Update(S)

I have been neglectful in updating since my previous post regarding the scare surrounding Ethiopian adoptions. As it turns out, prayers have been answered and all seems well in Ethiopia. I am praising God for the following, posted by the Joint Council:

Since announcement, the Department of State has heard many rumors, but none have been substantiated. The U.S. Embassy can confirm that the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs has shuffled the portfolios of key adoption personnel. The Embassy has not been able to confirm how this reorganization may affect the processing of cases through the ministry. Additionally, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa is discussing the possibility of developing a consolidated assistance proposal to MOWA to find out what the resource needs are and find what assistance can be given to allow MOWA to accomplish their goals.

In the meantime, for the Williams family, time seems to be racing by at lightning speed. There is so much going on in our lives and in the upcoming months. Currently, we are "Spring Breaking" in Destin, FL where the weather is beautiful and the time together as a family is priceless. This is the last Spring Break of its kind as Jordan will soon be graduating from High School. This time next year, he'll be off to Union University and it's highly likely that the boys' Spring Breaks won't coincide for a trip like this one.

Another sign of time NOT standing still is the fact that Braeden will be celebrating a BIG birthday on Sunday.......can't believe he'll be THIRTEEN !!!!

In addition to Jordan's May graduation, Jeff graduates from Vanderbilt in July (with his MBA) but, first, he'll be taking his International Residency trip with his class (to Budhapest and Istanbul) in late April/early May.

I continue to prepare for my upcoming trip to Ethiopia. I am currently fundraising through Ordinary Hero. In addition, my sister (Ashley) and I will be holding the first of two yard sales on April 8th and 9th (at her home in Murfreesboro). So many people have been so gracious to donate items to the sale. We currently have one bay of our garage FILLED with items for the sale AND friends of Ashley's are housing another LARGE collection of items.

Speaking of collecting, I continue to be overwhelmed and humbled by the individuals in my church who, each week, bring me goodies for the children in Ethiopia. I can hardly wait to see the faces of the little ones when we take these items over. I have one special contributor who I plan to post about soon.

On Friday, March 25th, ORDINARY HERO is offering a matching grant for the first affiliate to raise $100.00. If you were considering ordering some OH gear for yourself/family, tomorrow would be a great time to do it. When making your purchase, simply choose my name from the drop-down box in order for me to receive 40% toward my trip costs.

Lastly.....for some time, I have followed the blog of a local family who adopted from Ethiopia. As it turns out, the Mom of this family (Amy) will be traveling on the same OH trip to Ethiopia. In addition, she recently linked to another blogger (Kim) who also will be on the trip. Kim is currently doing a giveaway on her blog with proceeds from the donations given benefitting El Olam Orphanage (which we will be visiting).

I apologize for the randomness of this post. I just felt like I had some catching up to do, but vacation calls and I likely didn't do this post justice. I have more posts swirling around in my head......promise to update soon.