. She ended up with a shirt that said "ISA" and carried a bell. Isabelle. :) Did you read we didn't start until 45 minutes before our party? I still didn't have anything for Abe, but thankfully Marylynn pulled through for me with a darling bear costume. He looked precious don't you think?

We kept saying, "2 weeks from today, we will be home with Eyasu!!!!" Wow.

Hope you all had a fun night!

Rainey is ready to go first thing tomorrow morning! I know she will do awesome.

hot date

Moody and I had one hot date last night! It included our sweet baby Abe and a nursing home, but with many kids, you take what you can get! :)

Abe has qualified for a program that will allow us to have some respite care and support paying for therapies, equipment, etc. It is a HUGE blessing. We have paid out of pocket for everything so far-- gotta love insurance. :)

The interesting thing about qualifying for this program is that you need to stay in a nursing home for 30 days, though it can be reduced to 24 hours if your Dr. writes a reason for a shorter stay. So Moody, Abey and I drove to Granbury yesterday afternoon, hunkered down in our room and were discharged at 12:05 am. Technically we admitted one day and were discharged the next! We were happy to jump through whatever hoops we needed to in order to qualify for this program. It will be a big relief to us! We are so grateful to the Lord for His provision. :)

Really lovely-- had difficult time with iphone self-portrait. Abe was loving this date.

All 3 of us cozy on our very small bed!

UPDATE ON RACE-- $720 have been raised for Rainey's race on Sunday. AMAZING!!! That is $55. 38 per mile!! Oh, AND WE LEAVE IN 9 DAYS- YAHOO!!!!