Sharing the Rest of the Story...Part 3

I am officially a TERRIBLE blogger!  I know, that you've known this for some time but I guess I'm finally getting around to admitting it.  I apologize (again) for taking so long to write out our story.  Life has been full, and writing does not come super easy or naturally to me, therefore, it takes me forever.  If you are just joining me now and realize you need to catch up, you can see Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE...

In keeping with my efforts to document Simmie's wild adoption story I am continuing with lots of details!  In this post I decided to actually include some pictures and excerpts of emails I sent to some friends and family while we were in Ethiopia (so hopefully this is a bit more entertaining than just lots of words.)

We arrived in Ethiopia Oct 14th and here is a short email I sent out that night:
"After over 25 hours of travel we are in Ethiopia at our guest home!  We are happy to be here and just hope we get some sleep tonight as the Ethiopian national soccer team won a game in the African cup today and the whole city is celebrating =)  First thing in the morning we will email the embassy and hope to hear back from them before we head to see Simmie at 9:00am!  We can't wait to see our son and will keep you updated tomorrow.  Praying we get the news of clearance in less than 12 hours!"

We didn't sleep well that night (surprise, surprise) but the morning promised to be good since we would be reunited with our son after 2.5 months!  Still no email from the embassy by 9am when our translator and driver arrived, but we were excited to see our Simmie! When we arrived at the transition home we went into the familiar "guest room" downstairs and waited for one of the nannies to bring him down to us.  When they appeared a few minutes later, my first thought was elation to be in the same room with him, my second thought was "OH MY GOODNESS- HIS HAIR IS G O N E!!!"  Yep, he was shaved completely bald the day before we arrived (more on that later...)

He was given to me and I couldn't help but notice how much he had grown since we last saw him (pangs of sadness at missing so much time with him) but how healthy and strong he looked!  At first he was NOT cool with me holding him and started to really fuss.  The nannies had backed away and were letting us have time with him, so we had to figure it out.  Trace started to hold him and he calmed right down!  Soon, this was the scene and we couldn't be more thrilled...

Around 10am we got to meet with the director of the orphanage and she shared that they were working to get in touch with the embassy to get details on our case.  Apparently we were the FIRST family in the history of the program to travel to Ethiopia before receiving clearance, so while they would do their best to get us cleared ASAP, they couldn't guarantee anything.  Shortly after that our agency lawyer let us know that he did talk to the embassy and found out that there was a problem with some of the testimony in the interview the week prior and that it didn't match some of the essential details of Simmie's case.  Now the embassy was requesting a document to clear things up...and of course this document had to come from his birth region a good 5 hour drive from the city!!!  The shock was lessened since we were holding Simmie, but this is definitely NOT what we expected or wanted to hear.  We were assured that the document would begin to be "worked on" that day, and should get to our staff on Tues the next day so it could be submitted to the embassy.  Talk about twists and turns!

Tuesday we spent as much time with Simmie as possible, and we fell even more in love with our sweet boy.  Here are some pictures from that fun day:

Loves clapping!

Crawling to Dad

Hangin out!

Gazing at Mama (or Mama gazing at Simmie!)

Regarding our case, what Tuesday did NOT bring was the letter from Simmie's home region that we were waiting on!  We were ASSURED that the letter would be faxed on Wed so it could be submitted to the embassy for their review and (prayerfully) approval.  Here are excerpts from the email I sent out that night:

"The plan is to receive that document tomorrow and get it into the embassy ASAP and to ask for special permission for an appointment right away since we are already in town. If we get the document tomorrow we will still be cutting it close to get an appointment on Thurs in order to come home as planned on Fri night (arriving Sat afternoon in Dallas). Of course, the embassy would have to accept the document and clear us once they receive it! The fact that we are in town seems to be motivating everyone to get this done quicker and we certainly hope it does!!! We really need you to continue standing and praying with us- it is frustrating that we keep encountering crazy things that are delaying us being together as a family, and IT IS TIME for Simmie to come home."

