Looking at the date on my last blog I realize I am a bit of a blog slacker!!
What has life been like here at the Hollis home since September? Well, we have been very busy! Scott has traveled quite a bit in the last 5 months and has been doing well at work. I have been staying busy keeping the home fires burning!
Amanda is home and working right up the road as a banker with Wells Fargo. We are so blessed to have her home with us. :) Emily and Chris just got back from Australia where they spent 8 glorious days. Rachel is engaged to a great guy T.K. and they are getting married April 14, 2012. Andrea is still at Etowah and is going to get her license tomorrow.
We have been very involved with a new church plant that we are hoping will be up and open within the next year.
As for the adoption process in Ethiopia... due to the lack of movement and progress in the Southern Region of Ethiopia we have decided to stop our adoption process in Ethiopia. God has taught us much through this process and in the past year. Our hearts are definitely very eager to adopt and or care for children who are in need of homes, we are just looking at different options and places the Lord has been opening up to us. We are very sad that we were not able to bring the boys home. However, we know and have much faith that we cannot even comprehend the things that God is doing, but know and believe that they are good!
We would so appreciate your prayers as we continue to seek out how the Lord would desire us to serve him and those around us. Thank you for your prayers and your care for us over the last few years.
As for the blog name, well we can say that as of April we will have gained to sons-in-law...... this just goes to show that man makes his plans but God directs his steps! Thought we would be Hollis 8 in a very different way, but yet here we are still looking forward to being Hollis 8 (kind of)...just not according to our plans!
Looking forward to seeing how God directs and acts in the future. Wouldn't trade this roller coaster ride for any other! As one of my favorite bloggers says "All is Grace".
Thanks again for checking in!
T
Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday, September 26, 2011
Update
First of all I would like to say thank you for your prayers over the last few weeks, and secondly I would ask that you continue praying!
Today we received word that the boys do have two different mothers, however, the father does not want either of the boys. The orphanage director is going to submit paperwork to the local court to allow Tadele (Isaiah 4yrs) to be adopted since he has been abandoned by his parents. Mamush (Jonathan 8 or 9yrs) is available and there are no legal issues with him since his mom has indeed passed away.
Our prayer is that the Lord would move the hearts and minds of the officials in Ethiopia to allow Tadele to be adopted since he has been abandoned by his parents for almost 2 years. Please join us in praying for the boys and also for wisdom for decisions to be made, and grace to accept whatever the outcome may be!
Thanks so much
Teresa
Today we received word that the boys do have two different mothers, however, the father does not want either of the boys. The orphanage director is going to submit paperwork to the local court to allow Tadele (Isaiah 4yrs) to be adopted since he has been abandoned by his parents. Mamush (Jonathan 8 or 9yrs) is available and there are no legal issues with him since his mom has indeed passed away.
Our prayer is that the Lord would move the hearts and minds of the officials in Ethiopia to allow Tadele to be adopted since he has been abandoned by his parents for almost 2 years. Please join us in praying for the boys and also for wisdom for decisions to be made, and grace to accept whatever the outcome may be!
Thanks so much
Teresa
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Complications, Tears, Prayers and Peace
Well where to start! It has been almost four months since we first saw the faces of the two boys who were referred to us for adoption from Ethiopia. Since then every month we have anxiously awaited the newest picture and information on how they have grown and what they have been doing.
Yesterday when I received the call from our caseworker I was so excited.... my first thought was "Yes, our documents have been sent to court!" Not God's plan!
Our caseworker informed us that one of our boys may not be available for adoption anymore, pending further investigation. It seems as if the father of the boys may have given miss-information to the orphanage and the boys actually may not be full brothers. They may have different mothers, one of which may still be alive. The authorities are investigating and we should know more in the next few weeks.
So we certainly would appreciate it if you would pray for "our" boys! We pray that if the mom is truly alive and wants her son that there would be a joy filled reunion, if not we pray that God would grant us our prayer and desire of our heart to bring these two boys home and to make them part of our family. We would also appreciate prayers for wisdom and discernment as we proceed and make decisions as facts and circumstances come to light.
I am so thankful for the steadfast love of the Lord that never fails, His mercies that are new every moment, and especially for the peace that passes all understanding as I trust in Him.
