Meet our Little Noemi . . .

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”
- Proverbs 13:12

Announcing Noemi Sosina Witmer! We got word today at 11:47AM that Noemi passed court and is now legally our daughter! We’ll post more details soon, after we stop crying. We hope to travel in mid-August to bring her home. But for now, this one’s for you, baby…

Only Marvin Gaye would do for this occasion…

Just a Little Teaser

Yesterday was a fantastic day in court for other adoptive families from our agency (10 families passed) and we are hopeful that the good energy continued rolling through for Noemi and her court-date buddies while we slept last night! Donovan and I woke up feeling surprisingly rested and excited that this could be the day!  We anticipate hearing word sometime this afternoon, so check back for details.  

Waves of Grace

Noemi’s court date is scheduled for tomorrow, the 30^th, in Ethiopia.  My heart feels a-flutter just thinking about how this day could change our lives.  She will legally be ours when she passes court and I will be her mother at last. Forever.  Finally. Given that Ethiopia is 8 hours ahead of us, her hearing will actually take place Monday night while we (try to) sleep.  By the time we wake up tomorrow morning, it will be over.  Assuming that Ethiopia’s rolling power outages do not get in the way of communication, we expect to find out from AAI tomorrow afternoon whether or not she passed. 

Because Ethiopia receives the majority of its energy through hydro-powered sources, the severe drought is now affecting everyday functions across all of Ethiopia. For this reason, email/fax and copy machines are down and are slowing down the court processes. We must be patient.  We pray for Ethiopia who is going without the very things we take for granted everyday—and still working tirelessly to get babies home to families as quickly as possible. 

Donovan and I pray for Noemi to come home soon—for her to pass on Tuesday so that we can travel to meet her.  But my greater prayer has to be that the babies who need to come home soonest will be those who pass and that God keeps his gentle hand on each one in the mean time. 

In church on Sunday we read the following Prayer of Invocation as a congregation.  This prayer was no coincidence.  God’s work and timing is mysterious: 

We gather together this day from places of drought where life is brittle and fragile, thirsting for hope.

We arrive at this day having known times of fertility when sun and rain have come together to grow beauty and life.

We pray, O God, to be washed by waves of grace as we worship and wander with You through this day.  Amen. 

Please pray with us for the people of Ethiopia who are desperately in need of nourishing rains.  Please pray for Noemi and all of the other babies being heard in court this week, that they will be able be with their families soon.  Please pray for us as we wait anxiously for news. 

Projects Galore!

My vacation is quickly ticking by, but my mission to reduce my “to do” list has, so far, proven successful.  This past week has been devoted to selling unused items from the attic at a garage sale to make some buckage for baby stuff, preparing the nursery (I’ve been enjoying getting my hands dirty with the power sander and paint brush), registering for baby necessities and working on all things Noemi related.  I'm a bit myopic these days.

My cutie-pie cousin Alisa (who is the fantastic mamma to two of my favorite little people) went with me to Babies ‘R Us and tutored me on the basics of car seats, nipples, crib sheets and so much more.  And yes, since Alisa confessed that she is a fan of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste, I just couldn’t resist zapping it with the registry gun.  Bleep! 

My current project:  I found this great mid-century birch dresser at an antique co-op earlier this week.  I'm in the process of sanding it, painting it a warm grey and accessorizing it with changing table necessities for the nursery.  

Our own famous family quilter, Grandma Witmer, took me shopping for fabric so that she can make a crib blanket for Noemi. Grandma is quite humble and doesn’t like to admit that she is one fierce quilt maker, but we all know that she is old-school amazing! I (with some help from Aunt Jennie) picked out the fabrics—mostly 1930s/40s reproduction prints-- and she is going to surprise me with the end product. What a treasure to have such a gift.

 OK, now I have to get back to work on that dresser.  Stay tuned for more updates!

She's Popping Up Everywhere

Papa Dynamite

Since today is Donovan’s first "unofficial" Father’s Day, I thought it would be appropriate to tout a wee bit about Donovan as a father.

And so, I present you with a few reasons why this guy is going to make a slam-dunk dad to the girlie:

• He never leaves a photo un-photo-shopped. I can guarantee you, Noemi, you will always look your best. No boogies or eye goop if Daddy has anything to say about it.

• Daddy can often be found staring at little girls in public places, commenting on how adorable they are. He’s really just thinking of you and how cute you’ll be as you grow.

