Now that we are home from our court trip, we start the waiting game again. I think this is probably the hardest part for most families. We've met our kids, we've "passed" court -- they are now legally our children, but we have to wait to bring them home.
Leaving the twins wasn't as hard as we thought it would be. I think the fact that we were pretty busy after we left Harar and headed back to Addis Ababa helped. It's now that we are home that I am really starting to miss the twins. With everything I do, I imagine how different my life will be with 2 more kid in tow. The other day when we went to vote, I was thinking, "I don't think I could do this with four kids with me." So, from that perspective, I am really trying to enjoy these last few months as a family of four.
We have been busy getting things ready for the twins. Matt has been a rock star finishing the basement. I am so amazed and impressed at how handy he is. He has done almost all the work himself and it looks great. Everything is pretty much done in the basement except for trim and doors. The kids have helped us to put together IKEA bookshelves for the office and for their toy room. It really amazes me to see how many toys these two kids have -- especially because they rarely play with toys!
Michael and Liliana are going to move into the extra bedroom upstairs that has been our office. We bought the kids new bedding for their new room, which they are very excited about. We still have to put together their closet organizer and paint the walls. Then, they'll be ready to move in. We are trying to time it with Liliana's birthday. When we gave the kids their bunk beds for Christmas last year, we put Michael on top since he is older. We told Liliana when she turns 4 she could move up to the top. She is very excited about moving into her new room AND getting to be on the top bunk!
The twins will be in Michael and Liliana's old room. We need to touch up the paint in there, but besides that it really is "move-in ready." The twins will be in cribs when they first get home before we move them into regular beds. The plan is, about a year after the twins have been home, to switch the kids so they are boys together and girls together.
Hopefully all the things we need to get done before the twins come home will keep us busy enough that we don't go stir crazy waiting! There are several things that need to happen before our "pick-up/Embassy" trip.
The first thing we need is a letter from MOWA (The Ministry of Women's Affairs in Ethiopia) saying that they recommend us for adoption. This letter is supposed to be at court when we come for our hearing, but is rarely ready in time. The judge at court said that we are approved to adopt Sammy and Sadie and she will issue our Court Decree (declaring that we are legally Sammy and Sadie's parents) once she receives the MOWA letter. This letter usually shows up a few days after court, up to a month after court. It has been about 10 days since our court hearing. We are praying we get that letter sooner, rather than later.
Once the judge has the MOWA letter, she will issue the Court Decree. Once our agency has these two letters, they will submit the information to someone else at some other office to get new birth certificates for the twins with their new legal names (their names will be Samuel Matthew Hawks and Sadie Matthew Hawks until we get them home and change their names here). Once the agency has their new birth certificates, then they apply for Ethiopian passports. At this point, the twins will be moved from the care center in Harar to the care center in Addis because they need to be present to get their passports. I am not 100% positive on this, but once the agency has their passports, I think we will then be submitted to the Embassy for review.
The US Embassy in Ethiopia will review all of our paperwork from court and that has been collected since court. They will also have the twins go for a medical exam and the birth mother will have to come back to Addis for the final interview by the US Embassy. Once all this is done and approved, the Embassy will contact us with a list of dates that we can come for our interview with the Embassy. This is the last step! Once we speak with the Embassy, they will issue immigration paperwork and Visas for the twins and we can come home. Phew!
It doesn't really sound like that many steps or like it would be that hard to complete, but it really is quite complicated. Each step has to be done in order. There is often only one person who can do each step. If that person is gone, then we have to wait. There are often mistakes on the paperwork as well. If something needs to be corrected it can take weeks to be fixed.
All that to say, we are praying and trusting God with our adoption time line. It truly takes all my energy not to get obsessed with the details and sit by my email all day waiting for confirmation that we completed some step in the process. God chose these twins to be in our family. We are choosing to trust Him with the adoption, even to the very last step. We know He has a great plan for our family and we have to trust that everything will work out perfectly according to His will for our family.
If you would like to join us in prayer for the process, that would be much appreciated. We are praying and believing that these sweet babies will be home by the end of the year. It will take a mighty work of God's hand for it to happen and we are praying boldly that it will. We covet your prayers for our Sammy and Sadie and God's plan for their becoming a part of our forever family.
