For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, you know that things have been happening, FINALLY happening over the last couple of weeks!! We got the document we needed, it has been submitted to MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs) and we were told today that we should get word of our exact court date on MONDAY!!!! That means we will likely be leaving for Ethiopia in a matter of days!!! YAY YAY YAY!!!! And, it looks like Mark will return to get her about 2-3 weeks after we get home from our first trip! So, all of this means Zoe is very likely to be home, in our arms forever in May!
There's a lot spinning around in my head right now, planning for the long trip to Ethiopia, the excitement of meeting our daughter for the first time, fears of what life will be like with two children and the adjustment of the new reality for both of them as well. You'd think with as much as we have been delayed I would have prepared for all of this? Ha! Nope. I spent most of my time trying to NOT think about that stuff because I was guarding my heart incase it never actually became a reality. Now, I guess I'll have to brush the dust off those adoption books and get my head back in the game!
Also, just to follow up, there have been a number of times I have talked about the climate of adoptions in Ethiopia and some of the heartbreaking realities within adoption there. Thankfully, I have good news to report! Ethiopia is implementing some changes in an effort to change these situations. Children will first be available for domestic adoption prior to becoming eligible for international adoption. (Keeping children in their home country should always be the first option.) Regional MOWA offices are doing their orphan investigations with more diligence as well as the Federal MOWA office that grants the final adoption approval prior to adoptive parent court hearings. And the PAIR process through USCIS stateside also helps to verify orphan statuses as well. So, although I hated being caught up in the confusion of a lot of these changes, and I personally believe there will never really be a completely "clean" international adoption process in Ethiopia, I think they are FINALLY doing something to force the ugly people out and advocate on behalf of the children instead of financial gain. I will be eager to see how these changes impact the landscape and the reputation of international adoption out of Ethiopia in the future.
Now, for some fun! I don't think I have shared much about Zoe's nursery on the blog, but I think it's finally time to share the beauty that is her room!
And lastly, guess who's Referral Day was 4 years ago??? This boy! I cannot wait to see him as a big brother soon.
Until next time...
There's a lot spinning around in my head right now, planning for the long trip to Ethiopia, the excitement of meeting our daughter for the first time, fears of what life will be like with two children and the adjustment of the new reality for both of them as well. You'd think with as much as we have been delayed I would have prepared for all of this? Ha! Nope. I spent most of my time trying to NOT think about that stuff because I was guarding my heart incase it never actually became a reality. Now, I guess I'll have to brush the dust off those adoption books and get my head back in the game!
Also, just to follow up, there have been a number of times I have talked about the climate of adoptions in Ethiopia and some of the heartbreaking realities within adoption there. Thankfully, I have good news to report! Ethiopia is implementing some changes in an effort to change these situations. Children will first be available for domestic adoption prior to becoming eligible for international adoption. (Keeping children in their home country should always be the first option.) Regional MOWA offices are doing their orphan investigations with more diligence as well as the Federal MOWA office that grants the final adoption approval prior to adoptive parent court hearings. And the PAIR process through USCIS stateside also helps to verify orphan statuses as well. So, although I hated being caught up in the confusion of a lot of these changes, and I personally believe there will never really be a completely "clean" international adoption process in Ethiopia, I think they are FINALLY doing something to force the ugly people out and advocate on behalf of the children instead of financial gain. I will be eager to see how these changes impact the landscape and the reputation of international adoption out of Ethiopia in the future.
Now, for some fun! I don't think I have shared much about Zoe's nursery on the blog, but I think it's finally time to share the beauty that is her room!
And lastly, guess who's Referral Day was 4 years ago??? This boy! I cannot wait to see him as a big brother soon.
Until next time...
