Your prayers for sleep worked until 2:08am. I woke up and stared at the ceiling for nearly 2 hours. Nervous really isn't the term for what I was feeling. Nor was it anxiety. Anticipation is probably the best description. I knew that in just a few short hours, our lives were going to change forever.
Our first stop of the day was at the US Embassy. We knew that we had to meet with them before we met with the Ministry but nobody seemed to know why. Our first bump came in front of the Embassy. There was a gentleman with a clipboard out front that we had to speak with first. We told him we had a meeting at 9am. He consulted his list and we were nowhere to be found. He went and found another Embassy worker who again asked why we were there, looked at the list and then with a confused look went inside. She asked if we had the form (we didn't......there wasn't actually a form, but an email telling us to be there) About five minutes later, she came back out and said we were good and she wasn't sure why we weren't on the list. Phew!
The new Embassy is HUGE! It is more like a compound. There were so many people there. We spoke to three different people before they finally figured out why we were there. When we were called to a window, there stood the man that helped us with both boys' adoptions. :) It was amazing seeing a familiar face. It turns out, the reason we were there was to have the Article 5 interview and get the all important Article 5 letter! This letter informs the Ministry that everything is in order in the eyes of the Embassy and the adoption can proceed.
I felt badly for Z because our meeting at the Embassy took a little over 2 hours. I'm sure he was having kittens waiting for us. We booked it over to the Ministry (our meeting was scheduled for 11:30) We drove around and around looking for a parking spot....Z said that we give him the worst luck with parking. But he finally found a spot and started walking. I did not think about having to walk a long distance and the shoes I had on were not exactly walking shoes. lol
The meeting was so very relaxed. When we went around the table introducing ourselves, we realized that one of the attendees was the foster mother. I immediately got emotional because her face betrayed her grief. We found out some basic stuff about J's birth family and we learned that she has been in the same foster home her entire life. The foster mother told us that she took J home from the hospital when she was 26 days old. It is so obvious that this lady loves J and our adopting J is breaking her heart. I know this whole process is part of it, but, UGH it is so difficult!
Near the end of the meeting, we were shown a picture of J sitting on Santa's lap and her smile was breathtaking. We were told we could keep the picture and the tears that I had managed to hold back started to fall. It was finally real! It was decided we would proceed from the Ministry to the foster home to meet her. The foster mother was adorable because she was worried her home was going to be messy and she didn't want us to be offended. *Her home was not even close to messy*
The drive was only about 1/2 hour and before we knew it, we were pulling into an alleyway. We were there! The foster mother ushered me inside and I met her husband. Then, J peeked into the room and ran over to the foster mother and threw her arms around her "Baba" (she calls her Baba or grandmother) and I saw that smile again. Her picture made her look very tall, but she is teeny!
We all sat around the table to talk for a few minutes all the while J was in the foster mother's arms grinning at everyone. I had brought the banana bread and they brought out Turkish coffee and juice. It was a nice few minutes. Then the social worker went and asked J if she could hold her. At first, she was told "Ne!" but she changed her mind. They came over to me and I pulled out a small stuffed animal. It always seems to break the ice when a stuffed animal comes out and starts kissing little faces. :) She was curious about me but still called me "Mama" when they told her to. We went over to the couch and after a few minutes, I pulled out my camera so we could show her pictures of her braća (brothers). She was so interested in the boys that I don't think she even noticed the social worker put her into my lap. And that was it.....in my heart, she is mine! She is a complete snuggle bug and LOVES to be kissed. I made kissy sounds into her ear and she giggled. I tell ya, her giggle is the sweetest sound! She let me feed her a small piece of banana bread and Hubby walked over and she took some from him too. She didn't know what to think of the new flavor though. We are so thankful for Z! He was able to snap a couple pictures of her with us. I was so enamored with her, taking pictures was the last thing on my mind.
I didn't want to overwhelm her with too much, so when she wanted down, I let her roam. She went to the other room and hung out with the other foster daughter (who is adorable and so sweet!) I once again sat with the others around the table, but my heart was longing to be with my girl. I finally excused myself and went to see what the girls were doing. Peppa Pig was on the computer (I like that they have some of the same cartoons) and the girls were looking through pictures. There are a ton of pictures of J as a baby and toddler. We were told that we could have some of those pictures. That is extremely rare in international adoption. So, anyway, I sat on the couch and J came over to me and whispered, "Mama." My heart melted and I pulled her into my lap. She turned herself to the side and buried her face in my neck and I rocked her. I thought for a minute she was going to go to sleep. I truly believe God prepared her heart for us. We found out she loves to be rocked and sung to. I am going to be one happy Mama!
Our visit ended way too quickly. In reality, we were there for nearly 2 hours, but time sure flew! She gave me and Hubby a kiss (I swear I nearly cried seeing him kiss her sweet cheek!) We get to go back tomorrow morning. The plan is to have the first report written on Thurs and then the second report on Monday. I believe they want her to spend the night with us by the end of the week, but I might have misunderstood that. Once the second report is written, it is presented to the Minister who has to sign off on the paperwork. When that is done, we have our adoption ceremony and she will be ours. Another few days of paper chasing and we will get to come home to begin life as a family of 5. The timeline is a little fluid. Usually the Minister signs within 1-3 days but, our last adoption showed us that timeframe isn't set in stone. I will keep you updated when the time comes. :)
I look around the apartment and see tiny pink clothes, hair pretties and toys and it makes my belly do flip flops knowing it isn't long until those things will be used. The foster mother said that J likes to snuggle next to her in bed. Neither of the boys wanted anything to do with sleeping with us. So, if J wants to, it will be a new experience.
We are so very thankful that God chose us to parent this precious child!
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