HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALINAJAYNE-02/01/10!

Today our girl turns 5! I can hardly believe it. It seems like just yesterday we were receiving our referral from China, for a "baby girl who just turned 13 months old."

We baked cupcakes for her school snack on Monday. Well, I baked and frosted, and AlinaJayne was in charge of the detail work-like the sprinkles and conversations hearts. I think they turned out pretty cute :O)

Time sure does fly. I keep telling her that I want her to stay little forever, that I want her to be my baby girl just a little longer. But she reminds me "Mama, I've got to grow up, I can't stay little forever."

She is right. So I cherish these fleeting moments.

We love you our sweet girl!

We'll post more pics later-small party for Grandparents on Saturday.

Here's the scoop

Here's the scoop on this seemingly never-ending adoption process.

Chaltu was supposed to have her day in court on January 6th. None of the cases scheduled for that week were heard. Some were re-scheduled for February 1st, some were "pending." Ours was allegedly re-scheduled for January 14th.

January 14th came and went, and you guessed it-no news. Was her case heard? Wasn't it heard? Did it pass? Did it fail? Our agency said "they did not know anything. Period.

Being "seasoned" adoptive parents, we tried to sit back and be patient. However when other families found out Monday that they had court dates THIS Wednesday January 27th, and then they passed (praise God for those families and their great news), we decided it was time to make some noise.

Matt called our agency Thursday and once again, he was told they did not know anything, and that a lot of families were in this limbo that we are, but for a lot longer. He pressed the issue. Was the case heard on January 14th? If it did not pass, why? When might it be re-scheduled? The agency rep said she'd contact the attorney in Ethiopia to see what she could find out.

Turns out, there was some documentation missing from the file (nothing we missed, on Ethiopia's end) and that the case was scheduled to be heard again on Monday February 1st...........AlinaJayne's 5th birthday!

Could be an even more exciting day than usual.

Praying for God's perfect timing.

Miss you Mom.......................

"May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, May the rains fall soft upon your fields, And, until we meet again, May God hold you in the Palm of His hand." Miss you Mom, more than you can ever know......Jayne Anne Keaton (Alderman)
08/25/1948-01/18/2000..................

Ten years ago today, my Mom went home to be with our Lord and Savior. I miss her more than anyone can imagine.

No word whatsoever about whether or not our case was heard in court on 1/14.

Will post when we know something.

No Dice.................

We found out on Wednesday that there was no good news-we did not pass court. That is all our agency knew as of the close of business. They knew if the other families who were also scheduled for a court hearing had failed, were pending, or were re-scheduled-but did not know what *our* status was! Not a lot of useful information :O(

We did find out today that none of the cases that were supposed to be heard this week actually passed. It seems they were all missing required letters from the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA).

Our case has been re-scheduled for January 14th.

Stay tuned.

Oh, and Merry Christmas (Melkam Gena). It is Christmas in Ethiopia.

Wednesday 01/06/10

Wednesday will be a big day for us. This is the day that Chaltu's case is heard in court in Ethiopia. *IF* we pass, we will be her legal parents, and can move forward with the adoption process.

On top of that, our USCIS (Immigration) fingerprints are being re-taken on the same day. Nothing is wrong, they need to be updated every 15 mos until and adoption is completed, so this is the day the government randomly assigned to us for our appointment. Funny these two major events ended up happening on the exact same day-a half a world apart, and without our input.

Coincidence? I think not.

Please pray for positive outcomes for all of us~once we have been notified that we have passed court, we can post pics! YEAH! We just saw three new ones of her today-all the kiddos lined up on potties for a bathroom break. Too cute! Looks like her hair is coming in nicely-and it is all TIGHT curls. I am not even going to TRY to figure it out-I am asking Auntie Dawn for her help!

Check back soon :O)