Ethiopian Adoption Journey

Lennox Update

2012-03-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

Well I went back to work after 6 weeks of being off and it was horrible. Lennox was not fond of daycare the first week so it made it hard to leave him. I have been trying to teach him that I am his provider, his one and only caregiver. He has had so many over the first year of his life, I didn't want him to think I was ever leaving him. We established a great bond during those 6 weeks and then I had to leave him in the arms of strangers. The ladies at daycare are amazing and they love him so much. He has been going to daycare for 2 weeks now and he is doing great. He cries when I leave him in the morning with a teacher that is not his, but as soon as his teacher gets there he is fine.

Kadin is still being a stinker, but I have high hopes that he will get over his jealousy at some point. A lady at work said it took her son 5 years to start liking his baby sister. I am not sure I can handle 5 years of "He is looking out my window" "He is looking at me" "There are to many people in the house" "He needs to go to bed now".

The bad moment are worth it when I have little happy moments. Kadin had to stop playing soccer last week because he needed to go off the field and give Lennox a hug and a kiss. He is trying so hard to be a good big brother, but it is hard for him to share the world he has been the center of for 3 years.

I took Lennox to get his picture taken last week and he didn't do very good, but out of the 60 pictures that they took I got about 8 good ones. I will post a couple for everyone to see. I am excited for Kadin to hopefully be a willing participant in the next photo session.

more later
Jessica

It has been how long????

2012-02-14T12:27:00.000-08:00

Well I have a hard time believing that it has only been a little over 3 weeks since coming home. It feels as though it has been forever. He has transitioned beautifully. He started crawling around about a week after being home. A couple days ago he started walking. He is only taking a few steps, but he is so excited and proud of himself for those steps.

I am currently in the process of readopting Lennox. This process is done so that he can get a US birth certificate (much easier to get than one in Ethiopia). This process will also change his name and allow the United States to recognize the adoption as final. This entire process should be done in a few months.

Lennox is still drinking from a bottle, but I am trying really hard to get him to a sippy cup. He is having a difficult time with table food, doesn't like to eat anything that he actually has to chew. He is sleeping through the night with only one nap through the daytime. Now if only I can get Kadin to leave him alone at night. Kadin doesn't like to share toys during the day, but love to give him food, toys, candy, and everything else inappropriate at night.

Overall he is a very easy and happy baby.

more later
jessica

Is it really over...

2012-01-23T15:46:00.000-08:00

Well folks it has been a long journey, but it is officially over. I think my last post was right before I went to embassy. Well that was a day. The lady that I went to embassy with was adopting a little girl that is 16 months. Embassy day is the first real day that you have with your child. No nanny looking over your shoulder telling you what to do, no other families entertaining your child so you can go to the bathroom, it is only you and the child that you so desperately want and don't even know. Lennox did great, he was just sitting on my lap looking around. About 5 minutes into being there he had explosive diarrhea, which was no biggie. I took him to the bathroom and changed his clothes. I got back to my seat and the women I was there with, Julie, asked if I could watch her daughter Hiwot. I said sure and off Julie went to the restroom. 20 minutes later and 2 screaming kids later I asked an American lady sitting next to me if she could go check on Julie. Well Julie was sick and could not get out of the bathroom. My already semi-stressful day just went through the roof. I know had to watch 2 children that I did not really know. Julie's name got called my the embassy and I grabbed both kids, Lennox know in a carrier on my hip, up to the window to notify them that I would go get Julie from the bathroom. My name was called about 20 minutes later to which I had to answer a few simple questions. "Did you meet the child before court?" "Did you know the mother was raped?" "Do you know this is final?" and "Do not open the immigration packet, give it to immigration in Washington". That was it, the adoption was finally done, we just needed US soil for him to be declared a US citizen!!

That evening I caught the bug that Julie had and it continued into Wednesday and Thursday. We boarded the plane Thursday The plane ride was very eventful. Lennox explosive diarrhea continued onto the 17 hour plane ride. He screamed out of frustration and being overly tired the entire time. I was the crazy lady on the plane that could not get control over her child. By the time the flight was over, I had been up over 30 hours and still had a 4 hour layover and another flight. The layover was quick because of immigration and finally feeling good enough to get something to eat. I also accidentally checked the bottles for Lennox and had to hunt the airport to find a bottle. He was so hungry and frustrated with me that he slept on the 2 hour plane ride home.

We were met by my mother, sister Angie, and Kadin at the hospital. Kadin had the biggest grin on his face and he finally said Lennox's name. He has been insisting his name is Clinton and it was nice to hear that he said "My Lennox home".

It has been three days and Lennox and I are very sleep still. We have been going to bed at 8pm and waking up at 3am. Lennox is up from 3-5am and then goes down for nap from 5-8am. He then takes another nap at noon. His poor little body is still on Ethiopian time so he thinks that noon his 9pm and is ready for bed. I wake him up anywhere from 3-4 which does not make for a happy baby.

Well that is it for now, but I will leave you with some pictures.....

first cookie

embassy day (Julie, Hiwot, Me, Lennox)

first car ride!

all the families at the guest house

first night together

religious holiday parade in the street the day we leave for airport

waiting at airport for dinner

Back in St. Louis!!!!

more later
jessica

Oh Ethiopia

2012-01-16T20:48:00.000-08:00

I so wish that I could say that I love being here, but I can't. Don't get me wrong I love being here with Lennox and am excited to get him home where I can keep him warm and get good food in his belly. The people and the staff here at the transition home are amazing. The staff here are not the same as last time, but they all seem to love their jobs and the children.

