Still don’t know of a court date, but we did find out today that our case has been filed in the Ethiopian courts and a court date has been requested. 
I was just about to fall asleep a little while ago when I heard a crash in the living room. Since we are working on the kids’ room, we have a lot piled up in the living room, and we have three cats… nuff said. Didn’t look like anything was broken, but now I’m wired, so I figure I’ll give you an update that’s not much of an update.
No word on a court date. No word on whether our case has been filed in the courts. No word on the possible additional trip. However, a family traveling next week is being very kind and taking pictures of the kids for us so in a few weeks, we will have updated pics.
Also, I can’t get out of my head that he’s going to be playing soccer and she’s going to be taking ballet classes. I have no idea where I’m getting these thoughts from. I played soccer and took ballet classes. Hated soccer, and while I liked dance classes in the beginning (like when I was 4 or 5), I really disliked it when I was 7 or 8, and quit after the 4th grade. It is completely illogical. If they show interest in either or anything else, we’ll give them the opportunity to do it and encourage them, but for whatever reason it’s set in my mind. I see soccer, I think of him. I see ballet shoes I think of her. Weird.
Is this the paper pregnancy version of hormones getting the best of me?
This poem was in our weekly update:
Poem: While You Wait.
May you be safe while you’re waiting.
May you be safe and sleep soundly through the night.
May you be safe as you wake to the morning’s light.
May you feel our love from so far away,
May it comfort and protect you throughout each day.
We will pray for you my little one,
Until our time of waiting is done.
We will pray that the Lord keep you safe from harm,
Until the child of our hearts becomes the child in our arms.
Author: Anonymous
http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=1961
I went through all those steps. Still going through a few of them.
After roughly 48 hours of being in freakout mode, I think we are both calming down.
Today is our 11th Anniversary! I truly thought we wouldn’t have gone this long before having children. At the same time it only feels like we have only been married a couple of years. I think that’s a good thing. No, we don’t have anything planned for today. It’s Adam’s week on, so he’s sleeping. We might do a little something next week - very little since we can’t afford much else while figuring out how to pay for 2 trips to Ethiopia.
I’ve had a rather busy day. This morning, Carissa and I drove through the paraders and the runners downtown to go to another hair care class. This one was given by the St. Louis Ethiopian Kids Community (EKC). I think it went really well. The first one we went to had us pretty scared that we would be spending hours upon hours every weekend caring for our kids’ hair, and these ladies made it sound so much simpler. They also gave us a ton of recommendations on natural hair products and what ingredients to avoid.
This was also the first EKC event I have attended. I also got to meet some of the other mothers, which was great. Some had babies, some had kids a little older, and some, like me, just got their referrals too, close enough to ours that they might be traveling the same time we travel. Also, we talked a little about the 2nd trip.
Speaking about the 2nd trip, we have been hearing that some of the other agencies have not told waiting parents. Yet others are telling parents about it, and that they are not going to implement the rule because it is being appealed. We are all going as though it will happen - I really trust our agency.
The more Adam and have thought and talked about it, we are finding a lot of positives. We have a way to be able to pay for it. Having the kids readopted here would have been another pretty large expense - not as much as plane tickets in coach for the trip, but enough to notice - now we won’t have to deal with that. I think we can take more donations for the orphanage and HOH.
One parent is hoping to extend her first trip a few days to get in some sightseeing that they wouldn’t be able to do with having the kids with them anyway. It was suggested to us that if our layover is in Europe or in Dubai, that we could take an extra day or two there, since we can’t take the kids with us anyway. Yes, that will cost more - but even if we have to charge the whole thing, and I take the days off without pay, the mental health benefit of making the most of this unexpected hurdle will be well worth it.
There is another big rule change that I didn’t hear talked about, is that the US Embassy is now going to do background investigations on all the children before we bring them home. They wouldn’t start the investigation until we pass court. This will greatly lengthen the time between the first trip to go to court, and the second trip to bring them home.
Good things come to those who wait, I truly believe that. At the same time, a friend who adopted from Kenya told me that we would get to a point where we would pay anything and do anything to have them home now, and I do believe we are quickly approaching that point. Prayers for patience, please.
Got some really good news late last week - got new measurements for the
kids. Plug it into any BMI table and it looks like they are in the 50th
percentile, which is pretty good considering.
Now for the yucky news.
We just found out today that we are going to have to go to Ethiopia twice. The first time is for 3-5 days to appear in court to say we consent,
and the second time is the regular 9-11 days. Nope, didn’t account for
this in the budget.
Apparently some parents were going over there and deciding then they didn’t want their kids and coming back
without them. So now we have to swear under oath that we will bring
them back with us. Stupid selfish idiots. I heard a rumor about this a
couple months ago, and since it didn’t seem like many people were
commenting on it, and the agency hadn’t commented on it, that possibly
it was just a silly rumor. I was wrong and also the agency found out
about this today. We’re trying to think positive about this. We will be
able to see our kids early (but not that early – I’m still thinking May
for the first trip). Also in seeing the kids before the adoption is
approved, the type of Visa they fly back on changes, and now they will
be coming back with us as US citizens – we won’t have to “readopt” them
when we get back.
Yesterday morning, 3 shots in the left arm and 1 shot in the right. I’m officially immunized from just about everything one can be immunized from. I still need H1N1, but I can have one of Adam’s buddies fix me up with that at Walgreens. Want to bet I still come home sick?
To anyone considering adoption and has the opportunity to take out a mostly unsecured loan to pay for it, borrow more than you think you will need. Right now we aren’t quite sure how we are going to pay for air fare. I’m getting bombarded with credit card offers right now, and that’s a thought, but we really want to avoid that. We have a couple of thoughts on this and we do have time - nothing to panic about…yet…
Wow - last couple weeks have been a whirlwind. We officially accepted the referral on Tuesday, March 2, so the countdown begins. First our dossier has to be sent to Ethiopia, translated, and reviewed by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. Once that is in order, a court date will be set. I’ve been told that process to court approval takes anywhere from 4-8 weeks.
My mother in law and sister in law (with niece and nephews in tow) came over yesterday to help clean out the bedroom. It wore us out, but we got it done pretty quickly. I’m a very visual person, so in my head, I don’t think I can figure out what they really need until the room is done. Also once it’s approved in court, we can send pictures, and include the bedroom.
Fortunately, we have, or can easily get, all the basics. A year and a half ago, I was signed up with Home Interiors basically as a wholesale buyer. Right before, and right after they filed for bankruptcy, they had dropped prices significantly on just about everything. There was a children’s room set done in zoo/safari animals. I had bought two twin sized bedspread/pillow shams, 4 prints for the walls, stickies for the walls, a stool with a lion head, and a monkey clock for less than $100, and they had been sitting in the closet since then. I got them out yesterday and forgot how cute they were. We were already looking at painting the walls in similar green and yellow colors, and I put my mom to the task of finding (or possibly making) curtains and bed skirts with a different color that is on the bedspread. We already have a dresser and high boy, and Adam’s cousin has detachable bunk beds. Just gotta put it all together.