Category: Adoption
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There are so many wonderful moments that have taken place in our family since Hanissa arrived home, but I wanted to write a more serious post and hopefully answer some questions that several friends have been asking. Most of us don’t have to think about what makes a family; we grow up with one and…
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There are so many foreign places I would love to visit. History engages me. Architecture and ruins amaze me. Nature inspires me. DIfferent cultures captivate me. But above all else, it is the people of the land that give it character and beauty. On a trip outside the city, we got to see not only…
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We’ve been home with Hanissa for three weeks. Hard to believe. She is finally home. We didn’t leave Ethiopia until 1am and by the time we reached Yanji, we were all exhausted. The best part of the trip was walking out the doors and seeing our 4 older girls waiting. They were tired too. It…
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After all the wait, after all the tears, one might think bringing our little girl home is the easy part of adoption. It is definitely more exciting than the wait. And it feels more “real” than other steps in our adoption. But easy? I guess that depends on your definition of easy.
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All paperwork for our Chinese visa is now in the right hands. We should get everything (passports) back soon. Which is a really good thing since we got confirmation on our Embassy Appointment in Ethiopia. Yes, we are scheduled to be at the American Embassy on October 1. I’m so excited…
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Received the most amazing email last night. It was formal, but it felt like a love letter to me. In simple terms it said that our adoption has been cleared by the US Embassy in Addis. Next step, make an appointment to travel. I’m having a really hard time finding an adjective to describe the…
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We received notice from the US Embassy in Addis that our case was submitted to them on August 1. Super excited! They give no guarantees of a time line (any where from a few weeks to a few months) and list all the possible delays that could still occur. We are still excited and rejoicing…
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It is great to be at this stage in the adoption process. This week we received Hanissa’s Ethiopian passport…she can now travel out of the country. Yay! We just need permission from the US now. Each agency is assigned a day to file paperwork at the US Embassy. Wednesday is our day. We hope that…
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Waiting…it is a part of life. Throw adoption into the mix and waiting multiplies. Here we are once again, but exciting things are happening.
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I was nervous. A little over a year ago, I had sat in this very room, waiting to see the judge and knowing that our file was incomplete. I remember the agony of waiting more than a year to complete an adoption that would eventually fail. Yes, I was nervous.