The waiting group!!!

So after I found out about our court date I got to go and have lunch with some other adopting mothers who live in the area. It was SO great to chat adoption for over three hours with people that totally understand and don't want you to stop talking about it! Thanks for all the love and congratulations you guys. I know you guys haven't had the "smoothest" of processes but your ability to still rejoice with me says a lot about your character. I'm praying so hard that your next court date will be successful.


From left to right: Dianne, Leah, Jenny, me, Claire.

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bpRlByZXFY9sm1yMvCnN1-ylccGdUyFALT4ZyKhS3QevMcupfVH-KFxTpabhmd2ppNmMB4MbQ6mg4NbbJvCnO2z02hWENNTPvAScSD3_FtBVJsXX0QioQx117X37lcgRY_7Jb09Vg6TT/s1600-h/IMG_0494.JPG">
Here's Jenny checking the latest on the yahoo group!!! I thought I was bad checking it at home obsessively. I just had to document this.


Jenny reading out my congratulations! Such a crazy subculture we are a part of.



And here's Dianne adding "Benadryl" to her travel list. I love you Dianne! We are going to travel together.


And THANK YOU to everyone for all your congratulations after I posted our good news. I am so overwhelmed with the love and support we have received from people both in our everyday life and people we have never even met but that we know are hoping and praying along with us.

Introducing...

Moses Samuel Meseret Krabbendam.



We're coming to get you Mosey! You've always been our boy since we first laid eyes on you on October 24th. But today you are officially and legally our son. We thank God that he has chosen you to make us a family. And we thank and honour and pray for your birth parents as they have made the most difficult sacrifice.


Moses \m(o)-ses\ is pronounced MOH-ziz. It is of Hebrew origin, and its meaning is "saviour". Also possibly (Hebrew) "drawn out of the water". Biblical: name of the Hebrew infant pulled out of the River Nile and adopted by the Egyptian Pharoah's daughter. Moses later became the great leader of the exiled Israelites. Moses ben Maimon (12th century), also known as Maimonides, was a Jewish scholar born in Moorish Spain. He was the court physician of Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt, and was famous for his writings (in both Hebrew and Arabic) on logic, mathematics, medicine, law and Jewish theology.

lighting a candle

A friend of mine that I used to work with at our ESL school is an orthodox priest. On his last day at work he gave us all prayer candles. I remember putting it away thinking I would use it on some special occasion. Well, its been months and it is still sitting on my book shelf. I saw it today and knew that lighting it tonight would be the perfect time to burn this candle.

I looked into the tradition of using beeswax candles in the orthodox church (which is the main religion in Ethiopia) and it is really interesting and filled with so much meaning. If you are interested read below.

“A candle is a symbol of prayer. The act of lighting a candle is a prayer without words, although it is perfectly acceptable to also say a prayer as you light the candle. Lighting a candle acts as a reminder that others pray with us, living and dead, even if they are not there with us. The flame is a symbol of passion, and it points towards Heaven. It also reminds us that Christ is the light of the world.”

“When beeswax candles came into wide use, the symbolism of candles and flames emerged to coincide with Church beliefs. Although originally beeswax was used only in the Church and wealthy homes its qualities were well known. Because beeswax was so special in peoples minds, beeswax candles could be used symbolically in the early Church. It was taught that beeswax symbolized the Virgin Mother, the wick symbolized the soul of Jesus Christ, and the flame, the divinity, that surrounds and illuminates the two. During burning, beeswax can visually expend themselves as Christ expended Himself in His love for mankind. Even today votive candles represent ongoing prayer for a special intention. Also, the bee became a symbol of the resurrection and of the immortality of the soul. Interestingly, by the Twelfth century candles had become the norm in churches, rather than oil lamps. Few people know the word ceremony comes from the Latin word cermonius, meaning "the person who carries a wax candle at public rituals". Today the Greek Orthodox Church is known widely for the production and use of very fine beeswax candles.”

It's 9:17 am in Ethiopia right now.... I'm praying for a miracle. I'll let you know in the morning what the news is.

frustration!

So I got a call from my caseworker just after 9am this morning telling me that the judge never showed up to work today!

Part of me is relieved that she wasn't phoning with really bad news but part of me is so upset that I have to go through this anxious wait again.

She told me that the good news was they didn't reschedule me for two months later. Instead we are rescheduled for December 29th. Thank God!

I guess in all our praying for paper work and Samuel's birth mom we should have also prayed that the judge would go to work!!
Mike and I are hoping that if anything wasn't in order this morning on our file that having these 3 more days will be a good thing and everything will go smoothly on Monday.

And so we wait again.... Happy 4 months Samuel.

going insane,

emily

if...

...we pass court we will be sending this little care package over to Samuel. My caseworker will be traveling to Addis on January 16th and she told me she would hand deliver it to him! I'm so happy, it's nice to know it will for sure get in his sweet little hands.


I actually had to go out and buy a 3-6 month onesie as I've only been shopping for 12-16 months. If all goes well, i'll have to go and buy a bunch of 6-12 month clothes!!!


Thanks Dana for the gorgoues "made in Ethiopia" onesie. I can't wait to see it on him!



And this little guy... well, i've been sleeping with him for the past 3 months!!! lol. I'm actually sad to let him go. I wanted him to smell like us so he's been in our bed for awhile now. I've clutched this puppy many times at night as I fall asleep...
Hopefully Samuel will like him.

And hopefully we pass court! Oh lord have mercy on us!!!

If we don't, I will send this on with one of the families that will be traveling soon after..... aka: D & J. You guys WILL be traveling soon.

Solomon on adoption.

