Meeting Silas

We started out our morning with a paperwork party at the guest house and then ate at a really neat restaurant. There was much pressure to order something fast, so we could get on the road! At the transitional home, they brought out our kiddos one at a time in alpha order…so we were last! We teared up watching all of the other families so we knew we were going to have a difficult time keeping it together! When they finally brought out Silas, he was very timid and wouldn’t look at us, but he came to us okay. We bribed him with a toy car and some fruit snacks. Tony began blowing bubbles, and he cracked this half grin…he was trying so hard not to smile at us. He finally couldn’t stand it anymore, and we were able to see those big brown eyes twinkle. Seeing him smile at us was priceless. And we did find out that our boy is extremely ticklish! We were only able to spend about two hours with him, but it was great to see him open up a bit. He initiated sitting on our laps a couple times, but he wasn’t much of a cuddle bug, but rather enjoyed playing ball with his daddy.

Tonight’s dinner was at an authentic Ethiopian restaurant. It was such a neat experience. We had some unidentified food-some good, some not-and experienced some native entertainment. It was great to see more of their culture. We need to share this with our son. I have to admit that I was a bit disheartened at the airport yesterday. We just had some negative experiences with the people, but today has been great. They are so hospitable and gracious. They are very serving, and oh are they beautiful! It is just amazing to see the sever poverty and the wealth on the same street. There is a luxury spa on the corner and so is the local farmer with his donkeys! The sights are unbelievable. And the driving is frightening! Wow-it is every man for himself! There are no traffic signs and very few lanes. We are shopping in the morning, and then heading back to the transitional home after lunch to pick up our babies!!!!

We are in Africa

After tearfully saying good-bye to our children, we left Springfield yesterday morning and have finally arrived at our hotel. It took us two hours in the Ethiopian airport to get our Visas, get our luggage, and pass through customs. We are ready for showers and a good night of rest. It is such a strange feeling to stick out like a sore thumb…to not understand what people are saying…to be the minority. This is definitely out of our comfort zones. We do have a few praises. On our flight from Chicago to D.C. we sat by three Ethiopian brothers who graciously gave us a crash course in Amharic so that we could better communicate with Silas. I was so excited. God is so good like that. So, here’s a few for you. Tony is Silas’ a-baa-t (dad), and I am Silas’ en knot (mom). Maybe we’ll get to use some of this on him before the week is out.When we arrived in D.C., still praising the Lord for our new friends, we met several other adoptive families-some from our agency and some not. We were able to eat dinner with them and just relax a bit before our long haul. What a blessing to not be walking this road alone!

Cale and Mya, we miss you tons already!! We have already placed our family picture by our bed-one that Laslee gave us at the airport. Thank you for that small gift. It brings much comfort.

MANY THANKS!

We are doing some last minute packing tonight and holding our breath as we weigh our luggage. Here is a pic of our donation pile...and actually this was several days ago so we have more!


Several close friends and family members have contributed but the bulk of this came from our Duck Creek family. They have been amazing! Thank you! Thank you!

Also, we received some pictures from the Gillman family today. They, too are such a blessing. I know that we leave tomorrow and will see Silas on Monday but before today we only had 4 snapshots of him and Kim sent 8 we are so grateful. Mya wanted to know "What's his mommy's name?" It was precious...but maybe she doesn't understand as much as we thought she did!


I was feeling rather apprehensive about the plane ride, but after seeing his sad face I'm ready to go!!!! All of the pics shared this same face-it just rips our hearts out to see him like that after all of his other happy faces. Hand on buddy, we are on our way!!!

Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement. We are so excited and so nervous at the same time. Hopefully, our internet connection will be okay and we can share our experiences with you.

Concrete Travel Dates

We found out yesterday that August 29th is our official departure date! Praise the Lord for the small but HUGE blessing of not having to change our plane tickets. Right now I know of 10 other families across the U.S. that will be traveling with us. We are the largest group that AWAA has had up to this point.

A really neat family in Ozark (Gillman's) are in Ethiopia right now picking up their two kiddos. It is incredible to be able to share this experience with another family so close. We've been tracking their blog as they have met their kids. As exciting as it will be to pick up Silas, Kim Gillman reminded me that he has suffered great loss. And now we are about to transport him again to a whole other world...away from his culture...his heritage...anything familiar. My heart breaks for him to suffer loss yet again, but I KNOW he needs us...and we need him. We are learning so much along this journey.

The Gillman's also took a care package with them to give to Silas. It contained a picture of our family, a comfort blanket made by grandma, and a new outfit. So, today Kim met our son and loved on him for us!!! I know this little guy is only two, but I hope that he can look at our picture and somehow know that we are connected.

