Krohn Fam - Back to School

I am sorry that the blog has been so quiet lately - you do have to realize that I have 4 precious blessings to occupy my time, and another precious soul still in Ethiopia to occupy my heart!  Life has been crazy busy as we've taken time to get to know each other, to settle into routines, and just enjoy each other's company.  We weren't home long when it was time to start getting ready to head back to school.  I worked a handful of half days to get my classroom ready and meet with my team - and I am TOTALLY stoked about working with some awesome 2nd grade teachers!!  The kids and I started out the school year last week!  Even though we'd only been home a week and a half I decided to work the first 2 days of school!  This allowed me to establish myself as the teacher, set up some routines in my classroom, and get to know my students a little bit (I taught 4th grade last year so it is quite the jump to the 7 year olds that now occupy my desks)!  I am now off for another week or so, when Nahome and I will both start school!

First day of school for 3 of the Krohn Crew!

Nahome is doing great!  He is learning the expectations of our family and his fits are few and far between these days!  He is happy and joyful and LOVES when his sister and brothers come home from school to play with him.  Nahome made his first appearance in Sunday School this week and LOVED it!  I stayed for a little bit but he was just fine without me!  He had a lot of fun in class with Leah and was excited to show me his craft.

We are learning and adjusting to what Nahome is needing as he bonds and attaches to being in a new family.  The issue has not been his fear and apprehension around new people or when we are apart from him....but it is the exact opposite.  He seems OVERLY comfortable with just about anyone.  He runs up to, gives hugs, and shows affection to most everyone he encounters.  Now don't get me wrong - he LOVES sitting on mama's lap and riding on Daddy's shoulders!  He is very affectionate with us and will run to us if he gets hurt or he finds one of his siblings being unjust.  BUT - we are doing our best to prove to him that we are his parents  - the ones to care for him, and love him, and provide for all of his needs....not the checker at Walmart, or the nice lady with a dog in the park, or the nurse at the doctor's office.  This is an entirely normal issue that arises with children who have been raised in an atmosphere where there are multiple care givers, as well as families coming and going all the time - bringing gifts of toys and candy!  We are doing our best to stick to our attachment plan of being the only ones to provide him with food, love, attention - we are limiting those allowed to pick him up and hold him to just us!  He is making new gains everyday and we are so thankful for our new little man!

We are hoping we get submitted to the US embassy for Isaiah's case in the next week or 2!!!  Please continue to pray for his heart as he waits for us - and continue to pray for our hearts as we transition our family yet again for another young man to join us!  Still pinch myself sometimes that I am blessed to call this my life...

It's Official - We Passed Court!!!

We were pleasantly surprised to receive a phone call this morning from our agency letting us know that we passed court - a day early!!  They were able to submit the birth mom's Identification electronically and the court accepted it and gave us a passing status!  Now the paper gathering will commence so we can get submitted to the US embassy to obtain his Visa and bring him home!

So without anymore suspense - Introducing our Newest son....Bizuayehu Isaiah Krohn...

TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!!!!

Home!

The last few days have been LONG, EXHAUSTING, and HARDER than I thought they would be!  Nahome did great traveling and our flights went uneventful for the most part!  36 hours of traveling later and we arrived in Boise!  Nahome was officially a US citizen when we went through our first port of entry into the US which was in San Francisco!  We were so incredibly excited and documented the fun with a picture!

Shortly after we took this picture stress started to envelop me.  I was EXHAUSTED which probably didn't help!  We found out that our basement had flooded the day before - ARE YOU KIDDING ME???  We worked SO incredibly  hard to have the house clean, organized, and perfect before we left.  I didn't want to have to worry about the house AT ALL when we arrived - I just wanted to be able to enjoy spending time getting to know each other!  Thankfully our landlord, neighbors, and parents worked quickly to get the situation under control.  All the stuff had been moved to our back patio to dry and the disaster clean up crews had been called!

Not exactly what I had planned to come home to but THANKFUL for hard working family and for nothing damaged - that we can tell so far!  It is going to be another few days for the basement to dry out after they power washed it then I'm hoping to be able to see my patio again!

