Great news!

    Dearest Friends ands family,
       We are so happy to announce that we are the proud parents of a bouncing baby (well 3 1/2 year old) boy, Chala John (CJ?) Isaiah Steimer.  Julie and Jacob traveled to Ethiopia for an August 14th court date. It was such a great visit! Jacob loved meeting his newest brother and discovering Ethiopia (a little side trip to Frankfort was worked in on a layover too).  We are so thankful that after so much anticipation the Judge declared our adoption FINAL! Hallelujah!  We still have to wait on some more paperwork stuff between the court and the US Embassy...but he will come home.  The next question is always, "when?" and, as always, we don't have a firm date. We are hoping late October or November (okay so we are hoping early to mid-October but a more realistic time frame is a little later than that.

     We have learned a lot about waiting in the past 3+years, but somehow it still isn't easy to wait these last several weeks. Also, we are aware that the day we so anticipate is also the day that the "real" work begins. Bringing a child home from a hard place means that bonding is something that has to be worked at.  It is not immediate. More waiting, I guess. Julie is taking the year off work to focus on this new nuclear family and all of its new needs.  Prayer is needed now as much as ever. Our prayer is that Chala will bond with our family. That he will learn to accept our love for him, that we would have genuine love for him, and he for us. It seems like after all of this waiting that of course we would all be in love with each other. But this is not always the case in every adoption. So, please pray. We do love Chala. We will love him through the ups and downs of his adjustment, but may God bless him and us with a deep and genuine love. May he be grafted into our family and know the depth of our love. It reminds me of how we are grafted into God's family and call Him "Abba Father", yet the understanding of His love for us is a gradual process. We still struggle with believing that He truly loves us in our yucky times. Don't misunderstand me, we are SUPER, SUPER excited to get him home and start pouring into his little, precious heart. I can't wait to hear his giggles and hold that little boy in long snuggles. We also recognize that we need the power of the Holy Spirit to bind us as a true family. So to that end, keep praying.

    The following is a "form"letter of sorts to help those of you close to us understand what our lives may look like when Chala first arrives home. We would love to have as many of you who are able  join us at the airport when we first arrive. We would love to share this special moment with you who have devoted so much to making this happen for us and who have supported us through so many ups and downs in this journey.  And then we may disappear for awhile.  But we will resurface and want to have y'all come hang out with us. Julie will probably be super starved for adult conversation ;).
   
      Thank you again so very much for your love and prayers. We feel so blessed to have you in our lives!

Love, Mark and Julie et al

First hug (since 2011)

Dear friends and family,

We are so thankful for the outpouring of love and support through this long and arduous adoption journey. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that all the paperwork, fundraising and waiting will have been the easy part in comparison to actually parenting our little man! As international adoption is not a common occurrence we thought it would be helpful to give you some information on what the next several months will look like for our family.

If you can put yourself in Chala's shoes for a minute you can imagine how difficult this transition will be for him. He is going with strange people to a new place with different smells, unknown foods, an unrecognizable language and a whole host of stimuli that he has never experienced before. He will be dealing with the pain and uncertainly of being taken from his home and his caregivers for the fourth time in his short life. We will be doing everything we can to ease this transition. This includes "cocooning" for several weeks after he arrives home. This means you won’t see us at church. We won’t be having people over or going out. Time for phone calls and other communication may be limited (although we will read all emails even if we can’t respond right away!) Our other kids will still be going to school and we will provide them opportunities to play at friend’s houses but we will try to keep things very low-key at home. If you come by to drop off a meal or for another reason please leave the kiddos at home or in the car. I know personally that this can be an inconvenience for families but it is important for Chala and our family and we really appreciate it.

