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Our court date is coming up and I wanted to let you know a little more about this process, as it is indeed a process. It also helps to see why we have 'another' wait after getting a referral and before we can bring our babies home. The following is a list of things which must happen in order to pass court while there, along with what may cause us to not pass court when we are there:
• All of the paperwork which is required must be present and signed. This includes our dossier (a fancy term for a collection of documents), the kids dossier, their birth certificates - which are not a standard issue and have to be requested by Hannah's Hope - our transition home, and a letter from MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs).
• Occasionally, families do not pass court on the first attempt, and there are a few different reasons. One, the MOWA letter is not ready. This approval letter must accompany every case verifying that all details are accurate. With many adoption files being sent into the Ethiopian courts there are just times when these letters do not make it there on time.
• There are only a few judges that handle adoption cases in all of Ethiopia. Sometimes they just can't get through all the cases in a particular day. Although they have been working hard, as with anything, sometimes there are inevitable delays when you have a full schedule.
• Depending on the personal situation, either a birth family member, police officer, or witness must be present to make a statement and have a 'witness' interview. This means they must potentially travel hours to the capital city, miss days of work, and sometimes delays happen with their travel.
If we do not pass court when we are there, there is either a date for new interviews, or a new date when they will review our files and see if all documents are now there (we do not ...
Sunday: Daddy's Grilling today - Deer Butterfly Chops & Grilled Veggies
Monday: Chicken Alfredo Pizza
Tuesday: Spanish Style Salad
Wednesday: Burgers, Hot Dogs and Parmesan Potatoes
Thursday: Feta Shrimp Skillet
Friday: BBQ with friends
Saturday: Leftovers after Garage Sale
Sunday: Baked Swiss Chicken
Monday: Chalupa's
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Out to eat
...WOOHOO! We have a court date and will be flying out before the end of the month for Ethiopia! That means we will be holding our babies in less than 3 weeks! WOW! We got the call today and are feverishly working on finding the best airline tickets. So excited.
Hold on babies - mommy and daddy are coming!
...Another common question we are asked about is the background of our twins. And most who ask are those near and dear who have been following along, praying alongside us in this long journey towards our daughter. It only makes sense - we see their sweet little faces (ooh, and it is SO sweet) and wonder about the circumstances that have brought them into our life.
What some might not realize is what a painful question this is. You see, they have experienced things that most of us will never even be able to comprehend. Their story is one of pain and loss and hardship. We are not sure how much we will share, because this part of their background doesn't belong to us. It is theirs to ponder and consider and figure out and process and then one day decide what they think and want to share. They will know their story early on, as we will share it with them at a very young age, but it is still their story to share.
We both remember the day of our referral as we sat their with tears in our eyes as they gave us the exciting news that we were being referred twins! Oh, we were overjoyed!!! And then as we went through the details, I remember us both being in tears again as we heard about what brought them to Hannah's Hope (our transition home run by our agency in Ethiopia), and oh, the pain. I can only imagine as our children grow up that as we discuss their story, they will have questions to ask and things to ponder. We won't always be able to give them all the answers their hearts long to hear, but we will rely on God to give us and them wisdom and understanding and comfort.
Please know that this is all new to us as well and we are trying to determine what we think is best for them.
...Sunday: Ribeye Steak, French Bread & Aioli, Panko Crusted Asparagus, fresh cucumber slices
Monday: Lemon-Artichoke Chicken, Leek and Asaragus Risotto
Tuesday: Mexican Dinner out
Wednesday: Dinner out while traveling back to CO
Thursday: Meatloaf Milano (Dream Dinner), mashed potatoes, carrots
Friday: Taco Soup
Saturday: scrapbooking weekend - boys camping
...So - the latest question since our referral is... What Next??
Now that we have received our referral (April 19) here is what we're looking at (besides pictures of them all the time!):
3-6 weeks from the time of referral we should receive a court date - this is generally scheduled 3-6 weeks out.
Court Date: We will travel to Ethiopia, spend approximately 4-5 days with our children, go before the Ethiopian government to process everything and have them legally become ours!!! Fly home WITHOUT them... I don't want to even consider how hard this might be at this point...
2-4 weeks later we should receive notice that the US Embassy has opened our case.
2-6 weeks later we get issued our embassy date with the US Embassy (in Ethiopia) - book tickets and fly back to Ethiopia
US Embassy Date: Travel to Ethiopia, bring the children to the hotel with us - stay 4-5 days, go to the US Embassy get our immigration visas and passports for them...
TRAVEL HOME WITH OUR BEAUTIFUL TWINS - AND HAVE OUR FAMILY OF 6 ALL UNDER THE SAME ROOF!!
So - in short - 3 to 5 months is kind of the standard waiting period between referral and having them in our home!
...We, the Hartwell family, have been waiting to write that for 738 days, OR 2 years and 7 days, OR 17,700 hours!!!!!!!!!!! And we are in AWE of God's goodness!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have a referral!!!!!! We give glory to our God, the God of perfection, the God of love, the faithful God who speaks stories into existence and makes galaxies with a breath.
This has been a continued journey of His gracious hand on our lives. We tell our story to point to Him. We thank the many of you who have supported us, have been patient with us, have prayed to the God of the all knowing for His story to unfold. We are in awe of His GREATNESS!!!
I (Kimberly) have to be honest... Thursday morning when getting ready I was almost cynical that we could actually get a call. Really? It's only been 14 months in the top #5 waiting for a call - why today?? I gave myself a pep talk. I need to have peace in God's timing, I need to be aware of His presence and just rest and focus on my boys. Our Thursday morning was a rather generic morning. Jay did devotions with the boys (and I went and got a Starbucks coffee (not so normal) - complements of my dad!), had breakfast and then did pre-k with Noah. I was so tempted to sit around the rest of the day, checking facebook, emails, any clue from anyone that we were getting our call, but I made myself run my errands. The boys and I went to the library, went to the bank, said hi to our friends at their chocolate shop (where I got another coffee and a chocolate truffle(again not normal!), the boys ate a sack lunch as we drove downtown CS to buy some good workout shoes. On our way back, I just didn't seem to want to go home. We drove on some slower routes and stopped at Best Buy. I got the boys out of their seats while they finished their cheese and hung out in the minivan, then my phone rang - and it was our adoption agency. I quickly hushed the boys and got on the phone and she begins with... "I forgot to ask a couple important q...
Our Adoption
UPDATE: WE HAVE TWINS!!!! 1 Boy, 1 Girl, 1 month old. As of April 27we have now raised $18,530!! This covers costs associated with the referral call & paperwork, child care in the transition home, the 1st trip to Ethiopia and covers some of the 2nd trip. The remaining amount of $9,737 is needed for our 2nd trip to bring our beautiful babies home and the follow up home study visits once our children are home. Would you please consider sharing in these costs and helping us bring them home?
End Extreme Poverty
Awe Factor of God
Worship with Noah
"Thousand Questions"
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