Travel Schedule

Here is a brief look at our travel schedule so you will know how to pray specifically each day. Thank you in advance!

Saturday (7.3.10) - Leave Charlotte, NC

Sunday (7.4.10) - Arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Monday (7.5.10) - Meet Marek for the first time!

Tuesday (7.6.10) - Family bonding day

Wednesday (7.7.10) - Tour of Gladney’s Orphanage/Caregivers say ‘good-bye’ to Marek

Thursday (7.8.10) - U.S. Embassy appointment/interview

Friday AM (7.9.10) - Pick-up Marek’s VISA and passport (Pray specifically these are ready for pick-up...if not, we will not be able to leave the country until Monday)

Friday PM (7.9.10) - Leave Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Saturday (7.10.10) - Arrive in Charlotte, NC @ 2:15pm to meet big brother Hollis!

Marek Joel SCOTT!!!

We received the incredible news today that Marek is officially a SCOTT! As many of you know, we ran into a small snag with our original courtdate, which was set for this past Monday. Everyone showed up on time...except for the court officials, who decided to take the day off ~ typical Africa! As a result, everyone present decided to meet back on Thursday to try the process again. However, today around noon, we received a phone call from Gladney letting us know that our case was approved today. (We were actually the ONLY case to be approved all day!)

As if this was not good enough, we also found out that our US Embassy appointment in Ethiopia is scheduled for July 8th. That's right...we are traveling in about 2 1/2 weeks to pick up our baby! Needless to say, we have experienced every. single. emotion. imaginable today...from being absolutely excited to being absolutely overwhelmed!

We began the process of booking airline tickets today. As of right now, it looks like we will be leaving on July 3rd or 4th and will arrive back home on the morning of the 10th.

We hope you realize that everything you have just read is a DIRECT result of your prayers. God has answered mightily and we are shouting praises from the rooftops tonight! Thank you again, for loving us perfectly and for laying our family before the Throne.

We've got a court date!

We received notification today that we have an official court date...June 14! Yes, June 14th...like, 12 days from now! What this basically means is that, bearing no delays or reschedules, Marek will officially be a 'Scott' on June 14th! Families typically travel 3-6 weeks after their adoptions are approved and finalized by the courts in Ethiopia. So, if everything goes smoothly on June 14th, we will (more than likely) be traveling around mid-July to pick Marek up...and bring him HOME finally! What an awesome BIG God we serve!?!

We also received another update on Marek today from one of Gladney's in-country reps:

"When I first came to visit Marek today, he was too intent on observing what was going on around him to pay much attention to me. He’s got quite the intense little stare: he’s quite the observer. But then a caregiver started playing peek-a-boo with him, and that got a big smile to spread across his face and broke his concentration. When he started staring at me again, I stared back at him playfully. This is also got big smile—and even a little laugh. Marek seems like he may be pretty active. It’s hard to tell right since he’s not crawling or walking yet, but he likes to move what he can and he’s got an incredible set of pipes! He can squeal with the best of them.”

Sleeping Smiles!

A few weeks ago, we met the Schmidt family (through email!). The Schmidt family recently picked up their precious son, Solomon, from Ethiopia. While in Ethiopia, they were kind enough to meet Marek and take some pictures for us. Unfortunately when they arrived, Marek was sleeping! However, here are a couple of pics they took, along with a video of him sleeping. Not much to see, but it sure did put a BIG smile on our faces!

Marek Update - 5.18.10

Each month until we travel, we will be receiving an update sent from Gladney updating us on Marek. These updates will include stuff like weight, measurements, motor skill development, etc... and will also include an updated picture! We received our first update today! "Little" Marek is now 4 1/2 months old and has gained a pound...up to 13 lbs now! He is doing wonderfully and developing right on track. (He rolled over for the first time this month!)

Here is the updated picture of our sweet baby!

Marvelous Miracle!

As you may recall, the Ethiopian federal courts have implemented a new policy for all international adoptions that would require adopting families to travel twice to Ethiopia before the adoption was finalized (Once for court, Once for US Visa appointment). Under the old policy, we signed a 'Power of Attorney' over to the in-country Gladney reps who would go to court for us and once the adoption was approved, we would then travel once to pick up Marek when the US Embassy scheduled his Visa appointment. The date for the new policy going into effect is May 8, 2010. Therefore, any paperwork submitted and approved by the Ethiopian courts before this date would fall under the old policy.

Upon receiving our referral last week for Marek, we asked what the possibilities were for us to fall under the old policy and only having to travel one time. The caseworker from Gladney responded, "Well, I don't want to say it is impossible, but I will tell you it is extremely unlikely." (This statement followed earlier emails telling us that we would definitely be traveling twice.) So, knowing all of this, we began praying specifically (and asking everyone we came in contact with!) that if this lined up with God's will concerning Marek, would He please work a miracle and get us approved by the Ethiopian federal courts?! We have had literally hundreds of YOU precious saints praying this specific prayer all week long on our behalf.

Fast forward to this morning...

At approximately 12:02p.m., April received a phone call from Mary, our Gladney Ethiopia caseworker. Here is how the beginning of the conversation went:

April: Hello

Mary: Hi, April...this is Mary from Gladney. Are you sitting down?

A: What's wrong?

M: I just received notification that your paperwork has been submitted and approved by the Ethiopian federal courts which means you will only be traveling to Ethiopia ONE TIME!

Your specific prayers were heard and we are SO much closer to bringing our sweet baby home! (To spare you all of the details/timeline, it is starting to look like we will be traveling sometime in mid-late July.) Thank you for your faithfulness in praying.

Father, you indeed are worthy of every ounce of praise we can offer. You just worked a miracle. Forever in awe of You...

Meet Marek Joel Scott (Finally!!!)

After nearly two years of seemingly endless stacks of paperwork and the sacrifice of so many precious people, our dream day has finally arrived! This morning, we opened our inbox to this precious angel whom God has allowed to be a part of our life forevermore. He was born on December 28, 2009 and is currently weighing in at a whopping 12 lbs!

We will write more a little later but here are a few fun facts that we learned about our angel today through the Gladney Ethiopian caregiver:

* He is a cute, but little guy!

* He loves to start up "conversations" and will 'talk' your ear off!

* He is holding his head steady when upright

* He is grasping a rattle

* He is eating and sleeping well

* He dislikes tummy time!

Oh, we could go on and on but bottom line is...HE'S PERFECT! Thank you for celebrating with us. We are editing more pics and will post them soon.