Micah's first care package and other odds and ends

Well this week there are three more AWAA families traveling to pick up their children:

The Sparr Family - adopting a preschool age girl, Yabsira
The Tennant Family - adopting a toddler boy, Henry
The Savage Family - adopting and infant boy, Elijah

Check out their blogs to read about their "Gotcha Days"

The Savage's took a care package for our Micah with them - we are so grateful! It contained: 3 onesies, 3 sleepers, 1 sleepsack, 1 hat, 4 pair of socks, 1 blanket, 4 pacifiers, and a photobook with pics of Roscoe and I and other family in black and white and color - all fit nicely into a gallon bag. We sent 0-3 month sized clothing since his weight and length clearly indicated he needed this size! (I can't post his weight or length but you can get a good estimate of how tiny and precious our little man is!) He swims in some of his outfits that we see him in in pictures from previous traveling families. We are praying he grows quickly and stays healthy! Speaking of pictures - we have about 15 now! The Burks and Caldwells sent us pictures from their trips last week! Thank you Becky and Rebecca! Micah is sleeping in about half of them but smiling in others :) Becky is even holding him in one picture :) He is so cute and is growing some hair now! (only on top thoough) Roscoe and I think he looks like a tiny man! He is so handsome with distinct facial features :)

Nikki Savage wrote about our son on her blog...
Julia - your little one was also napping away with a little buddy. They were snuggling up - so cute!
Oh how cute! If you know me though you know I'm also thinking "I hope your little snuggle buddy doesn't have a cold!"

We went to see an International adoption specialist at Children's in Columbus on 12/18. The doctor looked over his biographical info and medical/lab report with us. She ruled out FAS and also says he looks "ok" although he is underweight and small for his supposed age. She thinks he may be younger than is reported on his documents. We still don't have an official birthday - not sure if we will get one. He has a birthday on his hospital records which I just chose quickly while setting up his appt with the IA doctor. So weird, I called today to ask a question about the bill and they asked me to verify his birthday - I hesitated a bit - I hope we can change it if we need to! They also asked "who am I speaking with?" I answered, "Julia Richardson." "Are you his mother?" I paused briefly, "Yes, I am" - then it hit me! I am his mother (well not officially yet but soon!)

A glimpse into what traveling will be like

There are currently 5 families in Ethiopia that will pick up their children next week to bring them home. You can follow their journeys on their blogs to get a glimpse into what traveling to Ethiopia is like and see the place where our son is staying. Four of the five families have blogs.

Burk family
Sloniger family
Stager family
Caldwell family

What happens Next?

Many of you have been asking when we go to pick up our son? I wish it was next week but that's not how the process works.

Micah is not officially our son until we go through the court process in Ethiopia and are granted guardianship by an Ethiopian judge (this is called passing court.

We do not have to appear in court, but a POA (power of attorney) with our agency stands in our stead.

A Court date must be scheduled for us. Paperwork must be gathered in order for this to be requested. More paperwork is necessary in order for a successful court date for us, in which case Micah will become an official Richardson family member. Court dates are usually scheduled 8-12 weeks after receiving a referral. A family who recently received a referral on November 26th has a court date of February 2nd. Hopefully we will get a court date for mid-February. Our agency will email us the court date as soon as they receive it.

It is possible that we will not pass court the first time. This does not mean that Micah will not be our son. It only means that all of the paperwork was not in order for the judge to approve our adoption and grant guardianship. 30% of families do not pass court the first time. If we don not pass court the first time, another court date is scheduled 1-2 months out. Pray with us that we are not among the 30% of families who do not pass court the first time.

As soon as we pass court, we will post pictures of our son for all to see! Until then, his beautiful face remains a mystery to many.

Travel is usually 2 weeks after passing court. We will travel to Ethiopia to pick up Micah and stay in-country approximately 5-7 days. During our stay we will do some shopping in local markets, visit the transition home (orphanage like home that is operated by our agency) to see and hold our son for the first time (Meetcha Day) and love on all the children who are waiting for their families to come take them home, re-visit the transition home a day after our first visit to pick up Micah and take him back to the hotel to remain forever with us (Gotcha Day), finalize paperwork for the adoption, obtain a visa for Micah at the US Embassy, and possibly visit the orphanage he was taken to when he was found.

We will then come home and begin our lives together :)

Today was our day!!

