The In-Between

So, yes, I know. I haven't posted much in the last couple weeks. Yes, it's Christmas-time craziness but it's also that "in between" time. You know how it goes. It's like when you buy a house and then wait to move in. Or you find that perfect piece of furniture and then have to wait for it to arrive. Or . . . nah, those are bad examples. Hmmmm, well, it's like when someone gives you the bestest, most wonderfulest, fantabulous gift imaginable on the planet, and then tells you, "but it's not quite yours yet" . . . and that "yet" is the aforementioned "in between". Thankfully, the "in between" is not painful like the waiting for a referral. It's just like breathing shallow and waiting for the good part of the movie. Again, bad example, but I think you get the jist of it.

Anyway, so that's where we are. Counting down the days until our January 6th court date.

Meanwhile we had a wonderful Christmas. Very low stress. Fun seeing what friends and family got our sweet boy. Talking about how exciting next Christmas will be when we have a little one to bring the magic part of Christmas back into our house.

The highlight of our week thus far? We got a couple new pictures from the Salyers who were in Ethiopia picking up their beautiful baby girl last week. He's standing up in his crib (no word on whether he's walking yet), and has filled out quite nicely and still has THE most beautiful eyes on the planet. We also put a small photo album together with pictures of us, including Gwen and the dogs (of course!), to send with another traveling family that's leaving this Friday to pick up their little boy. It'll be given to our little guy once we pass court next week. They'll also take pictures for us.

So, that' about it from the Land of In Between. Positive thoughts (please, please, please!) for a successful court hearing on the 6th!

Well, that was QUICK!

You know, sometimes the strangest things happen . . . like the day we got our referral, and I wasn't there to answer the phone.

Or today, when court dates were being handed out and I wasn't there to get the email! See, I got a new email address (to go with the fancy new phone Kyle got me) . . . and our agency sort of got the email address a little wrong, so since 11:00 a.m. this morning an email was sitting in the wrong email box telling us we had a court date.

But WHO CARES because WE GOT A COURT DATE!!! And it's so close: January 6th!! Holy all things moly: my head is spinning!!!! In the good kinda way!

Yeah for the Hansels!!

I just found out this morning that the Hansels (who got their referral the same day we did) just received their court date after only a 4 week wait! Their court date is January 5th with a possible embassy appointment on February 5th! They waited SO long for their baby girl and I'm thrilled that they got such a fast turn around on their court date!!!

Now before you get too excited, that does NOT mean we'll get a court date immediately . . . dates are not given out in order of referral. It has more to do with the paperwork and when it gets translated/collected/submitted to court (a delicate dance between CHI, the orphanage, the transition house, the MOWA, etc., etc.) . . . we could still have several more weeks of waiting for our court date. But it's coming!!!

Again, congrats to the Hansels!

A Little Smoke with our Coffee?

This last Saturday night a group of dear friends came together to help us celebrate our little guy's first birthday at Kokeb restaurant in Seattle. Believe it or not, this was our first experience with Ethiopian food . . . I know, amazing, huh? I took the brand new Flip video camera Kyle just bought me with the intention of posting a cute little video of our evening. Well, that's not going to happen . . . let's just say the videographer (that would be ME) needs a little practice on her new toy before she shares!! That said, however, Kyle took a few still photos that came out just lovely. He's good like that.

ANYWAY . . . we had a wonderful meal (photo below) . . . we ordered both a veggie combo plate and a meat combo plate. Both were fabulous (I can speak for the veggie side, and am taking the word of others on the meat side!!).

Following dinner, we were treated to a coffee ceremony. They first brought out a small pan with the roasting beans in it so we could savor the aroma. Then after lighting something fragrant in a small dish (we couldn't figure out what it was -- although it smelled wonderful), they served some wonderful coffee which we thoroughly enjoyed.

It was a great evening and a place we'll go back to many times. The ladies there all made us promise to bring our son with us the next time we visit. A promise we look forward to!

A thank you to our friends for making the evening so much fun!

Happy Birthday

Today is the 1 year birthday of our gorgeous new son! How we wish we could be there to share this special day with him (or that, even better, he could be here with us!).

Our message to our son on his first birthday:

Sending all our love across the continents and oceans that, for now, separate us. We hope that your day is as special as you are. We hope today, and each day until we are together, that you are surrounded with all the hugs and kisses and warmth and safety and love we will shower upon you. We will be there soon. All our love, Mommy & Daddy

Getting Cozy with my Phone Again!