When we were in San Francisco, we also realized that my phone wasn't working!  SERIOUSLY???  I purposefully charged it before we left Ethiopia so that when I got to the good ole USA I would be able to get on and check my email to see if we passed court - which we didn't (more below)!  I was able to get on Josh's phone and check my email and call our parents to talk details about the flood - but OHHHH I was frustrated!  We can't afford a new phone right now....  When we got home my parents were sweet enough to take my phone in to the Verizon store and it was under warranty so they were REPLACING it!!!!!!  Praise the Lord - they said the new phone was being shipped out and should be here by Friday!!  Well, it came in the mail TODAY (Monday)!!!!!

Also while we were in San Francisco (It was becoming my LEAST favorite place), we realized that 1 of our 3 suitcases was MISSING!  We answered the security questions in Frankfurt and all 3 bags were accounted for.  We sit in Frankfurt for a SEVEN hour layover....and yet when we arrive in San Francisco one is missing!  I guess SEVEN hours is enough time to lose one!  We didn't think to much of it and hoped it would be shortly behind us.  When we got home and unpacked this weekend and began realizing what was in the missing luggage - I started stressing!  I put my camera (our nice one) in the suitcase at the last minute because I didn't want to have to carry it through the airport!  It also had Josh's electric razor and ALL of Nahome's new lotions, shampoos, etc (that are like $10 bucks a piece).  I was hoping to hear Saturday, started stressing on Sunday and by last night was a wreck!  I prayed SO incredibly hard that our luggage would be found and safely returned.  My camera had SO many pictures from our trip and my exhausted jet lagged heart couldn't bear the thought of having to fill out MORE paperwork if it ended up being missing!!!  Thankfully we serve a MIGHTY God who cares about mama melt downs late at night!!  By noon today we had word that our luggage had FINALLY arrived in Boise and by one this afternoon it was on our door step - and ALL items were accounted for!!!  Praise the Lord!

While in San Francisco we also found out that we hadn't passed court for Isaiah - court had taken place on Friday in Ethiopia!  Our documents were all there and accounted for - which is HUGE....his birth mom was able to make the trip and appear to give her consent....BUT she did not have proper identification with her.  SO our agency is working with her to get the appropriate ID and the courts have rescheduled her appointment for Wednesday August 15th (which is Tuesday night our time)!  I spent some time yesterday putting together Isaiah's video and can't wait to share his sweet face with all of you!

OKAY - so far this post has been a lot of stress and drama that has come from our journey home!!  BUT - through it all I am reminded that we serve a MIGHTY God!  That no matter what comes our way, we can trust in Him to guide and direct our lives and hearts!  I am reminded each day as I look into four precious faces that call me mama, and look into precious pictures of another who is heart broken that we had to leave - I am reminded of the journey that we are on! The journey to serve a MIGHTY God and to show our children what HIS love is really all about!  All the stress that I have felt is SO incredibly trivial and worldly - it is STUFF and not even really stuff that matters in the realm of eternity!  But through it all God cared that my heart hurt and that I was stressed and He worked it all out so my mind could be at peace!  For that I am grateful - He knows His child and knows how my mind works!  I love that!

Nahome is doing MUCH better and we are making new gains EVERY day as we set up the routines of our family and household!  Jetlag is starting to wear off which I think has made our outlook on life 100 x's better!  I still get overwhelmed knowing that school starts next week - knowing I have a ton of things to do between now and then (both as a teacher and a mama)!  But that is next week and as for today - I will cherish my time home with my four kiddos and my hubby (who is blessed with another 4 weeks off of work)!  I will cherish sweet friends and family who are blessing us with meals so I don't have to worry about cooking ( If you are wanting to bring a meal you can sign up here)!  I will continue to praise my Heavenly Father each day for the blessings that are in my life and continue to seek after His heart and plan for my family!  

Updates from Ethiopia

I have realized that I haven't posted as much during our trip as last time.  It seems like the time or the energy is NEVER there.  It is funny because last time we had 3 kids with us and this time only 1, but still.  I can't believe we are nearing the end of our time here already.  We have had a lot of fun spending time with our boys here but we are excited to get home to the rest of the kids and get a routine started with Nahome.  It is going to be so HARD to say goodbye to "B" and we are praying he will get to come home soon!