• He thinks specifically about you all of the time. A few weeks ago, after we turned out the light to go to sleep at night, he randomly asked me if you would smell like cocoa butter.

• Daddy asks me all the time about developmental milestones. He wants to know what to expect, and what to help you with along the way. Last night at dinner he asked about your eating habits and when we can start feeding you different types of food. He’s very conscious of these things.

• He has started reading “Cookie” magazine as much as “Photo District News” and “Rangefinder.”

• Your father was the first one to buy you clothes, NOT your mother. When Mommy was nervous about buying you things, Daddy courageously jumped right in and bought you a super-cute green hoodie to hang in your closet. He’ll always make sure you are fashionable.

• It is not uncommon to find him chit-chatting with total strangers about you. He’s been known to pull out the little photo album that he carries in his man bag (unsolicited) and proudly tell people about your soon-coming arrival.

• He’s put our bathroom renovation on hold to work on your nursery. He might say that he has prioritized the nursery because he knows that I am anxious to decorate it, but really it’s because he is happy to be working in “your” space. Your daddy sang to himself the entire time he hung the shelves in your freshly painted room.

• Most importantly, Daddy prays for you everyday. He prays for you to have a full tummy and go to sleep soundly when we pray before dinner. He prays for you to be happy and for your people to be kept safe amidst this drought. He prays for a quick process so that we can get you home and love you sooner. He prays for our future as a family, so that we can best know how to provide for you.

You’re one luck lady, Noemi, to have such a dynamite papa!

The Things People Say

Yesterday I had my teeth cleaned.  As the dental technician had her hands in my mouth she went on and on about how terrible it is that adoptions cost so much money and how long they take.  I was stuck, unable to break into the one-way conversation, given that my teeth were busy.  After I sat up and spit, I explained that adoptions take so long because of all of the appropriate checks and balances and how we are not “paying for a baby” (as inferred) but paying for the supplies and staff needed to care for our daughter and the people who are completing paperwork on her behalf.  She insisted that someone was being paid off.  I insisted that I spent months researching agencies and that I am confident that corruption is not a part of Noemi’s adoption experience.  I lied back down satisfied.  The technician returned her hands to my mouth, shook her head and said, “I don’t buy it one bit.  Someone’s making a lot of money.”  And then I bit her.  Well, not really, but I wanted to.  Donovan tells me that my impulse control is improving.

Commencement Time

We are in Get It Done Mode here in the Witmer household.  Up until this point I have restricted myself from buying anything for Noemi (aside from her little welcome bag).  But now it’s time to go hog wild.  I will begin with the nursery.  

Donovan got his bootie in motion and cleaned out his office this past weekend.  He moved all of his photography equipment to its new home in our walk-up attic.  We set up his desk, files and gear so that his photography business still has its own home.  But Donovan Photography has been dethroned.  The “office” is now being transformed into the “nursery.” My plan is to have the walls painted, shelves hung, furniture moved in and curtains made in the next few weeks.  Noemi is moving in. 

In the spirit of decorating, my sister-in-law, Jennie, and I went antiquing to begin the search for all things nursery worthy.  Not too much makes me happier than a sunny day antiquing with someone  who loves it as much as I do.  I was looking for a piece of furniture that can be used as a changing table, but no such luck.  The day was redeemed when I found these can’t-walk-away chotchkies for her room.  The freakishly cute ashtrays will be used to house Q-tips and the like.  I’m such a sucker for random occupied Japan-era stuff.  Oh, and don’t forget the framed appliquéd elephant…too funny. 

Let the decorating commence!

Did You Say "June 30th?"

On Friday Donovan and I received official word that Noemi’s court date is scheduled for June 30^th!  Yes, I’ll say it again…

JUNE 30^th!!! You got it, only a few weeks away. Amen and Hallelujah!

As you can imagine, our heads are spinning with gleeful anticipation.  If she passes court on the 30^th it could be as soon as 3 weeks after that we would travel to bring her home.  Yikes.  Let’s be honest, it’s not like we haven’t had time to prepare…I mean...we have been working at this whole parenthood thing for  years, folks. But last month we were under the impression that it would be fall/winter before we would be going to get her.  Based on the timelines of those before us, things were slowing down and hiccups seemed to abound.   That’s not to say that there still couldn’t be a hiccup or two or three in there for us--hiccups in the adoption world are to be expected and are like our drawn out labor pains—but we are hopeful.

