I somewhat feel as if we have let our blog followers down as we haven't posted one single post or photo since we have returned home with Malia last Saturday. I hope you'll forgive us and understand that the Tunheim home has been extremely busy since we have been home. To be honest with you, I still think there is one suitcase left that hasn't been totally unpacked yet.

We are all doing well. Kaleb's love for Malia has amazed us all. He is totally in love with his baby sister and spends every minute he can with her, hugging her, kissing her, playing with her and making her laugh! It's such a joy to see him interact with her. No one is able to make Malia laugh has much as he is able to.

We thank you again for following us on this journey. Over the course of the next couple of weeks we will share more about our trip to Ethiopia and back.

Praise God! We will be bringing Malia home with us on Friday. Our Embassy appointment went well and we will be givin Malia's visa and passport on Friday morning.

Not only did we pass our Embassy interview, so did the VanNeste family and the Flores family (after a bit of a struggle this past week.) The Green family, the Lewis family and the Quinn family will have their Embassy appointment tomorrow. Please keep them in your prayers.

Also, PRAISE GOD, Samson's family was cleared to travel this week. They will begin their journey to bring Samson home on Friday! Our prayers have been answered, thank you Lord!

Ann has been amazing...she IS the most amazing mother any husband could ask for. Her love, patience and sacrifice are so inspiring, all of which is handed directly down from her mom. I'm so blessed to be on this trip with these two amazing women who have allowed me to go out and explore while they stay back and care for Malia. Tomorrow I have a full day planned. Please pray for me as I will be doing some things that God laid on my heart and I'm not sure that I'm emotionally or mentally ready for what I'm about to see and do...more on this later.

I have so much more to say and so many photos to share, but I have been going non-stop since we got here trying to do as much as possible in a very short amount of time. Since we have left I have gotten only about four of sleep.

This entire process has been exhausting in any way you can imagine! We are so thankful for all of your support and prayers, we could never have done it without you!!

We uneventfully arrived in Addis Ababa at 7:00 a.m. this Tuesday morning (10:00 p.m. Monday your time), 45 minutes before our scheduled arrival time. Wahoo!!

This post is going to be short and sweet as we are completely exhausted as we have been up over 30 hours.

We have had Malia with us since late this morning. She is so perfect in every way! She is so smiley and so happy all the time and loves to make noise. Our hearts hurt to see Malia's favorite nanny in tears as she said goodbye to our baby who she fed, changed, bathed and most importantly, LOVED. We are forever thankful to them for taking care of our precious baby. Tomorrow we will head to the Embassy at noon for our 1:00 Embassy appointment. Please pray everything goes smoothly and that they grant Malia her visa so we can bring her home!

Ann and Rosie are doing well, tired of course. Rosie's eyes were open to a whole new world today. She said it best by saying, "You will never understand until you have seen it with your own eyes." The people of Ethiopia are beautiful, but the poverty is widespread and heartbreaking.

We are counting down the hours. We will be headed to the airport within an hour or so for our non-stop 13 hour flight to Ethiopia. My stomach is filled with butterflies knowing that within 20 hours I will be holding Malia in my arms. We leave Washington-Dulles at 11:00 a.m. EST and arrive in Addis Ababa at 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday their time which would be 11:45 p.m. on Monday at home and will have a full day ahead of us. Boy, we'll be messed up. Please pray for safe travels.

Kaleb seems to be having a blast at Grandma Barb's. We haven't talked to him directly as he has been "too busy" to talk.

Our first flight to Washington-Dulles was uneventful. It was the first time I have flown on an aircraft where it was less than half full. It was quite nice. All three of us sprawled across two seats of our own with our feet hanging out into the aisle.

Our hearts are filled with anticipation...the butterflies are abundant...the hours of sleep in DC will be few...in less than 24 hours we will be in Ethiopia!! God is so good, He is good all the time!!

Our car was filled to the brim with four large suite cases, each weighing in at within a pound of 50 pounds and two large totes. The two large totes are filled with formula, diapers, shoes and socks, all items to be donated to the orphanages. One large suite case is filled with adult clothing and shoes and 30 Bibles that will be given to the least of these. Oh, and I can't forget gum. Gum, or Mastika in Amaharic, for Ashli York (Ashli is the sister of Amanda Flores and has been in Ethiopia for several months doing mission work and has visited Malia on more than one occasion) and some of the children.

Also, we have some very special treats for Samson. Samson loves stickers!! We have an abundance of stickers and toy trucks that we are going to share with him as we go to love on him and let him know how much his mommy and daddy (Sallee and Montie Couch) love and miss him and that they will be there soon, VERY SOON!

