June 12th

I have a new compassion for every pregnant mom who is even just a day past her due date.

I have to admit … I never quite understood the gripes of friends who were waiting past their due date for that baby to come. Until now.

My ankles aren’t swollen. My wedding band still comes off my finger easily, without soap. I have no odd rashes and my body temperature still feels pretty normal. I don’t even have stretch marks! Yet the news we got yesterday that our court date has been corrected to June 12th — not June 9th — wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms.

3 more days?

Almost everything about this process is a metaphor to running for me.

When I did some running training for a friend’s daughter, I remember there were times when — after she naturally thought she would be on her last leg — I would tell her “one more lap.”

Ok, Lord, I get it: one more lap …

So … our big focus right now is prayer that we would “pass court” — the terminology adoptive parents use. My estimate is that about 70% of cases pass court. The other 30% that don’t pass then have to be re-assigned another court date (typically a month later), in hopes they get all the necessary paperwork together that wasn’t satisfactory at the first court date, there and ready for the second one.

We’re praying we’re one of the 70% that will pass court. The courts in Ethiopia close in August and September for their rainy season, so our window of time is somewhat narrow. If/when we pass court, in the eyes of Ethiopia, they are legally our children. That’s the “due date” here .

Then, assuming that happens, we’re looking at traveling mid to late July (praying for mid July!). More details later in another post about just what happens between court and our travel …and why we have to wait 5-7 weeks after court before traveling to get them.

In the meantime, though those 3 extra days seem like an eternity … there’s no denying that I’ve gone into labor. These babies are comin’! It’s just a matter of time!