We received our referral call at 3:11 PM today (12/17/08). He is such a handsome little man! He is so petite and so beautiful! His eyes are so big - he has such a strong determined look on his face as if to say "I have a purpose - I'm a fighter!" Yes you are Micah - you're our little fighter! I'll post more later about what comes next. Now I'm off to the gym to work off all this energy in a spinning class! woohoo!

Here's to "hanging in there"

Next week???

I sure hope! No referrals this week that we know of. We're anxiously awaiting that "call" - 7 more working days left before Christmas - we want to see him before Christmas - that's our wish! It was confirmed we are at the top of the list for the boys and were told to "hang in there" because we're "so close"

So the wait goes on.... today I ran off my emotional energy at the gym, tomorrow I will bake - it's cathartic :) Got a lovely recipe for cookies from another mama to be waiting at the top of the list for girls - thanks Karen!

It's snowing now... we wait for "the call"

So yes, the first week of December came and went without a referral call. We are nearing our 9 month mark - fitting isn't it? (But really we've been waiting much longer - the ticker is for the wait AFTER all the paperwork was sent off).

Many families passed court last week - meaning that their children became officially theirs. After passing court, families travel within 2 weeks to pick up their children. For some, it was the second or third time in court due to paperwork problems that continue to plague most adoption agencies (laws tend to change without notice in ET). Some families did not pass court due to these issues - it's heartbreaking to know you have to wait longer just for some stupid paperwork error. It is all in place though to protect the children.

Anyway, we WAIT! I don't know how much longer I can keep saying "no referral - still waiting" and be polite :)

SOOON!

We are at the top of the list! There were two more boy referrals yesterday. So that puts us at #1 (as far as we know).

No call today - hopefully next week :)

Ticker says....

Well, the ticker says we've been waiting 8 months and 4 days for the news about our son - we should find out soon (in the next few weeks) - how old he is, how much he weighs, where he was born/found, and get to see his face for the first time in a picture! I am excited but still a bit detached emotionally since it's been a roller coaster of a ride these last few months with unexpected changes and longer wait times. We are getting close though!

I told Roscoe, I'm getting Micah his stocking soon - he's our chosen son and he's alive somewhere, we just don't know where he is yet. Our friends who adopted from Russia told us the story of their "call". They had gone to get Christmas decorations and got stockings for their boys and on the way home from shopping the agency called ("the Call") with news regarding their referral and the boys they had matched to them! Their call was 1 year ago tomorrow (not by the day but it was the Monday before Thanksgiving).

We're # 3 in line for a boy!!

Well there were two more referrals on Wednsday.

one girl (3-5 months)
one boy (1.5 months)

Yes the boy is a biddy baby!! AHHH!

So anyway, we are # 3!! Maybe next week or the next or hopefully not the next after that.

Micah we are sooo close!

We've moved up! #4 in line for a boy! woohoo!

Yesterday there were three referrals:
infant girl
16 month old girl
2.5 year old boy

We are now 4th in line for a boy - looking at early December - just in time for life to settle down a bit so I can add the FUN stress of shopping and packing :) Late nights there are going to be so worth it!

What's going on?

I will say I don't know :) I'm trying to stay busy and not think about the fact that soon (I hope but have no idea anymore what to expect) we may have a referral of our son! It seems like a dream that you never really wake up from - will it ever become reality? will I ever wake up with a sigh of relief that our son is finally home? Seems like it's getting farther and farther away the more we wait - as backwards as that is.

So When is our referral coming??

Well this month has had some ups and downs. We are at our 7 month wait today. Our DTE is 3/19/08. There were 7 referrals in October - with only 2 infant boys. Here is the break down.

America World Received 7 Referrals ranging from infant to 5 years old in September.
THE DTE of the last family who received a boy referral was 02/08/2008THE DTE of the last family who received a girl referral was 12/13/2007
THE DTE of the family who received referrals of sibling group 0-5 was 5/9/2008
THE DTE of the last family who received a referral of 5 year old female is 7/5/2008
We have now completed boy referrals for all families up to March for boys and up to February for girls
The next DTE for girl referral:2/1/2008
THE next DTE for boy: 3/3/2008

There are 4 families requesting boys with DTE 2/29/08/08. We are the first family with a DTE of 3/19/08. So we are family #5 in line for a boy.

The wait time for an infant boy has been 5-7. It is now possible to move to 7-9 months.

Our agency has been successful in giving out 10 referrals for the past few months. While they may give 10 referrals this month, most will be older children. Different variables are affecting the number of infant referrals for October.

