We got our weekly update from CHI and it was quite long and wordy.  There was definitely one thing that made me nervous and one thing that made me excited.  I’m not sure what to think really.   Let’s start with the good news- all of the families that have referrals should be getting a DVD in the mail soon.  Since we have never seen the boys in action (just in pictures) we are quite excited about that- I’ll probably cry though and feel even more attached and frustrated by the wait after watching it, but I guess I’ll just have to watch it every day until they really are home. 

We will not get any new photo or measurement updates for a while, but we’ve waited forever for our first pictures and our 2nd measurement updates so we’re used to this.

AWOP is working on the back-up plan and it sounds like all the kids waiting for court dates (60 plus) are going to be moved to orphanages in the city (4-5 hours from where they are now), along with their paperwork within the next 3-4 weeks.  It will realistically take 3-4 weeks because there are so many details to work out, it is such a long trip to the city, and there are so many children to be moved.  

The things that make me nervous are:  What will the orphanage be like that the boys get moved to?   Will the caretakers be as good?  Will the facility be as nice? Will this cause more attachment and adjustment problems in the long run?  It’s been so nice that they have been in one place, with all the same kids who are waiting.  I wonder how many of them will end up together and how many orphanages there are that they are all being moved to.   After going through this wait so long, we have connected with many waiting families.  It will be sad if all of our kids get split up at this point. 

This is about all we know.  This basically means we won’t get a court date until at least June since they are into May dates already and since it will be at least a few more weeks until the kids and their paperwork are transfered.  We’ll update more as we get it! 

Today we got an email with updated measurements on the boys.  Elijah is 63 centimeters long or 24.8 inches and Jonah is 64 centimeters long or 25.2 inches.  They both have a 9 centimeter foot length, which is approximately 3.5 inches.  Their head circumference is 42.5 centimeters or 16.7 inches.  We should be getting an updated weight next week I guess.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring some news on the license or court dates or something exciting at least! 

Hello again!

The boys are now 7 1/2 months old.  It’s unbelievable how time passes so quickly and how not much can change in a good amount of time.  A few updates for you:

*The emails we have received have been short.  We got a few pictures of the new orphanage that Michelle would be moving the kids to in Addis….it looked really nice! 

*Michelle did make her trip to Ethiopia.  We got a few emails from CHI while she was there and shortly after she returned, but they were all quite short with no real information.  You get so excited to see an email in your inbox and then open it to be disappointed or more frustrated.  While she was there, we think she moved the kids from the Hosanna House to the new orphanage (not sure of its name).   This was one of her big things Michelle wanted to get done, but we haven’t officially been told that they have moved.  I’ll have to email about that.  She also had the difficult job of trying to get the one part of the orphanage license renewed (the actual license is a 3 year license and didn’t expire until 2010, but one part of it needed to be renewed).  Two out of the three things that needed to be done for this to happen did happen while she was in Ethiopia.  Everyone waiting for a court date was a bit disappointed of the news that this wasn’t taken care of.  The third step was completed this past week and we are all just hoping that the license will be taken care of any time!  Michelle did come up with a back-up plan just in case to expedite the process of getting all these waiting families court dates and to get all these waiting children into their forever families sooner!   

*It was a tough week of not so good news, but it ended on a high note when I opened my email on Friday night to see we had gotten pictures of the boys!  Michelle did manage to get quite a few while she was there, along with delivering our gift to the boys.  All I can say is WOW!  They are still little, but have grown and changed SO much since we saw them last at 6-7 weeks of age.  They now have the cutest curly hair and are looking more and more alike.  I wasn’t sure if I could tell them apart at first, but now that I look at them over and over, Jonah has a more round face with lighter skin and lips and Elijah has a more defined face with darker skin and lips.  From the eyes up, they look identical!  They were adorable and looked healthy and happy, which we are so thankful for!  This was a blessing that will help us get through all of these delays.   We should get a height and weight update this week I guess.   The only hard part of seeing their pictures was that we wanted them to be home that much more!  Once we pass court, we can post them on our blog.

*Hopefully we’ll find out if the license was taken care or if we will be going with the back-up plan for receiving a court date sometime this week or next.  The bad news is that they are already into early May court dates (upsetting and frustrating, I know)!   We are wondering if they will even be home for their first birthday now…we can only pray that they will be!  We would have never in a million years have thought that could happen, but adoption is full of bumps in the road and surprises, that’s for sure!  Michelle did say one thing in an email to us that was exactly right:  “This will just make you want to hug your children that much more tighter when you get them!”  That we will!

Hopefully we will have even better news soon!   We can still use the prayers to help bring our boys home!