We were startled yesterday morning into a deeper sense reality of our process. Neither Lori nor I were prepared for what we read in a post on a private blog by a fellow new mother on the ground in Addis Ababa.
In spirited detail, we read that a last minute immigration appointment had been secured and that four children were ready to go, dressed to the nines. Adugna Christopher Grant was in the van as one of the babies going to the appointment. Apparently he was the first to finish his bottle in the "bottle race" and won hands down!
At the immigration office, he was in queue with those seeking immigration and a passport to the United States. He was brought to the window with his volunteer and his prepared file was opened and there it was . . . his official birth certificate and adoption paperwork. This is a significant step in the process and one that we thought was weeks away.
The birth certificate had his name, Adugna Christopher Grant, and named Lori and I as his adoptive parents. His birth date was stated as June 20, 2009 (three days after the anniversary of the day Lori and I first met and the date of our engagement).
Let me lay out the next steps, it’s only one. We are waiting for our visa appointment date to be set at the US Embassy in Addis Ababa. Once set, we travel to be there for that date. The embassy sees cases every other Wednesday for our agency. We're hoping for either April 7th or 21st. Pray that we get the right appointment in time.
The reality is setting in and with it a heightened level of energy to get everything ready for his arrival at home.
We continue to get exciting news about Adugna. He is a favorite of the volunteers, described as happy, engaged and a strong eater, crier and sleeper – sounds perfect to us.
And for the first time, we can say that today is his nine-month birthday.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
OUT OF THE BLUE!
Out of the blue we got noticed that our case had been reviewed by the courts and WE PASSED!!!!! The party is on tonight at our house at 7:00pm. Everything is here except you and yours so join us!!!!
Nothing makes me happier than getting a second chance in life. How many times, I have been in circumstances when I wished I could have had a “do-over”. How many times have I said, “If I knew then what I know now” - that yearning for one more spin on the carousel of life to grab the brass ring. A second chance at life.
Adugna means fate or fortune. His is a name from the Shashemene area of Ethiopia, the ancestral home of the Rastafarians. I hope that we can live up to that definition and ensure that his fate has been fortune. A second chance for Ethiopia.
Jackson, is his middle name and one that has deep meaning to us. A standout person in our lives is Lori’s dad, John, or Jack as he is known to family and friends. Jack stands as a testimony to second chances. His own life has had many twists and turns and he understands what a second chance means. However, Jack never settled for the blessings of second chances in just his own life and has always found ways to give others a second chance - particularly through his mentoring and tutoring. Jackson is a blessing that we want to give Adugna and to graft him into the best second chance we know. Jackson, a second chance legacy.
Grant, is a common name - but not so much in our family. After 11 grandchildren, none of them will carry on the Grant name to the next generation - just the way life happens. So, it is with great comedic irony that the twelfth grandchild who will be carrying on the Grant name into the future, is Adugna. He carries with him, the joy and unconditional love of a family that sees the world as a broad canvas of hope and opportunity. A second chance for the future.
Adugna Jackson Grant. Our son. Our family. Our Prayer, Our Hope and our Love.
Nothing makes me happier than getting a second chance in life. How many times, I have been in circumstances when I wished I could have had a “do-over”. How many times have I said, “If I knew then what I know now” - that yearning for one more spin on the carousel of life to grab the brass ring. A second chance at life.
Adugna means fate or fortune. His is a name from the Shashemene area of Ethiopia, the ancestral home of the Rastafarians. I hope that we can live up to that definition and ensure that his fate has been fortune. A second chance for Ethiopia.
Jackson, is his middle name and one that has deep meaning to us. A standout person in our lives is Lori’s dad, John, or Jack as he is known to family and friends. Jack stands as a testimony to second chances. His own life has had many twists and turns and he understands what a second chance means. However, Jack never settled for the blessings of second chances in just his own life and has always found ways to give others a second chance - particularly through his mentoring and tutoring. Jackson is a blessing that we want to give Adugna and to graft him into the best second chance we know. Jackson, a second chance legacy.