As you all know by now, I spent several LONG weeks recently carrying my phone with me EVERYWHERE just knowing I might get THE CALL. I thought those days were behind me, but now I find I'm constantly (dare I say OBSESSIVELY?) carrying and checking my phone again waiting to hear from our friends Greg and Tegan about THEIR referral!!! I'll have you know, I carried that phone near and dear to my heart all through Costco, PCC, the bank, the post office . . . but, alas, no referrals seem to have gone out today. I'm prepared to go the distance and get cozy with my cell phone again anxiously awaiting the call about THEIR call!

On other fronts, there were several court dates handed out to other waiting families today . . . including one family that received their referral just 2 weeks before us (which is a MUCH shorter wait than we've been told to expect). I'm not getting my hopes up, but that was a fun ray of sunshine to brighten our rainy Monday.

Oh, and Costco is now a dangerous place for me. I took a very (VERY) innocent stroll through the baby aisle (you know, just CHECKING) . . . walked out with three outfits. They WERE really cute and I apparently have no self-restraint. :o)

Well, that's about it for today . . . hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Timelines and Yup, More Waiting!

We have officially accepted the referral of our 11 1/2 month old son! CHI (our agency) has confirmed receipt of our acceptance paperwork and final adoption fee payment!

And since many of you have asked, the following are some expectations our agency has set about what comes next:

* It may take from 5 - 8 weeks to hear when our court date has been set (that would be mid December - mid January).
* The court date we receive will be an additional 4 - 6 weeks from the date we get notice of it (so, late January to mid February). We will NOT travel to Ethiopia for court; that takes place before we get there. IF we pass court the first time (dependent on proper paperwork being submitted, surviving birth parents showing up at court, no power outages to delay court, etc., etc.), we would officially be the legal parents of our new son by the end of the court day. If there's a problem with any paperwork, etc., a new date is usually scheduled within 2 weeks.
* Once we've officially passed court, we wait for an embassy appointment in Ethiopia (wherein we receive paperwork to legally bring our new son back to the U.S.). This appointment date is the trigger for when we get to travel to Ethiopia. Embassy appointments can be up to 4 weeks from the date you pass court (which could be any time in the month of March, maybe late February).

SOOOOO, to recap: Given all the uncertainties and "what ifs" listed above . . . worse case scenario, we won't travel to pick up our son until late March. Best case scenario would be late February, early March.

The continued wait is maddening, of course, but there's a more "real" element to it now. Before, when we were waiting for this open-ended, abstact idea of a referral, it was so much harder to grab onto anything tangible. Now we have a face, a name, a heart, little lips, beautiful eyes, a SOUL to focus on as we count down the weeks.

Thank you to everyone for your phone calls, emails, blog comments and FB postings! It's wonderul to share our excitement and we both truly appreciate the love and support we've received!

More to come . . .

I Have Been Waiting a Long Time to Say it!!

Yup, that's right: WE GOT OUR REFERRAL!!!

This morning Kyle and I got the call referring us a BEAUTIFUL 11 month old baby boy! I know all mom's and dad's think that, but TRULY, TRULY this is a beautiful baby boy with the biggest, most beautiful eyes that just look right into your soul!

After having my phone strapped to my side for weeks (well, truth be told, it was tucked inside my bra where ever I went!!), I actually didn't have it with me this morning. Heck, I was in the shower, so you know . . . ANYWAY, when I got out of the shower I noticed I had three missed calls!! Before panic could set in, the phone rang and it was our agency with Kyle on the other line. We got to receive the good news at the same time and then look at the pictures of our new baby boy!!

Many, many thanks to our wonderful support network for being there during the last 11 + months. Now just a little more waiting before we can bring our new baby home. Time wise . . . we're looking at probably another 3 months before we get to travel to get him, but we have a beautiful face to gaze at when the waiting gets tough.

HAVING A HARD TIME FOCUSING!!!! Floating about 80,000 feet above the ground right now!

I'll post more later . . .

End of Week Update

Just a quick note . . .

The week ended with no more referrals (besides the 2 on Monday).

Gwen is convinced it'll be next week (although she was also convinced it'd be last Wednesday for some reason). I'm thinking it might be right after Thanksgiving. Kyle's somewhere in between! I'm actually quite calm even knowing we're soooo close. I thought I'd be chomping at the bit, but I've reached a strange level of peace in the last few days. Because we are so close, it feels like an inevitability (finally) so a week or two one way or the other doesn't matter as much. Of course that's how I feel today. Tomorrow? Who knows?? :o)

Either way, I'll post an update next week.

