1 Year Cancer Free!

One Year!!! It feels like a very big milestone for us that Ella has reached her one year FREE from cancer, chemo and her pesky port.  Praise God!  I love being past the one year mark for many reasons but among them are that we know recurrence is most likely to happen around 10 months, and it didn't.  We also know that recurrence which happens after one year has a better overall prognosis.
We had her appointment at children's 2 weeks ago (yes, behind in my blogging as usual)
 Ella's wonderful nurse practitioner, stated "everything looks great" as she walks through the door to begin our appointment, I love that she never makes us hold our breath for a moment longer than we need to as we anticipate with uncertainty the results.  Ella had had a week of complaining of stomach pain since her last scans.  That week was also accompanied by a fever.  The fever was probably due to her cold/cough and the stomach pain to constipation but it wrenches our guts, the deja vu of those complaints and my rationalizing them.   I spend a lot of time praying "Lord if this is something we need to know about make it clear to us, if it is nothing make it go away completely!" Meanwhile charting her every trip to the bathroom and giving her a laxative. Her complaints and fever went away completely.
Look at this girl, hard to believe she ever had cancer.

an outfit we found in a Souk in Dubai, in the second photo check out Bini, our little mimic wants to show off his belly too. 

Where our hope lies

We did not pass court again this week.  It was expected but still difficult.  When we returned from Ethiopia we were met with depressing news, rumors and speculations related to cut backs in the Ethiopian adoption system, happening right at the point where we are, with the piece of paper we are missing.  We are dealing with the reality that it could take much longer than expected to get our daughter home.

So in this week as Greg sought knowledge by scurrying the internet and I sought comfort by looking at the world beyond (Japan) to clarify my perspective that our daughter remaining longer in an orphanage is not that bad.  I needed to stop and ask myself  "where does our hope lie?"

Where does our hope lie?  Is it in the court system, or our adoption agency? In gaining more knowledge or in forming a clear perspective? No, our hope lies in God.  If everything with this adoption, with our lives, with the world WAS worse case scenario could I still have hope? And what is it that I would hope in?  We believe that God is sovereign over EVERYTHING.  We believe that the reason we exist is to bring God glory, and that is what we want more than anything.  So our hope lies in that God, by his sovereign grace, will used even the worse imaginable scenario for good, for his glory and for a better outcome in the long run than we could ever imagine or may ever see.  Our hope is also in this, that no matter what we go through in this world, this world is only temporary, and we will dwell with Christ in paradise for all eternity.

"So the lesson of Joseph-and the whole Bible-stands: When delays and detours and frustrations and opposition ruin our plans and bode ill for us, faith in future grace lays hold on the sovereign purpose of God to bring something magnificent to pass. That is the key to patience." Battling Unbelief by John Piper

Living in two time zones

My mind is in Addis Ababa tonight, In about an hour the courts will open there and our agency will represent us in our second attempt to pass court.  We're told our chances of passing are slim, but I hold out hope and pray that all missing components will come together for a positive outcome.  As my mind is in Addis, I figured I'd post a few pictures from our trip.  I can't yet post pictures of our daughter, but here are some of life around the city.

The city has made great improvements since our last visit in 2009, the roads are wider so it seems that there is less fume filled traffic, the medians are being beautified, police officers were often directing traffic through busy intersections (where before it seemed like chaos) Many new buildings are being built  and many people were busy at work on these projects.

The "scaffolding" remains the same- sticks

ahh, "Buna," an Amharic word for coffee that is often used in our household, even by Ella and Bini. The Ethiopians are credited with discovering this heavenly beverage.

Can you find the donkey under all this hay? hint- his head is to the right

more donkeys walking on the road

a shopping area

Ready for a coffee ceremony- first the beans are roasted (in pan to left) then ground and heated with water in the clay  pot above. 

Bummer

We did not pass court yesterday, calling it a bummer is a major understatement. There are many pieces that need to be gathered for court and circumstances beyond the control of our agency led to those pieces not coming together.  They will try again in two weeks. We will not need to travel for that court date.  It is very difficult leaving M and not having a good guess on when we'll be able to return for her.

Meeting M

Hello,
Greetings from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.   We arrived yesterday afternoon and after having at the guest house we were able to go to the orphanage and meet M. When we arrived she was sitting outside with two other boys receiving their english lesson from a tutor. She came down off the patio and took my hand and smiled up at us, such a beautiful smile! We spent the afternoon playing with her and then 20 or so other children at the orphanange.  Today we were able to return and spend almost all day playing with the children.
I have so much to say and yet this computer is acting up and it's taking me forever to type this little bit. But the big point is M is wonderful she smiles and laughs easily and we feel so blessed that she will be our daughter.  And a note for those who looked at her referral photo with me and guessed about her hair, she has big curls  (like Judson's) not tight curls like Bini's, this makes my learning hair care much easier!

Hanging in the UAE, Dubai

I must start by saying that Greg has not been exaggerating when he speaks of the comforts of flying Emirates airline. It was a mini vacation in the sky! For 15 hrs. I played video games and watched movies on the seat back in front of me ( I'm recommending everyone watch Africa United) I slept, read (Cutting Stone) and when the pilot came on to announce we were landing my first thought was "not yet!"
We did land in Dubai, where Greg and I had decided to stay 2 nights on an extended layover.
Today we explored the city.  I am just amazed at how clean Dubai is, and at how empty it feels.
We began our day exploring the Souks in the old part of the city.  There are little shops lining the streets and men outside trying to entice you in.  We explored the gold souk, the textile souk, the perfume souk, and the spice souk.  The spice souk was by far my favorite.  Baskets lined the streets filled with brightly colored herbs and spices and the sellers were friendly, readily explaining what everything was.
We then took a rickety old water taxi across Dubai Creek to the old part of town where I got to ride a camel!! I was so excited (Ella can you believe it!) It was so cool! After that we took a long walk by the creek to the metro line and traveled to the Burj  Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.  Unfortunately it would cost $150 to go the top of the building so we opted for photos at the bottom and then exploring the opulent mall of Dubai which houses pretty much every high end store you can imagine as well as an aquarium and ice skating rink.  By 4pm we were at the amazing Burj Al Arab Hotel, which is on a man made island in the Arabian Gulf and is shaped like a huge sail.  We'd made reservations for tea at the restaurant at the top of the hotel.  The view was amazing, we could see the man made islands in the shape of a palm tree and had a great view of the city.  The tea lasted 2.5 hrs and I was so full that at the end I couldn't even eat the delicious chocolates they brought as a last course.
We finished our day at the mall of the Emirates where we watched but didn't participate in Ski Dubai, the indoor ski slope.
Tomorrow morning we continue our journey to Ethiopia, we are so excited to meet "M" and experience the sweet personality others have told us about for ourselves.  

Headed to Ethiopia

This is a little Blogger test to see if I can blog via e-mail.  We're headed off to the airport soon on our way to meet our daughter in Ethiopia! Our court date is March 4th, please pray that we pass.  We won't get to bring her home at this time but if all goes smoothly we hope to be allowed to return in a few months and scoop her up!