An amazing man by the name of Bisrat, whom I met on our first trip, is going to be assisting me in giving the donated items to those in need. He asked if I would be willing to "preach" at the church that he planted in the leper colony. Please say a prayer or two, or better yet, five prayers for me as I prepare my heart for this adventure.

We are so thankful and appreciative of my mom for caring for Kaleb this week. All week long he has been asking, "How many more sleeps until I get to stay at Grandma Barb's?". Today was the first day and he already conned her out of a new toy. Little does she know that come Wednesday, she will be completely exhausted as he will run her ragged demanding her attention at all times. At some point in the week she is going to clean our house and prepare it for company for when we return. We are so blessed to have her living so close to us!!

We are also so thankful and appreciative of my brother Luke and his girlfriend Jessica for all they have done for us to prepare for our trip. Both of them drove Ann, Rosie and myself to the airport in Minneapolis today. Then they had lunch with Jessica's parents and turned around and headed back to Fargo. Jessica spent the day yesterday at our home entertaining Kaleb so that Ann was able to prepare notes for her substitute teacher. She ran errands with Ann and helped pack.

It's such a joy to be traveling with my mother-in-law. She's always good for a laugh or two from some of the things she says. She is beaming with a smile from ear to ear knowing that she is soon to be in the presence of her first granddaughter. I would love to be a little mouse in the corner and follow Ann and Rosie around if they were to travel alone. I love them dearly, but it would be a case of the blind leading the blind. It's quite interesting...at least I know they need me and will appreciate me this week. Ha!

We are thrilled to be able to see those who we traveled with on our first trip, the Green's (half of them anyway), the VanNeste's and the Flores'. Our hearts are heavy for those who haven't been cleared to travel yet. We continue to ask God for favor for our dear friends, Salle and Montie Couch.

"Lord, please be with Salle and Montie and thier children at this difficult time and give them peace and favor in the case of bringing sweet Samson home. Lord, they love you and know that your timing will be perfect, but their hearts are heavy Father. They have fallen in love with this sweet Gomez boy and long for him to be in their arms forever. Lord God, we know firsthand that you are the God of miracles, Lord, please give the Couch family a miracle and show them mercy and allow them to bring Samson home. Amen."

We are about to embark on one of the greatest journeys of our lifetime. We are going to bring Malia Grace Mebone Tunheim home!!

We are in the final stages of packing and thought I would share with you a photo of a pile of Bibles (30+) that a church friend and Gideon, Charles Shortridge so graciously gave us to take to Ethiopia to help spread the "good news."

We can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. Today has been a day that we have so looked forward to over the past year. We have been cleared to travel to bring Malia home. Praise God!

"Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds." (Psalm 71:17)

This Valentine's Day we will be flying around the world to receive the sweetest Valentine's Day gift anyone could ever ask for, our sweet, precious, innocent child of God that WILL forever be a part of the Tunheim family. This proud mommy and daddy are bringing you home Malia!! Ann's mom has so graciously offered to come join us in our travels. We are blessed by her generosity, support and most importantly, her love!

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

We will be arriving back in Fargo at Hector International Airport on Saturday, February 19th at 5:53 p.m. We welcome you to come help us celebrate Malia's homecoming with us at the airport. By all means, we don't expect you to be there, but would love it if you are able to be present and could help us fill the airport.

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." (Hebrews 11:8)

We must make it known that we have an amazing four year-old little boy who is so proud to be a big brother and has made it known that he will get the first hold, the first hug and the first kiss from his baby sister when we arrive, so watch out for Mr. T.

Also, our sweet friend Ria Czichotzki with Rialee Photography will be joining us to capture Malia's homecoming through her artistic eye with the use of her camera.

We continue to ask for prayers for our dear friends who have yet to be cleared by the embassy, specifically Montie and Salle Couch and Rick and Amanda Flores. Our hearts are heavy as they are longing for their children. We will see the Flores' along with Abenet and Hanna in Ethiopia as they are there now dealing with some issues with the embassy. We will be making a special trip to hug and love on my little buddy, Samson Jude, the precious son of Montie and Sallee. These true friends have literally been praying that Malia comes home first as they truly feel in their hearts that since she's so little she needs to be with us before their kids come home. Absolutely amazing people...that's simply selfless love!!!

"Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods." (1 Chronicles 16:23-25)

We thank each and every one of you again for your continued support and prayers. God's richest blessings on you this day!

