Our Pearl of Africa

Correction: The private posts are password protected with the old password. I guess it really didn’t make sense to change it again.

Today we drove to Oklahoma City to get fingerprinted as part of our adoption process. To be honest I have no clue why this is necessary, but they told me I have to do it and I do what I have to do. The results of this fingerprint test will give us the INS or USCIS approval to adopt a child from a foreign country.

For the kids’ scrapbook I took this photo out the window of the van. I think the nuns might have thought I was taking a picture of them. It was a little awkward.

I was a little worried that the fish hook in my finger incident might affect the readability of my fingerprints but they didn’t say anything about it so neither did I.

Afterwards we found this neat little Ethiopian restaurant and experienced ourselves some African culture in honor of our soon-to-be daughters and son from Africa. I will say, it was pretty good, much better than I imagined it would be in fact, but it was a little bit of sensory overload for me. It was very flavorful and tangy, which I liked, but the textures were…well lumpy and squishy, and well, different. I don’t quite know what I am trying to say.

Let’s just say I can imagine that our kids will probably have quite the shock trying out “our” food here.
Can you read this? It tells a little bit about Ethiopian dining practices. Interesting.

We had kind of a sample platter with beef, chicken, lamb, potatoes, green beans and salad. There are no utensils. You use the injera, a type of Ethiopian bread similar to a pancake, to scoop up the food and eat it.

Overall it was a great day, and we are one step closer to bringing our kids home.

We got another DVD in the mail today of the kids. What a treasure these have been! In it the older two kids are being asked about their favorite things and what they want to be when they grow up. I thought it was interesting that Sifen (the oldest girl) answered (through a translator) that she wanted to be a doctor when she grows up. She also said she wants to play soccer and that her favorite food is spaghetti. Jordanos said that he loves to play cars and that he also loves spaghetti. Sweet. I also found it interesting that the video showed the kids’ doctor’s visit, and in it they were in their birthday suits. I thought it was pretty sweet. The video ended with many of the kids in the orphanages singing together, doing hand motions. Of course I couldn’t understand the songs but I did hear “Halleluyah” and “Yay-sus”, which was really neat!! I’m thankful to know they have been taught about Jesus where they are. Jesus will be our common bond.

Our dossier should be authenticated within the next week or so, then it will be on its way to Ethiopia to be translated shortly after that. We have been told to expect 4-6 months between the time the dossier is shipped overseas and the time we will be able to bring the kids home. That should give us some time to hunt for bargains on bunk beds and read up on how to adopt older and special needs children who are from another country and speak a different language than you. Fun times ahead.

Our FBI appointment for fingerprinting is this Friday in Oklahoma City. Looking forward to hanging out for a few hours without kids with my best friend and the love of my life, the one who was brave enough to embark on this journey with me. I love him dearly.

I hear there is an Ethiopian restaurant in town that we will most certainly want to go try out. I hope I remember to take my camera.

I just posted photos. The password is still the same. Let me know if you need it. Email me charissaurban@yahoo.com

Last time I posted here I mentioned the DVD we had received (quite unexpectedly) from the orphanage. I also mentioned the older girl in the video who was so tender and nurturing and affectionate towards our little one, and I mentioned how my heart was breaking at the thought of separating them. I half joked that maybe we could adopt her too. However I knew that wouldn’t happen because the girls were already outnumbering the boys, and because we were only approved to adopt children up to age 8.

However, our family watched the DVD over and over again, and the more we watched it the more we all loved her. (Even the boys.:)) John asked me to inquire about her and I did. Turns out she is 9. Also turns out she is every bit as loving and nurturing as she seems.

And……great news for the boys……it turns out she has a 5 year old brother!!

One phone call to our agency later, and a letter from our home study provider revising the age approval on our home study…………..and we are now approved to adopt all three.

Good thing we have that 12 passenger van. I’m going to have 8 kids age 11,9,9,8,5,5,5,2……OH MY goodness. I can’t wait!

(And I know you are asking yourselves if this is going to be it….the answer is yes, this is most likely going to be it for us! And no more farm animals either!! I think we have enough to keep us busy for awhile)

It was a great day at the mailbox today! Not only did the state seals come less than a week after I requested them, I was surprised by a DVD from the orphanage. In every photo I’ve seen previously S. has looked SO sad. But in the video I saw of her today she was playful, giggling and happy. She looks healthier too compared to the first pictures we saw of her.

I have to admit, seeing her so happy was bittersweet for me. Will she be as happy here? Maybe she won’t love us as much as we love her? Maybe she would rather stay in Ethiopia? In the video we saw she was being carried around by an older orphan girl, maybe 11 or 12? They were spinning around and kissing each other and giggling. My heart broke at the thought of separating them, wondering what would become of the older girl and how hard it must be for her every time a little one leaves to America to his or her new family. I wonder if she will ever have a family of her own? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every child had a family?

We watched the video over and over again. My kids must have had the same thoughts and feelings I did. Their solution? Mom, we should adopt the older girl too! Funny I was thinking the same thing.

Tomorrow we will send the completed dossier to Washington D.C. to be authenticated. In a couple of weeks it should be off to Ethiopia on its way to be translated. We have been told we could have a court date sometime this year. But I know better than to get my hopes up.

What is wrong with me???? I just noticed it’s been an entire month since I updated this blog.

Well all is still well with the adoption process. The home study took a little longer than expected due to a background check we had to wait on. However, we are now homestudy approved! Next up: state seals, authentication, fingerprints for INS approval….