FAQs

I thought I would post about some of the frequently asked questions we have been getting since things have begun moving again....

1. Why can't you tell about Baby J's name, family, or show pictures, etc...?

Because the adoption hasn't been finalized, Baby J is not "officially" ours. Ethiopia has strict guidelines on confidentiality and sharing information on available children. Just as you wouldn't want a bunch of strangers knowing your personal history, or more importantly, your child's personal history, they don't want this for their children who have no parent to represent them or to keep this from happening. Furthermore, and more importantly, if something would happen to interfere with this adoption being finalized, they don't want a bunch of people having information about a child who will be a part of someone else's family. So, this means that we are not allowed to share any information that could potentially identify this little boy until our court date, which is when he would officially become our son. Then, we can use our own discretion about what we feel is appropriate and what we want our son to be able to decide for himself what he wants people to know about his history. Trust me, we are not trying to be mean or secretive but just trying to honor the guidelines and respect the spirit of protecting the children.

2. When do we travel?

We still do not know the answer to this question, however, we hope to travel some time around early February...although you can definitely pray with us that it happens sooner!

3. What's the deal with the court date and why don't you travel then?

The court date is what makes his adoption official with the Ethiopian government. That is when he becomes legally ours, and once this occurs, nothing can revoke the adoption. At court, a relative has to be present to verify his orphan status and represent the family as they consent to the adoption taking place. It is at this time that the relative relinquishes all rights to the child, and all ramifications of that decision are outlined to that individual. We do not travel at this time because the child does not have the proper documents to leave the country at that time. After court, all the proper paperwork has to be completed and he has to obtain a visa to leave the country...this is what the Embassy appointment is for, and this is when we travel. If it were feasible, we would definitely travel when he becomes officially ours after court, but the time frame between court and Embassy appointment makes that very difficult. We would basically have to stay in-country for 4-6 weeks to wait for the Embassy appointment, and obviously that would be very difficult and there are very few individuals who do this.

4. What's his name?!

It has been much harder to decide on a name than we originally thought. We still have the list of J names that produced the nickname Baby J, but we are not sure that any of those fit. Plus, we are looking at incorporating his given name, and that has changed some of the names that we originally thought we liked. So, we actually still don't know his American name...but don't think he doesn't have a name! He does and it is very special, but for now, we will continue to call him Baby J.

5. Is it harder to wait now that you know who he is?

For me, it's not...yet. That endless waiting with no answers was excruciating. We know that he is being well taken care of and we have at least some idea of when there will be no more waiting and he will be in our arms. So, all of that makes it a little easier to deal with.

So, there you have it. Now, on to more waiting...but now we know who we are waiting for. YAY!