The Waiting Game Continues (Aren't games supposed to be fun?)

Well, it has been about 5 months since my last blog post. Some exciting things have happened over the past months, along with a really scary thing, and more waiting... Our PAIR paperwork was submitted in November and we had approval by late December. So, in that regard, our case moved crazy fast (normal is 3-5 months)!! We actually received news that our i604 investigation was complete while we were sitting in the ER on December 30th. So yeah, there's that...

Most of you know the story of Ben getting sick just before Christmas. He actually started feeling bad on Monday, December 22nd (the day after I was bit by an English Mastiff - don't be jealous). He was in bed with severe flu symptoms through Friday. On Friday we made it in to the doctor and Ben was very weak, no tests were done and we were told, "you have the flu. It will likely go through your entire family." We went home. Ben stopped throwing up that day with the help of anti-nausea medication, but his fevers continued and he was getting weaker and weaker. Sunday we drove to Urgent Care. Tuesday we were back at the doctor and then straight to the local ER. At this point, Ben could hardly walk unassisted and was wheel-chaired in and out of the hospital. Unfortunately, we were misdiagnosed and sent home again. Thankfully we made it to the ER at a larger hospital in Tacoma on January 1st. Ben was admitted for 9 days because of abnormal spinal fluid. A myriad of tests were done over that time, some that if were positive, would mean something very, very scary for our family. We praise God that Ben gradually improved and was sent home with a diagnosis of aseptic meningoencephalitis. We are so thankful to all of you who prayed us through such a difficult time. The outpouring of love, prayers, support, dinners and other kind actions was incredibly, incredibly moving. There are no words...

Since then, we have been waiting for approval from Ethiopia and a court date. We had initially thought we would be traveling late February or March. We are beyond thankful that Ben is back to virtually 100%, he was able to get the recommended vaccinations and he is approved to travel to Ethiopia. I have stepped back at work, cutting my hours greatly because of Ben being in the hospital. This has allowed me to spend more time with the boys and prepare more for E's arrival. We have a lot to be grateful for, we know that, #1 being Ben's health!! Nonetheless, the waiting for our daughter is still incredibly difficult.

I wish we had more to report but trust me, once we have approval and travel information, you will know!! Because the approving body in Ethiopia has been so unpredictable, we don't know if we will hear next week, next month or in (many) months to come. Baby E is in a good place, she is being loved on and well cared for and we continue to receive monthly photo updates from our agency. She turned 1 year old in January, weighs about 20 lbs and has been crawling for a few months. We just long for her to be in our arms, where she belongs. She is 14 months old and it has been about 7 months (minus a week) since we received the first photos of our beautiful daughter.

xo