Hallelujah!

If you heard a shout at about 10:30 this morning, it was probably me making this exclamation. Merriam-Webster defines hallelujah as an interjection "used to express praise, joy, or thanks". I do indeed want to express praise, joy, and thanks because today, after 86 long days, we finally heard the sweet words, "Your court date was successful!" from Laurel, our family coordinator at AWAA.

Our children are now officially ours! Today we officially became Mommy and Daddy to the two cutest children in the whole world!

So without further ado, I present... (*drum roll please*)

Alexandra Jean Edilawit Carpenter:
Her name means “Helper of Mankind” “God’s Gracious Gift” “Blessed One”. She definitely is God’s gracious gift to us. Here is the referral picture we received. She is one month in this picture.As Rachel said when she returned from Addis Ababa, "she is just a sweet natured, happy, pretty little girl!!!" We definitely agree. And here is Alexandra with Fortuna, the nurse/director, in late November. She's about three and a half months here. Don't you just love those big beautiful brown eyes?
...And (*more drum rolls*)
Josiah Robert Beyene Carpenter:
Josiah’s name means “God will save” “Bright” “Decision”. And I must say that despite all of its ups and downs deciding to adopt these two is the best decision that we've made together. They are truly a joy and a blessing. Here is the referral picture that we received of Josiah. He's nine months in this picture.This next picture is my second favorite of him. (It was my favorite until Rachel came back with more pictures.) This is the picture that Laurel, our family coordinator, took when in Addis in August. He's ten months here. He's going to be a heart breaker with those eyes.This next one shows just how cute and cuddly this little guy is. This is my favorite and one of the two we have of him from Rachel.Rachel said, "Beyene is the cutest thing I've ever seen. He's definitely a “favorite” around there, so he is getting constant love and attention. He has these 2 teeth on top and 2 teeth on bottom, which is so cute. The nannies have a nickname for him, something like “foo-foo-loo.” It doesn't really translate to a word in English, but it just means that he is funny. He is not walking yet, though he may be when you get him. He is constantly pulling himself up and holding onto furniture to walk. He’s a good crawler, though!" I humbly agree that he is the cutest thing I've ever seen. Don't you agree?

He's also in the next picture with a few of the other children from the orphanage. He's the one on the far left. You can't miss that cute dimpled chin. These were taken last month when he was just about 13 months old.
And guess what? We received even more good news a few hours later from Duni, the African Program Director. She said that they "are currently working to arrange travel for your group to Ethiopia." We will be traveling with the four other couples who also received their referrals on October 3rd. She goes on to say, "Though we do not have specific dates today we know your group will be traveling at the end of January. We will give you definite dates next week." I had to read that last line twice. We will be given definite travel dates next week? That's great! Praise God!

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. They truly lifted us up during these past two difficult months. We've seen that we have more blessings in our lives that we even knew. I hope the wait to see these adorable faces was worth it. I certainly think so.