It's a Girl!

Great news! Our court date in Ethiopia was this morning and everything went smoothly, so we are officially (finally) Anna Etagegnehu's parents. Which means we can post pictures! So here she is:

We're not exactly sure yet when we will be traveling, but it looks like it might be the week before Christmas, arriving home on Christmas day. More info as we get it...

Conversations with Ernie

Part 2: The birth of Jesus?

Setting: In the car on the way to visit Grandma and Grandpa

Ernie: Dad! God and Jesus are in my heart!
Dad (proudly): That's right!
Ernie: ...and when they were tiny babies, they lived in my tummy.
Dad (getting confused): ok...
Ernie: ...and then they were born!
Dad: How did they get out?
Ernie: Through the door.
Dad: What door?
Ernie: The door in my head.
Dad (confused): Then where did they go?
Ernie: To Jerusalem!

What do they learn at Sunday School?

This episode of Conversations with Ernie was brought to you by the letter L and the number 2.

Court news

Dear Friends,
The last few days have been a rollercoaster for us. On Monday we heard the news that our court date was scheduled for Tuesday. We were in shock because most people so far had gotten about 2 weeks notice before their court dates. We waited until yesterday to hear the disappointing news that the court date had to be rescheduled because they could not locate Anna's birth mom to finalize the adoption. The good news is that having our date rescheduled really isn't that uncommon and our new date is November 30th. We're still not sure when we will travel. I think its unlikely to happen before January. I hope we'll have great news to share with you next weekend.
Noelle

Lucky us!

Hi, friends. There are no further updates on our court date. We are still waiting to hear when we will travel and it seems pretty unlikely that we'll get to go before Christmas.



We are excited to bring Anna home and introduce her to you all. We feel so blessed to be a part of this adoption and have difficulty expressing how thankful we are to have a baby brought into our home this way. Stop and listen the next time you hear someone tell adoptive parents what a great thing they are doing for a child- I bet you'll hear the parents turn it around and say how lucky THEY are. For us, adopting Anna isn't about saving a child, it's about building our family and following God's plan. As I've told many of you already, Anna needs a family and we need a baby, so we see bringing her into our family as a win-win situation, not an act of charity. We are just happy to build and grow our family as God intends. Please keep us and Anna in your prayers.

Conversations with Ernie

A new feature on the Frick blog...not necessarily adoption-related, but guaranteed to tickle your funny bone. Or your money back.

Part 1: Ernie contemplates the Mystery of the Holy Trinity

Scene: Ernie and Dad are sitting in the living room on a typically gorgeous Northwest afternoon (it was cold and rainy).

Ernie: Dad, you're my father.
Dad (wondering where this is going): Yup, you're right.
Ernie: And I'm your son!
Dad: Very good, kiddo.
Ernie (thinking hard): And Mom's the...Holy Spirit!
(Dad just shakes his head - if only it were that easy).

This episode of "Conversations with Ernie" has been brought to you by the letter H and the number 6.

Anna's Room

Anyone reading this might know I love to paint and decorate. They might know I love babies. Might they have guessed that painting and decorating a baby's room is just heaven for me?! At long last, I've had the chance to decorate a baby girl's room and it was so much fun! My friend Dianne came over and we spent the day tracing and painting fairies on the walls. Here's what we came up with.

Early in the day

A is for Anna

E is for Etagegnehu

Baby Girl has a name!

We've finally decided on the name Anna Etagegnehu. "Anna" meaning "grace of God." Etagegnehu is the name given to her by her birth mom.
We don't have any updates yet on when we'll be traveling, but we are still hoping to go before Christmas. It will be January at the latest.
Look back soon for pictures of Anna's finished room. Dianne and I spent all day yesterday painting fairies, and I only have a little bit of work to do to finish up the room.