The few children available this month have been unable to have a completed paperwork, making them ineligible for a referral at this time. Another reason is that most of the Orphanages are filled to the maximum and are waiting until some children leave to bring children into the city for their paperwork to be completed.


There was also a new fee increase that affects us now. It raises the amount of money we need to come up with in a month. I'm glad I took on extra teaching this quarter!! It just makes me want to bring our Micah home sooner and sooner!!

so that is where we are - waiting still - maybe even until the end of November now - we will likely travel 8 weeks after receiving a referral. I know I mentioned in the last post that I thought our son would be at an orphanage or our agency's transitional home - now I really am unsure - not really sure of anything to be honest! So we wait and pray that he is safe and protected!

Now, enjoy the pictures of my cute nephew Isaiah!! He makes me smile every day! He is almost five months now - but most of the pictures of between 3 and 4 months of age - notice that he has had ample buckeye uniforms since birth! He is a tiny bucknut!






Isaiah and his dad (my brother) wearing their AJ Hawk Jerseys

Ticker says 6 months!!!

Hello! Ticker says we've been waiting 6 months and 5 days - woohoo! There were referrals this month so far putting us at the #6 spot in line (we think) for a boy - it's getting close people!!! AHHHH! It's likely our baby will stay at the orphanage when he is referred to us since our agency's transition house is full right now with court closures. The courts do reopen at the beginning of October so that is promising - we are hoping they catch up with all of the families waiting for court very quickly. We want to bring home our baby!!

That's all for now - more when we get a referral.

Oh my goodness oh my goodness!

Hi all fellow blog readers! We have reached the five month mark of waiting (note the ticker!) The wait for a boy is 5-7 months - woohoo! According to the list on our AWAA yahoo chat group we are #8 for a boy! Last month our agency gave out 4-5 boy referrals and in July there were 7! I cannot wait for THE CALL! Most likely I'll be at work and go running down the halls and through the lab telling all the good news.

Prayers for the babies and an AWAA family

Hi all,

I am so sad to have to post this. An AWAA family that received a referral of a 2 month old girl at the end of July has lost their precious baby girl. She was hospitalized with pneumonia earlier this week and last night God brought her home to be with Him. My heart aches for this family. Please lift them up in prayer and also lift up all the babies in our agency's Transition House (place where they go when they have been matched to a family and are just waiting for the paperwork for the adoption to be finalized), as well as the director and nannies at the Transition House. Many of the babies if not most have upper respiratory infections and it can also be common to get an intestinal parasite. Please lift up their tiny immune systems to the Lord for protection.

Thanks for your prayers for our kiddos in Ethiopia. I've become e-friends with many families, and we really are one big Ethiopian adoption family. It's so hard to see another family hurting like this and to see our precious babies fighting so much sickness.

Family Picture

Here we all are - one big happy commune in Delaware! haha - Roscoe and I are left, then my mother and father, and sister-in-law, nephew, and brother.

Something to think about

Senator Obama says responsibility of being a father doesn't just end at conception...

conception = the process of becoming pregnant involving fertilization or implantation or both (according to Webster)



So Obama, would you say that someone is the father of a fetus? But can that be? Since according to Webster again, a father is "a man who has begotten a child", not a fetus. Hmmmm... It's hard to know what you stand for unless you say what you mean and mean what you say.

Chapman Family

AWA posted this on their blog:

The Chapman family will be making media appearances beginning next week. This will be the first since the tragic loss of Maria on May 21st. Please continue to keep the Chapmans in your prayers, and that through these interviews, God will be glorified and His gospel will be clearly and boldly proclaimed.

August 5th – Good Morning America (ABC) 7:00 – 9:00 AM (All time zones)
August 7th – Larry King LIVE! (CNN) 9:00 PM (Eastern time)
August 13th – People Magazine

Referrals for July

Soo, we are getting closer!! If you check the ticker, we've almost been waiting five months for a referral! The wait for a boy is 5-7 months. (We're looking at closer to seven i think). July had many boy referrals - we are seven boy referrals closer to our son! There were three other referrals - one girl and two older siblings (i think). Anyway, that is 10 referrals for the month of July! Fantastic! At this rate, it will be mid to late October for our referral. But you know as soon as I start to plan, it will change. So I'm not planning for it - no expectations. I will be completely surprised because I am NOT going to think about it (hahahahaha - if you know me, you are laughing right now or saying a sarcastic "whatever Julia - try as hard as you want!")