"On a good note, we have been able to spend some really good time with Simmie the past couple of days and are LOVING being here with him! He is really amazing and it was a blessing to be able to really see more of his personality (as he was sick the whole time we were last here!) He is getting around quite well when there is a toy or object that interest him, and he loves to clap for himself =) The big shock yesterday was that his hair was completely shaved off right before we arrived! Oh my word- I would have cried if I weren't so happy to see him at all. He is totally bald and the cutie has a large head =) I LOVED his curls was sad on Mon, but I've been assured his hair will grow back healthy and evenly, so here's hoping it grows fast! His smile totally overshadows anything else =) We get to take custody of him TOMORROW so no matter what he is ours- we are super excited!!!"

With that, I will pause the story here...BUT I will be back within a week to share the REST of (this part) of Simmie's adoption story!

Sharing the Rest of the Story...Part 2

In case you missed it, you can catch up on Part 1 here...again, all parts are very detailed =)

We woke up Wednesday without hearing from the embassy, but knew that sometimes it took another day before the All-Important Email is sent.  That day we just needed to hear from our agency that the interview had happened and all was well.  It wasn't unreasonable to expect to hear pretty early in the morning, but morning came and went without word.  It was a loooong morning to say the least!  Finally around 3pm I got a call from our agency rep letting me know that the important person in our case did make it to the embassy for the appointment, BUT that the embassy rescheduled the appointment for the next day so a new translator could accompany them.  W H A T???

The interview was rescheduled for 2:30 pm, and because it was so late in the day we were concerned that we might not hear (yet again) from the embassy the same day.  Still, I slept light and woke up every hour or so to check my phone in the middle of the night hoping the email would come!  We only had a couple of days left before we were scheduled to leave for Ethiopia, so we were officially IN crunch time.  Wed night/ Thurs morning came and went with no email- UGH!  So, we waited again to hear from our agency about the interview.  Around mid-morning we got a call that the interview happened (with the new translator) and went well- we were happy to hear this for sure!  This was my last day at work until our trip so I was busy getting everything set to be away.  Even with the news that the interview went well, we still needed embassy clearance to travel, so my mind wasn't totally at rest.  Trace and I were busy that night getting ready, and I went to bed just SURE the email would come and Friday would be my joyous preparation day to get things ready to FINALLY.BRING. MY. SON. HOME!

On Fridays in Ethiopia the embassy is only open a half day, so I expected to get the email anytime from 11pm Thurs night to 4am Fri morning.  I stayed up until about midnight, then decided to try and get some rest since I still hadn't heard anything.  I woke up around 2am to check my phone- still nothing. Now I was officially nervous.  Only and hour or two left before the embassy would be closed for the weekend!  I pretty much stayed awake until 4 am constantly checking my phone...to no avail. The email never came.  In despair I tried to go back to sleep.

In the morning Trace got up to get ready for work before I did.  Once the reality of the situation hit me- that we were NOT cleared by the embassy and our flight was scheduled to leave the very next day- I cried.  I cried harder than I had in a very long time.  No one from our agency had trouble with the embassy clearance if the interview went well, so we just couldn't understand what happened!  We had booked changeable/ refundable tickets but with 3 work days in the week when the (first) interview was scheduled we expected to know (one way or the other) whether our case had passed or whether there was trouble and have plenty of time to change our tickets if needed.  Since we didn't hear anything either way we didn't know what was happening and essentially had to decide what to do!  Should we go to Ethiopia without clearance???  We thought everything was OK and the embassy just didn't get around to sending the email, but then there was also the risk that something was wrong with our case and we would possibly have to extend our trip.  After Trace went to work I honestly wallowed for a while in the travesty of the situation.  In my mind at that time, THIS WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!  We had already been through so much and this was supposed to be the "easy" part!  My joyous preparation day was out the window!

