Today was our much-awaited court appointment.  We didn’t know what to expect since families who appeared in court before the rainy season did not pass because their MOWA letter was not in their file.  Even though MOWA was working during the rainy season, we were told that we should not expect our letter to be there.  They didn’t want us to be disappointed.  However we were REALLY hoping to pass.

We woke up at 6:30, showered, and ate breakfast.  At 8:30 our driver Danny picked us up.  It was rush hour, so the traffic was crazy.  We arrived at the courthouse at 9:15.  We had a representative with us who carried all our documentation.   We walked in a small room that was filled with people (Ethiopians and foreigners).  There were 30 seats around the perimeter of the room and all were taken.  The center of the room was full of people, so we went to a place that had an opening.  There was another couple there so we started talking to them.  We found out they were from Wyoming and were adopting a little girl from another agency.  We enjoyed getting to know them.

One by one, people got called in to the judge’s office and the room thinned out until it was only us and about four European families.  We waited in that room for about two hours.  We found out that our files were missing, so somebody had to go find them.  Somebody finally came in with a stack of files and a few minutes later the court worker opened the door and called “Bethzatha”.  That meant us, though we weren’t sure why our cased was called Bethzatha.  Our kids never spent time there, although others kids from Hannah’s Hope do.

So we went in the judge’s office and took a seat.  She spoke English and asked us questions like, “Since you started the process, have you learned about Ethiopia?”, “Are you prepared to deal with the identity issues your children will have?”, “Are these your first children?”, “Do you know other adoptive families that you can meet with?”  Then she told us that once this is finalized, we cannot change our minds.  We told her we understood.  Then she said the words we were hoping to hear: “Your file is complete. They are yours”.  We were SO happy to hear those words!!!  I thanked her and felt a rush of emotions.  It was one of the happiest moments knowing A and T are officially our children.

After court, Danny took us to an Italian restaurant and then shopping at an outdoor market.  We then returned to Hannah’s Hope, where we spent another couple hours with the kids.  When we got there, the toddlers were in a room with the special mothers.  A ran out to hug us.  She was wearing a ring and necklace that we gave her.  We went over to the swings and Nate went to get T in the baby house.  I held A in my lap and told her that we are now a family.  I knew she didn’t understand me but it was surreal to tell her and to think that she and T are officially part of our family.

After Nate got T we took turns holding him and getting him to interact with us.  He started talking a lot and we took a little video of him.  Once in awhile we would hold him up to get him to make eye contact with us and smile.  We are in LOVE with his smile!!!  He is such a happy and good baby.

A was fascinated with the buttons on my sweater.  I watched as she carefully buttoned each one of them.  I was glad to see she had good fine motor skills and a good attention span.  She would notice when an airplane would go by and point to it.  She would say “ah-roh-PLAHN!” in Amharic and get excited.  Nate and I were happy to know that she loves airplanes.  Hopefully her enthusiasm continues through our long flight to the US!

Right before we left, A was acting very cute towards Nate.  She had her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss before a special mother took her away with the other kids.  Then we went up to the baby room and handed T to his special mother.

Today we arrived at Hannah’s Hope to a crowd of babies sunning in the courtyard and the big kids yelling and playing in their corner. ‘A’, wearing a cute little black and white hat, came running into April’s arms as soon as she spotted us! We were hoping for a warm reception, so you can imagine how happy we were to see that.

We decided we would start the day by splitting up with one child each to spend some one-on-one time with them. April took ‘A’ over to the steps to look at a photo book and to color. She didn’t seem too interested in the photo book, but she sure got busy coloring little pink and blue lines and circles. April was sure to applaud her artistry, and she seemed to love that. After a few minutes, ‘A’ did something that made us both extremely happy. She did the potty dance and used the little plastic potty like a pro! We have obviously never potty-trained a child before, so we’re hoping she sticks with it once she comes home and saves us a few more years before we’ll have to take on the challenge with ‘T’.