Come on Micah! We're ready to have you home and make you a Buckeye!!

Power and Power

Hi all,

First thanks to all who prayed for the Gibson's in ET with their road bumps and snags. They are now home and precious Zoie is getting well and eating well. They even got bumped to business class on the way home! Praise the Lord! We are definitely flying United Arab Emirates - my parents also got bumped to business class on the UAB flight home from Africa. (Power of Prayer)

Now on to news about electric power in ET. THis was posted by a friend of mine from our Yahoo chat group for families adopting from ET from our agency (AWA). Thanks Karen!

The article's a bit vague but it sounds like the power rationning in
Addis may be coming to a close!! Yay! *karen

Ethiopia - EEPCo stops power shedding

After three months of darkness the Ethiopian Electric Power
Corporation (EEPCo) is to stop the power shedding program as of
Monday, July 21, 2008.

EEPCo has for the last three months shed power after its dams were
depleted but after adequate rain water flow to the dams in recent
weeks, it is to stop the power shedding that has worsened the
economic condition of the country.

Power interruption in Ethiopia has caused a considerable amount of
damage to the economy that is estimated according to reports at over
a billion birr. The corporation faces a power shortage of over 40% in
the capital city, Addis Ababa. Out of the total 200MW of electric
power needed, the corporation was short 80MW.

The rest of the article here:
http://nazret.com/blog/index.php?
title=ethiopia_eepco_stops_power_shedding&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Prayer Time!

So here's the scoop.

There are currently three families in Ethiopia picking up their children whom they adopted. Two have blogs -Gibsonsand Raymers. Their children are beautiful and both have great blogs to tell the story of their journey. Check out the pictures and videos!

The Gibson's hit snags in their process and have to stay a week or two longer than planned. Please pray that the paperwork can be fixed. There was a misspelling on the adoption decree. Also, their little Zoie Senait is very sick with raspy cough and difficulty breathing. She is in the hospital today and the family is very scared. She is small and undernourished. She needs to be covered in prayer!!

Duni, our adoption coordinator, is flying to Ethiopia TODAY to help out the Gibson's with their paperwork and to help get court dates for families who have referrals. These 8-10 families are hoping to get court dates before closure (Aug 7th) and are hoping the court dates go smoothly the FIRST time. If these families cannot get through court, they will have to wait until October when the courts reopen. Their babies and older children will have ot wait two more months for them. The older children really don't understand why it has to take so long. It is sad for them.

Also, Rachel Ward, who directs the Transition Home where all the babies who are matched with families live, is sick. She needs prayer as well!

So whew!! A lot is happening.

AWA referrals for June

Hello to anyone who reads this :) Not sure who does really but I like blogging for me enough :)

What happened in June you ask? Well, 10 children were referred to 7 families. Wait! That doesn't make sense? Three families were referred a sibiling pair each. So TEN referrals!! That is so great! This was AWA's goal and I honestly had low hopes they would meet it so soon! Go Duni and Terra!

There are between 10 and 15 families waiting for a successful court date now. The courts are soon to close - August 7th. Three families have court dates 7/15. The court date is the day our POA from AWA stands on our behalf before a judge and legally adopts our child(ren). Many times if all the paperwork is not there, the judge does not grant the adoption and families try again. WE need to PRAY that many families waiting for their court date receive one before closure and that it is successful the first time. If not, then the children have to sit in the transition home and wait until the courts reopen in October.

So why do courts close you ask? For no real good reason except that it is their break. It is not rainy season or extremely hot. It is just a nice leisurely 2 month break. The culture is obviously not type A America!

We are expecting a referral in late Oct or Nov. By my calculations of families I know, we are now # 31-ish (give or take a few families - more like give and not take) So if our agency has 10 referrals each month for the next three months, we are first in Oct. I am not expecting 10 referrals each month though - we'll most likely be November. Now if there are 10 referrals in July, August, and September, that means there are 30 families waiting for court PLUS any families who don't make it before court closure. This is about 40 TOTAL families who will need a court date when the courst reopen in October!!! And remember this is just our agency. There are currently about 35 agencies working in Ethiopia - they all will have a backlog of families! WHOA!!! This makes me soo nervous. The way things are going with our agency, we will be backed up for a while waiting for court, unless they can speed up the requests for court dates and paperwork. I am just praying our little Micah will not have to wait too long for us to come pick him up, while we wait for a court date to adopt him!

