Telling Our Family

It is such a magical time of year anyway, we really wanted to surprise our family. We have been consistently reminding our families that the wait could be 12+ months (we started the process in July -- and the 12 month clock really didn't start ticking until December 7th). My Mom had been in the know since the beginning, not that I was trying to keep it a secret, it was only because we were chatting on the phone when Doug and I decided to pursue baby boy. I told a little "white lie" and explained to my mom that we wouldn't know anything until December 30th at the earliest, because the offices were going to be closed over the holiday. That way, if we did get matched, it would be a huge surprise. She called us on the 22nd, worried about how we were holding up. I couldn't make her sweat for 2 more days, so Doug and I asked her to come over. We handed her a box. Inside, was a picture of baby boy in a Christmas ornament, taped to tissue paper (underneath the paper, there was an Ethiopian scarf). 'Cause I never lie, she was completely caught off guard. It took her a few seconds to process it, even after I exclaimed "he's ours!" Her reaction was priceless, because she too, had already fallen in love with baby boy.

We did the same on Christmas Eve with my Dad and his wife, Doug's parents, and Uncle Brian and Auntie Meg. Sat them down in our living room, and had them each open a box at the exact same time. My Dad got it almost immediately, as did my brother (only because we had had a brief conversation the weekend prior). I think everyone was in tears, and were thrilled beyond belief. I may have to post their reaction pictures soon :) They are priceless.

So where do we go from here? We wait. All of our documents have to go through the Ethiopian court. It could take 2 months, or as long as 6 months. We are hoping for March! Then, we fly to Ethiopia to pick baby boy up and bring him home.