A few pics from our first 5 days!

We're all doing well. The boys are both trying to adjust to new timezone, Samuel is trying to adjust to everything, Jackson is trying to adjust to life with Samuel and I am trying to adjust to all of this adjustment! And, of course, to take care of my 3 boys.

The highlights have been seeing my husband become a daddy, seeing Samuel's laughter and joy, bath time and naked-boy time right before bath time, all of Samuel's hysterical sounds - he's very very chirpy and makes the funniest noises, and Samuel sleeping in my arms. Of course challenges, too, but we're - as I said - adjusting!

One More American!

Details and more photos to follow...busy loving on my son and husband. Suffice to say all is well in the Stone household!

How am I supposed to sleep???

Just talked to Terry in Frankfurt for about 3 minutes. Samuel was gibbering and cooing in the background the entire time. That's the first time I've heard my son gibber or coo! OMG. It's starting to feel real! SO EXCITED. So glad my mom's here.

Landing in Frankfurt in 32 minutes!

The trip is about 1/3 of the way over, the boys land in Frankfurt in just over :30 minutes, then have a (ugh) 8-hour layover, before the final and direct flight to Denver!

AHHHHHH!

Now it's just a (long) plane trip!

The embassy appointment went well! Now it's a matter of picking up the Visa, a few 10-hour flights with an 8-hour layover in Frankfurt, and my baby and my baby will be home!

No new pics. Daddy has been a *little* busy, so nothing new sent since they picked him up on Saturday. But all sounds like it's going well! Samuel is eating well (can't get enough, poor little wee thing), sleeping well, playing well and apparently pooping a lot! I can't wait to have them BOTH in my arms.

1057 days. That's a long pregnancy.

Honesty

Yes, I'm excited.
Yes, I'm scared to death.
Yes, I feel more grateful for my husband, mom and dad than ever. And Jackson, too.

Tomorrow is Embassy Day!

Actually, Terry & Samuel's appointment is in just over a couple of hours, because they're already in tomorrow.

I have been instructed that it's critical that I post at least daily, so I will be better this week! Here's the news from today.

The first day away from the orphanage went great! Samuel is apparently quite a clown, and gets his second wind after dinner. Terry isn't happy with the poopy diaper situation. Samuel slept well for close to 9 hours, Papa and Daddy didn't sleep much at all.

The escape:

First meal:

Papa & Samuel:

My handsome boys:

Three generations:

Update!

A quick update. My dad arrived in Ethiopia today to help Terry bring Samuel home. (Although it was a tough choice, we had to decide to send my dad instead of me for some personal reasons.)

Tomorrow, they'll pick up Samuel from the orphanage and hand over a 45-pound duffel bag of shoes as a donation for the orphanage.

On Monday, Terry has his appointment with Samuel at the US Embassy.

On Wednesday, Terry will pick up Samuel's visa, then the 3 guys fly out late that night.

On Thursday, November 24 (Thanksgiving day!) at 2:10pm, they land in Denver! And this PEBBLE will have become a STONE!

Here are a few more pics.

Introducing Samuel August Stone!!

Our I-600 decision came in at 4:06am! We are thrilled to introduce our son.

Samuel should be arriving on Colorado ground with his daddy and poppa around 2pm on Thanksgiving day. Quick email sent to families, and blog updated, so you are among the first to hear! Will call people and send more updates in the am, but I just had to let someone know!!

Now - it's 4:23am so back to bed. (Yeah, right!)

WOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We love you Samuel! You'll be with Mommy and big brother Jackson soon!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Big Week (Hopefully!) For The Stone Family

It's hard to even begin to think about how to communicate everything that has happened since Terry went to Ethiopia more than 2 weeks ago. To say it has been a roller-coaster ride would be a total understatement. He's still there. We have extended his trip twice.

We now have an amazing adoption/immigration attorney involved, a US Senator (Senator Landrieu) personally involved, and have basically taught the people at our orphanage, our agency, and our agency's in-country attorney how to do an investigation on a child and navigate the US Embassy and USCIS. We have done all of the work on our son's case on our own - not including, of course, your prayers, thoughts and support, which is literally what has kept us going.

So, if all goes well, we should/could/hope to hear something pretty substantial this week.

