It's A Boy!!

Big news - we have a referral!! We are excited to announce the soon-to-be-newest addition to the Dirks family! He is 10 months old and SOOO cute! He has big brown beautiful eyes, just like big brother Isaac. :) Now we're waiting for an Ethiopian court date, and soon after that we'll be able to bring him home. We really don't know how long we'll have to wait to get into court, but please pray that it will be soon. We are obviously very anxious to get him home.

We've decided not to post or e-mail out his picture yet, but we will be carrying it with us everywhere we go, so if you see us, you can stop us and say "Let me see him!" and we'll be happy to oblige!

Five Years

Eric and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on Saturday. Eric's parents blessed us greatly by taking care of Isaac in Brainerd for the weekend, so we were able to get away for a few days! Isaac had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa and we had a relaxing and responsibility-free weekend to ourselves - what a deal!

On our little balcony overlooking Lake Superior

Isaac helping hold the antlers from Grandpa's deer!

Isaac and Grandma...he's definitely in a cheesy grin phase!

We're Next!

I haven't posted much lately about our adoption, because there (unfortunately) hasn't been much to say. Our agency has been working hard to find some kiddos, but it's been more difficult than expected. Recently they found another agency that offered to work with them in finding referrals (pictures and information of adoptable children) for their waiting families. We've since had to update paperwork for our dossier with a few extra documents required by the second agency, but now our dossier is getting authenticated and will very soon be on its way to Ethiopia. The great news we received today is that we are number ONE on the list to get a referral for a baby!! We had been number two, but the family ahead of us just got their referral, so that means we're next! This also means I'll be checking my e-mail madly and my heart will be jumping every time the phone rings. Since our agencies aren't as large and well established as some, we really don't know if this call will be days, weeks, or months away, but we are hopeful that it will be soon! So check back often :)

Derar

We thought it would be fun to introduce our blog readers to Derar, who is one of the kids we sponsor through Compassion International. Eric started sponsoring Derar before we were married and before we knew that his country would be the birthplace of one of our children! Derar lives in Ethiopia, not too far from the capital - Addis Ababa, which is the city we'll be going to when we travel to bring home the baby. So we are really hoping to be able to spend some time with him while we are there! Derar is quickly approaching the age of 18, when he'll graduate from the Compassion program, so we are especially grateful for the timing of this adoption since it might be harder to contact him or arrange a visit with him if he were already done with the program. Needless to say, we are very much looking forward to meeting him!!

Late Summer Recap

Eric started back at work again this week so the summer is officially over for the Dirks' family. Sad, but we're looking forward to whatever God has in store for the fall. I thought I'd post some pictures from the second half of our summer to show you what we've been up to lately...

Isaac loved getting to ride around the yard on the "tractor" after Eric finished mowing the lawn!

Eric made a second bathroom in the basement! Isaac's always ready to help :)

Baking with mommy. Once again, our little helper!

First time I was brave enough to get the paint out! One of Eric's other projects this summer was to put a new floor in our (previously carpeted) dining room, so spills at the table are much happier now.

Isaac got to go on his first airplane ride - which was exciting...too exciting to sleep of course.

Lots of snacks on the front step! This is Isaac's on-cue smile :)

Hoping to post again soon with news on the adoption. Our agency is working hard at getting referrals, so we're hopeful.

Approved!!

Well, after a two month wait, we finally got our approval from USCIS to bring a baby into the US from Ethiopia! We actually got the long-awaited I-171H form in the mail last Friday, but they had spelled our last name wrong in one spot, so we had to ask for a new copy. They turned it around quickly, but it was frustrating nonetheless. But now it's on its way to our agency where it (along with the rest of our dossier - this document completes it) will be sent to various places for authentication, and THEN we are ready to get a referral!! For those not familiar with the lingo, a referral is receiving the name and picture of a baby that we could adopt. That will be an exciting day! Please pray for patience and wisdom for us as we wait for this day.

Weekend in Brainerd

We went up to Eric's parents' house for a few days over the Fourth. Isaac had a great time seeing everyone and LOVED the water!

Pretending to take a nap on the beach

Isaac was SO excited to go on the boat

Grandma and Isaac

Grandpa even let Isaac DRIVE the boat - lucky kid!

Eric and his brother and sister getting ready to waterski

I love this one

Our little fish

North Shore

Here are a few pictures from our recent trip to the North Shore with my family. Isaac had a great time and was a spectacular traveler - which made for a much more relaxing vacation!

Not much to report about the adoption - we are still just waiting for our immigration approval from CIS. Having summer here and Eric home has been a nice distraction that has made the waiting a little easier - although some days are harder than others. I just can't wait to see that little face! Isaac has started referring to the baby a lot - tonight he said "Night-night baby!" He'll be a great big brother!

Our Home Study

...is finally done! I was beginning to wonder if this day would ever come! It is being mailed all over the place this week to be signed by a variety of people, and then it will go to USCIS so they can approve us to bring an orphan into the US. It's anyone's guess as to when this approval will be granted, but we are praying that it will be soon! Feel free to do the same! :)

The Zoo

Isaac and I spent the day at Como Zoo with our friends Stacy and Anna, who just came home from Uganda. The kiddos definately enjoyed the stationary entertainment more than the animals that we went there to see...oh, well -as long as they're happy!

Isaac barely gave a glance to the real giraffes, but was pretty excited about this one.

This was a photo booth with a curtain that provided a good 15 minutes of fun...at no cost :)

Isaac and Anna had so much fun looking at each other through the hole in this post. They're so cute together.

Two!!

Birthday Party #1

Isaac's second birthday isn't officially until next Sunday, but since my brother and his wife were in town from TX for Grandma's retirement, we decided to celebrate Isaac's birthday too.

Here's Isaac with his fun aunt and uncle.

Isaac was pretty excited about his new picnic table. I always love the pictures of all the guys trying to put together the new toy :)Doesn't he just look like he's wishing he had a little brother or sister to share it with??


Isaac loves Elmo, but he was way more excited to eat the cake than look at it!

This one's from that morning - I just thought it was cute!