It's a GIRL! And a BOY!

So, I have to confess. I've been holding out on people. A week after we got word that we wouldn't be able to adopt Y and S, we got a new referral. It was... crazy. They wouldn't let us accept right away because the clinic that does HIV testing got really backed up and they didn't have those test results yet, so I didn't really want to announce anything until it was official. Plus, we needed more time to process everything than I thought we would. It was so hard to still be grieving, but trying to make such a major decision for our family. So, we only told a couple of people... mostly people who we needed to talk things through with.
The girl (her name starts with a Y and means "she is mine") is officially 25 months, but looks much older. Like, Meron's age or maybe 6 months older. The boy (his name starts with an M and means "he has returned") is officially 13 months, but looks about 20 months. They are from the Sidama-Dale region in Ethiopia, which is a very poor, very rural area. It is almost in Kenya, and almost in Sudan. They are beautiful. In all of the first pictures we got of them they are together. She always has him half way behind her, and looks like she is trying so hard to protect him. He is holding onto her like she is his life line. They break my heart. We just got some new pictures this weekend, and they are so great. She is smiling and lovely. He has pink socks on and is walking around on the floor.
We went back and forth about if this was the right thing for our family, for Meron, and for these two sweet kids. Their ages are not what we were expecting. Actually, we have no idea what their ages really are.... but they are for sure a lot younger than we were expecting.
After talking with our homestudy social worker and the agency's social worker and asking endless questions, we've decided to accept this referral. All of the information we received came down to the fact that, while it could be very difficult for Meron and for Y if they end up being very close to the same age, it will be okay after a while. A lot depends on how well their personalities mesh, and in this area, it is a leap of faith. But parenthood, no matter how it comes about, is always a leap of faith. It is a situation in which we must tread carefully, but not one which is not inherently awful. We have gotten a lot of advice from social workers, family members, parents of kids who are 'artificially twinned' and even behavioral therapists at work, and all say the same thing... you need to be careful, but it can be done and can be wonderful.
So... here we are. Waiting for a court date again. We don't anticipate making it before courts close for the rainy season (from early August to mid September) so are anticipating a court date in late September or early October. We are hoping they are home by Christmas.