FINALLY SUBMITTED TO EMBASSY!!

Received this e-mail today!

"HI Donna -Jerry confirmed that your case was successfully intaken at the embassy on Tuesday. Thanks, susan

Yesterday i have submited Abreham Hebert Case successfully on Tuesday."

Here's praying for smooth sailing from here on out! It could be less than a month before Abraham is home!!!!

Made our annual Jib Jab Christmas card, now featuring Abraham with all the Kiddos!

Just when you think nothing else could go wrong.....

We thought for sure that Dec 14th was going to be such a good day, then we got hit with this e-mail:

"Abraham Hebert had a spelling difference in the passport. I am very sorry to have missed that.

JEFFREY was spelled JEFEREY in the passport. I argued this but the embassy would not accept it. Because changing the passport is near impossible and time consuming (immigration does not like to do that) we are sending the birth certificate to be changed and I will resubmit the file tomorrow morning.

Jeferey on the adoption contract and court decision are easy enough to correct as the Amharic is all the same."

So we thought ok......get the documents changed to reveal the misspelling and we should be good to go....right?  WRONG! This morning we received this sad e-mail:


"In the past we have had to change the birth certificate a few times because of mistakes in the passport that the immigration office has not wanted to correct. Because the embassy employee wrote on the form "correct the birth certificate" we made the decision to do that. However this morning the embassy c onfirmed that in this case it cannot be accepted as it is Jeffrey's name which must match his passport and I-600 form. If it was the child's first name then it can be changed throughout without question as it can be translated in different ways.

So this morning we took the old birth certificate back and Abraham has gone back to immigration to get the passport corrected."

According to our agency it is next to impossible to get immigration to issue a new passport and we are talking WEEKS if not MONTHS delays!

This is breaking our hearts..something so minor, an E that should have been an F??  
Our U.S. embassy couldn't just use white out? I mean come on embassy! A child's welfare is at stake here! He NEEDS his family! He does not need to be living in an orphanage, he has had a family since April!!

So here we sit, frustrated, sad, grieving immensely....pray for us..please.

To help pass the time I decided to make another video of him...this helps me smile. The video is on the side.

Dec 14th..embassy intake!

Our agency informed us that they now have the medical papers in hand finally, and so that means our file is 100% complete and ready for being submitted to the US Embassy tomorrow, Dec 14th.

If all goes well Abraham could be home in less than a month! Please pray we pass quickly! Will update when we hear more! In the mean time here's a new picture that a wonderful family took of Abraham opening up another package we sent him....

Another delay....will it end?

With heavy hearts I write this...after rejoicing in the news that our medical was cleared and Abraham's case was finally being submitted to embassy on Dec 7th..we received this news instead on Dec 7th..while we were waiting to hear good news we get sad news: "intake did not happen as medicals were not yet cleared because CDC needed to be contacted for review regarding chicken pox"

We were devastated as Abraham's chicken pox was already gone and other children who had chicken pox also at the same time have already cleared and gone home!

I sat and cried.....what else could I do. I KNOW God is sovereign....but honestly with so many delays and expectations and the let downs, excitement then sadness...I just needed to cry. I know people mean well when they tell me that God's timing is best, but honestly right now that doesn't help me.  Just let me cry for now and wait to hear good news.

Wish this was a better post, but this is reality right now and where we are at.  Please pray that we are submitted Dec 14th.  There is NO CHANCE he will be home for Christmas afte rall...such a disappointment...wanted him here so bad for all the beautiful festivities going on etc...this let down is hard.

For now I am looking to my Father and asking why, and please move us forward..I guess it's OK to ask "how long Oh Lord"  But I also remember the words of the psalmist in Psalm 4:1 "Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!"

Thank you for praying and thank you for letting me cry for now...for I know in time, He will turn my mourning into dancing...I will wait..for I know He is good.

I love you Abraham..someday when you read this you will know how hard the wait was for me too. I know it's hard for you as well as you watch your friends leaving the compound, but you still remain there..we are coming my sweet son. We are coming....

Recent picture of Abraham receiving another package from us.

Still waiting

So here we are, Nov 29th, we had heard back on Nov 17th that MOWA finally released the vital statistic letter that we needed to get his passport and this brings us closer to being able to be submitted to the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, which is the last stage of the journey.  We were hoping to get submitted tomorrow, can only submit on Wednesdays, but the latest update is the doctor who does the medical for our file found a fungal infection on his scalp that she wants to treat before he gets cleared medically, so now submission to embassy will take place Dec 7th if all goes well.

Here's a recent pic of him from another traveling family: she said he was definitely sad and there was longing in his eyes when he received our package for him...she said she could tell he just wants us and we think not the packages anymore...

Still waiting.....