Yesterday I was playing with Lennox and he was starting to get a little fussy. This is not like Lennox at all, he is the most laid back 1 year old I have ever met. I stood him up so that I could hug on him and he had explosive diarrhea. It went down his legs and up his back. I took him up to the room to change him and he through a fit. He was screaming his head off and had the biggest tears rolling down his face. I cleaned him up and picked him up to comfort him and he gave me the biggest hug to date. His little arms squeezed my neck and he stopped crying immediately. It was a very sweet mommy moment.

Everyday morning when I go back to his room to pick him up he stares at me like he is mad at me. The nannies hand him to me and we go back into the guest house to play. Throughout the day random people that work here will walk by him and try to take him from me and he turns his head from them. By the end of the night when he goes back to his room, he cries when the nannies take him from my arms. He doesn't cry long, but it is a good sign that he is bonding to me while here.

I have to take him out to the Embassy today, so that should be an adventure. I just hope that we don't have an explosive diarrhea episode while out and about today. I won't post again until home in the states. Sorry for no pictures, but my camera and computer are not working.

more later
jessica

I'm here

2012-01-14T17:26:00.000-08:00

Well everyone I left on Thursday to head to the airport at noon bc my flight left at 2pm. Well I got on the plane at 2:15pm, we pulled away from the gate and began the de-icing, and anti-ice process. The pilot did his final check and realized that while we were waiting to be de/anti-iced the cable on the plane froze. We sat out on the tarmac for 2 hours when the pilot decided that we needed to head back to the gate. Nice idea except their were no gate available for another 45 minutes. The pilot got us back to the gate at 4:45 and on a new plane at 5:15. It has been smooth sailing from there.

I arrived in Ethiopia Saturday Morning at 8:00am and found the director. He said that we would be waiting for other couple that were here for their first trip. There is a couple here meeting their daughter for the first time (15 months), this will be their 5th daughter. Another couple is here meeting their son (4 months) and daughter (11 months) for the first time, this make their 4/5 child. There is another couple here with their already 4 children meeting their son (5 years) for the first time. There are also 2 couple leaving with their children. One couple taking home a 13 month old little boy and another couple take home 11 month old twin boy and girl. It is a great day in the transition home.

After I meet everyone, I went to get Lennox from the nannies. He whimpered at first, but as soon as I walked away from the nanny he was fine. He is so attached to the nannies, it is sad to think that he is going to lose the only "family" that he knows. I played with Lennox and the other babies all afternoon until it was time for dinner. I let the nanny take Lennox for dinner and for the night. I figure why break the nannies heart again by taking Lennox away from them when they already lost 3 babies today. The nannies were so upset when the babies left today and I can see it in their faces every time I see them with Lennox. They know that they will only have this precious little boy in their arms for a couple for day.

Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow or Monday, but I do know that I will be spending plenty of time with my little man.

more later
jessica

Soon!!!

2012-01-06T16:29:00.000-08:00

Soon I will be boarding a plane to go pick up Lennox!!! The birth mother went to her appointment January 4th and confirmed all the data that the US Embassy needed. I got word that same day that my case had passed the US Embassy and that I needed to give word when I could come out for my US Embassy appointment. I told them that I could board a plane immediately. The US Embassy stated that their first available appointment was January 17th. I booked my flight and hotel today and I have Lennox's bag all packed and ready to go.

I talked in my last post about a women named Nicole that I meet in Ethiopia on my first trip. She had her Embassy date this past Tuesday and she said it was super easy. She only had to answer a couple of basic questions and was told by the Embassy that her daughter's paperwork would be ready the next day. She has been sending me pics and video of Lennox. She has given me the best gift ever by getting Lennox everyday while she is there. Her and her mother Dee have been playing with Lennox daily, talking photos, and loving on him. She had been giving me the heads up on what to expect next week.

more later
jessica

Well....

2011-12-23T00:08:00.000-08:00

So my agency said that they could get Lennox's birth mother in to the US Embassy for her appointment the week of December 12. The US Embassy then responded that they could not get her in until the week of the 19th. My agency responded stating they want to get her in the week of the 26th. Well the US Embassy says they can't get her in until January 4th now. My agency then has said that they are not sure if the birth mother will stick around that long, but they will try their hardest to have her there on January 4th at 0730. What does all this mean you may be thinking. Well.....

When I was in Ethiopia meeting Lennox there was a women their named Nicole and she was adopting a little girl(Mertee) who is a couple months younger than Lennox. We are actually the last 2 individuals to be able to adopt as single mothers. Her court date was one week behind mine and her paperwork got to the US Embassy one week behind mine. I am not sure what happened with Lennox's birth mother, Mertee's birth mother, my agency, or the US Embassy, but Nicole's daughter Mertee's birth mother got her appointment Tuesday the 21st and the appointment went well. The birth mother agreed with all the data that the US Embassy had and therefore they approved the adoption. Nicole got word that day that she could book her flight to come pick up Mertee.

So if Lennox's birth mother shows up January 4th to her appointment and clarifies the data that the US Embassy has then I will get word to come get my son. I plan on leaving ASAP. I will be in Ethiopia again for about 1 week. I have to go to an appointment at the US Embassy and tell them that I would like a passport for Lennox to be able to return to the United States. This process takes 2-3 business days. Once I have that passport in my hand we will head home.

