It's Confirmed

Our Embassy Date has been confirmed for January 27, 2010. Exactly 6 weeks from today. The Embassy appointment is on a Wednesday, but we will arrive in Ethiopia on the Monday before. This is the day that we will go to the care center to pick up Mason. I can't believe we will be holding him in 40 days. It seems so close, yet so far away. I know it is going to sneak up on me though, with all of the things I have to prepare for between now and then.

I am really excited because we have already booked our room, and we are staying with two, maybe three other families who are traveling at the same time. They are adopting from the same agency as we are, so we have become friends over the past few months. It will be so nice to have the support and company of the other families. I cannot wait!!

We Passed!!

We received a call at about 11:30 that we passed court. Sentayehu is officially ours. We will call him Mason. We are completely elated. We also found out that we could be traveling as early as Jan 13th to go get him, however Jan 27th is more likely. We have a lot of work to do between now and then.

Mason, your mommy, daddy, and little sister Paige love you and are coming to get you baby.

Now, on to celebrating!!!

Fingers Still Crossed

We have had a roller coaster of emotions kind of day. At about 10:45 I got a call from our adoption coordinator telling me that our case was not heard because the Ministry of Women's Affairs did not send their part of the paperwork. From what I understand, three things have to happen to pass. 1. The judge has to hear the case 2. MOWA has to send an approval letter for us to adopt, and 3. His family has to show up to relinquish their rights. As you can probably imagine, I was very disappointed. I thought I had prepared myself for this setback, but I obviously hadn't, because it hit me like a ton of bricks. Then at about 12:30, I received another call from Allison, telling me that our court date has been rescheduled for tonight, and that his family already showed up to sign their part of the paperwork!!! Now, I am excited all over again. We are so blessed to have been assigned such a quick court date, but it is bittersweet, because two other families were rescheduled for the 31st. I know their heart is breaking right now. With that being said, we are continuing to pray for good news tomorrow!

Keeping our Fingers Crossed

It is Tuesday night here,but early Wednesday morning in Ethiopia. In a few hours, a judge will be presented with a file with our little guy's name on it. If all the paperwork is in order and the correct people show up, then we will legally be granted custody. We should know the results by the end of the day tomorrow. While we are praying for a positive outcome, we are also praying for his biological family, because not only must they make a very difficult 200 mile trip to appear in court but they must legally agree to relinquish their rights, I cant imagine what a difficult decision that must be. As we hope to be celebrating tomorrow, we know that this has to be a very difficult time for them.
We will keep all of you updated, but if we pass we are looking to travel late January or early February. If we do not pass, our court date will be rescheduled and it will further delay us getting to bring our little boy home.

Also praying for the several other families who have a court date tonight. Good luck!!!

Thanksgiving

Robbie and I are proud graduates of Texas A&M, and before Paige was born, our family always knew that our Thanksgivings were spent at the Texas A&M vs. University of Texas game. However, since we have had Paige, I have not been to a game, and Robbie has only been to one. This year, since she is the big five, we decided that it was time to take her to her first game. Although the outcome did not turn out as we had hoped, she sure had a good time , and that is what is most important. Here are some pics around campus before the game...

Here she is on Bevo. Notice his horns are "sawed off".

Here she is under the Aggie rings, symbolizing the marriage of two Aggies; like her Mommy and Daddy.

With a Yell Leader. Gig 'em Ags!

And with two senior tuba players in the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band.

And here she is practicing her Yells with the Yell Leaders. We sure are proud of our little Aggie!

Denver

Robbie, Paige and I went to Denver last weekend for a fundraiser put on by our adoption agency, IAN. All proceeds from the fundraiser went to a hospital in Ethiopia, which serves 3 million citizens. This hospital has very limited resources at their disposal, and all funds will help provide up to date technology. We had an incredible time, and not only was it for a good cause, but we got to meet so many people associated with the adoption.

Friday night, we went to eat at a local Ethiopian restaurant, called Habesha. There we met three families who have brought home their children, one family on the infant girl waiting list, and two adoption coordinators at IAN. Paige had a blast playing with all of the children while Robbie and I visited with the adults. We also got to try Ethiopian food for the very first time, which was a great experience.

Saturday night, at the fundraiser, we met even more people, including two families who have the same court date (Dec. 9th) as us. We finally met Allison, our adoption coordinator, for the first time in person. She is incredible, and it was so nice to meet her after speaking to her so many times on the phone. We also had the pleasure of meeting Abebe who is the adoption facilitator in Ethiopia, as well as his wife Hana, who is the director of the orphanage. It was just an incredible experience to be around so many people who have either already gone through or are currently going through this whole process.

Sunday, we concluded the the adoption part of our trip by meeting several of the families for brunch and then heading over to IAN's office for an open house. Again, it was just another great opportunity to meet and visit with other families who "get it". I am so glad that we decided to go, and now even more excited to bring home our little man and forever be a part of this family.

In between all of the adoption events, we managed to squeeze in some family time as well. The most exciting part for Paige was the fact that it snowed about 12 inches from Saturday evening to Sunday. She was itching to get into the snow, and of course I didn't bring any of our ski/snow gear for the trip, so we had to go buy new pants, gloves, and a hat for her. We also decided to buy a sled and took her sledding for the first time. Here are some pictures of her in the snow...

What a Great Day!!

Today was a great day! First of all, I received an update on our little guy. Anytime you receive one of those, no matter how few of words, it just makes you smile. We received the update from another family who is currently in Ethiopia. Thank you Matt and Heather!! Here is what she said:

"he has been scooting around in a walker. has a wonderful smile. is sitting up by himself. I think he has 4 teeth. 2 upper, 2 lower. he has a cough and was feeling under the weather today. One of the nannies was giving him extra tlc."

Of course I hate to hear that he is not feeling well, but at least I know to be praying extra hard for him right now. Hope he gets to feeling better soon. Poor baby!

Then, the day got even better!! I was dropping Paige off at school when the phone rang. I saw that it was Allison, but unfortunately I couldn't pick up the phone. As soon as I dropped Paige off, I called her back and she didn't answer. I hate missing calls from her, because she is my favorite person to talk to right now. A few minutes later, she called back with the good news...

We have a December 9th court date!!! Oh my gosh, I can't believe it. We are one step closer to bringing him home. We need lots of prayers right now, because there have been several families lately, who have not passed court the first time. Although I am hoping and praying that this will not happen to us, I am also realistic, and am trying to prepare myself for anything!!

I also found out that there are 4 other families who received the same court date. Good luck to all of those families as well. Hopefully we will meet you soon in Ethiopia!

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