The excitement of passing court has passed and now the agony of waiting to be submitted to embassy continues.  Recently I inquired about our case and our agency informed us that us and 8 other families files are still awaiting 3 documents needed from MOWA to complete our file so we can be submitted to the US Embassy. MOWA has been in meetings and also it is the Ethiopian New Years celebration time so I am sure they have taken some time off to celebrate.

So what does one do while waiting?  Give you a hint....
http://tobuildafamily.blogspot.com/2010/08/injera.html

A dear friend of ours decided that we needed a 'baby shower' for Abraham as we haven't had a little boy for quite some time..Jonathan is 18 now so I guess we don't have those cool things every 7 yr old boy needs to survive...like Legos, cool boy jammies, remote cars, matchbox cars...etc etc....
What a nice way to celebrate our new son coming here.  Some have asked why do it before he comes and the answer is simple..it will be awhile before we really have him in big groups. Everything we have read says to slowly ease them into big crowds as they can get too overwhelmed.  It would be nice for him to come home to having these things already and he will know that many people who have prayed for him for months have graciously given him such wonderful new things for his new life here.

I am excited for the fun day to be able to open gifts for our son and see the love being poured out for him by my dear friends.  Afterall, I have been "EXPECTING' for a very long time, already 5 months into this "pregnancy" and this will be so much fun for our family.  

Recently another family from our agency left to go bring their little daughter home and she graciously snapped this adorable picture of our son in his little traditional Ethiopian outfit.

I miss you my dear boy..everyday I long for your presence...we are coming soon. Hang in there.

It's Official! We passed court!

On Friday, August 26, 2011 our agency was informed that the Hebert family file has been approved and has passed court.  Here's the e-mail we received Saturday morning,

"You DID pass court. Now the next step is to use the decree to apply for a new birth certificate. There are several steps before the case can be presented to the Embassy, but things are moving. Congratulations and have a great weekend. Merrily"

Now we can finally share with everyone our precious son as he is now legally our son! The Ethiopian courts have issued our adoption decree and all that is left to do now is wait for the new birth certificate that has our names as his legal parents and once we have that in our file, then our file is submitted to the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, we then wait for embassy to clear us for travel to bring Abraham home forever!

So here is the official announcement on this blog:

INTRODUCING ABRAHAM HEBERT

Watch Abraham lead in song!!!

http://vimeo.com/27435841

Back from our Court date

We made it home safe and sound.  I have a cold but other than that we both had a pretty good trip with no awful effects. Well I had one night of tummy issues..no fun...tried eating fish there, not a good idea!

 

So the update is:

 

We didn't pass court due to no MOWA letter.  MOWA is the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Ethiopia, they handle all adoption cases. They have to have a letter of approval for the judge to have in each parents files. If there is no MOWA letter, then the judge cannot sign the adoption decree.  MOWA is at least 2 weeks behind on letters and are still processing letters for court cases done back in June.  There are many stories circulating and we haven't a clue what to believe, but we're hoping that because our court case was done before court closures which start Aug 6th, that we will still get our MOWA letter and that the clerks will get our file ready to submit to embassy. Here's hoping and praying!

 

So as of right now we are just in wait mode once again. Once we pass court then the US embassy will get our file and hopefully embassy doesn't find anything in our file that they feel the need to investigate more, which is something that is happening frequently right now. This is offensive to the Ethiopian courts as basically the message is, "Ethiopian judges decisions aren't good enough for the US and so we must do our own investigation."

It's quite the uproar!

 

So please pray with us that we pass court soon so that embassy will all that more quicker and we can bring our son home.

 

As of right now, he's still not officially 'ours' until we get that judges signature.

 

Abraham cried so much the day we left. He was in my arms bawling and sobbing.  This wait is hard on our son. It's hard on all of us...but I kept telling him over and over, "be patient, we are coming back for you. We love you son...."

 

Thank you for thinking of us and praying for us and for those who checked in on our 4 kids at home. The kids did great and are to be praised for being such responsible children.

 

Will let everyone know when we pass court!

 

In Christ,

Jeff and Donna

WE HAVE OUR COURT DATE!!!

Hi Donna,

We have the good news that court has been scheduled for your family. Your court date is July 26^th.

This is the most beautiful e-mail we received at 2:30pm, July 14, 2011!

Our flights are booked, we leave July 22nd out of Boston and arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia July 23rd at 8:50pm...so that means we will have Abraham in our arms on Sunday, July 24th!

Still waiting....and shots today!

Well here we are, still waiting...haven't heard a word.

The only thing I have heard was that courts will stay open until Aug 8th, then they close for a month and a half. So if we don't get our court date before they close, then we are looking at not meeting our son until late Sept, or Oct, then waiting for embassy etc etc...won't be until Dec or even 2012 before Abraham can come home.

Waiting is so hard.....

Jeff and I both got our Hep A shot today..we opted out of all the other options.....Jeff has a phobia of needles and he had to lay down as he turned white and started breaking out in a sweat! I always thought his fear of needles was exaggerated...guess not!

