Wanted: More Photos

I've been on a "high" since our referral day - smiling a lot and looking at the two photos we received a few weeks ago! I desperately want more photos, and thankfully our agency allows us to sign a release form to allow other families who are traveling to take photos for us. A nice couple left today on their journey to meet their son for the first time - he is in the same orphanage with Keane, and they have agreed to take photos for us! I can't wait to see new photos of him - we should get them next weekend or the following week! I have some friends making a trip in the May/June timeframe as well, and I'm going to have them on a mission to get more photos of Keane then as well! I was able to speak with our adoption coordinator on Friday and learn more about the expected timelines, which gave me a headache and put a sour look on my face for a few hours! Because of some of the changes in Ethiopia that have been taking place, we should expect to wait 2-4 months until our case is submitted to court (they have to obtain a birth certificate for him prior to court, which could take some time). THEN, we must wait several weeks to learn when our scheduled day will be. THEN, we should expect our court date to be about 2 months from then. UGH! For those of you who don't know about the Ethiopian annual court closure, here is your lesson: due to the large amount of rainfall during the annual rainy season, the Ethiopian Court closes for up to 2 months around August/September each year. So, if we don't receive a scheduled court date before then, we will have to wait until the courts reopen, which could mean that we may not be able to bring Keane home this year! We are hopeful that we will be on the shorter end of the waiting scale, but it is completely unpredictable right now! It is going to take a lot of patience for us to get through this process - so until I hear that we have been submitted to court, I'm OK with making it my obsession to gather as many photos of him as I can! :)