A letter and slide show from the world's greatest auntie...Ian's sissy. He will always be blessed to have her in his life. Thank you God for my wonderful sister!!!
Yesterday I got the call I've been waiting (not always) patiently for 5 months now. I had a feeling this would be the week, but never did I expect yesterday to be the day. Lindsey called and told me that there is a little baby boy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that is waiting for us to be his family.
His given name is Surafel and it means Seraphin or cherub. And to my sister and brother-in-law he is so much more than an angel... He is their hearts personified. We learned that he is 5 months old, which just happens to be around the time they began this process. She filed the paper work with her agency on May 21, approx 1 day after baby Ian was born. The night before we talked for hours about how drawn she felt to go with this country and how in love she fell with the idea of it. Neither of us knew that some where thousands of miles away a precious little cry was being heard for the first time. Thousands of miles, oceans and hours away, my sister's baby was born not only into this world, but into her heart. How WONDERFUL is GOD'S work that he brought a life and heart together across so many obstacles. My sister dealt with the initial skepticism of "why Africa" comments and "are you sure this is a good idea?" questions while miles away Ian waited. Lindsey and Cortney prepared and scrambled around trying to make things perfect for a tiny person that they didn't know and Ian waited... Lindsey's held fast to the notion that God knew Ian and that he was created only for her arms to hold and her heart to love, little did she know that all that time ago... The plan was all ready in place. Praise God for his Goodness!!! Praise God that the angel he sent us didn't have wings and words, but only a need for love.
I love you, Lindsey, Cort and Baby Ian and I will be forever blessed to have witnessed God's power through you...
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one more still to come...
Still not complete...stay tuned
(his daddy says this is his fish tale!)
Every Last One
The Clevingers
one more still to come...
Still not complete...stay tuned
Mekdes Clevinger
Ian Parker Surafel Clevinger
(his daddy says this is his fish tale!)
The Original Family
Cortney and Lindsey plus Pacey
Contributors
Timeline for M*' Adoption
- 3/14/09- Daddy and Mekdes..together forever!!
- 3/09/09- IN MY ARMS FOREVER!!!
- 3/06/09- Leave for Ethiopia
- 2/19/09- New VERY successful courtdate!!!
- 2/17/09- News of new court date
- 1/28/09- Rescheduled Court
- 1/27/09- M's court date (Relinquishment happened)--DELAYED
- 12/3/08- Received news of court date
- 07/07/08- Dossier arrived in Addis Ababa
- 06/28/2007- Dossier received by courier in DC=)
- 06/19/08- Received I-171H!!!
- 06/16/08- Gladney Approved
- 05/14/08- Home study arrived at USCIS
- 04/11/08- Fingerprint appointment
- 04/04/08- Homestudy complete
- 04/03/08- Received FBI clearance
- 03/21/08- Filed I-600A with USCIS
- 3/18/08- First Inquiry about a beautiful 8 yr old girl!
Timeline for Ian's Adoption
- 12/16/07- Hold Ian for the first time!!!
- 12/14/07- Leave for Ethiopia
- 12/6/07- Court date--He's OURS!!!!
- 11/7/07- Received news of court date
- 10/22/07- Received referral for Ian Parker Surafel
- 9/13/07- Dossier completely translated
- 8/14/07- Dossier arrived in Ethiopia
- 8/6/07- Dossier arrived in DC
- 8/3/07- Officially waiting for referral
- 7/28/07- Received approved I-171H
- 6/22/07- Formally accepted by Gladney
- 6/15/07- Homestudy mailed to CIS
- 6/14/07- Received clearance from FBI
- 06/05/07- Homestudy arrived for review by Mary @ Gladney
- 5/30/07- Sent in Gladney application
- 5/28/07- Final homestudy visit
- 5/25/07- Mailed FBI clearance request
- 5/24/07- Received Dossier packet
- 5/24/07- Submitted I-600A & got fingerprinted
- 5/21/07- Received application from Gladney
- 5/18/07- Phone orientation
- 5/14/07- First Inquiry about Ethiopia
- 4/24/07- First homestudy meeting
Blogs We Follow
- Kinnells
- Farmboy and Buttercup
- The Breedloves
- Amber
- Adoption Cubed
- Blog Re-Union 09
- Nation to Nation
- Growing in Faith and Family
- Ellie Mestas
- Thorne Family
- Reeves Family
- The Parkers
- journey of our hearts
- Jessica and Lance
- Almost Mom
- Ethiopia Mama
- Fournet Family
- Jesus Lovin Momma
- Frey Family
- The Martins
- The Fruit of the Spirit is not a Coconut
- Journeying Sojourners
- Jocelyn
- Wehrheim Family
- Timm and Jennifer
- The Daileader Family
- Drew and Carey
- Tara and Eric
- Baker Family
- Gladney
- The Page Family
- Road To Our Own
- Jobs Daughters
- Renee and Geert
- Bottomly Family
- Gladney Center
- Schmidt Family
20 comments:
That is the sweetest thing ever...sisters are the best! Payton was born the day before I started my process too. Wow what is meant to be is really meant to be:-)I am just so happy for you!!!