Grant, is a common name - but not so much in our family. After 11 grandchildren, none of them will carry on the Grant name to the next generation - just the way life happens. So, it is with great comedic irony that the twelfth grandchild who will be carrying on the Grant name into the future, is Adugna. He carries with him, the joy and unconditional love of a family that sees the world as a broad canvas of hope and opportunity. A second chance for the future.
Adugna Jackson Grant. Our son. Our family. Our Prayer, Our Hope and our Love.
A little black cloud
A little black cloud has passed over the City of Glendale……
Our court date has been suspended this Thursday due to delays with the Ministry of Womens Service Administration, who is responsible for certain papers to be signed in each adoption case. These kinds of set backs are common and highlight the roller coaster ride of international adoption.
So, we are changing our prediction from 60% to 0% for this Thursday and will let everyone know when we are back in the queue.
However, don't stop the prayers and candles from burning. Lori and I derive an enormous amount of comfort and peace from your prayers and kind thoughts and can only imagine that Adugna does too.
So keep our little family-to-be in your thoughts and we'll update you as events develop.
Our court date has been suspended this Thursday due to delays with the Ministry of Womens Service Administration, who is responsible for certain papers to be signed in each adoption case. These kinds of set backs are common and highlight the roller coaster ride of international adoption.
So, we are changing our prediction from 60% to 0% for this Thursday and will let everyone know when we are back in the queue.
However, don't stop the prayers and candles from burning. Lori and I derive an enormous amount of comfort and peace from your prayers and kind thoughts and can only imagine that Adugna does too.
So keep our little family-to-be in your thoughts and we'll update you as events develop.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Time to Go To Court!
Going to court is not something any of us wish to do or want to do. In fact, the only way to get people to go to court is to subpoena them – typically against their wishes.
We have to go to court – but it is a court date that we have been waiting for – one that we want.
Today we received the news that on February 25, 2010, the Ministry of Women Affairs (MOWA) in Ethiopia will make a recommendation to the Ethiopian courts that Christopher and Lori Grant become the legal guardians of Adugna Christopher Grant (my name is use temporarily to give him a distinct identity).
We hope that the court will approve the recommendation and that all our paperwork and forms are up to date and complete.
From February 25, 2010 forward we are looking at 6-10 weeks to secure our translated paperwork and confirmation of an U.S. Embassy appointment in Addis Ababa. Once we get confirmation of the embassy appointment, we travel to Ethiopia, receive our son and return home to Glendale.
Lori and I are excited, scared, and full of emotion but mostly filled with gratitude. Our dream is becoming a reality and for that we thank God and thank all of our friends and family for your prayers and good wishes. This process has so many blessings.
More to come; have to go paint the nursery, buy a crib, get a minivan, get a car seat, stroller shopping, have a party, learn how to change diapers . . . .
We have to go to court – but it is a court date that we have been waiting for – one that we want.
Today we received the news that on February 25, 2010, the Ministry of Women Affairs (MOWA) in Ethiopia will make a recommendation to the Ethiopian courts that Christopher and Lori Grant become the legal guardians of Adugna Christopher Grant (my name is use temporarily to give him a distinct identity).
We hope that the court will approve the recommendation and that all our paperwork and forms are up to date and complete.
From February 25, 2010 forward we are looking at 6-10 weeks to secure our translated paperwork and confirmation of an U.S. Embassy appointment in Addis Ababa. Once we get confirmation of the embassy appointment, we travel to Ethiopia, receive our son and return home to Glendale.
Lori and I are excited, scared, and full of emotion but mostly filled with gratitude. Our dream is becoming a reality and for that we thank God and thank all of our friends and family for your prayers and good wishes. This process has so many blessings.
More to come; have to go paint the nursery, buy a crib, get a minivan, get a car seat, stroller shopping, have a party, learn how to change diapers . . . .
Monday, January 11, 2010
When Peace Like a River
On December 15th, 2009, I surrendered from the process of adoption. I was completely exasperated and frustrated to the point of brokenness. I could not take another day, hour or minute of the waiting process. The stories coming out of Ethiopia adoptions were crippling to the spirit and deflated any hope for a positive outcome.