I will keep everyone update as I count down the day until January 4th.

more later
Jessica

Closer

2011-12-11T12:11:00.000-08:00

So last week I was told by the embassy that my paperwork looked good so far but they did need to speak to the birth mother. This is fairly normal and the birth parents that go through the court system are told that they will need to return for an embassy appointment. I contacted my agency to see why they were not scheduling the birth mother appointment and they said that they were not sure when they would be able to make the 6 hour drive to go and get her. I did get an email today that says that the director in Ethiopia will arrange transportation this week in order to get her to her appointment. The director is waiting to get information from the Embassy as to what will work best for them. I hope that the Embassy can get the birth mother in this week. If the Embassy gets all the information from the birth mother that they need then I could get MY Embassy appointment soon.

more later
jessica

Making Progress

2011-11-28T08:30:00.000-08:00

It has been almost 6 weeks since passing court. I thought the wait was going to be easier especially with the holidays here but that is not the case. More and more people are asking me when Lennox is coming home which is making my wait horrible. I received an email the day before Thanksgiving stating that my paperwork finally made it to the embassy. A two week process took 5 weeks. I then received an email today directly from the embassy. The embassy stated that they are requesting 5 days to review my file and then they will give me an update on what my file looks like. They will be able to tell me if paperwork is missing or if they want clarification of certain paperwork. This process is currently taking 2-12 weeks. The cases where a child is found abandoned is taking the longest and that is not the situation in my case. The birth mother of Lennox went through the court system and gave her rights away voluntarily. This should shorten my wait time. Once the embassy reviews my file and approves it they will give me an embassy date which is usually 1 week after approval. I will travel to Ethiopia for this appointment. They will ask me similar question to those that I answered at court. They will ask if I met Lennox, if I agree with the adoption, and if I have received payment to take him, or paid the birth mother for him. They will then apply for his visa/passport which will take 2 business days. Once I have his passport in my hand we will head home. I will update the blog with any new information. I just pray and hope that the approval process by the US embassy does not take 12weeks. I am going to contact the embassy next week to see if they can give me an idea of what my file looks like and an estimated timeline.

UPDATED PHOTO
more later
Jessica

Video of Lennox

2011-11-20T20:09:00.001-08:00

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
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waiting....

2011-11-07T11:24:00.000-08:00

Well it has been 3 weeks since passing court to become Lennox's mother. It is crazy to be home without him, but I need the time to get Kadin ready. He insist that Lennox's name is Clinton (my super cute baby nephew). He will go into Lennox's room and say "Clinton's room" "Clinton's bed" "Clinton's seat". I correct him and tell him that it is Lennox's room, bed, and seat but now it is a game. I just hope that once Lennox is home that he will realize that Clinton and Lennox are two separate babies.

I was told 3 weeks ago that cases were being reviewed by the US Embassy within 3 months. I have been told by many adoptive parents that contacting the US Embassy for updates is frowned upon by adoption agencies. Well I am going to wait 8 weeks and then contact the US Embassy to see if they can give me an update on where Lennox's file is. I would hate for his file to be collecting dust on a desk in Ethiopia.

I hope that I get updated photos of Lennox but I am not sure if I will. I can't imagine not getting any updates of him. He is going to grow up so much in the next few months. I hope and pray that I will be able to go pick up Lennox before 12 weeks. I will update the blog if I find out anything.

more later
Jessica

My Video 10/22/11 at OneTrueMedia.com

2011-10-24T07:49:00.001-07:00

My journey to meet my son Lennox!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
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Last day

2011-10-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

Today was a very bitter sweet day. I filled out the visa paperwork for Lennox. It is Ethiopian law that the child's middlename be the fathers first name. Well since I am the mother and father poor Lennox gets Jessica as his middle name. First thing we will do when he gets to states is change his name!!!!! I hung out with Lennox for two hours this morning in the courtyard thinking about how amazing my time has been with him. I was geting ready to put him in his bed when the nanny handed me a bowl of white slime. I asked what to do with it and she said "feed him" GROSS!!!! Turns out it was mashed potatoes (yay right). He ate everything and slowly slipped into a food coma, so I went to put him in his bed and he starter to whimper. I quickly walked with Betty (directors wife) out of the compound. She made me lunch and we gossiped about life stuff all afternoon. We made our way back to the guest house around 1:30 and she insisted onhaving a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceramony. It was very neat to see the roasting of the beans, heating the water over coals, and popping the popcorn. It was all done right on the living room floor. I then went to my room after three cups of coffee and packed my things. I was told that we would be leaving in ten minutes. Immediate panic set in because I was not ready to say goodbye. Well not ready to say good ye in ten minutes. I walked into lennox's room and he was crying the most awful screech. I have only ever heard him whimper but this was a full blown crocodile tears. I heard the director yelling "we go now" I picked up Lennox in that moment and he was on fire. I told the nurse and nanny that he had a fever but they said he was fine he was just sad. I knew in my gut that something was wrong with my baby. I pleaded with them to give him something and they said he was fine. Again the director yelled. I hugged and kissed my baby for the last time in months knowing that I could not comfort him. He needed me and I couldn't do anything. Heartbroken yet again.

More later
Sorry for typos. On iPhone in airport!
Jessica

court...

