Introducing Our Daughters and Son!!!

We are thrilled to announce that we PASSED court today!!!! We are officially the parents of our beautiful children according to the Ethiopian government. What an amazing day!

Introducing Hirut, Helen, and Binyam!!!

The Rollercoaster Continues...

Our court case was postponed again today, with no reason given. Our agency thinks that it might be because the court had too many cases scheduled today. I'm feeling sad and frustrated about that, but there is good news: Our court date was rescheduled for tomorrow. Hopefully, the third time is a charm! The other good news is that at least 3 other Nazret families passed court today. I'm sooo excited for them and hope we join them tomorrow :)

Postponement with a Silver Lining

I kind of knew it was too good to be true. Every time I told someone about our "court date", my intuition told me to say, "first court date" instead. And then, at 2 o'clock this morning, I woke up suddenly, and I just knew it. And so it is. Our court case has been postponed. No reason was given to our adoption agency to explain why, but it's not unusual for families to be scheduled for multiple court cases before they pass.

At the same time, I feel really lucky. I feel lucky because our court case was rescheduled for October 28th, less than a week away. PLUS, that's the same court date as the other Nazret families I know, so I think this probably increases our chances of traveling together. I would LOVE that.

So, while I'm definitely disappointed, I'm also thankful. And I'm hopeful that our families will be together before we know it!!! (A girl can dream, can't she?)

Mark your calendars - October 28th is going to be a big day!!!

Twenty-Seven Weeks and Two Days Later

It’s been twenty-seven weeks and two days since we received our referral, and today we were F-I-N-A-L-L-Y assigned a court date in Ethiopia! Not only that, but it’s for THIS THURSDAY!!!! Thursday, October 22^nd!

This is a HUGE step for us, and one that we’ve been waiting for since our referral. Most families with our agency who were matched with their children in April (like us) have already traveled, so this is a BIG step forward. It’s PROGRESS.

We don’t travel to Ethiopia for this court date; our adoption agency takes care of this part of the process in country for us. So, if everything goes smoothly, we will legally be the parents of Hirut, Helen, and Binyam according to the Ethiopian government on October 22nd. We should hear by 12 noon (Central Time) on Thursday if all goes well.

At this point, we think we’ll be traveling in December (again, if everything goes smoothly). We are SOOOO excited!!!

Thanks for sharing in this journey with us!

Much love,

Sarah & Jeremy

It's a Small World After All!

When I was around 11 years old, my parents took our family to Florida to go to Disneyworld. I remember a few things about that trip... Because it was freezing (for Florida), our first stop was to the gift store to buy matching Mickey Mouse hoodies. I remember loving Epcot Center where we could learn about different countries. Another thing that stuck with me was the ride, "It's a Small World". In particular, I remember having the song in my head for the next year!

In the last few days, that song has occupied my mind once again. This time, it's not because of Disneyworld, but because of some amazing connections I have made in the last week.

Many of you know that our children are in an orphanage in Nazret, Ethiopia. According to our agency, very few adoptive families here are matched with children there... around 10 or so.

Since May, I've known of only one other family who has a child there. It has been wonderful to connect with her regularly about each of our families' progress (or lack thereof). I can't imagine waiting all of this time without someone like her!

Ever since we connected, the two of us have been searching for others who have children in the same place. That's why I find it AMAZING that, in this last week alone, we have connected with at least THREE more families with children currently in the same orphanage in Nazret!

Even though all of our families are spread all over the country, this is an incredible opportunity for our children to stay connected with kids they already know.

To all of the families with whom I've connected, THANK YOU for reaching out!