Sproutie Details and the Call

OK, now that I've slept (well, not much, really - laid there with my mind running circles until the wee hours), I can relay more info about the Sprout.

She is 4 months old, and from southern Ethiopia – a small town called Aleta Wendo (about 40 miles south of Awassa) in the Sidama region. (Here's a map.)

She is 10 lbs, 13 ounces and 23.2 inches tall. (Very small for U.S. growth charts but quite normal on the Ethiopian charts). The International Adoption pediatrician checked out her info and told me last night that she looks like an “excellent baby”. Woo hoo! (I already knew that of course.)

I got the call telling me about her yesterday afternoon, although her information arrived at my adoption agency on Christmas Day (Merry Christmas to ME!). How very amazing that Christmas turned out to be the day.

Yesterday, I was wrapping up the visit with my mother, who had flown down for the baby shower and Christmas. I was getting ready to leave the house to drive her to the airport – we were almost out the door when the phone rang. Mom sat down when I gestured wildly to her that this was THE CALL.

To my mother’s mortification, my response to the adoption agency person when she told me she was about to give me the big news was “are you SHITTING me?!!?!?!?!” (I’m so polished, no?)

I blathered on a lot, and I think I asked a bunch of questions, but I can't remember much of that conversation at all - I was just kind of in shock. Will have to call the agency tomorrow and try again. :-)

So…. what comes next?

I don’t get to go to Ethiopia just yet, I’m afraid. First, the attorney who works with my adoption agency goes to court over there on my behalf to formalize the adoption under Ethiopian law – I’ll let you know my court date, but it will likely be in late January or early February.

Then I wait my turn to get the all-important embassy date, at which I must appear in person with Sproutie at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa. That will likely be in late February or (more likely) early March, but I won't know exactly when until after the court proceedings are finished. This date will determine when I will travel to go get the Sprout!

Please keep Sproutie in your prayers so that she stays healthy and happy, and that the court date is successful so that I can officially become her mother.