To the Birds!

Just thought I'd quickly post photos of my fabric bird mobile project. The first pic is just a close-up of each bird . . . I added wool wings because from viewed from below (as in a baby laying down looking up at them), they look more like birds that way!


And also, there were two more babies referred today: a little baby girl to a family that waiting 14 1/2 months (so long!!) and a baby boy to a family that waiting 11 1/2 months. We've been told we're REALLY close, as in "strap the phone to our sides" close. I'll keep you posted . . .

One more . . .

A family that waited "just shy of 12 months" received a referral for a 4 1/2 month old baby boy this afternoon.

We are shy of 12 months by 20 days . . . so stinkin' close!! And yes, I'm jumping out of my skin. LOL. I think I've aged 5 years in the last 5 months . . . the tension really does show in your face and posture.

I'm working on an adorable fabric bird mobile (thanks Tegan for the idea!) . . . got 4 birds done today and when it's finished, I'll post photos.

'Til later . . . XO

Referrals Today . . .

Brief update . . . four (4!!!) referrals today. Two boys and two girls. Both the girls were older (in the 4 year old range) which is something our agency has been short of in recent months so that's great news for the waiting families!). One of the referred boys was 13 months old (our upper end request is 12 months so we just missed that one!) and the family waited 11 months. The other referred boy was 2 months old (itty bitty) and that family waited 12 months.

So close . . . feels like the magic bullets hit on either side of us, but not quite on target! It's getting closer.

Nursery Photos

Well, we're getting there on the nursery completion. About 75% done by my guess. And although it's not complete, I've had several requests to post some photos, so here goes:

This one's pretty self-explanatory . . . still need to find something to put above the crib.

Baby bumpers that I made last week, plus the quilt I finished a couple months ago (and posted in an earlier entry).

Changing table/dresser (with diaper genie in the corner not set up yet!). The wall quilt which I posted in an earlier blog entry is now up on the wall.

This is above the changing table. It's a set of three South African designs that Gwen and I embroidered (Kyle helped a tiny bit!) and framed in fabric.

I'll post more as things become a little more finished! No referrals last week. 11 months, 1 week waiting.

Quick Update

Only one referral early this week for twin boys. We squeaked up 1 spot on the list! Seven waiting families (post-referral) got court dates this week which is great news as they all waited through the court closure for dates!

Tomorrow marks 11 months on the wait list. As I've posted MANY times, baby boys are running about 11-12 months, so we should get the call soon!!

No baby projects finished, although I promised to post a picture of the quilt I finished for Gwen's birthday.

Signing off for now. Hope to have more referral updates next week. FINGERS CROSSED (and toes) EVERYONE!!!

Lots of Activity . . . Just no Referrals

No referrals last week. Just one thus far this week (older girl) . . . I think this makes us #31 or #32. Lordy, lordy, could it be I've lost track?? Well, it's because ultimately, we're still holding somewhere under the #10 mark for infant boys. The slow down (as usual!) is always a drag to endure, but it's not like we haven't been down this road before!!! SO . . . we are staying busy. Our upstairs bath just got remodeled which makes it the last room upstairs to be remodeled. The big, humongous downstairs project will be starting on Monday in an attempt to have it done by the time we get the baby home. Which, given the slow down of referrals, might not be as much of a problem as we originally thought!!! Grrrr . . .


I've also been sewing like a fiend (excess energy anyone?). Finished Gwen's queen-size quilt just in time for her birthday (which is this coming Friday). I'll post pictures once she's received the gift!



Also, I finished the diaper bag I started a while ago:


It's HUGE with about 6 pockets inside, and one on the back (which you can't see). It (like many of my projects) is a mixture of fabrics and wool.





Also, I found (at Etsy.com) a woman who makes-to-order these adorable Ethiopian boy dolls. I ordered a few weeks ago and just received it yesterday. SO CUTE!!



Lots of other projects are in the works . . . I'll post photos as they get done. AND, of course, I'll post new referral information.

First (Half) Week of October Update

Just a brief update for this week:

1. One referral was offered this week for two sibling girls aged 2 and 4 years. The family for this sibling group waited 14 months (one of the longest waiting families). We're now #33 on the overall list, but didn't move on the boy wait list due to the referrals being just girls this week.

