Praying for Micah's transition

So as we get excited to pack our bags and travel across the world to pick up our son, we also realize that Micah is unaware that his life is about to change. We are praying for his transition and attachment to us as parents. Attachment for Micah, at 6 months of age, may not seem as difficult compared to an older child in the same situation. That assessment may be true in cases. Regardless of the degree of difficulty, the parent-child attachment will need to be developed and requires intentional parenting strategies on our part. If you have adopted before, or are in the process, than you may already know that we, as Micah's parents, will be providing him with a highly structured lifestyle (exciting for me - I love this strategy!!), and will be caring for his basic needs consistently. What this means is: he will have consistent daily events (feeding, strolling outside, playtime on the floor, sling-wearing time, naptime, bath time, bedtime), we will not be taking him out too much for a while or having many people over at one time. If you do visit, we will likely be the ones to hold Micah while we all meet together, change his diaper, comfort him, etc and may not visit for too long in order to remain on our schedule (there will be some wiggle room as this is only healthy). It is advised for us to have as much one-on-one time with him as possible. All in all, our lives will be low key (some may think that's not much of a change for us - lol - you're right - But now we get to be intentional about it!)

Here is a link if you want to explore more about infant attachment. Specifically, you may want to scroll down to the section about infants in institutions and also the section about recommendations for the first 6-9 months.

Thanks Janet - I used one of your links :)

We leave March 25th!

So yesterday was our DTE -versary. We were DTE 3/19/08, meaning that was when our dossier (big pack of paperwork that took 4 months to collect and complete) was sent to Ethiopia.

So now, we are almost ready to bring our boy home! We leave from Columbus to Washington/Dulles airport aroun 2:30 on Wed and then leave Dulles airport around 9:30 on Ethiopian Air - direct flight to Ethiopia - 17 hours! WHEW :) we arrive in ET Thursday at 7:30 PM ET time. We will have Friday through Sunday to tour the country and go shopping.

On Monday March 30th, we meet our son for the first time :) We do not take him back to the hotel on Monday though. We just hang out with the cutie for the afternoon. On Tuesday March 31st, we will take him back to the hotel - he will be ours forever! Yippee! We have our embassy appt on April 1st to get Micah his visa. Thursday, we hope to see the orphanage he was brought to before coming to our agency's orphanage. Then we leave on Friday to come home.

We are traveling with a great group of families - Whipples, Bowmans, Mozombites, and Howleys. Three have blogs listed in my blog list to the right - be sure to take a peek at their gorgeous babes.

Off I go to get more pre-travel errands done!

Sling-wearing trials

So, tonight I had my share of frustrations with Micah's sling. Roscoe on the other hand, seemed to use it with ease. The cabbage patch didn't weigh enough so I tried a cat...Roscoe had better luck...hopefully Micah won't try to bite my hand :)

Micah Bedilu Richardson is officially our son!

Micah Bedilu Richardson

Click on the link and it will take you to a new page to view the slideshow :)

Court is fast approaching!

If you're on the blog page, then you can see the ticker! It says 5 days until court date! That is oh so very close! Many have asked me if I'm getting anxious - it's kind of odd that I'm not too anxious, really. I'm excited but more calm than anxious - which I would have never expected! Now Thursday - Friday may be a different story :)

For all of you who are praying for our adoption, thank you so much! We ask for your prayers for this upcoming week as we approach our court date. On Friday, in Ethiopia, a representative with our agency will go the court on our behalf and the judge is scheduled to review our case and issue a ruling. The ruling will be

1. Success! Your adoption is finalized! Roscoe and Julia Richardson are the legal parents of Micah B Richardson's in the eyes of the ET court. (We re-adopt in the states)
2. Almost, but not yet! Please come back at (such and such a date) with additional paperwork so that this adoption can be finalized.

We need to pray that:

1. All the paperwork is complete and present at our scheduled court hearing.
2. Our representative with our agency will be healthy and have everything she needs to represent our case.
3. The orphanage Micah came from in Africa will have all the correct paperwork completed for our case.
4. The power will be on all day so our case can be heard!
5. The judge will arrive healthy and on time so our case can be heard!
6. Any possible roadblocks to our case would be discovered this week BEFORE court and resolved sufficiently BEFORE court.
7. Micah will be healthy as he waits for us to come pick him up :) Pray specifically that he will not have or be healed from giardia, scabies, lice, ear infections, or upper respiratory infections (all common)
8. The Lord would prepare Micah to leave the nannies, nurses, children and home he has been in for almost 5 months, and that we would be sensitive to his transition and be able to comfort him.
9. We will wait patiently and be prepared for any outcome.

Thank you praying friends! I can't wait to post his picture when we pass court!

February Update on Micah

Tonight we received an update on how Micah is doing at the orphanage in Africa. Our agency sent us three pictures! Last month we just got one so three is so great! He is growing so big! He looks like our son but definitely has changed quite a bit! The best part is his full head of hair - I love it! He has tiny curls on the top of his head and his hair is fine, rather than coarse. He looks like a miniature man - LOL I did see a few fat rolls - so momma is pleased :) I just hope he doesn't grow out of all the clothes I have hung up in his closet too soon - I'll just have to change him multiple times a day for the first month so he can sport all the cute outfits.

Of measurements I cannot post details, but he has gained 1.5 pounds in the last month which is GREAT! He is no longer on American formula though since our orphanage ran out of teh donated American formula and has to use Ethiopian formula. We are taking formula donations to the orphanage where he is staying so let us know if you would like to contribute. Hopefully he will continue to gain weight until Momma arrives with Similac and loving arms.

The nannies commented on his personality saying:
he smiles a lot and only cries when he is hungry or has a dirty diaper

His disposition in ALL our photos is content and happy. He seems at peace with the world.

The nurse also said that he can lift his head up when place on his tummy (which I saw in a photo - soooo cute!) and that he is trying to roll over - watch out world! He has a spirited demeanor and looks like he can't wait until he can move and discover the world!

It's hard to explain how it feels to see his picture after a month of no pictures. It is an odd feeling to describe how I look at his photos from the past two months as if he still looks that way and get a photo today of him a month older - obviously thriving very well and growing up into a big 5 month old! He blew me away - he is the cutest baby, our son!

A little over 2 weeks away until our court date - and approximately 4 weeks until our "tentative" travel (traveling IF we pass court - meaning all the paperwork needs to be to the judge's liking with all signatures in place and in order)

Micah, baby, we're coming! We love you!!

Getting ready!