I just wanted to touch on a couple of updates!

COURT - We DID get to go to court yesterday (Tuesday).  They asked us the same familiar questions that they had asked when we were just here with Nahome.  They told us that our actual court date to review our paperwork is scheduled on Friday, but since we are flying out Thursday evening they let us come and give our consent.  Our paperwork that we prayed so desperately for to arrive from homeland security arrived in Ethiopia on Monday.  We are hopeful that all will be in order and when we are arrive in San Francisco airport on Friday we will have an email that says we have passed!

FOOD - We have been enjoying the food here and aren't as desperate to eat American food as we were last time.  We are looking forward to some sweet tea and a bowl of cereal though.  Nahome not so much!  He LOVES his injera (traditional Ethiopian bread) and REFUSES to eat much else.  We got him to eat a little chicken last night but not much and then he was sick today, not sure if it had to do with the chicken because that is what I ate and I'm feeling fine.  Neither of the boys like cookies or rice krispy treats - they do not have refined sugar here so it isn't common in their diet - which is fine with me!

NAMES - When we passed court for Nahome, I wrote a post explaining the significance of his name and why we were choosing to keep it.  I posted that we were going to use Isaac (one of my childhood faves) as his middle name.  Josh and I had talked and talked about names and had decided on this, however, shortly after my post Josh decided that he wanted to leave Nahome's name how it will appear on his Ethiopian paperwork.  In Ethiopia, the child receives the father's first name as their middle name.  SO - we are choosing to pass Daddy's name on to little man and it will be Nahome Joshua Krohn.  Often in adoption, people always ask if you are keeping the Ethiopian name or not.  With Nahome we did because of our Naomi dream (Totally need to read the history behind the dream if you haven't - Click Here).  With "B", he is old enough that we wanted him to be able to choose - he could keep his given Ethiopian name or he could choose an American name!  He was very excited to choose an American name!  We told him that we would come up with a few for him to choose from.  All of our children have biblical names so it was important to us to have B's name follow this same pattern.  We googled Biblical boy names and narrowed our list down to 3.   We pitched the names to B and he VERY QUICKLY chose one from the list - he pointed to it with a big smile and then to himself.  We will give the new American name as B's middle name but that is what he will go by to most people.  Daddy LOVES his Ethiopian name and says he will keep calling him that as a nickname around the house.  So - we can't share his FULL name until we pass court but he will be B........ Isaiah Krohn!

Tomorrow is our last day with our sweet Isaiah!  Please pray for his heart and for ours as we say goodbye for now!  Nahome and him have been together for the last 6 months and already have a brother bond!  My heart hurts knowing that not only are we leaving and heading back to the US, but Isaiah is losing Nahome as well!  Please pray that Nahome's behavior and health are good through the rest of our time here as we say goodbye and while we are traveling.  He has been throwing up off and on the last day or 2 - but at times seems totally happy and fine!  Praying it all gets out of his system before the long journey home!

Thanks for all your prayers, love, and support!  Can't wait to post that we are home with ONE cute New American Citizen - and Can't wait to post that ANOTHER handsome young man is added to the family!  Hopefully both of those things will happen in a mere 2 days!

The Transition Begins

We have had so much fun with our boys since we have been in Ethiopia!  Nahome is doing well and we've had a lot of fun!  When we were here for court we saw an ornery streak in him and knew that he was a stubborn little thing.  The first couple days he was great and all fun and smiles.  We know that he is attaching and he is bonding with us because he is starting to get comfortable with us.  As he is getting comfortable, he is beginning to push boundaries and test his limits which is totally expected.  The fits are coming more and more frequently and we are doing our best to be consistent and set up routines as to what to expect.  This isn't our first rodeo - we've got 3 "angels" at home....BUT it is the first time we can't explain why he can't have something, we can't tell him that it isn't safe or clean to lay on the floor of the restaurant, we can't tell him why he shouldn't throw the soccer ball on the table at lunch.  All we can tell him is "no" which he sometimes will listen and other times chooses not to.  We know that transition is taking place and that with this entire process of adoption nothing is neat and tidy and clean.  Adoption is full of unknowns and fear and grief.  Adoption is full of change and transition....for the kids as much as for us!  Continue to pray for both of us as we transition into a family!

