Sunday, October 24, 2010

ONE MONTH DTE!

Today marks ONE MONTH that we have been waiting for Zane.  We have been told to expect a 3-8 month wait for a referral for a baby boy.

On the "unofficial wait list" that people in our agency keep up with, we have moved up to number 22!!  So in one month we've moved  up 7 spots!  YEA!  Things are moving!

A big prayer request right now for our agency is for people who have referrals to get court dates.  The courts were closed through August and September, so there is a little back up with the court process.  Please pray that many families will be scheduled for court, so the process doesn't keep backing up.

Thanks for praying for Zane and for us as we wait for him to come home!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

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I am officially registered for a great adoptive moms retreat!  Upon hearing about the event, I knew it would be an awesome time.  Any excuse to get together with a bunch of girls who love Jesus, love girl time, and love adoption!  I'm perfectly content to sign up for these kinds of things by myself, and usually I'm surprised and thrilled to meet up with people I know at the event.  Signing up for this event, however, was an even better surprise!

Several girls on the America World Yahoo Group threw around ideas of going, so I knew there would be a few familiar faces as the first day of registration came and went.  When I went to sign up there were only four spots left because so many women committed to go!  Kristy, my AWAA NOLA buddy, called and we determined to go together.  In a matter of three days, Jamie from Baton Rouge, Kara from the Woodlands, Autumn from Houston, and several others in the America World group had registered to go!  I am so excited to see these girls and meet some of them face-to-face for the first time!

A remarkable thing is after learning about all of the wonderful America World girls going, I got on Facebook and found Mary Beth from Arkansas is also going.  Mary Beth is the beautiful wife of my high school friend, Casey Picker.  I have been in contact with her regularly since I learned of their adoption of their 2nd son from Ethiopia, and I followed their 2nd adoption of a little girl from Ethiopia this summer.  Although I feel like I know her, I have never met Mary Beth.  I am so thrilled to be able to meet her and hang out with her at this retreat!

This will definitely have to be the first of many annual retreats like this one!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Waiting List

Ethiopia has a "rainy season" between August and October.  During this time, most activity shuts down, as the roads become dangerous for travel.  For the past few weeks, I have been eagerly watching our agency's UNOFFICIAL waiting list for any sign of activity.  Finally, last week about 10 court dates were given or confirmed, and several referrals were given out.  When we sent our dossier to Ethiopia in September, we were number 29 on the "waiting list", and now we have already moved up to 27!  Of course, there is still a long way to go, but it's so cool to see movement!
In the meantime, I've been reading some great books.  One particularly important book for families adopting from Ethiopia is There is No Me Without You by Melissa Faye Green.  It is wonderfully written, and it balances history with personal stories about Ethiopian orphans and caregivers.  A great book on the theology of adoption is Adopted for Life, by Russel Moore.  It reveals God's heart for us and shows how adoption is part of God's design for mankind.  I am now reading Radical by David Platt, which has nothing to do with adoption, but ironically has EVERYTHING to do with adoption at the same time.  Its about American Christians futile pursuit of the American Dream, and the REAL life that is found in abandoning everything for the sake of the gospel; not the gospel as it applies to me, but the true gospel of Jesus Christ, our Savior.  It's about living for the glory of God and making Him known throughout the world.  And what it costs to do that.  I think David Platt is really on to something with this book...it's definitely something I will be thinking about for a while.  My next reads will be...
The Connected Child by Karen Purvis (awesome child development specialist from TCU),
Parenting By the Book by John Rosemond,
Thriving As An Adoptive Family by David and Renee' Sanford,
Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson,
I'm Chocolate, Your Vanilla by Marguerite A. Wright,
Castaway Kid by R.B. Mitchell,
The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp, M.D.,
Ethiopia by Phillip Briggs,
Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child by Patty Cogen, M.A.

Please give me feedback under comments if you've read any of these.  I need help prioritizing them.  If you have any to add, I have lots of time I need to fill will reading!  It keeps me from obsessing over the waiting list!

While we wait, we are also getting some ideas for a nursery.  It is very difficult for me to choose a nursery theme or even colors.

On one hand, I love the calm, cool colors of a Restoration Hardware nursery like this one...

OR...



On the other hand, I love whimsical, modern looks such as this zebra-modern look:
Or maybe this oriental-modern look:
Even this fun, colorful whimsical look:
I'm not so fond of the boyish theme styled bedding, unless it's subtle:
SUBTLE...

NOT SO SUBTLE:


Let me know what your favorite look is in the comment section!
THANKS FOR THE HELP!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

DELIVERED!

The embassy approved our request for a Visa AND...
Our dossier was delivered to Addis Ababa on September 30th!  We're rolling!  
Sep 30, 2010 3:00 PM
Delivered
KIRKOS SUB-CITY, ADDIS ABABA ET
Sep 30, 2010 12:30 PM
In transit
ADDIS ABABA ET
Package available for clearance
Sep 30, 2010 12:30 PM
Int'l shipment release
ADDIS ABABA ET
Sep 30, 2010 3:36 AM
In transit
DUBAI AE
Sep 29, 2010 6:13 PM
At local FedEx facility
DUBAI AE
Sep 29, 2010 4:47 AM
Departed FedEx location
PARIS FR
Sep 29, 2010 4:42 AM
In transit
PARIS FR
Sep 28, 2010 9:19 PM
Departed FedEx location
PARIS FR
Sep 28, 2010 7:12 PM
Arrived at FedEx location
PARIS FR
Sep 28, 2010 12:40 AM
Arrived at FedEx location
PARIS FR
Sep 28, 2010 12:29 AM
At local FedEx facility
PARIS FR
Sep 27, 2010 11:36 PM
In transit
FRANKFURT DE
Sep 27, 2010 9:02 PM
Departed FedEx location
KOELN DE
Sep 27, 2010 4:33 PM
Arrived at FedEx location
KOELN DE
Sep 27, 2010 3:54 AM
Departed FedEx location
NEWARK, NJ
Sep 27, 2010 1:52 AM
In transit
NEWARK, NJ
Sep 25, 2010 8:22 AM
Departed FedEx location
NEWARK, NJ
Sep 25, 2010 7:25 AM
Arrived at FedEx location
NEWARK, NJ
Sep 24, 2010 8:23 PM
Left FedEx origin facility
HERNDON, VA
Sep 24, 2010 4:19 PM
Picked up
HERNDON, VA
Sep 24, 2010 2:15 PM
Shipment information sent to FedEx
Many of you have been asking about next steps for us, so here's an approximate timeline:

  • We wait for 3-6 months to get word from America World that we have been matched with a little boy 0-12 months or twin boys 0-12 months.
  • America World sends us a "referral" complete with a picture of the child, background information, etc.
  • We wait for 4-6 weeks for America World to set us up with a court date in Ethiopia.
  • We travel to Ethiopia to testify before court that we will bring up the little boy(s) to be healthy and happy.
  • We come home and wait for 4-6 weeks for clearance to travel to pick up the boy(s).
  • We travel to Ethiopia to pick up our kid(s)!
Our prayer request at this time is that God will show us clearly what he wants for us.  We have had in mind twins from the beginning.  The passion is growing stronger, especially for Mark, to have two boys.  Pray for us, America World, and the appropriate powers in Ethiopia to match us with two boys if that's what God wants for us.  Also pray for the caregivers that they would have energy and the mind of Christ to see to every child's needs while they wait for their forever family.