Tuesday, March 31, 2009
31 weeks down and Ellen got her referral!!!!
Today has been a good day. We've been on the waiting list for 31 weeks and I'm starting to get the hang of this waiting thing. I have been "blogging" back and forth with my fellow waitlisters today and today was a particularly antsy day for Ellen. Then, I come downstairs, sit at the computer and get ready to focus on my bible study, but have to check my email first. I find a message from Ellen saying she got "the call" TODAY! AHHH! I have been telling myself that I have to stay cool, calm, and collected about this wait at least until Ellen gets her referral! This Friday would have been 8 months on the waiting list for her. So, I know that realistically we may still have several more weeks, but, it's so, so exciting nonetheless!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
A day late or a day early
Yesterday marked 30 weeks of waiting...onto week 31. Tomorrow marks 7 months of waiting. Whew! I never thought I would survive a wait this long...but, here I am! You're not getting rid of me that easily. The longer we wait, the easier it gets in some ways. It becomes easier to convince yourself it may never happen, or some days, it just gets easier knowing we have to be getting close. We are officially 5th on the unofficial waitlist (#3 for either gender/boy). As the weather gets nicer, it becomes easier to fill our days - walks, trips to the park, working in the yard, all those wonderful Springtime activities!
There is also a lot to be excited about here in Lafayette. Three different families in the area will be traveling in the next few days to bring home their little boys! I can't wait to meet them at our next get-together. In some ways, seeing others make progress is a little hard. Embarrassingly enough, it causes little pangs of jealously, though I'm so extremely excited for each of the families that have been waiting so long to see their children. But, the flip side is, it gives hope. Hope that this crazy process does come to an end at some point and the outcome is worth the wait ten times over! I remember after Grayson's adoption was final I actually had times that I missed the excitement of the adoption process. Yes, crazy, I know! But, I missed checking my email and finding a new set of pictures. Or, checking my email and finding that we had passed family court or that our DNA was a match, etc. Yes, I actually missed waiting for that call saying we were officially Grayson's parents because though the wait was so painful, the call was more exciting than I could have ever imagined. So, while this 7 months has been painful at times, I am still hanging in there, knowing that when the call does come it will be more joyful than I could ever imagine (and trust me, I have tried imagining it thousands of times in the last 7 months).
So, here's to 7 months of waiting...lucky 7 right? It will happen sometime in this 7th month????
There is also a lot to be excited about here in Lafayette. Three different families in the area will be traveling in the next few days to bring home their little boys! I can't wait to meet them at our next get-together. In some ways, seeing others make progress is a little hard. Embarrassingly enough, it causes little pangs of jealously, though I'm so extremely excited for each of the families that have been waiting so long to see their children. But, the flip side is, it gives hope. Hope that this crazy process does come to an end at some point and the outcome is worth the wait ten times over! I remember after Grayson's adoption was final I actually had times that I missed the excitement of the adoption process. Yes, crazy, I know! But, I missed checking my email and finding a new set of pictures. Or, checking my email and finding that we had passed family court or that our DNA was a match, etc. Yes, I actually missed waiting for that call saying we were officially Grayson's parents because though the wait was so painful, the call was more exciting than I could have ever imagined. So, while this 7 months has been painful at times, I am still hanging in there, knowing that when the call does come it will be more joyful than I could ever imagine (and trust me, I have tried imagining it thousands of times in the last 7 months).
So, here's to 7 months of waiting...lucky 7 right? It will happen sometime in this 7th month????
Friday, March 20, 2009
6 months, 3 weeks...but who's counting?
The closer we get to our referral, the more I feel the need to blog! I LOVE checking other people's blogs, and get really excited when they've posted something new. Thank you to all of those who are feeding my need to read blogs!
According to the recent referrals, people have been waiting around 7 months and 2 or 3 weeks! This means we could have another month. Or, it could mean we have another week. Or, let's face it, it could mean we have another 2 months (I'm only half kidding). But, I'm feeling pretty calm about it all and focusing my attention on other people getting their referrals. When I see Ellen finally receive her referral, I will start to get really antsy.