Our time with big brother has been fun!  He LOVES Daddy's camera and has taken a ton of pictures!  He likes to take pictures of his friends and then show them how they turn out!  We played Uno with him yesterday and today and he read to me out of one of his books!  He is very smart and a good student.  He got a shirt and an I (Heart) Ethiopia scarf at the end of his school year for being a top student.  Big Brother works hard and always has a smile on his face.  They are letting us take him with us to the traditional dinner tonight which should be a lot of fun to watch Nahome and him listen to the music and watch the dancing!  The older kids all know the process that families go through.  Pictures come first, then families for court, then families leave, then families return and take them home.  Big brother is already asking the staff when our court date is.  When we had to leave for 2 days to visit Nahome's orphanage "B" got very quiet and sad.  It is going to be INCREDIBLY hard on him (and us) when we have to leave!  He is not only having us leave, but he is also losing his brother.  Nahome and him have been together for the last 6 months and LOVE each other so much!  Please pray for him (and us) as that fair well is coming all too soon!

They were supposed to hear Friday if we would be able to go to court this week but the judge wasn't in.  They went this morning but the judge was busy with court families and told our in country director to come back this afternoon.  Sooooooo supposedly we are supposed to hear in the next couple of hours if they will allow us to come to court and give our consent.  Please pray with us that this will happen.  Our paperwork from homeland security that needs to be here for us to pass made it today with some of our staff that just arrived.  Please pray that we will not only be allowed to give our consent, but that we would PASS soon - - before closure on the 22nd!!!

We are loving getting to know some of the families and spending time with our boys!  I miss my little rugrats at home terribly and am excited to get back!  Thanks for all the prayers and will post more about court when I have some more info!

The Last Couple Days - To Mekele and Back

We got the privelege to spend the morning at the transition home with B yesterday and then we caught our flight to Mekele in the afternoon.  It was a little over an hour flight to Nahome's birth city.  The flight went great and Nahome LOVED it!  I thought he'd sleep but he laughed and giggled and talked the WHOLE way!  We spent the nght in a very nice hotel, with VERY terrible beds!!!  Needless to say we didn't sleep much - except Nahome who has slept wonderfully the last two nights!  We woke up and had breakfast then headed out to Nahome's orphanage - Bana.  The road was under construction so we had to climb around broken pieces of rock to get into the complex.  The orphange workers were very kind and all remembered Nahome.  They genuinely love the kids and you can tell - the kids were all very happy.  There were not very many children at the orphanage when we were there - 12 of their kids are in the US for the Summer Hosting Program.  They were making injera on an outside burner and let us take a turn - they said I did GOOD - but I'm not so sure about that.  They showed us around the complex and they presented us with a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony.

We did a little bit of shopping, grabbed lunch, and then headed back to the airport to fly back to Addis Ababa.  It was such a good experience to see some of the countryside and experience some of Nahome's culture.  The people speak a different language up there than in Addis and the city was much smaller.  It is the rainy season here so everything was lush and green!  I am really glad we got the opportunity and I'm glad Nahome got to go with us!

We are hanging out tomorrow and visiting with B at the transition home!  We were told today that they are certain we will be able to give our consent on Monday or Tuesday, but we didn't get official word from the courts today like we thought we would!  Please continue to pray for our court date - also pray for ALL of our needed documents to make their way to our file so we could PASS court before closure on August 22nd!  Nahome is doing amazing and everyone here says he seems like he has been with us forever!  He is so joyful and happy!  He only eats injera and tibs (steak)....he also likes eggs with breakfast!  We got him to eat some mac and cheese for dinner tonight but he was NOT happy about it!  Communication is coming along - I think we are learning just as many of his words as he is of ours!

