A little morning dance music for you...

Who doesn't love a little K'Naan in the morning? I decided we needed links to these songs on my blog, mostly so that I don't have to find them on youtube 50,000 times a day. It has been a very very stressful time for us... and what better to do when you're sad and scared than start a dance party!? Been dancing all morning, waiting for news of our court date.

Oh so Faint... but a Glimmer of Hope

We have been waiting for the last week and a half for the bomb to be dropped. You know... the "I know you love these kids and would do anything for them, but you can't have them and they won't ever have a family and there's not a thing in the world you can do about it." Yesterday our case manager sent me an e-mail stating that the head of the Ethiopian program would be calling us today. We thought, this is it. Why else would she have someone else call? If it was happy news, she'd want to tell us.
Well, I waited all day for the call, slogging through my day at work and jumping when the phone rang. When I got home, I had an e-mail saying that they just received word that the kids have a court date in the city where they are from. The orphanage director is trying to get them declared as legally abandoned. Our agency said they don't know if it will work... it isn't something they would usually do because of our unusual circumstances, and they have no idea how long it might take... if the judge can see past the letter of the law and look more towards the spirit of the law. However, the orphanage director and agency staff say that everyone who meets our kids falls in love with them, and everyone has a huge soft spot for these particular kids. They are going to exhaust every effort to make sure they have a family, even if they don't think it will work.
It may be faint, but a glimmer it is. So, on June 15th, if you could send some good thoughts toward Ethiopia and cross your fingers, we'd greatly appreciate it. Actually, start sending the good thoughts now. It can't hurt to have them building up for a few days.

So impressed....

with myself for getting Meron to sit still long enough to do her hair in flat twists (I think they look pretty good for a first attempt at doing her whole head)

and with Meron for her new trike riding skillz...

Just so you all don't think I spend all of my time being depressed and angst ridden...

10 things I am thankful for in no particular order... and some pictures (since I know that is what you're all waiting for).

1. The way Meron says ketchup.... "Kepsush"

2. I love my family. I mean all of my family. Parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts and uncles, second cousins... whatever. They're awesome.

3. I am really enjoying the last month of "my girls" at work. I won't be able to be their counselor after this month, so I've been having a great time.

4.Meron has started doing this new thing... when she wakes up in the morning, she lays down by me with her head on my pillow and we chat for a while. She is so sweet and cuddly and we talk about what we're going to do all day.

5. That we are fortunate enough to be able to add more children to our family.

6. That Nathan does the dishes 99.9% of the time... because he's just that awesome.

7. Either Meron has gone to sleep in less than 45 minutes 3 sleeps in a row. (sadly, this is a very big deal)

8. That Mer is big enough to want to run through a sprinkler this summer. So. Much. Fun.

9. That Meron and I went to the park tonight and we sat on top of the jungle gym and talked about our days. Meron says she played in the sandbox, then got gum, ate pizza, made some money, took a nap and then Mama picked her up. Sounds like a stellar day to me.

10. These pictures of Meron telling me a story. I love that I can almost hear what she was talking about because of the progression of faces she's making.

Update on the Big Kids....

Kind of. So far all we know for sure is that they gave them another 10 days of staying at the transition center in Addis. This is good, because they've been there for a year, and I would hate for them to be uprooted again needlessly. Other than that, the new isn't great.
Thanks so much to everyone for your kind words, support, and ideas. I've talked with our agency about all of the ideas everyone has had, and they said because of the situation and the region that our kids are from, these aren't possible. Everything comes down to a relative (who really hasn't ever been a part of the kids' lives but still has all of their rights). This person has been informed of the situation, but ethically can't be pressured into signing papers. They just need to decide if they want the kids with them (which would be fine) or want the kids to come to us (which we would love).... or just do nothing (in which case the kids will grow up in an orphanage). So far they are choosing the third option, and there is nothing anyone can do about it and still remain ethical. I just wish there was some way we could fight for them. We have so much fight and nothing we can do with it. All we can do is keep hoping. And keep loving them. And wait.