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Off to Ethiopia!
Ah…the final chapter in our 3 1/2 year adoption journey! We fly to Ethiopia June 24th to bring our beautiful children home. Soon Ethan and Gabrielle will be with us forever! Pictures and stories to come!
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As you can see, we’ve been a little busy at the McKenzie household, thus the lack of blog posts…but we do have some wonderful news—we will be traveling to Ethiopia June 24th-30th, to bring home our beautiful children, Ethan and Gabrielle! We adopted them a little over a month ago on our first trip to Ethiopia. We return to complete the journey and bring them home! It has been a life-changing experience!
You have no idea what to expect when you first meet your children. Will they like me? Will they cry? Will they be afraid? All these questions run through your head and then before you know it, you’re playing with them, blowing bubbles, drawing pictures, playing ball. It was truly magical…
Throughout this process, we have been raising money for the airfare, expenses, etc., and through it all, we have had just what we needed at the right time. God truly provided for our needs…
In just over a week, we will be on our way to bring our children home and never be apart again…Such a journey! So thankful!
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Getting ready…
There have been a scarcity of posts on our blog, simply because we’re busy packing and preparing for our trip to Ethiopia! We leave May 12th and even though we still have over a week remaining before we leave, it still feels as if it’s the night before and nothing is done!
I just started reading Melissa Fay Greene’s book “There is No Me Without You” and 30 pages in, it is already preparing mentally for the images I will soon be confronted with. Not that I haven’t been in third-world countries before, but when you’ve lived in the comforts of America for a number of years, you are gradually lulled to sleep by the riches that surround you.
I hope to finish it before we leave.
We will also have a booth at Fair Diddley (a local art/craft fair in Woodstock Illinois), but since it is Sunday, May 15th, our sons and a friend will be manning the booth for us. Lots to get ready for that as well!
—Steve
Sooner than we think, we will be in Ethiopia, meeting our children for the first time…
—steve
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We are headed to Ethiopia!
Just a few months ago, we submitted all of our documents to Ethiopia and wondered when we would receive a referral of children (which can take anywhere from a few months to a year or more). Three days later, we were notified that we had a referral! We accepted this referral of a brother and sister, aged 3 1/2 and 6. Once you accept a referral, you then have to wait for a court date, which can also take months. A few days ago, we received our court date, so we are headed to Ethiopia in May!
We will travel to Addis Ababa May 12-May 18 to meet our children for the first time! We are excited to meet them and can’t wait to preserve these moments forever!
We are still raising money for this journey and have a website where you can purchase fine art refrigerator magnets and greeting cards to help us! Thank you to everyone who has come alongside us in this adventure!
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Since we will be traveling to Ethiopia within two to three months, the pressure’s on to get everything in order. Since the end of 2010, we have been selling fine art refrigerator magnets as a way to earn money toward our plane fares and other expenses. We are just trying to reach beyond our circle of friends/family and reach others who may not know us but are still excited about adoption! If you know anyone that this website would resonate with, please forward it on to them! We look forward to see what the future will bring!
Steve & Kim
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Waiting for a child is the hardest part of the entire adoption process. It can take months, sometimes years before a child comes into your life. We just became a “waiting family” last week and three days later…
…we got a referral for two children!!!
Needless to say, we are shocked, excited, laughing, crying—it’s a miraculous experience. The next step is traveling to Ethiopia. So in the next couple months, we could be on a plane to see our children for the first time! We have a very short time to get the rest of our funds together, so now the rush is on to move even more refrigerator magnets. Check them out at www.15000refrigerators.com.
We can’t share anymore than this regarding our children—but will give you as much information as we are allowed to!
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On the front page of the Northwest Herald!
Our adoption fundraising efforts are on the front page of the Northwest Herald today! (among other places on the web :)) Help us get the word out! See all our fine art refrigerator magnets at www.15000refrigerators.com!
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Our Adoption "Store"!
At the end of last year, I was trying to find some other way to raise funds for our adoption. This website was the answer. 15000refrigerators.com is a website we created to sell fine art refrigerator magnets. Few have the wall space for lots of art, but everyone has space on their refrigerator! Plus, refrigerator magnets are inexpensive, attractive, and a great reminder of the great purpose they serve! So far, we have sold about 677 magnets. Our goal is 15,000 magnets to reach our funding goal (thus the name, 15000refrigerators.com). If you know anyone this might resonate with, please pass it on! We are excited as we get closer to our children!
Speaking of which, we have now completed all our paperwork and are waiting for a referral of children. It could be a few months…it could be 9 months. We don’t know exactly. But we do know it will be perfect timing!
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Paperwork nearly complete!
The mountain of paperwork is completed! Now the waiting begins…We have to send our documents to the State of Illinois for certification. From there, they go to the State Department, then the Ethiopian Embassy, then Ethiopia. If all goes well, we will be on a waiting list by February!
No matter how high the pile of paperwork, it’s all worth it! We would do this for any member of our family. Much like kids at Christmastime, we can’t wait!!
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Getting closer!
There hasn’t been much news for the past couple months, but we have been busily putting together our paperwork for our dossier. We recently sent in the paperwork to the Government for fingerprinting and just got our appointments back in the mail today! So we should have everything we need to send to Ethiopia in December!!! And then the waiting begins…But as we have seen with our home purchase this year—good things come to those who wait! So we will eagerly wait to see the beautiful faces of our children…
On numerous occasions, we have seen images and video of Ethiopia and their people, and each time, it just brings us to tears…seeing those beautiful faces. We can’t wait to see our children!
