The BEST Christmas Present EVER!

We have some very exciting news to share...we got matched with a baby GIRL! She's approximately 3 months old and she's a BEAUTY! We are calling her Eden (a variation of the name given to her by her birth mother). We got the call from our agency on Wednesday, December 22nd and we shared the news with our immediate families when we were with them for Christmas. We are SO incredibly thankful for God's perfect timing and that He allowed us to have this awesome news for Christmas!

(If you want to see more details of the dates, check out the tab titled "The Timeline")

We are proud parents who would love to be able to share more details with you, but please understand that we cannot. Although she is our daughter, she is still not legally ours. Therefore, we cannot post any pictures of her or share any identifiable information (her full name, her birth region, her birthday, etc.). Also, please understand that her story is hers to share. Until she is old enough to decide for herself who she would like to share it with, we will not share her personal story of beauty, pain, love, redemption, and hope.

It’s amazing to see how we have bonded even closer as a couple just through being matched with Eden. We know that God has some cool things in store for Team Huss in 2011 and we can’t wait!

In an effort to answer some of your questions, we’ve compiled some FAQs…

Where is Eden now, and who is taking care of her?
She is in the very capable hands of the staff of Hannah’s Hope in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. One of the reasons that we selected AGCI as our adoption agency is that they have Hannah’s Hope, the place where Eden will stay until we bring her home. They have “special mothers” who take care of the children, as well as a nurse and a doctor on staff. As you can imagine, that is a big weight off of our shoulders as parents—knowing that she is in that environment rather than a less-than-ideal orphanage.

What’s next?
Our agency is working on scheduling our court date (when we appear before an Ethiopian judge). They anticipate that it will be scheduled for sometime in March. They should be able to tell us the date by the end of January, so we should have a couple of months to prepare to travel to Ethiopia.

Do you get to spend time with Eden while you’re in Ethiopia?
Yes.  For the time that we are in Addis Ababa for our appointment (about a week or less), we will get to spend 2-3 hours a day with Eden at Hannah’s Hope.

When do you get to bring her home?
After that first appointment is finished, there is another waiting period for our U.S. Embassy appointment (also in Ethiopia). One estimate we’ve been given is 6-8 weeks between appointments, but that can fluctuate based on any heightened investigations that the U.S. Embassy may decide to do on adoptions. We get to bring her home after that last appointment, so we’re praying for a short timeframe between appointments! If all goes smoothly, we should be home with her by May.

What specifically can I pray for?
Thanks for asking!  Please pray for Eden’s birth mother. Pray for the “special mothers”, nurse, and doctor who are taking care of Eden at Hannah’s Hope. Pray for Eden’s health and development. Pray for swift appointments. Pray that the U.S. Embassy decides NOT to do any more heightened investigations of adoptions. Pray for our worries to subside (if you’re a parent, I’m sure you totally understand the worry aspect!). Pray that we continue to strengthen as a couple so that we can be the best parents to Eden that we can possibly be.

Thanks SO much for sharing this journey with us!