Time for an Update...

We should have known that when things were going so well that we'd eventually hit a speed bump....This whole adoption process has been so strangely wonderful and emotional. Grace's case went before the judge on February 26th and was approved! The social worker happened to be in Ghana at the time helping some North Carolina families get their little ones home (apparently there were some complications with background checks). We were told that she would get back to us in a few days and get us a travel date. We have patiently waited since then. On Thursday I couldn't help but drop an email as it had been a week. Then we waited and waited and waited. Finally today Dallan made a phone call and said he'd call me when he had talked to her. When I saw his name on my caller ID about an hour later while I was a Target I just about freaked out I was so excited. I couldn't wait for that date to hold my little girl in empty arms. That's not the news Dallan had to share with me however. This is the news, copied directly from my email.....

"Hi Kirsten,

Attached you will find a few pics that were taken of your baby last week. I
just spoke with Dallan and I explained to him that we currently have two
families in Ghana picking up their babies, and we have found that the US
Embassy in Ghana is conducting much more thorough orphan investigations than
we had originally anticipated. This is actually good news for both the
babies and the birth mothers, even though it will lengthen your wait time
and change your travel plans, as it will ensure that the babies have been
legally relinquished by their birthmothers.

In order to meet the stringent US Embassy requirements we are taking the
following pre-emptive measures:

1. We are doing matching birthmother/baby DNA
2. We are arranging for voluntary birthmother interviews.

In order to do this, however, we must first make sure that Esi's birthmother
has a legal form of identification, such as a voter registration card and/or
a passport. If she does not have this our coordinator in Ghana will be
tasked with making sure she arranges for it. Once she has ID, we will take
her and the baby to the medical center for DNA testing. This test takes 4-6
weeks to complete.

After the DNA testing is complete we will request that you and Dallan fly to
Ghana to file your I-600. This should be a short trip of 3-5 days. At this
point, it is taking roughly 3-4 weeks for the I-600's to be adjudicated.
Once the I-600 packet is ready you will return to Ghana for the visa
interview and to pick Esi up. We anticipate that this trip will take about
10 days.

I hope this answers any questions that you might have. As you know, this is
a pilot program so we are learning as we go! Stay positive, she's almost home.

Cheers,"

Don't tell me to stay positive; I know there isn't much else I can do but that so isn't what I needed to hear! YUCK!!! I could barely keep my cool in Target as I thought of her empty room for another two months. I find myself praying, "please don't crawl - I don't want to miss EVERYTHING!"

I am trying to remind myself that there is ALWAYS a plan and that Heavenly Father knows what He is doing. I can guarantee we will look back and thank Him for the blessings of this trial. Just for now, just for tonight though, we're gonna cry. Keep us in your prayers would you?

Here's the latest picture of our angel along with the liaison that's helping us get her home; Percy. She's so cute with her little hair-do!