Court Date

We received a call from Gladney today with our court date. MOWA is scheduled for October 29th and our court date is November 29th. Hopefully, I can arrange my schedule (I have to either get coverage or rearrange finals) to stay with our sweet girl until our Embassy Date. Jim and I are planning to leave the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I will hopefully have more to share soon.....Stay tuned.

Nyah is 4 Months Old Today

Well, today Nyah is 4 months old. Our paperwork for court was submitted prior to the court closure in August, but we were not assigned a date. Hopefully, we will hear something this week. We are still holding out hope that we will have her in our arms before Christmas.

This week we began preparing the nursery. A wonderful artist here in the high country designed and made a special bedding set just for Nyah. She also made her a very comfy pink robe, a boppy to help strengthen her muscles, a shopping cart cover, and a beautiful blanket and quilt. If anyone would like information on this artist or is interested in ordering anything let me know and I will forward you her email address.

Nikolaus (our 12-year-old) also made letters out of wood and painted them a sparkling pink color. They are now hanging about her crib :) Now, all we need is our little princess and it will be complete.

We did receive a wonderful update from the in-country staff Friday. Here is what they had to say..."Nyah is filling out so well. I almost didn’t recognize her when I first saw her this morning! She’s smiling so much and seems so laid back and gentle. We spent a lot of time cooing at each other this morning. She’s a real sweetheart. At one point, she began waving her arm as though she were conducting an orchestra. Perhaps she has music in her future."

If you have time this week, please pray that we will be granted a court date - Thank you for all your support and love - Laura and Jim

Update on Our Princess

We received an update from Gladney today on Baby N. She will be 3 months old on Friday. I live for these small glimpses of her life in Ethiopia. Here is what the in-country staff had to say.....

“I found Baby N sunning with her friends in the garden of her foster care house. It was a nice morning: the sun was shining brightly and we had a long enough break from the rains that the caregivers could let the babies enjoy some sunshine for a little while. Baby N seemed very content, bathing in sunshine there on a mattress. Some babies were fussing and fretting about it, but she just lay there resting and enjoying some warmer weather. She is such a sweet little baby—very smiley and happy. It’s been fun to watch her fill out over these past few weeks, adding some nice baby fat to her little frame and becoming more and more alert and interactive. What a doll!”

Please....please....please move a little faster Mr. Time. I can't stand this wait for a court date. I know I am whining but indulge me :) This sweet girl has touched our lives so much and has added so much love to our family and she is not even here yet.

I had some great news from the Dean at the School of Nursing. She has graciously given me the freedom to stay in Addis between the court and embassy date if I need to. I am still struggling with the decision, but this has helped a lot. I will continue to teach on-line from there pending Internet access. I am also trying to speak with someone at Addis Ababa University about taking a tour of the nursing school and possibly shadowing a nursing professor for a few days while we are in-country. Jim may do the same with the physics department. I will hopefully be working on an exchange program with the nursing students that would allow 8-10 of our students to visit for 2-3 weeks every other summer. They would be volunteering in the orphanages and practicing their pediatric assessments and skills. Wish me luck.

Confused

Here is the million dollar question....Should I stay or should I go? Now that we are closing in on finding out our travel dates, I am struggling with the decision to make the two trips (leaving Baby N) and returning for the Embassy date, or staying in-country and taking placement after we pass court. I continue to pray every day for the answer. My heart is telling me to stay and try to work something out with my employer, however I am having an issue with leaving my other two children for that long (one is 18 and the other 12) and also my students as it will be mid-semester.

Jim will not be able to stay the entire time with me. He would fly home and fly back to pick us up. Since it is going to be close to the holiday season, I feel that it would be best to have some "alone time" with her to make sure she is feeling safe with her new Mommy (yeah!) before we expose her to the activity of the entire family. I treasured the time I had to bond with both my boys and she deserves the same. I deserve the same. Jim is very nervous about me being alone in Ethiopia and worries because he won't be there if I need anything. I want so badly to soak in the culture and the people of Ethiopia. I am hoping to present my Dean with the possibility of taking nursing students down to volunteer in the government orphanages every other summer. I would also love to visit the School of Nursing at Addis Ababa University.

See my dilemma? If anyone out there in adoption land has any advice please give me some input. If you are planning to stay I would love to connect with you soon (my email is ljfero@yahoo.com). I think Jim would feel much better about the decision if he knew there were other Moms and Dads staying as well. I am anticipating the first trip to be around Oct 19th. Thanks in advance for your input and support.

Laura

10 Weeks Old and Growing

Baby N is ten weeks old today and growing..... Unfortunately, we were not able to secure a court date before the closures but are hopeful that we will receive an "official update" soon from Gladney. We are so grateful to the Bentley Family (http://www.bentleysboundforafrica.blogspot.com/) who just returned after passing court. They took a few pictures for us while they were there. I am a little bias, but she is soooo beautiful. I thank God everyday for bringing her into our lives.

