Happy Birthday Baby!

Niko turns nine months old today. Instead of cupcakes and sweets, which will be the obvious treat for all future birthdays once his little toes touch down on U.S. soil, I spent most of yesterday with some good 'ole fashioned nuts & bolts for the immune system. We now have enough pureed mango/banana, sweet potatoes and carrots for twenty five meals.

I had hoped this would be the weekend we spent in a giddy-fog as we packed Niko's homecoming bag, our bags, some more donation items for the orphanage and ran the final errands before flying out next Sunday. As more bits came in from various sources this weekend, our odds of flying have significantly dropped. In turn, our personal efforts have spiked in equal value.

I am headed to our congressman's office this morning on my way to work. Should our file not be scanned by end of day today, I'll be heading to New Hampshire either tonight or tomorrow morning to sit in their office and await some personal attention. It was confirmed late Friday that this is where our updated file (remember the lovely Officer? This is where she sent it) is most likely sitting in the mailroom awaiting scan & upload into the National Visa Processing system. Yes, it may be a shot in the dark but we're running out of shots here and I'll take what we can get. The senator's office will also be getting involved today, as they are already in the loop and willingly offered assistance.

I must also say that we've faced zero resistance from anyone who ends up hearing our situation. Everyone is accomodating and onboard to offer whatever help they can. If the person at the front desk of this office follows suit, we may see a positive outcome after all.

To recap, once our file is scanned in the U.S. system it will be cabled (emailed) to the embassy in Addis, Ethiopia for our scheduled embassy appointment (8/5) . We're told this can take from one day to weeks to appear. We don't have weeks.

It's a risk, but at this point it's likely one of us will be flying if our scan makes it into the U.S. system but doesn't reach Ethiopia. The reason...there are still four days it COULD arrive (8/1-8/5) and if we don't get on the plane and our embassy appointment is ready to go, can you imagine the horror if the parents didn't show up???

Thanks again for everyone's support. It really does make a difference and we appreciate it. I know some of you have emailed and asked about our trip, but to be honest I don't have the time nor the energy right now to tell that story with proper attention to do it justice. I will tell it, but not until this is resolved.

Stay tuned as The Drama of The Prints continues...

On a sidenote, the blog design we've been using has changed on the backend and will be updating shortly. In the meantime, you may see some funky things in the layout.

Blue Funk of International Adoption

aka...the suckiness

There are ups & downs in every part of life and if there wasn't, well...we would all be a bit bland wouldn't we? International adoption is no exception and is fundamentally the big unknown. It's that unknown part of IA that can make your head spin because it is so foreign (no pun intended) to us.

Eastern Africa, the Ethiopian population specifically, is currently facing significant hardship. This is a bold statement considering the customary standard of living endured by Ethiopians. Droughts are in their fifth year. Cattle are dying due to dried up watering holes. Crops can't endure the climate change. So where are families getting their food? nutrition? water? income? and the list goes on. One thing I read that I wouldn't have realized is a side-effect of the drought is conflict. Because families depend on their cattle & crops for both food and income, it is not uncommon for families losing their cattle & crops, to pillage others which in turn creates great conflict within the communities.

"This is the worst humanitarian crisis Oxfam has seen in east Africa for over ten years," Paul Smith Lomas, Oxfam's East Africa Director, said in a statement. source: NY Times

Our entrance into this new world of IA officially began in 2/09. After eight months, I still consider us newbies with so much room for growth. Reports like this from worldwide news outlets make me think in very selfish terms, "Based on our timeframe, I think our baby has been conceived. What in the world is his birth mother eating, drinking, feeding him? How is she getting proper nutrients? Am I being naive when I think/hope she isn't affected by this drought? The reports say the entire country is in the midst of it." And then I stop or I will simply self-induce a panic moment causing my head to explode. So, I rationalize - this is the unknown that we signed on for and as much as I don't like it, it is completely out of my hands right now.

The other Blue Funk moment this week is that courts did not reopen on 9/28 as planned. The rainy season ended (ironic, considering the 5 year drought. I still don't get it myself but am researching it.) but the courts are conducting a training session for two weeks which will keep courts closed through 10/9. Agencies will be announcing the reopening as they receive updates from the federal government. Our thoughts go out to the families who had a 10/5 court date.

Okay, so enough Doom & Gloom. I'm not a fan.

I've done my fair share of research; learning about others' experiences with IA. I've heard and read things that gave me goosebumps - both the good & the not-so-good; experiences from both birth parents and adoptive parents to be. It is rough. It is joyous. It is at times unsettling while being the most exciting venture of your life. The only definitive of IA is that is the unkown.

I'll simply conclude this by saying that IA is not for the weak.