We. Are. Home.

After 32 hours of travel, we are finally home and a full-fledged family of eleven. And yes, it definitely feels like a LOT of people in our house!!!

We will post more soon, but for now we will leave you with these:

All of us together...finally.

Our two 3-year-olds showing off their bellies:

All 9 of our kids in their traditional Ethiopian attire:

Calling All Prayer Warriors

As you know by now, Kirk and I leave this Thursday, June 25th for our journey to Ethiopia. (YES!!!!!!!!) We are finishing up final details for our trip and savoring our last few days as a family with only six kids.

In the meantime, we are rounding up our prayer warriors and asking humbly, will you stand with us and for us in prayer during this journey of our lives?

Here is a basic itinerary of our travels:
[FYI: Ethiopia is currently 8 hours ahead of CST]

• Thursday 6/25 - Saturday 6/27: Kirk and I enjoy two days alone in D.C. before boarding the plane to Ethiopia (Yes, we count this as a miracle!) :)
  
• Saturday 6/27 8 PM EST: Flight leaves from D.C. for Ethiopia
• Sunday 6/28 7 PM: Arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• Monday 6/29: Pick up our kids!!!
• Tuesday 6/30: Embassy Appointment
• Weds-Friday: Enjoy Ethiopia and our children
• Friday 7/3: Leave Addis for D.C.
• Saturday, July 4th: Arrive in America on the Fourth of July!

Here is a list of prayer needs for the coming days. We would be honored and blessed for you to pray on our behalves:

• logistics of travel (flights on time, luggage at right weight, no luggage lost, seats on planes, etc.)
• safety during travel
• physical health before and during travel
• physical health while in Ethiopia
• our new kids' hearts as they transition from one culture and family to another
• our kids back home in the States as they are with my parents for 9 days
• my parents as they are with our kids for 9 days!
• our emotional and mental stamina as we take on a huge task
• continued provision for our family
• our documentary film producer, David, as he travels with us
• red tape that must be cut through for filming in Ethiopia (this is a big one!)
• David's wife and baby boy back home in the States
• and anything else the Lord leads you to pray for!!!

We cherish and rely on your prayers more than you know. The last two and a half years of our lives have been quite the journey, frought with tears and filled with joy. We know that the journey has really only begun, and we beseech you to continue to come before the Throne for us.

With much love and appreciation,
heidi & kirk

Yes, we are still (and forever will be) selling our Orange Bracelets

Though we are no longer officially raising funds for our travel expenses for our adoption, we ARE still selling our trademark orange "My life is not my own." bracelets. (This will help to establish our nonprofit and also help cover readoption expenses for all SIX of our Ethiopian kids here in Tennessee.)

We still have a few hundred bracelets left that we would LOVE to sell...Not just because we want to sell them, but because we want others to catch the vision, too! When these bracelets run out, we will order more. These will be the bracelets that we will continue to sell as part of our nonprofit organization and ministry.

We have had several youth groups, families, and Bible study groups buy several bracelets and many have even incorporated the slogan into their Bible study or youth camp theme.

The bracelets are great for individuals, families, youth groups, small groups, churches, camps, etc.!

So, all that to say, if you would like to buy a bracelet, or two, or twenty, or two hundred, we have many!

Our bracelets declare "My life is not my own." This is the mantra that God gave us when we decided to adopt three kids the first time around!

Bracelets are 1 for $3 or 2 for $5. (3 for $8, 4 for $10, etc.) Free shipping to you!

If you'd like to purchase some, email us at heidiandkirk@blessingsfromethiopia.com. We will give you our address to mail a check to. OR, you can make a payment via our donate button to the left. Be sure to include your address for shipping!

Thanks for being part of our incredible journey!!! Here's praying for your own!

The girl scout in me would be disappointed.

Over the past few months, and especially now as our travel dates draw near, I have received a wide array of looks and remarks in response to the fact that we, at age 31, are about to be the mom and dad to 9 kids.

One of the remarks I get a lot is "Oh, my gosh! NINE kids! That's unfathomable! I can't imagine!"

My response to that? "I can't either. Really."

Before I had my first baby (which was far sooner than I had planned!), I was really not scared of being a parent. No, I was not afraid; instead, I was excited about the responsibility for and relationship with a new little life. And besides, everyone has seen others figure out this baby thing. It's doable. I figured, if so-and-so can do this, then I can, too.

Once we got the "one kid thing" down pat, we added a baby girl to our mix. Still not scary to us, because---after all---we've seen others around us with two kids. It's pretty typical, fairly normal, and the American dream, right?

As a "compromise," as Kirk likes to say, we finally added a third child to the clan. Life definitely got crazier at that point, but again, the idea of 3 children is not a foreign concept to most. Everyone knows someone with three kids; it is workable. And pretty normal.

After we bit the adoption bullet and doubled our kid count to six, the reality set in that WOW we have an awesome responsibility here. Still, though, I have at least SEEN people with 6 kids. Not many, no, but at least SOME. I have read up on their blogs and have seen how it works with six. So, pretty soon, SIX kids became the new normal for us. It didn't take much time and now seems so doable---busy, but very doable.

Now, as we stand on the precipice of being parents to NINE kids, all of that "I-know-somewhat-what-to-expect-because-I-see-others-around-us-do-it" is tossed out the window. Sure, we know OF people with 9 kids. We have heard of them through friends. We see them on TLC. We read their books. BUT, up close and personal? As in, "we have friends with 9 kids and it looks very normal to us"? No, that's not the case anymore.

So, if you ask me if we are prepared to have 9 kids, I have to disappoint the girl scout in me and say, "Um, how exactly do you do that?" Sure, logistically we're ready to go as best as we can figure...the van [see DreamCloud below], the color-coded bath towels, the beds, the clothes, the car seats, the chairs around the table (oops, our table won't fit us all). But prepared for the responsibility of 9 kids? I don't know what it even looks like or feels like to be prepared for 9 kids! This, like many risks you take in life, requires a healthy heaping of spontaneity and fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pantsness. This requires that you throw the playbook out the window and trust that your on-the-spot calls will suffice.

But, we are ready nonetheless. We are ready to tackle this. Ready for our next venture. Ready to add more to the mix, stir up the pot, and see what comes out of the oven.

Perhaps you can't imagine having 9 kids. Or even 6. Or 3, 2, or even one for that matter. But, it's okay. It's okay to step off that cliff and trust that what God has called you to, though you might have no model right in front of you, will work. It will work because it's His idea. (Lord knows it wasn't ours!)

When I was 17 and preparing to go spend several weeks in Kenya, I kept a card in my Bible that simply said what I have found to be simply true over the years:

The task ahead of you is never as great
as the power behind you.

I'm going to be counting on that. A lot. Perhaps even more than I'll be counting to nine.

8 days and counting.

EIGHT DAYS until Kirk and I depart Nashville for D.C.

TEN DAYS until Kirk and I depart D.C. for Ethiopia.

TWELVE DAYS until Kirk and I pick up our kids in Addis Ababa.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone want a Wii?

Wanna help an orphan or two AND win a Nintendo Wii for only $25???

Go to our friends' adoption blog and check it out:
http://ethiopiascalling.blogspot.com/2009/06/you-could-have-brand-new-nintendo-wii.html

And spread the word!!!

UPDATE!!!

Within 9 hours, 16 donors gave a total of exactly $1500. In 9 hours, God took care of our new flight expenses. AMAZING. To the Sweet Sixteen of you who gave...We are so grateful for you. We are renewed and resolved.

To God be all the glory.