Well, that pretty much sums it up. We are more than a week past court and we still have no news from Abebe, IAN, or the courts. IAN states side said that there are currently 6 kids who have passed court and are waiting on an embassy date and 17 children who are waiting on MoWA letters to complete their cases. We were told that Ethiopia is supposed to reassign us a new court date so that they can officially receive the letters and we were supposed to find out that date last night. However, IAN state side is closed until Monday morning with the New Year holiday. So, it's sit tight and be patient for now. No amount of complaining is going to get the task completed. Just praying that the new court date is sooner than expected and that if there is any possibility that this delay would not affect our embassy date that it would be so. I am keeping busy with the kiddos here and I'm quite entertained by watching Ollie play in the blowing snow. Thankful for so many things today and looking forward to more things to be thankful for in the coming year. Blessings to you all and Happy New Year!
Christy
Friday, December 31, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Far Far Away
We made it home in time for Christmas! What a huge blessing to be able to wake up on Christmas morning and be with our kiddos. We had a relaxing day just being with one another. However, it's becoming more and more apparent as time goes by that our family is just not complete. It was such a gift to be able to hold Kai, to snuggle and kiss him. But my heart just aches knowing that he's on the other side of the world. I don't doubt for one minute that he is getting good care-at least the basics of food, clothing, shelter. But I ache to be his mama, to hold him when he is crying, to share in his sweet laughter. Since we haven't posted any pics of Kai, it probably is apparent that we didn't pass court. We were missing our MOWA letter (Ministry of Women's Affairs). I guess I don't even really know what this letter says, or why the court needs it, but I do know that we won't pass court until they get it. If it is ready within a couple of days after court then the court will go ahead and pass us and if it is not, then they will have to reschedule a new court date for the addition of the letter (probably late January is what we were told). I really and truly hope that this is not the case because it lengthens the time until our paperwork can go to embassy, which in turn lengthens the wait for a travel date until Kai can come home. Please pray for this letter to show up and for us to pass court as soon as possible.
The court process in Ethiopia was really different. All the adoptive families were piled into a room with all the birth families at the same time. The judge would call the birth families into the room and ask them questions and then she would call in the adoptive families and ask them questions. It was heartbreaking to see some of the birth families exit the court room in tears. It's awkward to think that someone's biggest heartache can be someone else's greatest joy. We did not have the gift of meeting Malakai's birth parents since he was abandoned. Other families in our group did have the amazing opportunity-as hard as it was to hear some of the stories. There were also families in our group that did not get consent from the birth families to adopt. It was a roller coaster of emotion to go to court and see the weight of the world on these people and then go to the orphanage and have to say goodbye to Kai. There is a piece of Ethiopia that will forever be in my heart-the need is so great and it brings new perspective into my pampered life. Even the bad days look pretty good comparatively. I'm sure the events of our travel will be swirling in my mind for months-bittersweet really, really.
The court process in Ethiopia was really different. All the adoptive families were piled into a room with all the birth families at the same time. The judge would call the birth families into the room and ask them questions and then she would call in the adoptive families and ask them questions. It was heartbreaking to see some of the birth families exit the court room in tears. It's awkward to think that someone's biggest heartache can be someone else's greatest joy. We did not have the gift of meeting Malakai's birth parents since he was abandoned. Other families in our group did have the amazing opportunity-as hard as it was to hear some of the stories. There were also families in our group that did not get consent from the birth families to adopt. It was a roller coaster of emotion to go to court and see the weight of the world on these people and then go to the orphanage and have to say goodbye to Kai. There is a piece of Ethiopia that will forever be in my heart-the need is so great and it brings new perspective into my pampered life. Even the bad days look pretty good comparatively. I'm sure the events of our travel will be swirling in my mind for months-bittersweet really, really.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Charcoal,Diesel, Frankincense, Cigarettes and Spit Up
Those were the smells of the day! Down stairs in the lobby there is a woman who performs a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony where she roasts and brews the coffee over an open charcoal flame and then tries to cover the smell with burning frankincense (mind you this is all indoors).