They are a few families that have letters to give to Abraham..so at least he knows we are thinking of him.

I am hoping the next post here is entitled, WE HAVE OUR COURT DATE!!!

Until next time.........

And even more waiting....

It's been 2 months now since we accepted our referral for our son.  On June 10th we FINALLY received the picture of our boy opening up his gift package from us. We also found out that our case has been submitted to court as of May 31st.  So we are in the system there and now we just wait for the official court date for Jeff and I to appear in court and legally adopt our son.

He now officially knows about us, has seen our faces and knows he's being adopted and coming to live in a place called Maine.

Can you imagine what is going through his mind as he lays down at night to sleep?  "Will I like my new family? Are they nice? Will they like me?"

Someone did share with me that they knew of an adopted child who told them that they used to lay awake at night pondering those very questions, and they were 6 yrs old at the time. 

Big changes for this little guy.  We know we are gonna love him to pieces and that our family is one crazy, fun and laughter filled home, but he doesn't know that right now.  All he knows from the pictures is that he is gaining 7 siblings, a dog named Patience, 3 cats and his new house is brown and there are lots of trees.  Snow..what's that?

We have been blessed by so many families that are going down for the court dates, they have been gracious to snap pictures of our handsome son. And oh is he handsome!  His smile is contagious! And each family that has met with him has said the same thing..."yu have the most wonderful son, he is a super sweetie! He's so cute! He's not shy, quiet, but not shy, he will hold hands and he participates in everything....."

And the best info we received from 1 lady was that "Abraham is the top in his class, he is so smart and always is ready to give the answers in class."  I pray that someday that flows into always being ready to give an answer to the hope that lies within you..the hope of the Gospel of Christ..oh may our son be a godly man!

So maybe the A Beka Kindergarten curriculum will be way too easy for him?  Oh well, it will be great to start with that so he can learn English anyway..we'll breeze through the easy stuff.

These families have also been so kind to deliver letters to Abraham. Kiara and Kayla have been busy drawing pictures for him and I have printed out other pictures of our house, pictures of his picture on our fridge so he can see how excited we are to have him.  So far he has received 2 letters from us, a 3rd letter just went out yesterday in the mail to a dear Christian family who will be leaving soon for Ethiopia to pick up their 11 yr old son. She said she would try really hard to not only take pictures of Abraham, but also video! I told her we haven't heard his voice yet and she said she will get him talking for us..I am going to bawl!!

I can't wait till it's our turn to bless these families and take their letters to their children for them and take pictures of their children for them.  We are waiting on pins and needles everyday, hoping that "You Got Mail" noise is from AAI saying, we have your court date..buy your plane tickets...

I love you son..my dear sweet Abraham. Mommy is praying to hold you soon.  Until the next update.....

Teach Me Lord to Wait.....

Many have asked how's it all going, has Abraham received his packet yet, does he know about us yet? Do you have a court date yet...

Well.....I don't know is something I have been saying alot lately.

This waiting time is truly the hardest...more so than all the paperwork and homestudies...knowing that we have this sweet 6 yr old son in Ethiopia that will be in our home and yet we can't even say hello to him right now, this is so hard.

Most people say that this is the time that you read up on all you can about Ethiopia, older child adoption etc..

So here's something I have found out, not sure how much of it is true but it caught my attention because we live in Maine, and in Maine you hibernate for almost 4 months in a year...what I mean by hibernate is that we don't step foot outside (at least I don't) and you stay inside cuddled by a heater...or as I call it...My Precious....:)

Anyway, I read an article that spoke about Ethiopian children and vitamin D. These children, while in Ethiopia, spend a lot of time outside..playing etc.  And they absorb a lot of natural sunlight. It gives them great health usually, lots of good natural vitamin D.

However there were some folks who, like us, live in cold climates where we don't venture out as much, and they found that their adopted Ethiopian children were getting sickly, almost had autistic type symptoms which they linked to lack of Vit D..interesting....

So Abraham, mommy will be stalking up on Vit D for you when you come home!

A few weeks ago for my birthday we went to the MassHope Convention in MA.  I was so excited as I purchased the entire A Beka Kindergaten curriculum, same one I used for Kayla and Kiara, for Abraham. I know some of it will be easy for him, but I can't think of a better curriculum to start him out with his English.  I stare at it everyday, anticipating the day we tear it apart and open the books to Day 1 and hearing him say A is for Apple, A says A..A...A.....

Waiting is hard but I am trusting in the Lord's timing and praying that Abraham is safe and healthy and I hope I get news soon that he knows about us.  If he does know, then I hope that sweet smile of his is even bigger now.

I love you my son...keep smiling knowing we are coming soon.

We got a referral!