2011-10-17T10:25:00.000-07:00

Today was the day that I went to court to see if Ethiopia would approve my adoption. I woke up this morning feeling the same as every other morning here. I got dressed for court yet again and went down for breakfast. The director meet me at the table and he was on the phone almost the entire time. Him being on the phone is not abnormal but this is the first time I could hear him say certain words "American" "Court" "Jessica". This was the first time that I have seen the look of worry on his face and hear the anxiety in his voice. When he got off the phone I asked him if everything was okay and he said "This is African, we have much worries today". We drove to court and walked inside to a room that was about 20X20 with gray chairs bolted on all sides. The director and I were the first ones there so we sat down and waited. About 20 minutes later the entire room was packed with at least 50 people from all around the world. I asked the director if he knew why these people where here and he said they were all adopting. It was a great feeling to know that there were children going to be saved by these amazing strangers. I immediately felt a connection with them. There were American, Japanese, Australians, Canadians, and others all waiting in anticipation to see if our dreams were about to come true. So about 10 people walked in and out of the attached room within about 30 minutes. It was so quick and the people coming out looked shocked. I was afraid that court was being cancelled again. The door opened and I hear "Children Nation" announced. The director started to walk towards the door and I assumed that "Children Nation" was my case. I walked into a room that was 15X8 with a black metal desk at one end stacked with files and 3 gray chairs sitting about 10 feet away. The director told me to sit while he stood behind me. He talked to the young female judge in Amharic for about 30 seconds and then the tiniest sweetest voice in English said "Passport Please" I walked over and handed her my passport. She looked me right int he eyes with the most endearing look on her face and said...

"Please sit down so we can talk"
"Do you understand why you are here"
       "yes"
"Do you have a child of your own?"
       "no"
"Do you understand that you need to teach your child the Ethiopian culture?"
        "yes"
"Have you spent time with Tekedalign?"
       "yes"
"Do you want to adopt him?"
       "yes"
"Do you understand that if I approve this adoption today that Tekedalign is legally yours and you can not under any circumstance give up your right to him?"
      "yes I understand"
"You have a lot of work ahead of you. I approve your adoption, congratulations on your son"
       "Thank you"

The door opened and the director and I walked out through the people waiting their turn. We got on the elevator and went down to the car. The director looked at me and said "Now you cry". My body was numb, i could not believe that 3 minutes in front of the judge was it. Lennox at that moment was mine. The entire ride home I listened to the director talk about how we just have to wait for the US Embassy to review the file and approve Lennox citizenship. So it is not over yet. I now have a son who is not allowed to come into the United States. The US Embassy is currently taking 8-12 weeks to review files and grant Visa and Passports.

We got back to the guest house and I went straight to see Lennox and he was sleeping so I just gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. I picked him up after his nap and we had the most amazing time. We sat on the floor and played while he showed me more of his sweet personality. He started to fall asleep around 6pm so I took him back to his bed so that they could feed him dinner. Tomorrow will be my last day with him for awhile but I feel at peace with that. I know I am going to miss him like crazy, but I need to get back to Kadin. The nannies here are amazing and I know that they will take great care of my son.    MY SON!!! I can't wait to flood the blog with pictures of Lennox. Just a couple more days and his perfect little smile will be in your hearts forever.

more later
Jessica

wow....

2011-10-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

The past two days have been insane. Well actually the last 3 days. Friday night my dear friend Kelly who traveled with me went home as scheduled. It was very sad to see her leave but I was so grateful that I got to spend an amazing 4 days with her. She is a part of my life story now. Anytime I tell the story of my son I will say how she was at my side the entire time. How lucky am I to have such an amazing person in my life?

Saturday was like no other day I have ever experienced or imagined in my life. I woke up at 6am and went down for breakfast. The director and his wife joined me. After breakfast the director stated that he would let his wife be in charge of me. I went with her and her humanitarian group of Americans. We got on their bug and traveled to the largest market in the world. The only words I have are..... scary, mad house, rudeness, cheap, dirty, and amazing. I got really good deals on scarfs and toys for my boys but it was scary. I was literally being pulled in different directions by Ethiopian people trying to get me to buy their products. The individuals I was with that day are part of an organization called Hope Arising. they are doing amazing work in Ethiopia and I feel honored that I got to spend the day in their presence. We all went to dinner together and then dropped them off at the airport. I went back to the guest house tired, alone, and missing my sweet Kadin.

Today (Sunday) I woke up to a cold shower and a lonely spirit. I went to breakfast and the director greeted me with a smile and said "You miss English". I wanted to say no but I couldn't. I fought back the tears and said I just missed my family. He told me today would be a good day. Right after breakfast I went and got Lennox from his room. We went back to the guest house and he fell asleep on my chest. The director was right... Today was a good day. I held Lennox for 3 hours while he slept. I forgot for those 3 hours that I was away from my family, friends, and sweet boy Kadin. I was holding, loving, ,and comforting MY SON. Later that day the director picked me up for a traditional Ethiopian dinner. I told him that I wanted to say good night to Lennox first. I walked into the back courtyard and found out that they moved Lennox's bed to a new room. The sign above his new room says "Toddler boys". I absolutely lost it.... My sweet baby boy was not ready to be int he toddler room. He can't even sit up fully on his won and now he is being moved. I asked the director why he as moved and he took me to Lennox's old room. In his old bed was a 3 month old little girl who was 3 pounds. Her little legs where barely bigger than my fingers. She laid there as if she was dead. I saw her tiny chest moving and I reached out and held her hand. She opened her eyes and looked at me. She was so helpless an sick it broke my heart. All I know is that the police found her in the street and brought her to the transition home. They named her Helen. I immediately went back to see my healthy baby boys face and I stopped at the window. I looked in the window and Lennox saw me. He pulled himself up and smiled at me. It was the first time e was excited to see me, he knew that I was someone who will make him happy, comfort and protect him. It is a moment that I will remember and cherish forever. I just pray that Helen can find a family that will love and cherish every moment with her.

