Practicing for our 1 year photo shoot!

It is hard enough to get one baby to sit still for a photo much less two. Since we plan to have some professional photos taken at one year I thought a little practice at posing together wouldn't hurt. Here are a few of the better photos!

- and one of Stella living up to the caption "Silly" on her outfit. One of the things that amazes us most is they have figured out how to entertain us by being silly!

Per your request

Pictures and more pictures! - aren't they so cute!

Three months together

It is amazing how after only three months together we can't imagine life without our beautiful daughters. Alot of work - sure. Worth every second of it - you bet. Stella and Eva are doing fabulous. They amaze us with new tricks and developments almost daily. They have captured the hearts of about three generations of family members and are thriving. The doctors told us they couldn't be more pleased with their progress. We had our first post placement visit from the social worker yesterday and she too was very well pleased. God is showering us with many blessings and these two precious ones are by far the biggest! Here are a few new photos - enjoy! Thanks for checking in. Brenda

Stella

Stella's surgery was a huge success. She is such a champ and did just beautifully before, during and after the surgery. She won the hearts of all the hospital staff. I mean she was the smartest, cutest, most personable babe on the floor! We only had to spend 3 nights and other than being a touch spoiled she is good as gold.

Both girls are making incredible strides in their development. It amazes us each day to watch them advance. To think that just 4 weeks ago we were holding them laying in our arms like little babies. Now they are up and busy. We are so in love. Thanks for checking in and for the prayers during the surgery. God was good and answered them all!

blessings,
Brenda

Bathing Beauties

Home 3 weeks

The past three weeks have been very busy, light on sleep and the absolute best three weeks of our entire lives. Having Stella and Eva a part of our family has been incredible. Each morning we look at each other in disbelief as to how much they have grown since the previous day, marvel at the strength they are gaining and pinch ourselves to make sure we aren't dreaming. God's blessing as usual has greatly exceeded our expectations. As of this past Thursday Eva weighed 13 pounds 10 ounces and Stella 13 pounds 6 ounces. Up 3.5 pounds for Eva and 3 pounds for Stella in 3.5 weeks. They are very happy, very vocal, very playful babies.

Next Tuesday Stella and Mommie will check into Vanderbilt Children's Hospital for surgery on Wednesday. While it is only a 2 hour surgery they want her there before and after due to her age and size. We feel that we are in very capable hands and know that God has already worked so many miracles in this precious baby's life that he totally has her in is hands. Your prayers are greatly appreciated. For Mommie and Daddy as well as Stella:) Well my time is pretty limited these days so I will post some photos and log off. We'll try to update when we return home from the hospital.

Many blessings,

Vince and Brenda

more photos!

We're Home!!

Hey family and friends thanks so much for checking in. I am so sorry it has been so long since we last posted. Unfortunately while in Ethiopia we were unable to access the blog spot site. Several families had the same issue and one of the Dads suggested that Ethiopia may have the sites blocked. Regardless we were sorry we weren't able to keep everyone up to date as the events unfolded.... but we were so busy I am not sure how much we would have been able to write anyway.

Other than being long our flights were uneventful in both directions. We first met our daughters within hours of arriving in Ethiopia. We were very tired and the meeting was quite surreal - that was Saturday. Early Sunday morning we traveled to Hosanna to meet their birth mother. This was an incredible experience and gave us both so much more peace about the journey we were about to embark on as adopted parents. She was such a sweet young lady and so thankful of the opportunities we were going to be able to afford her daughters. She was most thankful for the fact that her girls would grow up in a Christian home and that Jesus would be the center of their lives. She cried and thanked us over and over for that. As soon as we arrived back in Addis we went straight back to the care center to get to know our little ones a bit better. It didn't take long they really attached to us almost immediately. The love and one on one attention they were craving was there and ready for them. On Monday we had our first outing together - to the Embassy. We raised our hands and swore all the info we had provided was true, signed on the dotted line and they congratulated us and told us we were parents. Tuesday we brought the girls back to the guest house for a half a day. We were able to bottle feed at this time. Since Eva had started to loose weight we were all so thankful when we discovered that Soy would be her friend. After a few failed attempts with milk based formula she latched onto the soy formula and has had 6 ounces every three hours since! We took them into our care for good on Wednesday. Since that time we have become sleep deprived but have fallen more in love than we ever imagined possible. Vince keeps saying to me - "you didn't tell me about how much we were going to love them!"

