No, not yet.

Most all of our conversations here recently have begun with "Have you heard anything?". And, unfortunately, our answer is always "No, not yet.". It has been 5 weeks since the Ethiopian court approved Julie and I to be the parents of Jeremiah. (And boy have these 5 weeks been long!) However, we are still waiting for the US Embassy to issue him a Visa so we can bring him home. Home to a community that is anxiously awaiting his arrival...home to a house that has been prepared especially for him...home to a family that can't wait to care and provide for him.

All along, we didn't really think that we would have him home for Christmas. But, deep down we were praying that we would! The waiting is definitely more intense now that we have met him and know that we are literally days away from heading back to Africa to bring him home. There is an aching in our hearts that something is missing from our lives...and that something is Jeremiah. It has even been a little concerning here recently as we have received word that Jeremiah has been sick. Even though he is our son, we feel so helpless knowing that we can't comfort him and nurture him back to good health.

Understandably so, our life is about to get a spin...however, it is a spin that we are ready for and willing to endure. Hold tight Jeremiah! Mommy and Daddy will be there soon.

He is ours!

Much has happened since our last post! We have traveled to Ethiopia, met Jeremiah, appeared in court, and officially adopted our son. During the week of Thanksgiving, while most Americans were eating turkey, watching football, and shopping, we were making the long trek to Ethiopia and visiting the orphanage that has been Jeremiah's only home for his short life. On Friday, November 25th, we appeared in Ethiopian court to finalize the adoption...and much to our joy, the adoption was approved! This means that Jeremiah is legally our son. Unfortunately, there is still the process of receiving a passport and Visa from the U.S. Embassy, which takes a few weeks. So, we headed back to Indiana to wait in anticipation of the call allowing us to return to Ethiopia to pick Jeremiah up.

In just a few weeks, we will be able to bring Jeremiah home to his forever family! Now that we have met him, it makes the waiting much harder. However, meeting him has also confirmed how blessed we are to have been paired up with this marvelous little boy. He is perfect...with his huge eyes, long eye lashes, and cute smile. In just the short time that we were allowed to spend with him, we have already picked up on his adorable little traits - such as the way that he sticks his tongue out sideways. Our trip could not have been anymore enjoyable or smoother! For this, we thank you for the prayers. Prayers of safety, travel mercies, and for all of our paperwork to be in order and approved. Your prayers were felt throughout the entire trip and for that we are truly grateful. Please continue to pray for Jeremiah and his health, for the other children in the orphanage, for the other families that are in the process of adopting children, and for patience during our last few weeks waiting. God Bless!

One Week From Today!

It's hard to believe that after 24 months, we are finally going to meet the little person that has been in our prayers for so long. A little boy that we were praying for long before he was born. Prayers of protection, love, and comfort. In just 7 days, all of our waiting and anticipation will be over as we are introduced to Jeremiah for the first time. Although our meetings will be short lived and we will have to return home from this trip without Jeremiah, the reality of our dream is coming to fruition and he will be with his forever family very soon.

Currently, Jeremiah lives at Help For The Needy, an orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He has spent his entire 7 1/2 months of life in the care of the workers that dedicate their time to caring for orphaned children. The majority of his life has been spent inside the walls of the orphanage, unable to see (and too young to understand) what lies beyond those walls.

Then here we are...clear across the world. Blessed beyond imagination with more than we need. Able to see the world and experience all that this physical life has to offer. However, sometimes these blessings create blinders...preventing us from seeing inside the walls of the orphanage; unable to see and experience the physical life that abandoned and orphaned children are living.

As I think about our physical life and the many blessings and challenges that we all experience throughout our existence, I can't not think about the temporariness of our time on Earth. How one simple decision to allow Jesus into our heart can open up blessings beyond our imagination for an Eternal Life. One that will provide more than we need and one that will not allow sorrow and despair.

Soon and very soon...Jeremiah will get to see what lies outside of his current home. The increased opportunities, blessings, and challenges that he will encounter by leaving his surroundings are unknown at this time. However, one thing that we do know is that Jeremiah will be loved, protected, and most importantly he will be introduced to a Savior that will offer him a life that he never would have imagined.

Black Friday

Much to our suprise, we received a court date yesterday! This was about 2-3 weeks before we were expecting to hear this news. (Notice that I said we were expecting to hear. All along we have learned that we don't know much and are not in control.) So...now it looks like instead of going to Florida for Thanksgiving and eating turkey and dressing we will be traveling to Ethiopia to meet Jeremiah and eating injera and wot. Our actual court date is November 25th. We are so excited!!

In everything that we have completed for the adoption to date and all of the milestones that we have put behind us, this is the first time that it feels real. Not only do we know what Jeremiah looks like, we now have an actual date that we are going to be able to hold him in our arms. It doesn't get much more real than that! I'm not saying that all of the past experience hasn't meant anything, it's just that nothing can compare to seeing him in the flesh and counting all of his toes and fingers, kissing on his cheeks, and looking into his eyes and knowing that he will soon be with his forever family.

