The UPS Man!!!

Sometimes I really enjoy chilly, overcast days. Today was one of those days and due to the Memorial holiday, I was able to stay home from work and enjoy the comfort of my own home in my pajamas until noon. I worked on my master’s class in the morning. I actually talked to my professor using Skype (an Internet phone); however, I couldn’t find out how to hook up a microphone to our computer so he talked and I typed. Anyways, the point of the story is that we might be able to use Skype while we are in Ethiopia. You can talk via computers for free. If that doesn’t work, you can call using Skype to a land line for only 2 cents per minute. Not bad!

Chris worked half a day and I thought we would have twice baked potatoes. I think I got a little potato happy. I ended up wrapping 12 potatoes. What was I thinking? I guess I was thinking that we were hungry. Needless to say, I am trying to think of how I can use our excess potatoes.

This afternoon I went to get my hair cut. For the last 8 years I have been jumping to all different kids of places, but I was able to go back to the place that I went growing up. I love it when people do my hair. I was able to get a stylish trend. I think she cut 7 inches off. It was a much needed change.

Around 4:15 this afternoon our doorbell rang. It was the UPS man!!! I’ve haven’t been that excited about seeing the brown truck in our driveway for a long time. He dropped off the documents we were waiting on for our dossier. At 4:20 we were in the car headed to the bank to get a money order for the Ethiopian Embassy and on our way to the post office. We went to the Greentown Post Office and it closed at 4:30. That didn’t stop us! We headed straight to Kokomo and we sent our dossier to the courier in Washington DC. From Washington, it will go to North Carolina and then to Ethiopia. What a great start to a long weekend!




To celebrate, we decided to go to Louie’s Coney Island to get Coney dogs and chili cheese fries. Yum! Our last celebration stop was to DQ for some ice cream to finish off the evening.



And the waiting officially begins...

FBI...fingerprints

On Sunday, the Ponsler family got together at PF Changs to celebrate Gerry’s retirement. She thought it was just a get together because we were not able to be together for Mother’s day. Boy was she surprised! She has been a school nurse for 26 years and she is retiring. She currently works at Kokomo High School. I think she will miss the kids, but it will be a lot less stress. She is excited to do her own thing and help us out later on this year! Congratulations, Gerry! We really hope that you enjoy your retirement.

This week has been a great adoption week! We received word on Wednesday from our agency that our dossier is ready to go! We will be sending it to Washington DC either Friday or Saturday. We are waiting on a couple of documents from CWA so we can include them with the rest of our documents.

We can tell we are getting closer - take a look at our paper...notice the right hand side. Almost all of the dates are filled in! YAY!

Today, I was able to work remotely which helped me out a bunch! It also helped us save a bit on gas. Gas is currently $3.99 per gallon. I consider this a bit ridiculous. Also, Chris and I were able to ride together which made it nice. We had to go to the USCIS office in Indianapolis. Our appointment was at 10:00. We arrived around 9:45 and they took us back right away. We both thought we would have to wait awhile because there were a lot of people in the waiting area. We both went back at the same time. I get called first and the lady starts doing my fingerprints... People, I have the worst fingerprints ever. The lady asked me if I was a doctor or nurse because my fingerprints are not normal. They look like a 100 year old hand. They are all cracked and have lines going down instead of a circular pattern. I look over at Chris’s and his are PERFECT. What is up with that? He works outside more than I do. Who knows? She said that the fingerprints will go to the FBI. I have a 50/50 chance that I will have to go back and do it again. If nothing changes, I guess they will let me pass. At least I pray that they do! We should find out in the next couple of weeks…no news is good news.

I have to say, the biometrics was pretty cool. They scanned all four of our fingers at once for each hand and then scanned each one individually. They used a cloth and water to dampen the fingertips before doing the electronic scan. It was interesting. It took about 5 minutes to complete.

We have a long weekend so I am excited! I plan on working on my class and homework tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be so nice. This makes me excited! We have a lot of projects that we can work on...

Patience...

