So I've been thinking A LOT lately about how I think our monthly update on Gideon should be coming soon. I believe that it came about this time last month. I'm so excited to hear how he's doing. And am hoping we get a picture with it. He turned 16 weeks old this past Tuesday, so he must be getting big by now. I hope today is the day! How fun to have things for which to be excited each day. God is so good to His children. What an honor to be his adopted son!
In Him,
isaac t
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Martian Child
Last night Kathee and I had a night off from couples Bible study. Actually, we'll have MANY nights off for the next months now. Maharah and Adam Jones, one of the couples in our Bible study, just gave birth to Asher Jones on Sunday. They invited us to the hospital yesterday to meet him. And Dave and Vicki Pothoven, the other couple, is due today to have their little boy. So big things are happening with our couples Bible study. Not only will the three amigos be 4 months apart (with Gideon being the eldest), but we will go from 3 children (Larissa and Natalie Pothoven and Anavah Jones) to 6 children! How exciting!
Okay, a second bunny trail. On Thursday, two other couples in our church also gave birth! So there must be something in the water at our church... OR GOD IS DOING SOMETHING SPECIAL AT FIRST UP!
Okay back on topic. So since we had last night off, I asked Kathee if she'd like to rent the movie Martian Child. John and Joan Cusack star in the film. John Cusack plays the role of a widower who chooses to adopt the "weird kid" from an orphanage. The child believes he is from Mars and is on a special mission to earth. I really enjoyed the film. I have 5 different scenes from the movie that I'll be showing at Catalyst during my teaching times coming up over the next months! It's an awesome story of adoption and the process of becoming a parent. There is no sex, and no cursing that I remember. It's a great story of loving a child who needs a parent(s) in his life. I think I liked Bella better, in fact I know I do. However, I really enjoyed this film.
I would even say if you have children that may be cousins to Gideon you may want to rent this and watch it with your kids (after first viewing it yourself). For those of you not yet thinking about adoption, it'd be a great movie to watch for you to think and pray about your possibility of adopting!
In Him,
isaac t
Stuff Back From USCIS
While talking with my brother Aaron on the phone yesterday about "where we are in the adoption process" now, I opened the mail and discovered that the renewal of our documentation through the USCIS has been updated. That renewal was why we needed to head to Naperville a few weeks ago to get refingerprinted. Those fingerprints are "good" until 11/12/09. So we will have him home for (hopefully) over a year before they expire (my point is that they won't be needed after we get him home). They were needed for our I-600A form which is the Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition. This is essentially them telling us they'll allow Gideon back into the country under orphan status when we come back from Ethiopia. And Kathee said that's the last paperwork-type stuff that will need updating. So praise the Lord for that!!!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
The Words Above the Changings Station
My friend Mindy asked what the words above the changing station in Gideon's room says. It's a frame that has two different prayers on it. These prayers were given as a gift from Grandma Smith (Kathee's mother). on the left is Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 1:27-28. "I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord." The second prayer is Grandma Smith's prayer. It says, "March 2007: Lord, I pray...for my grandson. I pray for his parents. May they train him in Your wisdom and common sense. May they give him boundaries and consequences and consistency.
May 2007: For my... grandson, I pray health, sound mind, able to give and receive love, able to know and love God with Jesus as Savior.
Grandma Smith
This gift was give by Grandma Smith to Gideon. Her prayers were taken from her journal. We flat-out love the framed prayers.
May 2007: For my... grandson, I pray health, sound mind, able to give and receive love, able to know and love God with Jesus as Savior.
Grandma Smith
This gift was give by Grandma Smith to Gideon. Her prayers were taken from her journal. We flat-out love the framed prayers.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Gideon's "New" Bedroom
This is Gideon's bedroom BEFORE Rhonda and the Quandts did a bit of a makeover with it.
