MERON IS HERE!!!

We're home! One year and three months after starting this journey, all six Douglas' were together under one roof. We were able to finish our paperwork and get an earlier flight home. We got home around 6:30 Saturday night. It was fun to surprise the kids because they didn't know we were coming home early. All we can say at this point is praise God. We are so truly blessed. Our minds are still in a fog from the whirlwind, but what an amazing experience. Meron is absolutely perfect! She is so adorable and has a funny personality. We can't wait for you to meet her. She transitioned to us really well. She did cry a lot when she first met us, but that's because she was very attached to her nannies, which is a blessing. They truly loved her and she loved them. She had a very special bond with one in particular, and it was fun to watch them together. After our first day together, she was taking very well to both of us. By the end of our stay she could go back and forth between us and her nannies happily. What a humbling experience all this has been. It is very humbling to be in another culture where nothing is familiar, and we are the minority. To catch a glimpse of another part of our world that we share is such a priceless, unforgettable experience. We can't say enough about the Ethiopian people. They are absolutely amazing. They are very kind, happy people. Most of them have absolutely nothing, but would give you anything. And they're so joyous about life. We were fortunate to spend a lot of time with a few people there, and they shared with us their faith and how truly blessed they are by God. They walk very strongly in their faith and are thankful each day for things that we take for granted every day like our home, food, clothing, etc. We could go on all day but will cut it short.
Thank you very much for all of your prayers. We are thankful for family and friends like you. We couldn't have done it without all of you.
We've also attached a few pictures here for you to see.
Thanks again!
Brandt and Michelle ( and Meron )

Wtih her nanny.

In Ethiopia

NEWS FROM ETHIOPIA!

Map of Ethiopia
Hello to everyone from Ethiopia! It is beautiful here! We made it here safe and met our beautiful daughter! She is more beautiful and perfect than we could have ever imagined. We feel truly blessed! The House of Hope where Meron has been living and where we are staying is so nice. We can tell that the kids are all very well taken care of and are shown lots of love by everyone. It is so nice to know that Meron has been so well taken care of. We can't wait to get her home and meet everyone. She is a special little girl and a true blessing. It is hard to e-mail and call the U.S. from here so this might be it until we get home. We will try again later though. Please keep us and the kids back home in your prayers.
Brandt and Michelle

PRAYER FOR THE KIDS

Lane, Shelby, and Ty

Please keep the kids at home in your prayers as their parents travel to bring Meron home. Looking forward to Christmas Eve, when all will be together again!

GETTING MERON: UPDATE

Hi everyone,
What a week it has been! First we want to thank all of you for your prayers and words of support, we really appreciate it. We appreciate your e-mails too, you have all been so supportive and encouraging. We found out today that we are going to be able to go get Meron next week!! It has been a roller coaster few days. Last Thursday, our agency called and told us that they were trying to expedite our papers for the visa appt. so we could travel early and be home for Christmas. That was an incredible surprise! We were told we would know for sure on Monday, but then on Monday we were told we would know on Tuesday. Then on Tuesday we were told that we wouldn't have a definite answer until Thursday or Friday, because they were waiting on the final papers for Meron's passport to go through. They told us it was still a possibility to go next week, but to plan on going over Christmas. So today we didn't expect to hear anything and were preparing ourselves just to go in two weeks when we got the word that everything was all set and we get to go next week. (Hopefully we will keep our sanity through all of this!) Needless to say we are ecstatic ( if not a little panicked) and the kids are thrilled that we will be home for Christmas. We have been so greatly blessed. We fly out of Indianapolis Monday morning and arrive in Addis Ababa Tuesday morning. It will be a very long flight filled with anticipation! I guess it will give us some time to learn some Amharic phrases though. Hopefully we will meet Meron next Tuesday!! Our visa interview is on Thursday at the U.S. Embassy. Then her travel visa could be ready on Friday, but we have to stay through Monday because sometimes they aren't ready until Monday. We will start heading home on Tuesday and should arrive in Indianapolis on Christmas Eve. We hope to have the opportunity to send out an e-mail or two while we are in Ethiopia. We ask once again for your prayers for Meron, as this transition could be quite traumatic for her. She will be taken away from every security that she knows. We pray that she will quickly bond with us and feel safe and loved. Please also keep us in your prayers for safe travels (I'm not a huge fan of flying). And please keep Ty, Lane and Shelby in your prayers. Even though they are very excited, these next couple of weeks will be quite a roller coaster for them too.
Thanks again for all of your prayers.
Brandt and Michelle

FIRST PICTURE AND NEWS!

We are overjoyed to announce that we passed court today and Meron Grace Douglas is officially our daughter! Thank you so much for your prayers and support, we are truly grateful to have sunch wonderful family and friends. The tentative date for our visa interview is on Christmas Eve. They will let us know more in about a week. Hopefully Meron will be in the arms of her parents for her first Christmas. We have attached a picture of Meron for those of you who have not see her yet. It's the picture we received with her referral. She was already named Meron when we got her referral. In Ethiopian it means Gift of God. We thought that was perfect. We couldn't wait to share the news! We will keep you updated as soon as we know more. Thanks again for your prayers.