July 4th

We had a great time celebrating Independance Day with our good friends. Kad had a blast playing in the park and eating more junk food than he ever has in his life (its a holiday, right?!?)

No matter how much fun we had today, our hearts are still so broken without our sweet Yordi here with us. Praying that she'll be joining us at the park on the next 4th of July...amazed at the fireworks, and eating more junk food than she has in her life.

For now, here's a picture of our "American Girl" from the day she bacame a "Williams"

Happy July 4th from our family of FOUR!

What Happens Next?

Now that we're back in Washington and settling back into "normal" life, I thought I would take the time to fill you in on what's happening in Ethiopia while we're waiting to bring Yordi home.

First, our agency will work to get the official court decree from the judge stating that Yordi is, in fact, our legal daughter. That court decree will then be translated from Amharic to English.

Once the decree is processed, the goverment body in Ethiopia will issue a birth certificate for Yordi...and her legal name will be "Yordanos Williams" (chills!)

While this paperwork is pending, Yordi will have a medical evaluation by a clinic in Addis that is approved by the US embassy. They will make sure that she is free from communicable illnesses (such as TB) and she will get a series of vaccinations. (welcome to America, sweet girl!) If the doctor is satisfied with her current medical condition, then he will issue a report stating that she is medically approved to immigrate to the United States.

Once our agency has the translated court decree, birth certificate, and medical results, our agency staff will take Yordi to the immigration building in downtown Addis and apply for her passport & visa. It typically takes a week to to get the application approved and the passport issued.

When the passport and visa are received, our agency will submit our case file to the US Embassy for review. An official from the embassy will complete a full evaluation of Yordi's file to ensure that she is truly an orphan by US standards and that the adoption process was completed ethically by all parties (agency, orphanage, adoptive family, birth family, etc). They will respond with their findings within ten business days from submission. That response could be that they need more documentation, that they would like to interview the birth family, or....that we are cleared to travel!

Once the embassy clears our case, we will book flights and go get our little girl!

Obviously, this is a very invloved process that typically takes 2 - 3 months to complete at best. We're hopeful to be back in Ethiopia by the end of the summer, but we're preparing our hearts for the possibility that it could be much longer.

We'll keep you posted as we progress through this post-court paperwork phase, and please pray for everyone who is working so hard to get our Yordi home!

Goodbyes

Goodbyes are never fun, but yesterday was the WORST.

We had to say goodbye to our little girl and leave her in an orphanage while we travel back to the US and wait for the emabssy to clear our case. We're praying this time apart will be no longer than eight weeks.

Our family feels like it has a huge gaping hole that only Yordi can fill, and nothing will feel "right" until we're back together.

It may be a little while before I'm able to talk about our time in Ethiopia without breaking down in tears, so I'm just asking for a little grace as we try to return to normal once we get home. It doesn't in any way mean that we don't want to gush about our beautiful daughter...it just means that I'm a little bit a huge mess without her!

INTRODUCING....

We passed court this afternoon, and are THRILLED to be able to introduce you to our daughter:


YORDANOS ("Yordi") WILLIAMS

We are so blessed to now be Yordi's legal parents in the eyes of Ethiopia, and can not wait to bring her home!

"Metcha Day"

We met "Y" for the first time today, and it could not have been more perfect. We arrived at her orphanage around 3:00 pm, and we waited in the courtyard for her to come outside. All of her friends and nannies watched, with tears in their eyes. It was overwhelming how excited they all were for "Y" to have her moment.

After a few minutes, this beautiful little girl stepped shyly out of her dorm building. She looked across the courtyard, and the moment she saw us standing there she got the biggest smile on her face and SPRINTED toward us. She threw herself into my arms and gave me the BEST hug I've ever gotten in my entire life!

Mike was holding Kad, who had fallen asleep in the van on the way to the orphanage. After "Y" hugged me, Mike bent down and she jumped into his arms. It was so sweet to see Mike holding BOTH of our kids for the first time.

We pointed at Kad and said, "brother". She smiled and put her arms out...she couldn't wait to hold him. It was such a sweet moment.

As we hugged, took photos, and played together as a family, I couldn't help but look at the faces of all the kids who were watching us. We were living the moment that they dream of every single day....meeting their family for the first time. So many of them thinking that it will never happen for them.

I pictured "Y" being one of those sad faces just a few months ago as she watched her best friends meeting their family. I kept thinking of how easily we could have missed this. How we could have let fear and doubt creep into our hearts and smother this miracle before it ever came to be.

I pray that every child in that courtyard gets their moment one day, and I pray for every family who may be feeling a little seed being planted in their heart to take a leap of faith on these kids. I would hate to think that fear and doubt could keep anyone from missing a day like we had today.

We'll be spending the next few days with "Y" at the orphanage. We have court on Wednesday, and we would love if you would join us in praying that every document is there and in order so that we wil PASS court and officially become "Y"s parents!

On our way!

We're coming, "Y", and we couldn't be more excited!!!!

Kad's First "Gotcha" Day

In some ways, it feels like just yesterday we were just walking out of the orphanage gates with our little boy for the first time. Yet, in so many other ways, it feels like he has always been with us.

He has grown and changed so much in this past year and its been such a blessing to watch his little personality emerge. I don't know how God intends to use our strong willed, goofy, loving little boy as he grows, but we're so blessed to have a front row seat to watch it all unfold!

I thought it was appropraite, as we celebrate Kad's first "gotcha day", to debut our adoption video.

So, here it is: Our journey to Befekadugeta!




Happy Gotcha Day, sweet Baby Kad. On June 7, 2011, you made us parents for the very first time. Now, here we are, hours away from boarding a flight back to Ethiopia to meet your sister. It has been an incredible year, and we couldn't imagine life any other way!