"He's Yours"

December 8, 2010

Today was a day full of bittersweet emotion. Sweet because we passed court and are officially a family of three, but bitter because we had to say goodbye to our son for at least 4-6 weeks. . .

We arrived early at the Ethiopian courts this morning to appear before the judge. There were 7 other families with us from our agency and we were all nervous. The agency had prepped us as to what the judge might ask, but we were still a bit anxious. We were one of the last couples to be called in. The judge asked us several questions including, “Do you have any children?”, “Have you spent time learning about the Ethiopian culture?”, and “Are you capable of raising a child of another race and culture?”. And the final question she asked was, “Do you realize this is permanent?” to which we of course responded yes. And then she said the words that will change our life forever. “He’s Yours!” All of the other couples from our agency also passed so we went for Ethiopian coffee to celebrate afterwards.

After lunch, we were able to make one last stop at the orphanage. It was a very short stop just to say goodbye. They had to wake Joseph up early from his afternoon nap so he was a little groggy when we were there. We played for just a short time in the playroom and then had to say goodbye. It was so very hard to leave him, but seeing how wonderful the nannies are and how he thrives in his classroom comforts us.

This has certainly been an amazing trip for both of us. All glory and praise to our Heavenly Father who has had this family of three in His plan since the beginning of time. Thank you God for this most precious gift you have given us.