Hallelujah, the Line is moving again!!

After a month and a half of no movement at all, the waiting list just took one giant step forward!!! The number of families in front of us is now only seven families. And one of those seven families is currently "on hold". So technically we are only waiting on six families to be matched with a child. We hope and pray that it doesn't take another month and a half before it moves again.

New Nephew

Baby Cole Dean arrived on Nov. 11th at 8:48 a.m. He is very small (5lb 12 oz) and very precious. These are pictures from Thanksgiving Day at Dean and Brenda's house.

All 4 Sisters Married! Amelia and Neil Mukergie's Wedding

Amelia and Neil had one of the classiest weddings I've ever attended. Eric and I ranked the reception as one of the best we've ever attended. What made everything so enjoyable? Well, it wasn't the rainy, dreary weather, that's for sure. But we were impressed with the elegant restaurant chosen for the reception. It was Greek, and had great architectual designs. They also had lovely LIVE wedding music with stringed instruments and a singer. It was just the right volume too. I hate going to a reception and having to yell at the person next to me. Great food, great conversation, great planning, and a great setting all equaled a wonderful wedding. Congratulations Amelia and Neil!!

As I am typing, Mom, Dad, Anya, Ryan, Neil and Amelia are flying to India for their traditional wedding in Mumbai and Kolkata. Should be quite an experience for them! I am praying that they have safe travels and a positive experience while in Neil's home country.

The newlyweds will be returning to their new home in New York City (well, the suburbs) the beginning of Dec. with the rest of the family.

Yawn. . . I'm bored of this waiting!

Sorry to bore everyone with the lack of up-dates. But you can't up-date what isn't being up-dated. Know what I mean? Nothing has changed. We sit and we wait. . . and wait. . . and wait. . . and wait. And soon we become NUMB to waiting. We don't feel sad or shocked by waiting, because it is what everyone told us we would do. But we have lost excitement, enthusiasm and anticipation in our waiting.

Unlike a "biological" pregnancy, where there is a "due date," we wait for a date that is ominous and unknown-kept secret and hidden. We can't even give rough estimates. . . at least not ones that we, ourselves, can hope in.

We know God is Good! We know His timing is perfect! We know the saying that "the best things come to those that wait." But these comforts don't seem to comfort much these days.
However (I know I write these a lot in my posts, but I mean it). HOWEVER!! The Psalms in Scripture give a balm to our hurt and longing to become parents. Especially David's Psalms written as he waited and waited and waited to see God's plan unfold. He had been anointed as king. He had been promised the throne. And yet he waited for God's timing. All the while, running for his life!

Listen to Psalm 30: I will praise you, LORD, for you have rescued me.
You refused to let my enemies triumph over me.
O Lord my God, I cried out to you for help,
and you restored my health
You brought me up form the grave, O Lord.
You kept me from falling into the pit of death.

Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones!
Praise his holy name.
His anger lasts for a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may go on all night,
but joy comes with the morning.

When I was prosperous I said,
"Nothing can stop me now!"
Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain.
Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered.

I cried out to you, O Lord.
I begged the Lord for mercy, saying,
"What will you gain if I die,
if I sink down into the grave?
Can my dust praise you from the grave?
Can it tell the world of your faithfulness?
Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me.
Help me, O Lord."

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!

Lord, I am thankful this Thanksgiving season for many blessings. Naming them all would take a much longer blog. :)

One more down. . . 11 more to go!

Another Bethany family has been referred a two year old little boy from Ethiopia. I'm hoping there will be a few more. They (referrals) often come in "bunches." But every time I check. . . . no news. But we praise God for the ONE!

Thanks for praying for us as we wait.

Another family has been checked off the list

Yesterday, one family was successfully matched with a 4 month old little boy. This leaves us with only 12 families in front of us. We are out of the teens! Hopefully we will soon be celebrating single digit numbers.

Back to the Daily Grind

With fall comes many changes. . .

• April goes back to school teaching 2nd grade. I have a class of 19 busy yet, most importantly, obedient students. I'm adjusting to the new weekly and daily schedules and look forward to the humor, triumphs, struggles and blessings that each one brings my way. I usually have a good story to share with Eric when I get home. However, I've learned the need to save the throw up stories until after supper. Yep, that already happened this year.
• Eric begins his class at Ship. It is a hard Managerial Economics class that he/we chose to take all by itself. It has lots of calculus, which has me stretching my brain to refresh myself enough to help him when he gets stuck. He always brings the "business" side of the class to our tutor sessions and I try to piece together the "math" side. Talk about stretching your marriage and communication skills. :)
• The leaves on our Dogwood tree are already changing and look lovely; a nice fire red color.
  
• The garden will soon (hopefully) be done. We still have tomato plants with tons of small tomatoes and sweet potatoes that are waiting for the first frost before they are dug up. Eric is looking forward to them. Mmmmm. . . . Senator Russel's sweet potato casserole, baked sweet potatoes, and sweet potato pie.
  
