Home

We're home and boy what a life changing journey we had in Ethiopia. Here's a photo of Lera at the goodbye ceremony. Doesn't she look beautiful?

Well I've Packed My Bags and I'm Ready to Go....

I'm leaving on a jet plane, oh babe I can't wait to bring you home. This Friday at 10:30 a.m. I begin my travel to Lera. My sister-in-law Victoria and I will arrive in Ethiopia on 3/7 and will spend the first week traveling to Gondar and Lalibela and will meet my lovely daughter on Friday the 13th!!!! This trip coincides with my 44th birthday on March 18th and my mother's 76th birthday on day we travel home, March 19th. Stay tuned for lots of stories about all our adventures.

Rachel gets her gotcha date and Lera's coming home!

At 8:10 a.m. on Friday Feb. 20th, the phone rang. I was on my way out the door heading to Seattle to see the Ethiopia Lucy exhibit at the Pacific Science Center, but not before Kjersti from CHSFS could call to tell me Lera had passed court that very morning, 20 days after her original date, but 27 long and grueling days early before her next scheduled 3/19/09 rescheduled date. I asked if she was sure it was my baby and she said she was sure. Holly ran up to me after hearing all the screaming for joy while Kjersti told me I would travel by March 13th or 20th. I phoned my brother Steven first, who's wife Victoria will be traveling with me. Holly and I then continued with the plan to go to Seattle to see Lucy, since she wasn't going to be in Addis while I'm there. What a glorious day it was at Pikes Place market and the Sound was clear and bright. While it had been over 6 years since I'd been to Seattle, it was Holly's first time.

Happy Valentines Day

My lovely niece Holly moved in with me at the beginning of January after finishing her B.A. at Earlham College. She is going to be such a fine cousin to Lera and with any luck will still be here when Lera comes home. Here we are all gussied up for a Valentines Day event with Opera Theater of Oregon. OTO is directed by my opera singing friend Katie and last night they put on a fabulous event matching the 1928 Ruloph Valentio silent film Camille to their performance of La Traviata. What a fun evening it was!

Seven sad families

None of us scheduled for court today made it. We were told that due to the recent move of the Ministry of Women's Affairs, that our files had not been prepared for the courts. Our new court date is March 19.

Social Report

I recieved Lera's social report with 11 new photos late Friday night. I was on my way to Louisville to my mom's for a baby shower when I got the message from Rachel Fit at CHSFS. That was the longest 2.5 hour plane ride I've been on. She's absolutely gorgeous and full of smiles and laughter in her photos. I can't even believe that she is my daughter and I am her mother. I am so ready for her court date on Janury 28th and so are my friends and family. Bring her home, bring her home!!!! While I can't yet post her beautiful photo, I've attached 2 photos from my baby showers. The first was hosted by my friends Estee and Elaine on January 4th ( the photo includes me with Estees 18 month old Orion). What a great time everyone had. I was so happy to see Karin and Carrie there, especially given Karin was heading off to get little Ms. Lula just 4 days later! My friend Elaine who hosted at her home just brought her daughter Malia home from China in September. The other is of me with my mom and her friend at the shower she just hosted on the 19th in Louisville. It was great to gather old family friends around to see Lera's new photos and celebrate my new motherhood with me. Stay tuned after the 28th (keep your fingers crossed) for photos of the star attraction- Ms. Lera Rahmete Post at age 5 months old.

Winter Storm

Well I like a good winter storm as much as the rest of you and since Portland seldom sees snow, it's extra special. I feel grateful for my years in Madison and Denver for my fine snow navigation skills in my small Corolla but now the ice is building up. Zeke and I may just go a little stir crazy. We did make it out on foot to the store for coffee and eggs but by the time I madethere in only 4 blocks, my coat was covered in a thin layer of ice! I guess I should be happy I'm not in Madison right now where it's minus 17 degrees with a win chill of probably 35 below! Yesterday my snow driving skills came in handy on my way over to a new Ethiopian friend's house for coffee and lots of giggling with her and her beautiful daughters aged 11, 14 and 17. Meselich is going to begin teaching me Amharic so I can impress the nannies when I go get Lera. The latest is that we're scheduled for court on January 28th! I'm hoping for an early March travel. Hopefully we'll have thawed out by then!