This week, God taught me patience. I now understand that we are at the point in the adoption process that we can no longer control the timing and it is in God’s hands. On Friday afternoon, Chris was able to stop by the Bethany office and pick up our home study! This morning I was able to go to the post office and send our dossier (all our documents for our adoption) to Christian World Adoption for our case manager to review. When we hear back from her and if everything is okay, we will send our documents to a courier in Washington DC. I also sent our home study to the US Citizenship and Immigration Office in Indianapolis. This upcoming Thursday, we will be going to the USCIS office to get our fingerprints. In order to adopt, we will have to receive approval from the government. This is completed after they review our home study, our petition and after we get our fingerprints. We will receive the approval from the government by receiving the I-171H form. Supposedly, it will take 6-8 weeks. All we can do is wait…and the waiting begins.

On Thursday, Chris and I went over to my grandpa’s house and Chris helped him with his Direct TV. I was supposed to watch my parent’s dog, Dillon, because my dad is in Afghanistan and my mother is in Milwaukee. Well, we made plans for Friday, so my grandpa helped us out with dog duty. I think he enjoys the company! Dillon is a pretty good dog.



On Friday, the “Second Six” got together for an evening of fun. We decided to call ourselves the “Second Six” because the “Original Six” included the boys that would hang out in high school (Maple, Foland, Summers, Sydrock, G Funk, & Ponz); however, the group hasn’t been together for quite some time. We played old school Mario (Kdub remembers EVERY trick), had pizza, enjoyed a fire with smores and had a great time catching up. Greg and Cari will soon be parents to Elliot Rose. They seem super excited and will be awesome parents soon!







Today we helped Chris’s mom in the yard. We helped her plant some shrubs and spread lots of mulch. We came home and put mulch all around our trees in the front. I have to say, it looks so much better.

Recently, I have been trying new recipes in the kitchen. It makes cooking so much more fun! I have been a huge fan of the Kraft recipes. They are easy and practical. I also like the fact that it usually serves four so that means leftovers for weekday lunches. The little things that make me happy…

Keeping Up with the Ponslers...

We have been really busy lately! We are actually looking forward to some downtime in the near future. This past weekend we had the opportunity to attend poll day for the Indianapolis 500.



We met up with my college roommate and good friend, Libby. It was great to see her and catch up on what has been going on with her the past few months. She just finished tax season and it sounds like she is enjoying her free time.



Manchester went in with several other Indiana colleges and had a tent for the Alumni on Saturday. Although we didn’t really know many people that attended the event, it was a lot of fun. We were able to talk to the director of alumni relations, Gary Montel aka Clyde and his wife Dee. It has been a long time since we talked with them, so it was fun to catch up. In the morning, we were able to go into the garage area and get several autographs of some of the drivers. The weather was beautiful on Saturday. We had a great time!

Chris getting Rick Mears autograph.

Sarah Fisher catching a ride out to the track.

The lady that says, "Ladies and gentelmen, start your engines..."

The typical picture of us.

We stood on the bleachers and watched the cars go down Gasoline Alley. It was entertaining watching the people in the yellow shirts.

A pimped out golf cart. I want one!

In the afternoon, we left Indy and headed for Michigan to visit my brother and his family. We really enjoy hanging out with them. On Saturday night, we made our own sushi. It was tasty! On Sunday, our nephew Eli was baptized at church. It was a neat moment and I am excited to watch him grow throughout the years. He is such a good baby. We also had a lot of fun with our nephews, Nathan and Aaron. Both of the boys are developing their personalities and it is fun to hang out with them.

On the adoption front, our agency has approved our home study! We are excited to continue forward; however, we are realizing that our timing has been aggressive. I think when we are in charge of things, we tend to get it done real fast; however, when it is in the hands of others, we simply have to wait. Oh the waiting begins. We have been guessing the timing based on the average, but now we are leaving it up to God. His timing is always perfect. He has a plan and all we have to do is wait. So for now, we really don’t know when things will happen, but when they do, it will be perfect!

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Still Waiting...

Unfortunately, I do not have super exciting adoption news yet. We are still waiting on the home study for our dossier. As soon as we receive it, I think it will go fast. Hopefully we will hear from someone tomorrow.

