Good news & Bad News

The good news: The courts in Addis Ababa are re-opening after the close for the rainy season.

The bad news: First we were told that they would re-open October 7th. Now today we were told that it is October 12th. Damn.

Here's the time frame:

Once we pass court, it is 8 weeks until our Embassy date, which determines when we travel and bring Eli home. So, if by some amazing chance we get assigned a court date in late October, theoretically, we would travel before the end of the year. If we get assigned a date in November, then we travel in January. We were really hoping that we would travel around Christmas time, since that is when work slows down for Michael as well as for his brother, Steven, who will be traveling with us. They would both feel better about being gone for 7-10 days if there wasn't a ton of work piling up for them.

So, like all else in adoption life, we wait. And wait some more.

The Young's are coming home!

I got an email this morning from Kendell. (Marty did have to leave last week with baby Isaac and she stayed in Addis with Eli.) She got his passport on Monday morning and will leave Tuesday night, arriving home late Wednesday night. After 26 days away from her kids and handling last minute flight arrangements alone, I can only imagine how sweet that reunion will be!

I will update soon with all of her news from her trip, including details about Shimeles' exam by Marty, her time at Sele Enat and the Care Center, and general observations of Ethiopia. I am SO very happy for them!

Prayers & positive vibes....

Ok all you prayerful folks, positive vibe senders, and good thought thinkers out there -- we need you on this one. My good friend Kendell and her husband Marty (see previous post for a summary of their story) are STILL in Ethiopia, after leaving September 5th! They have run into snafu after snafu in regards to their oldest son, Eli's, paperwork. Because of his medical situation, he needs special waivers and paperwork to get him out of Ethiopia and home to Oregon. This paperwork is a mess, and the US embassy officials have been less than helpful (to say the least).

They have already been there 3 full weeks (as compared to the standard 7-10 days), and are being told that it could be 2 more weeks! Marty has to get home to get to work and pay the bills (huge shout out to all the providers out there!), so he's planning on coming home with Isaac in a few days, and leaving Kendell and Eli there to finish up the paper chase. I know how I would feel if I would have to do that without my husband and best friend, so I'm hoping beyond hope that this all comes together so they can go home as a family. Not that Kendell isn't strong enough to do this alone. She is, and tenfold, but who wants to have to do that??

Let's get 'em home, people!!

Go Kendell Go!

I was so happy to wake up this morning and find an email in my inbox from my good friend Kendell Young. She wrote that she and her husband Marty have arrived safely in Addis Ababa and (9 hours ago) were waiting to be picked up to go to Sele Enat Orphanage to get their children!

It became very real to me that this will be our story very soon. She is the first person I actually know who is picking up her children TODAY! That is an amazing thing after the excruciating wait that she and Marty have endured. I am so thankful for them and their wonderful hearts. It makes me feel just a little bit closer to Eli knowing that SHE is hugging and kissing him today. That SHE is giving him all the things that we can't. And that Marty, being a pediatrician, is doing full physical and developmental exams on Eli and all the children there. What an incredible gift.

With my whole heart, I wish the Young's a fabulous, life-changing trip filled with more joy than they can contain! We love you guys!