Yesterday Kathee and I hung the wooden border and today we hung the pictures. Now all we need is a little boy to make it his room! We are so excited for October or November!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Sending Some Stuff
Well, I can't sleep tonight so I'll post a bit and the latest developments. After communicating with Rachel, the woman with AWAA who runs/oversees the transition home in Addis where Gideon (Markos) is awaiting our arrival, we found out that we are able to send whatever and however much we want to our little boy. She gave us a tip that the USPS has a box that can weigh however much we can stuff into it for $50.
So off to Target we went with some of the gift cards we received at the baby shower. Finding out that the transition home needs baby medications (OTC) we purchased some of that stuff, a couple outfits, some hats, and other goodies. With those, we dropped in a Nebraska onezie we received from Gideon's older cousins Noah, Jonah, and Elijah. And being the geek I am, I requested he wear it on Saturday's if possible. I mean seriously, he's a Terwilleger, and we wear Husker stuff on game day. So it's good to be building habits with him already, before he gets home! He'll be home midway through Nebraska's season, and the trauma of moving in to our loving home, coupled with wearing something that "just feels right," may be too much for anyone to handle. So I'm working on getting him prepped and ready while he's still over the pond.
Kathee and I are getting more and more excited! For me, the wait is NOT unbearable. It's so good having a picture of him. It's great knowing he's being cared for by believers who love him and are doing everything they can to love him and provide stability for him while we wait. Maybe as this is one of the busiest time of the year for my ministry, it helps the days fly by?! It seems that September is right around the corner. And boy, September is like one month before October. So time is moving forward, and we're ready for Gideon to FINALLY be united with us as family!
We still don't have the border up in his room, although it's done and painted, and ready to be hung. I'm trying to figure out how best to do it, as our friend Rhonda painted it on wood. After that, everything is a go!
Our good friends Matt and Katie Lange just gave us their used exercise-dish-thing. It's one of those things with a saddle in the middle and all kinds of stuff for a kid to do around him on a desk-type thing. I know, I have no idea what the word is. I frankly don't care. I've seen my neice and all the nephews (I've seen Will play with his on Sharon's blog) play in this and they LOVE it! So we are super-pumped to have it. It totally made my day when Katie called saying she was in town and had it for us. SUPER-COOL! I'm pretty pumped to see him use it. Shoot, I'm just pumped to see him at all!
That's it for now. Time to go read some John Piper until I fall asleep. Thanks for reading and keeping up with our journey. God is great! His name is great and it's a joy walking with Him through this journey! We are seeing glimmers of the light at the end of the tunnel. However, we walk with Christ in the here and now, begging Him to help us be content in Him alone and submit our wills, desires, dreams, and plans to Him, knowing He loves us and has our best and will bring glory to His name. To that, I say Amen!
Isaac T
So off to Target we went with some of the gift cards we received at the baby shower. Finding out that the transition home needs baby medications (OTC) we purchased some of that stuff, a couple outfits, some hats, and other goodies. With those, we dropped in a Nebraska onezie we received from Gideon's older cousins Noah, Jonah, and Elijah. And being the geek I am, I requested he wear it on Saturday's if possible. I mean seriously, he's a Terwilleger, and we wear Husker stuff on game day. So it's good to be building habits with him already, before he gets home! He'll be home midway through Nebraska's season, and the trauma of moving in to our loving home, coupled with wearing something that "just feels right," may be too much for anyone to handle. So I'm working on getting him prepped and ready while he's still over the pond.
Kathee and I are getting more and more excited! For me, the wait is NOT unbearable. It's so good having a picture of him. It's great knowing he's being cared for by believers who love him and are doing everything they can to love him and provide stability for him while we wait. Maybe as this is one of the busiest time of the year for my ministry, it helps the days fly by?! It seems that September is right around the corner. And boy, September is like one month before October. So time is moving forward, and we're ready for Gideon to FINALLY be united with us as family!
We still don't have the border up in his room, although it's done and painted, and ready to be hung. I'm trying to figure out how best to do it, as our friend Rhonda painted it on wood. After that, everything is a go!