We then went to the orphanage and we were assaulted with the pungent smell of diesel for a 20 minute drive. It was all worth it to visit and hold little Kai (although he did spit up on me about 5 times!). He is much smaller than I though he would be. We were able to stay for about 2 hours and play with all the babies and older children. We brought the orphanage donations and the kids were very thrilled and digging through the bag before it was even out of my hands! The orphanage is a new facility that is built in a U shape with a courtyard in the middle. There was a swing set and a slide outside with one side being the school and kitchen area, one side is the baby area, and one side is bunk beds for the older children. I didn't count exactly but I would guess that there were about 12 babies and another 30-40 older children. All the babies had blankets in their cribs with bottles of formula and they were all dressed in clean clothes. There was a play pen filled with toys. There was a basin outside filled with wash that was hung to dry and when we left at lunch time there was plenty of food for the kids to eat. The nannies sat with the little kids in a circle and hand fed them. It was pretty sweet. The older kids had soccer and footballs to play with and I think they had bubbles, as well. Although it was not the standard of living that we expect as Americans, I feel very assured that they are getting good care, especially seeing how most of the people in this city live in total poverty. There were ladies standing in the middle of a 6 lane street with their children tied to their backs while they tap on car windows begging for money.
We went shopping later in the afternoon for souvenirs and were followed the whole time by a young boy who was very disfigured asking for food and water. It is so difficult to see so many people who need so much. It's swirling around in my mind because it's been emotionally tough to see the need here, but also to be happy to be here to see Kai.
For dinner we went to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant that was delicious. They had a band playing Ethiopian music and tribal dancers that were very entertaining to watch. Tomorrow we will go back to visit Kai and hopefully post some pictures of this amazing place.
Love,
C
We then went to the orphanage and we were assaulted with the pungent smell of diesel for a 20 minute drive. It was all worth it to visit and hold little Kai (although he did spit up on me about 5 times!). He is much smaller than I though he would be. We were able to stay for about 2 hours and play with all the babies and older children. We brought the orphanage donations and the kids were very thrilled and digging through the bag before it was even out of my hands! The orphanage is a new facility that is built in a U shape with a courtyard in the middle. There was a swing set and a slide outside with one side being the school and kitchen area, one side is the baby area, and one side is bunk beds for the older children. I didn't count exactly but I would guess that there were about 12 babies and another 30-40 older children. All the babies had blankets in their cribs with bottles of formula and they were all dressed in clean clothes. There was a play pen filled with toys. There was a basin outside filled with wash that was hung to dry and when we left at lunch time there was plenty of food for the kids to eat. The nannies sat with the little kids in a circle and hand fed them. It was pretty sweet. The older kids had soccer and footballs to play with and I think they had bubbles, as well. Although it was not the standard of living that we expect as Americans, I feel very assured that they are getting good care, especially seeing how most of the people in this city live in total poverty. There were ladies standing in the middle of a 6 lane street with their children tied to their backs while they tap on car windows begging for money.
We went shopping later in the afternoon for souvenirs and were followed the whole time by a young boy who was very disfigured asking for food and water. It is so difficult to see so many people who need so much. It's swirling around in my mind because it's been emotionally tough to see the need here, but also to be happy to be here to see Kai.
For dinner we went to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant that was delicious. They had a band playing Ethiopian music and tribal dancers that were very entertaining to watch. Tomorrow we will go back to visit Kai and hopefully post some pictures of this amazing place.
Love,
C
Monday, December 20, 2010
Goodbye Roma!
We've had our last day in Rome yesterday. We went on a group tour to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palantine Hill. It was cold and rainy there yesterday, so we took a bus to The Spanish Steps and found an upscale pizza place and had a very delicious pizza. After a little shopping we went back to our hotel to pack and took a taxi to the airport to leave for Africa! Hoping to get a few pics posted soon, but we are having trouble accessing the blog some of the time. We are missing the kids, but looking forward to seeing Kai tomorrow.
Love,
C
Love,
C
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Cafe, Bramante, Bidet...
A lot of new experiences yesterday! We woke up and had breakfast at the hotel (with capuccino, of course). We then took a taxi to Piazza Novono which is an outdoor marketplace filled with lots of Christmas ornaments this time of year. It also has a beautiful fountain in the center. After that we walked to the Pantheon. It is amazing to think of this building standing since AD120! It's an amazing architectual feat! It's close to the Trevi fountain, so we tossed out euro in and wished for a return to Rome! I know you see this fountain in movies some times, but it truly is a beautiful and magnificent fountain. It's difficult not to stop and look at every building, every fountain, every street. It's so different from the US and it seems that the focus of the city is beauty. I'm still in awe of how gorgous this city is and it is so rich in history that 3 days is just not enough! The people here say that a life time is not enough and I'm sure that's true.
Today was our cooking class. Now ladies, I didn't just learn how to make pasta-I learned from Fabio! Not the wierdo blonde guy in TV. Think of a dark, tall Italian man with a gorgous Italian accent who happens to own a 12th century home in the countryside! This Fabio owns a restaurant and he and his side kick taught me and Dustin how to make fetuccine and another type of pasta by hand. He then cooked it up with 3 different types of sauces, served it to us with wine and homemade bread and topped it off with the creamiest and most decadent tiramisu that I have ever had. What a memory!
