It has been a very busy week! The small of it is that we are working on packing...putting our donations in suit cases, buying new hairbands, trying to figure out how big Sifan is (with no luck) and BEGGING our agency for the June 18th embassy date! Our measurements for Sifan do not have a date so they may have been taken in January or March....and she may have grown since then...so I am not sure what to take....Wubi in that time has gone from big girl 4's to 5's pushing 6's with a big 3 inch gain in height.....has Sifan grown? If so, how much?
I have been trying to refocus my mind on attachment and trying to reflect on the last 18 months to learn from our experience with Wubitu's transistion into our home and hopefully make this experience much more smooth for the whole family.
Wubi is getting EXCITED!!! If we are allowed to travel for the 18th embassy date then we will be home in 3 weeks from today!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please pray with us for the June 18th embassy date.

I called as soon as BFAS opened this morning to ask about our court date and they said they would call me back after they had contacted Ethiopia. One hour later at 11:02 am we found out that WE PASSED!!! (this means the Ethiopian courts officially name Torrey & I as Sifan's legal parents) Estimated Embassy date will be June 18th or July 2nd..... we are praying for the 18th (especially since we have already purchased tickets leaving the 12th and coming home June 19th!)
Our agency has asked that we not post pictures until we are home so unfortunately we will have to wait a few more weeks to post them here! (Sorry!)
So PRAYING, PRAYING, PRAYING that Sifan's TB test comes back clean and we get the June 18th embassy date!!!!!!!!

TODAY IS THE DAY!!! I didn't sleep much last night......it isn't yet 4pm in Ethiopia.......I am super anxious about our news today. Praying, praying, praying as they might be in court RIGHT NOW! Or she might already be MY daughter......

1 DAY!!!! TOMORROW!!!! I am completely freaked out right now.....I am such a hands on type of person that is is hard for me not to call our agency and go over everything to make sure everything is in order for our court date....it is hard to not dwell on everything that could go wrong since there is so much that goes into a court date.
I am fasting & praying until I hear the good news tomorrow.

2 DAYS!!! I wanted to sleep in today but I was super excited to call the travel agency today to book our tickets.....we don't have our travel date yet but if all goes well we plan to leave on the 12th. We are sort of taking a gamble (and I am NOT the gambling type..a bit nervous about it).....if everything goes as planned we will be saving A LOT of money....if plans are changed we are out $100. Plus the seats are filling up for the 12th flight so we wanted to make sure we were on it if we have the 18th embassy date as expected.

We finally finished the princess castle double loft yesterday! (the pics are a bit dark...I couldn't quite get the lighting right). The girls basically have a full 13 x 13 space to play since their beds are off the ground. Plus they now have the bigger closet to hold their dresses and toys since they are in the master bedroom.The boys BEG to sleep in the castle bed! All 4 kids easily fit in the 2 lofts.
Easy access princess dresses & stuffed animal holder

Thank you so much to Torrey's parents Keith and Joanne for buying Sifan's mattress for the loft bed! You have truly blessed us!! And thank you again to our construction crew Brian, Jordan, Keith, Torrey!

3 DAYS!!!
OH YEAH!!! I became teary eyed several times today at church telling people that if everything goes right I will be leaving for Ethiopia in 2 1/2 weeks!

Yesterday we celebrated my parents 30th wedding anniversary! We had a great time at their lake house together! Unfortunately I didn't get a new pic of them together because they were running all around for the party and my mom didn't want me to take her pic because she didn't have her "eyelashes" on......hmmmmm.....I wonder where I get the no pic thing from.......

Paddleboating with dad
Noah LOVED jumping off the pontoon with the other kids.
Aunt Lora & Wubi taking the pontoon for a spin around the lake.

Squirt guns are fun!!

4 days! I had to stop myself from posting this at midnight. If everything falls into place then I will be meeting little Sifan 3 weeks from today! We are sooooo ready! Yesterday I started to feel very anxious about our court date....so many things have to be in order for the court date so there are many things that could go wrong.......oy! We praying this weekend that everything is in place, we pass court and recieve the June 18th embassy date.

