Court Date!!

I got the long- awaited email today that we have a court date set for April 3, 2009. What does this mean? It means that on this date, if we pass court, then Nya will legally become our child! I will post cute pics and then I will travel to get her in mid-April. Here is what you need to know about court dates though- they can be tricky. Here is a little of what was in our email today:

* Roughly 30% of families do not pass court on their first issued court date.
v If a family does not pass court initially, a new court date is usually issued approximately 1-1.5 months after the original court date
* Families who received referrals on the same day (or within the same week) as other families will not necessarily have a court date within the same week or few weeks. Each adoption is unique and court dates do not always fall within chronological order of receiving a referral. The paperwork needed to secure a court date, and the timeframe to acquire the paperwork, is unique for each adoption. These factors, along with the court’s appointment availability, will affect the timing for your specific court date. Please know that we have done everything in our power to get the earliest possible court date for your family.
* You can expect communication from America World within 24-48 hours after your court date. It is our desire to contact you with the news of court as quickly as possible. America World will have no additional information to offer you until we receive confirmation from Ethiopia. Unless an urgent issue arises, we request that you refrain from contacting us regarding updates or questions on court. Please rest assured that we will be contacting you as soon as we have any news.

So, we need to be in prayer that we pass court the first time. Nya needs to come home! We are asking for your prayers, fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This child has come into our lives as a result of prayer. Her very existence has been upheld by prayer. The Lord will hear our cries and act to bring our daughter home. I know this. Once again, thank you for supporting us and we will keep you updated.

Exiting Cloud 9

As they say, the honeymoon is over! I felt myself shift a few days ago from the post-referral euphoria to a gnawing sense of "I want Nya!!!" Looking at her pictures and realizing that we will not likely get a court date until mid-April, has served to increase my longing for my child.
I can not explain to you how much peace I feel when I see her mega-watt smile in each picture and hear of her beautiful spirit (this is a recurring statement from all those who know her!). The staff and nannies at our agency's transition home are simply beloved to me because of what they are providing for Nya during this wait. What words can I ever find or what token of gratitude can I ever bestow that might begin to touch on what they've done for my daughter? If there weren't people in this world who love the Lord and who sacrificed some of thier lives for the sake of the orphan, Nya would not be coming home to us. Only God knows where Nya would be.
I am waiting by the phone and/or email to find out when exactly our court date will be. Please pray that we pass court the very first time so that Nya's homecoming will not be delayed! We will need the effectual and fervent prayers of the righteous to bring Nya home and accomplish this mighty thing that the Lord has set in motion. Thank you for standing with us.

Our First Gifts for Nya!

Well, today we had the privilege of sending Nya a care package via our friends Joshua and Bethany Taylor who are going to Ethiopia next week to pick up their precious kids!! Needless to say, we had a time in the girly boutique yesterday picking out Nya's very first gifts from her forever family. I was almost floating out of the store! Above are the pics we took to memorialize this occassion. We sent her a "lovey," a little mini-blanket with a little flower so she can smell us and have something soft. We also put in a new backpack which was soooo cute- very soft w/ a little frog toy made of the same soft material attached. Caleb insisted we send her the white bear, which he is holding in the pic above. We, of course, included a photo album w/all of our smiling faces labeled. We put a pic of her in there as well and a pic of each of us packing her care package. In the package also went a package of jelly beans to share w/her friends. We also put in a cute little bracelet! Last, but not least, a bunch of cute and freshly washed new undies! We heard she needed them. ;) We fit all of this in a gallon size Ziploc bag! Astonishing! :)

Praise God- this was the day!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was the day we’ve been waiting for all this time! It is the day we met our daughter through a picture and small profile chronicling her life. I can not give out any information about Nya until after we pass court and she is officially our child. Until then, I can tell you how absolutely amazing she is. Her smile is unbelievably beautiful, her eyes are breath taking. This post is going to be in two parts: one to my fellow adoptive parents who may be reading this blog and the other to my little girl.
I know that throughout this journey, I have always wondered what it was like to get the call. The fact that I was unprepared to get this call today probably colors my perception, but let me tell you it was nothing like I thought it would be. When I saw the area code of our agency, I knew that they were calling to address some concerns I had written and called them about the week previous. In fact, the sweet lady who was on the other end began the conversation as if she was calling for that purpose. About a minute into the call, she said, “Well, I’d like to address your concerns. But first let me give you some information that may shed a little light on the issue. This is your day! It’s your referral call.” You know how I responded? “Seriously?” :( I had always expected to cry, scream, and generally lose it- but, no, I said “seriously?” :)
After that, the day is a blur. I ran into the front of the house where Clayton and the boys were. I whispered, “This is the call!” It seemed to take forever for the email to get there with her pic and info in it. I made a lot of phone calls while waiting. Finally, we got the email, opened it and saw her. Wow! She blew us away for many reasons that I can’t share yet. But her beauty was one of them! She looks like light.
How does it feel? Man, it is really hard to describe. The love we felt for her instantly seems impossible, but it’s there and so real. I had prepared myself for anything: maybe I won’t feel an instant connection. Maybe the love will grow over time. Those things didn’t happen. A perfect and overwhelming sense of rightness settled in on us. She’s ours. We’re hers. Our God did this. No man can separate it.
Later, I did cry, scream and generally lose it. It was when I was reading her story, the one of her little life. Waves of mother-bear protectiveness washed over me. My child has been through this. Lord, You brought her through. I’m so unspeakably grateful.
A little later, when all our friends and family had been called, we went out to dinner- the four of us- and celebrated the fact that soon we will be five.
Now, I sit reflecting and I can’t believe this has happened. To all of you waiting in the endless adoption waiting room, just hold on! I am telling you it is all worth it. Every bit of it. Every agonizing day, minute, and hour of waiting. All the bitter disappointments, the fearful longing, the burden- when you see your child’s face, you know it was worth it. I thought the pain of the process would all melt away after this day, but it didn’t for me. It lingers. I have decided it’s my badge of honor. I labored for her in my heart and with my God. I was feeling pain simultaneously as she was and I find that fitting and it gives me great peace. The pain drove me to the Lord and He acted on her behalf. It’s beautiful.
To my little girl, Nya: you hold on, baby! We’re coming and nothing will stop us! You’re life is going to be changed forever. Your Father in heaven knows your name and He has been with you from the beginning. He’s what binds us together. Every day we will be with you in our minds and hearts. Only a few short months and I will be holding you and I will not let go as long as there is breath in me. We love you…

Happy New Year!

You may notice that there is a perfectly empty space in between Levi and me. This is where our little girl belongs! The Jones family is happy and we're even content. But we are NOT complete yet! May 2009 bring our girl home and may God prosper each of you reading this blog in the upcoming year!