We now have about 7 weeks to make travel arrangements, complete more paperwork, and prepare for the long trip 20+ hour trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Please continue to pray for Jeremiah and that he is receiving loving care, pray for Jaden and Justin and a smooth transistion from a family of 4 to a family of 5, and for our preparations to meet our son for the first time. Black Friday will never have the same meaning in the Sutliff household!

Just the Opposite

Well, we continue to wait for October 10th...which is when the courts re-open so the judge can assign us a court date. We are getting pretty excited as we anticipate our court date, our first trip to Ethiopia, and most importantly meeting Jeremiah for the first time. We continue to get monthly updates on Jeremiah's progress. He just turned 6 months old on September 28th and weighs almost 13 lbs. Every update shows progress and his photos portray him as a very happy and healthy young man!

During conversations with people about the adoption, a constant comment from people is that Jeremiah is one lucky kid. They always mention the opportunities that he will now have, the fact that he will be a part of a loving God-centered household, and being part of a family that will embrace him. However, Julie was recently having a conversation with someone about Jeremiah and they stated how we are so lucky. Lucky that God is entrusting us with Jeremiah, and the many blessings that he is sure to bring to our family.

Throughout this entire process, I have never felt that we were not supposed to be adopting. From the point that a decision was made, it has become part of our life. Almost a normancy of sort...a calling of faithfulness and obedience. There have also been thoughts of changing the life of a child by bringing him into our home. It's the least that we can do! Right? Or is it? I believe that our mindset should not be to change Jeremiah's life...but to change our life. We should be learning that God is changing us through this process as He shows us how to live a more Christ-centered life. A life that involves listening to, following, and obeying God's word. This is just another step in God's plan for us and we should understand that there may be many more to come.

This looks great in writing, but application is difficult. Sometimes, we have to go into things with our eyes wide opened, our ears fully listening and our mouths closed...and just let God direct us. Personally, there are many times that I forget this and have patches over my eyes, cotton in my ears and all the while my tongue is just a flappin'. Just remember - this isn't about what you are doing for someone else, it's about what God is doing for you. Blessings are abundant and we don't ever want to loose sight of that!

Submitted to Court

As we continue to wait, we did receive word a few weeks ago that we have been 'submitted to court'. Basically, that means that all of the required paperwork has been gathered and sent to the Ethiopian court. Normally, the next step would be for the judge to assign a court date...however, since the courts are still closed, the judge is not there to assign a date. So, once the courts reopen on October 10th, and the judge gets caught up, a court date will be assigned. We are being told that it could take a few weeks for the judge to get to our case and assign a date. From there, court dates are usually scheduled 6-8 weeks out. It looks like we will probably have our court date before the end of the year, but won't be bringing Jeremiah home until after the first of the year.

Jeremiah will be 6 months old on September 28th! It is amazing how receiving our monthly updates and pictures can be so excited. As we anticipate our next update, and can't wait to see how much Jeremiah has changed...it makes me appreciate all of the long range relationships that people endure daily - such as parents in the military and grandparents that live several states away from their grandchild. It helps put into perspective that we are truly blessed and God is in control.

Levels of Emotion

One of the 'benefits' of international adoption taking so long, is that we have much more time to mentally prepare for the arrival of Jeremiah than the traditional 9 month pregnancy. As we go into our 22nd month of the process, our emotions have been all over place. Many of our emotions have included (in no particular order): hope, concern, frustration, love, suspense, peace, excitement, and anticipation.

We have hope in the program and pray that our decisions are God-centered.
We have concern over the hundreds of thousands of orphans that so desperately need saved.
We have concern about the care that the orphaned children are receiving.
We have experienced frustration in regard to the delays and red tape involved with international adoption.
We love a little boy that we haven't even met more than we could have ever imagined.
We love that Jeremiah has a beautiful smile and gorgeous eyes.
We love the fact that all of our family and friends are so supportive.
We are full of suspense as we await the moment that we first lay eyes on Jeremiah.
We are at peace with the decision that we have made to adopt and know that it is part of God's plan for our family.
We have a peace that Jeremiah is a healthy, happy baby.
We are so excited about the day that we bring Jeremiah to his forever home.
Not a day goes by that we don't anticipate holding Jeremiah and counting his toes and fingers.

As our emotions continue to flow, so do our prayers. Prayers for the remaining steps to go quickly, for Jeremiah's continued good health, for the caregivers that are taking care of Jeremiah, and for all of the children that are orphaned. If we could, we would help all of the children...but, we know we can't. We just keep telling ourselves, "One can't help everyone, but everyone can help one.".