2. Federal Courts in Ethiopia officially opened today, but in reality it'll take about 2 weeks for them to get into full swing.

That's it . . . I'll report more when we know more!

End of Week Update

It never fails!! The week I post referral information early, there's more than one referral and I end up repeat (and repeat) posting AND THEN IT GOES QUIET!! Well, here's hoping that the activity this last week continues!! Since my last post (what? two days ago?) there were another 3 referrals (all boys with the last referred family waiting only 10 1/2 months!) putting our total number down to #34. While that number still seems really high, we have good information that there are less than 10 families ahead of us waiting for a baby boy AND courts are getting ready to re-open again and the referrals pick up in speed! We're very hopeful to hear something within the next 4 weeks or so. COME ON REFERRALS!!

Ooops . . .

. . . posted too soon (see post below). Another referral today: 4 month old baby boy! Family waited 11 months to the day! That means we're #37!

10 Month Mark

Today marks our official 10 months on the wait list!

And (not so coincidentally), we just finished painting our nursery and now have a crib, dresser and changing station in place just waiting for our baby boy! The room has begun its change . . . we used to call it the "extra room," but have changed over to calling it what it will be: the nursery. N.U.R.S.E.R.Y. Yup, it's official. The furniture is no longer just large boxes taking up space. They represent what will be: the place to keep all the cute clothes that I've just had stored in bins in the closet. The resting place for our baby boy and a place to put the beautiful blanket Gwen knitted 10 months ago. The place where we'll change diapers and begin bonding. It feels real.

We also found out today that there was a referral. A couple waiting just over 11 months received a 9 month old baby girl and her 7 year old brother. We are now #38 on the overall list of waiting families. Courts open in just about 2 weeks and the feeling out there is that there are lots of children/toddlers/ babies just waiting for the courts to open so they can be officially placed.

We're ready . . . after all we've had (more than!) 10 months to prepare for this!!

Whole Lotta This . . .

Who needs to think when you can look at this instead?

Sunshine Therapy

Kyle and I just returned from a much-needed 8 days of basking in the Hawaiian sunshine. I shut my brain off the entire time we were there and found myself not worrying about anything. Ahhhhh. Glorious. Of course we saw so many adorable babies and toddlers playing in the sand and surf, and imagined doing the same next year on our annual sojourn to the islands!!

When we returned we discovered two baby boys had been referred while we were gone. The families waiting 11 1/2 and 12 months, respectively, for their referrals. That means . . . drum roll please . . . that we are now #39 on the list! We get to finally use the "3" on our keyboard as we count down!!

Once we've had a chance to unpack and settle in, I'll post a few pictures from our trip. But meanwhile I REALLY need to get some groceries . . . . all we have is popcorn and iced-tea in the house!!

Fluctuations . . .

It goes up. It goes down. Peaceful calm feelings followed by complete, utter anxiety. Joy and hope. Worry and trepidation. Exhiliration. Then exhaustion. It's been 4+ weeks since there's been a referral. This has happened before. It'll happen again. I am usually successful in my attempts to be Polly Sunshine through the whole messy mess mess, but for some reason today I'm having ONE OF THOSE DAYS.

Blech.

Securing the Courtroom Doors

Well, folks, as of today the courts in Ethiopia are closed until approximately the first week of October. Not to worry -- this happens every year during their rainy season, and actually this year it happened about a month later than normal due to the back-log of cases the courts had to hear following the debacle in May. Referrals still do trickle in during this time, but as I've posted previously, it slows down substantially. Although there haven't been any referrals for the last 3 weeks, so I don't know how much slower it could possible get. I'm just saying . . . !!!

On this coming Monday the 24th, we will have been officially on the wait list for 9 months. And as many people have commented, I'm carrying the pregnancy really well and you can hardly tell I'm pregnant at all! All jokes aside, it is a curious thing, this waiting. No, I'm not pregnant. And along with that comes no weight gain, no morning sickness, no swelling ankles, etc. But I think the proper term to use is that I am an expectant mother. Yes, I like that. Kyle and I are expectant parents. Has a certain ring to it, don'tcha think?

On the crafting front, I have finished a small quilted bag that I was originally going to use as a diaper bag (picture below). As is typical, I didn't really pay attention to the "finished project" size information, and it's way too small for a diaper bag, so I've picked up another pattern that is quite large and will spend the next month or so working on a REAL diaper bag. I guess the one I just finished can be considered a trial run . . . or it can be a supplemental diaper bag. Who knows? It's cute nonetheless so it'll get used!