We awoke at 3:52 this morning and found an e-mail from Sue with a subject of "Go get that baby girl!!!"

Oh sweet Malia, mommy and daddy are on their way to bring you home. Our hearts are overflowing with the greatest joy and love one could imagine.

We have hooted and hollered and praised and cried at 4:00 in the morning for this unimaginable, undeserved gift from the Lord. It is true what you all have been saying to me, His time is PERFECT!!!!

We will be traveling in the next few days. Pray for safety and LOTS of JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We will let you know when tickets are booked. We will likely return home President's Day weekend! COME ONE AND ALL TO THE HECTOR INTERNATION AIRPORT TO HELP US WELCOME HOME MALIA GRACE MEBONE TUNHEIM!!!!!!!!!!

We continue to prayer for our friends who have yet to hear from the embassy. We pray that they will receive the news that we have received in God's perfect timing for them!!

We thank each and every one of you for your prayers and your unwavering support. Without you, this simply would not happen!

The additional paperwork requested by the Embassy will be turned in tomorrow. Please pray for a quick turn-around and that we are given the clearance to travel ASAP!

We continue to wait...the wait becomes harder and harder each day. Our hearts ache as we yearn to hold our precious baby in our arms. Maila turned six months old on Thursday. It was a hard day for both of us...

As far as we know, the orphanage has yet to turn in the additional documents requested by the Embassy. Our case cannot be cleared until this is done. We're praying these documents get turned in ASAP, like yesterday!

I wake up in the middle of the night multiple times, anxiously checking my BlackBerry for e-mails from our agency director. You're probably thinking, why would he be getting e-mails in the middle of the night?? Our agency director, Sue Hedberg is so amazingly committed to bringing these kids home and since Ethiopia is nine hours ahead of us, she is often up in the middle of the night checking her e-mail for messages from her in-country staff and the Embassy in Ethiopia on the day's events. I e-mailed Sue a couple of questions last night and got a response from her at 1:30 a.m. this morning.

We ask for prayers for the United States Embassy as they continue to shake things up in the Ethiopian adoption process. We respect and support them in their ultimate goal of "cleaning up" adoptions in Ethiopia, but feel that are taking it to extremes. I could spew story after story, but at this time I'm not going to. I'll give you one example only because I'm asking for prayers for this family. Last Friday our friends found out that the Embassy had scheduled an interview on Monday with their nine year-old son they are adopting along with his one year-old sister. This amazing mom frantically flew to Addis Ababa on Sunday to be present with their nine year-old during the interview, as there had been some reports of "interrogation" style tactics when other children had been interviewed recently.

We continue to pray that God speeds this waiting process up for not only us, but all of our fellow adopting friends as well. We pray that God places his hands of peace and mercy over the entire process and that the Embassy sees that His call is to care for the widows and orphans in their distress.

God bless you all!

I heard this on a friend's video last night, and I could hardly stand it. Oh, my sweet Malia, this is my hearts cry every minute of every day.

One Republic - Come Home

Hello world
Hope you're listening
Forgive me if I'm young
or speaking out of turn
There's someone I've been missing
I think that they could be
The better half of me
They're in their wrong place trying to make it right
But I'm tired of justifying
So I say you'll.

Come home
Come home
Cause I've been waiting for you
For so long
For so long
And right now there's a war between the vanities
But all I see is you and me
The fight for you is all I've ever known
So come home

I get lost in the beauty
Of everything I see
The world ain't as half as bad
As they paint it to be
If all the sons
All the daughters
Stopped to take it in
Well hopefully the hate subsides and the love can begin
It might start now.
Well maybe I'm just dreaming out loud
Until then

Come home
Come home
Cause I've been waiting for you
For so long
For so long
And right now there's a war between the vanities
But all i see is you and me
The fight for you is all I've ever known
Ever known
So come home

Everything I can't be
Is everything you should be
And that's why I need you here
Everything I can't be
Is everything you should be
And that's why I need you here
So hear this now

Come home
Come home
Cause I've been waiting for you
For so long
For so long
And right now there's a war between the vanities
But all i see is you and me
The fight for you is all I've ever known
Ever known
So come home
Come home

Another video of our beautiful, precious, Malia Grace:

Thank you to my wonderful Aunt Elizabeth (aka Pitt) for making Malia booties, a bonnet and a sweater! Thank you, also, for all the booties you make for the orphanage kids. I can't wait to deliver them!

PS - I'm still declaring IT IS WRITTEN...are you?