Very Upsetting!

Didn't I say that I didn't want any more disappointments? Well, today I received a note to call our specialist. It made me nervous, as I thought that maybe Jake was not recovering well. So, I excused myself from my intern and called Deb. She said that our court date was being delayed from Oct. 6th to Oct. 21st. I was speechless. What do you say when you hear such disappointing news.

I finally said that I couldn't respond well. I asked if it was just our case or others too. She said it was all of the cases in early October. I asked when we might plan to travel, with the delay. She said to count on 8 weeks after court. That puts us to mid to late December.

The news made me so upset that I had difficulty focusing for the end of the day. Our son will be without any personal, parental care for nearly 5 months. This is upsetting! I will need help to focus on the positives.

Disappointing News

Yesterday, I saw an e-mail from our specialists. I thought it would be the long awaited social report which gives us more pictures and details about Jake Melkamu. Instead it told me that he had been injured while playing, needed stitches on his forehead and the cut had become infected. He is on antibiotics for the infection. The news made me really sad. Mostly because he was hurt and we weren't there to comfort him. Also, because instead of good new, it was disappointing news.

We have less than two weeks to go before court. I am holding my breath for no more disappointments. We are praying for Jake's health.

My family held a toddler shower for Jacob. My brother, Mike, and sister-in-law, Bernadette hosted the special event. It was sooo wonderful to have this parenting rite of passage. :) Family and friends joined us in celebrating. We are really ready for him to join our circle of friends and family.

Yesterday, we received a medical update. They measure his weight, height and head circumference on the 15th of each month. I don't know whether to be concerned or not that he did not gain any weight or grow any taller since last month. As a first time mom, I don't know whether this is expected or not. He seems to be similar to other children his age at 27.5 lbs.

Recently, I was given some cute outfits by my secretary and a teacher at school. I also stopped at the Salvation Army to drop off some clothes and found some cute clothes in his size. Today, I washed and folded them. The clothes make him seem more real. It is hard to describe what it is like to begin to feel like a mom through the limited knowledge of our child.

There are two and a half weeks until our court date. And in that time we should get our social report which will have a lot more information about his personality, likes and dislikes and about 10 more pictures. I cannot wait!!!! :)

Just Starting Out

This journey to adopt began for us back in 2005 when we married and decided that adoption was in our hearts. We first completed our paperwork for China in 2007. With the long wait for our daughter, we decided to complete paperwork for a son from Ethiopia. We finished the paperwork in June of 2008.

On July 9th, 2009 we recieved the best news of our lives. Our son was introduced to us through pictures and a brief history via e-mail. We now wait patiently to be united with him. Right now, courts are closed in Ethiopia and we must wait until they reopen to move forward.
The days fly by with our preparations. Here is a picture of one way that we are preparing.

Our son, Jacob Melkamu Dwight, is a two year old sweetie. His birthday is July 19th. He was born in the southern part of Ethiopia. He is currently being cared for in Addis Ababa until we travel to pick him up. We estimate our travel to take place in November. Our entire family and many friends are excited to meet him and include him in our circle of love. We are counting down the days!

We are unable to post his picture until we pass the court date successfully. But, stay tuned....