So that you can see her smile....a little more for your viewing pleasure.....
So we had limited resources in our little room for the day.....
so we are well aware that she has "food" on her face. :)
Monday, September 2, 2013
Ethiopia: Day 3 of 9. August 2nd.
MEETCHA DAY!
We arrived a bit late at 8 am or so. We made it through customs & immigration. All of our luggage was there (praise!) and headed outside to meet our driver. It was rainy. (Rainy season in full swing).
By the time we make it to our guest house, the adrenaline is rushing and we think we are going to meet Miss Chloe any minute. We meet another CHI family right off the bat (actually had met online and communicated and were able to bring some motion sickness medicine for their sweet 10 year old). Then our driver told us we would be picked up by our agency at 3:30-4:00. What? We had to wait 6+ hours??? We were a bit frustrated, but didn't want to rock any boat and start off our trip with complaints. So we settled into our room and laid down to take a nap. About the time we fell asleep (maybe 30 minutes later), we get a call from the front desk that our driver was waiting on us! Apparently, Addis has it's own time! So 3:30 meant 9:30 and we were on our way, albeit very tired now after a tease of a nap. What we had waited for.........................................................
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| Daddy's little girl! |
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| Little Miss Serious |
As you can see she cried for about 20 seconds. Then we cuddled, she fell asleep on us, we slept a little ourselves, we fed her, we changed her, we played, we may have dozed off again (remember the 24 hour like flight) all in all the day was perfect.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Ethiopia: Day 2 of 9. August 1st.
Well this is kind of our "lost" day. We flew from DC (Dulles International Airport) directly to Ethiopia on Ethiopian Airlines. The flight itself was (only) 14 hours. But add the 8 hours we lost to the time change and you have almost a full day. We arrived in Ethiopia on the 2nd. So this was a lot of movie watching, music listening, should have been reading time.
So by far our favorite movie was 42. We had not seen it yet and watched it for the first time. Here we were headed to Africa. I couldn't help but be grateful for how far we've come. And I sincerely THANK courageous people like Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey who paved the way. And that was 15 some years before Martin Luther King's famous freedom speech. I am so grateful for MLK and his dream:
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| Our gate was right below the Ethiopian flag! How convenient! |
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| Ready to board in 10 minutes. Ethiopia or bust! |
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| Our airline. |
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| Just getting started! |
So by far our favorite movie was 42. We had not seen it yet and watched it for the first time. Here we were headed to Africa. I couldn't help but be grateful for how far we've come. And I sincerely THANK courageous people like Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey who paved the way. And that was 15 some years before Martin Luther King's famous freedom speech. I am so grateful for MLK and his dream:
"I have a dream that one day....little black boys and black girls will be able
to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."
MLK 8.28.63
This sister and these brothers are ready to join hands, Miss Chloe. We are coming!
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Ethiopia: Day 1 of 9. July 31st
OK, well on day 1 we actually were not yet in Ethiopia. But as I am wanting to share details of our trip I feel like I can't leave out day 1.
Day 1 is when we left Missouri. Sure we only made it to DC, but we were starting on our adventure. Is this really happening? We've been waiting for 2.5 years and now we are on our way !!! Pinch me. Lots of emotions running through me. Will we like our guest house? Will they have electricity? Does our luggage weigh too much? What did I forget to pack?
Also we left Missouri and our 3 big kids were still there. So blessed to have the Gerdel family (truly our family) take care of my babies. I wouldn't have it any other way---well except for maybe their doting grandparents :) (which plan to on trip 2). I knew we were going to be away from them for what seemed like a long while and that was going to be hard.
This post (as we headed to DC) is to simply say THANK YOU. Thank you to those that have gotten us here. These past 2 years, you've encouraged, supported, financed, helped, baked, ran, bought, donated, prayed, and encouraged some more. The time had finally come. We do have one adoptive friend who at one point said we should have called our 5K, C.H.L.O.E's run (or fund)....CHLOE standing for the Church Helping Love Others for Eternity!!! What a great reminder of when we give, tell, offer hope, encourage we are making an eternal difference. Not only is Chloe receiving her forever family....she has the opportunity to receive Jesus as Lord & Savior and to have a new family for all eternity (and that does mean most of YOU will be her family)!
So to all of you thankyou....But on the 31st special thanks to Missy and Andrew who love my kids like their own, Jessica and Ryan who sacrificially kept our dog (huge sacrifice of yard and perhaps of non-scratched legs), Tyann Marcink and Amy Lanemann for watching our kids when Missy couldn't, Mark and Becky Baxa, Dr. Turner, and everyone else sending up prayers on our behalf as we headed off to meet our daughter!!!
