2nd Visit with the Babies (and prayer request)

It was an early morning, as far as any real activity goes, as we headed out to meet with our lawyer today. They had lost power from the storm the night before and had not gotten it back yet. We sat in a fairly dark office with Sintahyu and he talked to us about our court appointment. He mentioned that our letter from MOWA had not arrived yet as the slow down to 5 a cases a day had slowed everything down. He imagined it would likely be 15-20 days before that would come to be. That would mean we would not get custody of the children right away. On top of that he told us we would only get to visit them once a week. WHAT?!?! That is not happening.

We are praying that we pass court on Monday! We will be in court at 9AM on Monday, so if you are praying, that is 11PM West Coast time and 2AM East Coast time. We don’t know exactly when they will see us, but it should be within the hour or so. We are praying a miracle happens and the letter arrives in time and we pass. Then we would get to take custody of the kids the next day. He mentioned that the day before they had upped it by 10 cases a day. We were unclear if he meant they are now doing 10 a day or 15 like our agency told us.

Now to the good stuff...

Today we got to see the kids again. This time we shared a room with 2 other couples. One couple was the couple we were trying to trade meetcha shots with the day before and the other couple we actually saw at the airport in Frankfurt. I remember sitting in the airport and Jeanne-Ann was pointing out four couples she was guessing that were adopting.

After some introduction and sharing our meetcha day experiences the nannies started bringing in the kids. We got another 2 whole hours with them. It was different sharing the experience with others. Not different bad, just different. Some of it was actually good. We shared with each other about what we thought of each others’ babies. They were all around the same age, which was pretty cool. I am not sharing names as I don’t have permission to share their stories, but I will say that these are some really nice people and I enjoyed getting some very unique time with them.

Back to our babies. Haakon was upset today and cried again, but it seemed to be a different kind of cry. Yesterday it seemed very much like he was upset because he was taken away from his familiar nanny and placed with a bunch of strangers with an odd pigmented skin. Something he likely had never seen before. Today the cry seemed to be more out of pain. He grabbed at his ear a lot and shook his head. Poor boy. I think he may have an ear infection. He did fall asleep in my arms and that was pretty awesome! That never got old with Kynzi and Karston and will never get old with Haakon and Nyah. As a matter of fact, it isn’t old now when the older ones do still to this day.

Kynzi had a great time getting Nyah to laugh. Those were some great pictures. I can’t wait to share them with you all! As soon as we gain custody of them I can show you. Believe me, it has been so hard to not share with the world what beauties these two are. Let me try to describe them as best I can. Haakon has almond shaped eyes with long eyelashes. He has a head full of hair. His hair is a tight, kinky curl. He has a bunch of spots on his face left over from his chicken pox. Because he has cried most of the time we have been with him, Haakon has a pathetic sad face you just want to kiss and make everything better for him.

Nyah is very expressive. She has many faces. She has a naturally mad-looking face to a beautifully dimpled smile. Her eyes are huge and at times she can look like she is startled like a deer in your headlights on a hot summer’s eve. She also has long eyelashes. She does not have much hair at all. On top it seems to be softer than Haakon’s, but she has a halo of hair on the back of her head that is pretty curly too. She has one or two spots left from her chicken pox as well. She has two teeth that have popped out on the bottom of her mouth. She is beautiful.

Two hours flew by and the nannies came to take them back to their rooms and feed them lunch. I didn’t want to leave them as I knew it would be several days before we got to see them again. We are praying you into our arms soon my sweet little children!!! Pappa loves you!!!!!!

Some News About Numbers and our Adoption Agency!!

Often during the waiting time you feel like you are not sure things are real, except for people asking you how the "adoption thing" is going. I love being asked, but I don't love not being able to give anything solid other than we are in a holding pattern for the next 4-6 months. That's how long they say the average wait time is while you are on the waiting list. We have been on it for 3 weeks now. So nothing solid. Some agencies tell you where you are on the list and how many other families are ahead of you. Ours does not do that. They firmly believe that the children are chosen very specifically for your family. So to just take the next in line doesn't always happen perfectly.

Today they sent us an email with some numbers and it was a fun surprise to get.

Referrals
Since May 2010, when the new regulations were implemented, sixteen (16) Dove families have been matched with a total twenty (20) children.  Matches will continue during the court closure.

Court
Dove received our first assignment of court dates under the new regulations.  Several Dove families will be in Ethiopia the first week of August for their court hearing.  Dove is sending Adoption Program Director to gain first hand knowledge of this new process.

As a reminder the Ethiopian courts are scheduled to close on August 9, 2010.  The official opening date has not been announced, but court dates have been scheduled for October 2010.

 It was just exciting to get a small hold of "where we are on the list" even though there is no real order. For all we know there could be 2 children who fit our exact "parameters" that show up tomorrow and that don't fit anyone else. That is unlikely, but it is feasible.

Anyhow, it is still quite surreal, but it feels like the baby just kicked for the first time or something like that. Thanx Dove for the info! Kids, we pray for you EVERY single day and for your birth parents. We pray protection, care, love and a knowledge of Jesus for them and you. Love you already!