Later that afternoon we went to the Vatican.Bramante was the main architect of this place along with Raphael, Peruzzi, Sangallo and Michaelangelo. They say that St. Peter's Basilica is built upon the grave of Peter the apostle and they consider him the first Pope. Everywhere you look inside that building is ornate and gorgous with detail and sculptures. While we were there a mass was taking place and they were singing Christmas carols and then all the bells outside were ringing as we left.
It was an amazing and intense day. So I've told you about our cafe, and the architecht, Bramante, and I'll leave the bidet to your imagination. Today we are off to the Colosseum. Please pray for Dustin, he is not feeling well and we have a huge day with sight seeing and then we take our flight to Addis tonight at 12:02 a.m. Hope everyone is well.
Love,
D & C
Today was our cooking class. Now ladies, I didn't just learn how to make pasta-I learned from Fabio! Not the wierdo blonde guy in TV. Think of a dark, tall Italian man with a gorgous Italian accent who happens to own a 12th century home in the countryside! This Fabio owns a restaurant and he and his side kick taught me and Dustin how to make fetuccine and another type of pasta by hand. He then cooked it up with 3 different types of sauces, served it to us with wine and homemade bread and topped it off with the creamiest and most decadent tiramisu that I have ever had. What a memory!
Later that afternoon we went to the Vatican.Bramante was the main architect of this place along with Raphael, Peruzzi, Sangallo and Michaelangelo. They say that St. Peter's Basilica is built upon the grave of Peter the apostle and they consider him the first Pope. Everywhere you look inside that building is ornate and gorgous with detail and sculptures. While we were there a mass was taking place and they were singing Christmas carols and then all the bells outside were ringing as we left.
It was an amazing and intense day. So I've told you about our cafe, and the architecht, Bramante, and I'll leave the bidet to your imagination. Today we are off to the Colosseum. Please pray for Dustin, he is not feeling well and we have a huge day with sight seeing and then we take our flight to Addis tonight at 12:02 a.m. Hope everyone is well.
Love,
D & C
Friday, December 17, 2010
Roma
Hi Everyone! We landed in Rome at about 10:00 a.m. this morning. We had a moderately bumpy ride, so of course I didn't sleep alot. We shared a taxi with another family and went to the hotel, We were exhauseted so we slept for a couple of hours. After we woke up and cleaned up we went out to see what was close to our hotel. It's raining quite a bit here now so we had to walk around in big coats and use our umbrellas. The first place we went was the Piazza della Repubblica and sat in a little cafe and drank cappuccinos looking over a beautiful fountain that had some icicles hanging from some of the statues. We walked up and down some streets with shops and went inside some of them. We saw lots of beautiful cooking, tea, and bakery stores. There are beautiful Christmas lights along the streets and traditional pastries in Christmas and nativity scenes this time of year. We ended up at a delicious restaurant called Target (not the one with the bullseye) We had white wine, toasted garlic and oil bruschetta, spinach and bacon salad, tomato and basil linguini and a trio of desserts that had tiramisu, of course. We also had more coffee. We have a lot to learn about coffee here. I don't think Starbucks has infiltrated it's coffee values upon Italy, yet. There doesn't seem to be such a thing as a sugar free skinny vanilla latte with no foam. The choices here are coffee (a stiff shot of espresso), americano (a stiff shot of espresso with added hot water), and cappuccino (a stiff shot of espresso with a splash of milk and foam). I'm no coffee sissy, but this will take some getting used to. Thankfully I still have a couple more days to try out the coffee situation and prepare myself for the Ethiopian version of the stuff. So delighted to be in Italy which seems to be the coffee and dessert capitol of the world. Pretty sure heaven will have a coffee and pastry shop that looks out over that fountain! Miss you all already.
Christy
Christy
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
For the Fourth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 4 calling cards, 3 phenergan, 2 sets of gloves, and an antianxiety pill for Christy......
It's the night before we leave and all through the house, everything is stirring, even Zippy, the mouse! Actually she's a hamster. The children are starting to feel unsettled and Alia is begging us not to leave. I really hope this goes better than I think it might. I think I have everyone ready and scheduled for child and dog care, for karate lessons and Christmas dinners. The biggest and last thing to blog about are specific prayer requests, so here they are.
