Ready and Waiting

Our paperwork is done.  Well, almost done.  It is all done except that we're waiting on our USCIS letter.  According to others who have recently done the same, it should be showing up in the next few weeks.  We are praying that it arrives soon!  Obviously, we want to be on the waiting list as soon as possible.  Also- we are praying it arrives soon because our next few week and month are incredibly busy.  Once that letter shows up...we will get it notarized then myself or Wes will drive our huge pile of papers to the state capital to get state seals.  Which brings up the other reason why we are very much praying our letter shows up sooner than later.  Our life is crazy busy these next few weeks and month.  This week I have some flexibility but after that- we go sailing into our back to school commitments.  Next week is Rodeo Bible Camp, a day in between and we're off to a wedding.  Then from there to Wes' parents.  Home a day and school starts.  Once school starts- I won't be able to make the trip to Pierre which means Wes will need to take a vacation day to get our documents sealed. Would you pray that our letter shows up miraculously fast?  We'll make it work if its later in coming but it would be so helpful if it came early.  Besides- it would be such a relief to send off our paperwork and be officially on the wait list!  Thanks everyone, we appreciate your prayers greatly- keep 'em coming! 

Kozi Kamping...

If you're a family that started on a dairy farm with 11 kids...eventually, meeting for family gathering involves renting your own loop at a campground with dozens of people.  This past weekend, Kaleb got in on his very first Kozi Kamping and it was a blast. Most of the time was spent just playing and enjoying time together so, not a lot of random pictures. Here are a few... the key points involved large quantities of smores, dozens of jiffy pop sessions, bean bag tournaments, eating, more eating and catching up.  

 Nightly campfires... 

 Auntie Ashley taking her turn popping up some good ole' Jiffy Pop!

 Gamma making roasted oreos....hehe, silly Gamma.  

Kaleb's bestest buddy for the weekend- his Charlie :)  

They had a great time playing together- fun times!

Smore Lovin'

Another part of the fun weekend, was celebrating the upcoming weddings of two cousins.  One of those cousins just happens to be our very own Auntie Ashley.  So, I hosted a family wedding shower during our big family camping week.  It ended up being the first camping themed wedding shower but it turned out really fun and the couples received some really nice gifts.  

 The cake...

 The goodies...kindling, firewood, fishing worms and a bucket of 'sunnies'.  

 Auntie Ashley & Justin

 The Brides... 

 Everyone... guys, girls & kids too, wrote a bit of marital advice on Jenga pieces.  Then we read them aloud for everyone to enjoy together.  It was quite entertaining :) 

 Our whole Kozitka group celebrating together... 

 Opening gifts and helping the new couples stock up for a life of happy camping! 

First Fish

The first morning of camping, we (Grandma, Grandpa, Wes, myself & Kaleb) did load up in the boat to take Kaleb fishing for the first time.  

A very good and special time :)  The pictures say it all.. .

 Here we go...

 Yup, we've got snacks too... right Wes :) 

 All set, now we just need a bite. 

 Our awesome photographer for our fishing excursion. 

 Snacks with Gamma while waiting for our first fish.  

 Oh, we caught one!

 First Fish :) 

 Thanks for the help Grandpa! 

Telling Gamma all about it.  Let's do this again!

We're on a roll...

Today's good news... we got our USCIS fingerprints done!! Yay :)  What does this mean?  Well after getting fingerprinted this morning, they get digitally submitted to the USCIS office.  Then they will send us a letter saying we are pre-approved to immigrate our son or daughter.  Once we have that letter in hand, we'll be very close to being on the official wait list.  Here is a picture of Kaleb's meal on the go today as we drove to get my fingerprinting done... he's such a good sport!

Mac n' Cheese, no shoes and his blanket.  Life is good!

Another Baby Step...

Our good news of the week...we received our appointment letter for completing our USCIS biometrics fingerprinting :)  

Sounds scary or weird- it really isn't.  Its the same as any other fingerprints this one however, is filed with our application for approval to immigrate our future son or daughter.  What this means is that I need to really wrap up our dossier documents because we're getting closer to having our name on the waiting list.  If you'd like to pray for us... here are the next steps to uphold in prayer for our adoption process.
- Fingerprinting (will happen this coming week)
- Finish gathering our documents for the dossier
- Receive USCIS approval letter
- Drive to Pierre to get everything state sealed
- Send it all to Ethiopia!!!! :)

And, the other good news of the week... is that we've had seven individuals/families partner with us by sponsoring a puzzle piece for our adoption fundraiser.  THANK YOU!!!  We truly and greatly appreciate it.  We've also enjoyed the fun reasons and comments left by those individuals.  This is what the puzzle looks like right now...

Beautifully said...

It is such lovely, precious and encouraging gift when there are others who are walking 

or have walked in shoes that if nothing else look a lot like yours.  

People who have had days similar to yours.  

Who have experienced similar joys. 

 And frustrations.  And blessings. 

People who get it.  

Because if you've never been through it, most people don't see all that is in it.  

Even though, in the end, most the time it ends up being a beautiful story.    

This adoptive mom of two little Ethiopian kiddos has walked through a lot.  Although our stories aren't exactly the same, our stories end very much alike.  Her husband's words beautifully capture what the gift of adoption is all about....

Big plans and big hurt

Big dreams and big void

What God meant we did not see

Something much bigger than you and me

Mountains shaken and hills removed

Yet love and peace remain

A flicker of hope appears in the dark

In the sound of God’s whisper echos a spark

A spark of life, a spark of love

Born in our hearts from God’s plan above

The little one waits for a home far away

The two parents hope and pray for the way

Now little giggles and little bears

One little bed and countless kisses

One blessed son we have from the Giver

Now a son and a husband and wife

All knit together in one eternal life. 

Based on John Caspers' from Traded Dreams