This past weekend, we went to the Ethiopian restaurant in Indianapolis with the Ponsler side of the family. I was a little apprehensive because I wasn't sure if they would enjoy the food. It turned out to be a hit! I think everybody had a great time and enjoyed the new experience. I think I could get used to always eating with my hands. It might look a little awkward at times. Maybe I will try to start a new trend. Maybe not.

On Saturday, Chris and I participated in the 5K which is apart of the mini marathon race in Indianapolis. We also met up with Syd and Katie. Syd ran the mini in one hour and twenty three minutes (AMAZING) and Katie ran the 5K with us (or should I say with Chris). Chris finished it with 10:36 per mile and I finished with 12:05 per mile.

Our nephew, Clayton, was headed to prom on Saturday. I must tell you that when Chris and I met, he was 5 years old! Where has the time gone? He looked adorable and it sounded like he had a great time!

We were exhausted so we came home and went to bed.

On Sunday, several of us threw a baby shower for my cousin Cari. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so as soon as I get the pictures I will be sure to post them. It was fun seeing the family and some high school friends again.

Home Study Update...

Today we received an email stating that our home study has been approved!!!!

We are really excited. Now what? Our agency, CWA, will review the home study and then our social worker will send us the documents that we need from her for our dossier. This includes her social worker's license, the agency's license, the home study and a letter stating that we have been approved. As soon as we get this we will send it to North Carolina (CWA agency) to make sure that we completed everything. Once it is approved, we will send the dossier to Washington DC to a courier to take it the US Embassy and the Ethiopian Embassy to get it authenticated. From there, we will instruct them to send it to CWA in North Carolina. As soon as they receive it, it will be reviewed one final time and then sent to Ethiopia to be translated to Amharic. This is when we will officially be waiting for our referral.

Ethiopian Easter in Chicago

I wanted to share a little more about our past weekend. We arrived in Chicago a little before 11 in the morning so we took a walk around the block. The apartment that Deress's sisters live in is right downtown so our walk to us alongside Lake Shore Drive. It was chilly outside, but it was nice to take a short walk. We went to their apartment and Mimi (Deress's sister) and Tedenekialesh (aka Teddy - Deress's mother) were in the kitchen preparing the authenic Ethiopian meal for our Easter dinner. Deress's other sister, Keiko, had to leave soon after we arrived.

For about an hour we talked to Deress and his father, Captian Kifle Eshete. The stories and experiences that they shared with us helped us get an insight of the Ethiopian culture. When lunch was ready we had to have some instruction on what to do. They explained to us the custom of eating with your fingers, no utensils. They also went through all of the dishes they prepared. To start off, you place injera on your plate. It is a spongy sour bread. All of the dishers that are prepared are placed on top of the injera. They prepared a fewast and it was delicous. Although I don't remember the exact names, I think I can remember all of the dishes. I now realize I didn't take any pictures of the food.

Mimi and Teddy prepared collard greens, chicken with a sprcy sauce, dry curd cottage cheese, raw meat mixed with spices, lamb with some good flavoring and tibs (somewhat like a stir fry). We both tried everything. I don't handle spicy food very well so I couldn't really stomach the spicy chicken. Other than that, we really enjoyed it.

For about two hours, we sat around the coffee table and talked about Ethiopia. The family often spoke in their native language, Amharic. Even though we didn't understand a word, it was special to hear it. In the course of the afternoon, we were able to see how proud each family member was of their culture. They are all Ethiopian and super proud that they are from this country. They appreciate the opportunities America has given them, but they truely love Ethiopia. It has made them who they are today.

We had the opportunity to roast some coffee beans and make some Ethiopian coffee. We were able to see different kitchen items that we might purchase when we go later this year. We participated in the custom of smelling the coffee beans after they have been roasted. We really enjoyed learning the new things that are unique to Ethiopia. This is where we feel so blessed to have this family in our lives. They are willing to teach us and we want to learn.

Around four in the afternoon, some of their friends started arriving. Although we didn't get to know them as well as Deress's family, it was neat to observe the interaction of people.

We were originally planning just to be in Ethiopia for one week; however, if we are able to work it out, we might try to go early. When we told Deress's father and mother that we would just be there a week, they seemed disappointed. They encouraged us to stay atleast two weeks in order to better understand their culture. They are planning on being with us the entire time. How wonderful. It brings us so much comfort, mainly going to a place we have never been and we can't speak their language. I am sure it makes our families feel better too!