Mark and I will be the only ones who hold or feed Chala for the first several weeks. Children who have spent time in an institutional setting often learn that any adult might be able to meet their needs. With so many different people who have cared for him, Chala has no framework to connect to us as his mommy and daddy. Frankly, he doesn’t really even know what that kind of relationship looks like. By having Mark and I be the sole ‘need-meeters’ he will begin to see that we are different than the many other caretakers who have come and gone in his life. Please know that we mean no offense if ask you to refrain from holding or hugging him or giving him a snack. These limitations are an important step in helping him to bond to us.

It is our desire to "share" Chala with you and hope to provide pictures and updates on facebook and our blog as we have time. We appreciate your prayers and thoughts for our family as we make this very dramatic transition. We know that God has led us this far and trust that he will see us through any difficulties that lie ahead.

In Christ,

Julie and Mark

More Waiting

Let me begin this post be acknowledging how very blessed we are.  God is faithful.  When I look back at our journey throughout the life of our family I am amazed at how God has given us special gifts and wonderful surprises along the way. I am humbled and thankful to the God who lavishes good gifts on His children.  I am thankful for each child that He has blessed Mark and I with.  They are treasures!

So that is the framework from which I digress....but to which I will return at the end of this verbal wandering.   As you know, we have been waiting on our second little ET boy for over two years. There is no adequate way to express the yearning of a mother/father for their child to someone who is looking on with outside eyes only.  Those of you who have stepped into the journey with us (we would probably not emotionally survive without you!), you know.  You ask about how we are doing...and you KNOW the fine line we walk between solid faith in God's timing and the yearning to have our boy home with his family.

So this is my latest pondering.  Perhaps it will be helpful to those of you who find yourself at this place in your own adoption journey.  Or perhaps as you are waiting for something else in your life.   Here's the deal.  Our paperwork has been on various desks since about June.  We received our referral on Septmeber 15th.  A day of joy and a day that often marks the beginning of a path with fairly predicatable benchmarks.   However, this has not been our case.  As we have watched other families travel to ET to court and return home, then go back to ET to bring their child home.( Families that at some stages we were tracking with by the way), our papers continue to sit.  So what is our response to this? We have no choice to believe that God has that paperwork sitting for a reason we cannot know and cannot fathom.  No amount of praying (begging at times) can move the hand of God against His perfect will.  So do we rant? (sometimes) do we quit praying? (no).  We have to choose Him.  We have to believe that God is doing a work in and through our boy there that He is has not completed yet AND a work in and through us that He has not yet completed.  It is VERY hard.  It is hard to open up email and not have any word.  It is hard to not check email.  But when I think I can stand it no longer He always brings a sweet reminder that He is with us IN the journey.  Last night I was reading in Ephesians.  There was a side note that took me to Psalm 68.  Not verses 5 and 6 by the way, but years before I had underlined those verses.  So what do they say?  God is a Father to the fatherless...and He sets the lonely in families.  Comfort for this mama's heart to be reminded that He is with our sweet boy.  He loves him more than we can fathom.  And He is about the buisness of setting the lonely in families.  We do believe that this will be true for him too.

We are soooo grateful for all that God has already given us.  Our cups overflow.  "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places." (Ps 16).  We do not forget or make light of this at all even as we yearn for brother to come home.  Please join us in praying for his continued care and for our family as we wait.  May we find joy even in this part of the journey.  May we encourage those of you along the way.

BTWs..since you are praying anyway...the in country director was in a bad car accident many months ago and is still recovering.  Please pray that the Lord would heal her and restore her strength.  Also, pray for those who hold the future of international adoption in their hands that they would have hearts softened to the beauty and the need of setting these children in families.

Thank you for walking with us.  Blessing to you.

Love,
Mark and Julie
Julianna, Jacob, Elizabeth, Lydia, Samuel

Catching up and still waiting

So, first let me apologize for being to out of touch.  I sat down to write many times, but couldn't get back on - technologically challenged for sure!

Our family has undergone many changes this year.  Jacob and Julianna are now both away at their respective universities.  Elizabeth started high school and Lydia started middle school.  And, of course, learning life with a 2 year old.