I was walking around the courtyard with ‘T’ at this time, and he loves to look around at what’s going on. I had to lift him up over my head to get the really big smiles, so of course I did that often. He has such beautiful smiley face! I told him what was going on all around us, just in case he started to understand my English after one day. Ha.

We then switched kids, and I took some time coloring and playing My Little Pony with ‘A’. She continued with her lines and circles, very intently. Every once in a while, her friends would come over to see what we were doing. ‘A’ was very happy to show off her new pony, and the other kids were just as curious. I sat back to watch these cute little interactions, soaking up the fact that this was my new daughter in front of me. It was a lot of fun to just be able to sit there and play together.

April came back over after her time with ‘T’, and we decided to try something we had read about in books to encourage connection with ‘A’. We got out some plastic rings and necklaces and each of us took one to put on. We showed her how ours and hers were the same. We would hold them up next to hers and try to make eye contact. She loved the jewelry and she did make a little more eye contact than usual, so we kept going. It felt like a success as time went on, because she wouldn’t take off the necklace or the ring. She even put two more rings on on her little fingers.

Next, we went over to the swings because we knew from pictures and other traveling families that she LOVED the swings. I expected this petite little girl to sit on the swing and maybe wait for us to push her, but no way. She started pumping those little legs and soon was swinging higher and faster than any other 3 and a half year old I’ve ever seen! April and I were more than a little scared at first, but she did great. We stood (very close by) and started a game with her where she would grab her My Little Pony with her feet and hold it a few swings before she would drop it for another go. I picked it up, held it out for her, she would miss a few times, and finally she would grab it to everyone’s delight. ‘A’ got SO excited over this game – it was so much fun to watch her.

April took ‘T’ up for his feeding and nap at about this time, so I waited a bit and then took ‘A’ up there while I snapped a few pictures. He feel asleep very quickly and he’s just adorable when he sleeps.

Then it was time for a little bubble blowing with the kids, at which point I received a LOT of attention from a few of them. I got lots of little fingers running through my strange straight hair, little hands touching my arm hair, and my watch was the object of the utmost fascination for a couple of the kids. They’re all so cute, I just let them do what they wanted.

That was about the time that we started getting ready to leave for the day. We took ‘A’ up for her nap, and got a few more smiles out of a just woken up ‘T’. Then we got back in the van and went back to the hotel.

We did get the chance that evening to take a taxi to Entoto Mountain. It was a neat ride through the city with a taxi driver who pointed out all the important landmarks. Every time he was about to show me something he put his hand on my knee, then pointed to the landmark. A little uncomfortable, but in a country where men hold hands in the street, maybe that’s just what they do. The mountain was scenic, and it was such a relief to get up into the clean air! The air was a little cooler, and the views were fantastic. We walked through a little museum up there, and took a lot of pictures.

By the time our driver took us back to the hotel, we were exhausted. It was a long and very exciting day two of our trip.

We woke up this morning at 7:00 AM.  We got ready, went to the hotel restaurant for some breakfast, and were picked up at 9:30 by Wass (a Hannah’s Hope special dad and driver).  The drive felt surreal.  We recognized the dirt road as we were approaching Hannah’s Hope.  Sure enough, we turned and soon saw the Hannah’s Hope gates.  We knew we were minutes away from seeing A and T.  We stopped the van to get out.  Older kids were shouting and excited to see us.  Wass said that they were saying A’s family was here.  We could tell they were yelling to her.  We barely had time to give Wass the camera when one of the special mothers brought A out to see us.  That moment of seeing her for the first time was one of the happiest of our lives.  She was really nervous and didn’t make eye contact with us except for short glances.  She had a little toy in her hand that she kept putting in her mouth – it seemed like it was her little way of dealing with the shyness that she felt.  She is everything we thought she would be, although a bit smaller.  Her hair has grown since the last pictures.  Hearing her speak in Tigrinya is so cute.  Sometime she has a little raspy whisper which is cute.

