Court Count Down- TWO! 2! ONLY TWO days!

Oh. My. Goodness.

I can't believe we are this close to our court date! We waited almost 14 weeks from referral to finding out what our court date was. 3 more til the actual date. It seems a little unreal that it has been 4 months since we first saw that sweet face. She has gained 4.6 lbs and grown 3.4 inches! She is creeping up on 9 months old. By american growth charts, she falls into 50-75% for height, and under 5% for weight and head circumferance. She's a bean pole. Which, will fit in nicely with my hubby and boys who are all off the charts for "average" height!

I am dying to get my hands on her, and share some of her milestones with her. I'm glad she doesn't yet crawl or have teeth, because I really want to be there for those big firsts.

We feel so blessed that a group of our friends have been praying and fasting on our behalf, praying for our court date and all the details that go with it. I am getting asked alot what exactly is happening, or what to pray for, specifically, so I'll give a recap here. I am pretty much begging the Lord to allow all the details to come together without a hitch, so we can get on a plane ASAP! I really REALLY want to be in Ethiopia for Mother's Day.

The process actually begins on Thursday in Ethiopia (roughly 12 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time)...so I'm guessing sometime tonight between 9pm and 5am tomorrow, our time, our file and baby girl’s file will be reviewed by MOWA (ministry of women's affairs) on Thursday. Please pray that they issue a positive opinion and recommendation for our adoption to the judge without any hang-ups. This must happen for the court on Friday to hear our case.

A representative from the orphanage in Gondar (the original orphanage Lucy was at) is required to be t the court appointment, and will be traveling and bringing Lucy's family member to the court appointment on Friday. Please pray for safe travel and that they are able to bring all necessary documentation that the court will need to complete the relinquishment process. (I am not exactly sure when they are traveling, I would imagine it to be between 9pm Weds our time and 9 am Thursday our time). My heart is kind of heavy for this family member today. I am praying that she has peace about her decision and somehow that she will know how much we already love her.

Please pray that the judge would have no delays to keep her from court that day (there is only ONE judge in all of Ethiopian Federal court who processes adoption cases-if she's not there, no cases are heard, from what I understand). Please pray that all the needed documentation would be there so we can have our case finalized and officially and legally be Lucy's parents!! (This will be happening between 9pm Thursday night and 5am Friday morning our time.)

Lastly, we are praying that we will be able to travel in the first group of May. It may be pushing it for us to squeak into that group, I have been praying that for awhile now. Lucy will be 9 months old on May 7th. We also just found an AMAZING deal on airfare that would only be around $2000 for both of us round trip! But, we would have to begin travel no later than May 6th to get the deal. We would love to be able to take advantage of that amazing fare.

So, that's where we're at. Waiting for one of the biggest decisions of our lives. Butterflies have officially set in. I'm trying to distract myself with projects so I don't just sit around feeling nervous and nauseated :) Instead I'm washing little pink and purple things, doing a little packing and organizing, and praying my face off.

Here's a few pics of yesterday's project....high chair makeover. Some friends of my brother and sister in laws, handed down this nice high chair to us. I was so happy to get a wooden high chair! I've been wanting one, but NOT wanting to spend big $$ on one. This one had been used with two sweet kiddos and needed a little TLC, which I was happy to give! A little black paint, distressing, and new zebra print cover for the pad, and Voila'! good as new and fit a for an Ethiopian princess!

BEFORE:

AFTER