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.