The waiting game is really hard right now. It was difficult to wait for a referral but I think it is possibly more difficult to see her face everyday and know she will not be in our arms until sometime in November (I hope). I am desperately trying not to focus on this and have plenty to keep the family busy. Our oldest moved into his own apartment and Nikolaus started 7th grade yesterday. Nikolaus is also playing travel basketball and started practicing already. Jim and I have started teaching preparations for this semester and continue to work on publications.

On a side note.....I stopped at Babies R Us today. Can I just tell you that it was a completely overwhelming experience. I almost had a mini panic attack. Are all of those gadgets necessary? I know I have not had a baby in the house for a while, but seriously..... a spa tub for an infant? Do they really need a toilet seat that talks to them or a mattress that costs over $400 (endorsed by orthopedic surgeons)? It is literally going to take a big glass of wine to recover from the experience. Oh well....I guess I better put my head in the game and prioritize.

Thank you once again to all my Gladney extended family. Your support is much appreciated and helps immensely during this waiting period - Laura

Court Update...The Wait Continues

Well, today we got a call from Natalie. We had some good news and some bad news. The good news is that our file is complete and has been submitted to the courts in Ethiopia. The bad news is that the court has closed for the rainy season and will not re-open until September 28th. So, although the paperwork is there, we will have to wait to find out when our court date and first trip will be. Natalie is anticipating sometime in mid-October or early November. I am trying to be realistic but I sure hope we have Baby N home by Thanksgiving.

Jim and I both start the semester the week of August 16th and I am hoping (almost positive) that the students and research projects will keep us busy during this "quiet" time. I guess I will start working on putting the nursery together. She will be here before we know it :)

How It All Went Down

Sleep....What Sleep??

I don't think I have properly slept since Thursday night. Maybe it is my body's way of preparing for this precious little girl. This past week was difficult for our entire family. As noted in our previous post, Jim lost his parents and a sister 40 years ago Friday in a tragic car accident. He was 3 years old at the time and was not able to experience the love and nurturing his parents provided for his older siblings (8 of them). His oldest sister raised him and did a wonderful job. He is a remarkable man and a wonderful husband and father. This time of year is tough on him as he reflects on this experience. The week was also difficult for me as we are preparing to move our oldest off on his own (he graduated in June from high school). Additionally, I am on my second reconstructive shoulder surgery and desperately trying to recover (I was mugged in Ireland at a conference last year and unfortunately they got the best of my shoulder...but not my purse :) Anyway...it did not seem that the referral fairy was going to visit and I was feeling pretty blue. I just sat down to ice my shoulder and watch a little CNN. My youngest son was letting the dogs out for me so I could rest. Then the phone rang....

For a split second, I thought "let it ring, it can't be Gladney". Thank goodness I looked at my cell phone....817. I threw the ice off my arm and started screaming at my son. Natalie (that sweet girl) was on the line. She said "Laura, I have your referral". I responded, "seriously, you have to be kidding me". From that point on it was a blur.

Unfortunately, Jim was at work. He is a physics professor and was on the top of a roof installing a climate monitoring system for NASA. I let Natalie know that he was unavailable but I would try to reach him. Simultaneously, Nikolaus was calling Jim to tell me we got a referral. We discussed our options (take the referral alone and share it with him later or wait until Monday morning when we could be together). WHAT DO YOU THINK THE DECISION WAS. Of course, we took the referral and what a wonderful experience it was.

Our little girl is so beautiful. She is 7 weeks old and overall very healthy. She has the most precious smile. Her story was difficult to hear but the presence of God throughout her young journey is apparent. Emotionally, I was all over the board. Crying, laughing, praying, and grieving all at the same time. Our hearts are so full of love already it is overwhelming at times. The rest of the evening was filled with printing pictures, calling family and friends, and rejoicing.

So....what we thought was going to be a difficult week ended up being the most blessed. Now, instead of my husband only reflecting on his loss on July 23rd, he can also remember that it was the first day he saw his precious little girl's face. We took her picture with us to church tonight and offered our prayers to her birth family, the Gladney staff, and all who have touched her young life. It was a peaceful experience knowing God is in control and will care for her until we can be with her. To top it all off, we had a guest priest tonight from where?....Africa of course:)

As we continue to process the events of this week, I physically feel a part of my heart opening just for her. I look forward to the day that it will be filled and complete and we become a family of 5. God Bless - Laura

PS...If anyone reading this post is traveling soon, please contact me at ljfero@yahoo.com We are anxious for additional pictures and the possibility of sending our little princess a care package.