I texted a few people and asked for prayer- I couldn't think straight and didn't have peace about going OR staying.   After three nights of little sleep and a very emotional morning I decided that I needed to take a nap- I wasn't being very productive anyway.  After my nap, I felt more rested and the same thought that I'd had for the past several weeks filled my mind, "it's TIME, Simmie needs to be with us as soon as possible."  That was it for me!  When Trace and I talked he wanted me to pray and seek the Lord for myself so I would be sure of His voice instead of just relying on Trace to make the decision.  Once I did and realized it was time, that was it, and I was ready to get busy!  Trace and I agreed and decided that even though we didn't know what was going to happen we would be in Ethiopia with our son.  So off we went...

Sharing the Rest of the Story...Part 1

So, hi there.  You probably thought this poor, neglected little blog was a thing of the past, and to tell you the truth, some days I thought it just might be.  Then I realized that even if no one else cares I want to document the details of the last part of our adoption journey to bring Simmie home.  And these posts will be filled with lots of details.

So here it goes- in several parts mind you.  My days are filled in a different sort of way now, and blogging is definitely not a top priority.

However, this is a pretty great story, and again, if no one else reads it, someday I will be happy that I took the time to write it....

                                **********************************************

We passed court to become Simmie's parents during our first trip to Ethiopia on July 30th.  At that time is was becoming typical for families to expect to travel for their second trip to appear before the US embassy in 6-8 weeks.  Of course we were hoping for closer to 6, making it mid- September when we could return to pick up our son.  We actually did great the first month we were home, and then we began to miss him more and more everyday.  The baby showers began in late August and they found me sharing about his personality and how much we adored him.  The gifts we received and the baby "gear" we were collecting started taking over the house.  I had to get serious about decorating the nursery.  All the preparations highlighted the obvious- he wasn't home yet, and we didn't quite know when we would be.

The weeks kept piling up and the delays in getting our case to the embassy (so we could obtain the all-important visa to bring him to the U.S.) were adding up.  The prime minister of Ethiopia died, so the medical clinic was closed the day Simmie was scheduled to have his last exam for the embassy- so it had to be rescheduled.  Then once that paperwork was ready to be submitted the day our agency is assigned to appear (once a week) the embassy was closed (unannounced) for New Years Eve (New Years is Sept 11th in Ethiopia).  They were able to submit the paperwork a few days later, and we *thought* everything was OK, but when 3 working days (including a dreaded weekend) went by without word from the embassy we inquired about whether things were alright and found out that the embassy was requesting copies of our visas.  By this time we'd lost almost 2 weeks- UGH!  Once the visa copies were received we DID hear from the embassy via email stating that they were reviewing our case and would be in touch!  A couple of days later we received another email from them saying that they were requesting an interview with a key person in our case and it was set for 2.5 weeks away.  We were expecting the interview to be requested but were hoping it would be sooner than this.  The slight disappointment gave way to excitement since this meant that immediately after the interview our case should be complete and we would be CLEARED to travel and go get Simmie!

The interview was scheduled for Oct 10th, and we thought we would likely hear from the embassy that day or the next about our case.  This was to be the FINAL hurdle in our adoption!  We looked at flight options and decided to book changeable/ refundable tickets because even if things didn't go well and the interview needed to be rescheduled there would be three work days to do so between the interview and our desired flight that Sat. the 13th.  So, we focused on finishing up our fundraising, getting things set at work, and preparation to become parents in those two weeks leading up to the embassy interview.  We packed, and incessantly talked about how we couldn't wait to finally GO. GET. OUR. SON!  Anticipation for heading back to Ethiopia and getting ready filled our thoughts because the interview was just a formality. Right?!?