                                        

It is an understatement to say that Sammy is very much adored by all his siblings and vica-versa.  We all feel unbelievably blessed.  He brings such joy to each and every day. 

As for our other Ethiopian son...we are still waiting.  We have been granted his official referral which we accepted (of course :) ) and sent the designated paperwork back across the ocean.  We are now waiting to hear that it has been submitted to court. A few weeks after submission we should be issued a court date.  We are hoping that the court date is such that Lydia and Jacob could travel with Julie to ET.  Of course we would love for everyone to go, but the reason for L and J is so that they have a chance to "meet" Ethiopia.  Julianna and Elizabeth were able to accompany Mark on a mission trip to Ethiopia 2 years ago.  Of course they would love to return, but Ethiopian Airlines isn't exactly giving away tickets :).

As for bringing him home...nothing is ever a set time, but probably 2-4 months after court.

This is one thing I have been learning over the past 2 years.  Waiting is hard!!!  It is a different "waiting" then when waiting for a baby to be born - a designated 9 monthish period; or for a wedding date - a Known date and person.  It is waiting with intense anticipation for an undetermined time for someone we have barely even met.  It means checking emails 10 times a day even when there isn't supposed to be any news.  It means wondering when we wake up in the morning, what time is it in Ethiopia and what might he be doing right now. It means learning to trust God that although I want our little one home NOW, God is doing His work in our son over there and in our family here WHILE we wait.  We are constantly called to a faith that says " I can trust you in this even if we have to wait months and months more".  But we also  realize that this  is just a precursor to the even greater faith it takes to raise him and all of our children.  We may have to WAIT for him to feel bonded to us.  We may have to WAIT for him (or any of our children) to fully embrace the LORD as their personal Savior.  It is a reminder to me as a parent that sometimes we have to have faith and we may have to WAIT months or years to see what God is up to in our children's lives.  But He is the author of all of their stories, and He is writing now even as we continue to WAIT.

How you can pray:
**The Lord would be preparing our little one's heart for our family and our hearts for him.
*That he would know God's loving embrace
*timely turn around on the paperwork over there
*God would provide the extra $$$ for J and L air fares
*the court date might fall the Tuesday of Thanksgiving break - then Jacob and Lydia could both travel with me ( this isn't necessary, but it would be sweet :) )

Sammy is HOME!

Wow!  I cannot believe that we have had Samuel home for 2 months already.  I know we are slow in getting this blog updated.  Samuel is pretty much a 24/7 baby when he is awake so computer time is limited.  But he is also 24/7 joy, joy, joy.  It is clear that God designed this boy to be a Steimer.  He loves to laugh and make us laugh.  He is very smart and agile – making it a challenge to stay one step ahead of him J.  We are all in love with this sweet boy.  His siblings adore him and visa-versa.  Our favorite time of the day is when they start coming home from school.

But let me back up a minute for those of you who don’t know.  We got word at 8:00am on the day after Thanksgiving that we were cleared to go get Samuel – I was on the plane the next day at 6:00 am.  Yes…fast!  I picked him up at the TC on Monday morning, November 28^th with the utter joy that we would never have to say a long “goodbye” again.  We had our Embassy appointment on Wednesday, November 30^th and I returned home to a very warm welcome on December 2^nd.  A very happy family was waiting for us along with a dozen other friends who helped make this homecoming extra special.

Thank you all for your many prayers, loving words, donations, and general support over the past months.  Adoption is not for the faint of heart.  I tell others who are beginning the process to make sure that they have a strong support system around them…that is what you have been to us. 

Please don’t put your prayer “shawls” away, though.  Next month the official paperwork will begin on our other little boy.  We have been matched with him since December 2010 and are very anxious to get him home!  Please pray for no extra delays along the way.  His case is different than most and things keep changing with the process…so there could be a lot of kinks.  But God has shown us over and again His hand in the process.  Pray that we keep our eyes focused on God and not the circumstances. He is faithful!