"The Lord will work out His plans for my life." --Psalm 138:8
Leaving the twins wasn't as hard as we thought it would be. I think the fact that we were pretty busy after we left Harar and headed back to Addis Ababa helped. It's now that we are home that I am really starting to miss the twins. With everything I do, I imagine how different my life will be with 2 more kid in tow. The other day when we went to vote, I was thinking, "I don't think I could do this with four kids with me." So, from that perspective, I am really trying to enjoy these last few months as a family of four.
We have been busy getting things ready for the twins. Matt has been a rock star finishing the basement. I am so amazed and impressed at how handy he is. He has done almost all the work himself and it looks great. Everything is pretty much done in the basement except for trim and doors. The kids have helped us to put together IKEA bookshelves for the office and for their toy room. It really amazes me to see how many toys these two kids have -- especially because they rarely play with toys!
Michael and Liliana are going to move into the extra bedroom upstairs that has been our office. We bought the kids new bedding for their new room, which they are very excited about. We still have to put together their closet organizer and paint the walls. Then, they'll be ready to move in. We are trying to time it with Liliana's birthday. When we gave the kids their bunk beds for Christmas last year, we put Michael on top since he is older. We told Liliana when she turns 4 she could move up to the top. She is very excited about moving into her new room AND getting to be on the top bunk!
The twins will be in Michael and Liliana's old room. We need to touch up the paint in there, but besides that it really is "move-in ready." The twins will be in cribs when they first get home before we move them into regular beds. The plan is, about a year after the twins have been home, to switch the kids so they are boys together and girls together.
Hopefully all the things we need to get done before the twins come home will keep us busy enough that we don't go stir crazy waiting! There are several things that need to happen before our "pick-up/Embassy" trip.
The first thing we need is a letter from MOWA (The Ministry of Women's Affairs in Ethiopia) saying that they recommend us for adoption. This letter is supposed to be at court when we come for our hearing, but is rarely ready in time. The judge at court said that we are approved to adopt Sammy and Sadie and she will issue our Court Decree (declaring that we are legally Sammy and Sadie's parents) once she receives the MOWA letter. This letter usually shows up a few days after court, up to a month after court. It has been about 10 days since our court hearing. We are praying we get that letter sooner, rather than later.
Once the judge has the MOWA letter, she will issue the Court Decree. Once our agency has these two letters, they will submit the information to someone else at some other office to get new birth certificates for the twins with their new legal names (their names will be Samuel Matthew Hawks and Sadie Matthew Hawks until we get them home and change their names here). Once the agency has their new birth certificates, then they apply for Ethiopian passports. At this point, the twins will be moved from the care center in Harar to the care center in Addis because they need to be present to get their passports. I am not 100% positive on this, but once the agency has their passports, I think we will then be submitted to the Embassy for review.
The US Embassy in Ethiopia will review all of our paperwork from court and that has been collected since court. They will also have the twins go for a medical exam and the birth mother will have to come back to Addis for the final interview by the US Embassy. Once all this is done and approved, the Embassy will contact us with a list of dates that we can come for our interview with the Embassy. This is the last step! Once we speak with the Embassy, they will issue immigration paperwork and Visas for the twins and we can come home. Phew!
It doesn't really sound like that many steps or like it would be that hard to complete, but it really is quite complicated. Each step has to be done in order. There is often only one person who can do each step. If that person is gone, then we have to wait. There are often mistakes on the paperwork as well. If something needs to be corrected it can take weeks to be fixed.
All that to say, we are praying and trusting God with our adoption time line. It truly takes all my energy not to get obsessed with the details and sit by my email all day waiting for confirmation that we completed some step in the process. God chose these twins to be in our family. We are choosing to trust Him with the adoption, even to the very last step. We know He has a great plan for our family and we have to trust that everything will work out perfectly according to His will for our family.
If you would like to join us in prayer for the process, that would be much appreciated. We are praying and believing that these sweet babies will be home by the end of the year. It will take a mighty work of God's hand for it to happen and we are praying boldly that it will. We covet your prayers for our Sammy and Sadie and God's plan for their becoming a part of our forever family.
"The Lord will work out His plans for my life." --Psalm 138:8
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