Wow, I love the pics of him sleeping -- he is so precious!!!!
David and I were on our way to a dr's appt in Charlotte when we got the call. It was the absolute last thing from our mind -- isn't it funny the way that happens!!!
Congrats!
Robin
lindsey- what a wonderful sister you have. Its so great to have special people in our lives to share this joy. Once again- he is so handsome!
What a sweet video! Love the song - love the pics! I especially love the second one of him sleeping - he does look like a little angel!
And the theme is...blubbering!! He is so very precious. And your sister sounds like an amazing person. I did not grow up with a sister and this post makes me even happier that Sophie and Katie will have each other forever. lots of love. xoxo PS - We sent our Gladney application in the day after Sophie was born - simply more evidence that this all was meant to be :)
That was beautiful. You do have such a sweet sister...and such a sweet aunt to Ian. The video montage was precious. Amy
What an incredible letter. I am sure you will cherish it forever. God is so good. The day you arrive in Ethiopia and get to hold him in your arms will be one of the most precious days of your life. The pictures are great. I still love his lips. He is AWESOME!!!!!!!
What a beautiful letter. Congratulations on your precious baby boy! What a blessing, God is so good!
Wow, how awesome is your sister! Loved it!
I'm crying now! Sooo happy for you and your family - he is stunning! I can't wait to hear more!
Congratulations again! He is just so precious! I like the slide show, it is really cute :) Our twins were born 2 days after we started the process!
I have visited your blog many times... whenever Jocelyn (my sister) tells me that I must (I always listen to my sister).
Your letter has touched my heart and your words could have been mine. We await our little blessing, Payton Kalkidan, but she has been in our hearts and our souls forever it seems.
Thank you for posting this letter. Your sister has spoken for sisters everywhere...
As a HUGE aside... Ian is absolutely, positively BEAUTIFUL!
A little warning would be nice....You should have prepared me that I would be a blubbering, crying mess at my desk right now. Oh wow! I'm amazed at how AWESOME God is. Ian has such an amazing destiny! I'm just so excited for you guys!
Oh, and how awesome is your sister! WOW!
Lindsey,
CONGRATULATIONS on your referral. I just found (and read from the begining!!) your blog thru the Adoption Assitance web site. We too are waiting for our court date to go get our little girl from Russia, so believe me I know how hard the waiting is. We have already been to Russia to meet our little one which was an incredible experience!! I love your blog and look forward to keeping track of your journey to get Ian. What a wonderful letter your sister wrote. Best of luck. Jody
PS Our blog is www.adventuretohaylie.blogspot.com
What a wonderful sister! That is sooo sweet!
It would be our pleasure to bring him a little gift from his Mommy and Daddy and to get some pics for you too =). Email me at careygrange@yahoo.com, and we can coordinate!
Lindsey & Cortney - Congratulations! Little Ian is so adorable! We came across your blog just days before you got your referal and it was so cool to watch it unfold. Best of luck with the court date! Ange&Anil
The letter and slide show are absolutely beautiful! I've been following your blog for a while . Thank you for sharing this special time with us.
Any news on when you travel? We are still waiting for our referral...UGH!!!
Hey Lindsey,
Are you doing ok? Just thinking about you and wanted to see how everything was going. Amy
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