I'll continue to post as anything new happens . . . say when the baby furniture arrives, or we've finally painted the nursery, or any referrals come and we move up on the list, etc., etc.

Signing off for now . . .

Not Much . . .

Not really anything to report. So why am I posting? Um, perhaps because I'm slightly embarrassed that my last post was just adding pictures of my dogs to our blog. Ahem.

So . . . no referrals last week (did I mention it was a slow news day before?). Although there WAS good news in that a TON of families passed court both last week and today . . . I think it's up to like 12 families by now. Those were a bunch of families held up by abandonment issues back in May/June.

Still crossing fingers for referrals this week . . . would love to exit the 40's on the waiting list. Not that it's really any big deal. Just movement. Feels good to see movement.

Here's my short list of stuff a'coming:
* Court closes in 2 weeks until the first week of October. Referrals still happen but at a much reduced rate.
* We leave for Costa Rica in 3 weeks. We'll be gone 2 weeks. Hopefully the sun comes out again here before we leave so we can touch-up the tan a smidge. If not, the 70+ SPF baby suntan lotion might come in handy.
* Gonna finally paint the nursery when we get back. Plus, we should get our baby furniture sometime in September. Yippee. Makes it feel real, huh?

Oh, yeah, before I forget . . . I've gotten email from a few of y'all that you've tried unsuccessfully to leave comments on the blog and aren't able. I'm not sure what's wrong, but that's ok. Even if it's user error (eeek gads, really?), I still know you're out there!!

Hugs and kisses all around for now.

Oooo, found better pictures of "da boys"

I know, I know . . . slow news day around here. But I found some better pictures of our boys that I thought I'd post. I'm a dork. I know. (And yes, I ALSO know, I have more pictures of my dogs than my husband and daughter on this blog). Maybe next slow news day I'll randomly put some photos of them up here too! ;o)

Told 'Ya!

Okay, so maybe I should have waited until the END of the week to do an update since it seems I'm posting daily this week!! BUT . . . . another referral came through. This time it was a 4 1/2 month old baby boy to a family that waited 11 months (and a week, but who's counting).

So, that means we're now #41 on the list.

Hopefully I'll get to post as much next week. It'll be nice to use the "3" key on the keyboard!! :o)

It's Raining Babies!

ANOTHER referral yesterday . . . puts us down to #42!! (it must be that lucky number thing!)

A baby girl (10 weeks) was referred to a family that waited just over 12 months -- the huge batch of DTE 7-18-08 people who waited and waited and waited!!

I met with another waiting momma yesterday for lunch up in Bellingham. It was great putting a face to a name and connecting with a kindred spirit. Had a great time! They're around the mid 20's in their waiting numbers although they're only about 5 weeks ahead of us in line. It would be AWESOME to travel at the same time, but we'll have to see how the numbers game works! Fingers crossed!!

Okay . . . so here's to hitting the 30's by the middle of the month. Only 3 more to go and we're there!!

That was Quick . . .

Okay, so 44 becomes 43 (see post below) . . .

A baby girl (4 1/2 months) was referred yesterday to a family that waited 12 months for her.

Here's to 42 . . .

See, I told you it was quick!

A Number

We have received a number from CHI as to where we are on the wait list. The number is somewhat misleading in that it reflects ALL families waiting, including those asking for siblings, toddlers, females, males, or those requesting either, but it does feel fun to be able to countdown to some extent. So, our dossier went to CHI on 11/24/08 (DTE 11/24/08 in the lingo) and we're . . .

. . . drumroll please . . .

#44 on the list.

So there ya have it.

Here's to being #43. Then #42. Then #41. You see the pattern! :o)

Our First Two Sons . . .

I've been asked (by a new adoption buddy!) to please post pictures of our first two African sons, Kahi and Kala (Rhodesian Ridgebacks). I am happy to oblige!

Kahi is the the one with the dark face and happier expression. His full name: Kahi Kualono (roughly translated means The One Ridge in Hawaiian). Kala is the liver-nosed one who looks like he's in trouble in the bottom photo. His full name: Kai Kala (means Conqueror in Hawaiian).

Quick Update

Just a quick update on what's happened in the last 10 days or so:

1. We received notification last week that the courts were not closing for the rainy season (typically August and September), but received an update last night that the courts will close the third week of August through about the first week of October. This will hopefully help the court get caught up on its backlog so when it reopens in early October, there won't be a huge delay. What this means to waiting families? While the courts are closed, referrals are still given, just no final adoption hearings are held.