Thanks so much,
Teresa and all
Yesterday when I received the call from our caseworker I was so excited.... my first thought was "Yes, our documents have been sent to court!" Not God's plan!
Our caseworker informed us that one of our boys may not be available for adoption anymore, pending further investigation. It seems as if the father of the boys may have given miss-information to the orphanage and the boys actually may not be full brothers. They may have different mothers, one of which may still be alive. The authorities are investigating and we should know more in the next few weeks.
So we certainly would appreciate it if you would pray for "our" boys! We pray that if the mom is truly alive and wants her son that there would be a joy filled reunion, if not we pray that God would grant us our prayer and desire of our heart to bring these two boys home and to make them part of our family. We would also appreciate prayers for wisdom and discernment as we proceed and make decisions as facts and circumstances come to light.
I am so thankful for the steadfast love of the Lord that never fails, His mercies that are new every moment, and especially for the peace that passes all understanding as I trust in Him.
Thanks so much,
Teresa and all
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Two Weeks Closer!
Well it has been a whirlwind of activity and sharing these last few weeks! After accepting the referral for our two boys we then told our family and friends, printed out oodles of pictures, put new background pictures on our computers and phones and spent a few days just saying WOW it happened...
Then we had a little work to do. First get home study updated...check, get it authenticated and sent out to Washington DC....check, wait, wait and more waiting! Now we really have nothing more to do until September when we will have to be re-fingerprinted just in case it is later than January when we get the boys.
Next was to think of some names. Our 8 year old will be named Jonathan Scott (Ethiopian Name) Hollis, and our 4 year old will be named Isaiah Matthew (Ethiopian Name) Hollis.
As I look back over the past year, yes it has been a year since our decision was made to proceed with adopting from Ethiopia, I see so much of God's hand and grace in our lives to bring us to this point. I remember how we said we could not possibly adopt a child older than 5.... God allowed us to spend time with older foster children and to understand how it is not as scary as the world makes it out to be! Older children are not irreparably harmed and unlovable. They are beautiful and are in need of a home and a family who loves them just as much as the little ones! Due to our life circumstance and situation I cannot even believe we contemplated a toddler! Our boys will fit right in with friends and neighbors, and be blessed with many friends of their age.
Anyway, I am rambling and my beeper is going off telling me dinner is ready!
God bless and have a great 4th of July
Teresa
Then we had a little work to do. First get home study updated...check, get it authenticated and sent out to Washington DC....check, wait, wait and more waiting! Now we really have nothing more to do until September when we will have to be re-fingerprinted just in case it is later than January when we get the boys.
Next was to think of some names. Our 8 year old will be named Jonathan Scott (Ethiopian Name) Hollis, and our 4 year old will be named Isaiah Matthew (Ethiopian Name) Hollis.
As I look back over the past year, yes it has been a year since our decision was made to proceed with adopting from Ethiopia, I see so much of God's hand and grace in our lives to bring us to this point. I remember how we said we could not possibly adopt a child older than 5.... God allowed us to spend time with older foster children and to understand how it is not as scary as the world makes it out to be! Older children are not irreparably harmed and unlovable. They are beautiful and are in need of a home and a family who loves them just as much as the little ones! Due to our life circumstance and situation I cannot even believe we contemplated a toddler! Our boys will fit right in with friends and neighbors, and be blessed with many friends of their age.
Anyway, I am rambling and my beeper is going off telling me dinner is ready!
God bless and have a great 4th of July
Teresa
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Weddings, Life and REFERRAL!!!!!
So yes it has been many months since I have written because not much has changed... Except, Emily is married, Amanda is coming home in July, Rachel is in a relationship with a great guy we all really like, and Andrea has her permit and is going back to Etowah High School in the fall. Carly graduated and is living with us and working at KSU.
Oh, and today we accepted the referral for 2 brothers ages 4 and 8 who have been waiting in the orphanage for a year to be adopted. We are very excited and the girls are busy naming them and thinking of all the fun things they will do when they get here! According to our agency there is a good chance we will be traveling for our court day some time in November and will perhaps have them by January or February of 2012. That is, barring any unforeseen complication which there are many of in the adoption process.
So what are our next steps? Well they will send some forms for us to sign, we have to update our home study and get a new form from the US immigration dept because the older boy is 1 year older than we are approved for and the younger boy has a health issue we are not approved for.