Home for Thanksgiving

"Home" is a concept that pertains to where one feels at ease, a part of, love and joy. For me, home not only includes Portland, but also Madison, WI where I lived for 6 years while waiting to get into and complete graduate school and where I landed following my second oldest brother Steven, his wife Victoria and my new niece Holly in 1988 (and Sam in 1989). So, I went "home" for Thanksgiving and what a wonderful visit it was. My mother and my third brother Ben joined us from Louisville. Thanksgiving dinner was fantastic (Steven and Victoria really know what they're doing in the kitchen) and then on Friday we were welcomed into the home of Meghan and her new baby boy Zeke who came home in August. I felt so grateful to have my family hear about her family's experience with adoption, see all her beautiful photos from Lalibela and Gondar and meet her baby Zeke. What a gorgeous boy he is!! I was really looking for an opportunity to help my family better understand this adoption and the culture of Ethiopia. Seeing and hearing about Meghan's family made such a difference in for them. Thank you so much Meghan!!!! Now I know when I go "home" for a visit, Lera will have a play mate.

While it took nearly a year to get my referral for Rahmete, I completed her room several months back. I decided to do a bird and tree theme. Thanks to so many friends for putting it all together. My friend Heidi painted the trees. Stephaine made the curtains (which are rows of trees) and Carolyn's brother-in-law Dan hand made the crib and changing table. Lou and Kiehl brought it all over and Gabe and Bill helped move the furniture. Thanks so much friends!!! Rahmete will spend many years cherishing this cozy spot. xoxo

And then there were 2

On Wednesday, November 12th at 3:15 I got my call. My daughter Rahmete (pronounced ra ma tae) is 3.5 months old, healthy and beautiful. I've waited my whole life for this. I can't believe it and everyone is so excited for us. Lindsay called me on my cell phone while I was going into my office. I saw it was CHSFS by the area code, but I couldn't register why they were calling because I was led to believe it might be another week before I would see a referral. When I answered, she asked how my day was going. I said fine and waited for whatever it was that she needed to tell me. She then said "Well I'm happy to be able to make it an even better day" at which point I gasped and began sobbing while she gave me the news. Thank goodness that the back door from the outside of my office leads into a contained hallway that is infrequently used because there I sat on the ground crying tears of joy uncontrolably until she finished. I rushed into my office to the computer to open her file and there she was, Miss Big Smiles and and reaching out with her arms for what I like to pretend is me!!!! Thankfully there are so many preparations to keep me busy while I wait through the next 3 or so excruciatingly long months first for a court date, then for a birth certificate and then finally for a travel date. I have been so blessed by the support I've gotten from my new adoption famiy friends both here in Portland and in cyberspace. Thank you guys who've made this journey before me and also to those of you who have endured this long wait with me. As is customary with international adoption, photos will be posted on this blog only after the court approval .

Waiting

Hello there friends and family. Ten months and nineteen days I've waited patiently for the phone to ring and announce my motherhood, my baby's name, age, gender and health. Waiting is an art that I've learned time and time again. With each time, I get a little better, find new ways to distract while also staying focused. It becomes nearly unbearable when we (waiting families) learn of new children ready for referral and see our names approaching the top of the list. I may finally learn who my son or daughter is this coming week, but there will still be more waiting. Waiting for the Ethiopian courts to legally join me with my child, waiting some more for a birth certificate and waiting then again for a travel date. It's an extremely unusual way to come to motherhood. But it has been such a pleasure learning so much about myself and about the way the world sees adoptiong, through its many lenses. Stay tuned for the next stage. Oh, thanks to all my friends and family for hanging in there with me while I wait. Thanks to my new single adoption mom friends for showing me how it's done. Oh, and I don't want to forget my dog Zeke, who cuddles up close when I need it most. Thanks Zeke!