Thanks again. I *hope* the next time I post, I'm sharing some really, really good news. And pictures.

How it is.

1. 8-11am: various text/phone calls/emails back and forth with Terry regarding: Samuel, witnesses, affidavits, agency, orphanage, guest house, money transfers, changing flights, Ethiopia attorneys, US attorneys, US Embassy, USCIS or any other number of details
2. Most of day: try to focus on work and enormous product launch coming up, filling open position and reworking entire marketing strategy with reduced staff and budget
• A the same time, work on any required adoption details (see #1) including conference calls with US attorney, useless agency and other adoptive families + try to keep family + friends up to date
3. Evening: feed/walk BFF Jackson, sit on conference calls with Japan (see #2) or adoptive families, catch up on work missed due to conference calls on adoption during day
4. 10-12pm: more communications with Terry regarding adoption details (see #1)
5. All night: when I wake: check iphone and email for any updates from Terry, and since I'm up anyway - whip off email responses to Japan
6. 24 hours a day: swing up and down between worry, hope, despair, excitement, fear. Obsessive cleaning of baseboards.
7. Repeat

Yup. That's how it is around here. Kyn/Lynn - I know you've danced this dance.

S.P.I.T. !!!

My husband has traveled to the town in Northern Ethiopia where Samuel is from, and he's doing the investigations in conjunction with the orphanage. He is Secret Private Investigator Terry. I'm so proud of him for what he's doing to fight to bring our son home. We hope to know much more next week... 

I continue to work things on the home front. This is definitely all-consuming! Meanwhile I have the cutest freaking pictures of Samuel from this week, I can hardly stand it. I wish I could post them - but we agreed with the agency in our contracts that we wouldn't publish identifying information until we pass embassy. But then again, it's not like they're holding up their side of the contract.

Per my last post, we're much more on hope than despair this week!

Oh - and per my post below that, the bear (the $50 customer bear with recordings from mommy and daddy) made him cry!! Poor baby. I guess that would be pretty scary.

Despair. Hope. Despair. Hope. Despair. Hope...

Terry is in Ethiopia for 2 weeks trying to work out this whole nightmare. Things have spiraled downhill with regards to ours and many Ethiopian adoptions in the last 2 months. But stay tuned - there is now hope where there wasn't yesterday.

After hearing very disturbing news about our particular case on Friday, we got Terry there as quickly as possible to see what, exactly, is going on. He got in country on Monday night. He met with our agency's attorney first thing on Tuesday, and found out NOTHING has been done on our case in the 8 weeks since the embassy sent our case back for more information. Can you imagine how bat-shit crazy this makes me?!

The good news is that  now we are working with an attorney in the US with whom I am thrilled - and we actually have hope after going through a weekend thinking we had lost our son. She personally has an adopted child from Vietnam and got stuck in the process with the US Government there – so this is her life’s work. She has gotten many, many families home from Nepal, Vietnam and now is starting with Ethiopia. She assures us she can help us – the only caveat being that Terry may have to spend some extra time in Ethiopia being a “private investigator” to fight this fight. It depends on if he can light any fires at all under our agency's butts, which I have absolutely no faith in, whatsoever. So, now Terry and I are officially Private Investigators, Attorneys and Adoption Agency workers - you name it, it's all on us. 

I am dying to get over there and hold my baby, but someone has to be on this end to work things, too. And oh, there's that little problem of one failed adoption and now this - which leaves us just a TEENY bit, um, stretched. So my trip is on hold.

Terry has seen Samuel twice in the two days he has been there. Yes, he’s bald!! (Samuel, not Terry.) I miss his little Fro-hawk! (Samuel, not Terry.) They had to shave his head for a hospital visit (Samuel, not Terry.)  I guess in Ethiopia they put IV’s in babies’ heads when they’re dehydrated. Poor baby – he had "violent vomiting and dehydration". We’re still not sure what exactly is going on with that, and of course that make me a bit nuts. But Terry said he seems OK. I, however, am NOT OK WITH THIS AT ALL!! Nor the fact no one let us know he was sick. I need him home where I can take care of him. (Samuel and Terry.)

Thanks for everyone’s support, it is much appreciated.