Please pray for us as we walk through this phase of the adoption process. We are now waiting for paper work, finishing up an educational video and waiting for medicals to come in. It will be a few weeks before we get any more information.
We are praying for patience, provision and wisdom! Thank you for your prayers and concern so far and am very excited for the day that will come when we can introduce them to our friends and family both in photo's and in person. (photos will not be able to be posted until after our first trip to Ethiopia)
Love to all
T
Oh, and today we accepted the referral for 2 brothers ages 4 and 8 who have been waiting in the orphanage for a year to be adopted. We are very excited and the girls are busy naming them and thinking of all the fun things they will do when they get here! According to our agency there is a good chance we will be traveling for our court day some time in November and will perhaps have them by January or February of 2012. That is, barring any unforeseen complication which there are many of in the adoption process.
So what are our next steps? Well they will send some forms for us to sign, we have to update our home study and get a new form from the US immigration dept because the older boy is 1 year older than we are approved for and the younger boy has a health issue we are not approved for.
Please pray for us as we walk through this phase of the adoption process. We are now waiting for paper work, finishing up an educational video and waiting for medicals to come in. It will be a few weeks before we get any more information.
We are praying for patience, provision and wisdom! Thank you for your prayers and concern so far and am very excited for the day that will come when we can introduce them to our friends and family both in photo's and in person. (photos will not be able to be posted until after our first trip to Ethiopia)
Love to all
T
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Praising God for His GREAT Kindness to Us!
I hope today finds you all well. It is a very exciting day for us and some of our family is not even aware of it as of yet... here is the notice!
God has so kindly and graciously supplied the funds for us to finish paying the fees we needed to pay so that we can now begin the referral process. What does this look like? We wait... and wait.. for how long you ask? Well, till God in His Sovereignty matches us with the children he prepared before time began to be part of our family forever! I liken it to being pregnant.... we have not seen the children yet, but know that soon they will be with us and part of our family (the Lord willing).
We are also enjoying the days leading up to the wedding of Emily and Chris. Last details and purchases, showers, and presents coming to the house.... it is all very exciting! Waiting for RSVP's.. e-mail if you haven't sent yours yet!!
Scott and I have finally finished our dance classes and enjoyed them a great deal. Scott is an excellent dancer and is helping me with my "challenged" feet!
Rachel, Andrea and Emily are looking forward to finishing up this semester of school and Amanda is on the hunt for a job that gives her more flexibility and upward mobility!
Please pray for us during the next month as the wedding draws near and as we wait on the Lord for His will to be made known in many areas of our lives.... and please join us in praying for the two new little Hollis children that we pray will come to us soon!
Thanks so much
Love and prayers
Teresa and all!
God has so kindly and graciously supplied the funds for us to finish paying the fees we needed to pay so that we can now begin the referral process. What does this look like? We wait... and wait.. for how long you ask? Well, till God in His Sovereignty matches us with the children he prepared before time began to be part of our family forever! I liken it to being pregnant.... we have not seen the children yet, but know that soon they will be with us and part of our family (the Lord willing).
We are also enjoying the days leading up to the wedding of Emily and Chris. Last details and purchases, showers, and presents coming to the house.... it is all very exciting! Waiting for RSVP's.. e-mail if you haven't sent yours yet!!
Scott and I have finally finished our dance classes and enjoyed them a great deal. Scott is an excellent dancer and is helping me with my "challenged" feet!
Rachel, Andrea and Emily are looking forward to finishing up this semester of school and Amanda is on the hunt for a job that gives her more flexibility and upward mobility!
Please pray for us during the next month as the wedding draws near and as we wait on the Lord for His will to be made known in many areas of our lives.... and please join us in praying for the two new little Hollis children that we pray will come to us soon!
Thanks so much
Love and prayers
Teresa and all!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Been busy!! But who hasn't!?
Hello friends,
I had someone ask me about my blog posting (or lack there of) yesterday so I decided to catch up anyone who was interested!
Since the last post we have been busy beavers. Scott has been traveling a bunch, and working very hard ( even went to Hawaii on business for 4 day, not as fun as it sounds). While Scott was gone he treated me to a one night, two day personal retreat. I was able to get a lot of details ironed out about showers and wedding planning, read a bunch, and was able to get to the GA Secretary of State's office to get our documents for our adoption ready to go to DC.
