Escape from reality

We decided that we needed to escape from life for a bit and booked an impromptu getaway with Sara to Mexico. We, of course, knew that we could only escape from our reality for a short time, but it was much needed for all of us. We were able to be together as a family and just be in the moment.


And thanks to Les, Dave, and Mari for making it extra fun!

Postponed again

Court has been postponed again until December 30th...

I'd say "you have got to be kidding me?", but nothing surprises me anymore.

Court rescheduled

Court was rescheduled to December 17. If we could kindly ask for everyone to keep praying...please.

Another critical date approaches

Someone recently posted on an Ethiopian adoption forum I follow that November was the best month ever for Imagine families – I cried after reading that entry. I of course want nothing more then for every family to feel joy and excitement and to celebrate the announcement of every child, but we feel so far away from the happiness in the adoption world right now. It's like the ship has sailed without us, and no one even notices that we are missing.

I know we have so many people praying for and thinking about us and we are told daily that we are not alone, and this has truly been an invaluable comfort, but the reality is that we are the only family living through this experience right now.

As another critical date approaches we are left anxiously waiting once again. Our next court date has been scheduled for Monday, December 13th.

Hug someone

This made me smile today...which I needed.

Not over yet

We are still in limbo. No decision was made today. However, the judge has decided to send our file for further review. The judge does not have to be doing this for us - so why is she? We can only hope that she sees what is happening to us and is trying her best to make this right, even if the decision is still no in the end.

We do not have another court date set. We hope to know more about our timeline next week.

Things still do not look to be in our favor, but we continue to hold on to our hope until they tell us it is over.

For now we wait some more...

Thank you for the overwhelming support we have been receiving. Maybe, just maybe all your prayers, thoughts, positive energy, and vibes are doing something...so please don't give up on us - we still need a miracle.

I will likely continue to be fairly quiet, I hope you can understand. But please know that even though I am silent, I am feeling your love.

Limbo

Things did not go well at court last Friday in Ethiopia and we are once again left in limbo with our adoption. It is not clear at this time what is going to happen.

Our next court date is scheduled for November 25. We predict that it will go one of two ways - it will end quickly and badly on the 25th, or we are in for a very long fight on our hands, with no guarantees of success.

We are broken and hurting. We feel like we are being tortured and punished. I touched him and kissed him...and now he is being ripped from our hearts.

Meeting Seth

He’s as perfect as his pictures...

The drive to see Seth was about two hours South of Addis Ababa, in a city called Adama. The drive was crazy, zigzagging through traffic, with cars, vans, trucks, bikes, cattle, and donkeys. They have no traffic signals or signs, just horns that they continually honk. We saw three very bad car accidents where you could not even recognize the front from the back of the car, scary.

I was accompanied on the drive by the head nurse from the Transition Home and the gentleman that will attend court with me on Friday.

When we first arrived at the Kingdom Vision International Orphanage (or KVI Adama), two young children, about age 3, immediately came running up and hugged me and followed us around almost the whole time, always reaching out for more hugs. I met the director and few staff and gave them a bag of donations. Everyone was friendly and welcoming. Soon they escorted us to the baby room - there were three small rooms with about 20 cribs in total. Most of the cribs were filled with smiling bear-bummed babies (it was changing time for all of them).

As I entered the last room, one of the workers came from outside holding Seth. All of the six workers in the room were pointing at me and smiling at Seth saying “Mama, mama”. He was shy and put his head on the workers’ shoulder.

They laid a mattress on the floor and placed 7 babies, including Seth on the mattress. I was able to sit on the floor and interact with all of them. They were crawling and slobbering all over me – it was fun.

Seth was the biggest child in the baby room. He is beautiful, he has a wonderful smile. His eyes were bright and alert. He is not walking on his own, but could walk while hold someone’s hand. He looked and seemed very healthy, but smaller than I had thought – still wearing size 12 month clothes. I measured his foot with my hand; it was about 4.5 inches long (now I can start buying him shoes!!!!).

What I was not expecting during this visit was physical contact with Seth, BUT, along with the other babies, I was able to hold him in my lap, kiss him, stroke his face and hair, blow into his neck to make him smile, tickle his toes, and beep his nose. We played with a small container, where I would put it on my head and let it fall, he would give a big smile each time, and even bigger when I put it on his head. Then all the babies were trying to put it on their heads...so cute.

At one point, one of the workers came into the room and picked up one of the babies. Seth immediately started fussing and whining. I was told that this worker was the one Seth had bonded with. I asked her to join me on the floor with Seth and after she put down the other baby, Seth clung to her and berried his face in her shirt. You could see how much they cared for each other. I was able to get only one picture at the orphanage; it was one with this worker. It will be great to be able to show this to Seth while he is growing up.

I was here for only about 30 minutes, the time went by very quickly. They would not let me take any pictures of Seth, and trust me, I asked about a bazillion times.

The day I met Seth is a moment I will never (or want to) forget...

I asked and you delivered!!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the donation collection for the children in Ethiopia (and thank you to those who ran out of time but are working on collections for the next time). Keep it coming - we still have one more trip in the new year!!


My packing is well underway and I actually think everything will fit!! I am nervous, excited, and anxious all at the same time.

I am overwhelmed by the many people who are supporting and encouraging us along the way. We are not done yet, BUT this trip is certainly one giant leap in the right direction.

Bon Voyeur to All.

ONE MORE SLEEP!!!!!!

P.S. I'm teaching Chad how to post on the blog, so if you see a new one in the next week, he got it right!!

I knew it was too good to be true...

F#%@ Buckets!!! Always a glitch. Always a problem. Always a catch. Always a delay. Always something. Always. Always. Always.

We have just been informed that we will NOT pass court on November 5, 2010. WHY? Let me explain...

So here is the deal, our agency is in the middle of renewing their licence with the Ontario Government - a formality that happens annually. We have been told that the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in Ethiopia will not provide the support letter for a family until this licence has been renewed. We can still make our appearance in court next week (thank goodness), but the adoption order will not be granted until the judge receives the support letter.

What this means for us next week...

I will (only) observe Seth prior to court, but will not have a visit with him after court. I am going to plead and beg to get at least couple pictures at the observation, even though technically we are not allowed.

And another kicker...We will be assigned another court date (after I am home) and the judge will grant the adoption order during that court date when the letter is present. However, it is very possible that our original court date of Dec 7 will remain as this new court date, which puts us no further ahead than before.

The bright side, cuz I have to look for one right now...

* At least we know now. No surprises on the day of court. It is what it is.

* If we knew this information on Monday, when our court date changed (BTW, we had a choice to keep our Dec 7th date), we would have still chosen to go next week.

* I will not have to say goodbye to him.

* The first time I hold Seth, I will be with my family - Chad, Sara, me, and our boy, all together.