• We are planting two bushes in memory of sweet, little Alivia; a small pink rose bush and a hydrangea bush. They are gifts from two of Eric's very thoughtful cousins. We are still trying to find the perfect place to plant them. . .
  
• We are also in the process of leasing-to-purchase some land near Eric's work. We found ourselves needing a new focus for our dreams of the future. We'll see what the Lord brings.
• Oh, yeah . . . and I turned a year older.
  

Correction....

Shortly after our last posting, we checked the website and found 2 more families were matched with children. That brings the new total to 13 families in front of us!

A little Progress...

Today the number of families waiting in line ahead of us was shortened by 4 families. This is exciting news for us, because for the last month and a half the line has not moved at all. I now count 15 families in front of us that are waiting to be matched with children.

Praise the Lord the line is once again moving!!

Experiencing the mercy and grace of Christ's Body

Thank you . . . for your hugs, words of comfort, delicious meals, understanding tears, CARDS!!! (Wow - over 150), flowers, gifts, notes, verses, prayers, quiet time for reflection and space, conversations, compassion, listening ears, displays of hope and love . . . .

What more can we say? God has used you as His ministers of peace, and we have been the recipients.

We humbly ask for continued prayers and . . . . grace as we move into the fall as it brings: school, teaching, new schedules and . . . unknown days of grief, pain and memories.

Psalm 30:11-12

You turned my wailing into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with JOY,

that my heart may singto you and

not be silent.

O LORD my God, I will give you

thanks forever.

(Taken from the Scripture featured in "Our Daily Bread" on Aug 3, 2009. The day Alivia Joy left us. . . for heaven.)

Baby Sister's Wedding

Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs. Stephan Jaynes! Again it was a beautiful day on Saturday, August 8, 2009. The highlight for me was time with family, tucked away at the Salvation Army Church Camp up in the mountains of West Virginia.

It was a weekend of tears and smiles. . . joy and sorrow, for Eric and me. What a bittersweet mixture. . .

Glory Baby

By Watermark

Glory baby you slipped away as fast as we could say baby…baby..

You were growing, what happened dear?

You disappeared on us baby…baby..

Heaven will hold you before we do

Heaven will keep you safe until we’re home with you…

Until we’re home with you…

Miss you everyday

Miss you in every way

But we know there’s a day

when we will hold you

We will hold you

You’ll kiss our tears away

When we’re home to stay

Can’t wait for the day when we will see you

We will see you

But baby let sweet Jesus hold you

‘till mom and dad can hold you…

You’ll just have heaven before we do

You’ll just have heaven before we do

Sweet little babies, it’s hard tounderstand it

‘cause we’re hurting

We are hurting

But there is healing

And we know we’re stronger people through the growing

And in knowing-

That all things work together for our good

And God works His purposes just like He said He would…

Just like He said He would…

BRIDGE:

I can’t imagine heaven’s lullabies

and what they must sound like

But I will rest in knowing, heaven is your home

And it’s all you’ll ever know…all you’ll ever know…

The peace that surpasses all understanding.

I'm sure everyone is wondering how April and I are doing. The only answer I have for you is that we are at peace. With aching hearts and tear filled eyes we can still find the courage to declare that God is good: not because He filled our hearts with laughter or set our feet dancing ,we know He is good because when we lay crying in the dark, we sense Him there crying along with us.

We want to thank you all for your overwhelming support. Your prayers and words of encouragment have strenthened us.


The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1:21 KJV

We have painful news to share with you today.

Alivia Joy Lehman, daughter of Eric D. and April M. (Martin) Lehman of Chambersburg, was born prematurely and went to be with our Lord on Augst 3, 2009 in Chambersburg Hospital.

She is the granddaughter of Glenn & Deb Martin of Mercersburg and Dean & Brenda Lehman of Chambersburg. Funeral services will be private and at the convenience of the family. Kelso-Cornelius Funeral Home, 725 Norland Ave, Chambersburg, PA will be handling the arrangements. Published in the Public Opinion from 8/4/2009 - 8/6/2009

Up-dating Our Paperwork

Has it already been a year since we began this journey to adopt? Well, it has been according to our social worker. Because. . . . it is time to begin up-dating some of our paperwork. Uugh! However, I don't foresee this being quite as tedious as it was the first time through, thankfully.

So what does need up-dated and completed?

• Our fingerprints for USCIS (US citizenship and immigration services) need to be up-dated. They expire on 12/24/09, but you have to start the process early. We will actually be getting a free fingerprint renewal this time around.
• We are also applying for a grant from Lifesong for Orphans to help with some of our travel costs (approx. $15,000). This requires each of us (Eric and I) to fill out a lengthy application form. It takes quite an extensive look into family finances and our personal walks of Christian faith. We are hoping for success this time around. When we applied for Shohannah's Hope we made it to the final four possible recipients (They pick one family per month.)- but weren't chosen. So that made us slow to apply elsewhere.

This is all that I am aware of at the moment. But I have a feeling that there will be more to come as we wait. It seems that referrals have slowed down for the time being, and Eric and I are stuck at the "half-way" mark "in line"(according to the Bethany forum web page). We were hopeful for a referral, face, gender, etc. by Christmas time, but right now it looks like it could be some time after that till we would know anything. Patience. . . . patience. . . patience.