On the upside we finally made it to dinner and it was great. The food was kinda nasty but the experience was awesome. There was traditional Ethiopian dancing, coffee, popcorn, and beer. I can't wait to show the video to family, friends, and eventually Lennox. What an amazing 3 days.!!!

Wish me luck with court tomorrow

more later
Jessica

"This is Africa"

2011-10-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

So I went to court today and there was nobody there. My court case is rescheduled for November 8th which means I would have to come back in less than a month and stay for another entire week. I would love to spend time with Lennox, but I don't want to leave Kadin yet again for a week. The director guy here says that I can get squeezed into court on Monday. So he dropped me off at the Hilton here in Ethiopia and I changed my flight until Tuesday. It was cheaper to just change my flight and I will only have to be away from Kadin for 4 more days instead of 7. The entire situation is not great but the saying that I keep hearing it "This is Africa". I guess that means that things are unpredictable. So my friend Kelly is going to go home as schedule tomorrow and I will stay until Tuesday. I hope the judge really can squeeze me in on Monday and they don't just tell me "This is Africa" and send me home with no court hearing. Okay that is all for now. I am going to get off here and go get Lennox. I have not seen him all day bc of court/not court, flight rescheduling, coffee tasting, and shopping.

ps Please hope and pray that I don't here those dreaded words "Well this is Africa"!!!

more later
jessica

Finally here

2011-10-12T08:25:00.000-07:00

So I left Sunday to travel to Ethiopia to meet my son Lennox for the first time. Everything went great with the travel to washington and then here to Addis. Kelly and I had a few minor bumps in the road but we made it and that is all that matters. We have created many great memories of our travel here to Ethiopia that we will share with you in person.

Here come the great story. It first starts with me feeling sick on the airplane (14 hour flight). We make it save a man from the escalator, get our Visas, exchange money, get bags, and don't even get stopped by customs. Or we just misunderstood what they were saying and we walked right by the customs guy to our ride. On the van ride to the guest house we get pulled over for tinted windows and get a ticket. Yep a ticket for tinted windows!!! I got sick in the van and threw up twice. GROSS!! Finally at the guest house I sit on the couch and close my eyes praying the nausea will go away. I hear kelly saying "Who is that" then a lady say "mama". I open my eyes and there he is. LENNOX!!! I didn't even know he was on the property. He was placed in my lap and whimpered for about 2 seconds. I stood up with him and he has been smiling and laughing since. I played with him for about 4 hours the first day and almost all day today. He is such an amazing little boy. I will show you all the pictures soon and post about how amazing my son is.

There however is a bad part to this story. We got word today that the Ethiopian judges have training tomorrow and therefore my court appointment is getting pushed back until November (i think). I will find out more details tomorrow.

Back to the great news of my son. He is perfect is every possible way. He is very smart and loves to be in every ones business. We are constantly walking around, looking out the window, or sitting with the other children. He loves to have kisses on this cheeks and neck and just giggles the sweetest little noise ever. He has only been in girl clothes since I have been here so I am going shopping tomorrow to get my boy some real clothes. I am so very happy that I get to spend another 2 entire days with him. Ok I better get off here before the connection goes bad.

more later
jess

September update

2011-09-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

I don't really have any news to share about the adoption since the last post. I finally got my flight booked. My friend Kelly and I will be in Ethiopia for 4 days. We arrive on a Tuesday and leave on a Friday. We are excited and nervous about our little adventure. I also got new picture of Lennox last week. He is growing so fast. I can't wait to get him home so that I can see him grow everyday. My court date is October 13th. Once I pass court then the Ethiopian Government will submit paperwork for Lennox to get a visa to leave the country. The Ethiopian Government will notify my adoption agency when Lennox's visa is ready. I will then go back to Ethiopia to pick Lennox up and bring him home.

more later
jessica

Court Date

2011-08-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

I received an email from my adoption agency on Tuesday telling me that I have a court date. They didn't even call I was so surprised when I opened my email and saw what it said. I go to court in Ethiopia October 13th. I have to be there no later than the morning of October 11th and can leave as early as the evening of October 14th. I am going to try to stick to these dates the best that I can because I want to use as little vacation time as possible. I found out last week that I can only use my vacation time for the adoption and not my sick bank. I only have 5 weeks vacation left this year. I was planning on staying in Ethiopia to spend time with Lennox for 7-10 day and then take 6-7 weeks off when I actually bring him home. So now I am working with getting every done with only 5 weeks of vacation. I can legally have 12 weeks of FMLA but adoptions only allow vacation to be used. I would have to take a couple weeks without pay if I wanted to stay home the full 7 weeks. Anyway back to the adoption news. I am working with a travel agent now to figure out how to get to Ethiopia!! I will keep everyone updated on this next exciting step.

FYI.... The latest update on Lennox is great. His lab work came back good, he does have pink eye right now though. He also is not one of those little orphanage kids that many of you are picturing in you heads. He is a healthy 20 pounds, 27 inches, and is 7 months old. He is going to be a big boy just like Kadin.

more later

jessica

What next?

