Our Day At Court

November 1.

Our court date.

We had been praying for this day for months.  Even before we knew when it would be.  And it was here.

We woke up early and showered and got ready.  We didn't really talk much.  Asked the front desk for an iron because our 'nice' clothes were in rough shape.
Sat on the bed.
Paced to the bathroom.

Checked the time.

Took a drink of water.

Finally it was time to go to the lobby and wait for our driver.  We got in the car with the other family and started some nervous chatter.  Would our MOWA letter be there?  We didn't even want to think about it, for fear of a let down.  We commented on the beautiful capital of Ethiopia.  There were people EVERYWHERE.  In the streets, on the sidewalks, in the median.  Everywhere.

We drove on a two lane road.  Four cars deep.  It was crazy driving like Chicago.  Only minus the road rage.  Cars just squeezed wherever there was room, and kept trucking along.  I winced in preparation for a side swipe more than once.  But we managed through every time.

This is an area where people were training, running, and playing soccer.

A Primary school we drove past.

The Court building.

Then we pulled up to this ambiguous building.  And headed in.  Haille (pronounced Highly - and probably spelled wrong by me) was our "representative" at court.  He bounded up the 4 or 5 flights of stairs like it was nothing.  I huffed and puffed like we were at some rediculous altitude.

Oh wait.  We were.  Addis is at 7500 feet.

And seriously.  I was out of breath after the first flight.

Breaking a SWEAT.  Which is just how I wanted to make my debut at court.

Nice.

We got to the little square room. It had some bench/chairs around the perimeter of the room.  There were two seats next to each other and Haille motioned for us to sit.  I sat there analyzing our situation.  Would the judge hate us?  Would we be sitting here for hours?  Would the judge be tired and cranky by the time we went in? Where was the judge?  Was Haille listening to the people calling out names/numbers or random words in Amharic?

He didn't look like it.  He was just chillin' with another 'rep' in the room.  But then some lady said some random thing (or probably not so random - it was in Amharic, so what do I know?) and Haille jumped up and looked at us and said our boys names with question in his voice.  We said "yes!" and followed him.  When we got into the judges chambers (would I even call it that? It was just a room with two desks and some chairs) she requested the other family from our agency come in as well.  We sat in the long bowling alley type room.  The judge spoke English and asked us some questions about the adoption.

I typed below what I remember from the conversation.  This isn't exactly how it went, but pretty close.  It was very surreal.  I feel like I was floating in the room watching myself.  I was so worried she would ask me for a detailed explanation, and my mind just wouldn't have worked.  I'm so glad she stuck to yes or no questions.

Have you met the boys? Yes.

Have you been educated about transracial families? Yes.

Are you planning to teach your children about Ethiopian culture? Yes.

Once this adoption is final, there is no turning back.  You cannot change your mind.  They will be yours.  Are you sure you want to go through with this?  YES! YES! YES!

It is final.  They are yours.

My eyes tear up just remembering those amazing, life changing words.  

I could have wet my pants.

I DIDN'T.  But I could have.  It was one of the happiest moment of my life.   I think I walked around with my mouth agape and my eyes wet the rest of the day.

Our boys are OURS.  Legally.  For always.  We're a family.  

They are my sons.  

And I'm a mom.  Officially and for keeps.

BEST.  DAY.  EVER.

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We were done so quickly, even Haille was surprised.  He said people are never done that early.  I think we may have been the first people in there.  We only waited in the square room for about 10 minutes.  So then we went shopping.  Is there a better way to celebrate the best news I've ever gotten?  

Donkeys.  I loved all the animals all over the streets.  

This is where we shopped.  

We dropped off Haille and our driver took us to the "shopping area".   There were tons of little shops.  They all had a lot of the same things, and many different things too.  Most of what we bought is for the boys.  We found so many treasures for them!  We are going to give them these treasures over the years.  I want to give it all to them right away, but they are for different ages.  And what 6 month old boy needs a Africa shaped chess board with hand carved pieces?  Or Mancala?  Or puzzles in the shape of Ethiopia?  I guess they can wait.  And what a fun way for them to be reminded of their culture throughout the years!  But who am I kidding?  They'll turn 5 and I'll give them everything that is left.  I won't be able to wait, and I'll want them to get some serious use out of their Ethiopian treasures.  

On the right of this picture are some of the shops.

David - in one of the shops. 

 I wish that we could have bought them so much more.  There were so many things we ended up not buying and regretting.  We'll see what the second trip brings.  I could send David out on his own to pick up some things, but that means I'll be on my own with the boys too.  Which is a little scary right now.  So we'll see how I function with no sleep and two bundles of joy.

Both of us - read below to learn about my ridiculous expression...

This picture was taken by one of the shop owners.  He was having a little trouble with the camera.  I kept leaning forward to help him, but then he'd point and click, so I'd hop back to be in the picture.  Then it wouldn't work because he wasn't holding down the button, so I'd lean in again to help, and he'd point, and I'd hop back.  We did this dance for about 5 minutes.  Then he got it.  This is my hopping back and trying to look natural in the process pose.

I failed at looking natural.

We went to lunch, and then got to spend the rest of the afternoon with our boys at Hannah's Hope.

This was especially amazing, because we were now an official family.  David and I whispered the good news in their ears as they slept.  And we cried in the realization that our family was all together for just a short while longer.  They had no idea how huge this day was for our family.  But I like to think that as we whispered the great news to them, they were dreaming about our family together.

A family of four.   And though there are miles between us right now, our love for those boys holds them close to our hearts all the time.

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Have I mentioned how much I miss them?  My heart aches with the thought of them so far away from me.  I have physical pain inside my heart.  I want nothing more than to kiss them and snuggle them again.

I've been putting off writing about our last day at Hannah's Hope because that day was so hard.  I can't express the feelings in words.

But I'll do my best.  Coming soon...