2. Also, a baby girl was referred yesterday. The family waited 12 months (waits for infant girls are running a little longer than infant boys).

3. A family that has been waiting since mid-October 2008 was told they are #27 on the overall list of waiting families. We've been waiting since late November 2008 so we can estimate that we're approximately in the mid to upper 30's on the wait list. That's about what we expected and are looking at receiving a referral in late October or early November if things continue as they have. Gwen was born on October 16th of 1984 . . . good things come that time of year it seems! :o)

4. We finally ordered our baby furniture . . . it should arrive in late August or early September which will give us plenty of time to assemble and finish the nursery when we return from our trip to Costa Rica in mid-September.

It's been mostly good news coming out of Ethiopia lately. All the positive thoughts and good energy my wonderful friends and family have been sending is certainly helping us as we approach the home stretch!

Does planting flowers count?

Good news reached our ears this afternoon:

After many weeks of swirling rumors and unsubstantiated information, we have heard from our agency that the ban on placing abandoned children from Addis Ababa for adoption has been lifted. No unethical practices were discovered in the orphanages and/or governmental agencies involved (just some bad administration and rule following). The waiting families will be getting court dates before the end of the month after almost two months of waiting to get their children!

And if this wasn't enough good news, there were also three (count 'em, THREE) referrals today: a 3-month of infant boy (the family waited 11 months), a 9 1/2 month girl (the family waited 12 months), and a sibling set of a 3 year old and 5 year old (the family waited 5 months).

On a personal note:

It's been a rough couple of months and the news is often disheartening on the blogs as people vent their anger, frustration, anxiety, [insert any other angst you can think of here] . . . and I've made a concerted effort to STOP reading all the blogs for my own mental health. I cheat sometimes though, and find myself reading them despite the anxiety it can cause. Or the alienation. Case in point: the latest thread was a call for 24x7 praying to "get the children home". Does it count if I pray to the universe rather than JC himself as they would want me to? Would planting flowers under a tree count? I haven't suggested this yet. And perhaps all that praying had something to do with the latest developments? Who knows.

I'll take peace wherever and however I can get it. Three more places forward in line. And the sun came out. Today feels good.

Referrals, Finally!

We just heard that two more families were referred children this week. One family received a sibling referral and a second received an 8 month old baby boy. Ironically, the family that received the baby boy was one I was emailing with just this last Friday lamenting on how long they had been on the list. They waited since July of last year! Just over 11 months . . . they are thrilled and so are the rest of the waiting families on their behalf!

No more news on the abandonment cases other than a rumor that we should hear something by July 2nd. Also, no new information on the status of court closure. Again, just rumors and rumors and more rumors!

Either way, with the referrals this week, we're just bounced up two spots on the list! Little yippees everyone!! :o)

As we hear more, you'll hear it too!

Crib Blanket & Wall Hanging

As mentioned in my post (below), here's the wall quilt I just finished. It's hand-appliqued wool and will be a wall-hanging in the nursery.


And here's the crib blanket I just got done quilting (it's cotton with flannel backing):

Where Does The Time Go?

I could have sworn I just posted an update until a friend asked me today why I haven't posted anything lately . . . can I blame the gorgeous weather we've been having?? For those readers not from the Pacific Northwest: we are having amazing summer-like weather here which we typically don't get to enjoy until after July 4th!!

On the adoption front (what you're all here to read about, eh?):

1. No referrals this week; although 2 twin girls were placed last week.
2. On the court ban issue: our agency reports that the investigation has been completed but the ban has not been lifted yet. Rumors abound as to when that will happen, but nothing official. If I was a betting person, I'd say before the end of the month. Fingers crossed for all the waiting families living in limbo on when they get to travel to get their babies/children!!! And the good news is that the reported problems of falsified abandonment paperwork appears to concern only a small group of individuals and is not as wide-spread as was the worry.
3. Our agency director is traveling to Ethiopia today and will be there until the end of the month. We're hoping she'll be able to get some good information while she's there.
4. Ethiopian courts are still due to close end of July through September for the rainy season, but I'm sending out positive energy that they'll decide to stay in session at least long enough to hear the cases of all those families waiting to travel. Wouldn't that be awesome??
5. We are officially inside of month 7 of waiting (6 months + 18 days to be exact) . . . wait times are running about 10 1/2 months right now for baby boys so we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
6. I finished the crib blanket and wall hanging for the nursery. I'll post some photos soon. Wall paint color has been chosen. Not painted, but chosen. I might start the full-on decorating process in August or so. Don't want to do it too soon. I know that seems silly, but I don't want to stare at an empty nursery for month on end.