You know though? I can think of hundreds of scenarios of how it will all work out and it's not going to help one bit. I really just need to wait and let God work it all out. Sounds easy enough right? hmmm Right! I'm glad I work though - it takes my mind off things. If I stayed home now with just my cats I think I'd go crazy with worry!! I know I'd have thousands of scenarios drawn up. And soon, little Izzy (new nephew who will live with us for a while with his Mom and Dad) will take my mind off the wait. Oh Izzy come sooooooon!!! :)

So far no referrals for July. I'll keep you posted, it's only July 6th!

Pics of the nursery

Isaiah Peterson (born last month - see post from May 30th) and his Mom and Dad (Elizabeth and my brother Joel) are soon to be back from Africa. They will live with us for a while! Woohoo! Isaiah will get to use his soon to be cousin's (Micah) nursery! So here are pics of the nursery!



Anyone know how to get replacement cushions for my glider? I don't like the color.
BUT, I loooove my rocking giraffe!! Took two trips to World Market to find they were all sold out, then a waiting list and call - I jumped in my car as soon as I heard they were holding one for me! The things we'll do for the first time baby items!

Pics of Isaiah

Here's my nephew!

We will NOT be notified of our court date

Well, it appears Duni and Terra (our coordinators) are now going to just wait until we pass court before telling us of the proceedings. Previously, families would hear of their court dates and then would hear if they passed or not.

Soo... We will receive a referral and then about 8 weeks later, we'll receive news that we are leaving to pick up our son in 2 - 3 weeks! Kind of a bit exciting don't ya think?

Here is Terra's email:

There is an important change that all Ethiopia families need to take note of. From this point forward we are asking families to anticipate an 8-12week wait after receiving a referral before traveling to Ethiopia to pick up their child/children (12-16 weeks for families whose referrals fall during the court closures). During those 8-12 weeks there are a series of steps that must be taken to receive governmental approvals, court decrees, birth certificates, passports, visas, and a plethora of other documents for the adopted child. Because receiving the court decree is especially difficult and often times not approved on the first or even second court date we have decided to now switch to a new system where we will notify families with a travel approval when all of their documents have been collected and definitive dates can be identified to schedule travel. This means that we will no longer be contacting families about when their court dates will be, or each time their court date did not go through, or has been changed. Families will be notified within 2-4 weeks before traveling to Ethiopia with their travel approval.

HIS-


Terra Bailey
Ethiopia Family Coordinator

What is involved in this long process?

I thought I'd post for you what happens after all our paperwork is sent to Ethiopia (aka our DTE date - Dossier to Ethiopia). Here is an email from our coordinator.

Dear Waiting Families,
Per our conversation during the conference call below is an outline of the process that takes place after dossier submission and upon referral. I have also attached an MP3 recording of the conference for those of you that were not able to join us.
After Dossier Submission
1. Dossier is taken to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Authentication
2. Dossier is Translated into Amharic
3. A copy of the Dossier is submitted to the AW Partner Orphanages
4. When a child has been identified our representatives go to KC to pick up the child and all the necessary paperwork (profile or police report)
5. The Child is taken to a medical
6. All the documents are translated into English
7. The Translated referral document is then sent to our office in the US where a referral call will be made to the family.

After Referral

Step One Upon acceptance of the referral, a Contract of Adoption is signed between the child's legal guardian (the Orphanage) and the adoptive parent(s), or the agency representative (Girmachew). If the legal guardian is also the agency that is processing the adoption, another licensed orphanage can sign on behalf of the child. This contract is the basis for the issuance of the adoption decree, which shows that the guardian or the orphanage has relinquished their parental or guardian right in regard to the adopted child. The contract must be taken to the Inland Revenue Administration office to be stamped. There is a nominal fee.

Step Two- The parents' dossier is submitted to MOWA . MOWA will then affix a summary sheet, on which will be noted items such as court decisions, background data on the adopted child or children, and the names of Adoption Committee members who will complete the form at a later date (see below). At this point, for private adoptions only, MOWA usually asks the U.S. Embassy to provide a letter of support for the adoptive parents. .

Step Three- MOWA submits the parents' dossier to the Adoption Committee for review and approval to adopt. The Adoption Committee meets periodically, sometimes as often as every week, to review cases. The Committee either approves or rejects the prospective adoptive parent(s), based on Ethiopian guidelines for international adoptions. Given the volume of work before the Committee, it can take weeks before the Committee reviews a dossier. Further investigation into the parents' qualifications is done if deemed necessary, and a recommendation is made. Only if all the members of the committee agree, and sign the recommendation, is the request approved.