It happened! It finally happened! And much sooner than we ever dreamt!
On April 14th, early afternoon the phone rang and Elizabeth shouts, "MOM! It's AAI!"

My heart jumped as I thought, "Surely there must be a problem as we wouldn't get a referral so quickly. Our dossier was only sent on Feb 17th! And here it is April 14th!"

Hesitantly I answered the phone and was greeted by Merrily, president of AAI.

She asked how we were doing and how was Maine. My heart is thumping.....

Then she says it, "We have a boy here we would like you to consider, he's 6 yrs old, medical looks good, health is good, school looks greeat, just needs help in general science, he's in KG2....and oh yes, his name is Abraham...."

Abraham!!! Why it was only a few weeks back that I was having a very casual conversation with the Lord, just telling Him the desires of my heart and I said, "Lord, it would be really neat if our child/ren already had a biblical name...." (Psalm 37:4  "Delight yourself in the LORD,and he will  give you the desires of your heart.")

Oh Abraham....a man in the Bible known as the Father of many nations, one who was called out from his own country to a country he did not know. Oh Lord, thank You!

Merrily asked if we would be interested in seeing his picture and his file and I didn't hesitate to say YES YES YES!

Then for the next 30 minutes I must have hit that send and receive button in my e-mail 1000 times!

Then it came.....subject line with his full name...

My eyes were huge at this point as well as my children behind me, we must have looked like panting puppies!

I clicked open the picture and my heart jumped, I burts into tears...."Oh Father, this is our son You brought to us, there's no question Lord that this is the one...."

I have heard from many folks that you will KNOW when it is your 'forever' child.

I was smitten, his eyes, his smile, his teeth...I must have studied every detail of that sweet face.

Jeff came in and sat down, he looked at his picture and a huge smile lit up his face. And being the jokester that he is Jeff said,"awww...he gots wittle elf ears..." We all laughed and cried.

The next morning (April 15th) as soon as the doors to our pediatricians office was open I brought Abraham's file in. By that afternoon I receieved the call..."Besides being a tad anemic everything looks great.....and oh....he's a cutie.....a keeper for sure"

We called AAI and left a message for them to call back.

About an hour later we had officially accepted the referral for Abraham Hebert!

The next week we received the child packet acceptance forms and signed away! We felt like celebrities!

Now we are anxiously awaiting our court date from Ethiopia when we can go and meet our new son and legally adopt him. We will keep you all posted!

Our Journey Begins plus updates on the journey...

Well, here we are at the very beginning and Lord willing this blog will be filled with news of each step we have to take.
For many of our friends and family this is coming as a shock and surprise. We know we will have opposition as well as rejoicing, however we hope that eventually there will be much rejoicing as we welcome a precious child/ren and raise them to know our Lord and Savior.

Jam 1:27
Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

This was not a decision that came easy to us. God laid this desire on my heart first over 2 years ago (2008) after I read an article in my Above Rubies magazine while still living in Old Orchard Beach.  I thought, “Surely I am just being emotional,” as I never thought I could adopt.  I didn’t have any desire to adopt and felt that was something only special people could do.  God gently nudged me and I began to pray about this.  I kept silent as I was not ready to let anyone know, I wanted to wrestle this out with just me and God. My biggest concern was Jeff. He was content with our size family and I knew he was looking forward to having all older children and no more little ones.  But I knew if this desire was of God, then He would change my husband’s heart. He did! Little did I realize but adoption was always a dream for Jeff!

After looking at the guidelines for every country, we found we were eligible for Ethiopia and Bulgaria, Korea and Taiwan. We both felt that Ethiopia was the place to go for our new child.  We read many websites and just fell in love with the children there.

So, after much researching various adoption agencies and being rejected by a known Christian agency because we didn’t meet their financial requirements, we have settled on an agency that came highly recommended by several folks, Adoption Advocates International in Washington.  We filled out the application and received our official contract and we are thrilled to belong to such a wonderul agency that has placed thousands of children to their forever familes.


Currently we are in the homestudy process with St. Andre Home in Biddeford, Maine. They partner with AAI for the homestudies.

We have a long way to go and much financial difficulties but we know that God has laid this desire on our hearts and He will see us through this.  We will be planning on doing fundraising events and hopefully apply for grants etc after the homestudy is completed.  We do have a donate button below. Here’s the steps we have to take and we covet your prayers as we go through each one.

We are currently in the saving money stage and waiting stage..everything we had to complete for dossier etc is finished, we have our I71H form, approved for 2 orphans 0-7 yrs of age.



Mail checks to:
Jeff and Donna Hebert
50 Sanford Rd
Waterboro, Maine 04087

So with all this being said, we covet your prayers and we need your support.  Again this was not a decision made lightly and it certainly isn’t going to be an easy road for our family, but we are excited and are ready to step out in faith and welcome 1 or more precious children in the name of our Lord.  Please join us on this journey!