...And We're Off!

In less than 24 hours, we will be well on our way to Ethiopia!  My sister Katy will be posting for us while we're away...  We are soooo excited and ready!

With love,
Sarah & Jeremy

CONFIRMED TRAVEL DATE!!!! :)

Just a quick post to let you all know that we received an official CONFIRMED travel date for our adoption week today.  That said, Jeremy and I have decided to travel early to learn more about our children's birthplace and culture.  Here are some important dates to know:

• December 30th - Jeremy and I leave for Ethiopia!
• January 15th - We meet our kids for the first time
• January 20th - We have an embassy appointment to get the kids' immigrant visas
• January 24th - We return home - all FIVE of us!  :)

We're SOOO excited.  To top it all off, today was the last day of work for both of us until we travel.  So much to do!

Melkam Lidet Hirut!

Happy 9th Birthday, Hirut!  We wish we could be there to celebrate with you, but we'll see you soon.  :)

Melkam Lidet Binyam!

Our little boy Binyam turns three today.  Happy Birthday Binyam!

P.S.  Many people have been asking for updates.  There is so much to say, yet I don't have time to share it all now.  Look for soon-to-come updates of the amazing children's shower we had last week with our family.  As for our traveling plans... To make a long story short:  We're waiting for the U.S. government to pass our paperwork to the Ethiopian embassy so we're not likely to travel as soon as we thought.  When our agency gets confirmation that the embassy in Ethiopia has it, we can get a confirmed travel date.  At this point, we don't expect to hear for a few weeks, and we think we'll be traveling sometime in January.  :)

Birth Certificates, Tentative Travel Dates, and Minivans, Oh My!!!

I know it's been a while...  What can I say?  We've been busy!!!!  :)  All of those things that we have been putting off "until we pass court" are now needing to get done.  The good news is that we're doing a TON of it!

But, for now, I'm just going to share three pieces of news from our lives:

1.  We received the kids' Ethiopian birth certificates via email last Thursday.  This allows the next steps to happen:  Ethiopian passports for the kids, medical clearances for U.S. immigration purposes (i.e., their visas), and then a confirmed travel date!

2.  On Friday, we received a (very) tentative travel date from our agency.  If all goes as planned, we will arrive at the agency's guesthouse in Ethiopia on December 31st.  Again, if everything goes as planned, we would meet the kids on New Year's Day.  I LOVE that.  Of course, Jeremy and I want to travel around Ethiopia before we meet the kids, so we'll probably leave sometime before then.  We'll know more after the kids pass their medical clearances in a few weeks. 

3.  As of yesterday, Jeremy and I officially own a mini-van!  Because we have 3 car seats to accommodate (yes, THREE!), our RAV4 wasn't going to work.  As a result, we are now proud owners of a Toyota Sienna.  I think my favorite feature so far is that I can change the radio stations and volume from our steering wheel...  so fun!

That's all for now...  Hopefully, we'll have more news later this week!

Melkam Lidet Helen!

Though we can't celebrate your birthday with you in person this year, know that we're thinking of you today and every day.  Best birthday wishes to you!

Happy 6th Birthday, Helen!

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!

What to Write?

I struggle sometimes with this blog, not knowing what to write. Should I write about the long list of things we're doing to get ready for our children to come home? Do you want to hear about attachment and what it means for our family? What about our recent paperwork updates? Or would you rather I teach you some words and phrases in our children's first language of Amharic? Should I show you my latest attempt at cornrows and bantu knots? Should I tell you more about the latest Ethiopian dinner I prepared? Or should I tell you what I know about the recent Ethiopian holiday this past weekend called Meskel?

Many of you probably wonder, "Is there any news?" No, there is no big news. We are still waiting for the Ethiopian courts to re-open so that a court date can be assigned to our family. The latest rumor (as of today) is that courts are set to re-open in mid-October, but until it actually happens, I'm not holding my breath...

Melkam Addis Amet!

Today, people in Ethiopia celebrate Enkutatash, Ethiopian New Year. It's the first day of 2002! They are on a different calendar than we are in the United States. Click here for more information. To celebrate, Jeremy and I are going to an Ethiopian restaurant for dinner! Happy New Year (or Melkam Addis Amet)!

Updates!

Just a very quick note to say that, after 5 months of having a referral, we received our first measurement updates on each of the kids' heights, weights, and head circumferences. The most recent one was from just a few days ago. It's sooo great to see that they are growing! Now, I want to get out the tape measure again... :)

Progress!

