Here Are Pictures Of End of Sept. into Oct.

We had a lot of fun with friends and family this fall. Here are some of the things that we did. We were able to have Sammy sealed to our family. That was a beautiful day! Livi had her Birthday Party, crazy girls. We went horse back riding with the Workman's and picked pumpkins. Later the next week we carved the pumpkins with the Workman's. We went to Gardner Village with a group of friends. We went bowling with Kelly's mom. We also went trick-or-treating. Sammy learned that one really fast!

Birth Certificate Rec'd

We received a copy of Sammy's birth certificate today. It's a relief to see Lisa and me as the parents; It's starting to feel a little more real. We'll need to adjust his birth date when we register his adoption with Utah. It shows he was born in December even though we saw his pictures in October and his medical information says he was born September 21st. I've heard before and this confirms that birthdays aren't so much of a big thing for them I guess. Now we're one step closer to bringing him home. We'll keep you all posted on our travel plans once we receive the embassy date. Thanks for your continued prayers and support.

Introducing Samuel Gutu King

Many friends/family have asked when we were going to post a picture of our little man. Ethiopian law forbids this until we have made it through the court process. However, now that he's officially part of our family, we feel it's a good time to introduce him to you.

We are so much in love with him. Our hearts yearn to hold him and kiss his plump cheeks and "lippers." Hopefully it won't be too much longer until we can bring him home. We expect to receive our embassy date soon.

Thanks for all your prayers and positive vibes. We hope that each of you will get to meet him soon. Until them, enjoy staring at his picture (we do it far too often!).

J.J.'s Fourth Birthday!

J.J.'s first friend birthday party! It turned out pretty good if I do say so myself!

We Passed!

Lisa got THE call this morning. It was just after 8 a.m. and she was busy getting the kids ready for school. Shawn called and said that she just wanted to let us know that we passed court and said congratulations. Lisa of course squealed and then called me. I was in the middle of a meeting and actually was going to take the call but was to quick on the reject button. So instead...a few seconds later I got a text that said, "We passed court." My heart started beating. I left the meeting and called Lisa from a friend's cube. It felt like a million pounds was lifted off my shoulders.

So many have asked, "What's next?" The court will issue a decree shortly and the agency will use that to get Samuel's birth certificate (listing us as parents) and then get his passport and take him to obtain an embassy approved physical. Once they have everything, we will be filed with the the U.S. Embassy and be issued an embassy date. We're hoping to get a date in April, but it will most likely be sometime in May. Keep your fingers crossed. We can't wait to bring him home.

Thanks for all your prayers on our behalf. We are beyond happy to be a family of five now.

Still not there yet....

We were scheduled to have our case heard today in Ethiopia but evidently the "clerk" that scheduled us several weeks ago forgot that today was a national holiday. So...we're told that our case will be heard later this week on Thursday/Friday. Keep those fingers crossed! Thanks.

Say a Little Prayer for our Adoption

As all of us go to bed tonight, the Ethiopian Courts will open and our case will be heard. So before you go to bed tonight, say a little prayer for Samuel Gutu and us. We need some good things to happen! Thanks for your support.

March 2nd Court Date

We finally heard some wonderful news from our agency on Wednesday that we have a court date -- MARCH 2nd! We are indeed getting closer to the finish line and bringing our little boy home. Please keep us and baby brother in your prayers that day.

Lucky!!!

A few days after Christmas we look out our back window and see a car being pulled away from our tree. If it had been even five feet to the left the car would have driven into our master bedroom. It was kind of scary!

Christmas 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas. We cut back this year saving for Sammy Gutu, but no one could tell. It was great and the kids loved what they got.