Step Four - Once the Committee has approved the parents' dossier, MOWA opens a file at the Federal First Instance Court to apply for an appointment date for the adoption hearing. The court date could be one to two months from the date of filing.

Step Five - CYAO opens a file at the Federal First Instance Court to apply for an appointment date for the adoption hearing. The court date could be one to two months from the date of filing. The Court generally is closed between three and twelve weeks between July and October. The dates change every year.

Step Six - A notice seeking any other claimants to the child is published in the local press stating the child's name and the name of the adopting parents. Anyone opposed to the adoption is requested to appear at MOWA by a certain date and time.

Step Seven- When the appointed court date arrives, the prospective parents or their agency's local representative will be asked to appear in court. Final decisions can be handed down quickly, but delays of weeks are not uncommon. Adoptive parents must obtain at least two originals of the court decree. One will be retained by MOWA and one must be submitted to the U.S. Embassy for the visa application. The original submitted to the Embassy will be returned to the parents.

Step Eight- After the adoption is complete, MOWA prepares a request to the city of Addis Ababa for the issuance of a new birth certificate, and a request to the Office of Security, Immigration and Refugee Affairs for an Ethiopian passport for the child in its new name. The U.S. Embassy needs both the new birth certificate and the passport to complete the child's U.S. immigrant visa application process.

Step Nine - The court decree must be translated into English. The original and the translation are submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) for authentication. The authentication stamp, seals and signature are placed on the back of the translation. If the adoption contract was made in Amharic, it too must be translated into English and the original translation authenticated by MOFA.

Families can travel to Ethiopia for their consulate appointment and pick up their children after the above steps have been completed. Hope this sheds light on the process. Please feel free to email me any questions you may have about this and it can be addressed at the next conference call.

Grace & Peace

Duni Zenaye
Africa Program Director

Duni's trip to Ethiopia

Duni is our Family Coordinator for our adoption. She basially does it all for us - all we do is send her the paperwork and then we wait.... and say "yes! We'll accept this referral!!!!" and then travel to pick up our son (of course with much time in between each event!)

Anyway, she visited Addis Ababa Ethiopia recently to hire more in-country staff, consider other orphanages to partner with, and really just see all that goes on as far as the adoption process in-country rather than at the corporate office in VA.

So here is her email update to the Ethiopia waiting families (of wihch we are part of- there are 90 of us!!! We are somewhere around family #35 or #40 I think.)

Dear Families,

My one month stay in Ethiopia was long but productive. It was beneficial to me to be able to learn the in country process to better equip myself in assisting families during their adoption. It was also wonderful to meet and play with the older children and actually get to hold the little ones. Seeing these wonderful children was what I needed to give me a renewed sense of purpose and urgency to ensure that they are united to loving families in the shortest time possible. Most of all, meeting the children gave me a new appreciation and respect for those that have and continue to open their homes and hearts to children from Ethiopia.

My main reason for traveling to Ethiopia was to find ways to better the program, and as it grows, to ensure that we grow along with it to meet the new demand.

Finding new orphanages to partner with was of the utmost importance, and most of my time there was spent traveling outside of Addis to tour different orphanages. I am excited to announce that we were blessed to establish a new partnership with Gelgela Orphanage. They are located a few miles from our Transitional Home and have already referred children to our agency. Gelgela orphanage is expanding its projects (education & children sponsorship) in southern and northern Ethiopia. We are honored to support them in their new sponsorship program in Gojam (North Ethiopia).

As most of you know, adoption from Ethiopia has grown popular in the past year. In the last two years the number of adoptions from Ethiopia by US citizens has increased by 100%. While there were only a handful of US adoption agencies working in Ethiopia two years ago, there are now over 30. Most people are attracted to the program for the same reason; compared to other countries it has proven to be the quickest and there is a need for adoptive families as there are many orphans. Because of this increased interest families should expect to wait longer for a referral than some of the families who adopted a year ago when the number of prospective adoptive families applying to the Ethiopia program was not so high.

Of course such growth in the program and striving to meet the demand is not only a challenge for agencies but also for the Ethiopian government and adoption officials. As an Agency we are also responsible in ensuring that all the children have the correct paperwork and are true orphans in need of a home before accepting them to refer to families.