This morning we found out that our MOWA letter has not only been written, but it was also SIGNED today! Now the CHSFS in Ethiopia is in the process of submitting our documents to the court registrar. Because courts are closed right now, we will be assigned a court date when they re-open in October, but CHSFS thinks we have a good chance of getting a court date in the first few weeks of October. This is the PROGRESS we've been waiting for!!! :) :) :)

Making Lemonade

There's not much in the way of adoption news. Though almost all of the families with children from our kids' orphanage have now received court dates (including the other family we were visualizing for - YAY!), we're one of two families still waiting for one. It'll happen when it's supposed to happen, I guess. There's nothing we can do about it.

With all of this extra time on our hands before traveling to Ethiopia, Jeremy and I have decided to live it up. In that spirit, here are pics from our last-minute trip to the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park this past weekend! Everything was breathtakingly beautiful and we had a great time.

Jeremy and Sarah at the Grand Canyon in Arizona

Jeremy and Sarah at Bryce Canyon in Utah

Sarah in the Narrows of Zion


Jeremy on the Zion - Mt. Carmel Scenic Highway


Jeremy in the Narrows at Zion National Park


Sarah Hiking the Narrows at Zion National Park

Imagining...

It's really fun going through our activities and imagining what life is going to be like when our 3 little ones come home.

This weekend, for example, we were camping out-of-town with our extended family. Throughout the whole weekend, I kept thinking about how our kids would interact with my cousins' kids, how this will probably be the last family camping trip where I'll be sleeping in, and how everything is going to change when I officially become a mother.

I can't wait!

Sarah

Mixed Feelings...

Here's a post for those of you who are following our ever-changing timeline. I can hardly keep track of it myself...

The jist of it is this: Our timeline has been extended again. We will likely meet our children by the end of the year. We'll be lucky if we meet our children by Thanksgiving.

Why the delay? Well, we still don't have our MOWA letter (though our agency expects it by next week), so we still don't have a court date. Our agency is now expecting that our court date will happen after the Ethiopian courts re-open in October. After our children pass court in Ethiopia, the adoption is final, but we won't be able to meet them for another 6-8 weeks (lots of logistics need to be worked out before we arrive).

Our feelings are mixed. Of course, we're upset that our children will have to wait without a family for another few months, and we're sad for ourselves that we can't yet share our lives with our children. We miss our children like crazy and we haven't even met them yet! How are we going to make it through another few months??? That said, I feel some sense of relief because I know when (approximately) we'll meet our kids. I'm a planner, and now I can plan the next few months with some sense of certainty. That part of it feels good. Again, our feelings our mixed.

To keep ourselves occupied, we've been doing all sorts of things lately: learning more Amharic (our children's native language), preparing photo albums for our family, organizing our house for kids, writing the life histories of our children in a story format (it's called a "lifebook"), and attempting to cook more Ethiopian food. More to come on some of these topics soon!

Things are Looking Up!

So, the rumor I feared turned out to be true, but now there is so much good news coming in, that I'm not too worried about it anymore!


The Rumor I Feared That Turned Out to Be True

Ethiopia's Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) offices unexpectedly closed late last week for at least 2 weeks. This was BAD news because we've been waiting for the new MOWA office in Nazret to write a letter for us so that we can be assigned a court date. What made it worse is that the courts have historically closed for August and September during Ethiopia's rainy season. That meant that we had a much shorter window in which to be assigned a court date and pass court before court closed. If we didn't pass before court closed, we'd be looking at an October court date which meant that we'd likely be traveling in DECEMBER (instead of September or October).

The Good News From Late Last Week

Our agency has confirmed that, finally, some letters have been written by the new MOWA office in Nazret (before it closed unexpectedly for a couple weeks). This is VERY GOOD news because these were the very first letters ever written from this office and that means that progress is being made! We are likely near the top of their letter-writing list. That said, our agency cannot tell us whether or not our children's letters are among those already written. This gives us a better chance at passing court before it closes.

The Good Nearly-Confirmed Rumor

There is a new rumor going around that the courts are not going to close for the month of August (they usually close in August and September). Some say that our agency has confirmed it, but I haven't heard it directly from them yet. This is EXTREMELY GOOD news, especially when coupled with the news that the new MOWA office in Nazret is finally writing letters. This means that hope has returned for us to travel sometime in September or October. The sooner, the better!


So, hopefully, we'll have a court date before too long! Please keep sending good vibes our way... We still need them!

I Hate Rumors!

I especially hate rumors when the truth might not be working in our favor... A rumor is spreading like wildfire in Ethiopian adoption circles today. I'm not going to go into the details of it here because it isn't confirmed yet by our agency. I'm waiting for a call back from them. Suffice it to say, that if it IS true, this is BAD NEWS for us. It would likely delay our process significantly (by at least a few months). I guess the silver lining is that our match with our children isn't in jeopardy. Still, PLEASE let the rumor NOT be true!