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Adoption Story of the Month
"A Call to Africa"
Before Scott and Courtney Himes ever said “I do,” they had both discussed their desire to adopt children. Once married, the couple decided they would have a few children of their own before exploring their dreams of adoption. But like many well-laid plans, things did not go exactly as they had expected. After trying to conceive on their own and without any luck, the Himes’ made a change in their game plan. The two decided infertility treatments were not something they wanted to pursue and instead turned their focus to the world of adoption. Having previously traveled to Africa, both Courtney and Scott felt drawn to the children of Ethiopia. After researching a number of adoption agencies and their connection to international adoption, the Himes’ chose St. Elizabeth-Coleman to assist with their home-study process.
They started the process in October of 2006 and by January 2007 their dossier was complete and approved. Then, their wait began. To help pass the time, the couple attended a trans-racial adoption workshop conducted by St. Elizabeth-Coleman to learn more about parenting a child of a different race or nationality. They also sold their home and moved into another across town. But before the last of the moving boxes had been opened, the Himes’ received a call that would change their lives forever. Just 3 days after moving into their new home in March of 2007, the couple received a referral matching them with a five-month old boy.
He had been abandoned in the streets of the capital city just days after his birth and was now living in an orphanage. Though no family history was available, the couple received his medical records and photos of their new son. Because no known birth date was available, the hospital gave him the birthday of November 5th based on their estimates of his age. Though they would not travel to Africa until May, they received an early gift from their adoption agency. Coincidentally, members of a mission trip in the region visited the orphanage and sent photos of their new son to them. They studied every inch of these photos along with the original referral pictures as they attempted to wait patiently for their flight overseas.
Scott and Courtney arrived in Ethiopia on Sunday evening May, 27th. An agency representative for the country met them at the airport and escorted them to their hotel. Monday morning, after running errands, the couple finally arrived at the orphanage to meet their new son. Little did they know, however, that the staff of the orphanage would have a little game in store for the couple. The children were divided into numerous rooms based on their age. Their son was in a room with roughly a dozen other children. When asked if they could pick out their son, Courtney and Scott felt certain they would be able to do so. After all, they had studied his photos for months just waiting for that very moment. After narrowing down to all but two children, the Himes’ pointed to one of the infants. They thought this baby was their son, and he had a crib mate that they thought was a little girl wearing a pink outfit and white tights with little hearts on them. As such, they thought that baby to be a little girl. They were wrong and quickly realized that the traditional American colors of pink for little girls and blue for boys did translate the same in this African nation. Children wear many colors regardless of race and the orphanage also must clothe the children in whatever they have available. Their son was actually the child wearing the pink hat and white tights with little hearts!
The couple spent the next few hours getting to know the newest addition to the family, Noah, a bit more intimately. They played with him in the nursery, fed him and rocked him to sleep before departing for the day. Their third day in Ethiopia was spent much the same way – visiting with Noah in the orphanage before attending to other necessary errands. On Wednesday, Scott and Courtney bid farewell to their son’s caretakers and took him back to the hotel with them. After receiving his passport from the American Embassy, the couple boarded the plane with their son Friday evening. After what the Himes’ describe as an “extremely long plane ride home,” they arrived safely to awaiting friends and family.
With their journey complete and adjusting to their new life at home with a toddler, Scott and Courtney encourage others interested in pursuing an international adoption to do their homework and find an agency that fits their particular needs. They also encourage potential adoptive parents to connect with other adoptive parents to learn from their experiences. Scott and Courtney also maintained a blog site for friends and family to keep track of their journey. You can read about their adoption experience by logging onto www.scotthimes.com.
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