Court Postponed

Court has been postponed until 2pm...it probably won't affect any of you since you're all sleeping, but I thought I'd let you know.  We were on the way there, then Marta (the power of attorney) came out and told  us it had been postponed.  ARGH!  We ended up going shopping and I got some cute dresses for the girls, and a traditional outfit for Mebira.

2 more hours and we'll be at court...

We've seen Mebira

I am so excited to post that we saw Mebira today.  After waking up at 4 in the morning and lying there for a few hours we had a nice breakfast and then went shopping. I got some fun souvenirs and enjoyed the hot weather.

Then, at about 3 we were picked up to go to KVI Orphanage.  It was only a 5 minute drive away and I was a bit nervous before we got there, but mostly felt kind of numb.  I have been dreaming about that day for so long, yet when it actually came it was totally surreal.  We pulled into the compound and then they brought all of the older kids out to see us.  There were about 15, ages 4-13.  We brought some bouncy balls, bubbles and balloons to play with them and it was a bit overwhelming when this onslaught of kids came as soon as we opened the bag.  It was hard to keep track of who was who, and some ended up getting 3 while others didn't get any, but it seemed to work out in the end.

Anyway, I'm getting off track here.  We didn't recognize Mebi at first.  She looked different than her referral pictures, but still so cute.  She is quite dark (typical for the Wolaita area she is from) and has looser curled short hair.  She is a bit shy and stood back from the group a bit.  We weren't allowed to physically interact with her (no hugs, holding hands, lifting her up) but because we brought the toys it was a great way to play with her.  We bumped balloons back and forth with numerous kids, and had some almost one on one time playing with Mebira.  She has a beautiful smile and giggled a bit.  She is so sweet and I wish we could have just taken her home right then.  She is thin (but no thinner than G&E were at that age) and is a bit taller than my waist.

At the end we were given a tour of the facility, and right at the end Mebira came all by herself and grabbed my hand.  I had to let go after a few steps, but it was so special to have her come right up to me and do that.

We are feeling a bit more optimistic about court on Friday...we really appreciate your thoughts and prayers, especially in the next 36 hours as that is when the MOWA recommendation letter needs to be written.  I'll post more on Friday, hopefully with good news about court!

In Addis

Hi all.  We finally made it to Addis this morning.  Our last flight was good (quiet and smooth) but we still only slept about 3 hours and I was ready to go crazy by the end.  After a very exhausted morning (I did nap 1 hour), and a bit of an emotional adjustment, we ended up having a good day.  KVI is really nice - our room has a closet, bed, small table and attached bathroom, and the staff here is fantastic.

The weather is quite warm, with a breeze.  We have had a great time catching up with all of the other adoptive families here.  At the KVI there are 3 other families here for court, and 2 additional families have picked up their kids so it's been really neat to compare notes and observe how the first few days are going for those with their new kids.

Tomorrow we'll do some shopping in the morning and then see Mebira in the afternoon.  We've heard that they're quite strict about interacting with Mebira...we won't be able to hold her or interact with her at all.  I'm hoping we can still see a bit of her personality - I'm so curious as to what she's like.

Friday we have court (Thursday night for you)...I'm still really hoping and praying we'll pass.

Well, it's just about 7 and that's about as long as I can keep my eyes open.  We're going to head to bed and I'll update again after we've met Mebira.

London

Hi all. Well, we made it to London. We both only slept about 3 hrs on the plane. Luckily it wasn't very full so we were each able to take 2 seats and stretch out. Unfortunately there were a ton of very loud 2 year olds on the plane and we only had about 1 hour when someone wasn't shrieking or loud. We arrived here at 9:30am and then took a bus to our day hotel. Don't get any ideas about us getting a hotel for a.few hours...it was purely for sleeping purposes only.:-) There was a McDonald's close by so we went there for lunch and then had a nap. We were worried about sleeping too much during the day so we thought we'd come to the airport a bit early. The high end shops here are amazing! I'm hoping to get a Pandora charm on our way back to have as a memory of this trip. So far we're doing all right. We've each had moments of.exhaustion and feeling under the weather but so far we're ok. We're hoping we can sleep on the plane tonight so that we can enjoy our first full day in Addis tomorrow. BTW, I'm posting this from,my phone so I apologize for any typos. Until tomorrow...big hugs to G&E!!! Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

And We're Off...

