Yesterday Abby and I hung out for a few hours. We had a lot of fun. She is getting very talkative! She loves to rollover and play in her exersaucer. Can’t wait to see her and the boys play together.
Tomorrow is our 2nd court date. We received word this morning that the piece of paper has been corrected and everything should be fine tomorrow. Please pray that court is held, that we pass, and that there is electricity so our in-country representative can let us know what happened. I am really hopeful that we can finally share our boys with you tomorrow. Monday was three months since we first saw their sweet faces. I cannot believe it has been that long already.
10 families did not pass court last Friday, we were the only ones rescheduled. The other nine families didn’t even have their cases heard. When I heard why they didn’t pass on Friday I was absolutely devastated for them, and worried for the future of the Ethiopia adoption program. Unfortunately not all people involved in international adoption act ethically. They facilitate adoptions where the children are not actually orphans, but rather someone’s child. Because a few people working in the adoption field in Ethiopia acted unethically, nine families hearts were broken on Friday. No one from our agency was involved in the alleged acts, but these families were still affected. Their cases are on hold until the Ethiopian government can figure out how to properly handle the situation. The government does not want to risk children who are not orphans being adopted, neither do adoptive parents or ethical adoption agencies. Please pray for these families, their children, and the government of Ethiopia. I can only imagine the pain of these families, knowing their babies’ faces, but not knowing when the wait will end. When you adopt, you fall in love at different rates, but most all fall in love before they ever travel. These families love these children and want what is best for the children, please pray.
For some info and overall feelings on corruption in international adoption you can start with this blog post and click on some of the links if you want.
We didn’t pass court today. One piece of paper did not have both boys names on it. Something so simple! We are both bummed. I really wanted to share the boys with ya’ll today, more than anything.
Our new court date is May 14. So please pray for that one stinken piece of paper to come back correctly.
I am so excited to find out the news today. I truly believe court was a positive outcome. We will hopefully find out by 11 am our time, but that isn’t a guarantee.
On another note, yesterday we figured out for sure that the boys are not identical. We were originally told they were, but I always had my doubts. They always looked slightly different in pictures, but we told ourselves it was the camera angle or the lighting and chose to believe the medical reports. With the most recent set of pictures and the video we received, I just couldn’t believe they were identical. So, I asked Angie who took the pictures and she said she never would have thought they were identical. They are both cute as can be and I can now easily tell them apart. 🙂
I hope to share the pictures with you sometimes in the next few hours!
I am so excited! Only one day left until the boys legally become ours! (Yes I know there is a chance it won’t happen tomorrow, but I am trying to be optimistic.) Sometime while we sleep tonight a judge on the other side of the world will decide the fate of our family. She looks at all the information given to her by us, our agency, the orphanage, and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. If one piece of paper is missing or incorrectly filled out we will be rescheduled. I am optimistic though that everything is done correctly and will be there. I am so excited to possibly being able to share our boys with everyone tomorrow. Please say a prayer tonight that we pass court and that we find out tomorrow that we passed. There isn’t always power in Ethiopia and our agency could have trouble getting the news to us, so pray that they can.
Matt and I had a very busy, but fun weekend. On Friday his Ergo had arrived, so we tried it out.
Matt with his new Ergo Baby CarrierCarter helping him try it out
Can’t wait to use it with the boys!
On Saturday we went to the Botanical Gardens to see the butterflies and the wildflowers. The butterflies were great, but unfortunately with the lack of spring rain the wildflowers were not very plentiful.
Then we ran a whole bunch of errands including a trip to Babies R Us. I keep thinking we have everything and then realize we do not, but we are getting close to ready to travel. (I think) The nursery is now a mess again. Time for more organizing.
We also went to Lowes and Home Depot. I needed some plants for the garden. Thanks to the wacky spring weather (60s one day, 90s the next) not one of my seeds took.
Matt also made me some self-watering containers for my tomatoes. (I uploaded some other garden pics to the photo gallery.)
Yesterday we went to church then hung out with our neighbors. We went swimming for the first time this season. Their pool was at a very nice 83°!
We then went home and did yard work. The grass was in serious need of a mow and I had plants to plant!
Please vote for my niece Abby in a local baby idol contest!
And this just because the cats are silly. Carter was actually trying to sleep squished in there, I guess it is better than where Matt found him this morning, curled up in the bathtub.
How I found the cats this morning when I came home from my run
wow Stephanie had to bring her A-game on the last post. how can i compete with that.
6 ways stephanie is going to be a great mom
she is already in loving mom mode over these boys. its only going to get better
she will spend a lot of quality time with them
I think she is pretty creative when it comes to things kids like to do. She is always finding crafts, and activity books that she and the boys will do together.
those boys will hang out in the garden and play in the dirt learning all the good things home grown gardens have.
Stephanie will worry about the boys. In a good way. Nothing will get by her, and she will always be thinking of them in anything she does.
Stephanie has such a huge heart. She can foster 6 kittens, have 4 pets of her own, and be sick, and still make sure everyone is taken care of. 2 little boys should be a piece of cake. (okay they are probably harder than 6 kittens + 4 pets)
with 8 days till court, I cant help but be excited about 8 specific toys i look forward to playing with the boys.
legos. I really enjoy legos. Even if the little ones will destroy anything tall i build.
cars and trucks. seriously, the cool stuff they have today.
hot wheels! I know, i need to wait a few years for that one.
bikes. These boys are gonna be on bikes way early. I’ll pull the pedals and cranks off so they can be walkers / running bikes so they get the hang of balance. No training wheels here.
coloring books. i didnt wait for them here. I already enjoy them. I have my own box of crayons.
art projects. glue, stickers, markers, cutting paper. all fun stuff.
musical instruments. I suck and melody and rhythm, but that wont stop us from rocking out on the kid instruments we have already.
remote control cars. they have them for little kids now. super simple, but noah and ezra will enjoy them for sure.
9 days until Ezra and Noah’s court date. Since I am a worry wort, I thought I would share 9 prayer requests.
1. That the boys stay healthy
2. That all the paperwork is done correctly and turned in on time for court and that we pass on the first try
3. That we receive a May 28 Embassy date, June 11 is the next possibility after that, and I am done with waiting, plus we kind of purchased plane tickets (I know, I know not the best idea)
4. That we are able to stay at the House of Hope, they only have two rooms and it is looking like 10 families will be traveling when we do, but I would really love to stay there
5. Safe travels (you mean we have to fly over the polar ice cap? seriously freaked out!)
6. Sleepy babies on the flight home 😉
7. Health for Matt and I
8. That Abby’s upper GI goes well on Thursday (hey not everything involves Noah and Ezra, I want their cousin to be in tip-top shape for their arrival)