Our good friends Matt and Katie Lange just gave us their used exercise-dish-thing. It's one of those things with a saddle in the middle and all kinds of stuff for a kid to do around him on a desk-type thing. I know, I have no idea what the word is. I frankly don't care. I've seen my neice and all the nephews (I've seen Will play with his on Sharon's blog) play in this and they LOVE it! So we are super-pumped to have it. It totally made my day when Katie called saying she was in town and had it for us. SUPER-COOL! I'm pretty pumped to see him use it. Shoot, I'm just pumped to see him at all!
That's it for now. Time to go read some John Piper until I fall asleep. Thanks for reading and keeping up with our journey. God is great! His name is great and it's a joy walking with Him through this journey! We are seeing glimmers of the light at the end of the tunnel. However, we walk with Christ in the here and now, begging Him to help us be content in Him alone and submit our wills, desires, dreams, and plans to Him, knowing He loves us and has our best and will bring glory to His name. To that, I say Amen!
Isaac T
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Ethiopia Olympic Update
Still no medals for Ethiopia (none for Moldova, either), but the track events don't start till this weekend!
The Trip To Naperville and Other Fun Snippets!
Well, we are back! Fingerprints done! We left Monday after work and leisurely drove to Naperville. We had Lisa, a lady from our church come and stay at our home and watch the dogs. We got to Naperville, refound the USCIS building (you'd be surprised just how difficult it was to find it, even after we'd been there once before. Mapquest couldn't find it. Luckily I vaguely remembered, and with the trusty use of Google Satelite, I swooped in over it and found it from above). We stopped in Dixon and ate at Pizza Hut (even as my brothers reading this are saying to themselves... "no, no, no. Isaac you know better than to stop at a Pizza Hut when you travel. You know better than this.") and continued to Naperville. After finding the building, we went to find a hotel room (I was super-pumped to use the advice from a book we received for our wedding "Saving Money Anyway You Can" in bartering our hotel room cost). After failing for the third attempt with the guy at Extended Stay, we settled on the price of $69 for the room (Please sir, you are getting a queen-sized bed and a small kitchen). We turned on the tv just in time to watch Misty May and Kerry Walsh play Cuba in beach volleyball in the Olympics. All in all, a great night!
This morning we had to be at the USCIS building at 8:00am. So we stood in line with one other couple getting finger-printed for an adoption and the rest foreigners seeking green card validation or whatnot.
After getting my number called (#220) and going over to the lady, obliging her command to sit down while she scanned my paperwork, she said, "you have a good name." To which I responded, "I know, you have a son whose name is Isaac. He must be walking by now." To which she responded that she had just gotten him potty-trained last week! I told her I had her the last time I got finger-printed in Naperville, to which she responded she hoped it was the last time she had to fingerprint me as her hope was that we'd get Gideon home soon. She told me that almost every couple has to be re-fingerprinted as theirs run out before the process is complete.
She seemed to cheer up and be much more conversational when I remembered her son's name and told her I hoped I'd have her this morning!
Then Kathee got through after me, we stopped at Caribou Coffee on the way out of town, and then I went in to work!
I think that should be the last hoop we have to re-jump through on this side of the Atlantic.
And yesterday we received an email and attachments about travel, what to have, what to expect, how many days, what to expect each day, etc. We received it from our travel coordinator at AWAA. So things are happening!
God continues to exalt Himself. The days keep getting closer and closer, and things are on the move!
Kathee emailed the lady at the transition house to see if we could send some things over for him. Sure! Send clothes, toys, diapers, formula, whatever we want, and however much we want to send. So there's great stuff on that end, too!
God is so good!
In Him,
Isaac T
This morning we had to be at the USCIS building at 8:00am. So we stood in line with one other couple getting finger-printed for an adoption and the rest foreigners seeking green card validation or whatnot.
After getting my number called (#220) and going over to the lady, obliging her command to sit down while she scanned my paperwork, she said, "you have a good name." To which I responded, "I know, you have a son whose name is Isaac. He must be walking by now." To which she responded that she had just gotten him potty-trained last week! I told her I had her the last time I got finger-printed in Naperville, to which she responded she hoped it was the last time she had to fingerprint me as her hope was that we'd get Gideon home soon. She told me that almost every couple has to be re-fingerprinted as theirs run out before the process is complete.