Right now we are anticipating that we will be traveling in October or November. They told us it was the best time to visit Ethiopia becasue it will be sprint time. They said that all the flowers will be blooming and it looks really pretty.

I will end the weekend with a cute comment. We were sitting on the couch and Deress's father said that he wished he knew the right person to talk to in the Embassy because he would try to speed up the process for us.

An AMAZING Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend! I couldn't wait to share the pictures. It is late and I need to get to bed, but more explanations will come soon. We had dinner with my parents and grandpa tonight. My dad is headed to Afganistan. Please keep him in your prayers. He is going there for his accounting business. This is his third trip there, but it always makes me a little nervous.



This is the art museum in Milwaukee.

Chris being goofy in the Miller gift shop before our tour.

Miller Valley - 80 acres of Miller...

We had lunch at a German restaurant in Milwaukee. Good food!

I guess you can call me a cheese head.

What would you call Chris...a cheese corn head?

We had some extra time before our game...so we went to another brewery. They also make gourmet sodas...mmm mmm good!

Miller Park - Home of the Milwaukee Brewers.

We had a lot of fun at the game.


Our absolute favorite part of the weekend...meeting Deress's family. We had an amazing time and we are so fortunate that they are a part of our lives now. I have so much to say about his family. Let's just say, we can't wait to see them again in Addis Ababa. We consider them dear friends of ours already.

I will explain these pictures tomorrow night. All I have to say is God is so good to us!

Keeping up with our tradition...

Even though our entire weekend was planned, we had a great time. It all started on Friday night when we went to Grace United Methodist Church in Kokomo to a concert. It was nice to go to a concert that was litterally 10 minutes away! Derek Webb opened for Caedmon's Call. Our friends, Syd and Katie, were able to join us at the concert. The tickets were general admission so we ended up in the third row. It was a lot of fun and we were able to praise God throughout the evening.





This is the first time that I have posted a video. I hope it works for you. This is Derek Webb singing about him and his wife's courtship. I think that they met, got engaged and married all within 5 months. That was totally opposite of us. Chris and I dated for 7 years and in May we will celebrate our 5 year anniversary. I have been so blessed to have my best friend as my soul mate. He is my rock and he brings out the best in me.







This is a picture of Caedmon's Call. Derek Webb is also a part of this group.



Our friends, Syd and Katie, enjoying the concert with us. Syd works with Chris and he also went to our high school. We have really enjoyed getting to know Katie this past year. We feel like we have known her forever. She is a teacher with our cousin/friend Greg, who is a cousin to Syd. Boy, that sounds more confusing than what it actually is, but we are thankful they are in our lives.

I decided to include a picture of the Nicholson and Ponsler gang. I forget why Katie wasn't there for the picture. We have all been friends since high school and now some of us are even related. Weird.

On Saturday, we participated in the Race for the Cure. It was a neat experience even though it was pouring down rain in the morning. A shout out goes to Ericka for recruiting us to be on your team. The money raised goes to breast cancer research. The race was a 5K. We ended up jogging about 2 miles and walking 1 mile. It was a lot of fun and it made us feel good. On our last mile, Katie ended up finding us. What are the chances? There were only 42,000 people participating in the race.

On Saturday afternoon, we went to my parent's home to hang out with my family. My brother, Zac and his family came down to Indiana for the weekend. We love hanging out with them and their kids. Nathan, the oldest boy (3 and a half) that he was so excited because he stood and and went to the bathroom. The little things in life that make them happy. I love it! Aaron, the middle child, walks around saying "Kokomo" and laughing all of the time. Elijah is precious. He was born less than a month ago and sleeps most of the time. We celebrated my dad's birthday. He is actually going to Afganistan at the end of this month for work.

Today, we went to church and then met some friends for lunch. We had a great time catching up and sharing what is going on in our lives. God is so good. He always places people in your life for a reason.

As far as the adoption front goes, we completed a few forms that are required by our agency that is completing our home study. I plan on mailing the forms tomorrow and hopefully we will receive more information from our agency by Tuesday! Stay tuned...