2011-07-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

So it has almost been 1 month since filling out my paper work for Lennox to become my son. The court system in Ethiopia closes August 8th until mid September. August 8th is rapidly approaching and therefore I believe I will be traveling in September or October. The agency will let me know when Ethiopia has scheduled me a court date. I will then call a travel agent and schedule my flight. I will meet Lennox a couple days into the trip and then go to court to see the judge. I will then be able to see Lennox a couple hours a day until I come back home. The judge should tell my agency if I pass court or not. The ministry of Womens Affairs (MOWA) has to put a letter in my file saying that they support the adoption. This letter is taking the longest to get into my file because MOWA is not looking at as many cases as they used to. I plan on staying in Ethiopia for 7-10 days in order to spend time with Lennox. I will come home without Lennox and wait for the court system to get my paperwork ready and apply for a Visa for Lennox. I hope to travel 2 months after the first visit to go pick up Lennox and bring him home. As soon as I get my first court date I will let everyone know.

more later
jessica

Referral Day for Lennox!!!

2011-06-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

So today is the day that I got my referral for my baby. For those of you who are unsure of what this mean, let me tell you. I turned in my paper work about 6 1/2 months ago requesting a relatively healthy baby less than 18 months old. Well I went to work this morning and received a phone call at 9:30am. The conversation went like this.
This is Jessica.
Jessica this is Claire from Children of All Nation.
NO!!
Jessica are you sitting down?
NO!!!
Jessica you need to sit down I have something important to tell you
You have to hold on. (I run down the hall like a crazy person to get to a more private phone)
Okay it is Jessica again.
Are you sitting down now?
Yes I am, please tell me this is real?
Jessica I have a referral for a 6 month old little boy, he is healthy, his birthday is Jan 1, 2011, and he is so cute.
NO WAY!!!
Jessica I am going to email you his picture along with his information.
OK OK OK I am ready.

She continued to talk about the little history that the agency knows and I was shaking so hard I could barely write it all down. My friend Kristin was sitting next to me the entire time crying. And for those of you who know me, yes I did cry. I was finally getting my baby. I hung up with Claire and the minute went by so slow as I waited for the email that was going to show me my sweet baby's face. I finally got online about 10 minute later and saw his handsome little face. The entire world stopped as I got to look into his amazing big brown eyes. He might be the only baby in Ethiopia with fat cheeks. He is absolutely AMAZING!!! So the big question of the day is "What happens next?". Well I get to fill out more paper work and send it to Ethiopia. Ethiopia then will set up a court date for me. Once I have the court date I will get to travel and see his cute little face in person. I will only stay one week with him and then I will have to leave my son in the arms of the Nanny's at the orphanage. I will then wait for court approval to go back to pick him up and bring him home. I don't have an exact timeline, but cross your finger with me that it all happens this year. I would love to have him home for his first birthday.

I will update you more later

Jessica

how much more waiting?????

2011-05-29T19:33:00.000-07:00

So around the middle of March Ethiopia stated that they were only going to process 5 adoptions a day. They were doing 50 adoption a day which meant I would get a referral for a child around 8-12 months after my paperwork reached Ethiopia. Well the slow down meant that my adoption could be pushed back up to 4 years before seeing my child's face. I asked my adoption agency if they have any updates from Ethiopia and this is what I was sent.
"So far, we have not witnessed any slow down in processing of the referral or the court hearings. However, there are rumors circulating that MOWA will slow down to 5 cases a day soon (this has been the "threat" all along but it is just now be carried out). We are taking the process day by day to see how it will play out with our future families. We hope to continue to receive MOWA letters in a timely manner after the first court hearing.

We have 4 families traveling in Ethiopia right now and three more that leave this week to meet their kiddos and attend court!"

So in my naive thought process the longer they keep processing 50 a day the shorter my wait will be when they start processing 5 a day. So all in all this is pretty good news. My paper work has been in Ethiopia for almost 6 months now. If the process stays the same then I could get a referral for my baby in a couple of months. This is the only real update I have for now. I will keep checking in monthly with my agency to see when Ethiopia is actually going to slow down.

more later
Jessica

2011-05-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite Ethiopian adoption videos!!

Another one of my favorites. I could post a hundred of these videos, but I won't post anymore video until I get to post my own.

jessica

Ethiopian facts

2011-05-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

I have not posted anything in over a month because I don't know anything new. I sent an email to the agency today in order to see if they can give me an update. While I am waiting for them to respond I thought I would post a few facts about Ethiopia.

Facts about Ethiopia

Total population: 77 million

The average income in Ethiopia is US$100 a year. Almost 82% of the population lives on less than $1 a day.

Malnutrition levels are among the highest in the world.

Ethiopia is home to 5 million orphans

More than half a million of these were orphaned as a result of AIDS.

Literacy rate: 42.7% age 15 and over can read and write.

Only 18 percent of children reach grade five.

Ethiopia's neonatal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world - 49/1000 births with tetanus infection being the second major cause of infant/neonatal death.

1 Birr = 100 cents

Main exports: Coffee, hides, oilseeds, beeswax, sugarcane

Major languages: Amharic, Oromigna, Tigrinya & Somali

Major religions: Christianity & Islam

Life expectancy: 46 years (men), 49 years (women) (UN)

I will post more later when I get an update.

jessica

Ethiopian changes.....