Shortly after we met A, another special mother brought out T.  He was so much bigger than the pictures!  That made us happy to see that he was growing well.  The special mother handed him right to Nate.  He has a hard time making eye contact too, but when he does, he gives us a big smile.  He started babbling and making soft screeches and he seemed to like us.

We then had an orientation with Tsigie about our I-600 forms and a few other random items.  It was a little hard concentrating as we held T and watched A run around the office with her my little ponies.

After that we were able to just play with the kids for a couple of hours. We went upstairs to a little area outside A’s room and got out some toys.  A was really excited to show us her bed.  She started to open up as she played with us.  She loved to scoot around on a little box that had spinning blocks on it.  At the same time, we were able to feed T for the first time, and he went to sleep for us. He was a sweet baby.

When it was lunchtime, we went into the lunch room and watched A and a bunch of other kids eat.  She loved her beef and injera, and she even let me help her eat.  Nate helped her wash her hands when she was done.

Shortly before we left, we went over to the swings because we knew A loves the swings.  We sat her on our laps and the swung for a little while.  By that time she made a bit more eye contact, and she gradually let me get closer to giving her a kiss. It was very cute.

After that it was time to go after one last time seeing T and seeing A get ready for her nap. She waved goodbye to us and we had to leave.  It was a bit disappointing only being able to spend two hours with them, but we’ll be back tomorrow for some more time.

Tonight we had dinner at a place called Yod Abyssinia. They called it the “cultural dinner” because we had Ethiopian food and we watched a neat singing and dancing program.  The food was similar to what we get at the Ethiopian restaurant in Salt Lake, but this one was better.  It was a big plate of injera and a few different meats and sauces.  The restaurant was packed with younger Ethiopians and quite a few Chinese people.  It must be one of the good places in the city to go eat.

As we started eating, the band sat up on stage and started playing music.  We got some video of it.  The dancers came out next and the one that really attracted our attention was one with a few drums and a lot of shoulder and head movements.  Wass told us it was a dance from Tigray, so naturally we were more interested because that’s where our kids are from.  The Ethiopian culture is so beautiful.  It is a blessing that our kids come from a rich heritage.  They can be so proud to be Ethiopian.  We hope to help them appreciate and keep their Ethiopian identities.

After the dinner we were taken back to our hotel where we emailed pictures to family and friends.

Well, it’s time for bed and we are anxious for another exciting day with A and T.

We never thought this day would come, but it’s here. We finally get to travel to Ethiopia to meet our kids!!! We’ve tried to grasp the full meaning of what is coming, but still it all seems so distant. Our kids have been real only in pictures for these last few months that it has seemed like that’s all we’d ever see. We just can hardly believe that we’ll actually be setting eyes on our two little cuties in a couple of days!

We have to endure the long flight first. It’s Salt Lake City to Houston, Houston to Frankfurt, and Frankfurt to Addis Ababa. That’s about 24 hours that we hope goes by quickly. We’ve got books and pillows, so we’ll do our best to pass the time. And we think just knowing what awaits at the end of the trip will make it more bearable than another typical long flight.

Thanks to so many generous friends and family, we’re hauling along some bins of donations for the orphanage and transition home. We’ve seen so many other couples do this and been amazed at the generosity that people show, we thought it would be a great idea. We are also excited to be able to take pictures of many of the kids of waiting families who either have recently received a referral, or else traveled once to see their kids. There are so many adorable kids at the transition home!

If anybody sees this post in the next few days, please pray for us that we’ll pass court and be able to travel soon for the second trip. Other adoptive families have told us how hard it is to leave after the first trip, so naturally we’ll want to get back as soon as possible. Also please pray for the families who have been waiting for their second trip in the midst of delays and lots of unknowns. We hope they get there soon.

We’re off!