Finally, Some Good News!

We received word today that the courts in Ethiopia are finally reopening our adoption case on July 2nd. Our adoption agency will be submitting all our paperwork again, and we will have to agonizingly wait (again) for the courts to issue us a new court date. We have been warned that it could be as little as a 3-4 days, or it could be a few weeks. Either way, the courts have committed to making cases like ours a priority, and AWAA is still hopeful we will get in before potential court closures in August.
While we are thrilled to finally see some light at the end of the tunnel, our very tender hearts tell us not to break out the confetti just yet. So far, as Travis put it, the worst has happened, so we're trying to prepare ourselves for the worst. As I've been saying for weeks now, we can only take it a day at a time. Some days are harder than others, but we just have to keep the end goal in sight.
It reminds me of what I've heard some women say about their childbirth pains: it is pain with a purpose. They know that at the end of it all, there will be a beautiful child. Today, we received our immunizations for travel to Africa. After four shots, my right arm is sore to say the least. Believe me, I know this no where compares to childbirth, but I tried to see it as pain with a purpose. Each step we take brings us one step closer to Mia. And one day, hopefully soon, I will hold her in my arms and all of this pain, waiting, and heartache will be so worth it.

Travel Vaccinations for Ethiopia - $557.00
Adoption Fees - $25,000.00
Waiting, Waiting, and More Waiting - Agonizing
Holding My Baby Girl for the First Time - Priceless

May Update

I have to make this quick, because we've got a wedding to shoot today (first one of the season!) and I have precious few minutes to get housework done before we'll be gone the rest of the day. Two quick updates. I promised to let you know how the conference call went on Wednesday. Unfortunately, we didn't receive any real new information, but I was comforted and encouraged that Anna (director of programs at AWAA) still feels pretty confident that we will get in before court closure. Here's now what we need to specifically pray for:

1. That MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs) would begin to write recommendation letters for those orphanages not being investigated (ours included) and softening of their hearts to release cases of kiddos who aren't being investigated.
2. Some of the orphanage directors of those not being investigated are trying to appeal to the Supreme Court to have MOWA continue writing recommendation letters. Pray for success and softening of hearts.
3. That any unethical behavior would be quickly discovered and remedied.

We also received our May update yesterday, and Mia is now up to 8 pounds! I also found out that she likes to make up her own sleeping schedule, and takes 4 1-1.5 hour naps a day and wakes 3-4 times a night for feeding. Oh, and she like to be cuddled to sleep...I think my co-sleeper is going to be a god-send. I'm chuckling to myself as I begin to see her personality emerge. And I'm pretty sure my mother is chuckling as my little one is starting to show the same first-born, strong willed tendencies as I did. I think this is the best piece of advice my mom has given me yet: Choose your battles. You can't win them all, so choose carefully.

Losing It

Well, folks, the floodgates have finally broke open. I have an uncanny knack of not crying at those moments in life that I most expect, like my wedding and sometimes even funerals. So it wasn't looking at her referral pictures, seeing our first care package delivered, or even finding out our case is temporarily closed; none of these events that should have in fact brought me to tears did. But when I received this evening a plethora of photos and two videos from the Bayly's, who arrived home Saturday with their son, Tate, I cracked. And I don't mean one glistening down my cheek in a dainty way kind of tears, I mean hiccuping, snot nosed, red faced for an hour tears. It was the blessed gift of hearing my daughter's cry for the very first time. I keep watching the same 17 second video over and over and over again, each time looking for some new feature in my daughter's face, hands, or feet. Her little cheeks are filling out so nicely, I just want to squeeze them. And her hands! Her fingers are getting oh-so-long, and my heart just breaks because I'm not there to witness this tiny miracle. The lull between pictures is almost too much for my tender heart.
We are humbled and so very much appreciate your continuing prayers, thoughts, and encouraging notes. Please keep them coming. We have a conference call with our agency on Wednesday about the temporary delay, and I am praying for some news of progress. As always, I'll keep you posted with as much information as I can share.

For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 2 Corinthians 1:5