Baby Nyah

Well.....we have been home since Thanksgiving and I am finally getting into a rhythm. It has been crazy with traveling for the holidays and adjusting to a new little one in the house. Nyah is such a blessing and we can't imagine life without her. Both our trip to Ethiopia and the baby have changed our lives forever. It has given us perspective and a new focus. The Ethiopian people are amazing, resilient, and kind. We are beginning to think about going back in the summer of 2012 to participate in some mission work. Here is a new picture of our little princess....

PS: For all those waiting for a referral or travel - The wait is sooooo worth it :)

Off We Go

Can't write too much tonight. I am exhausted, excited, fearful, happy, etc.....We heard from Natalie on Monday afternoon at 3:30pm. She informed us of the new regulations for court. We have a MOWA date scheduled for Friday, October 29th. To make a long story short, she informed us that if we can make it to Ethiopia for court on Friday we would fall under the new rule and can finalize the adoption that day if all goes well. Needless to say, it has been crazy here. I leave tomorrow afternoon and will attend the court hearing on Friday. Hopefully all goes well and Nyah will be in my arms this weekend. Jim will follow in a few weeks to attend the embassy date and accompany us home :) I will keep everyone up to date about the new process as I think we may be one of the first. Keep us in your prayers. Hope to introduce you to our little one soon.

Laura

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