She seemed to cheer up and be much more conversational when I remembered her son's name and told her I hoped I'd have her this morning!
Then Kathee got through after me, we stopped at Caribou Coffee on the way out of town, and then I went in to work!
I think that should be the last hoop we have to re-jump through on this side of the Atlantic.
And yesterday we received an email and attachments about travel, what to have, what to expect, how many days, what to expect each day, etc. We received it from our travel coordinator at AWAA. So things are happening!
God continues to exalt Himself. The days keep getting closer and closer, and things are on the move!
Kathee emailed the lady at the transition house to see if we could send some things over for him. Sure! Send clothes, toys, diapers, formula, whatever we want, and however much we want to send. So there's great stuff on that end, too!
God is so good!
In Him,
Isaac T
Sunday, August 10, 2008
And It's Back to Naperville, IL!
This is one of my favorite aspects of the adoption process. Last year at some point we had to get finger-printed at three different locations for different government agencies to do background checks on Kathee and I. Remember all the verbage post 9/11 about how government agencies were going to start working together and share information and whatnot? Yeah, I don't think someone got that memo. But let me take it up another notch for you.
Our background checks for the USCIS (United States Customs and Immigration Services) is only good for like 18 months or something. And they are coming up on being obsolete at the end of August. So what we do (again) is fill out a petition, and the USCIS had to send us a note telling us where to go to get finger-printed. In that letter they'd tell us we were to go either to St Louis (4-5 hours from here) or Naperville (2-3 hours from here). Luckily we got Naperville (again). And here's the kicker. We have to go AGAIN to get re-finger-printed. Here's an idea, take the same prints you took from us before... you know, the fingerprints that NEVER CHANGE and run them through the system again. Don't waste a day by telling us we have to be there at 9:00am in Naperville to refingerprint us. And I love the mercy of the government... if you aren't there in Naperville at 9:00am they will consider your application void and you'll have to start the process over.
I'm excited to get this process done! It amazes me the insanity of this. I just thought I'd pass on some of the fun. Hope you enjoyed the read.
Isaac T
Our background checks for the USCIS (United States Customs and Immigration Services) is only good for like 18 months or something. And they are coming up on being obsolete at the end of August. So what we do (again) is fill out a petition, and the USCIS had to send us a note telling us where to go to get finger-printed. In that letter they'd tell us we were to go either to St Louis (4-5 hours from here) or Naperville (2-3 hours from here). Luckily we got Naperville (again). And here's the kicker. We have to go AGAIN to get re-finger-printed. Here's an idea, take the same prints you took from us before... you know, the fingerprints that NEVER CHANGE and run them through the system again. Don't waste a day by telling us we have to be there at 9:00am in Naperville to refingerprint us. And I love the mercy of the government... if you aren't there in Naperville at 9:00am they will consider your application void and you'll have to start the process over.
I'm excited to get this process done! It amazes me the insanity of this. I just thought I'd pass on some of the fun. Hope you enjoyed the read.
Isaac T
Friday, August 8, 2008
Amazing Interview with Steven Curtiss Chapman Family
This interview and this story has been incredibly moving for Kathee and I. I have been listening to the music of Steven Curtiss Chapman since I was in junior high. He is a Christian musician and a great man of faith. And secondly, he started Shaohannah's Hope, to which we received a sizable grant to adopt Gideon. This interview was on Good Morning America this week. He will also be on Larry King Live.
As a heads up, if you don't know, he and his wife adopted 3 children from China. This past year their 17 year old accidently hit and killed one of their daugthers. And this is their story. I only wish I knew how to embed the video on this page.
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5524419
As a heads up, if you don't know, he and his wife adopted 3 children from China. This past year their 17 year old accidently hit and killed one of their daugthers. And this is their story. I only wish I knew how to embed the video on this page.
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5524419
Ethiopia's Olympic Team for 2008!
Ethiopia’s squad for Beijing 2008- let's give it up for it's 36-member team!