Boston or Bust

Eric and I decided that our BIG summer vacation this year, our last one as DINKS (duel income, no kids), would be to Historic Boston. Niether of us had been to the New England area north of New York. We traveled up to our hotel on Wednesday and enjoyed a delicious Thai meal for our supper. Then Thursday we spent in down town Boston. It started out as a sunny day, but as the day progresssed it became overcast, cold and drizzly.

Our first adventure (besides the subway and train system) was a Whale Watch tour with the Boston New England Aquarium. As you can see, the city sky line was masked with hovering clouds. (And the salt water and humidity made my hair a bit frizzy.) Thanks to Dramamine neither of us experienced what deep sea fisherman experience, even though there were 2-4 foot swells.

We did see two humpback whales, a mother and her calf. The baby did most of the acrobatics for us to ooh and ahhh over. It was worth the hour and a half boat ride out to the feeding grounds of Stellwagen Bank to watch and see!

Friday was a rain day. We spent most of our day inside the hotel watching movies, swimming in the in-door pool, and napping.

Saturday was beautiful!! We drove to Plymoth (the town) and visited the Plimoth Plantation, museum, and Indian village. The plantation overlooked the bay. I wish Boston, MA were closer to home. I'd love to take my second graders for a field trip. It was very interesting to listen to the actors and actresses dressed up as reinactors of the day and time of the plantation, 1627.

Inside the Wampanoag Indian long house.

We also went to Plymoth bay to see the Mayflower II. It is a replica of the original Mayflower built in 1951. I couldn't believe that 102 passengers fit in that tiny boat. And. . . that it made it across the ocean from Europe!!

The final day was spent traveling back home (7 and a half hours with stops). It was a great, relaxing time away. But it always nice to come home again. . .

Rest and Relaxation

Camping is a favorite family past time on both sides of our family. This past weekend we traveled with Eric's family to Carlisle's Western Village RV Park for some R & R. It was a great time to bond as a family over meals, campfire, and conversation. There was plenty around to do, but all we prefered to do was the afore mentioned. Other activities were talked about, but not pressing enough to actually get up and go do them. Well, we did play frisbee and baseball with Bryce and Marah, and take a few strolls through the park. But other than that we spent most of our time snoozing, sitting and relaxing. Somehow getting away from the stress (and location of it) allows for more relaxed and deeper sleeping. Imagine that!
An example of Resting and Relaxing: Breakfast finished and dishes washed, cleared and packed away. Ahhh. . . sitting feels good.

Marah and Bryce found joy in playing in the discarded dishwater. What simple pleasures!

Uncle Eric playing "Cars" with Bryce and Marah. . . this is also their favorite movie at the moment.

Black Baby White Hands meets Facing the Giants

I have completed my first summer reading, which was a very eye opening and intriguing book. The author, Jaiya John, is an African American adoptee who was adopted into a white family in 1968, the same year Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. The book is his autobiography of a Black child growing up in a White family, neighborhood, country, and culture. He gives great insight into his personal struggles in forming his identity as a transracial adoptee.

And now my simplistic view of inter-racial adoption has forever been changed. At times the book left me feeling in over my head, too ambitious and juvenile in our decision, unprepared and inexperienced, and sometimes completely unfit. Now that my eyes are (more) wide open to the complexity of inter-racial adoption I find myself fearful and questioning my parenting abilities.

Love can cover a multitude of imperfections, but I now know that it will not cover everything, specifically my perceived laziness/indifference to my child’s ethnicity. I will have to step up and make conscious decisions and choices to become first a student and then a teacher of my child’s culture and heritage. It will need to become authentically part of my own culture. This is exciting and at the same times a bit daunting.

Eric and I enjoy learning about and experiencing other cultures. However, I look around and honestly reflect on: our community, our church, our group of friends, and our family, our day to day interactions and routines, and I see very little authentic interaction with African Americans, Ethiopian Americans, or people from other ethnicities or cultural groups. We subconsciously stick to what is comfortable: socio-economically, religiously (Anabaptist), culturally similar to our own. As a more introverted couple, thinking of forcing ourselves into the uncomfortable is frightening and feels like a lot of work.

HOWEVER: God reminded me last night of some very important truths that trump ALL of these “heavy” feelings. Eric and I went to see (for the first time) Facing the Giants at our church’s movie night. I was not expecting to find inspiration and motivation for adoption issues in a “sports” movie. Needless to say God used it and I was shocked to tears on several occasions. For example, one of these occasions was after the Eagles had won the state championship and Grant was moving from teammate to teammate and asking them individually “Is there anything God can’t do? Is there anything impossible for God?” It was like the question was asked directly to me, “April, is there anything I can’t do? Is inter-racial adoption and parenting bigger than Me?”

“No, God! Of course not! But it feels so much bigger than me.”

“And that is where I will receive all the glory.”