I was able to meet with officials and listen, as well as discuss ways to continue facilitating smooth and successful adoptions from Ethiopia. Meeting with them also opened my eyes to the different problems and set backs they have at the office as they don’t have the resources a developed country has. One such problem is power outages through out the city.

As most of you know, power is currently rationed throughout Ethiopia because of the lack of rain. There is no power two to three days out of the 5 business days. This has caused all processes to slow down. For instance MOWA cannot write recommendation letters to court on some days because of power outages resulting in rescheduling of court dates. Or the Vital Statistics office cannot issue a birth certificate because of the same problem. Families should expect some delays after a referral and leading up to travel because of these reasons.

The current wait time for both infant girls and boys is 7-9 months after DTE date. The wait time is also 7-9 months after DTE date for toddlers and children up to 5 years old.

The wait time after referral has also increased. Families should expect to travel 8-12 weeks to travel date after receiving a referral. If families receive a referral between August 7 and October 7 (During Court Closure) then they should expect to travel 12-16 weeks after a referral.

Even though the wait time has increased, I have all the confidence in the adoption officials in Ethiopia and they are doing all they can with the limited resources they have to process the adoption cases in a timely manner.

I thank the Lord for each one of you and for giving you the desire to adopt from Ethiopia. May He continue to guide you and give you perseverance as you wait for your child.

In Christ,


Duni Zenaye
Africa Program Director

Referrals in May

There were four referrals in May that I know of - I say "know of" because I keep up with this information through our yahoo chat group for families adoption from ET through our agency. There may be families we don't know of who received referrals, but we doubt this.

SO, two families received referrals May 7:
infant boy (DTE 10/5/07)
2 Waiting children (older children) (DTE 12/21/07)

AND two more families received referrals May 29:

Infant Girl: DTE October 5th 2007
Infant Boy: DTE October 5th 2007

Based on the new referrals. The wait time for both infant girl & infant boy is 7-9 months from Dossier Submission or DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia).

So the month of May saw five children get referred to four families. Our agency's goal is to be able to get 10 referrals out each month. This month was busy as one of our coordinators was in Addis Ababa Ethiopia for half the month working with staff there. Also, the courts are slowing due to power outages and no rain - PRAY FOR RAIN!

For those wondering where we are in line - we are about family # 40-50. Some of these families though are requesting girls and/or siblings and/or waiting children so it does not always go straight down the line.

We are looking at 5 more months of a wait right now. We've waited 2 months thus far for our referral (note the ticker! Love that ticker!). After referral, it may take 4-6 weeks to get a court date and another 3 weeks to travel after we pass court. It may take us two or three or four tries to pass court, depending on if the paperwork is there or not.

Isaiah Justice Peterson was born in Kenya today!

He is our nephew. My brother, Joel, and sister-in-law, Elizabeth, have been living in Africa for the past 2 years. They called my parents this morning at 3:45 AM to report Isaiah finally decided to come see the sun! He was 7 pounds, 6 ounces at birth. IN Kenya, they don't measure length though. He has a full head of black hair, like all the Petersons. When asked if he has a big nose (like Joel), the reply was "not yet!" He does sneeze though like Joel :) Very cute! He has broad shoulders - so mom and I think he'll be a porker! He's a good eater already which is good! We are soo happy and can't wait to see our little nephew when they all arrive in the states in July. I should be able to post pictures soon.

Let it Rain!!

Our prayer for Ethiopia is that it rain! Let it rain! Ethiopia needs rain in order to have adequate electricity to operate courts and MOWA (ministry of women and children's affairs). Currently there are mandatory power outages that are slowing the process of adoption for many families in many agencies. Families receive a referral of a child and then have the option to accept or reject that child. Upon acceptance, paperwork is completed and a court date (CD) is scheduled. This CD requires much paperwork and the very important but sometimes late recommendation from MOWA - it is sometimes late due to the increasing number of families adoption from Ethiopia, the understaffed and underpayed employees of MOWA, and the mandatory power outages that make it impossible to print. So some families are not passing court the first time and must go back again. A successful "pass" in court means that the child which was referred to you is legally your son/daughter at that point. When families pass court, they can then share pictures with friends and family, but not until then. Sooo, while there are many things to pray for, one to pray for now would be RAIN! Let it RAIN!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's day Mom! I think of this time next year and wonder, "will I be a Mom? What kind of mother will I be?" Oh the pensive thoughts... It's funny though, when I think of myself as a mother, I visualize my own mom. I remember her affirming words and smile. She was and still is always quick to let us know we're "ok", we are doing a great job, or she's proud. Mom always was able to bring a smile to my face, or make me laugh - still is. I can call her up and tell that she may be tired, but once she knows it me, she perks right up as if I've just made her day (and I know she's still tired!). On days I'm just "blah" - my first instinct is to call mom and see if she wants to shop or hang out. I told Roscoe, just walking into their condo, makes my muscles relax! It's crazy! Their condo has the Peterson scent, but it's a scent that evokes peace, calm, and safety for me. I want this for my children. I want their immediate thoughts of their mother to be so positive and filled with love. It sounds cliche but I guess i just can't explain it the way I feel it.

