Re-United ............... At Last!

For almost a year now I have been following Amanda & Andrew's (a military couple) adoption journey (I'm not linking to their blog, as it is private). This family's story has been one of a kind, but more than anything else it has been a roller coaster ride .... everything that this family has been through to finally have all these 3 precious siblings together under one roof ..... is amazing and unimaginable .... all I can say is that I am so happy that finally they are all together as a family of 5.

Adia (6), Amalia (12) and Amado (9)

When Amanda and Andrew went to Ethiopia in January of this year to pick up Adia and Amado and finally bring them home, they found out, much to their surprise, that the children had an older sister, Amalia. As the adoption process is, they soon had to leave Ethiopia with Amado and Adia and leave Amalia behind, not knowing if the children will ever see each other again - not knowing if it was possible for Amanda and Andrew to adopt Amalia as well. Many, many, things have happened - which I'm not at liberty to talk about - but eventually, they found out that Amalia too has entered the orphanage and is now in need of a family. Andrew and Amanda literally moved mountains to be able to bring Amalia home and re-unite her with her siblings. At the end of September, Andrew and Amanda received word that all legalities were completed and finalized and that Andrew could now travel to Ethiopia and once a Visa appointment received, present himself with Amalia there ..... and then be on the way home to the US. The Visa appointment at the US Embassy in Addis Abeba is the last milestone in an adoption process before the child can actually leave the country, travel to and enter legally the US. So Andrew flys to Ethiopia at the end of Semptember and brings Amalia home on Thursday of this week .... finally and at last.

I have followed this family's journey for months now and to see them all together at last after so long has brought many tears of joy to my eyes.

This family's adoption journey is an amazing one, indeed one of a kind, with many challenges and many ups and downs .... but eventually it brought the children back together again and turned Amanda and Andrew into parents to three beautiful and amazing children. The picture above was made on their first family outing as a family of 5 at a nearby pumpkin patch. The children look so happy and just simply beautiful.

Andrew and Amanda are amazing parents. To think that a year ago it was just the two of them, and now, not even a year later they have become parents to three children all at once. Amazing ... and don't think for a minute it's a breeze, because it's not, every day is a new challenge .... but I've been knowing Amanda and Andrew now for almost a year and I could not imagine these kids anywhere else but with them .... I admire them both, they have so much strengh, perseverence, and courage .... but above all .... they have so much love for their children.

I am very happy for this family, and may God bless them always!