Hair Continued.....

I just wanted to sat that during her "break", Olivia fell asleep and slept for 2 hours. when we started back in she was much more equipped to deal with the situation and really held it together quite well. We wrapped up hair day at about 7:30pm. A and J were already in bed! Here is the finished product - I hope we get a few weeks out of it.

Olivia's Hair

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Today was a hair day. It comes around every two weeks or so, and today was the day. I needed to take out O's current hair-do, wash it, comb it and re-style it. She is not a happy camper. It went SO badly that right now she is in her room laying down to take a break. I love her hair. It has taken about 4 years for it to get to its current length. We are able to do all kinds of fun things with it - but it is labor intensive. Four to five hours per session labor intensive! It is thicker than anything I have ever felt, except for maybe a lamb. As a little girl, we kept it very short. She would look at Avonlea's hair and say she wanted straight long hair. She would put tights or leggings on her head most days to have the feeling of "long hair" down her neck and back. I have learned a lot over the years and my process gets better and better as time goes by, but it's still no fun for her. At the salon is even worse. We've done that a few time and she cried and screamed in the salon. The stylist would tell me this is part of her life and that she better get used to it and toughen up. So now she has her long hair and she is begging to take it all off. She wants to go back to the very short "boy hair" (her words) that she used to have. I am torn because I know how long it takes to grow. I know that she could change her mind. Part of me if very excited at the prospect of making the hair routine so much easier, especially with the baby coming. I feel that it is a bit of a strain on our relationship because I am the hair person. My husband could never do it in a million years, bless his heart. In fact, I have told him if anything ever happened to me he would need to make her a standing appointment at the salon for her so they could keep it up. My older daughter gave it a shot once and lasted about 10 minutes. So I am the evil hair lady so as she screams how mean I am and how she needs to get away from me - it makes me sad. Because she is in a play right now, we signed a contract saying she would not change anything about her appearance until the show closes. So we can't cut it today. In a half hour, I will try again and hope we can get through it and wait another two weeks before we have a hair day again.

Exciting Times!

This was quite a week - and it's just started! We spent Monday studying about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his life's work. We read about Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges. The kids and I watched Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech and the speech he made a few days before his death. One of the things I love about home schooling is learning along with the kids. I had never watched the speech he made days before his death. It was so prophetic. I spent a chunk of our learning time in tears. The kids went with my parents in the afternoon to a local peace march put on by the Baptist church in honor of the day.

Then Tuesday, history in the making. An event that Martin Luther King had dreamed about. I spent a large part of yesterday in tears as well. I feel excited and renewed. It does feel like a new day. I can look my adopted children in the eye and assure them, in all honesty, that they can aspire to be anything - even President. WooHoo!

We have been talking a lot about how long this wait has become. We are still almost 60 days out from our court date, and so many of them haven't been making it through the first time. I belong to some other Ethiopian adoption boards, and it seems to be a problem for everyone right now. In the event that we don't pass court on the 20th, I am going to travel anyway. I do have children here that need parenting, but I also have a baby there who needs a mommy. Bret and I think it is best if he stays here and my mom and I go to be with Amani for as long as it takes. This is a thrilling and terrifying prospect for me. Of course, I am praying that we pass court on the 20th and there will be no need for plan B - but if we don't pass, I'm not going to wait any longer to be with him.

Interesting fact

I was just double checking our fingerprints to make sure that they are good through our tentative embassy date, and I found the official date of our CIS approval. Our I-171H was dated March 20, 2008. Our court date is March 20, 2009. One whole year later! I am taking the matching dates as a great sign. :)

WE HAVE A COURT DATE!

I am very pleased to announce that we have a court date of March 20th! Our tentative embassy date is April 9th - the day our little guy turns 14-months-old. Of course I wish I could leave tomorrow, but it is nice to have an actual date to move toward. It seems more real with each step and each call. It seems more real today than it did yesterday. I feel more motivated to get things done. I know it will be even more real when we pass court.

Time to organize this house from top to bottom, and arrange a romantic weekend away!

A Better Day

I was feeling pretty down when I wrote my last post. I was sure not prepared for the range and intensity of emotions that come along with this amazing process. I appreciate all the kind words of encouragement. A few of you really changed my perspective for the better. I was also able to drive down to the East Bat today and meet with a mom and her gorgeous baby who have been home from Ethiopia for over 6 months now. Her daughter is from the same orphanage and she was kind enough to bring me photos and stories which did make me feel more at peace with the situation.

I did want to clarify that my main concern and reason for upset was that our referral paperwork said our little guy is being fed diluted cow's milk which didn't make our pediatrician very happy. I was hoping he would quickly get to the HOH and some improved nutrition.

But it's a new day - and I have a new attitude. Thanks again for all the kind words - they are very helpful and valued!

Sad Today

I am very sad today. I just got an e-mail back from Erin at CHI and she told me that our little guy is not at the HOH. He is still at his orphanage. This makes me very sad.