1. Safety and protection from flying to driving to walking and any other form of transportation.
2. Health-that we would not be sick throughout the whole trip and after.
3. Amazing bonding time with Malakai-that I would start to fall in love with him.
4. To be a blessing to the orphanage and care centers with donations and help.
5. That our luggage and donations would make it safely and for favor with customs.
6. That there would be no delays on the way home so we can make it home in time for Christmas.
7. Kids- for them to be safe, happy, healthy, and respectful.
8. For grandparents to have the energy to take care of the kids and for wisdom in decisions they need to make while taking care of them.
9. I'm not a good flyer, so smooth flights would be a blessing.
10. That Ollie (our dog) would do great and my parent's dog would be okay with the extra visitor.
11. For peace during the trip and especially coming home while leaving Malakai in Ethiopia.
12. That we would pass court quickly and that there would be no problems.
Okay, that's all I can think of right now. We'll post when we get to Rome. Thank you all for your friendship and love towards us. It means so much.
Caio,
Christy and Dustin
1. Safety and protection from flying to driving to walking and any other form of transportation.
2. Health-that we would not be sick throughout the whole trip and after.
3. Amazing bonding time with Malakai-that I would start to fall in love with him.
4. To be a blessing to the orphanage and care centers with donations and help.
5. That our luggage and donations would make it safely and for favor with customs.
6. That there would be no delays on the way home so we can make it home in time for Christmas.
7. Kids- for them to be safe, happy, healthy, and respectful.
8. For grandparents to have the energy to take care of the kids and for wisdom in decisions they need to make while taking care of them.
9. I'm not a good flyer, so smooth flights would be a blessing.
10. That Ollie (our dog) would do great and my parent's dog would be okay with the extra visitor.
11. For peace during the trip and especially coming home while leaving Malakai in Ethiopia.
12. That we would pass court quickly and that there would be no problems.
Okay, that's all I can think of right now. We'll post when we get to Rome. Thank you all for your friendship and love towards us. It means so much.
Caio,
Christy and Dustin
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Christmas+Construction+Court=Crazy Christy
Time is ticking! We leave one week from tomorrow. I'm in a flurry trying to finalize details of flights, hotel, travel itinerary, child care, laundry, packing and I'm sure a ton of other stuff that you don't really want to hear about! Christmas shopping is done and with the help of a my friend's mother, my gifts are thankfully all wrapped. All the Christmas baking is done (well, at least the part that I am responsible for). All this among a house that is currently under construction for a remodeling project! With the small concern about attending court in Ethiopia, it's enough to push me a little over the edge! I'm terrified of flying, but with all the stress around here, maybe it will be a welcome relief to take my anti anxiety medication and hop on board that big airplane.
I am at peace knowing that the kids will be getting the best of care and even spoiled by both sets of grandparents while we are away. But being gone during the holiday season is going to be emotionally difficult. I think for the first time ever, we will be missing our annual Swedish lutefisk dinner. No tragedy over missing the lutefisk, but I'm sad to miss out on the tradition. Christmas with the rest of the family will be postponed until we can all be together. I don't want to miss out on the kids opening their gifts, so please pray that all goes well and that we don't have any delayed flights so we can get home to the rest of our forever family! I'll try to post again before we go!
I am at peace knowing that the kids will be getting the best of care and even spoiled by both sets of grandparents while we are away. But being gone during the holiday season is going to be emotionally difficult. I think for the first time ever, we will be missing our annual Swedish lutefisk dinner. No tragedy over missing the lutefisk, but I'm sad to miss out on the tradition. Christmas with the rest of the family will be postponed until we can all be together. I don't want to miss out on the kids opening their gifts, so please pray that all goes well and that we don't have any delayed flights so we can get home to the rest of our forever family! I'll try to post again before we go!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Here It Is!
Since many of you have asked if we were going to blog about our journey to meet and bring Kai home, here it is! This will be a place where we will be writing about our travels and any news regarding this adoption. For those of you who don't know, an Ethiopian adoption now requires two trips to complete the process. The first trip to Ethiopia is to meet our new child and to attend a court hearing that will relinquish custody from Ethiopia and gives custody to us. However, even though we will have legal custody of Kai, the US embassy will not have his visa, passport, birth certificate, and other documents that he needs ready to enter the United States. So, we are told that it will be between 5-8 weeks before all the paperwork is settled and we fly back for our second trip to bring him home. We leave for our first trip on December 16th and we will have our court date on December 23rd. We will fly out of Addis at 12:02 a.m. on the 24th and hopeful be home late that night on the 24th (if there are no delays). There are many more details to write about, but I'll save them for later :). Thanks for following the blog. We look forward to hearing from you all while we are away!
Christy
Christy
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