“Oh. . . . . . . . Oh!!”

God, may You be glorified in our triumphs and our failures as parents. May You shine through our weaknesses in spite of our fears. Help us to be the David’s that with Your help stand to face our Giants. Amen.

Date Night: Ethiopian Style!

Saturday night 6/26, after an early morning of church yard sale extravaganza (We'll be sure to post an up-date on the yard sale success soon.), we finally had our evening to experience Ethiopian food for the first time. It was very delicious and very unique to anything we had previously experienced. Eric remembered slight similarities in eating styles from Kenya, and April had eaten without utensils at a fish-head curry meal in Singapore, but this was different from either of these experiences.

We ate without utensils. Instead we used rolled up Ethiopian injera bread that we tore pieces from to pick up our food. This unique bread reminded us of a very thin pancake that had not been flipped. It had bubbled holes on the top and was flat on the bottom. All of our main and side dishes were "dumped" onto our large round plate of injera, with the sides dishes lining the outside. The main dishes were spicy-hot with meat, while the outside veggie salads were more tangy and sweet. This was a nice way to enjoy the hot and delicious spices of the main dishes, while having a different "cooling" side dish to sample in between. We also ate an appetizer called sambusa with was a spiced beef mixture fried in a pastry. All of it was very delicious!

After returning home, we googled Ethiopian bread and found this website with great pictures and a recipe for injera. Does anyone know where to find teff flour? If you do, please let us know and we'll give it a try. http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/bread/recipe-injera.html

Life Long Partners . . . Happy 4th Anniversary

Has it really been 4 years ago that we had our much anticipated wedding day!! How time has flown. Reflecting back, it has been a very full and abundant 4 years.

• September 19, 2005 – Our first (and only, at this point) nephew was born.
• October 21 – November 1, 2005 - We traveled to Cambodia to visit with missionaries and friends.
• 2005-2006 school year – April's first year teaching “just” 2nd grade instead of combination 1st and 2nd grades at Shalom.
• December 2005 – The red Cavalier died and we bought our first vehicle together, a Ford, Ranger.
• June 24, 2006 – Traveled to Luray Caverns for 1 year anniversary.
• August 12, 2006 - Sister Anya and "now" brother-in-law Ryan were married.
• 2006-2007 school year – Eric began his college education at Ship U. April was able to move into the Shalom school building – no more mobile trailer!
• January 2007 – Eric began to work as the Food Safety Manager at Lehman’s Egg, as well as taking on a few other new duties (with a full time class load!).
• March 25, 2007 – We bought our first home! After much researching and contemplation and prayer. . . becoming homeowners has been such a blessing and a true learning experience.
• May 12, 2007 – Moving day!
• July 3, 2007 – We became aunt and uncle once again! This time a niece.
• 2007-2008 school year – Struggles with infertility and wanting very much to become parents. Eric’s second year of taking classes and working full time, and my 5th year teaching at Shalom.
• December 2007 – April graduated with Masters of Education from Ship. U. Finally done!
• June 16, 2008 – We began the adoption process and the journey of parenthood.
• December 26, 2008 to January 2, 2009 – Visited Dietle Grandparents in Florida over Christmas break. This was a very relaxing and rewarding time after just completing Ethiopian dossier, which can be a daunting and overwhelming part of the adoption process.
• March 7, 2008 – 3rd positive pregnancy test, what would this journey entail? (Currently week 20, so far, so good!)
• June 6, 2009 - Brother Mike and "finally" sister-in-law Stacy were married.
• Yesterday – Marks the 5th month in the “waiting” phase of our adoption, maybe 5 to 8 more months to go until we have a little face and name to go with it???????
• Today – Praising God for ALL that HE has done in our lives!! He truly is AMAZING! (We also plan to have a new experience eating at an Ethiopian restaurant in Frederick, MD this evening.)

It is finished!

Wow! Roofing is A-L-O-T of work, especially in the hot and humid sun. Eric and I were very thankful for our families in completing this project. It definitely takes team work and many willing hands!

• Taking the roof off Friday night wasn't a problem. The rain the next morning did cause quite a dilemma. When it did stop raining, would it start up again and without warning? How safe was it to be up on the roof with it being wet?
• The decision was made to wait out the "band" of wet weather that radar was depicting. By 9:30 the roof was dried off using brooms and towels and the work had begun. (All in faith that the rain wouldn't return.)
• Around lunch time the clouds began to roll in. . . would it rain again? But after a rushed lunch break, the clouds and the work moved on.
• Unfortunately, after God's blessing our day with sunshine, wonderful help, and donated tools/equipment, we ran out of shingles. A bit frustrating, but the remaining work could be easily completed in an evening. We were grateful for the many blessings God HAD given during our day!! (No injuries for one!)
• Monday we picked up the shingles and nails we needed to finish the roof. Thanks to Dad Lehman and Eric, we can now call the roof a completed project. Hooray!!
• Yet to be completed are the gutters and finishing up the new front porch.

