We got 'THE CALL'!!!!!

On Tuesday, March 24th, we received a call from our adoption agency, IAN. We did not expect this call until the fall, so we were quite flabbergasted. 10 minutes later, we were transfixed by the most beautiful sight in the world, our new son.

Garma, is 3 1/2 years old, tall and skinny, and beautiful!! His name means Majesty and Grace in Amharic. In his picture he is wearing a Tigger shirt. Steve just so happened to also be wearing his only Tigger sweatshirt that day. It was fate!

He has been at a very good, well-managed orphanage in Addiss Ababa. Other than that, we haven't found out anything about his family history or why he was given a chance for adoption. We feel and sense he has been, and is being, taken great care of and loved.

We are sorry we can't post a picture on a public domain until we bring him home, but we would be happy to email you his picture.

We are so excited, bouncing off the walls, floating, and amazed that after years of talking, a year of planning, and only 7 months of piles of paperwork, our dream is coming true. We are waiting for the courts to officially accept our application (which takes about 6 weeks), and then we will immediately make travel plans. Our best guess is traveling mid to late June. We hope we can fit in a tour of the country before the 'gotcha week', and possibly even a safari. We also plan to honor Wiley by spreading his ashes in Africa, somewhere he always dreamed of going.

Here is our first letter, along with some amazing quotes, we wrote to Garma after seeing his beautiful face:

Dear Garma, our son to be!
From the moment we saw your picture, we fell in love with you! It felt like you found us instead of us finding you. We were still 4th on the waiting list for a toddler boy and didn’t expect ‘the call’ for months! We know that you are who God meant to send our way. It just feels perfect.
You don’t know us yet, but you will meet us soon. We have the rest of our lives to not only get to know each other, but be a family. We are Steve and Denise. We have been wanting and waiting for this dream of ours to come true for a while now. We have so much gratitude towards you for making it a reality. We know that you will be an amazing gift to us because you already are.
At times, it may feel very scary to be in new surroundings, but we will be there for you all the time, your family. We will hold you in our arms and be there every step of the way. We will ALWAYS be there for you, no matter what.
We want to be the best parents possible to you. We may not always get it right, but please know that we never give up. There will be awesome times that will lift all of our souls even higher and there will be tough times. The grace in tough times is that you learn from them and grow so much as a person.
This world is filled with amazing things we want you to experience! The most important one is LOVE. We hope that you can feel our love 10,000 miles away because we are sending it 24/7 to you. We are making our way to you and can’t wait to look into your eyes, hug you, kiss you, and hold you. We will never let go.

We love you so much,
Your new Mommy and Daddy

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu

Adoption Creed:
Not flesh of my flesh nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute, you didn't grow from my heart, but in it.

Legacy of an Adopted Child:
Once there were two women, Who may not have known each other.
One you do not remember, The other you call mother.
Two different lives, Shaped to make you one.
One becomes your guiding star, The other became your sun.
The first gave you life, The second taught you to live it.
The first gave you a need for love, The second was there to give it.
One gave you a nationality, The other gave you a name.
One gave you talent, The other gave you an aim.
One gave you emotions, The other calmed your fears.
One saw your bright beautiful eyes, The other dried your tears.
One sought for you a home that she could not provide.
The other prayed for a child, her hopes were not denied.
And now you ask me through your tears,
The age old question Unanswered through the years:
Heredity or environment. Which are you a product of?
Neither my darling - You came from two families giving two kinds of love.

We will keep you all posted as we get updates and travel plans.
Also, we plan to have an "Adoption Shower" to raise donations for the orphanage and the children there. We plan to take as many donations as we can fit, and also buy many more supplies in country to also help support the economy in Ethiopia. More details to come.


Thank you all for your continued love and support.
We love you all!!
Steve & Denise