Well, we still do not have any new info. regarding travel dates. I have been trying to get some info. and here is part of the e-mail I received today...

Regarding your travel dates, we anticipate hearing from Ethiopia tomorrow about your concrete travel dates and at that point we will email your family and let you know. Thank you for your continued patience during this process!

That's all I have to report and as I've said before, int'l adoption is a great lesson in patience!

A teensy, tiny bit of info. that might almost be news. Here's a portion of the e-mail I got today from our agency...

Thank you so much for your patience as we are in the process of discerning travel dates for your family to Ethiopia. At this point we are estimating that your family will be traveling the first week of February. We will know more by Friday about your tentative travel dates to Ethiopia.

So, we wait to hear about our TTD's (tentative travel dates), which will then be either changed or will become confirmed travel dates. Just another day in international adoption!

We are actually happy to have any news and we know that each day brings us closer to bringing Zoie home.

Here's more pictures of baby Zoie, or as Ella would say "Baby Doughie"

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It was nice to see the name Zuzu/Hilina on some Christmas things. Thanks Grandma's.

It's official!!!

It is with GREAT JOY that I tell you that we passed court and our little baby girl is officially a Kern. Introducing Zoie Hilina Kern!!!

Here's the e-mail we received at around 8:45 a.m.......

Dear Kern Family,

Congratulations your family has successfully passed court! Custody has been officially transferred to your family as of today. We will now move forward to finalize all needed paperwork for travel and will be in touch with your family over the next few weeks to confirm travel arrangements. On average travel is normally 4 to 5 weeks after passing court.

Enjoy this special time and I wish you a very blessed and merry Christmas.

God Bless


December update photo from this week!



Mark meets her for the first time!!



Praise God!

Calling all friends and family! We have court tonight in Ethiopia sometime while we are sleeping. We have been told that about 50% of cases do not pass on the first try. Reasons for not passing court can be varied. A common one is related to the child's birth parent not showing up to court. I've also heard of filing cabinets being locked with no key available, age discrepancy of the child, Ministry of Women Affairs (MOWA) not getting the recommendation letter to the court on time, etc. Everything is done on our end, it's just making sure that court is open as planned, the judge shows up and that our MOWA letter arrived on time. If all of these things happen, then our chances of passing are much better.

Please pray for us. I really, really, really want to pass court. I really want to hold my daughter and bring her home as soon as possible. However, I am trying to focus on this Bible verse...."Do not be anxious about anything..."

I pray I can be joyful no matter what.

We received a wonderful early Christmas present today. We got our December update on our baby girl with 4 new pictures. She looks GREAT! The report says that her weight is now 10 pounds!!! Yeah, she's gaining weight!!! She is just under 21 inches long. She has/had conjunctivitis, which they are treating. She is starting to babble and trying to lift her head up while on her tummy. The report said she does not smile very much yet, but when Mark was there he had no problem getting smiles out of her. She can grab a toy if it is given to her. So, she has almost doubled her weight since being at the Transition Home. We are so grateful that she is getting great care.

Did I mention that both Mark and her caregivers said that my little girl is both quiet and content?

I'm all SMILES!!! I am blessed.

A quick update on the adoption.....We received a travel packet from our agency explaining what to expect in the next few weeks. It includes a LOT of info. on travel logistics, they gave a sample travel itinerary, visa info., payment info., a travel release form, an adoption document checklist, a power of attorney form, etc. It also asks for our adopted child's English name. So, lots of decisions are being made about who is traveling, do we get a lap pass or a seat for the baby on the return trip, what are we naming our daughter, etc. I have been doing a little shopping for things like formula, diapers, wipes and I've also been washing tiny little baby girl clothes/bibs/onesies, most of which are pink. I'm throwing it all in my big suitcase and will be more detailed about it later, but it sure is fun to even think about packing.

As excited as I am about where we are in this adoption process, I am looking forward to the news that we have passed court and that our baby is legally ours. So, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as the 24th approaches. Of course, we are hopeful that we will pass on the first try, but if we don't, I pray that we can be joyful and focus on the meaning of Christmas.

Mark and I went to have our fingerprints taken.....again. They expire after 15 months. Luckily, this time, there was no fee and the process went pretty quickly. We got there early in the morning and were done well within an hour.

Here's sheep in the street, a local school, and the Yebsabi guest house where Mark stayed. He had this delicious pizza one day and some pasta.

Mark is back! He came home safely, on-time and with all of his luggage, but is very tired and has not yet recovered.

He also brought home a ton of priceless pictures and videos of the baby. Here is a picture that I can show you. Isn't she just adorable?






Here are some other pictures of his trip.


Here's a grocery store, a butcher shop, vultures outside a slaughter house, typical fruit stand and outside the guest house where he stayed.

















More to come...

Mark is now headed back to San Diego. He arrives tonight around 10:30. It was difficult for him to leave his little girl, but the trip was just awesome! He got to spend a lot of time with the baby, meet a lot of great people, do some sight-seeing and shopping, and he did NOT get sick, thankfully. He met with the Dr. at the Transition Home and that went well. We now know first hand that she is well taken care of and knowing that is priceless. He left with a whopping $2.00 in his pocket and was hoping to get some food on the plane until he got to a place that would take credit card.

Here's part of his e-mail...

It was a big day today. The morning was pretty uneventful, but shopping was hectic and we went to the orphanage and of course lunch. I spent every dime except 200 birr to use for tips. I thought I had just $20 left for the trip home, but I have another, which I might give to T. He's been awesome. The trip overall couldn't have been better I don't think. The afternoon at the home was busy and tough. As soon as I picked her up I started getting hay fever symptoms, which are suddenly coming on again as I think about it. They came again in the middle of the afternoon session and of course right at the end. One thing that helped was that I forgot to leave her rattle, so I had to run back in and drop it off with her, so I got to see her one last time. She had slept on me for about an hour just before it was close to time to leave and then she woke up hungry, so I got to do one last feeding and when she was finished it was pretty much
time to go.

I just love him for loving her so much already!