I think our biggest prayer concern right now is that we would throw off all expectations about our trip and meeting our son...that we would be flexible...and that we would be spiritually ready to take in the hurt we see and share the hope that we have.

Cale's first day of school

Today is the official start of our family calendar revolving around the education calendar! This is new for us! Cale looked so big with his backpack. And of course, Mr. Social Bug didn't have any issues walking into Mrs. Malone's preschool class. :)

Silas Ray Vernon is the newest member of our family!!!

Praise God we passed court today! Thank you for all of your prayers. I felt them-I did, but I still felt like I could get sick just waiting for the phone to ring. Poor Cara had to deal with me and my nerves today. I love her for doing that so graciously!

We can finally post some pics. Here is our first glimpse on June 30th of our little boy:

We received a July update and received these two pics.



















Love those eyes!!!! And daddy is already drooling over the thought of Silas loving sports!

So...the next step is just to wait for travel confirmation. We already have plane tickets in hand for August 29th (had to book as they were filling up) so hopefully the paper work will get where it needs to go in time.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We are so excited and yet so nervous all at the same time. We KNOW this will bring huge changes to our family-some fun and easy and some that are more difficult and not so fun. But we also KNOW that God has hand picked this little boy for our family.

Courts are Closing

It's offical-the Ethiopian courts will be closed down from August 22-October 6. One huge praise is that the courts usually close the first part of August...so we were able to squeeze right in there. I have to admit there is a little fear in me because if we don't pass on Tuesday, we will probably get bumped to October to hear our little guy's case again. HOWEVER, we have so much to be thankful for. There are so many families adopting from Ethiopia right now that have had such huge struggles and hardships. We have been protected from so much. No matter what happens on Tuesday, GOD IS GOOD and is in control! His timing is perfect. I keep thinking that judge has so much control over our family right now...but have to remind myself that God is over the judge...this brings me peace...but every once in awhile the knot in the stomach comes back! Of course this is Sarita blogging as Tony is a cool as a cucumber. He is always faithful to balance me out! Another blessing in the Vernon home...

"I will help you be brave"

Sarita and I went to the doctors office last Friday to get 4 shots in preparation for our trip to Ethiopia: typhoid, hepatitis A & B, and tetanus. It was one of the greatest dates we have had in awhile. You should try it! Just kidding. We took the kids with us to the office and explained to them why we were going. We just wanted to make sure they didn't think they were getting any shots and it was only for mom and dad. Well, after this settled in, Cale and Mya decided they were going to step up and help us be brave while getting our shots. The whole ride there they kept saying, "Mom and dad, we will help you be brave!" Sarita and I just looked at each other with a chuckle and melted hearts and thanked them in advance.

So now we actually enter the room to get our shots and I go first. The nurse gave me 2 shots in each arm and with each shot Mya's face just grimaced in pain as if she were receiving the shots. That is about all the bravery I received from my kids. :) Then Sarita steps up to the plate and before the nurse could administer the first shot, Mya jumps off her chair and grabs my wife's hand. Mya looks at her with her big brown eyes and emphatically says, "Mommy, I am going to help you be brave!" I am sure it helped ease any pain Sarita may have felt.

Whew.....finally some blogging!

Whoooohooooo! Our blog is finally up and running. We have been meaning to get to this but haven't had a chance. You will probably see a lot of posts dated today since we want to catch you all up on some things going on. So you will probably think, "Wow, those Vernons need to get a life". We are just excited to fill you all in. :)

There are a lot of things going on in our lives right now, most notably our adoption of Ashenafi, and it has made us think about our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

For starters, the adoption process. This entire journey has been a roller coaster of emotions and effort but most of all an awakening in our trust and faith in God. This is one process you have absolutely no control over. All you can do is pray and pray and pray trusting the Lord is taking care of it. I wonder if this how God feels with us sometimes. The ups, the downs, the joys, and the sadness; the ebb and flow of emotions. One day He is excited the next He mourns. All He wants is for His child to be closer to Him, for His child to truly meet Him and discover the abundant love He gives. Maybe adoption was created so we have a better insight into our Creator's heart. Hmm....something to wonder about.

We have been teaching our kids catechisms and scriptures over the past couple of years, well Cale at least. So each time they memorize a certain number of catechisms or scriptures, they are given a reward for their hard work. Two weeks ago, they reached their goals so we gave them their rewards. You should have seen the look on their faces. As parents, we were so proud of their accomplishments and we're overjoyed by their excitement. I wonder if this how God feels with us sometimes. Does He get excited about our little accomplishments in life? Is He overjoyed when we do something to further His kingdom, no matter how small it is?

Isn't it cool to serve a God that is personal and relates to us in many different ways? Wow! I think God knew what He was talking about when He said He made us in His image.