we are outta here....

after today, you can follow us on our family blog.. no reason to keep seperate ones now :) it is: www.muscatineamy.blogspot.com

woke up this morning to the phone....
a call that we were cleared to travel,
this weekend.

i spent the better part of the day on the phone with the travel agent, and arranging pick up, drop off, fill in, and travel for the kids...
nana is going to be here,
which is huge.
takes a lot of stress off.

well, we couldn't get the flights booked for saturday.
so we booked for friday.

we are leaving less than two days from now.
yikes.

if you are local, and want to send over donations with us...
we would greatly appreciate it :)
as would our agency, and the orphanages in Addis.
we are collecting:
scrubs, new or gently used
diapers (any size)
and wipes
lollipops (dum dums, or tootsie pops)
small packs of gum (like the 5 piece packs)... one of our drivers runs an org. for homeless boys, and this is what they sell on the streets
shoe polish (for the boys as well)

okay.
now for my lists.
and packing.
and putting clarah's bed together...

it's a girl :)

we received a surprise phone call today... we passed court :)
more words later... for now, our daughter.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

ditto.

didn't pass again.
same reason.

there is a chance we could pass on monday,
with a faxed copy of the needed document.
but i'm not holding my breath.

next court date:
June 8th.

i am so done with this.

didn't pass.

we didn't pass court today.

i really wasn't surprised...
but still incredibly disappointed.

we have a new court date scheduled for
May 21st.

all of our paperwork looked good, MOWA gave their letter of recommendation, her birth mother was in court, and gave her testimony...

but
her circumstances have changed since she relinquished our daughter,
so the judge is requiring an update of her file.

this means that the paperwork needs to be changed, and sealed on the local level, and then delivered to Addis, to the courts for approval.

our agency was fairly certain that 11 days was plenty of time to get these things done... so we are hopeful for the 21st.

the judge is NOT requiring a new letter from MOWA... which is super nice :)
only the update, and we are good to go.

so
a new countdown begins

the sweetest sound

i heard it.

her voice

we were blessed by a woman who traveled to Ethiopia on a missions trip,
she contacted me, and offered to take our sweet girl a package.

when she returned home,
she told me that she had a little video clip too...

we have received a few videos from those delivering packages for us before,
it is always so fun to see her moving, living.

but this time,
they asked her to say a few words...
and she did.

"thank you, mommy, daddy."

and i played it, and played it, and played it,
until i knew the sound deep in my heart.

seven.

the number of days until our court date in Ethiopia.

i am trying not to get my hopes up,
as 50 percent of families don't pass on the first try.

but it's not working very well.

they are high.
i want to pass.

the end.

court date :)

may 10, 2010

approximately fifty percent of court cases in ethiopia don't pass the first time... praying we're the other fifty percent.

first chair...

so, i have had these three chairs for years, that a friend's dad made the kids...
i had always intended on painting them,
but never did.

i was trying to avoid all responsibility the other day when it was about 85 degrees out, so i pulled one of the chairs out into the driveway and started painting it.

my kids are way too big for these now,
and we need money :) (not really sure if you heard, but we are adopting :) )
much like a home remodel, adoption costs tend to grow...

so,
if anyone wants the chair,
seventy-five bucks, and it is yours :)

it took approximately seven hours to paint... not that it probably matters to anyone but me, but it IS my blog, so i can say it if i want to. :)

sweet whispers

we have had the amazing fortune of having three families send us video of our sweet girl, when they delivered our care packages to her.
it is so amazing to be able to see her move, and watch her reactions.

one thing though,
i have yet to hear her speak.

i watch other families videos, and their kids are chatting away.
but not our daughter.

one of the families told me she speaks in whispers, almost unable to hear...

i cannot WAIT to hear those sweet whispers up close, where i have to lean in to really hear.

oh geez.

here we go again....

We are writing to inform you that a notice was posted by the Ethiopian Federal Court stating that the recent change in the court policies (put into place on March 10th) has been put on hold. The March 10th change required both prospective adoptive parents to appear in person at their court appointment in order to testify to their desire and commitment to adopt their referred child(ren). We do not know how long this change will be on hold or if/when it will be reinstated.

oh my.

i don't even know how to feel.