Kiera's Prayer

Dear Jesus
Thank you for making us be adopted, because we were in mommy and daddy's heart for ever and ever when we were little. And thank you for the whole world and for giving us the whole world. And thank you for goofy.
In your name,
Amen

Forever Family

Hi all!

With all the business of being a new family of 4 with 2 toddlers, I finally have a chance to blog about our 1st month as a forever family. We are feeling more and more like a true family, with all the fighting of siblings, tough time getting everyone out of the house, and overall craziness ... I love it!

Kiera loves being a big sister (most of the time).
She gives him hugs and kisses and is always in his face trying to get him to play like she does.
She tackles, tickles, kisses, dances and tries to carry him everywhere.

Silas loves his sister (even when she tackles him).
I am sure it won't be long before he tackles back.
He loves hugs and kisses too and copies everything his sister does.
He has grown 1 inch in the month we have been home and we are seeing his personality more and more.

We are still working on getting Silas healthy. Our newest endeavor on this front it TB. He had a positive TB test and questionable chest x-ray last week. They re-tested the x-ray and determined that he does not have active TB, but are diagnosing him with latent TB (not contagious). We are waiting to hear from the health department about the medication that he will be on for the next 9 months. We are praying that we will be through all of this by Christmas this year :)

Even with everything, Silas is such a strong and healthy boy. We love him and Kiera so much and are very blessed to be their parents. And we look forward to celebrating Silas Baptism on March 10th and welcoming Silas into Christ's family.

Blessings,
Mandy

The First 2 Weeks ...

We have been home for two weeks, so I thought I would take some time to recap.


We left Ethiopia on 1/20/13. We had the same flights as Matt and Becca, who adopted twins at the same time. It was great to have another family to experience this with (but I am sure the other passengers on the plane that wish these three 1 year olds were not all together :)

After a 2 long flights, where Silas hardly slept, we were pucked on and pooped on, and totally exhausted, we landed in Minneapolis and got through customs fairly quickly. Silas fell asleep in the line of course so he didn't sleep on the last flight home to Wausau either.

We arrived in Wausau after the short 45 minute flight at 3:17pm ... you can see from the picture it was -5 degrees outside (quite a shock for us coming from 70 degree weather - and Joel only had a t-shirt left due to Silas on the plane).

 Many people were waiting at the airport to welcome us home. It was wonderful to see many of our friends that have prayed with us through this journey and especially this trip home.

I think Kiera was getting impatient ...

And then she saw us ...
We have her on video saying "I see daddy's glasses ... I see daddy's red shirt ... I see daddy's ears ... Hi Silas!"
I guess I knew that Daddy and baby brother would be most exciting for the daddy's girl :)

This was the moment Joel was waiting for. They even practiced this hug before we left on the plane. Kiera couldn't quite wait until we passed the "do not go beyond this point" sign.

Our Family!

Brother and Sister love at first sight! 

Kiera was so excited. She kept giving Silas kisses and then jumping up and down giggling. 

I did get my kiss too! I missed my big girl. And wow does she seem big now. She was so brave and mature with all this. I am so proud of her. 

Silas taking it all in. He was all over the airport and saying hi and smiling at everyone there. 

He had a great hug for Great Grandma!

And smiles with Grandma and Grandpa!

I love my Family!
Thank you to our friend Lisa with Bluesixteen Photography for waiting for us at the airport to take these beautiful pictures.

Silas got to meet his Oma and Opa the next weekend. And he enjoyed Max (the dog) a lot too!

The next day after coming home, Kiera and Silas enjoyed celebration cupcakes that Kiera picked out with Grandma ... Silas didn't want to give it up.

And Silas had some Christmas presents to open. We had fun playing together as a family of four. Kiera has been such a great big sister, sharing her toys and trying to teach Silas how to play with things the "right way."

It even snowed! And Silas loved watching Daddy use the snow blower. He also giggles every time he sees it snowing. They had fun sledding and playing in the snow on the warmer days.

So far we have had a lot of fun. Mommy is home for another 9 weeks, so we enjoyed finger painting, bubbles, building walls (or knocking them down), and getting into a little of everything.

Not everything is roses though. 

As we assumed, Silas has some health issues. He had a bad cold/cough while we were in Ethiopia and in the first week home. Thankfully that has been getting much better. 