IF Noemi passes court on the 30^th (meaning all of her Ethiopian paperwork is in order—something we or our agency has no control over) than she is legally ours.  At that point, we are finally allowed to release her photo!  AAI will then schedule a date with the Embassy in Ethiopia for Noemi to be issued her visa and passport to travel to the US with us.  We will fly over to be present for the Embassy appointment.  If she doesn’t pass court, another date will be scheduled for her within the next month or so.  For example, all of the families from Group L who failed court on June 8^th were rescheduled for the day before Noemi, June 29^th. 

In the mean time, Donovan and I have shifted into GIDM.  Get It Done Mode, baby.   Let’s see… we have a long list of things to accomplish in (possibly) a short amount of time:

1. Complete the bathroom renovation (that means an actual toilet must be present in the same room as the tub).

2.    Set up the nursery…paint, find furniture, make curtains out of cute yellow vintage fabric and alphabetize my children’s literature collection (just kidding).

3.    Buy necessary stuff—like diapers, clothes and butt paste.

4.    Buy a car to replace mine—the old Subaru finally died.  We’re going straight for the Mini.  Van, that is. Make fun all you want--I'll look freakin' chic. 

That’s just to name a few of the majors…

Stay tuned for soon-to-come GIDM photos of our progress!  

AAI Meets Blogger

And now for a little shameless adoption agency promotion...

Just a quick note to point out that I have added the link to our agency's relatively new blog on the right-hand side of this page. Check it out for information about the adoption and humanitarian goings-on in Ethiopia as well as AAI's other programs in countries such as Ghana, Thailand and China.   Take a look--we just love AAI!

Mmmmmm Mmmmmmm Good!

This past week we received word that Noemi was filed with the Ethiopian courts and has been assigned to Group M.  This means that there is a group of approx 12 children from our agency that will all be heard in court on the same day, and Noemi is part of that group.  We still don’t have a date for that group, but we know that Group L has a court date of June 8^th.  So…it could be sooner than we had first thought!  Wooooo Hooooo!

It would not be uncommon if Noemi did not pass court the first time around.  Many families watch multiple courts dates go by before their child passes.  Ms. Pragmatist in me is hoping and praying for the best (It WILL happen, no?) and yet trying to emotionally prepare for a bumpy ride.  I don't really know how to "prepare oneself" for such utter disappoint.  I had a conversation with another mother this week who is on her 9th court date, so my heart is aware.  But Donovan and I both feel positive, and we are focusing on that and moving forward with the assumption that she will pass the first time around.

The Ministries of Women’s Affairs (MOWA) processes adoptions in Ethiopia and is under a lot of stress to hear adoption cases as quickly as possible.  That being said, they are becoming increasingly careful to rule out any type of corruption. For this reason, they are not going to “pass” a child whose paperwork is not 100% in place at the time of the hearing.  This is a good thing.

The director of AAI had this to say earlier this week in reaction to many families not passing multiple times:

Some cases passed court today, seven cases passed this week. Unfortunately they were not necessarily the cases that had waited the longest.  Some MOWA letters were not written (MOWA needs to write a cover letter for each child’s file, and this is often the single element that is missing). Some folks are angry. It makes me angry too, but I can't fault MOWA for wanting to be sure every thing is absolutely correct. MOWA is not the enemy, their agenda is to assess each situation and be sure that everything is done correctly and completely. The director of MOWA has been in prison twice in the past six months, while "irregularities" were checked. She is responsible to be sure that documents are reviewed and complete before signing off. She is asking more questions and asking for more detail than ever before. We believe that this will continue and that adoption from Ethiopia will be ever more complex. I don't know the details but two different times MOWA letters were not ready and we were told it was because the director was in prison. I believe she is an honest person doing her best to act in a legal way but it seems to be that they arrested first and ivestigated later. Both cases it was only for a few days. We have seen this happen with orphanage directors as well. This is why we keep saying how important it is that everything be done correctly and that is what we strive to do.

I continue to have absolute confidence in Temesgen (The AAI attorney, our POA) to move the cases forward and assist in getting whatever documentation is needed. Do remember that we are guests in Ethiopia, adopting their children according to their rules and processes. I do understand the pain of disappointment for those who though that finally their wait would be over. It will happen.

With that…we pray, hoot and holla for a speedy and smooth court hearing for Group M!