My Family, My Journey: Court Date Countdown: Eleven

Monday, April 12, 2010

Court Date Countdown: Eleven

"Waiting is one of God's most powerful tools of grace. God doesn't just give us grace for the wait. The wait itself is a gift of grace. You see, waiting is not only about what you will receive at the end of the wait. Waiting is about what you will become as you wait." Paul David Tripp

12 comments:

Julie said...: So close!; Monday, April 12, 2010
Brenda said...: Almost there.... I just love the two stuffed people on the right!!!!; Monday, April 12, 2010
Mika K. Reynolds said...: Perfect! and the countdown to court is on! My fingers have begun to cross for you.; Monday, April 12, 2010
Lisa said...: Eleven!!!! I love the pigeon :); Monday, April 12, 2010
Robyn said...: Still praying for you!; Monday, April 12, 2010
The Busters said...: I love the little stuffed doggies. They look just like your actual doggies. :) I am so grateful that I got to know you during this wait. You have offered encouragement to so many and the grace that you have shown has been an example to all of us. Love you!; Monday, April 12, 2010
Amy said...: I used that same quote...it is so true, isn't it? And, our little ones also have 2 stuffed dogs (Pound Puppies) that I picked up because they look so much like our real dogs :) Too cute. Good luck on the 23rd, I will be thinking of you!

Amy
amyanddougsjourneytoethiopia.blogspot.com; Monday, April 12, 2010
Leanne said...: Waiting has changed me, I know that. I am a different person than I was at the beginning of this process. And I heart the ugly doll!; Monday, April 12, 2010
Rebecca said...: oh fur babies in miniature. eleven ... eleven. and nearly 10 and a half- or really almost ten if you factor in ethiopian time. dearest heidi ... this is the hardest part, at least it was for me. i wish i could be there to distract you and to celebrate with you. dearest friend, so much we have to celebrate!; Monday, April 12, 2010
Tam and Kai - NYC said...: Love the last sentence and those two people on the end. Where did you get them???
We can all attest to what waiting has done for you, as you are THE most supportive, encouraging, loving, patient, stoic, (and on & on with fabulous adjectives) person many of us have met on this journey.
What ever was PRE-wait Heidi like???
XO; Monday, April 12, 2010
kn said...: The ugly doll is a favorite in our house.
love the quote, had not read it before.

11! wow.; Monday, April 12, 2010
Eryn said...: What a perfect quote!! I wrote 11 on the board today, and I thought, can that really be right? It feels weird to be counting down to SOMEthing, finally!; Monday, April 12, 2010

Timeline

*PAPER CHASE/5.5 MNTHS*
6-27-08: Register for orientation with local agency
7-16-08: Attend orientation with local agency
8-19-08: Decide to adopt from Ethiopia through Gladney. Best decisions ever!
8-28-08: Attend orientation with Gladney
8-28-08: 1st Home Study interview
9-25-08: Home study interviews completed & all Gladney paper work submitted
9-30-08: CIS fingerprints
10-2-08: FBI clearance
11-12-08: Home Study report completed
11-25-08: Gladney approval
12-4-08: CIS approval
*WAIT FOR REFERRAL/13 MNTHS*
12-11-08: Wait list!!!!!!!
4-21-09: Increased our age preference hoping to speed things up (HA!)
8-29-09: Heidi's medicals updated
9-15-09: Mark's medicals updated
9-20-09: Travel Immunizatons
11-10-09: Sent in request for CIS fingerprint updates
11-11-09: Gladney calls to review our age preference
11-17-09: Gladney calls again and tells us about twin boys who *might* become available. We agree to increasing our age preference in order to pursue these boys.
11-21-09: Receive CIS fingerprint appointment
12-16-09: Have CIS fingerprints taken
1-4-10: Referral!!!!!!! 28 month old twin boys!!!!!
*WAIT TO PASS COURT/4 MNTHS*
1-19-10: Start home study update
2-18-10: CIS fingerprints cleared
3-4-10: Home study update completed/sent CIS extension request
3-30-10: File submitted to courts!
3-31-10: Received court date!
4-22-10: Received CIS approval extension
4-23-10: 1st court date
4-28-10: 2nd court date
5-05-10: 3rd court date
05-06-10: 4th and final court date! We're a family!
5-12-10: Receive travel dates!
5-18-10: Travel!
6-1-10: Home as a family of SEVEN (four humans, three puppy dogs!)

Fun Facts About Ethiopia

•Ethiopia has been around for a very long time. The country's Rift Valley is known as the cradle of humanity - fossils of the oldest known upright hominid (4-million years old) were found here in 2005, surpassing the famous 3.5-million-year-old 'Lucy', which was discovered in the same region back in 1974.

•A thousand years before Christ, the Queen of Sheba, we are told, traveled to Jerusalem where she met King Solomon, married him, and had a son, Menelik. When Menelik reached maturity, it is said he left Jerusalem and took with him the Ark of the Covenant, containing the original 10 commandments, back to Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Christian Orthodox Church says it still has the ark in its possession. No one else makes such a claim...

•Ethiopia's official religion is the 1700 year old Ethiopian Christian Orthodox Church. The Jews of Ethiopia, Beta Israel, are said to have been there for 3000 years. And its Muslim adherents have practiced Islam for 1300 years. Ethiopia is split religiously, with official statistics of 35% to 40% Ethiopian Orthodox primarily in the north, and 45% to 50% Muslim, primarily in the South.

•Ethiopia is the only country in Africa never to be under colonial rule, other than a brief occupation by Italy during WWII. You can visit many restaurants in Ethiopia today due to the influence of Italy during the occupation.

•Traditional Ethiopian food consists of various vegetable or meat dishes, usually a wat or thick stew, served atop injera, which is a large crepe-like sourdough flatbread made from fermented teff flour. One does not eat with utensils, but instead uses a piece of the injera (always with the right hand) to scoop up the sauces.

•The Ethiopian calendar is very similar to the Egyptian Coptic calendar – each have 13 months, 12 with 30 days each and the 13th month at the end of the year with 5 or 6 days, depending on whether it is a leap year. The year starts on September 11th (12th in a leap year). The Ethiopian calendar is 7 years behind the Gregorian calendar, so Ethiopia recently celebrated their millennium on September 12, 2007.

•Coffee can be traced back to the 9th Century where it is believed a shepherd discovered coffee beans in the highlands of Ethiopia, namely the Kaffa region. The Ethiopian people are very proud of their coffee and they show this in their well known coffee ceremonies. The Coffee Ceremony is a very important part of socializing in Ethiopia and to be invited to a coffee ceremony is always considered a sign of respect and friendship.

•There are multiple tribes with different subcultures and over 80 languages in Ethiopia. The Amharic language is a Semitic language spoken in North Central Ethiopia and is the official working language for Ethiopia.

•Family in Ethiopia includes immediate and extended relatives, neighbors, and friends. Faith and family are the foundation of the Ethiopian culture. Ethiopians are very respectful and loving. The elderly are considered very knowledgeable and as a very important part of the family structure. Children are usually raised in a large community that includes extended family and neighbors, and siblings are expected to help take care of each other.