A huge THANK YOU! to all who helped: Dad Martin, Dad Lehman, brothers (Duane and Michael), and Sollenberger Construction (and Ladies, Bryce and Marah for keeping me company). We now have a very dry and attractive roof over our heads!

Aileen's Bridal Shower

Well, it wasn't the surprise we had hoped for, but we still had a very enjoyable time of FOOD, FUN and LAUGHS at Aileen's bridal shower. She will make a gorgeous, young, blushing bride in 7 short weeks.

So this is the lovely "Martin" sister line up. Don't I have such beautiful sisters?
I definitely got the "short" genes, but the resulting jokes and "funning" have made me stronger. Ha! (I don't believe I'm "showing" as much in this photo.)

Mini-video about Bethany in Ethiopia

Our adoption agency, Bethany Christian Services, has created this great video summarizing its outreach to the children in Ethiopia and those who help to make it possible. Click here to check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGcO3DpABdA

Enjoy!! Apologies to those who still have "slow speed". I'm one of them. smile.

School's Out for the Summer. . . .

So what am I doing with my time now that my classroom is packed up and I have something very valuable at my disposal. . . . TIME!

First, Eric and I are attempting our first garden on our own. We have "shared" gardens with grandparents and parents, but this is one to call our own. We are eating lots of fresh salads with lettuce, spinach and radishes out of our new produce store. There are a few other yummy things on the way. I must say I am enjoying how effortless God made the growing of plants to be. You plant it (and do a few other things) and it GROWS! God is a good, good provider.

Secondly, our house is under construction. We are adding a reverse gable porch to the front of our house. This should add some depth to our otherwise simple rectangular solid of a house. Next week we will be adding a new roof, finishing the underside of the porch and gable, and adding all new gutters. Hopefully we will be better prepared for more of our summer rain storms that we have been experiencing (without gutters on the front of our house. . . scary).

The third item that I've been up to is helping my mom and grandma with my sister's bride's maids' dresses. It was supposed to be a very simple pattern, which has turned into quite a complicated process. It has a top that has three pieces and three layers to cut, piece and sew together. Mom is the seamstress. Grandma did the pinning and cutting, while I did the ironing and pressing. We made a pretty good team, and hope to get them near to completion in another week or so.

Eric is also finished with school as of 8:30 p.m. last night, as he completed his final exam for his summer on-line class for international business. On several occations he has already stated at random, "I'm done!" or "I'm do-o-o-one!" and I am at first, left to think twice about what he is talking about before I realize he is celebrating his new freedom, not just finished with his food or done using the bathroom.

His new available TIME with be soaked up in golf tournaments, work, work and more work, and some RR time. Oh, and he does have a few projects here at home that he is working to complete, such as the remodeling of our shed, setting up an outside retractible clothes line, and helping with the roofing projects.

We do also hope to take a few weekend-get-away camping trips. . . . smile.

The 1st of Three Sibling Weddings. . .

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Michael Allen Lehman!! It was a be-a-u-tiful day! The rain finally stopped and the sun was a lovely sight to see.

Eric and I have three BIG weddings scheduled for this year and the first was on Saturday, June 6th. Eric's youngest brother has now entered wedded bliss. (The other two weddings are for my youngest two sisters. There weddings are in August and November.)

After the rushing, hustling and bustling, celebrating, cleaning, and much needed resting, the Lehman family had a relaxing evening around the campfire. My nephew had fun roasting his first hotdogs over the fire. We are very grateful for our family, their love and support. Everyone needs this kind of a support system; for whatever life brings!

Paying it Forward with Dogsitting

Two weeks ago my parents spent five days in Phoenix, AZ for my cousin Kelsey's wedding. Since my sisters and I had just gotten them a dog for Easter, they were in need of a dog sitter for the time that they would be away. And since we anticipate needing a sitter from time to time in the very near future, we thought we'd pay it forward and get one up on them while we could.

And that is how Shadow came to stay with Eric and I for several days. I don't think we knew how "needy" animals could be and are. Shadow, like any other dog, needed walked first thing in the morning and just before going to bed. She needed to be exercised, fed and watered more often than our 8 to 9 hour workday normally allowed, so Eric would travel home over his lunch hour to take her out and feed her. She also needed lots of playtime and attention. This forced us to take time to relax with her. I took lots of walks through the neighborhood. I quickly learned how many dogs our neighborhood had! They all wanted to take their turn barking at the new passersby. But Shadow wasn't a big barker, thank goodness. She was more of a sniffer and if any noise came out of her it was more of a whine.

Well, as the time came for Shadow to go home, I was surprised at how much her presence was missed. When we went to my parents this past weekend for Memorial Day, we were pleasantly surprised by her exuberant welcome. She had remembered us!

So maybe we aren't ready for a dog, but I think we are definitely ready to care for and love on something beyond ourselves (and beyond tropical angel fish). And ready or not our lives are about to expand by two precious little ones. Can't wait!!

Two will be more than a blessing!