So Mom, Happy Mother's Day and I only hope to be the kind of Mom to Micah that you are to Joel and I :)

Referrals for AWAA families

Four families recently (4/25/08) received referrals for their children. There were four total referrals in April - a bit lower than usual but our agency seems very busy at work to get more referrals out to families. The recent referrals were as follows:

Infant Boy: DTE: 10/5/2007
Infant Girl: DTE: 8/30/2007
Toddler: DTE: 10/15/2007
Waiting Children: DTE: 3/19/2008

Waiting children are older children. There tends to be less interest in the adoption of older children. This is why a family with a DTE 3/19/08 received referral so soon. Roscoe and I would love to adopt older children in the future - but for now, we figure we should learn how to raise children from birth forward! :) According to these referrals, the wait time for an infant boy is still 5-7 months.

There is a YG for families from our agency adopting from Ethiopia. I have been checking posts and connecting with families, but I find the more I am on the chat group, the more anxious I become about our adoption. I have started to have dreams about our referral and travel - and if you know me, I typically have anxious dreams. So I'm scaling back my chat group activity. The adoption is out of our control now and we are just waiting. Worrying will not help anything or anyone.

So anyway, we are almost two months along in our waiting. It is going by fast!

Waiting, Nesting, and Celebrating!

It's been a while since the last post. It has been over a month since our DTE (the date our dossier was sent to Ethiopia). One month down, 4-6 left to wait! We (well more myself than Roscoe) are in nesting mode. We painted the nursery over the weekend and it looks so peaceful! We have a crib, furniture, bedding, baskets, stuffed animals! Ready for a baby to inhabit! (i'll post a pic soon) We also got great news on Sunday. Joel and Elizabeth (my brother and sister-in-law) found out they are having a boy! He is due May 24th and will be delivered in Kenya. They will then travel to the states sometime in July (4-6 meeks after the baby is born)! We'll have em for a year and then they may return to Africa. It is so exciting - our sons may just be the same age, as we are expecting a referral between August and October for an infant around 2-4 months old (typical age at referral, but we actually requested a wider range of 0-12 months). So I suppose there are many in my family waiting and nesting. Soon though, soon we will bring home our boys!

DTE March 19, 2008

Our first blog. First post to our blog. First baby. First adoption. Many firsts. To catch everyone up briefly, we started the adoption process late September 2007 with America World Adoption to adopt a son (0-12 months old) from Ethiopia. Our homestudy (1st part of the adoption process) was completed January 2008. Our dossier (second part of adoption process) was completed March 2008. Our dossier, a packet of paperwork needed to adopt a child, was sent to Ethiopia on March 19, 2008 (this is called our DTE date or "dossier to Ethiopia" date). The packet was picked up in Ethiopia by an AWA representative on March 28, 2008. All that we do for now is wait...wait...wait... For those who know me, I like to plan - so waiting without knowing is not always easy - well, never easy really, not knowing what age he will be, or when we will travel. and when he will come home to our family. But God's timing is right, and we will wait on Him. We are praying the timing works out for Roscoe, as he cannot leave his business in the busy times of summer and winter - for him to go, we need to travel Oct-Nov (a small window, yes!). That's just that way things are when you run your own business. The odds are against us as far as referencing the average wait times for recent families adopting with our agency. In addition to these matters, Ethiopia's courts close on August 6th this year and do not open again until October (date yet to be confirmed). So although we can get a referral in the months the courts are closed, we cannot get a court date scheduled until the courts reopen. The court date is needed to legally adopt the baby. The current wait time for a referral for a boy from our agency (timeframes vary from agency to agency) is 5-7 months. So this puts us in August-October for a referral - and a likely court date November-January as the courts will most likely be backed up when they return. Travel is 2-3 weeks after the court date. So we are in a season of waiting and preparing for parenthood.