Summers days come to an end

The last weekend of summer was spent in Minnesota.  Our very special Nana just celebrated her 60th birthday with lots of surprises (Pops provided his own).  Our surprise was to show up at her house when she came home from work on a Wednesday.  She never expected that!  The kids were so excited for that garage door to open!  It was fun to be with Nana and the family on her birthday.  We miss so many  birthday celebrations with that side of the family being so far away.  Nana thought her birthday celebration was over, but we surprised her again.  Pops offered to take the boys all day Saturday so I was able to set it up for Barb and Cori to come with us for a day at the spa.  ahhhhhhhh.  It was a wonderful day.

The end of summer in MN means the MN State Fair.  So, Pops helped me take the boys and their cousin, Grace there for a couple hours.  We hit some rides and of course ate our favorites: mini-donuts, corn on the cob, corn dogs.  Yummy.  I even let the kids have cotton candy!  What a treat!

           Dad and I stopped over by the old, old house at 1079 Ingerson in Shoreview to take a photo by the tree we have planted together.  This was also the first home to me and my brother and sister.  Sadly, the tree had been taken down earlier in the summer after it spilt.  Well, it did have a nice long life of over 30 years!

We arrived home to the construction....major construction.  The septic system is being installed, which means at least 4 trucks ripping up my backyard.  Yes, totally ripping up my entire back yard.  The electrician, security guy, and house painter was here power washing the house.  And of course the contractor was working on the garage.  It was chaotic!  Ugh.  The garage project is looking great.  Boy, I sure will appreciate having an attached garage and art studio upstairs!  

The first day of school tomorrow....for all the boys!  A big day.  More to come....

The facts and what I must do.

It has been incredibly difficult these days trying to reconcile the facts that are preventing us from bringing sweet Tirunesh home.  The facts are.....we still do not have a court date.  (Even through people who received a referral after us do). Our delay in receiving a court date is due to some details in the referral that need to be worked out.  This means the paperwork had to go back to Irco, the region where T is from, to be resolved.  This takes "time".  And from what I can tell that is not US time, but Ethiopian time, which seems to mean they will get to it when they get to it.  Nothing can be definite on time.  So, we wait for a court date in Irco for the paperwork issue.  Then we wait for the BIG court date when we become T's parents.  Then after the judge says "yes" you are Ts parents legally we get to schedule travel 6-8 weeks later.  With the month long court closure in September, it could be winter by the time we travel.   Those are the facts.

There are more facts...That I know very little about our sweet girl. I have T's weight and height measurements given every 2 weeks.  She is small, but growing slowly.  She is crawling, playing with toys and feeding herself.  But the fact remains that I don't know what T's smile looks like, what her laugh sounds like, which toy she loves the most, who she is the most attached to, how she is sleeping, what her favorite foods are, and what she is feeling.  I could go on.

The other fact in this situation is that I can choose how to handle these facts.  It is often very difficult to reconcile.  I feel angry and sad that we are missing time with T.  The fact is I must trust the T is getting everything she needs.  I pray all her needs are being met and that someone is making her feel special and loved like we would.  The fact is I can't make this time go any faster, I can't persuade anyone to get us a court date, and I can't do anything to really know T right now.  

The fact is I must surrender to the facts.  I must trust the universe's plan.  I must maintain hope for the best possible outcome, while also knowing I have done as much as possible.  I must believe in God's divine intervention in this whole process.  I must....

I must be the best Mom I can be to the children right here in my home.  I must be ever present in my marriage.  I must do what I need to do to take care of myself to get through this time.  I must see the big picture...that one day Tirunesh will be home with us, that we will be able to nurture her and love her and spend the rest of our lives continuing this pursuit.  Those are the facts...and what I must do.

Into August...

Today we made the trek to Milwaukee to be finger-printed....AGAIN....at the Homeland Security office.  They will expire soon and since the process is taking longer than anticipated we need to have them current to bring our sweet Tirunesh home.  Today we also received an update on her height and weight.  It looks like she is growing just fine.  She is still small for her age in weight.  It is bitter sweet to receive these updates.  I want sooo badly to know more about our sweet girl and while I am grateful for an update on her height and weight, I am sooo anxious to know more! What are T's favorite toys? what makes her smile and giggle?  What are her favorite foods?  What soothes her when she is upset?  I could go on and on.  This process is beautiful in so many way, but is also incredibly frustrating.  It is so frustrating that our daughter is a world away and we can't find anyway to get to her any sooner.  It is so frustrating that we have to wait for the entities in Ethiopia....the court closing in August means another month added to our wait.  It is all so very frustrating.  There isn't anything anyone can say or do.  I so appreciate people just witnessing it with me.  Sitting with me in the frustration and pushing me into the future of hope.  So, on that note, I leave with photos of the boys and their cousins on the beach from our wonderful visit to Minnesota.  Next year T you will be there too.