Embassy date

I found out yesterday that we've been scheduled for the embassy on May 6. So my mother and I will be leaving on May 1, meet Semira on the 4th, and start our journey home on the 8th. I was really hoping for an embassy date of April 22, but it just didn't work out that way. I think the delay with court made it difficult for them to get all of the paperwork done to get us ready for the embassy appointment by then. So I'll be waiting an extra 2 weeks to bring little Semira home.

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!!

I got a call from Allison at 9am today... I passed court!!! I'm now officially Semira's mommy!!! I'm hoping to leave in about 3 weeks to go and get her, but I haven't heard the official word on that yet.

YIPPPPEEEEE!!!

Waiting...

Still nothing. This is an abridged version of an email from Allison today.

...been trying to call the staff in Ethiopia via telephone, and that hasn't been successful, but we are still in daily email contact with them. They have not heard from MOWA about rescheduling the dates - at this point they really aren't giving us any information about when they plan to reschedule. I promise that we are asking the Ethiopian staff every day about the rescheduled court appointments, and that they are doing everything they can to get answers for us. ...this is NOT something on the back burner for any of us.

So I'm waiting. I think I used up all of my patience and calmness before Monday. I'm a little antsy.

No word

Allison said today that they were unable to get in touch with their staff in Ethiopia, so we're still waiting.

I had my first baby shower today. It was organized by my geology majors. They had one of our lab rooms decorated with balloons and pink and green table cloths, and they'd made all of the great food for the event. I think there were about 15 people there. One of the neatest gifts Semira got was an inflatable tub (that you put in the big tub) shaped like a duck. He even quacks when you squeeze his bill. Aside from that, she got a couple of swimsuits, toys for the pool, a Diaper Genie II, lots of cute clothes, and even a tiny little pair of Crocs. Again, I'm overwhelmed by the generosity of people.

Argghhh!

I got a call from Allison about an hour ago. There was evidently a power failure in Addis Abeba this morning, so "decisions" on our cases couldn't be forwarded to the court from the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA). So there was no court today. For anyone. It's now evening there, so nothing more today. But the adoption agency's facilitator was told that they will get these cases heard as soon as possible. I don't know if that means tomorrow, later this week, next week, or next month.

Not much sleep tonight

Tomorrow is the big day... our court date! I'm up late not necessarily because I want to be. I'm having a hard time settling down to go to sleep. If all goes well, in a few hours I will legally be Semira's mommy. This is one of those big days that changes your life forever. You don't have many of those in your life. Not ones that you recognize at the time anyway. Thinking back on those life-changing days, I can really only count a few. The awful Christmas Eve my dad was diagnosed with cancer. The night he died. The day I decided to put my needs first and buy my first house, which corresponded with the day I decided to end a long-term relationship I finally realized was going nowhere. The day I turned in the final draft of my dissertation. Waking up on my PhD graduation day in Hawaii anticipating a gorgeous day of diving with my boyfriend at the time (way more fun than another graduation ceremony). The day of my unconventional interview for my teaching job. The phone call notifying me I was chosen to be an intern at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

This will definitely be another one of those life-changing days. Semira's Grandpa Ron would be so happy. He's been gone for almost 10 years but some days you feel the loss more than others. This is one of those days.

My phone is plugged in and charging in anticipation of a call in the morning. I'll post news as soon as I get it. I'm off to bed with my girls (the dogs).

One more week...

Our court date is one week from today! Hopefully by this time next Monday I'll have heard the results and can start planning my trip to bring Semira home.