It is with a very heavy heart I write this. Today the most amazing
thing happened for little Y... he was reunited with his birth mom and
their family. The story is long and convoluted but in the end that is
what matters. He will live and grow up in his land, in Ethiopia, with
his birth mother giving him the love and caring he deserves. Of course
we know this is the best possible outcome for our little man but are
also heartbroken at the loss for ourselves since we have come to love
him so much as our son. Moving forward with belief that somewhere
along the line we had a hand in reuniting this family....

This was the email that was sent out to friends and family after a long and heart wrenching week in Ethiopia for our supposed court date for Yisak. I am somewhere between denial and anger.. mixed in with utter sadness. I know that we will find peace in this someday and that each day that will become easier. Aaron and I both just keep thinking that the phone will ring and we will be told that it was all a mistake. That we passed court and will be bringing Y home soon. Ugh the hole in our hearts is gaping at this point. My greatest wish in all of this is that he is well cared for from here on out. He did not get dealt the best cards for the first months of his life and it was evident in his frail body.. but that smile is a winning smile and babies are resilient. So we send strength to his birth mom and surrounding family to never lose sight of him again, to hold him and love him, care for him and stimulate him as he grows. May he thrive and fill that smile with experiences of joy and know that we will always love him in the deepest places in our hearts.

Been so long since I have posted. Ups and downs, waiting...and waiting...wondering and waiting some more. The wait that seemed so long is now unimportant, a short blip in our journey to bring home our third child....all melted away on Thursday, June 21st.

After 20 months (to the day) on the wait list we received that phone call we have been waiting for... On June 21st at 3:14 pm I heard the words, "I have a referral for you"... breathe, repeat, then scream with joy... that's pretty much how it happened at our house.

And then we 'met', via pictures and words on some documents, our son. The sweetest brown eyes looking back at me. Wow. YES!! YES!! YES!!
We hoped and wished to be submitted to court asap so as to POSSIBLY get a court date pre court-closure. Thought that it would take a miracle but not giving up hope to get that court date and be able to meet our little man soon.

Submitted to court on July 6th.... told by our coordinator on the 11th that it was unlikely we would get a court date before closure... next morning- July 12th... that awesome phone number flashed on my caller ID. Not wanting to get too excited I nonchalantly answered hello? AND YES!! Court date for July 31st... 2 weeks and 5 days away.

So now we hustle and bustle, pack and plan and generally 'get our acts together' to come meet you baby Y. Heart is spilling over with joy, anticipation and excitement.... and love...yes, LOVE. We are coming to see you sweet angel!

A Blog Worth Reading

Wow.. I was forwarded this blog and it is pretty amazing...tears in my eyes many, many times. Goes through what families adopting (in all phases) need/want from friends and family members. Insert whatever your higher power might be in the areas of God/Jesus and take what you can...
http://jenhatmaker.com/blog/2011/11/02/how-to-be-the-village

Still waiting

Never sent this post..... :) Just found it as I came back to post again. One from September...with just that title- that says it all.

And waiting for you little one..

Just wanting to write. We have been waiting over a year now for our little one to find us. The adoption world in ET has been up and down, fast and slow, completely halted, and moving again, full of despair and full of hope. I feel we are getting close to learning more about our third child... this month? Next month? Tomorrow? Such emotions fill me up when I think of answering that call...getting that referral. Our friends that we went through training with have received their referrals. One is still stuck in logistics and one just accepted. Such fun to think that soon it will be us. The next steps of waiting with such greater purpose, passion and love attached. With a picture, a name and a future with another baby to join our family. Can't wait till that call comes little angel. We are waiting for you.

Updated List numbers

I don't seem to be able to update on the right where I had the current list numbers so... We are currently number 10 on the baby boy list with 6 on hold... and number 23 on the baby girl list with 10 on hold ahead of us! There was just a large bunch of referrals that went out so it may be awhile before the movement starts on the list again but we are hopeful that our little one will be referred to us in the next couple of months! We cannot wait for the first meeting with him or her even if it is just through paperwork.

Waiting ...patiently?

I was sad to realize I hadn't put anything on this blog for four months.. yikes. There has been a lot going on with Ethiopian adoption and the last few months have been a whirlwind of excitement and frustration, rumors and wondering and the basic human uncomfortable feeling of being 'out of control' in a situation. The Ethiopian government has begun to look closer at the adoption process that has been spinning a bit out of control as it seems. There were reports of unethical adoptions and behavior by some agencies and the 'stop and take a look' response has triggered some changes. This historically has been a response to a country getting popular in international adoption and not really doing a good job of putting rules and regulations (enforcable rules and regulations) on agencies and not having the resources to get that done. Luckily, Ethiopia has taken this on NOW before it gets so out of hand that the program must close in best interest of kids. There are many ethical agencies out there and many fabulous, loving homes who truly do want what is best for the children over there.. the many, many children both adoptable and those who will not be adopted. As we know, international adoption (and adoption in general) is never the first option we want for a child. We all want them to have biological families who have the means to love, take care of and provide for their children. But in Ethiopia and around the world unfortunately this is not always the case. International Adoption can be a wonderful solution for SOME orphans. Our family will be so blessed to have a third child come home. In all honesty, we don't know exactly how all the changes will impact us. Our top priority has always been to do what is best for the children so that is where my focus lies as I hear about the moves being made to hopefully assure more ethical adoptions. The wonderful news is that on the whole Ethiopian agencies want the same thing.. they have not shut down the international adoption out of Ethiopia. That being said- there are some slow downs. There will be more thorough investigations of every orphan (thank goodness!) and there are more regulations from the Embassy as well (aka more paperwork) but all in the name of getting these kids what they need most- a loving, wonderful family to come home to. We wait with excitement as our agency visits Ethiopia and supports our staff over there, takes on more orphanages and shares knowledge of what is going on when they can. So much prep work for us to go to be 'ready' for our sweet little angel to come home. Will see what is around the corner in the process and just keep riding this crazy wave.