We took him to Children's hospital in Milwaukee to the International Adoption Clinic for a arrival visit check up. They ran many tests and found that he has a double ear infection (no wonder the plane ride was so hard), Hepatitis A, Salmonella, and Giardia. The last 3 all affect his digestion. He is on medication for the ear infection and Giardia, but the others should pass out of his system in time. 

Right now he is a sick little guy, but still very happy. We aren't sure if he knows what it feels like to be free of these illnesses. He is going to be a handful once we get him well. 

Thank you for all your prayers and for following along on this journey. I will try to continue to update about our family on a regular basis, so please keep checking.

Blessings,
The Brandts,
Joel, Mandy, Kiera and Silas

USA ... Here We Come!

So, another night of not being able to sleep... my poor baby is not feeling well and after cleaning up puke and diarhea, I just need a little relax time before I can sleep. 

Today we will pack up to leave Ethiopia. We received all Silas' documents to get him through customs in Minneapolis, where he will become a US citizen as soon as his visa is stamped. 

Documents and passport ready to go

It will be great to get him home where we can take him to the doctor and get him on a schedule. 

I'm ready for Wisconsin

And I cannot wait to see you daughter. She has been so brave staying with Grandma and Grandpa. I guess she has been reminding them to pick us up at the airport every day. 

Saying goodbye at the airport

Kiera's story about us flying to get Silas

This is us coming through the security doors at the aiport (we told Kiera to look for us there when she picks us up). 

In Kiera's story this is me giving he a hug when we come home. 

Kiera made a rice crispy treat snowman with grandma and grandpa... looks like they are having fun :) 

Soon we will be together as our family of 4. Praise God for his gifts in the adoption of these two precious little ones. We are truly blessed!

Joel, Mandy, Kiera and Silas

Update from Ethiopia

We made it!

We have Silas!

We passed embassy on 1/17/13 and received Silas' passport, visa and papers today.

We fly home on Sunday, 1/20/13

Silas is amazing and we are having a great time. We miss our little girl terribly, but I hear that Kiera is having a great time from Grandma. 

Silas has bad chest congestion and has had trouble sleeping, but we think it is getting better. Thank you for all your prayers and we will update more once we are home. 

Packed and Ready ... I Think!?

We are ready, I think...

I keep throwing extra things I think of into the carry-on and suitcases, but for the most part we are all packed. 

Kiera's stuff is ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa's. Joel and my bags are packed. Silas' wardrobe is stuffed into a suitcase, along with enough toys (we hope) to entertain him and us in the guest house for 5 days. And we have a pack 'n play that was generously donated by a member of our church to use for Silas in the guest house (and leave there for other families). 

So, I think we are ready. 

The baby gate went back up today, along with the highchair and changing table. It is starting to feel real. 

I can almost see my little guy running around after his sister and getting into everything. 

I am so excited!

We leave for the airport tomorrow (Monday) at 11 am (we fly out at 2:00) and travel for about 24 hours before we arrive in Ethiopia at 9:30 pm their time on Tuesday. 

Then on Wednesday we get to officially take custody of Silas and keep him with us forever. 

On Thursday we have our interview with the US embassy and then we wait for papers before flying home on Sunday (arriving Monday afternoon)

Please keep our travels and our stay in your prayers! I will try to update the blog when we have time and Internet. 

Blessings!

Joel & Mandy

"It's Time"

So, last night, January 10, 2013, at 11:27pm my water broke I began to cry. 

I checked my email one last time before going to sleep and immediately elbowed Joel to wake him up... "its time" ... 

We received the email we were waiting for from the us embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

CLEARED CASE

This office is ready to schedule an interview for the I-600 petition filed on behalf of the below applicants.

1.      Case Number   ADD2012650024

Family Name, Child Name   Brandt, Abay Joel

And then reality hit with the next email at 12:59am this morning ...

Good morning

Please be informed that the interview is confirmed on Jan.17,2013 at 01:00pm.

Regards,

Adoption unit

Now it is the mad dash to pack up all the stuff we will need, rush to the hospital airport, and wait.

In 72 hours we will be on a plane ... Then after 23.5 hours of labor travel, we will be in Ethiopia. Ready to hold our son in our arms.

We will have to spend a few days in the hospital guest house before the doctor embassy checks us over one more time and gives us our release papers Silas' US entry visa, so we can come home.

----------------------------------------------------------

Thank you all for your prayers for our family as we move along this journey of adoption for the 2nd time to be united to our son. We have been blessed by so many people and will be forever grateful. And I ask for you to continue your prayers for us as we go back to Ethiopia and this time bring home our son and become a family of four. 

