Today was our Ethiopian court date. We had mixed feelings about this day as just prior to our departure from Kansas City Erin had received notice that one final piece of paperwork was not done yet and our adoption may not be finalized during our travel. It was not anything that we could have fixed, it was a part of the re-licensure of the care centers that the Ethiopian government was auditing. For the first part of our travel we were under the assumption that we would be going to court and fulfilling our part, but that the Judge would not be able to tell us that Ben was legally ours until after we had gone back home. Luckily, and under God’s hand, the re-licensure was done prior to our arrival in Ethiopia and all of the legalization of the adoption could be done while we are here.
This morning we were told that our court appointment was between 8-12 and our driver would come to pick us up around 8AM. He arrived a little after 8 o’clock and we found our way to the courthouse probably just before 9AM.
It definitely was not the type of court house we are accustomed to in the States. It was a small entry on the side of one of the larger buildings in the area. After climbing about 8 flights of stairs (it felt like 20 by the time we were done) we were lead to a large room full of adopting parents and their lawyers. Our lawyer was waiting in the room for us and had reserved the last two seats in the room. We waited approximately 15 minutes for the door to the Judge’s quarters to open and for them to start calling out family names. Most of the families that were waiting appeared to be French with a couple of Americans mixed in as well. Since we were the last ones to arrive we thought we would be getting called closer to the noon time slot, but after the assistant called out a couple of family names and no one responded they called out “Sibleys.” Since we were the first ones to go into the room we weren’t quite sure where to sit. There were 2 large desks along with 2 adjacent rows of chairs. We were positioned along the side wall at a 90 degree angle to the Judge. We were welcomed to the court and she asked a couple of general questions pertaining to our adoption. Things like, “When did you arrive?,” “Do you have any other children?,” and “Have you prepared yourself for adopting an international child?” She seemed pleased with our answers and the fact that we could show her a picture of our already mixed-cultural family. Then came the moment we were waiting for; she explained to us that once we accept our son the adoption is final and we cannot go back on our word. We were so excited and focused on what she was saying that we completely missed when she asked us, “Is this the child that you wish to adopt?” Both Erin and myself thought she was still in the process of explaining the finalization of the adoption that we completely missed that was a question directed at us. After a minute of quietness the Judge looked up at us and asked the question one more time – this time we both caught on and enthusiastically declared, “Yes!” With that the Judge signed the papers and we became official parents of Benjamin.
Afterwards Erin started to develop a bit of a headache and needed to lay down at the guesthouse. We plan on one more visit this afternoon with Ben and a trip to the Leper Hospital for one last shopping experience. After that, we will say goodbye to Ethiopia and Ben until Erin returns for round 2 – whenever that may be.
Okay back to Erin now. Here are a few more photos of the care center from our 2nd visit.
The front door to the care center and the gate out to the street from the inside
Here is my sweet boy's bed where he will rest until I return
We had a wonderful 2nd visit with many pictures. I miss him dearly but I know he is in good hands. I only cried a little when I had to lay him down in his crib and he started crying.
Mama will be back soon.
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