2011-04-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

I posted about the possible changes in the Ethiopian adoption process during my last post. Well it seems as though the changes have occurred to a degree that nobody can agree on. Different website are stating that MOWA is only processing 5 adoptions a day which would push my timeline from 6-8 months to possibly 4 years. I talked to my adoption agency last week and she said that MOWA is still putting out referrals and processing 25 adoptions a day. This a a 50% decrease but at least my timeline is only going to be a year or two instead of four. I am not sure if everyone will understand this post, so basically the process is going to take longer than I had originally thought.

more later

jessica

Ethiopian Night Out

2011-03-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

So Kelly and I finally went to an Ethiopian restaurant and oh boy was it different. I have to say that everyone should experience this type of cuisine sometime in their life. I have previously posted about Ethiopian food, but was still surprised when I had the food in front of me. Kelly's family and a couple members of my family ended up joining us in our dinner adventure. Kelly's parents, brother, brother's girlfriend, my mother and my sister Angie handled the experience better than I thought. The food was spicy and it seemed as though most of it was pureed. We had appetizers called Sambosa which seemed like a hot pocket and Timatim salad which seemed like bruschetta. We all order something different to eat for dinner from Kwanta firfir which is beef, dora wat which is chicken, Meskerem special fish which was some kind of fish, and shrimp tibs. My mother was the brave one who ordered the sample platter which had who knows what on it. We all had a great time and a lot of heart burn!!! The strangest part of the evening was not using utensils. We all did a great job breaking off the bread and picking up the food. Kelly and I are going to go back and try the food again, maybe we will find something that we actually enjoy eating. We know one thing for sure, we are going to have to find some America food to eat while in Ethiopia.

Well I guess everyone also wants an adoption update. I have not heard any good news yet. I heard a rumor today that the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) is going to be making some changes. These are individuals who review the adoption files and decide if one is ready to adopt. It has been rumored by other agencies other than mine that MOWA is only going to grant 5 adoptions a day which is a 90% decrease. Nobody knows what or why MOWA is thinking about making this change. All I know is that this change seems to make my stomach turn. Please keep this program in your prayers, there are so many children who need adopting.

Here are a few picture of our dinner

more later

jessica

Ethiopian Cuisine

2011-02-02T07:57:00.000-08:00

Ethiopian cuisine is unique to say the least. My friend Kelly (who is traveling with me to Ethiopia) and I have recently decided to try Ethiopian food here in the states before heading to Ethiopia. Needless to say neither one of us is thrilled about the possibility of eating sheep’s esophagus!!! Yes that right I said sheep’s esophagus!

One very different characteristic of Ethiopian dining is the lack of utensils. Instead of forks, knives, or spoons, Ethiopians use what’s called injera which is defined as “a yeast-risen flat bread with a unique, slightly spongy texture.” It’s kind of like a thin pancake.

Injera is served on the side. Food is served on one big platter and is meant to be shared by a small group. I hope Kelly and I are considered a small group, I don’t think we want to share with strangers. It is also known in the Ethiopian culture that one might feed a stranger as a sign of respect. Well I am pretty sure that I am fine with NOT being shown any respect while eating. Several colorful entrees sit on top of the platter. The platter is lined with a layer of injera as well.

To start, you tear off a piece of the injera bread and use it to pick up a piece of food - traditionally, you eat with your right hand only. The left hand is known as the hand you clean yourself with and therefore it is considered “dirty”. Sorry for all you left handed peeps out there! Once you have the desired amount of food, you pop the whole thing in your mouth. When all the piles of food have been consumed, eat the underlying injera which absorbs all of the juices - this is usually considered the best part of the meal.

This might be the perfect diet plan. Go to Ethiopia for a week and don’t eat. Kelly it looks like we might be eating ramen noodle for a week.

more later

jessica

Baby Room!!

2011-01-15T16:12:00.000-08:00

So my mother and I almost have the nursery done. Thank you mother for helping me!!! I have new furniture, new paint on the walls, and new bedding. Kadin wrecked his bedding and furniture so it was time for new. I am going to put up a white shelve so that I can put up some Ethiopian decorations. I would also like to put up the baby's name on one of the walls, but I have to wait and see if I am getting a boy or girl. I have been waiting for 6 weeks now and the waiting really isn't bad. I have my hands full with Kadin turning 2 and oh boy he is having some terrible 2 moments. Casey is also coming home soon for her baby shower, so we get to focus on celebrating her baby boy coming into the world soon. I will try to post monthly any update with the adoption, but most likely I will not hear anything for many more months to come.

2011

2011-01-02T08:54:00.000-08:00

This year should be the year that I get to travel to Ethiopia to pick up my baby. I received a letter from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that states that I have been approved to adopt from Ethiopia. I am not sure what I would of done if they said no. You think this would be one of the first steps in the adoption process, getting approval from the government. My mother and I are still working on the nursery so I will post picture when we are all done. My agency is still saying that referrals are coming in from Ethiopia 2-12 month after paperwork reaches Ethiopia. I have only technically been waiting one month. I emailed my agency today to make sure everything is still going okay. International adoption is very unpredictable, agency have closed their doors to singles and even closed down completely. This means that I would not be able to adopt and I would be out the money that I have already put into the adoption. Please keep in your thoughts and prayers that Ethiopia remains open for couples and singles to adopt.

more later
jessica

The real waiting begins!

2010-12-02T13:39:00.000-08:00

I got an email today from my adoption agency that stated "Your dossier was sent to Ethiopia today! Congratulations! I hope you and your family take time to celebrate the paperwork portion being completed. Now the really hard part begins…waiting!" So this means that now I get to sit back and wait for Ethiopia to match me with my son or daughter. During the paperwork process I had to fill out a form that stated what I wanted my child to be like (skin color, hair texture, age, and they want at least 5 medical problems). So that makes everyone's adoption paperwork a little different. I could be the only person who said that I will take a child with orthopedic problems and therefore get a referral soon or I could be one of a hundred who stated low birth weight and end up waiting a long time. It looks as though my adoption process is still on track for traveling next summer. I will continue to keep everyone updated on the process. Please keep this adoption process in your thoughts and prayers. International adoption is not guaranteed and the country could shut down all adoption or single's adoption at any time. The farther along I get in this process the more realistic it is that my baby is sitting in a crib all alone waiting for me to come get him or her.

more later

jessica

no update...

