Our court time wasn't until 2pm so we took the opportunity to go to the orphanage and see our girls that morning. We decide to take two soccer balls to the orphanage with us. So I pack the girls' lollipops, stuff toy owls, photo albums, a camera, the soccer balls, and our legal documents and off we went.
My husband pulled the soccer balls out as soon as he saw the girls coming. I thought great, maybe we will roll them back and forth a few time and then go inside and color or play with their toys, but we were both blown away by their enthusiasm and skill with the "football". My husband made a video of us playing with the girls that morning and you can find it here.
We spent most of our time with them that morning outside in the morning sun. We played football, ate lollipops (I was sticky from my hair to my knees - but I figured the judge would understand), and jumped! We shouted "kwas!" and "gobez!" (ball and well done) and laughed a lot.
The sun started to get hot so we went inside and had fun with balloons!
The morning seemed to fly by and suddenly it was time for the girls to have lunch. We got lots of bye-bye kisses and they whined just a little bit when it was time for them to go :(
On our way to lunch our driver stopped at a place were we bought two Amharic bibles for the girls. I had really wanted to bring some home and was very glad to have this treasure. As we were leaving we saw some mommas with babies and gave them all the change we had under 100 birr. It is a hard life they live and I will always keep them in my heart and prayers.
We found a nice restaurant near the court house and had some lunch. I was a little nervous but mostly too excited to eat. We ordered a lovely veggie pizza and Fanta and I was able to eat a little. I was also able to buy another calling call at the restaurant :) We took our time and chatted until about 1:30 and then headed over to the court house. We saw another momma with two little ones on the steps of the building, but all I had left were some lollipops. Her toddler gave me a sweet smile in exchange for the treat.
We were there a little early and had a few minutes to wait in the outer waiting room. Shortly after we got there an Italian couple arrive and sat next to us with their lawyer. Soon it was time for us to go to the inner waiting room. We were joined by many other people. A paper with names on it was passed around and our driver check it to make sure we were in the list. Our lawyer joined us just as we heard the first case being called in. It was the Italian couple. They walked into a room just off of the waiting room and about four minutes later they walked out. The women had a huge smile on her face and she looked right at me as she walked past - I can only guess that her joy was from become a new mother and I hoped I would be smiling just as wide very soon.
Next up was our case! We walked into the judges chamber and sat down. She needed to ask our lawyer a few questions and they began to speak in Amharic. They spoke for a few minutes and we became a little nervous as Amharic is a beautiful language but when spoken quickly can seem conflicting. They went back and fourth a few more times and then she smiled and turned toward us. She said that she just needed to clarify something, that it had been resolved, and now we could begin.
The Judge asked us a few questions and was satisfied with our answers. One of her questions was how do our biological children at home feel about this adoption. I told her they were all very excited and I had pictures of them showing how happy they were to have two little sisters. She asked to see them:
The judge obviously has a heart for children and she seemed pleased to see these pictures and the photo albums we had repaired of our girls. After signing a piece of paper she looked up at us and said, "I have signed the documents and it is final. They are yours." That is the moment our sweet girls were no longer orphans and we became a family of seven! We were beaming, just like the Italian couple, as we left the through the waiting room.
After we passed court we headed over to our lawyers office to go through some paper work. Even though we are now legally the twins parents we cannot bring them home until their visas have been issued. A few other legal things like new birth certificates with our names on them and such are now being worked on. Because of this we had to sign a document allowing the orphanage to be the guardian of our precious girls until the US Embassy has everything they need to issue visas. It made the afternoon bitter sweet knowing we would soon be going home without our children. We are hopeful that the girls will be home before Easter- We would love your prayers to bring the girls home sooner!
We decided to celebrate our court hearing by going out to eat at a restaurant where they played live music, sang, and danced traditional Ethiopian dances. We ordered a traditional meal with tej- Ethiopian honey wine. Our driver ordered kitfo- freshly minced beef tartare seasoned with berbere. I had read about kitfo and knew it was one of Ethiopia's most distinctive dishes (a delicacy) but shied away from his kind offer to try it, as the meat is uncooked.
The music, singing, and dancing was wonderful! We were amazed by the athletic ability of the dancers. I am quite certain I would end up with whiplash if I ever attempted to emulate any of the dancing moves we saw that night.
It was a great way to celebrate our court hearing and a fun opportunity to learn more about the beautiful Ethiopian culture that we are now and forever linked to. Here is a picture of the proud Momma and Ababa enjoying the evening:
I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith.
Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will award to me on that day.
2 Timothy 4:7-8
Only day 5 and 6 to go...
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