Solomon is the director in Ethiopia for Imagine Adoption agency. My friend Peg who just visited Ethiopia to film for "Run for Water", was also able to meet Solomon and interview him for his tv show back in Canada. I'll let you all know when the episode on adoption will air but I don't think it will be until Spring. Claire and I were both interviewed for it!!!

Anyways, this is a long video, but for us adopting parents I'm pretty sure we will soak up every minute of it. I think I could have listened to him talk for hours.....I cannot wait to meet this man and thank him for all that he is doing on behalf of the children of Ethiopia. And I'm so thankful that our agency is working with such amazing people.

enjoy.


(don't forget to push pause on Mariah)

He smiles...

Allison, who is in Ethiopia picking up her daughter Ebba right now, just wrote on her blog a few updates on some of the children that she was able to meet.

Here's what she said about our Samuel:

Emily - Samuel Meserat is adorable - a very smiley and happy baby.


Although brief, it just makes my day to know that he is smiling now! He looked pretty darn happy in his last pictures but it is great to hear it again. Thank you so much Allison!!!

I'm hoping for more updates from a couple of the other families who are traveling right now.


9 days till court....

Medical, Visas, and Shopping!!!

I just heard from my caseworker today that the medical request (necessary to obtain a visa) has been requested!!! Yeah!!! Canada Immigration (CIC) had two months to complete this from the time they received our paperwork (Nov.27th) and it has been requested today, only a couple weeks later! Now, they have 7 days to send an immigration doctor to the transition house to complete the medical test. If all goes well, we will hear nothing and another step will be complete. I'm so happy, because it is possible to finish court and have to still wait for medical. which is no fun at all. So it feels great to get this out of the way.

AND........... a huge congratulations are in order for all of the families who received the news that their visas are in and that they can go and pick up their babies in time for Christmas!!! Can you imagine? This is also extra exciting for everyone else because their visas were issued less than a month after court. This never happens!!! This is a serious record for Nairobi.

Do you know what this means????????

If we pass court Dec.26th we could be traveling four weeks later!!! When I read this news yesterday I started to freak out. We have so many unfinished renos in our house and so many things left to get ready for the baby.

So what did I do???

I pulled out our visa card!!! And here is what I ordered!!!


(thanks mom!)


(thanks J & R)


(thanks minuihandysitt.com)

I am so excited about this high-chair. I wanted something that wasn't huge and plastic and my sister told me about this amazing chair that can last till age 4! Visit their website, it's amazing... it can fit on almost any chair and it's super compact.

Now we just have to get a stroller, car seat, diaper bag, and probably a bunch of other things I don't even know about yet. But it feels good to get this big stuff underway. I have a feeling our visa card will be getting a lot of use in the next while.

I just wish I could know now if we are going to pass court on the first try or not!!! This part is so hard. I get so excited and then I realize that we could be in the same situation like some of the families who didn't pass court in November: watching other families go and pick up their kids when it could have been us. My heart goes out to all of you! I can't even begin to imagine how much that must hurt. You are all in my prayers this Christmas.


PS: we just got an update on Samuel yesterday and he now weighs 12.3 pounds!!! He looks so playful and alert... I just want to pick him up so badly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is so comforting to see that he is being taken such good care of. He even sent us a Christmas card, isn't he thoughtful?

Water

I just came home from church where they showed this video and one of our pastors (Peg) shared about his experience in Ethiopia this past month. Awhile back on my blog I talked about how Mike and I were taking part in "Run for Water" in Abbotsford. Well, a couple people that are on the board of this organization go to our church and they just got to go and watch the money we raised bring clean water to this small village in Ethiopia. Tonight Peg showed pictures of his trip and I was brought to tears. This one eleven year old girl was thanking him and told him that because there is now fresh water right in her village she no longer has to walk all day long to get to clean water. Because of this she can now go to school! Who knew that bringing water also was bringing education. She then put her head down and the translator told Peg that she was very ashamed to tell him this next part. Peg encouraged her to tell him and she then said that now that I don't have to walk all day for water I no longer have to live in fear of getting raped. It turns out that there are some men who prey on the little girls that walk home late at night with the water. This little girl had been raped before and now she no longer has to walk alone late at night. Wow, water also means personal security.

So needless to say, I am inspired to be a part of the next Run for Water in Abbotsford which will be held on May 31st 2009. I urge all my family and friends that live near by to join as well. Proceeds will go directly to bringing water to another village in Ethiopia. We saw a picture of the potential village tonight and their water source was unbelievably bad.

Crazy to think that we could be pushing a stroller with our Ethiopian Canadian son this May! Or at least we better be!!!!

All I want for Christmas is you...

(heard this while driving to work yesterday and thought it was so perfect, funny how love songs take on new meaning)

I don't want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need
I don't care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true...
All I want for Christmas is
You...

I don't want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need
(and I) Don't care about presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I don't need to hang my stocking
There upon the fireplace
Santa Claus won't make me happy
With a toy on Christmas day
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you...
You baby

Oh I won't ask for much this Christmas
I won't even wish for snow
(and I) I'm just gonna keep on waiting
Underneath the mistletoe
I won't make a list and send it
To the North Pole for Saint Nick
I won't even stay awake to
Hear those magic reindeer click
'Cause I just want you here tonight
Holding on to me so tight
What more can I do
Baby all I want for Christmas is you
You baby

All the lights are shining
So brightly everywhere
And the sound of children's
Laughter fills the air
And everyone is singing (oh yea)
I hear those sleigh bells ringing
Santa won't you bring me the one I really need -
won't you please bring my baby to me...

Oh I don't want a lot for Christmas
This is all I'm asking for
I just want to see baby
Standing right outside my door
Oh I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
Baby all I want for Christmas is
You (You) baby

All I want for Christmas is you baby...