We have been keeping a secret for the past several months. If you could see me you’d know the secret pretty quickly. Eric and I are expecting a second child, a birth child, on November 9th. Well, at least we are pretty sure it will be our younger child. We are definitely continuing with our adoption, and the two could be anywhere from 18 months to 1 month apart. So life could get pretty interesting. But we are confident and give testimony that this is God’s planning and handiwork and not our own. We desire his blessing for our family and willingly (and very excitedly) embrace his perfect and pleasing plans for this family.

We would, of course, appreciate your prayers as we plan and prepare to become parents to not only one, but two young children, over the course of this next year. Also, any advice would be welcomed as well. J

Many that I’ve spoken with face to face have asked:
Have I experienced morning sickness? Well, I did for about 5 to 6 weeks. I had a terrible taste in my mouth that made me want to brush my teeth constantly, and smells drove me crazy. I didn’t enjoy packing lunches in the morning. I often would try to eat something first, and worked to make it go as quickly as possible. It will probably be a while until I eat beef stroganoff again or have a desire to make meat loaf, but over all, (looking back) it wasn’t a terrible experience for me. However, I was relieved when the nausea greatly diminished soon after the 11th week.

Will I continue working? Well, that is a tricky question and depends on the timing of our referral. I do plan to start the year and to take off for some maternity leave after baby #2 is born. But it will depend on the progress of our adoption as to whether or not I return or just continue to stay home. So I could end up returning to the classroom to finish the year if we don’t receive a referral until Jan. or later, simply because we would not likely travel much before the end of school. But, like I said, it is all up in the air. I am very blessed by my employers willingness to be flexible with the unknown.

How have you been “feeling”? I know this question is usually asking about how the pregnancy is progressing. So far we have had three visits to the doctor’s office and had two ultrasounds and everything seems to be going great. I must admit that this does not mean that I am worry free, but very optimistic about this pregnancy ending successfully. We’ll see what week 18’s apt. brings in a few short weeks.

International vs Domestic Adoption

One question that we often answer when sharing about our adoption is: Why did you choose to adopt internationally versus domestically?

Well, it isn't a quick and easy answer to give . . . but to sum it up here are a few of our reasons for choosing international adoption. First, both of us have overseas experience as missionaries. Eric spent six months in Kenya in 1999, one month in Mexico in 2000, and 1-year in Cambodia in 2003-2004. He also traveled to Guatemala for work projects in 2001. April traveled to Trinidad and Tobago in 1998 for a two-week trip, and spent four months in Singapore and four months in Macau, China in 2002, and also spent a few weeks in Hong-Kong, Indonesia and China while in the "area." Due to our cross-cultural experiences, we value the richness that other nations and people bring to our lives.

In both of our experiences, we were touched by the children. They were so easy to befriend, lovable and adorable. Most of April's missions experiences involved working with children's ministries and outreaches.

Having also spent time outside of the US and seeing first hand how blessed and fortunate we (as Americans) are - even our orphans, which are placed into foster homes instead of orphanages - has had an impact on our decision to adopt cross-culturally.

But mostly our decision lies in the fact that we feel God has called us to Ethiopia and to adopt internationally. We trust Him with the decisions that involve our lives and our family.

The pictures come from Eric's time in Cambodia. We "email" dated that entire year and this is one of the pictures he sent me. He made friends with two dear little girls while he was there that still have a special place in his heart.

Spring is HERE!

Finally the grass is turning green and the flowers are blooming. (The pictures are from the magnolia tree in our front yard.) I love this time of year, before it becomes hot and sticky and the bugs arrive. It is a joy to be outside enjoying the crisp fresh air and comfortable temps. The sun seems so intense and bright and the sky so blue. Thank you, LORD, for spring and the changing of seasons.

As the seasons change, we also tick off one more month of waiting. April 23rd will end our third month and begin the fourth month in this time of "anticipation." So far the patience in the wait has been very tolerable, but that is probably due to the fact that we KNOW in advance that the end is not around the corner. However. . . . we are beginning to wonder: Has our precious one been born yet? If so, what is his/her life like? Are they with family or are they already at the orphanage? Has he/she been abandoned? Are they in good health?

So many "what if's" but one thing remains for sure, they are in the LORD's hands. And there is no safer place for us to put them.

A Few Up-dates

Here are a few things we know about our current "status" in the wait. . . according to my best sources (the Ethiopian Forum through Bethany).

There are 6 families waiting to travel: One family with travel dates for mid April.

• This means that they have passed their court date successfully (over in ET) and are now waiting for a US Embassy appointment.

There are 5 families waiting for a successful court date.

• This means that they have been "matched" or referred a child/ren and are waiting for their court date to come (and to pass with all the paperwork properly completed).

There are 26 families waiting (ahead of us) for a referral

• This means we have completed our dossier and it is now over in ET going from desk to desk so that we can be matched with a child God has picked for our family. Only there are 26 families to be matched first. :)

So we are two months into the waiting process and we have moved up the chain a few spots.

ALSO, I wanted to up-date on Eric's health. His "spots" and rash are nearly gone. He still has a few twinges of pain from time to time, but we are grateful to have the experience of shingles behind us. It is no longer known to us as "a strange and ambiguous disease that older people always seem to get." We are now in the "know."