Praise God for grandma's and aunts. Aunt Vic went to Ethiopia with us and without her help I am not sure we would have made it through Ethiopia or home! We have also had a lot of help this first week home. Please pray for us in the weeks to come as we begin life without extra caregivers:) I will post some photos here and will try to fill in some more details in the days ahead. Thanks again to all of you and your love and support.

blessings - and Happy Mother's Day!

Brenda

My how they have grown

We received this photo yesterday!!! It is so awesome to see how the girls have grown and changed. We cannot wait to have them in our arms to share with them the love that has grown in our hearts over the last 2 & 1/2 months. We leave for the airport in about 30 hours. Please continue to pray for the girls and the trip. We will try to blog through out if the Internet is working.

this is the day the Lord has made - let us rejoice and be glad in it!

It's Official

Thanks so much for all your prayers!!!!!!!! We got a call today and our case has made it through the courts in Ethiopia. We will be traveling April 27th to bring our sweet babies home. Since they are legally ours now we can post their picture. This picture was taken at 4.5 months. We will try to post from Ethiopia............ stay tuned!

7 months and growing

Today Stella and Eva turn 7 months old. The wait to travel to get them seems like an eternity. But we did receive good news that they are indeed growing. As of April 1 Eva is up to 11 pounds and Stella is 8.8!! We are still praying that we get through the courts quickly. We have seen some cases get through in 4 weeks and a rare case or two take 4 months. Most cases are more at 6 - 8 weeks. As we round week 5 we are being optimistic and tentatively planning to travel in May. Please continue to pray for growth and health for the girls. The report we received said that Eva puts everything in her mouth and pushes away items she isn't interested in and that Stella is playful. It is amazing how we are clinging to those little facts as if they were a life line. Thanks to all of you who have supported us through this long journey. We so look forward to it coming to fruition. May God bless you!

6 Months Old today

Today Stella and Eva turn 6 months old. While I am sure this will go completely unnoticed at the care center we are celebrating here. We are still a bit in shock. So in love with these babies yet pinching ourselves to make sure it is a reality. Thanks to all our friends and family for your encouragement and support. Please continue to pray for Stella and Eva. Below are some special request we have.

That they will continue to gain weight while in the care center
That they will be protected from any contagious illnesses that may be in the care center
That we will find the best pediatric group in Nashville for their specific needs
That the fastest Ethiopian judge will be the one to select their file for review and that all will be found in order
That Brenda will be granted permission to travel early to care for them
God's peace for us during the wait that we can enjoy the treasure of God's gift
God's peace for their birth mother during this time of grief in her life


We have learned many times that you cannot out give God. We thank him every day for those of you who have generously given of your time and resources to make this adoption possible. May God bless you in ways you never dreamed of or imagined like he has us through each of you. We hope to have more information to post soon.

Our Referral

Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news

This is definitely a mountain top experience for us and the beautiful ladies at CHSFS who have help us so much in this process have beautiful feet today!!

Eva Mae Yeabsera Emmett and Stella Ruth Yeamlaksera Emmett were born September 13, 2006 in Butahira, Ethiopia. At 4 1/2 months old they weighed in at 10 & 6.5 pounds. They have the most beautiful big black eyes you have ever seen. Ethiopian law prohibits us from posting their picture at this time but as soon as they are legally ours (in about 6 weeks) we will post it here for all to see.

Please pray that they will gain weight and maintain good health while in the care center in Addis Ababa. We have been ensured by those who have traveled before us that the care they receive there is wonderful and that the caregivers truly love each and every baby.

Thanks so much for all who have encouraged us and supported us through this long journey. We are already so madly in love with these little ones.

Stay tuned for updates

May the Lord bless you and keep you may He make His face to shine up on you and be gracious to you may the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24 - 26

Back in time

In 1998 we had the privilege of traveling to Ethiopia on a short term mission trip with Southeast Christian Church. It was on that trip that we fell in love with the people of Ethiopia. Their beautiful smiles, warm hearts and joy are burned into our memories. It is all the more amazing when you have seen first hand the magnitude of poverty in which they live. We can't wait for the phone to ring with the great news that we can go back to bring our daughters home.

Welcome

Welcome everyone!! Vince and I will be using this blog as a way to share our adoption journey with our family and friends. Join us as God leads us back to Ethiopia, the home of the Queen of Sheeba, a country rich in culture, history and poverty to find the family He has already placed in our hearts.

For more photographs of Ethiopia click below. (note: the first 9 pictures he lists are Ethiopia - oh so beautiful)

http://www.addisbandb.com/JonathanGoeringPhotographyHomePage.htm