So far we've learned (Not Sure at all on spellings - I'm sure they are wrong)!
~ Bolsa.....backpack (Nahome LOVES his backpack and wants it on all the time)
~Coy.......wait (We asked Yonas how to tell Nahome wait and we've had to use it often)
~ Chai.....tea (Nahome likes tea much better than coffee)
~ Baka.....YUCK (We hear this OFTEN....whenever we try to get Nahome to eat something other than injera)
~ Ciao (Chow).....goodbye
~ Nege.....tomorrow

Some pics of our trip to Mekele and Back...

Nahome all ready for take off!

Leaving Addis Ababa

Mountains around Mekele

Our Plane to Mekele

The road being worked on outside the orphanage

Making Injera on the Outside Fire at Bana

Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony at Bana

TINY blue taxis found all over Mekele

He is in our Arms FOREVER!

It has been a whirlwind of events over the last couple of days!  I will do my best to recap for you and let you know what is coming up for us in the next couple days!

We flew into Ethiopia last night and discovered 3 of our 6 bags did not arrive from Frankfurt!  They said they would arrive in the morning which was fine - except all of our clothes were in the 2 bags that were missing!  We begged and borrowed from generous fams that are also here for their adoption.  When we got to Ethiopia we were told that we had an embassy appointment the next morning!  I told them they must be mistaken because Nahome's mom's appointment was the next morning, not ours.  Our guide told us we better check our email since it had been a while because of flying.  Well - we DID have an embassy appointment in the morning!  Nahome's mom showed up in the city a day early so they let her interview on Tuesday morning.  We got an email from embassy that we were cleared and our coordinator set up our embassy appointment.  It was great news!

We left bright and early at 8am this morning to go pick Nahome up (Gotcha Day!) and then head straight over to our embassy appointment!  Here are Josh and I on the way to see our little man again!

Our embassy appointment was uneventful and everything checked out fine!  We get to pick up his travel papers on Friday morning and our adoption will be final and complete!!!!

Here is a pic of Daddy and Nahome leaving the transition home after our Gotcha Moment!!!

We went from embassy to pick up our luggage that had FINALLY arrived at the airport.  From there we went back to the guest house to drop the luggage, then we headed to the transition home to meet with Nahome's birth mom!  We had a very special and sweet time visiting with Nahome's birth mom.  We were able to give her some pictures and promised to send updated photos as he gets older.  We also got to take some pictures of us with her and some of her and Nahome.  These will be precious memories for him when he is older.

It feels like we did so much - and by this point it was only noon!!!  To add to the excitement...

We went over to the older kid transition home to gather some of Nahome's things...we walked in the gate and the older kids were all eating lunch.  As soon as some of the older boys saw us they began yelling "B's" name - they knew we were his family and we hadn't gotten to see him yet in the busy-ness of the day!  He had his back to us but quickly turned to face the doors as his friends clued him in that we were there.  He saw us, jumped to his feet, and ran to us to give us hugs!!  He had THEE biggest smile on his face and he was just glowing!  He had been asking the guides and other families when we were coming for the last couple days - he knew it was soon!

And there we were - with BOTH boys in our arms!!!!  We are feeling so incredibly blessed to be walking this path that God has called us on!  There is much more to tell about our day with our boys but jetlag is setting in and I must head to bed!

Please Continue to Pray:

~ For Nahome as he adjusts to a WHOLE NEW everything

~ For safe travels - we are flying to visit Nahome's orphanage tomorrow

~ For a court date to be scheduled for "B" - the in-country director told us today that they were supposed to be getting one last document from his orphanage today and then would take it in tomorrow and request a court date - - they are hoping for Monday or Tuesday!

~ For B's heart - the older kids are so very excited to meet their families but they are older enough to realize that we will have to leave!  Help him to enjoy the time we are here with him and endure the time we will be apart once we have to leave him behind!

~ For the 3 littles back home with Grandma - - Mama is already starting to miss them!

Praises:

~ Embassy Clearance

~ Sweet moments with a women who is now woven into our hearts and family

~ Playing and hugging on BOTH of my boys today

I'll leave you with a couple pics of Nahome's time back at the Guest House we are staying at::

In his new duds!

Trying out his new bed - with his backpack on, of course!

He loves to ride in the stroller that we brought for an Ethiopian friend!

Blessings from the Krohn Family!