Possible Set Backs - But probably NOT :)

We have been receiving some news of changes taking place in Ethiopia. The US government is requiring some further treatment of the children before being permitted their US visas, especially in the area of TB. Here is what we have been told:

The third item to be addressed is TB testing. Every child being adopted is now being required (by the CDC - US agency) to have a TB test before their visa can be issued. The testing is done by the IOM - the only clinic recognized by the US Embassy in Addis. After a child's court case, they will be taken to IOM for this testing.

For children under 2, panel pediatricians will review history and physical signs to determine if a gastric aspiration is needed to obtain a sputum sample. If the culture is positive, then TB treatment will be required.

For children 2-14 years, they will all undergo a skin test (TST). If the test shows TB exposure, then a chest x-ray will be done. If the chest x-ray indicates possible TB, then a smear culture will be required. The results of the culture will determine whether treatment is necessary. We (the Embassy) expect that many children may show exposure in the TST, but hopefully few will have an irregular chest x-ray. If a culture is taken, it will take a minimum of 8 weeks to confirm a negative. After 8 weeks, the IOM will write a report on a given form stating that the child does not have TB.

For a positive result, the IOM knows the positive result in three weeks. For those children who are found to be TB positive, they will undergo 6 months of Directly Observed Therapy at IOM’s clinic in Addis Ababa before an immigrant visa will be issued.

The Embassy noted the following as additional follow-up: "We will all be working through the new TB requirements together. Please have patience and know that we will be working hard to make everything as smooth as possible for the families. Keep in mind, the 8 week culture delay is only IF a child over 2 has an exposure reading on their TST and THEN has an abnormal chest x-ray. Otherwise those children will be fine with no delays. We expect delays only in a very few number of cases. Please refrain from worrying adoptive parents with talk of widespread delays."

I don't think that this will affect us directly, since we are adopting a child under 2 years of age. However, there are plenty of other adoptive parents out there that are adopting older children. Please pray that the wait would not be long and that they (and we) would "cast all of our cares upon Him", not wasting time worrying about it. :)

God is so Faithful

It has been awhile since we have posted any up-dates. That is due mostly to two reasons. The first is that there really aren’t any more up-dates concerning the adoption. The second is that the past two and a half weeks have been a whirlwind of family health concerns.

April’s father, Glenn Martin, traveled with a mission team to Guatemala March 2nd to the 14th. However, due to a snowy runway and weather, most of the passengers’ luggage was removed and left to be sent on a plane the next day or so. This included Dad’s suitcase and medicines for blood thinner. The team waited for their bags and then headed to their work sight a day and a half behind. Working hard to make up time, Dad and several others were cutting up trusses from the old roof that they were sent to replace. Dad suddenly felt tingling in his left side and sat down. It quickly became apparent that he had suffered a stroke at the young age of 56. He was flown on an emergency small 10 passenger plane back to Guatemala City hospital. He miraculously arrived at the hospital within seven hours to receive further emergency treatment. The doctors soon reported that his clot must have begun dissolving before he had received any treatment for it. Praise our awesome God!

It was a long series of events that got him to the hospital and also a long series of phone calls and plans to get him home to PA. But he is now home, home. He went through one week of in home physical therapy and has now begun out patient therapy at a local PT center. He has gone from not being able to sit up on his own, to now walking without a cane – even up a short flight of stairs. He still struggles with his ability to focus and concentrate on numbers and words and is “edgy” – best way to describe it. He feels that after sitting 10 minutes or so he needs to get up and walk around or move around. This makes sleeping difficult. But I am amazed at how he has improved in this short amount of time.

To top this off my mom ended up in the ER for what we thought was appendicitis, the day after Dad was discharged from the hospital. After four hours of testing they found that it was a kidney stone that was causing all of the trouble and her discomfort and pain quickly passed, leaving her just exhausted. She also has made a quick recovery.

And just to add a twist on everything, Eric was diagnosed with Shingles this past week. So he is dealing with quite a bit of biting and stinging pain while continuing to work. But this too seems to be coming to an end. Today he finally feels that the pain is de-escalating instead of increasing day after day. Also all of the poison looking bubbled rashes have now stopped oozing and are scabbing over.

Thanks for your thoughts, prayers and concerns for our family, immediate and extended. We are so blessed by those who walk with us.

No News is Good News

"Let me catch you up to speed. We know nothing. You are now up to speed."

This is a quote from the movie The Pink Panther. I haven't seen the movie and I don't really have plans to go see it, but I'm thinking of having this quote printed on a tee shirt. At any given moment this will probably be our response to the question "How is the adoption going?"

Actually, that is not entirely true. We recently were told about a website where families adopting from Ethiopia can introduce themselves and identify where they are in the process. This website not only allows us to get to know other families, we can also watch the line in front of us slowly grow smaller. Not every family chooses to identify themselves, so the line is most likely much longer than we are aware of. Currently there are at least 24 families ahead of us waiting to be matched with children. There are at least 12 families that have been matched with children and are waiting for permission to fly.