I'm excited to be spending a weekend at home with not a lot to do. We had plans of painting the fence, but am not sure the weather will be as warm as we hoped. Next week is my bible study's spring break, so I won't be spending the weekend worrying about lesson plans! Yippee! We are planning on buying Grayson a new swingset for Easter/"we already feel guilty about having to leave you for a week while we're in Ethiopia (someday)." I've been calling all the Wal-Marts just waiting for them to get their spring merchandise in stock. That may give us something to do on Saturday or Sunday. Oh, and tonight at 11 I'm heading to Wal-Mart to buy Twilight! I finally caved and read the books (still on #4) and LOVE them! I'd really like to buy a "Team Cullen" shirt, but I'm afraid I may lose some friends over the whole charade. I mean, what sane adult wears a T-shirt endorsing a high school romance novel involving vampires. I'm sure I'll end up with some sort of Twilight paraphanalia at some point.
Well, enough rambling. Everyone have a wonderful weekend. Here are a few pictures of Grayson from last weekend. I'm telling you, Ralph Lauren NEEDS this boy for their spring catalog!
According to the recent referrals, people have been waiting around 7 months and 2 or 3 weeks! This means we could have another month. Or, it could mean we have another week. Or, let's face it, it could mean we have another 2 months (I'm only half kidding). But, I'm feeling pretty calm about it all and focusing my attention on other people getting their referrals. When I see Ellen finally receive her referral, I will start to get really antsy.
I'm excited to be spending a weekend at home with not a lot to do. We had plans of painting the fence, but am not sure the weather will be as warm as we hoped. Next week is my bible study's spring break, so I won't be spending the weekend worrying about lesson plans! Yippee! We are planning on buying Grayson a new swingset for Easter/"we already feel guilty about having to leave you for a week while we're in Ethiopia (someday)." I've been calling all the Wal-Marts just waiting for them to get their spring merchandise in stock. That may give us something to do on Saturday or Sunday. Oh, and tonight at 11 I'm heading to Wal-Mart to buy Twilight! I finally caved and read the books (still on #4) and LOVE them! I'd really like to buy a "Team Cullen" shirt, but I'm afraid I may lose some friends over the whole charade. I mean, what sane adult wears a T-shirt endorsing a high school romance novel involving vampires. I'm sure I'll end up with some sort of Twilight paraphanalia at some point.
Well, enough rambling. Everyone have a wonderful weekend. Here are a few pictures of Grayson from last weekend. I'm telling you, Ralph Lauren NEEDS this boy for their spring catalog!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
29 weeks down, on to week 30!
Tomorrow (in a few hours) marks 29 weeks on the waiting list. I'm calming down a bit after the excitement of a boy referral yesterday and another little girl today! Wow, lots of referrals lately. This makes me cautiously happy. Happy because it's great for families to be receiving referrals and for us to move up the list. Cautious because with all the referrals lately, I'm thinking we may be coming up on a "drought" of sorts. In January there were like 10 referrals, then only 4 in February. I'm hoping with all the referrals in March, this doesn't mean very few in April. Oh well, what can I do but wait and enjoy this BEAUTIFUL weather we've been having:)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Grumbling against God
I know I've mentioned how wonderful Bible Study Fellowship is on numerous occasions, but here I go again!
This year we've been studying the life of Moses. And, several of our lessons have talked about the grumbling Israelites. I mean, these people were unbelievable. God spared them from several plagues, delivered them from Egypt, parted the Red Sea, gave them manna and water for 40 years and they still complained! Every time you turn around these ungrateful people were complaining to Moses about something. They didn't trust that God would take care of them, so they complained. WOW. That's what complaining is isn't it? It's a statement of our lack of faith in God. And, even more convicting, ANY complaint is a complaint against God. Ouch...that hurts. How many times have I grumbled in my heart about our wait for our referral. I'm not just complaining against the process of international adoption. I'm complaining against God. I'm flat out saying, "God, I don't trust the situation that You have put me in. I don't believe that you will provide for me." Not only that, but I'm also being ungrateful. God has given me a loving, supportive, domesticated husband, a son that will light up a room with his prescence, a family that would go to the ends of the earth for us, a stable job in an unstable economy, a beautiful house, a group of local families adopting from Ethiopia, and the list goes on and on. But, that doesn't keep me from complaining the first time I encounter a speedbump in this adoption.