As for the “State of the Steimers”,  we are very happy.  I just look at Samuel and am truly amazed at this sweet gift from the Lord.  I see our older children loving on him and about bust. My heart is so full! 

Sammy is HOME!

Wow!  I cannot believe that we have had Samuel home for 2 months already.  I know we are slow in getting this blog updated.  Samuel is pretty much a 24/7 baby when he is awake so computer time is limited.  But he is also 24/7 joy, joy, joy.  It is clear that God designed this boy to be a Steimer.  He loves to laugh and make us laugh.  He is very smart and agile – making it a challenge to stay one step ahead of him J.  We are all in love with this sweet boy.  His siblings adore him and visa-versa.  Our favorite time of the day is when they start coming home from school.

But let me back up a minute for those of you who don’t know.  We got word at 8:00am on the day after Thanksgiving that we were cleared to go get Samuel – I was on the plane the next day at 6:00 am.  Yes…fast!  I picked him up at the TC on Monday morning, November 28^th with the utter joy that we would never have to say a long “goodbye” again.  We had our Embassy appointment on Wednesday, November 30^th and I returned home to a very warm welcome on December 2^nd.  A very happy family was waiting for us along with a dozen other friends who helped make this homecoming extra special.

Thank you all for your many prayers, loving words, donations, and general support over the past months.  Adoption is not for the faint of heart.  I tell others who are beginning the process to make sure that they have a strong support system around them…that is what you have been to us. 

Please don’t put your prayer “shawls” away, though.  Next month the official paperwork will begin on our other little boy.  We have been matched with him since December 2010 and are very anxious to get him home!  Please pray for no extra delays along the way.  His case is different than most and things keep changing with the process…so there could be a lot of kinks.  But God has shown us over and again His hand in the process.  Pray that we keep our eyes focused on God and not the circumstances. He is faithful!

As for the “State of the Steimers”,  we are very happy.  I just look at Samuel and am truly amazed at this sweet gift from the Lord.  I see our older children loving on him and about bust. My heart is so full! 

waiting with hope

Samuel is still waiting in the Thomas Center in Addis. We took him out of the orphanage he grew up in when were there for court in July.  He is being cared for well but we really want to bring him home. Our process with the Ethiopian government is complete - he has a passport with our last name on it. Our paperwork was turned into the American Embassy two weeks ago - we watch our email every day for word. The embassy interviewed the police officer who processed him when he was abandoned at one month old. Today they requested an additional copy of a form…. Meanwhile we wait …

Good news: we are still hopeful he could come home for Christmas.  But, honestly, we just don’t know.  His crib is put together and his bed is made but we cant bring ourselves to buy Christmas presents for hm.  

Financial good news most of our matching grant has been raised  - if you would like to make a tax deductible donation to help us finish up there are instruction in the “financial update” blog post.

Other good news:  You all and our agency representative have been great support!  Your prayers have sustained and encouraged us.  Our representative has provided “hand holding” at the more difficult turns in the journey.  We feel blessed to be with CHI/YWAM and blessed to have such a “great cloud of witnesses” around us.  Thank you!

Stay tuned for THE next update!!!

financial update

Good news we recently received...we have been approved for a matching grant up to $2,500.  This will truly bless us in this long process that will not be complete until the second little boy comes home.  We have 3 more trips across the ocean until we can have both boys home.  Our remaining expenses are mostly travel and some fees when we get to formally accept the second boy's referral.  We are approximately 8 thousand dollars short on our expenses. We are putting the word out since some of you have asked us about how to donate and God has provided a matching grant.

You can donate in our name and it will be matched in our account! (and since, you give Life Song freedom to use your funds as they think best, your donation is tax deductible.) You can send a check to the address below or you can use the link to donate online.

Please make sure you use our last name and our reference number in the memo of the check or when you donate online0 (preference Steimer/ #1698 adoption): Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40,  202 N. Ford St,  Gridley, IL  61744

for online donations use this link but remember to put Steimer/ #1698 adoption  in the preference line http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/donation.html