Adoption is greater than the Universe!

I came across this video recently and I love what Piper has to say about adoption! It's awesome to think about how God has adopted us!!

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Grandma's Little Doll

Faith's Grandma sent this really cute little onesie. My mom and grandma tell a story of when I was a baby and they treated me like I was a little doll. They were dressing me up in all sorts of cute clothes. Apparently I didn't appreciate it...I don't remember.

Now she sent Faith a shirt claiming that she's her little doll!! How fun! I look forward to dressing Grandma's little doll up in all sorts of cute clothes! :)

Here's a picture of Faith & Joseph's Grandma playing with Jojo on the slide...Obviously she adores her grandkids! :)

Here's Faith's Grandma and Nana. Watch out...they're going to want to play dolls with our cute little girl!

Here I am with my Grandma. She loves her grandchildren as well as her great-grandchildren! :)

We also have some great friends who are willing to help us make Faith really cute! Raylee's mom sent these great headbands for Faith to wear!! I can't wait to put them on her. Raylee always looks so cute in her headbands!

Raylee also welcomed Faith into the princess club with that cute card!! Funny, we bought Faith a stuffed Princess Camel just like the one on the card that Paula sent us! :)

Here's a picture of me with Auntie Liz, and Paula (Raylee's mom)

This is a picture of cute little Raylee last time we saw her. She and Faith are almost the same age.

This is a picture of Joseph and Raylee shaking hands. Aww!!

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Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!!!!!!

Today is one of our dear friends' birthday!! She's such a special person to so many people. Everywhere we go, people know her and love her! She is the definition of a servant. She's been such a blessing to us in so many ways!! Joseph knows her as "Auntie Liz" and so will Faith. She's already given Faith a cute little gift and I can't wait to see her wear it:

Last time we were with her, she drove us around. She's a great driver!!! She always knows where she's going and doesn't let the awful traffic get to her!! :) :)

Joseph loves and admires her. He misses her now that we don't live close enough to see her regularly. Here's a few pictures of the two of them together:

I count her as a treasured friend!! I've enjoyed going to weddings with her and just sitting and talking with her. I love to hear what's on her heart!

We even got to meet some of her family. When her parents came out for a visit, all three of them watched Joseph so Tim and I could go on a date!

Here's a picture of Elizabeth and her dad:

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more delay :(

We were bummed to find out a few days ago that the Ethiopian Courts will be closed for two more weeks. That means that we won't even know what our court date is until at least October 19th...maybe later. UGH! We're frustrated. We so badly want to go get our little girl. It seems like we've already had so many delays. :(

It's so hard to be separated from our little girl. We know that the best place for her to be is with us, her family. Please pray for her. Pray for her health and protection. Pray that somehow this process can speed up and we can go get our little girl.

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I can't wait to hear her say, "ma ma!"

Sometimes when I think about Faith, I can almost imagine her saying, "ma ma!" We heard her babbling a little bit...she has a sweet voice.

I remember when I was looking forward to hearing Joseph say, "ma ma!" It took him a while to say it. Here is a video of Joseph being taught how to say, "MA MA!" by his Aunt Karla and Aunt Tonya:

MA MA!!!!!! from Tim and Jeni Saltzman on Vimeo.

In this video you can see Aunt Karla helping him say it...haha!!! What fun memories!!

Say, "MA MA!" from Tim and Jeni Saltzman on Vimeo.

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carrying babies

In Ethiopia mothers carry their babies on their back. You see it all over the place.

When we picked Joseph up in Ethiopia they tried to teach me how they do it, but I never really could get a hang of it.

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Abdissa's promise

Leaving our little girl in Ethiopia was one of the most difficult things we have done. But, it is comforting knowing that she's in good hands. Abdissa, the director of the Thomas Center is a wonderful man. The nannies, who are giving our little girl the 24 hour care that she needs, are also wonderful people. We have no choice, but to trust them and so we will. They assured us that they would take good care of her.

Here's a video of Abdissa assuring us that he will shower our little girl with love. I got choked up after taking the video. I know that our baby girl is being taken care of...but I so badly wanted to just take her home with us.

We are waiting to hear a court date in Ethiopia. A few days ago the Adoption Agency emailed and told us that we'll need to wait until the beginning of October before we know the date. Good thing October is only a week away. :)

Abdissa's Promise from Tim and Jeni Saltzman on Vimeo.

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An Ethiopian Hair Cut

Before we went to Africa we were pretty busy. There were several things on our "to-do" list that didn't get done. One of them was cutting Joseph's hair. So, while we were in Ethiopia, he got a true Ethiopian hair cut!!! We thought his hair was out of control, but some of our friends kept telling us that it was fine.

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