Carys comes home....

Friday August 19th @ 2:56pm:


One of the best moments ever.....our sweet Carys landing in Grand Rapids, MI and greeted by so many amazing friends and family! To see our three little ones waiting for us at the bottom of the ramp in their little Africa T's, homemade signs and arms wide open was enough to make this Mom burst. Somehow I held it in and marveled in the sweet reunion. She is adjusting better than I had expected and the little Diva seems to fit in strangely well with her siblings. More pictures to follow once I get them all organized(-: 

The beautiful faces that met us at the airport (we are missing a few that hid(-:)

The very first time she met her big brothers and sister

Aria could not wait to get her hands on her....she is such a GREAT big sister.

Sisters forever.

On our way to bring you home Carys Tsehay!

One week until we are together forever!

Got these in the mail today......these are your One Way tickets to the United States. Awe. So cute to see your name Tsehaynesh Lucas Nieuwenhuis on them. These will be quite the flights with you at only 10 months old.

 Please pray for all of us! For those of you welcoming her home at the airport, our flight lands at 2:56pm on Friday the 19th and I will keep this blog updated if anything changes.

Getting your room ready......

These past few months we have made quite a few adjustments over here. Each child has made a change so that we can accommodate baby Carys. And they have done it with gracious hearts! Aria has lovingly given up her room for a year to give to Carys.  Kai has kindly offered up a bunk in his room for Aria and Mommy managed to cram all of their clothes into his nice big walk in closet. Little Becket has sweetly and eagerly given up his crib for Carys. He is now in his own "Big Boy Bed" and loving it. We made the moves with the kids a few months ago and they have adjusted so well. We have slowly been chipping away at turning Aria's palace into a nursery and besides a few more pictures and a mirror to hang, we're all set! Clothes are hung in the closet and onsies are folded in the drawer. We're all ready for your arrival baby Carys! Just two more weeks and you'll be in your forever home(-:

Kai & Aria's Room-look who else thinks he owns the top bunk(-:

Trust me, this organization won't last, but I'm at least going to try!

Beckets "Big Boy Bed"-he loves it!

Carys' new nursery (look familiar?)

Had to add some African flair- I really do have an addiction to Etsy!

Seriously, how cute is this decal of Africa? The little heart is over Ethiopia so every time she is changed she can look up and be reminded.

Hhhmmm....will you sleep in this crib or not? A Mom can dream, right?

Even if we make it all soft and cozy??

Ready for Big brothers and sister to snuggle up and read you lots of stories

The sign says its all......cant wait for you to be here Princess C!!!

We're coming to get you Carys Tsehay!!!!!

Dear Miss Carys,
Early this morning (1:47am) we received the email from the embassy that our case has been cleared and we are free to go back to Ethiopia and bring YOU HOME!! I can't believe this day is here. You were 5 1/2 months old when we first met your sweet face through a photo. You are now 10 months old! Too long, however, we are beside ourselves with joy. Your absence has definitely made our hearts grow and we long to be with you. Can't wait for you to meet your sister and brothers! They have been talking about that day for a year and a half now. Aaahhhh, it's almost here! We're coming Carys, we're coming!
Love, Mommy & Daddy

***side note***We have yet to book our tickets- have been playing around with some on hold the past few days, but now just trying to find a 9 day stretch for Luke to leave his job is the challenge. We'll keep you updated! Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

Just what my heart needed!

Tonight we got the BEST surprise in our inbox. Our hearts are longing to bring you home Carys. I think about you all the time. I wonder if you are happy, sad, or if you even remember your Mommy & Daddy's faces. A traveling Mom just recently got home after meeting her adorable little boy. He is at Carys' orphanage and I got the opportunity to hold and play with him when we were there. She was able to reciprocate for us and love on Carys just recently. Oh how thankful I am for these traveling families. I just LOVE seeing new pictures of her and hearing about her spunky little personality from others.  Carys and her BFF Eden are often seen playing together in one of their cribs. We had the privilege of traveling with Eden's Mommy & Daddy and we are just thrilled that both girls are coming home to West Michigan together. How AMAZING is that!? Anyways, here was the photo we were sent tonight. I was SO excited to see her HUGE smile and bright eyes. Oh how we miss her more and more everyday.

Praying for good news in our inbox in the morning. We were told we would know whether or not we were cleared by the U.S. Embassy on Monday morning.....although, we have been told that day after day so I'm not holding my breath. I have faith that God is going to bring this little one home real soon though!

PS. The little white onesie she is wearing over the long sleeve shirt was Aria's(-: I had brought along all of Aria's clothes that I thought may fit her while we were apart. They even get put on the boys(-:

Pray, pray, pray.....

Well today we received some good news and some bad news. The good news is that our court documents were corrected already and will be taken to the embassy tomorrow. They will either "clear" us on the spot, and if not, we should have our travel dates sometime this week. I'm not getting my hopes up though.

The bad news.....Ethiopian government shut down 15 orphanages today. One of them was Enat Alem in Awassa, where Carys is from.  Once these kids are cleared for referral, they are sent to the capital city, Addis Ababa where they stay in the Enat Alem transit home until their new parents come to bring them home.  Unfortunately, the government came to the orphanage in Addis today (where Carys is currently at) and TOOK all the kids that were originally from EA in Awassa who's adoptive families did not yet have a court date. We are praising God that Carys is still there, but fear for the future and grieve for those dear friends that may have lost their referrals. Please lift them and their sweet little ones up in prayer. We are praying that God moves mountains and answers the prayers of His people. We boldly come forth and pray that He keeps these little ones safe, comforts them and brings them to their forever families soon. We also pray for Carys right now-please Lord, let her come home SOON.