Well, I think that's about it. Hopefully we'll continue to get positive information and what we get, I'll share! Have a great weekend all.

Just a Quick Update

Last week was slow for referrals . . . just one baby boy referred early in the week.

No news about the abandonment issue. Apparently the ban was lifted for three government-run orphanages, but our agency doesn't work with any of them so it didn't really impact us. The blogs were busy last week with people desperate for new information . . . and lots of speculation and conjecture, but we're trusting our agency to communicate verified and accurate information when it becomes available.

Another issue that's been discussed a lot on the blogs is waiting families wanting to know where they are on the wait list, i.e., how close to the "top" of the list are they. Our agency, as a policy, doesn't assign numbers because there are so many variables, and they don't want undue anxiety if a family thinks they are next on the list and then doesn't get the next referral because their request doesn't match (i.e., they are requesting a girl under 18 months and the referral is a 20 month old girl, etc.) That said, some of the adoption consultants will give out numbers to the families they are representing. We have not asked our consultant where we are on the list just because we are only 6 months waiting and it seems premature, but I did trade emails with another waiting family that lives close to us and discovered they are 48th on the list and their dossier was accepted just about 1/2 weeks behind us which means we're likely in the 40's as well. What does this mean??? Well, it means that approximately 40 families are ahead of us waiting for a referral. And this includes ALL families waiting: older children, toddlers, girls, boys, etc., which means if you divide those 40 families up, we might only have about 15-20 people ahead of us waiting for an infant boy. We can't really bank on that number, but it's kinda fun to think about!

I'll post again in about a week and hopefully will have some new information.

There's News and There's No News

News:

Seven children were referred this week through our agency (again, all seven are not affected by the recent ban on Addis Ababa abandoned children). The referrals were of 5 girls and 2 boys. The girls were ages 7 yrs, (2) 4 year olds, 2 years old, and 3 ½ months old; and the boys were 7 weeks and 3 ½ yrs old. The wait times on the infants was 10 months for the boy and 11 1/2 months for the girl. It is nice to see referrals continuing to come in despite the problems in the capital city.

No News:

Despite the recent meetings and continuing investigation, our agency notified us this morning that the court ban on Addis Ababa abandonment cases is still in place. There was no mention of when they think this will be resolved.

A huge thanks to everyone who has sent their prayers and best wishes on this issue. Again, we are SO hopeful that this is just a small procedural issue that needs to be dealt with as opposed to a larger systemic problem that may affect all adoptions in Ethiopia. Please continue to send your positive thoughts and energy out there for all the babies and children awaiting adoption.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend and love to all. XOXO

A glimmer?

Last week's bad news from Ethiopia was difficult to hear and even harder to process, but there's a tiny glimmer of hope this week.

1. Four new infants were referred earlier this week. These are children not affected by last week's court decision as they do not come from orphanages in the capital city of Addis Ababa. Two of these infants were boys which means (drumroll please) that we moved up two more rungs on the ladder.

2. We were informed today by our adoption agency that on Monday, May 18th the Joint Council on International and Children’s Services will be having a meeting to confirm the extent of the illegal activities and investigations going on in Ethiopia regarding the abandoned children issue in Addis Ababa. The ruling judge will make his decision after hearing the results of this meeting plus ongoing investigations with the local police and input from the Ministry of Women's Affairs. This is potentially good news on two fronts: (a) it appears that decisions are being made quickly; and (b) the issue is being taken seriously which in our minds means that Ethiopia is still committed to international adoption.

So, here's our "good thoughts for the universe" request this week: we are hope, hope, hoping that further investigations do not uncover more problems that could jeopardize the intercountry adoption program in Ethiopia, and that the right decisions are made swiftly for these vulnerable children.

Thank you for all for the positive energy and support!

Heartbreak for Many. . . Confusion for Others

We truly hoped our next posting would be to announce more referrals indicating our rapid movement up the waiting list. And while there have been some referrals of late, we received some disturbing news this last Friday that affects ALL adoptions in Ethiopia.

