Oh Ethiopia

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.


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jessica

I'm here

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. 

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jessica

Soon!!!

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. 

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jessica

Well....

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.

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Jessica

Closer

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. 

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jessica

Making Progress

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
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Jessica

Video of Lennox

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