Nesting

Lately I’ve been feeling like I got hit by a bus. Plowed down actually. I’ve chalked this up to my pregnancy-induced insomnia. And, what does every expectant mother do in the middle of the night? Get up and do random chores. a.k.a. Nesting. I never actually WANT to clean my bathroom or fold 8 loads of laundry at 3 A.M., but I can’t help feeling compelled to do it. And, it’s not as if I stumble out of bed all zombie-like. No, I am like a machine…frantically scrubbing, polishing and reorganizing everything I can get my hands on. Again, this is at 3 A.M.! And, Keith, the sweet man, peacefully sleeps through all of it. Somehow my body instinctively knew we were getting close to the end though.

Two weeks ago (April 13th) we received the boys’ birth certificates, something that had to be filed for and created in Ethiopia because, of course, kids in orphanages don’t have them. These are such sweet documents: each includes a picture of the respective boy taken upon entrance to the orphanage. Makes me wish I could have been there that day to scoop them up and smuggle them home. Plus, the certificate reflects us as the adoptive parents and Kotrla as the boys’ last name. Actually, the names are listed as Kibru Keith Kotrla (Garrison) and Merihun Keith Kotrla (Ivan). In Ethiopia, or at least in the boys’ home region, the tradition is to use the father’s first name for a child’s last name. I’m guessing that’s why Keith’s first name appears as well. Otherwise, I’d be a little jealous.

Then more forms to fill out (the I-600). Thanks, Keith! You are the best filler-outer of government-required documents. Plus, a new procedure, notaries, signatures (in nearly our own blood), and a whopping fee for each child to go with said document.

An email on the 20th from our agency said we are only waiting on Garrison’s passport. With that, everything can be submitted to the US Embassy, the last and final waiting line to bring them home.

And, yesterday I walked around at work in a mixed cloud of excitement and horror after Keith called to tell me our documents were submitted to the Embassy. There is no way of knowing how quickly they will review cases, but we could hear back as early as next week. Gasp! At that time, they ask us for 3 possible dates we could appear at the Embassy, and they pick the actual appointment day.

We could be taking custody of our boys in as little as 2 weeks. Woo hoo!!!

Even though I can’t wait to devour them…and bring home just the scraps, I’m okay with these last few weeks of waiting. Even if it drags on a little longer. I felt the same way when I was at the end with Avery, and I begged my doctor to let me go up to 2 weeks late. It’s absurd, I know. We had moved into our house literally 2 weeks before my due date, and I was insanely hauling giant boxes upstairs and cracking the whip at Keith to do more difficult tasks. By God’s mercy on my mental well-being, I finished unpacking and putting everything away just 12 hours before checking into the hospital...4 days late.

Right now, in my haste to get things in perfect order before adding 2 kids to our household, I really want to consume as much as possible of the current members of this family. I have a date with Avery tonight: Chick Fil A, the library and a treat from the ice cream truck. And, an overnight trip with Keith would indeed be a treat for me. Hint, hint. Oh, Simon? Let me just say that Keith is jealous of our nightly make-out sessions. I think I’ll save the nesting for my moments of insomnia and keep the waking hours for my family.

Here they are...just a few things we've been up to:

Avery got a Big Girl Bike.

Getting ready for the day...and doing a great job at it!

Helping wash the van with our neighbor.

This shot is from our church picnic 2 summers ago. No reason it's appearing here other than they are super cute together...and it somehow ended up in the same folder as the others I posted.