Apparently one adoption agency (thankfully not ours) and a few orphanages in Ethiopia have been caught breaking procedural rules regarding the handling of abandoned babies/children in Addis Ababa (the capital city in Ethiopia where the agencies and all courts work from). Basically the accusations are that they were acting unethically in presenting children as abandoned who are in fact not abandoned. This is a very, very bad situation and the Federal Court in Addis Ababa has halted all adoption hearings for children abandoned in Addis Ababa (which accounts for a very large percentage of children adopted from Ethiopia) until the situation can be sorted out.

What does this mean?

Well, it is devastating news to those families who have already been referred their children and were waiting to travel to pick them up. They are currently on-hold and don't know if they'll ever get their children. I can't even imagine the pain they are in right now.

To people like us who are still waiting for referrals? Well . . . worst case scenario: the entire adoption program in Ethiopia could be halted due to corruption. This is similar to what happened in Vietnam, Cambodia and Columbia in the last 5-6 years. Best case scenario: the actions of one agency and a few orphanages will not be allowed to affect those that are following the rules and eventually a new system will be put into place that will prevent corruption in the future. This best case scenario, however, will likely result in a significant slow-down in referrals.

Please send good thoughts out into the universe that the best case scenario above is the only repercussion of the recent events. And we're working on getting our heads around the idea that we will be waiting alot longer than originally anticipated and preparing ourselves in case the worse case scenario comes to pass.

We wish we had better news to share, but this is the reality.

This Week's Referrals

We received notification this week of the following:

The Ethiopia program is thrilled to announce that we received referrals of 3 children this week. A 4 month old baby girl, and two boys 19 months and 2 years old. Congratulations to all of the families. The families waited 9 months, 7 ½ months and 3 months.

So, unfortunately our group (boys under 12 months) didn't get any referrals which means we haven't moved up on the list, but the good news is that 3 families received referrals and that's always great news.

Referrals seem to ebb and flow . . . for awhile it's been older children and baby girls, and a couple months ago there were 5 baby boys referred in just one week. It's a little nerve-wracking, especially because we're not told exactly where we are on the list. We know that there are 103 families (well, I guess after today's referrals that would be 100 families) waiting . . . but those include ALL families. Some are waiting for older children, sibling groups and some are waiting for girls and boys.

From reading other family blogs, it looks like when you get close to the top of the list, people know if they're first or second on the list, etc. And through these referral notices, you can also keep track of the wait times. As mentioned in my last post, it appears families waiting for babies are waiting just about 9 months.

And to my lovely daughter, Gwen, who complained that my last post wasn't "personal" enough . . . you'll just have to stay tuned for me to have a melt-down and then my post will get personal!! :o)

Until next time . . . have a great weekend all!

The Journey Begins . . .

Welcome to our Blog!

Our Adoption Journey began last year when we made the monumental decision to adopt a baby boy from Ethiopia.

In August, 2008 we signed our Adoption Agreement with Children's Hope International and began the first stage . . . the dossier completion. This required collection of the following documents:

1. Letter of Introduction (to be presented with our dossier to the powers that be in Ethiopia)

2. Photos of us (like the one here) plus photos of our home

3. Employment letters

4. Financial declarations

5. Marriage certificate

6. Medical clearance letters

7. Police clearance letters

8. Reference letters

9. Letter of obligation (again to the country of Ethiopia)

10. Passport photos

11. Power of attorney forms

12. Guardianship designation forms

13. Birth certificates

14. Self-Awareness test completion

15. Attendance verification for a Baby Care for Adoptive Families class

16. Completion of extra hours (I can't remember exactly how many) of additional adoptive and trans-racial parenting training

17. And last, but not least, our detailed Home Study (which had its own set of required documents)

These documents had to be notarized and certified by the Secretary of State, and then forwarded to the Federal Government for final verification.

In addition, we also had to go to the immigration office for pre-approval for return to the country with a child, and we got fingerprinted.

This was all completed in November, 2008 and we officially got on the waiting list for a baby boy on November 24, 2008. And now comes the WAITING. Right now, it's looking like the wait for referral of a baby is running between 9-10 months, and then once we have accepted a referral, we then will need to wait another 3-4 months before we can travel to Ethiopia to pick up our son.

So . . . those good at math will quickly see that we're just past 4 months of waiting (I like to think of it as "in the 5th month!" . . . so we are looking at a bit of a wait. Thankfully, the time is going by quicker than I thought.

That's an update for those who've been asking . . . next posting will likely be when we have new information and/or when I finally start decorating the nursery!

Cheers,

~Kim