We passed!

We passed court this morning! We went to the courthouse this morning and waited in a large room with all the other couples. There were quite a few families from our orphanage there. We have gotten to know all of them through hanging out at the transisition house with our kids. They called us back one by one to the hearing room to aswer a few questions. It really only took 5 minutes. It was basically for them to establish that you knew that these would be your children and you were responsible for them. They asked a few questions about Zoey and that was it. At the end she said: "They are yours." After all we have been through waiting and fearing that we would not even be able to adopt them, hearing that was the most wonderful thing we had ever heard. It would have been nice if they boys had been there with us, but I doubt they would have understood any of it and we may have scared them with our crying.

After court we went shopping.  This was a fabulous shopping trip. Our driver Ayni took us. It was great to have her their to transate and let us know where was the best place to buy things. We got some really cute traditional outfits for the boys, some decor for home, gifts, and a necklace for Zoey when she gets older. In Ethiopia, the Orthadox Christians and many Protestant Christans wear wooden Coptic crosses. Chera had mentioned he liked crosses so we bought a few for all the older kids in the transition house(only about 11). It was amazing to see how excited all these kids got for these tiny little inexpensive neclaces. Everytime we have brought anything for them; bubbles, stickers, suckers, it's like they hit the lottery. As I have mentioned before, all the kids want to make sure that everyone got one. It is sweet to see how they look out for one another.

We had a good day with the boys. We played some soccer, passed the ball and spinned the boys around. Our close friend Haley made the boys a book with pictures of her and her brother, our house, church, us, Zoey and soccer. I thought they would like it, but I had no idea how much they would like it! All the kids gathered around and watched as Justin read it to them and Anyi translated. We read it a few more times and Chera has it memorized now! Haley-thank you so much for making the book for the boys. I took pictures and I have a video of them saying thank you to you and Nathan!

After hanging out at the orphanage we came back to the hotel for some dinner. Justin  went ahead to get us a table at the restaurant and Zoey and I were going to meet him there after we changed his diaper. We were comming down the elevator to the restaurant when it jarred and went completely dark. I knew this was just a power outage becuase it happens all the time. Thankfully our hotel has a generator so it does not last long. Zoey started screaming and I couldnt see which button to press to call for help. I just hit every button that was on the wall. I started banging on the door and yelling for help. I heard someone bang back at me and casually say in an Ethiopian accent: Don't sweat, its alright" For those of you who have been to Ethiopia, you know that nothing  to big of a deal big deal. It only lasted for a few minutes, but its hard not to sweat when you are in a pitch black elevator with a screaming baby! At least it is an interesting story for us to tell.

Better go now, we all need to get some rest. Thank you so much for all the prayers regarding our courtdate. God has definitely worked throughout this process.
----- Original Message -----
From: Donna B Brown <donnamt@insightbb.com>
Date: Sunday, December 5, 2010 10:36
Subject: Update!
To: donaldparker@vzw.blackberry.net,lesleys@ariseforchildren.com>, susank.ariseforchildren@gmail.com,susancallander@gmail.com>, ronda.cosby@jefferson.kyschools.us,lupitacross@hotmail.com, rebecca.edney@yahoo.com,jessicanaber@yahoo.com, brittneyj.armstrong@gmail.com,<kdozier@sobmlegal.com>
Cc: drae48@insightbb.com>,donnamt.ethiopia@blogger.com,coram deo abf <coramdeoabf@yahoogroups.com

> Two seperate updates. I tried to send  the first one this
> morning but the internet wasn't working.
>
> Update 1
> We made it to our hotel last night at around 3:30 am. This was
> about 6 hours later than we expected. All of the flights except
> our flight from Louisville to Detroit had delays. One for snow,
> one for mechanical reasons, and one  becuase of another
> passengers medical needs. The snow was so bad in Amsterdam that
> the airport was shut down. Once it opened back up there was only
> one runway. We sat in the plane for around 3 hours waiting. The
> KLM staff were wonderful though. There was plenty to eat, drink,
> and lots of movies to watch. Zoey was great. she didn't sleep
> much, but was pretty happy most of the way. The only time she
> got cranky was after our stop in Sudan. It was only an hour trip
> from Sudan to Ethiopia, so it wasn't too bad.
>
> We only got around 5 hours of sleep so I am sure we will sleep
> good tonight. In a half hour we are going to go visit the boys!
> I am very nervous and excited. I just wonder how much they
> understand and what they will be thinking when they see us.
> Justin is ready to play some soccer with them. We even brought a
> ball with us.
>
> Please keep us in your prayers. I really want us all to stay
> healthy. Also, our court date is tomorrow afternoon. Which will
> be early in the morning your time.
>
> Brittney-Justin gave Jared your gifts. He liked them very much.
> We also gave him some paper and a pen so he can write a letter
> to you. We will take a little video of him as well.
>
> Haley-I will probably give the boys your book on Tuesday after
> we know how the court date went! I know they are going to love
> it!
>
> Update 2
> We spent a lot of time with the boys today! They have already
> been moved to the transition house. This is where all the kids
> that are close to coming home go. When we got there, they were
> both napping. It took them a little while to warm up to us since
> they had just woke up from a nap, but that changed quickly. We
> were having fun and were covered in stickers in no time! 
> Both said they remembered us from our previous trip
> Words can't describe how beautiful these boys are! Its just so
> amazing to actually get to know them after only looking at
> pictures for so long. Justin took his football(soccer for you
> Americans!) and played with all the kids. Suprisingly they also
> like basketball. Not sure if they have played with an actual
> basket, but they like to dribble and pass. Justin had such a
> great time coaching them, it was fun to watch. I video taped
> them with our flip and both boys cracked up watching themselves.
> I have  a feeling we will be doing that a lot!
> We brought dum-dums for all the kids. Big Hit! I learned today
> that it makes the caretakers happy to get the candy as well.
> They were very appreciative to get some candy. Chera wanted to
> make sure everyone got a sucker. He asked for extras and took
> them to staff who hadn't gotten any yet. I was very proud of
> him. There are many negative behaviors that come from living in
> the orphanage, but I think there are just as many if not more
> positive behaviors. All the kids are looking out for each other
> and love to share with others.
> Zoey did great. The response when the nannies saw her was worth
> any trouble that it took to get her here. They were so happy to
> see her doing well. When we walked in the gates we heard many
> high pitched exclamations that "Hiwot is here"!
>
> Going to eat dinner now. Ready for some Ethiopian food! Then, a
> lot of sleep! 
>
>
>
>  
>
>  Donna Brown MM, MT-BC
> Louisville Music Therapy, LLC
> (502)376-9064
> DonnaMT@insightbb.com
> www.louisvillemusictherapy.com
> www.justinanddonna.blogspot.com
>

Donna Brown MM, MT-BC
Louisville Music Therapy, LLC
(502)376-9064
DonnaMT@insightbb.com
www.louisvillemusictherapy.com
www.justinanddonna.blogspot.com