He's Officially Ours!!!

I went to bed Tuesday night with a surprising amount of peace. All of my dear friends and family assured me that they would be praying for the positive outcome of our court date which would be taking place as we slept. To be honest, I didn't really have any great faith that we would pass court the first time around. However, I did consider the fact that the two families who had court dates before me had failed and, being that we're told we have a 50% chance of passing the first time, I figured the odds were a little more in our favor. Still, having come this far in the adoption process, I am no stranger to disappointment anymore. I didn't expect to be exempt in this case either. We woke up Wednesday morning knowing that the verdict had already been given and we would simply have to wait until we were contacted to find out what it was. I went to work with the hopes that I could remain very busy and distracted as I didn't expect to be hearing anything until the late afternoon. To my surprise, I saw a call coming in from my case worker at 12 noon. I felt the familiar turning of my stomach that happened when I realized I was getting my referral call. After going through some polite salutations I paused to give her the green light..."You passed court, Susan. Congratulations. He's officially your son."...TEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To be honest, I hadn't really anticipated what it was going to feel like when I learned he was ours. And, to my surprise, the tears that began with that afternoon phone call, didn't end until late that night. I simply could not stop crying. It was as though all of the waiting, worrying, discouragements and disappointments that I experienced over the past 12 months were just working their way out of my system. He was ours. It was finally over. Now we are waiting to have our travel dates confirmed. I'm praying we'll be able to go with a travel group scheduled for April 4th...Easter Sunday!!! In the meantime, we'll be looking for the assembly directions and kit of nuts and screws for Levi's new crib....that Brian lost today :)

We Have A Court Date!

Wow, things are really starting to move in this whole process. Today we received a call from our case worker and were given the good news that we had a court date set for February 24th. That's in a week!!! Of course, all of the disclaimers were given about the the 50 percent chance we had at passing the first time around. The adoption process just really doesn't give you anything easy. We're going to have to fight in prayer until we finally get that little guy in our arms. Well, we're fighting. He's more than worth it. If we pass on the 24th, we might possibly be able to travel to Ethiopia on March 22nd. I'm in awe that we've made it this far. Just a little longer........

Oh, Those Sweet Eyes!

Since we're not allowed to put a full-face picture of our little guy on any public site, I'll give you all this little tease. :)