Four Plus More

As I wrote nearly a month ago, adoption is the king of roller coaster rides. We were climbing that big hill, clickety, clack, clickety clack. Just as we were about to reach the crest and plunge down gaining speed, it seems the roller coaster broke. We are stuck.

The adoption coordinator at Hope called today. When she got the list of families who had been filed for court and did not see our names she called their staff in ET. Apparently the paperwork they received from AWOP was incomplete and so we did NOT get filed for court after all.

This means that we will have to wait through the court closure which goes from mid-Aug to October 1. Our paperwork can be filed during this time but we will not get a date until after they open back up on October 1. So our earliest likely travel would be end of November but mid-end of December is likely too.

While the fact that we weren’t even filed was unexpected, having to wait through the closures is not a complete surprise. Yes, of course, we are disappointed. But as always I know that God’s timing is best. There have been so many times in my life that I complained about missing something or the timing of something only to be able to look back months later and say “Duh! Thanks God.”

So I’m looking for the positive in the situation:

• The kids will get to spend more time with their grandma.
• Airline tickets will be cheaper.
• Rainy season, and the mud that goes with it, will be over.
• It will be beautiful and green in Ethiopia (or so I’ve heard).
• We have friends who are missionaries in South Africa. Mark spent some time with them on his trip in April and he really wants to take me there on the way. But they won’t be home until this fall. Now maybe we can go see them.
• Maybe we’ll get to travel with other friends who probably won’t be traveling before courts close - like Jen who is still waiting on a referral, or Becky or Jodi (although I’ll pray they get court dates before closure).
• The kids will be well settled in their new school.
• Maybe we’ll actually have time to take a quick family vacation to CA this summer.

I’m sure I’ll think of more things and I’ll come back and add them on the list.

Added 7/12 - More time to learn some Amharic

Our adoption agency has a private Yahoo group that is filled with a bunch of amazing people. It’s kind of like a family. We pray for one another, share our struggles and our joys as well.

A couple days ago Grace, our adoption coordinator, arrived home from ET and let us know that the Hope staff filed over 30 families for court dates in the last two weeks. So amazing!

Today the first of those court dates came in. I was at work when I got the first email. I promptly called Mark and said “Make sure you answer the phone, even if it’s a number you don’t recognize.” To which he replied “Does that mean I have to stay home all day.” I was tempted to say “YES!” but I didn’t.

Before you get all excited, we did not get a court date today. Of the 3 families that got dates, one was for August 1st and two were for October 1st, which is after the Ethiopian court reopens. (Sidenote: The courts in ET close for about 8 weeks during the rainy season.)

At first I admit that I was disappointed. This means that even if we get a court date in the next week or so, that it might be for AFTER the closure. I’m sure those two families are partly disappointed.

On the other hand, I was encouraged to know that ET is even assigning post-closure dates. I assumed that either you made it through or you were just stuck in a pile and had to wait til they reopened and then get a court date.

It also means that we know the date the ET courts will reopen and Oct. 1 is a lot earlier than I thought it might be. I thought it was the end of October.

So it could mean 2 additional months. An Oct 1 court date, if passed the 1st time, would mean travel around Nov. 1 - still before the holidays.

So I remain optimistic for a pre-closure court date but am feeling much better about even a post-closure date.

Just trying to leave it all in God’s hands. But I admit to being jumpy every time my cell phone rang

So my latest obsession has been researching and reading about caring for B-girl’s hair (well W-boy too but it’s less complicated).

I’ve gotten a couple books - Wavy, Curly, Kinkyy was one and the other was Kinki Kreations. I definitely got more out of the latter. It seemed a little more straight forward in the instructions of caring for the hair - what to do when and how often. Plus it had lots of great hairstyles.

Last time I was at Jen’s house she had done some cute box braids on Rienne’s hair and we were talking about practicing. She was sad that she’d gotten rid of her styling heads from her hairstylist days. It made me think of my daughter’s Barbie Island Princess Styling Head at home. I knew the hair consistency is different but I wondered if it would work.

So tonight while Natalie and I were listening to an audio book at bedtime I sat Rosella in front of me and went to town. (Let me say that the way they create those scalps is a little creepy.) Cornrows have been what intimated me the most so that’s what I tried. The first one was kind of fat and half way down I started braiding over instead of under so I took it out up to that point and redid it. The second one went much better. I think the skinnier they are the easier it is.

Granted Rosella couldn’t complain if I was pulling too hard so I can’t testify to her experience but I was pretty pleased.