• Especially Silas and Kiera with all the changes that are about to happen for both of them.
• Pray that Joel and I are strong enough to guide them through it.
• Pray that God will guide us as we parent.
• Pray for protection and health as we travel.
• Pray for the language barrier.  (Unlike our first adoption, Silas is old enough to understand much of the Ethiopian language and he knows no English). 
• Pray that our family will be able to bond together.

Pray that God would cover this whole thing with his blessing

God Bless you all!

Joel & Mandy

P.S. Stay tuned for updates from Ethiopia (when we can get internet)

Praising God ... and Waiting

Today was Silas' finder interview at the embassy. We heard that it went well, but need to wait to be approved and cleared to travel by the US embassy. Then we can hop on a plane and go get our son.

So, how do we wait...

That is the question of the hour/day/week...

We are waiting and trusting in God.
It is not easy. Even though it is now nightime in Ethiopia and the embassy is closed for the day, every time I hear my email notification sound on my phone my heart starts to race and I have to check, hoping we can book our flights. We hope to leave this weekend or next week, but we know it has been taking longer for the embassy to clear cases and this may not be the case.

So, again we wait. I am learning through this whole adoption process, as I did with Kiera's adoption, that God's timing is perfect. Silas' is God's child and He loves him even more than we do. We can trust that our Lord is with him and will move things along in His perfect timing.

Today I came across a verse that calmed me (for now):

Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day! (Habakkuk 2:3 TLB).

Our bringing Silas home will not be overdue a single day. 
This is what I am leaning on right now.

And I am taking a cue from a friend of mine who is also waiting to be approved to get her twins ... to decide to "praise God in the wait" and list the things I am grateful for in this wait:

1. We get to spend some special time with Kiera. 
2. I can get over my cold before we travel for 30 hours. 
3. My faith can grow as I daily seek for comfort and reassurance from Christ, my Savior. 
4. We can sleep through the night a few more nights. 
5. I can play in the praise band and go to small group Bible study again this week. 

Prayerfully these will help me Praise God in the Wait this week. 

Blessings,

Mandy

Praise God!

Happy New Year Everyone!

We have a lot to be thankful for this year ... and a lot of things to celebrate in the New Year!

Silas is almost home!

Prior to issuing a visa for an adopted child to be brought home, the US embassy does an investigation of the parents and the child (looking into Silas' history and making sure he is a true orphan). We were approved within 1 day, but are waiting for Silas' orphan status verification. As soon as they tell us this is complete, we have to be there within 2 weeks to bring him home. We are praying this happens quickly.

So, it is very good timing ... God's timing .... that WE HAVE COMPLETED OUR PUZZLE!

We set out to make $5000 to assist with our travel expenses in bringing Silas home.
Basically, this would cover our flights for both trips.

But God had more in mind.

God knew how much we need for this adoption and he met that need through all of your donations and prayers.

This week as we are preparing our house and ourselves for Silas to come home and adding up all the expenses of our trip, we received 3 very generous donations in the name of Jesus ... not only completing our puzzle just in time, but going beyond ...

Are you ready???

You all helped us raise $11,800
(more than double our goal)

We cannot begin to express the joy and awe we have in your generosity!
Thank you all!

There are over 50 families named on this puzzle. Some family, some friends and some anonymous.

We are thankful for all of you.
We are now ready to go whenever His time comes.

God's peace and joy be with you all in 2013!
Joel, Mandy, Kiera & Silas

Merry Christmas! ... Miss you Silas

I love Christmas!

And this year has been especially wonderful with Kiera ... she gets it now
She has fun at the parties, playing with cousins and opening gifts. And she loves looking that the Christmas lights and singing carols, especially Away in a Manger.

It is fun to experience Christmas through the eyes of my precious girl.

Stitched Memories Christmas

Shop our unique collection of photo Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

And then I think of Silas ... we are so close to having you home. But I wish we didn't have to miss you this Christmas.

We have gifts for you under our tree.
 I want to see your face as you open your first gifts (and as your sister tells shows you how to use them)

I want to kiss you good morning on Christmas morning.
I want to see you follow your sister around to the stockings and presents under the tree.

I want to tell you about Jesus birth, this amazing gift from our God.

I want you HOME!

... soon my sweet son ... we will be together soon. And then you will never want for kiss, hugs and love.

Until then, you are in the hands of our wonderful Father God! Feel his love and peace this Christmas!

Merry Christmas!
Joel, Mandy, Kiera and Silas