5 Days!!! Wow! Rumor in the Ethiopian adoption world is that the ban on abandoned cases in Addis Ababa may be lifted....some agencies are saying that it is lifted....some say it is not.....some say that it has been lifted for specific orphanages....government orphanages yes...non government no.....many of my adoption friends have been living an emotional roller coaster as conflicting reports came in all day yesterday and continue today.

In Ehrman family news....Torrey started his calculus class this week. It is M-Thursday and takes 3 hours out of the work day plus 3-6 hours of homework a night.....oy! It has been a hard week....and probably a window into what to expect in the next year. Torrey has been attending IPFW for 8 years now part time 2 classes a semester. This coming Fall semester 4 classes he needs to graduate are offered! If he doesn't take them now it could be another 3 years before they are offered again. So we made the decision to go for it and Torrey will be going to school full time this coming fall and spring semesters and if he suceeds he will be able to graduate next May! He will also have to continue to work full time and I will have to continue to work part time at the YMCA. With Sifan coming home in the next month we know our family will be going through a HUGE transition along with the stress of college. So we have really had to start reevaluating what is MOST important in our lives and basically FAMILY comes first.
So in preparation for Sifan's arrival we have decided to let some responsibilites go. In particular I will have to reevaluate my position as PTA president for next year so that I can focus 100% on Sifan's transistion and supporting Torrey while he is going to school so that when he is home he only has to worry about connecting with the kids and not ANY housework. Giving PTA up will be difficult but I know it is the right decision for our family.

6 Days PEOPLE!!! Never thought I would be a countdown person but here I am.....restraining myself from posting half and quarter days!
In Ethiopian adoption news: There are rumors that the ban on Abandonment cases in Addis is being lifted! See the latest information sharing (rumors) here
I am hoping that it is true for my friend Jen. She was scheduled for court today but the ban would prevent her case from being heard. But there is hope, in addition to the possible ban lift our agency is working to get additional paperwork to prove to the courts that each case with our agency is 100% ethical and not in any way involved with the incident in question.
So if you get a vacant expression or a huh after you talked to me.....sorry just a lot on my mind.
Praying for Jen today!!!!!!!

7 DAYS! That's right 1 Week!!! Hopefully next Wednesday I will be announcing that Marjorie Sifan Ehrman is officially our daughter. We are hoping hoping hoping though that we get through early.....praying....we didn't get a bump today but it could still happen tomorrow, Friday, Monday or Tuesday. We are praying that we pass by Monday so we can take advantage of the lower airfare. I have tickets on reserve just in case.
We recieved a GREAT update from Holly W who is in ET right now. This is what she said: At "Kunkeet, the kids were a riot! They wanted to show off for me. I have video and pix of both places.
Sifan was hugging me from the moment that I got out of the car. So cute! She showed me her nose, ears, eyes and wanted to show me a game in ET.
They all counted to 10, did ABC's, and sang for me in English and in Amharic."
Tears people, tears! THANK YOU SO MUCH HOLLY!!!!
I can't wait to go get my little girl!!! Our court date will mark 4 months of staring at her picture waiting for the green light....

I received a promising response from our agency today! They said that they don't think that it will take 6 weeks after court to travel....they were hestitent to give us a date but did have some fabulous news. Our agency is working to see if they can move some court dates up! My friend MEG was one of them that was moved up!!! Read about it here!!!!!!

ONLY 8 more days!!!!! I did a little shopping today to get a few small gifts for Noah, Carter, and Wubi for when I am gone.....and last night I started to pack Sifan's suitcase....is this real????

Seriously 9 days (8 1/2 really)!!! I am getting so nervous!!! Please please please pray that we pass on May 27th and that we get the June 18th embassy date!!! Another agency recently gave an estimated embassy date of July 13th to a family with the same court date :( . The problem(s) are that 1) Sif would be in the orphanage for ANOTHER month (7+ months) 2) Airfare is an extra $800-1,000 for us (Sif and I) around the July date because it is peak travel season in ET. After searching Ethiopian adoption blogs we have found that 2-4 weeks has still been the "normal" wait from court to travel.......hmmmm. I have an email in to BFAS to see what they think as far as what to expect. I hope to hear tomorrow!