Another milestone...

The Lehman family has another small reason to celebrate. We just received an e-mail stating that our "dossier" (our official government sealed paper work) was mailed to Ethiopia on January 23. Hopefully, by now the papers have landed on the first of many desks in Ethiopia. The road ahead of us is still very long, but it is always exciting to see some progress.

Positive Adoption Language

I was never one that was real uptight about others speaking Politically Correct (PC). Although I didn't make a habit of using words to purposely hurt or discriminate against others.

However, since crossing over into the adoption world, I realize how harmful words can be. Even ones that are well meant or spoken very innocently can cause hurt toward my family or more importantly our son/daughter.

So now I find myself advocating what is known as "Positive Adoption Language". For example:

Instead of using : ---------------Use this:
Real parent ---------------------Birthparent
Natural parent -----------------Biological parent
Own child ----------------------My child/biological child/birthchild
Foreign child -------------------Child from abroad/international
Adoptive parent ----------------Parent
Give up ------------------------Make an adoption plan
Foreign Adoption ---------------Internation adoption

If someone asks: Do you have any children of your own? And our child overhears the conversation, I don't want our child to think that because he/she was adopted that "he/she is not ours". It is just a matter of thinking of what the words mean to everyone. . . especially little ones. :)

Beauty for Ashes

Today is a "snow day" for the school where I am a teacher. My day off has allowed for some valuable time of reflection and reading adoption materials. In my reading, I came across a devotional created by Shaohannah's Hope entitled "Beauty for Ashes" by Kerry Hasenbalg. Her scripture was Isaiah 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. . . He has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted. . . to give them beauty for ashes. . .
that He might be glorified.

In Kerry's devotional she writes about how the word "ashes" in the Bible is used to represent pain, sorrow, and death. She elaborates further:

"The Word tells us that Jesus Christ was sent to replace these ashes with beauty, and through working in the area of adoption, I have witnessed literally hundreds of lives completely transformed in this way. Where once were found lives mired in the ashes of miscarriage, infertility, and the death of children, there now can be found through the miracle of adoption the beauty and blessing of children. Where once we saw children's lives devastated by abuse, abandonment, and the death of parents, now we find happy children blessed with loving parents. In adoption the fearful become beloved, the scorned become adored, the nameless become cherished, the lonely become the laughing, and death becomes life abundant. In adoption ministry we can clearly see God taking ashes from here and ashes from there and making something truly beautiful from them."

And the Scripture which stood out to me today in a whole new way since traveling this road of "adoption" is Isaiah 43:19 which says:

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

Thank you, Lord, for this word from you! Amen! May it be so.

Adoption Poem

Legacy of an Adopted Child

Once there were two pairs of parents

Who never knew each other

One pair you do not remember

The other you call Father and Mother

Four different lives shaped to make you one

Two became your guiding star,

Two became your sun

The first pair gave you life,

And the second pair taught you to live it

The first pair gave you a need for love

The second pair was there to give it

One pair gave you a nationality

The other pair gave you a name

One pair gave you a talent

The other pair gave you an aim

One pair gave you emotions

The other pair calmed your fears

One pair saw your first sweet smile

The other pair dried your tears

One pair sought for you a home that they could not provide

The other pair prayed for a child and their hope was not denied

And now you ask us through your tears

The age old question, unanswered through the years

Heredity or environment?

Which are you a product of?

Neither, our child, neither

Just two different kinds of love

The Road to Adoption

Eric and I spoke of our desire to adopt before we were married. We didn't know when or how it would play out in our family at the time. Adopt first or have birth children first? We didn't know. We only knew that we wanted a culturally diverse family.

After a year of trying to conceive and two miscarriages (one blighted ovum), we decided that adoption "first" was our path to take. Eric did some Internet investigating into agencies and countries. We settled on the country of Ethiopia for a variety of reasons.
1. There is a need.
2. They are a beautiful people.
3. They have a rich history.
4. They were "open" to adoption.
5. God lead us there. (Most important!!)

We began the process by attending an information meeting at Bethany Christian Services in Lancaster (June 10, 2008). We felt very confident in their professionalism and expertise. So we took the dive. . .

• First we completed the on-line informal application. (June 12, 2008)
• Then we began the formal application. (June 12, 2008)
• We began our homestudy. (June 25, 2008)
• Second homestudy meeting with individual and joint interviews. (July 16, 2008)
• We read Raising Adopted Children, The Post-Adoption Blues, and Cross-Cultural Adoptions and completed lots of paperwork. We had appointments for fingerprinting and physicals. We had our wills written. We bought into life insurance.
• Third and final homestudy: home visit. (August 13, 2008)
• Homestudy completed and approved. (October 31, 2008)
• Attended Internation Parenting Seminar all-day classes (November 10, 2008)
• Dossier completed and sent to headquarters. (December 16, 2008)
• Dossier sent to D.C. for authentication. (January 9, 2009)
• Dossier sent to Ethiopia. (January 23, 2009)