During the day on the 9th I anxiously waited to hear the news that the person to be interviewed in our case had arrived in the capital of Addis Ababa and was ready to head to the embassy the next morning.  Instead we found out that they did not make it to the city (as planned) but would be sure to be at the embassy and meet our staff representative at 7:30am the next morning.  This was not what we had hoped to hear, but we had to trust that all would be well and they would make it there as promised.  Since the time zone in Ethiopia is 8 hours ahead of CST where we live, the interview was scheduled to take place at approx 11pm on Oct 9th our time.  We prayed and that it would go smoothly and rallied many of our family and friends to join us in this request.  I was anticipating hearing via email from the embassy as early as that night, so I woke up several times throughout the night and checked my phone for the email we'd waited to receive for almost three years- the email that essentially said "all is well, come to Ethiopia to pick up your son!"  That night the email did not come...

To be continued...

Our Adoption Story...by Trace

By Trace Jones

Our adoption journey is so personal, so emotional, that we’ve never really talked too much about it in an open forum.  Maybe this will help others as they walk down their own journey, no matter what it may be.

Randee has three adopted sisters.  I’ve known since before college that I would some day be an adoptive parent.  We talked about it in the early months and years of our marriage.  It’s definitely something that we would do, someday...

When we got married in November of 2002, we were super careful NOT to get pregnant.  Coming from families with moms that had no problems getting pregnant and had their first children within a year of being married, we knew that we wanted a couple of years before diving into parenthood, with four kids, potty training, little league, and dance recitals.

Eight long years later we’re still waiting.  Back in 2006 we decided to go in for infertility testing and treatment.  This culminated in a round of IVF in the summer of 2009 that did result in pregnancy.  We lost the baby a couple of short weeks later.

I’d love to say that we held on, never questioned our faith, and just “knew” everything was going to be alright.  We didn’t.  We questioned our decisions, God’s provision, the Bible, and each other.  It was rough.  Regardless, we did know that God was there and that He loved us.

Still, life was hard.  After spending years in prayer and treatment, and tens of thousands of dollars, our family still consisted of two, and we had no hope of growing our family.  We had talked about adoption a few times after the miscarriage, but it kind of felt like we were trying to fill the void of our loss with the prospect of adoption, and it just didn’t feel right.

I remember it well.  We went to church on a late winter day in February.  I don’t remember what the pastor preached on, but they had ministry time at the front for those who wanted prayer.  I wanted to go forward, but Randee was hesitant.  I thought we needed help, but Randee felt embarrassed.  I have to admit, I got mad.  Yes, the great spiritual juggernaut that I am, I stormed out of the church after it was over, with Randee in tow.

Thank God that He doesn’t leave us in our childish tantrums!  When we got home, I plopped on the couch and turned on Sports Center.  That’s when our lives changed.  On TV there was a special about a high school student in Minnesota that was the quarterback of the defending state football champions.  The interesting thing about it was that he was adopted from an orphanage in Russia (when he was 10 years old I believe).

Interesting indeed!  While I was watching the special, Randee was sitting on the edge of the couch (remember that we were still mad at each other).  Half way through the special Randee disappears for an hour into the back room.  I’m thinking about how to broach the subject of adoption again, and she’s online researching inter-country adoption.  Very interesting!

We talked, prayed, talked some more, prayed some more, talked to friends that have adopted internationally, researched adoption agencies, continued to pray, and then made the plunge to put in an application to adopt from Russia!

We were excited!  We went to a seminar, got some training, and started connecting with more folks that have adopted internationally.  We felt good about our decision, but not totally at peace.  What was the matter?

Around this time a woman from the states shipped her adopted son back to Russia, his homeland.  Can you imagine?  She sent him on a plane, with a note, by himself, back to Russia.  It was a media firestorm.  There was talk about the Russian government shutting down the Russia adoption program.

Then, BOOM, it hit us.  Ethiopia!  God was calling us to adopt from Ethiopia!  Let’s face it, one of the reasons we picked Russia is because the child(ren) we adopted could probably pass as our biological offspring.  But the more we thought and prayed about Ethiopia, the more we fell in love with it.

Our heart is there, in Africa.  We love the continent, and we love the people.  Years ago I had told Randee that someday I would adopt an African baby… could this be the time?