On January 1st, 2010, I confessed to Lori my surrender and that I was “done”. I wouldn’t be going on. My reaction was no surprise to Lori. She had become close to breaking, as well. I said that I had given providence until January 15, 2010 and then I would formally withdraw from the process – accept the cruel joke on our willingness to be parents.
The New Year came and went. Close friends, in their sincerity asked how we were doing, how the adoption was going and our response was ambiguous, cautious and unenthusiastic. Surely, everyone felt our despair.
Lori returned to work on January 4th. On the 5th, as she told me later, she was walking across the studio campus and knew that at that moment, at that time, she too had reached that point of brokenness.
I don’t want to get into too much of the whys and wherefores of the situation, but together, we had reached rock bottom in our despair.
Then it happened. That day, that hour, that minute.
Lori called me and said that the agency had contacted her with a referral. “Get home so that we can open the email together.” That was pretty much all I remembered as I raced to our home computer.
We logged in. Double-clicked. Waited for the computer to cycle through and then . . .
We met Adugna.
He is a strong 6-8 month boy – beautiful as the ancient faces of Ethiopia. His eyes are bright, long beautiful lashes, his little afro is dark and shiny and his face is full and smooth. His story is a typical one and a story we will leave for him to tell you, one day.
In a moment, all I could remember was the words to the old hymn:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul,
it is well, it is well with my soul.
Where there is peace, there is hope.
On January 1st, 2010, I confessed to Lori my surrender and that I was “done”. I wouldn’t be going on. My reaction was no surprise to Lori. She had become close to breaking, as well. I said that I had given providence until January 15, 2010 and then I would formally withdraw from the process – accept the cruel joke on our willingness to be parents.
The New Year came and went. Close friends, in their sincerity asked how we were doing, how the adoption was going and our response was ambiguous, cautious and unenthusiastic. Surely, everyone felt our despair.
Lori returned to work on January 4th. On the 5th, as she told me later, she was walking across the studio campus and knew that at that moment, at that time, she too had reached that point of brokenness.
I don’t want to get into too much of the whys and wherefores of the situation, but together, we had reached rock bottom in our despair.
Then it happened. That day, that hour, that minute.
Lori called me and said that the agency had contacted her with a referral. “Get home so that we can open the email together.” That was pretty much all I remembered as I raced to our home computer.
We logged in. Double-clicked. Waited for the computer to cycle through and then . . .
We met Adugna.
He is a strong 6-8 month boy – beautiful as the ancient faces of Ethiopia. His eyes are bright, long beautiful lashes, his little afro is dark and shiny and his face is full and smooth. His story is a typical one and a story we will leave for him to tell you, one day.
In a moment, all I could remember was the words to the old hymn:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul,
it is well, it is well with my soul.
Where there is peace, there is hope.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Saturday, November 14, 2009
I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me
In the doldrums and frustration of waiting for a referral, I confess that my energy and enthusiasm wanes. I begin to drift in the shallows of despair. We chose our adoption agency, (apart from many reasons like their stellar reputation and unswerving ethics) because they were able to refer children within 3-4 months. We are at the brink of 9 months. And, we cling to the internet for stories or messages of hope and instead find discouraging stories of corruption in the government, kidnapping by unscrupulous vipers and the abuse of Ethiopia's children.
Am I getting too old for this? Do I not have the perseverence to hold on to the faith that brought me to this adventure? Can I follow through? I anchor my hopes on dates: Birthdays, Holidays, will this be a "different and inspiring season"?
Then I see a video like this and my strength rises, my faith unfurls from a tired limp rag into wind swept fullness, and the fog blows away. Is my child frustrated with their wait? And then I realize, we are both waiting for each other.
And so I sit, still. Realizing, that I need my child more than they need me.
Am I getting too old for this? Do I not have the perseverence to hold on to the faith that brought me to this adventure? Can I follow through? I anchor my hopes on dates: Birthdays, Holidays, will this be a "different and inspiring season"?
Then I see a video like this and my strength rises, my faith unfurls from a tired limp rag into wind swept fullness, and the fog blows away. Is my child frustrated with their wait? And then I realize, we are both waiting for each other.
And so I sit, still. Realizing, that I need my child more than they need me.
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