MEN
1500m: Derese Mekonnen, Mulugeta Wondimu, Mekonnen Gebremedhin, Demma Daba
3000m Steeplechase: Nahom Mesfin, Roba Gari, Yacob Jarso
5000m: Kenenisa Bekele, Tariku Bekele, Abraham Cherkos, Ali Abdosh
10,000m: Kenenisa Bekele, Sileshi Sihine, Haile Gebrselassie, Ibrahim Jeylan
Marathon: Tsegaye Kebede, Deriba Mergia, Gudisa Shentema, Gashaw Melese
WOMEN
1500m: Gelete Burka, Meskerem Assefa
3000m Steeplechase: Zemzem Ahmed, Mekdes Bekele, Sofia Assefa
5000m: Tirunesh Dibaba, Meseret Defar, Meselech Melkamu, Belaynesh Fekadu
10,000m: Mestawet Tufa, Tirunesh Dibaba, Ejegayehou Dibaba, Wude Ayalew
Marathon: Gete Wami, Berhane Adere, Bezunesh Bekele, Dire Tune
Boxing [Men's Flyweight (51kg)]: Molla Getachew
MEN
1500m: Derese Mekonnen, Mulugeta Wondimu, Mekonnen Gebremedhin, Demma Daba
3000m Steeplechase: Nahom Mesfin, Roba Gari, Yacob Jarso
5000m: Kenenisa Bekele, Tariku Bekele, Abraham Cherkos, Ali Abdosh
10,000m: Kenenisa Bekele, Sileshi Sihine, Haile Gebrselassie, Ibrahim Jeylan
Marathon: Tsegaye Kebede, Deriba Mergia, Gudisa Shentema, Gashaw Melese
WOMEN
1500m: Gelete Burka, Meskerem Assefa
3000m Steeplechase: Zemzem Ahmed, Mekdes Bekele, Sofia Assefa
5000m: Tirunesh Dibaba, Meseret Defar, Meselech Melkamu, Belaynesh Fekadu
10,000m: Mestawet Tufa, Tirunesh Dibaba, Ejegayehou Dibaba, Wude Ayalew
Marathon: Gete Wami, Berhane Adere, Bezunesh Bekele, Dire Tune
Boxing [Men's Flyweight (51kg)]: Molla Getachew
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
July Monthly Update on Gideon
Now this is cool. Each month now we will be receiving email updates regarding Gideon. This month tells that he is a good sleeper, waking about twice nightly for a bottle and takes 2-3 naps a day (already taking after his father and he doesn't even know it yet). And I love not having to toot my horn about my own son, someone else is now doing it for me. And I quote, "_______ has the CUTEST little face!" And he's up to 11 pounds now. So we are super-excited! They share that he is healthy, responsive, and responsive to people's attention and smiles easily! Are you kidding?! This is great!
And to those of you who feel a bit ripped off because you were not able to see the picture that I uploaded to the blog, don't worry about it. I committed a major fox pas in doing so. We got the referral the day before I left for Pittsburgh and didn't read through the entire documentation that was sent. So I didn't read the part about NOT POSTING PICTURES ON BLOGS until the adoption is final! Woops! Not very smart on my part.
So I guess that means that those of you desiring to see him will have to come to Moline and visit us to get a good look at the little guy. Let me just tell you, however, he is cute as a button!
I guess that's it for now. I'll check in more soon. Thanks for reading.
Isaac T
And to those of you who feel a bit ripped off because you were not able to see the picture that I uploaded to the blog, don't worry about it. I committed a major fox pas in doing so. We got the referral the day before I left for Pittsburgh and didn't read through the entire documentation that was sent. So I didn't read the part about NOT POSTING PICTURES ON BLOGS until the adoption is final! Woops! Not very smart on my part.
So I guess that means that those of you desiring to see him will have to come to Moline and visit us to get a good look at the little guy. Let me just tell you, however, he is cute as a button!
I guess that's it for now. I'll check in more soon. Thanks for reading.
Isaac T
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