I bought some cute snaps and things from Snapaholics and then have been buying different ballies and beads and such at Walmart - little bit at a time.

I’m dying to try all these cute hairstyles on B-girl. Especially the two-strand twists. That looks pretty easy. I also scored a satin pillowcase at the big clean out of my husband’s grandparents house.

My friends Kim and Brooke just got home from Ethiopia and have written some amazing entries on their blogs. Kim was there to pick up her beautiful 4 year old Netsanet. Brooke was her saving grace and travel companion.

Go read, it will touch your heart.

Kim’s Blog

Brooke’s Blog

I am suspended in time. Waiting for an e-mail, a phone call, anything.

As far as we know we were filed for court last Monday or Tuesday. It has been taking about 7-10 days to find out what your court date is.

Supposedly the Ethiopian courts will “stop” on July 8th (Tuesday). I don’t know if that means stop accepting filings or stop handing out court dates. They will still hear cases until August 8th (again, this is kind of heresay).

I am trying not to get anxious but I admit that I am nervous. Add to that the fact that last week of 4 families with court dates only one passed court. The other two were delayed until July 18th for some reason. If we get a court date toward the end of the month and don’t pass the first time, we could very well get stuck in the court closure.

Of course we are not the only family feeling this pressure. It is very evident among the adoptive families. One family is adopting two older girls who have been in the orphanage for over a year - longer than any other kids there. They are desperate to get them home soon, as they should be.

I find some peace of mind knowing that if we do not make it through before courts W-boy and B-girl will not be spending the extra time at an orphanage. It will, in fact, mean extra time with their grandmother.

There have been 2 major delays in our adoption process. First the approximately 3 weeks we lost when AWOP wanted us to switch to Children’s House International. Then we lost about another 3 weeks recently when our papers were not getting from the AWOP representative in ET to the Hope lawyers in ET.

That’s 6 weeks. It could definitely mean the difference between making court and not. I know that the first 3 week delay was one that was a result of obedience to what I felt God telling me. Thought I can’t explain the second one, I realize that it too may be God’s hand in delaying our process.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not giving up. I’m hoping he was just using those to teach me patience or something. We serve an almighty God who can accomplish the impossible. I rest in the knowledge that he sees the big picture and he controls this whole process.

Tonight I got the great privilege of going to the airport with Jen to welcome home Kim and beautiful Netsanet. She had a tortuous trip home (not because of Nettie but because she was flying standby all the way from Ethiopia). Her bags are still in Germany but she and Nettie are here safe and sound!

I got home yesterday afternoon to find a message from Shimeliss, the director or our adoption agency. He had talked to Grace in Ethiopia and apparently she has been able to get our paperwork and they “should file our case Monday or Tuesday”. Woo Hoo!!!! That should get us in before the court closure if all goes smoothly.

It’s been talking about 7-10 days after filing to hear what your court date is but if things go according to schedule we would be travelling around the first or second week in September.

I love to listen to our five year old, Natalie, pray. She has such a heart for the Lord and for other people.

Last night at dinner time her prayer went something like this.

“Dear God, Thank you for this food. Help mommy and daddy when they go to get W-boy and B-girl that mom can learn how to make some new foods so we can have more Ethiopian food. Amen”

The girl got one taste of injera and she has been begging me to make some. Mark got me an electric skillet a few weeks ago so I’m running out of excuses. Maybe soon.

So, it’s now been 19 days since we heard from AWOP that our kids paperwork was ready. And in those 19 days it has failed to make it from one person in Ethiopia to another person in Ethiopia.

Meanwhile the clock is ticking and we are getting closer and closer to court closure.

So I turned into a squeaky wheel…the one that wants some grease. I called, they called, they called me back, I called, etc. etc.

I finally confirmed at about 11:30 today that my papers are still in the hands of the ET national that AWOP works with and he has had trouble getting them to the Hope staff. We (me and Grace @ Hope) suspect that he was trying to deliver them to someone who no longer works for Hope.

The good news is that Grace (um, not sure of her official title but she is the go-to gal at Hope) is traveling to Ethiopia on Monday to pick up her son. I was able to get a phone number for the man who holds my paperwork and have given it to Grace so that she can track him down next week, get the papers and HOPEFULLY get our case filed.

Please pray that this all gets squared away next week!

Tonight our 5 year old, Natalie, was praying at bedtime, ” Dear God, please help W-boy & B-Girl’s grandma not to be so sad that they are moving here. And help her to hear about Jesus and accept Him in her heart so that she can see W-boy & B-girl in heaven again someday, Amen”.