Wacky Toes and ONE DAY!!!

Its been a crazy week, to say the least.  We passed court on Monday, June 7th (yay!).  We booked our tickets on Emirates that night.  All was good.  Actually, all was great.  We were literallly flying high (ok, maybe not so literally).  Until....we got a call from WH the following morning, as I was walking out the door.  It seems, per our recent agency update, that we were one of the families effected by the recent implementation of strict medical exam and homestudy match.   The US Embassy has a panel physician complete a medical exam on each child after court, and, if there is even a remote possibility that your HS doesn't cover the possible (subjective) age of your child, you are out of luck.  For us, it meant maybe 6 months!  Yes, you heard me.  We aren't talking 1 or 2 years here, we are talking 6 months.  The Embassy wouldn't issue a Visa for Muse to travel home with us, so, we had to work diligently with our Congresswoman's immigration liaison (who was absolutely fantastic), update our HS, send it to Boston CIS, then to the National Visa Center, at which  point it was wired to Ethiopia.  All in 36 hours.  If anyone is ever in this situation, call your Congress-person ASAP; don't wait.  It turned out our update was sitting at the PO Box until the liaison was able to locate it and move it along throughout the process.  It was extremely stressful, since our agency couldn't advise us to travel without the process being complete.  Worst case, we would have been in Ethiopia for another 18 days or so, until the next Embassy apptment plus a few days for the Visa to get processed.  Our liaison emailed me at 1:34am, to let me know that it had been wired.  Then at 8:59am this morning, we received confirmation from our agency that everything was at the US Embassy. Hip hip hooray.....I won't even get into the flight/travel issues.  Let's just say, we were told what happened to us only happened to one other family prior.  It eventually all worked out....we are going to Ethiopia and will be meeting our children on Friday!!!!

I can't believe we leave for the airport in a matter of hours.  3 totes, 3 suitcases, and 2 bookbags later.  I think I did a pretty good job packing.  Yes, I probably packed way too much, but I feel better knowing that I probably have whatever I need packed...somewhere....

I will miss my little girls (dogs, Abbey and Ellie).  They have no idea what they are in for :)  They are our babies, and I think they change will be hard for them, and maybe even for us!

This week, we took all of Tamirat's pictures down.  It was hard to do, but, without being able to communicate fully, I don't think there would be an easy way to explain who the little baby is and why he isn't here with us.   I do believe that Muse and Biskut are part of our lives, because they were meant to be.  It is not to say that Tamirat wasn't, but the purpose may have been different.   We were brought into Tam's life to love him, unconditionally.  I still love him.  I think of him every day, and still cry.  I know that being in Ethiopia, visiting the baby house, going to his grave, and meeting Sister Tirhas will not be easy for me.  Not at all.  I cry just thinking about it.  Now, I have to be strong for my children, the two beautiful children that we will be blessed to parent.  I can't wait to meet them, to hold them, kiss them, hug them and love them....forever. 

And so I leave you with this......my Ethiopian pedicure.  Enjoy :)