One More Day!

Hopefully by this time tomorrow, we'll have good news about the courts and will be able to post Ava's photos on our blog. I was worried that the weeks would drag by as we wait for court, but things have been so busy around here, the 12th has just zoomed up on us.

We have had Olivia home with the swine flu, our dog has been diagnosed with bladder stones (for a second time), and Madeline had to come home from school today with pink eye. So that, on top of our usual stuff, has made the time fly by.

We need some good news and we hope we'll get that tomorrow.

Please PRAY tonight as you go to sleep for our little Ava and her court date. It will be Thursday morning there and we need the judge to be in a good mood, the paperwork to be complete, and the birthmom to be present. Lots of things need to be in order!!!!! We are ready to have Ava here with us!

Just a little info about Ava

The family who was behind us on the waiting list to receive a referral for a little girl has traveled over to Ethiopia to visit their daughter (they have not passed court yet, so cannot bring her back with them). Anyway, Kristin (the mom) wrote me an email today about Ava. It is so exciting to hear how she is doing. I am so thankful to Kristin for taking time out of her trip to spend a moment with Ava and take some photos for us. Here is part of the email she sent:

Staci,

Ava is spectacular! We got several pictures of her today – of course she grinned every time after the click of the camera. She is absolutely adorable – incredibly alert. We had her outside and she turned her head to see everything and at every voice. A real beauty. She seemed quite healthy – may be the only kid there without a horribly runny nose.

Orphan Sunday - November 8, 2009

One Week from Today!

One week from today we will know if we have passed court and if Ava is a Jarvie forever! The excitement in the house is building as we look at the calendar and November 12th has COURT DATE in big, bold letters. We are cautiously optimistic, but we know there is that chance that we won't pass on the first try.

I have thought a great deal about Ava's birthmother this week. What is she thinking about as she prepares to (hopefully) make the trip to Addis Ababa for the court hearing? Does she feel relief that her daughter will be raised by a loving family in the United States? Is she sad that she will no longer have the option of seeing her daughter? I can't help but think she is filled with all kinds of emotions and thoughts........I wish I could tell her that her daughter will grow up with loving parents and sisters. I wish I could hug her and tell her how much courage she has. I read this poem often and know there will always be a connection between Ava's birthmother and our family.

LEGACY OF AN ADOPTED CHILD

Once there were two women who never knew each other

One you do not remember, the other you call Mother

Two different lives shaped to make you one

One became your guiding star, the other became your sun

The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it

The first gave you a need for love, the second was there to give it

One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name

One gave you a talent, the other gave you aim

One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears

One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried you tears

One made an adoption plan, that was all that she could do

The other prayed for a child, and God led her straight to you.

Now, which of these two women, Are you the product of?

Both, my darling, Both, Just two different types of love.

---- Unknown

We Have A Court Date!

Our agency emailed us yesterday to inform us that our court date for Ava is November 12th! This was great news!!!!! We had thought since we hadn't heard anything about a court date at this point, that we would be assigned a date in December or even later.

The court date is an important step in the adoption process because that is when Ava will legally become our child and be a Jarvie forever! We do not have to be present for the court date....we have signed a power of attorney form so that our agency can stand in for us.

In order for us to pass court we need a couple things to be in place:

1. All paperwork (dossier, agency paperwork, orphanage paperwork) must be complete and correct. If anything is missing or wrong, we do not pass.

2. Ava's birthmother must attend the court date. If she does not show up, we do not pass.

Our agency has told us we have a 50/50 chance of passing this first time. If we do not pass on Nov. 12th, then we will be assigned another court date 4-6 weeks later and we try all over again to pass court. I know families that have passed the first time and I know families that have had many court dates. Let's hope we are in the 50% that pass the first time!!!!

If we pass, then we could travel 4 weeks later, which would be BEFORE Christmas. That would be the best Christmas gift we could ask for. There is also a chance we could pass, but travel after Christmas. Obviously, we wait and see how it all works out!

I am a big believer in the power of prayer, so please PRAY that everything is in order for our Nov. 12th court date!!!!!

Once we pass, we will post photos of her on our blog.

Whew, hope that wasn't too confusing!

Fortune Cookie

The courts opened yesterday in Ethiopia and some families have been assigned court dates already! This is very encouraging and we hope to hear something soon!

Tonight we ordered Chinese take-out for dinner. Madeline's fortune was great! It said "Happy event will take place shortly in your home." I am going to interpret that as we'll be passing court soon. The day we pass court will be a "happy event in our home" because Ava will legally become our child at that point. I think we need to eat fortune cookies more often........that fortune put me in a great mood!

Court delayed and a little shopping!

The Ethiopian courts were supposed to open Oct 6th. That was delayed until Oct 12th. Today we received an email that they did not open today, but should be opening tomorrow. This type of thing used to frustrate me, but now I have come to realize this is just they way they operate. We hope to hear something soon about our court date.

The girls and I did a little shopping for Ava over the weekend. We purchased a stroller and car seat!!!! It is beginning to feel like Ava will actually be here soon. Olivia has been rolling the stroller all around the house "testing it out"!

We were able to send in 5 questions about Ava to our agency. Each month, they will answer our questions and send us updated photos. So, we asked basic things this month.....such as her development, eating schedule, sleeping schedule and updated measurements for her weight, height, etc. I am hoping we won't have to send questions for long and that soon she will be home with us.