Alas, it is the time!  We are chomping at the bit to bring our little bundle of joy home!  We’ve been doing paperwork on top of paperwork, we’ve been fundraising, we’ve been preparing, and now we’re on the waiting list to be matched with a child.

That means that in as early as the middle of next year we can meet him for the first time!  And then a month or two later we can bring him home!  Oh what a wonderful day that will be!

Welcome to our first Blog posting ever!!!

So while this is our blog, I (Randee) will be the primary author. And when I say "primary" I really mean "only" :) Trace will be contributing via thoughts and ideas- we talk about EVERYTHING- so hopefully you will still "hear" from him through my posts. The first thought Trace had was to make my posts as short as possible "so people will actually read them," and in general I agree with him. This being my first posting, I intended to write more because I have a lot to say :) So, to satisfy everyone- those that want a quick, to-the-point update I will write a "Trace version" and for those (like me) that may enjoy more details, I will include a "Randee version." Welcome to our little blog!

TRACE VERSION
February 15th Randee and I felt the Lord telling us it was time to pursue an international adoption. We both felt strongly that we were to adopt a baby boy from Russia and began down that path. On April 9th we hit a snag- a story hit the news that made it look like adoption in Russia might close down or get a lot more difficult. Randee and I prayed for peace and direction, and a few days later we felt the Lord putting Ethiopia on our hearts. After we checked it out and prayed some more, we agreed to move our choice from Russia to Ethiopia! We both love Africa so it seems to make sense that we would end up adopting from there. Besides, I've always wanted an African son :) Next week we begin our home study and as it is the next step in our process, we are very excited!

RANDEE VERSION


WOW! Our lives have been turned upside down the past three months...in a good way. On February 15th Trace and I felt the Lord leading us down the road of international adoption after years of struggling with infertility. Adoption had been something we talked about and probably planned to do someday, but on that day we KNEW we were supposed to pursue it right away. Initially we felt peace to adopt a baby boy from Russia, and I began interviewing agencies like a woman on a mission. After some key conversations (Tami and Kelly come to mind) we decided on Dillon International based in Tulsa. After two rounds of applications and about an inch thick stack of paperwork (proof of EVERYTHING about our lives) we were waiting for final approval so we could get our home study scheduled and then startling news broke.

On April 9th the news media broke the story of a single mother who had recently adopted a 7-year old boy from Russia and sent him back to Russia with a one-way ticket 6 months later! The adoption community was floored, and Russia was furious. Some in Russia asserted that adoption to US families might halt, or at least would require greater oversight if they were to continue. At first I was stunned and terrified- I didn't know what this would mean for us and we had already waited SO long for children. After the initial shock wore off we began to pray that God would show us His plan for our family. As we laid our plans down we realized that we already had serious concerns with adopting from Russia and maybe this "roadblock" was intended to get our attention. We continued to pray and 3 days later felt a draw to Ethiopia! We began doing tons of research and talked with the case manager of the Ethiopia program and discovered that we were thrilled with the option of adopting from there! By the end of that week we moved our application over to the Ethiopia program officially, and now are moving full steam ahead!

There are many things we are looking forward to regarding adopting from Ethiopia- some being that we will most likely be able to adopt a very well taken care of and healthy baby. There is even a nurse on staff at the 15 child orphanage! Also, Trace and I LOVE Africa and African children! We've both been on mission trips there over the years and our hearts were captured. We see God's hand in leading us down this path the way He has, and we are thankful for it! We begin our home study next week and are excited to take the next step in our adoption journey.

For all our family and friends that have been praying for us, standing with us- and even giving, we are so grateful and blessed! Thank you for going on this journey with us...we certainly need all the help we can get :)

P.S.- Just so you know, adoptions in Russia are largely still going forward as of today. This may, or may not change. Please pray that Russia does not close adoptions to US families because there are so many precious children waiting for loving families.