Daycare!

So I signed Gman up for daycare today! Yay! It feels good to have done something.  So that is now checked off my list.  He will be going to the same daycare as his cousins.  I debated it, but have decided that it is good to be in the same place and lets face it so much more convenient for me and his aunt and uncle.  So there we are.

Waiting.

Ugghh!!! Waiting sucks.  Yes mom I said it sucks! (She doesn't like that word:))  I know this process has been relatively smooth in the adoption world.  And I'm thankful for that.  I'm thankful for a referral when at the time I thought it would be at least another month, or two, or more.  I'm thankful for a court date that passed on the first try and then finding out by 12:30pm that afternoon.  I'm thankful for friends and family that are so excited for G-man and myself.  I am thankful that my immigration approval should be in ET by now.  I am thankful.  But for a moment I'm just going to admit to the fact that waiting sucks! (Okay so I said that already.)  I want an updated picture, updated weight/height information.  I want to know when we are traveling, even if its August, then at least I could plan.  I want to stop stalking my email for all of these things.  But alas when I signed up for the adoption roller coaster I knew there would be ups and downs, hurry ups and waits.  So now I wait.  Maybe not so patiently, but wait I do.  But can I say it one more time, WAITING SUCKS!

I love my Granny!

So my granny calls me today to tell me a story.  She has breakfast with a group of ladies every week.  She was talking with them about my adoption and G-man.  She realized that one of her friends didn't know about it, so started to explain it to her.  Her "friend" said,  "NO NO NO.  Those people are taking over, one of them is even pastor of my church. He's going to living behind me, I just know it.  You're granddaughter is going to have problems." Its sad that people still think this way.  But my granny looked her in the eye and said, "She will if people like you are around."  Tell her granny!  I'm so proud of her for standing up for her grandson.  Awesome.  Just thought I'd share.  

WE PASSED!!

I found out today that we passed court.  I am a MOM!  He is mine.  I also found out that my immigration approval is in the mail today.  Its been a big day!

The next steps...

The immigration approval has to get to Ethiopia to the US Embassy before I can be assigned a Visa date for Gman.
I have to have a visa date before I can book my plane ticket. 
Each agency has certain days that they get visa appointments.  They have 10 appointments each day.  So I have to wait to for immigration approval before I can take one of the 10 appointments.  There have also been mutliple court passings from my agency in the last few weeks (YIPPEEE!!!! for all of us), but that does mean that I will have to wait (as patiently as possible) for my turn.  I'm thinking end of July, early August, but no guarantees for that one. 

So that is the latest. 

Stalking the Mailbox and Court

So I've been stalking the mailbox for the last 2 or 3 weeks.  Everyday I come home and check the mailbox looking for the USCIS return address.  But everyday nothing.  I am waiting for the 171H.  This form is my permission to bring an orphan into the US.  So the deal is that if I was to pass court this Thursday I can't plan to travel to bring him home until I have my 171H and its been sent to the US Embassy in Addis.  So I wait and stalk the mailbox.  I'm about to become a major pest to the local USCIS office!

In regards to court:  there are a few things that could affect passing court on Thursday. 

• Gman's birth mother is required at court.  Its about an 8 hour drive from where she lives to Addis.  My placement agency takes care of helping her get there, but there is still always the possiblity she won't be there.
• MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs) in Ethiopia is over adoptions.  They have to have a letter filed with the courts giving permission for the adoption to proceed.  Adoptions in Ethiopia have mutliplied in the last several years, but the personelle for MOWA has not. So its not unusual not to have the letter there.
• Electricity is iffy in Ethiopia.  
• Their being enough time in the day.  There are a lot of court cases scheduled for that day so they might just run out of time. 

I've been trying to stay calm and not get my hopes up and until these last couple of days I've been doing well at this.  But now the hopes are rising, so if you don't mind sending up a prayer for these things, or a positive thought or whatever you may believe in I would be eternally grateful!  Here's to patience and finding out the results of court sooner rather than later!

My Arms Hurt!

Today I went to the travel clinic and had 7 shots.  My arms are sore!!!!  What we do for our children.  I am ready now to head for Ethiopia.  If I had to leave tomorrow, I think I could.  My house is not ready. My job is not ready.  My heart is more than ready (okay if I'm really honest its still a little overwhelmed by it all). But I can't wait to have him in my arms.

Sunday is Mother's day. And it has a whole new meaning to me.  Last year's mother's day was hard for me.  I just wasn't anywhere near where I thought I wanted to be in my life. But  this year even though he's on the other side of the world, I'm still feeling excited and happy about mother's day. 

But when I think of his birth mom.  I'm pretty sure they don't have mother's day in Ethiopia, but I think about her, what she must feel everyday.  And my heart hurts for her. 

Court Date!

I found out today that we have been assigned a court date.  May 20th.  That's 20 days away. 20 days.  Wow.  Can I tell you how glad I am right now that I'm not having to travel twice.  I would be freaking out right now (well even more than I am right now).  There are a lot of other cases scheduled for the 20th so there is a good chance that our case will not be heard.  But as my mother has said this is going way faster than we ever thought, so just be prepared! One good thing is that I'm pretty sure my case will be heard before the rainy season begins, even if its not heard on May 20th.  For those of you who do not know Ethiopia has a rainy season August and September and the courts close down.  So if your case hasn't passed before rainy season then you have to wait for rainy season to be over before it will be heard again.  So by having our court date schedule on May 20th, I'm relatively sure that it will at least be heard prior to rainy season.  SWEET!!!! 

If we were to pass court on May 20th this could mean traveling as early as mid-July.  Oh my! So much to do.  I have a niece who is due at the end of July and while I would love to be there for her birth, G-man I'm coming to get you if I can.  Sweet niece I'll see you when I get home :).  

So much to do now, daycare, paint a bedroom, shots (not fun) get work stuff in order to be off for 2 to 3 months.  But now I know so I can get started.  If you've got a paint brush, bring it on!