Thank you just isn't enough!

Today we come to the end of a long road.  And it feels like there is so much to say, to explain, to justify, to understand, to reconcile, and to celebrate. But that is not what is on our hearts. There is really no way to sum up this part of our journey until we first recognize all the people who have helped us get here.  We could not have done this without all of you walking along this very unpredictable, bumpy, and sometimes painful road with us.  And now that we are standing at the end looking back, we can’t help but see all the people standing behind us cheering us on and celebrating our new family.  And although it is easy to see you now, we know there were times that the road was too dark to see you.  But it is clear now that you were there all along!

To our prayers warriors we say thank you from the bottom of our hearts!  You are a part of one of God’s great miracles.  It has been 2 years and 3 months since we started this process.  We estimate that it has taken over 50 people in 2 countries from our home study to our final sign off to complete this adoption.  Several 100 pieces of paper, 1 judge, 4 sets of finger prints, 10 nannies, 1 social worker, 1 case worker, 2 adoption units, 3 drivers, and finally we became a family of 3!  If you don’t consider that a miracle, I am not sure what is.  And every single one of you helped make it possible.  We have always believed in the power of prayer, we have just never been so closely immersed in such a blanket of love and community. We just can’t say it enough, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

"Thank you" in Amharic

To all of our family (blood and not, you know who you are) thank you for your support.  We know you were praying but you were also in the trenches with us.  From the support you showed when we first told you we were adopting to the preparations you are now making for our arrival, we thank God for you everyday!  You never judged us for the emotions we felt through out this process.  You grieved when we grieved you rejoiced when we rejoiced!  You didn’t always understand our emotions but you were there regardless.  You welcomed B into our family before we ever even knew his name.  You helped us prepare our home, our lives, and our hearts for a new addition!  To say that we are blessed is not enough, our cup runs over with immense joy.  We cannot wait to continue living life as a family of 3 because we know that B will be loved by so many!

Lastly we have to give an extra special thanks to Grandma Lisa.   She sacrificed a lot to be with us here in Ethiopia for a month.  The unconditional love and support you showed us can never be repaid!  Your willingness to put up with us was no easy task.  And the love you showed B is beyond what anyone deserves.  Without you and Grandpa Dennis this adoption would have been very difficult for us financially.  Your selflessness and generosity is unmatched by anyone we have ever known.  We can only pray that we will be as good of parents to B, as you are to us!

WE LOVE YOU ALL! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

/~8 AND /~9

I am quite sure you are wondering about the title of this blog. But before I tell you the back story, let me first say, as frustrating as this wait has been, there have been some really great moments in the midst of pre-baby time. And the title of this blog is a result of one such moment.

Around the end of the 2010 school year, Mike and I decided it was time to tell my students about our adoption. We were very early in the process, but at that point still expecting things to move pretty quickly. So we thought it was ok to start talking about. By the end of that school year most of the kids knew we were adopting.

As I returned back the following August, the adoption became a pretty common topic with my students. Some had questions about why we decided to adopt. Many of them asked about how long it would take or how much it cost to adopt. Some wanted to know why we choose Africa. On the whole I was thankful and honored by their genuine interest in this part of Mike and I’s life. And the more the questions rolled in, the more I began to notice one common question, “what’s his name?” I would explain that he would already have a name and that most likely we would keep that name. But since we don’t know exactly who our child will be yet I can’t tell you his name. Well, for some this was sufficient and they conceded to just asking about “our baby.” But for several others this was not going to work, “our baby” needed a name.

So in the midst of this “need” for our baby to have a name, he began to be called many things. Some called him Rafiki because it sounded African, but also similar to my nick name, Feeky. A few of my basketball girls named him Tyrone or Jerome (don’t remember which) because they said it sounded like a black person’s name. And still others chose Baby Fluffs (after another of my nick names) Baby Feeky, African Baby, Baby Fiechtner, all which I was ok with because they were said with great love and excitement for our babe. But of all these names there is only one that has stuck around through this whole process, which brings me back to the title of this blog.

The “name” you see in the title was created by my yearbook class last year, namely my editor Spencer. It was the result of a conversation we had about a girl whose name contained a – (dash). So in keeping with the use of symbols, the students thought it would be “awesome” if our child had a name that contained only symbols. They proceeded to use most of a class period coming up with possibilities and thus was the birth of /~8 (Pronounced: Slashquigglyeight). This name has stuck, of all the names; this name is used most often. This name has actually grown on me quite a bit. I think because it has a sense of permanence without being too “real”.

So that explains the first “name” in the title, the second name /~9 is actually from a dream I had. One of Mike and I’s desires is that we could adopt twins. And one night I had a dream that we got the call and we were placed with twin baby boys named /~8 and /~9. It was a silly dream and a silly name. But the desire is still very real for us. From the beginning we have prayed that the lord would give us twins or siblings. We of course will love any referral. And we feel blessed to be able to have children; regardless of whether we adopt two at one time or at different times. I think the longer we have to wait and the more we realize the real extent of the process, the more our desire to bring home two babies becomes.

But if in the end God has one child ready for us to adopt we will be excited and thankful. It just means the next batch of students will have a chance to throw out more weird, odd, and downright silly names for our second adopted child.

Makes /~8 sound like a pretty good option :)