Wubitu had a fabulous time at her first dance recital!!! She LOVES to dance and LOVES to be the center of attention....oh yeah and she LOVES to dress up in sparkly clothes and wear too much makeup too!







Double click on the videos to view them at a higher quality.

Wubi had her last dance class of this school year yesterday. Here is a sneak peek at her moves she is preparing for the recital on Sunday:

13 days until court!!! (I am getting super excited and super anxious!) It is all feeling more real now...though some recent unconfirmed reports (read: possibly true rumors) (not from our agency) suggest that it may now take 6 weeks from the court date until travel instead of 3 weeks as more checks and balances are put into place to assure ethical adoptions in Ethiopia. For more information on recent happenings in Ethiopian adoption check these links:
http://www.ethicanet.org/notes-from-meeting-of-ethiopia-country-representatives
http://adoption.state.gov/country/ethiopia.html

I have been scheduling my life and wrapping my heart around a June 18th embassy date (the day we appear before the US embassy to apply for a passport for Sifan in Ethiopia) (leaving here on the 12th of June). If the report about the extended wait between court and travel is true it will more likely be a July 2nd or 16th embassy date...................

Please excuse my lack of blogging we have been on overdrive over here. This weekend we started constructing the girl's double loft castle bed. After about 12 hours of construction on Saturday we have a super cute and functional space. I have been painting 6-12 hours a day since Friday and still have more to paint tonight as Torrey cuts the finishing touches. HOPEFULLY we will be done by tomorrow. I will post more later in the week after we have it all complete! It is a HUGE project! Thank you to Torrey's dad Keith, and brothers Brian & Jordan for helping us on Saturday!! You ROCK!!! Here is a little sneak peek our progress as of Saturday.

In adoption news several families from our agency found out today that their court dates could be delayed due to an investigation in Ethiopia concerning children who have been abandoned in the capital city Addis Ababa. The courts are not hearing these cases until the investigation is complete. This investigation will affect many agencies who work in Ethiopia and over 100 cases currently scheduled for court. We are thankful that the Ethiopian government is taking these steps to safeguard the children of Ethiopia by looking further into cases that might involve corruption. We are hopeful that no corruption is found and everything will move along in these adoptions without much delay. We are praying for the families and children involved that there is a quick resolution.

We heard today that we will not be affected by this and are thankful that our court date will continue as planned in 15 days. However, it is bittersweet as several of my close adoption friends will be delayed.

I am thankful that we are incredibly busy for the next 3 weeks as it will help the time go by more quickly but I admit that I am a bit sad that we have not had any updates on Sifan since the first week of April. The orphanage moved last month to a new location and I haven't received an update since. Sifan was overlooked by the last travelers who visited her orphanage and the most recent travelers were not able to make it to her orphanage because it is now located about an hour away from our agency's guesthouse (from recent reports from travelers). We are holding on here though with the idea that if all goes well I will be leaving in 31 days to pick her up!!! HOLD ON SIFAN only one more month!!!

Today marks 6 weeks until I THINK that I will be leaving to pick up Sifan (if all goes as planned). So I have been buckling down to learn some Amharic (the national language of Ethiopia). I have been very intentional about it all week and I have so say....it is so frustrating!!! Amharic is soooooo much harder than French to learn...in fact when i am trying to think of the phrases in Amharic...they come out in French in my mind....ugggg. On one hand I know we can make it if i don't learn Amharic....we knew very very little when Wuby came home...basically just what we learned in ET.....so it isn't absolutley essential. But at the same time I see the value of learning as much as I can so perhaps the transistion will be easier 1) because I can more easily understand what Sifan is needing and teach the English equivalent 2) because it helps me better understand a tiny part of the frustration that Sifan will feel coming to a completely new environment and trying to learn a language that is so completely different.
I have felt so defeated by trying to learn Amharic....but it definatly gives me a new appreciation for the language growth Wubitu has attained in the last year....wow she is amazing!