The girls are all very busy with school and work. I remember the days when they were all still little girls and I could have never imagined how different it would be in ten years! I miss them being here, but as a wise lady at The Garden ( ministry to homeless woman and children) said to me when I was saying how much I longed for those days "oh no, this is what we prayed for when they were little... that they would grow up to be children who love God and live lives of their own". She was so right, but I would also say that we prayed for girls who would God and seek to glorify him with their lives. What more could you ask for. So I have to say I am thankful for the many years they were all home with us and excited to see how God uses them as he grows and matures them! BUT, I can also get excited when they come home and visit (7 days and counting Amanda!).
Wedding plans are coming along. A lot of little details that need firming up and lots of envelopes to address (today hopefully). Two wedding showers in the next 4weeks, and I will start making some mac and cheese after Thanksgiving.
As far as the adoption goes, we are in the final stages here in the US. Our dossier that will be sent to Ethiopia is at CWA (our adoption agency) waiting for the rest of our fees. As soon as God supplies those (in HIS perfect time) our dossier will be sent to the Ethiopian Embassy in Ethiopia and we will begin waiting for our referral (that would be pictures and info on the children selected for us) which could be 3-11 months. We have all of our fingerprinting done so we are also waiting on final USICS approval which should come in the next couple of months.
I posted on FB the other day that my status was "Waiting". I feel this is really what God is teaching me right now... to rest and wait on Him... my faithful, gracious, loving Father, who abounds in steadfast love for his children. As I am reading through the gospels right now I have been struck again by God's love and care for his children, and Christ reminds us again and again that our Father knows our needs and will supply them. So my challenge is to be and do today all HE wants me to do and be today with what he has given me the opportunity and privilege to do and be today
for HIS honor and glory!
Thanks for caring and reading! Please pray for us during this crazy busy, exciting and eventful time in our lives and also for God to continue supplying the funds for our adoption.
Love and Prayers
Teresa
I had someone ask me about my blog posting (or lack there of) yesterday so I decided to catch up anyone who was interested!
Since the last post we have been busy beavers. Scott has been traveling a bunch, and working very hard ( even went to Hawaii on business for 4 day, not as fun as it sounds). While Scott was gone he treated me to a one night, two day personal retreat. I was able to get a lot of details ironed out about showers and wedding planning, read a bunch, and was able to get to the GA Secretary of State's office to get our documents for our adoption ready to go to DC.
The girls are all very busy with school and work. I remember the days when they were all still little girls and I could have never imagined how different it would be in ten years! I miss them being here, but as a wise lady at The Garden ( ministry to homeless woman and children) said to me when I was saying how much I longed for those days "oh no, this is what we prayed for when they were little... that they would grow up to be children who love God and live lives of their own". She was so right, but I would also say that we prayed for girls who would God and seek to glorify him with their lives. What more could you ask for. So I have to say I am thankful for the many years they were all home with us and excited to see how God uses them as he grows and matures them! BUT, I can also get excited when they come home and visit (7 days and counting Amanda!).
Wedding plans are coming along. A lot of little details that need firming up and lots of envelopes to address (today hopefully). Two wedding showers in the next 4weeks, and I will start making some mac and cheese after Thanksgiving.
As far as the adoption goes, we are in the final stages here in the US. Our dossier that will be sent to Ethiopia is at CWA (our adoption agency) waiting for the rest of our fees. As soon as God supplies those (in HIS perfect time) our dossier will be sent to the Ethiopian Embassy in Ethiopia and we will begin waiting for our referral (that would be pictures and info on the children selected for us) which could be 3-11 months. We have all of our fingerprinting done so we are also waiting on final USICS approval which should come in the next couple of months.
I posted on FB the other day that my status was "Waiting". I feel this is really what God is teaching me right now... to rest and wait on Him... my faithful, gracious, loving Father, who abounds in steadfast love for his children. As I am reading through the gospels right now I have been struck again by God's love and care for his children, and Christ reminds us again and again that our Father knows our needs and will supply them. So my challenge is to be and do today all HE wants me to do and be today with what he has given me the opportunity and privilege to do and be today
for HIS honor and glory!
Thanks for caring and reading! Please pray for us during this crazy busy, exciting and eventful time in our lives and also for God to continue supplying the funds for our adoption.
Love and Prayers
Teresa
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