Day 1 is when we left Missouri. Sure we only made it to DC, but we were starting on our adventure. Is this really happening? We've been waiting for 2.5 years and now we are on our way !!! Pinch me. Lots of emotions running through me. Will we like our guest house? Will they have electricity? Does our luggage weigh too much? What did I forget to pack?
Also we left Missouri and our 3 big kids were still there. So blessed to have the Gerdel family (truly our family) take care of my babies. I wouldn't have it any other way---well except for maybe their doting grandparents :) (which plan to on trip 2). I knew we were going to be away from them for what seemed like a long while and that was going to be hard.
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| Day 1: Sitting at STL airport ready to board for DC! |
So to all of you thankyou....But on the 31st special thanks to Missy and Andrew who love my kids like their own, Jessica and Ryan who sacrificially kept our dog (huge sacrifice of yard and perhaps of non-scratched legs), Tyann Marcink and Amy Lanemann for watching our kids when Missy couldn't, Mark and Becky Baxa, Dr. Turner, and everyone else sending up prayers on our behalf as we headed off to meet our daughter!!!
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| We're on our way, Chloe! |
Monday, August 19, 2013
Are you a Piece to the Puzzle?
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
UPDATE: We ended up selling 2 puzzles---470 pieces and then some. God is so faithful through His people. It's like each of you joined to share a small kiss with our Chloe. I can't wait to post pics of the finished project. We are blessed!
Are YOU a Piece to the Puzzle?
UPDATE: We ended up selling 2 puzzles---470 pieces and then some. God is so faithful through His people. It's like each of you joined to share a small kiss with our Chloe. I can't wait to post pics of the finished project. We are blessed!
Are YOU a Piece to the Puzzle?
Paypal Donation Button on right sidebar. ----------------------------------------------------------->
So here is the deal. Chris and I have been contemplating on whether or not to do this---but we need to have one last "hoorah" so to speak in our fundraising efforts. Besides our Love 2 Run 4 Love (in which we have split the proceeds with a different family the past 2 years) we have not had a fundraiser since Jan. 2012 (Coffee for Chloe)---basically because we thought we were doing really well and were in the sit & wait game. But because of the miraculous speed from referral to court and the 1 week notice to fly out and perhaps the busy flying season into Ethiopia our plane tickets were quite a bit more pricey than we expected. They have gone down a bit since then, but none the less we find ourselves short for Trip #2, where we will officially BRING CHLOE HOME! :)
This is where YOU come in. Are you our final piece to the puzzle? Our FINAL fundraiser? Chris and I each have almost 1000 friends on Facebook, 500 of those are mutual friends. Now I know MANY of you have already given to our cause. You've run the race, you've bought items in our Labor of Love auction, or you donated items into the auction, you've drank coffee, you've generously given, and perhaps you ran again....This post is not for you. But there are many of you who have followed our story, "liked" our pictures, loved us from afar, prayed for us and rejoiced as we posted the news of our newest daughter......but perhaps have not been able to give---this post IS for you. The old adage "every little bit counts" is going to be true for this last hoorah.
We are going to sell pieces to a puzzle. Each puzzle piece is only $5. There are only 300 puzzle pieces. So the first 300 friends to respond will have the opportunity to be a part of the bigger picture. Piece by Piece. We've seen it happen before....every person doing their small part....being part of the body, the church....to share God's love in a BIG way. That's the big picture.
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| The puzzle is titled "African Friends". Although the only animals Chris and I saw were a plethora of goats, donkeys, bulls, dogs, and one camel. :) |
Side Note: Not that anyone is giving for recognition, but if you've given in any way to our adoption process, we have you written down and you are etched in our hearts. Just because you don't have a puzzle piece,
does not mean you aren't listed as a generous donor in our adoption book. :)
Thank you in advance for being the church! For doing your part!
26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:26-27
HOW IT WORKS:
1. Decide how many pieces you want to buy. 1 Puzzle Piece=$5
2. If you have a Paypal account, you can transfer money between Family & Friends at NO cost. Just login to your paypal account hit the "send money" tab and send To: tee.time4me@yahoo.com, plus leave a comment below, saying you did so OR you can "Donate" using the button on the sidebar--but small fees are associated with each donation, so we won't get the full $5....In that case please give at least $7 for each piece.
3. You can also mail a check to our home address, if you'd rather not go the PayPal route.
Strickland Family: 210 Wenona Dr., Washington, MO 63090. Again, please leave a comment if you plan on doing this.
4. Then we will update periodically, piece by piece, and watch the puzzle come together.
So comment below and let us know if YOU are a piece of our family puzzle!
(interested to see who races to be the first 300 and how fast we can sell out this puzzle)
16 comments:
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The Gregors
Ten puzzle pieces please....
Our check will follow.
Karl, Casey and Dante
The Holestines
Ken and Jen Rawson
love, hugs, and continued prayers
chuck & kim