2010-11-19T18:39:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that I didn't forget the login and password to the blog! I just don't have any real updates. My paper work was sent off 3 weeks ago to get another approval from Washington. This process takes 4 weeks and once it is approved by Washington then it will be sent to Ethiopia. I will be notified by the Ethiopian agency once they have reviewed my paperwork and placed me on the waiting list. I also filled out paperwork for USCIS in order to get approved by homeland security to adopt. They did get my paperwork and they finally sent me my date for fingerprinting. I go in a few weeks to get my prints done for homeland security. I have to have approval from them to bring an orphan into the country. I don't have any exciting news; just more and more waiting. My mother and I are going to get the nursery together when I am on xmas break from school. I will post pictures when it is done.

more later

jessica

paperwork

2010-10-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

So I want to share something really quick with everyone. Friends and family keep asking "why does it take so long to adopt"? Well there is A LOT of paperwork that needs to be obtained. Some of this paperwork can't be done until other paperwork is in. Some of the information has to be ordered. Then it has to be notarized. Well here is a picture (hopefully I can download it) of the paperwork that i had to obtain. Like I said in my last post I sent it all in to my Dossier specialist who is reviewing it. She states that it is all good, which is amazing. My next step is getting paperwork ready for USCIS (United States homeland Security), which is another approval process. I should be able to send this off next week and it take 4-6 weeks to get back the approval form for international adoption. I need the approval form to take to Ethiopia in order for my child to be able to enter the United States.

more later
jessica

Sorry

2010-10-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

So for those of you who have had my blog address I must apologize. I forgot what my sign in name and password were. OH WELL!! I started a new blog and have copied and pasted the first posts into this blog. I sure hope that I remember the sign in and password this time. Okay so back to business. I got my homestudy last week and mailed off my second mailer. This is the mailer with all of the notarized papers in it. I sent it FED EX overnight and I was so nervous that it was going to get lost. Thankfully it did not get lost and my dossier specialist is very impressed with my homestudy and other paperwork. She is going to send it off for finally approval which should take 2-3 weeks. Once she gets final approval she will send it to Ethiopia. Yay!!!

I talked to women who is 4 months ahead of me in her adoption and she had great words of encouragement for me. She actually just got back from a mission trip to Ethiopia and told me that she visited all of the orphanages and she was very impressed. She said the babies would reach up for her to pick them up which is a good sign that the babies know what being held is. She also said that there are a lot more boys than girls and since I said that I didn't care if I got a boy or girl that I would most likely end up with a boy. Oh man, another boy in the house, just what I need!!

I will keep you all updated on any further progress. I am sorry for the change in address.

more later

jessica

ps Thanks you Kelly for wanting to go with me to Ethiopia to pick up my baby. I am sure we are going to have a trip of a lifetime!! You are amazing!!!!!

Second post

2010-10-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

home study update...

The social worker dealing with my home study sent me an email today stating "The home study has been signed and forwarded onto ICPC (Interstate Compact) for endorsement. This should be 2-4 weeks." Once the home study agency gets the endorsement I have to pay the home study agency in order to get a copy. Once I have the copy I can send it to my agency, Children of All Nations. I think it will all feel more real once they have a copy of it. Children of All Nations will send it to Washington DC for final approval from the United States. This process takes 6 weeks, then it can finally get sent to Ethiopia. I can only think that I am one step closer to getting my son/daughter!!!

more later

jessica

First Post

2010-10-20T15:30:00.001-07:00

Friday, September 24, 2010

It all started with....

It all started with an idea of creating a family. As many of you know I have already started the adoption process to Ethiopia. I didn't want to start a blog to early in the process because I felt as though it might be bad luck. Well I am almost to the "sit and wait" phase of the adoption so I thought I better get typing. I would like to take the time to ask everyone to have great patience. I am not sure how to "blog" and so I am learning as I go. I am sure people will have many questions along the way, so feel free to email me at jakeller27@hotmail.com.

I mailed in my application to Children of all Nations(after months of research) on July 7th 2010. It was a long two weeks but I finally had my application accepted on July 21st. I signed my contract with Children of all Nations (CAN) on July 23rd. On August 17th I received my first mailer. This included copy of driver's license and power of attorney paperwork. I mailed the mailer back on August 19th. I then had to mail off to get my new passport, which I did on August 21st and start working on the second mailer. While gathering all the paperwork I had to also meet with the homestudy agency. These are the individuals who first decide if I am allowed to adopt. I have to meet with them four times August 30, September 7, 20, and 23. I PASSED the homestudy. While all of those meeting where happening I had to gather the following documents.....Write a letter to Ministry of Women's Affair in Ethiopia, certified birth certificate, state criminal clearance, local criminal check, employment status, medical form, financial statement, bank reference letter, federal tax returns, 4 letters of reference, insurance company letter, passport photos, passport copied, client contact information sheet, life insurance letter, obligation to adopt, 4x6 photos of family/house and finally the homestudy. Well it has been a long 2 months but the paper work is finally done. Now it has to be sent to Chicago to be approved by DCFS and then interstate for endorsement. It takes three weeks to get the paperwork endorsed. Once endorsed then I can send it to my agency CAN. They will then send it to Washington for approval. Once approved by Washington, it is a waiting game. They say the timeline right now is 6-8 months. I will keep everyone posted on what is going on. I will try soon to get pictures on here.

Thanks to everyone for your support

more later
jessica