Well, I'm feeling a bit nervous today. The next 12 days will be lifechanging, I'm sure.

Arvid got up at 6 this morning, and I decided I should wake up, too. Yes, me, awake at 6 am. Personally, I think 6:00 is one of those times of day you should only see once, but I'm hoping by getting up that early that I'll be extra tired and be able to sleep on the plane tonight.

We're off to church, then a quick lunch, then to the airport for our flight to London. We have an 11 hour delay there (we've booked a day hotel so we can shower/nap/stretch out) and then we have another long flight to Ethiopia. We arrive there at 7:30ish am on Tuesday morning Ethiopian time. Yes, Tuesday morning. I am SOOO dreading this flight but really excited to be able to see Mebira.

The overflowing of support and well wishes has been amazing. We feel so cared for and are blessed. Two friends (thanks Caroline and LuAnne!) and my mom also gave me verses, which are so encouraging. I've posted them here:

Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know".
She also said "It's our job to pray, it's His job to answer, Trust Him to do His job!"

Psalm 138:3 "When I pray, God answers me. He encourages me by giving me the strength I need."

Isaiah 40: 31 "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

I will carry those with me and read them often. One thing about this trip is it is bringing me literally to my knees in prayer. As much as I don't like things to be out of my control, I think that's when God has me where he wants me. :-)

I'll try to post again en route if possible. Until then...

Court

Well, we found out another family in the same predicament as us didn't pass court yesterday...so our chances are pretty slim. I'm a bit grumpy about it because OUR BIRTHDATE DIDN'T CHANGE...only the date of the certificate...and this is one of those changes we got caught right in the middle of. But there's nothing we can do and at least I'm prepared for it.

We do have a backup plan, though which I'm hoping will help. If we don't pass court, we've been in touch with a tour agency and hope to do some last minute touring around northern Ethiopia. We'll make the best of it and explore as much of the country as we can...and have a bottle of champagne ready at home for the day we do pass court. Hmmm...except I don't really like champagne that much...maybe I'll have a fizzy can of coke instead. :-)

Dreaded Documentation

Last week we received some unfortunate news about our documents. We've had to frantically update things since we received the referral. Unfortunately, the last thing we had to update (marriage and birth certificates) are now newer than our statutory declaration (list of documents) which is notarized, legalized and authenticated at the embassy. There's a chance (I really hope it doesn't happen!) that the ministry in Ethiopia may not like this (really, it's not like we changed our birthdate or marriage date!) and may request us to send everything to the embassy again, for another $300 and another delay.

I was a bit down about this last week...but then decided that it's out of my control and there's nothing that I can do about it (or could have done). A friend I've met on our online adoption community is in the same boat and expressed exactly what I was feeling on her blog. She's given me permission to post it here - thanks Ruth (I've edited it slightly to match our situation)!

It's going to be OK. Maybe not on February 11th, but it's going to be ok. As desperately as I want to pass court while we're there, as much as I want to hear the judge grant us the right to parent Mebira, as devastated as I'll feel if we don't pass on the first try...it's going to be ok.

Here are two thoughts to consider:

1. God is in control. As my mom wisely told me last week, He already knew that this wrinkle was going to materialize, and He's already got it figured out. Nothing can happen that is counter to His will. So I can relax.

2. God is in control. If we don't pass court while we're there, there is no doubt that we'll be very disappointed...it will change the trajectory of our trip, and have a number of implications for our second, pick-up trip, bringing the girls, etc. But you know what? We'll deal with it and get over the disappointment, or at least reconcile ourselves to it, and we will prepare ourselves for a longer wait until we get through court. I have a deep and abiding sense of peace that we will pass court...whether it's the first time or not. God provided the way to Mebira; he will be faithful.

If I want to be a person of faith, then I need to choose to live my faith now. Now, when it matters. It won't mean a lot if I say this after we pass court. It's easy (well, easier), afterwards, to say that I believed God would be faithful to the plan I believe He gave us for our family. I want to go out on a fragile limb of faith and say now that I believe God has a plan for our family and that it was He who provided everything in this adoption. I choose to rest in the knowledge and belief that He will see it through to completion.

So whether we pass court or not, I still believe that God has a plan and is good...all the time.

Having said that, we appreciate your prayers and support over this time. The Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) needs to review our documents before our court date and could be looking at them any day now. We pray that this latest bump would not be an issue at all, and that we would pass court and be able to have a real visit with Mebira while we're there.