I'm done being like the Israelites. I'm ready to be more like Moses. I'm ready to fall facedown on the ground in front of the Lord and cry out to Him and no one else.
AND...there was another baby boy referral today! That makes us 3rd on the list for boy/either gender. Now, the boy referrals have been a little slower coming lately and there are about 6 other families in front of us. So, this means it could still be awhile, but we're getting closer with each day:)
This year we've been studying the life of Moses. And, several of our lessons have talked about the grumbling Israelites. I mean, these people were unbelievable. God spared them from several plagues, delivered them from Egypt, parted the Red Sea, gave them manna and water for 40 years and they still complained! Every time you turn around these ungrateful people were complaining to Moses about something. They didn't trust that God would take care of them, so they complained. WOW. That's what complaining is isn't it? It's a statement of our lack of faith in God. And, even more convicting, ANY complaint is a complaint against God. Ouch...that hurts. How many times have I grumbled in my heart about our wait for our referral. I'm not just complaining against the process of international adoption. I'm complaining against God. I'm flat out saying, "God, I don't trust the situation that You have put me in. I don't believe that you will provide for me." Not only that, but I'm also being ungrateful. God has given me a loving, supportive, domesticated husband, a son that will light up a room with his prescence, a family that would go to the ends of the earth for us, a stable job in an unstable economy, a beautiful house, a group of local families adopting from Ethiopia, and the list goes on and on. But, that doesn't keep me from complaining the first time I encounter a speedbump in this adoption.
I'm done being like the Israelites. I'm ready to be more like Moses. I'm ready to fall facedown on the ground in front of the Lord and cry out to Him and no one else.
AND...there was another baby boy referral today! That makes us 3rd on the list for boy/either gender. Now, the boy referrals have been a little slower coming lately and there are about 6 other families in front of us. So, this means it could still be awhile, but we're getting closer with each day:)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
28 weeks
Today is 28 weeks on the waiting list. I've had a few rough days lately as I allow myself to think about MY timeline for this adoption. At one time I thought we may be traveling now, and never did I dream we wouldn't even have our referral! Oh well, good thing I've learned to not put much stock in my timing:) As excited as I am for warm weather, I am a little sad that this summer will not be spent as a family of four. Oh did I have grand plans for Grayson, Abram, and I. But, it will be nice to have another season to focus my attention solely on Grayson and have a lot of fun with him before little brother demands some attention.
Yesterday, Grayson was upstairs and walked into the nursery/guest room. He pointed at the crib. I asked him whose bed that was and he said, "Abram!" He then looks at the crib, puts his hands in the air, and says, "Abram GONE!" Yes, Grayson, Abram is gone. We don't know where he is. He's hopefully in the Gladney Care Center by now growing bigger with each day that passes. It was a great moment to talk about Abram being in Ethiopia like he was in Guatemala and how we loved him even though we didn't know him yet.
In other, exciting news, Aaron passed the exam he had been studying for for months! He is now a CCIE (Cisco certified internet expert)! This is a HUGE accomplishment as there are less than 20,000 in the world and only about 6,000 in the U.S. He worked so hard for this and I am so proud of him for achieving this HUGE goal! I have to admit, it is nice to have him back in the evenings. Most nights for the last several months were spent studying...and it paid off!
Here are a couple of pictures from last week. Grayson and I went to the Children's Museum and met my sister, my nephews, and niece there. The kids had a great time playing together. Grayson cried for his cousin Ellie as we left the museum that day!
Yesterday, Grayson was upstairs and walked into the nursery/guest room. He pointed at the crib. I asked him whose bed that was and he said, "Abram!" He then looks at the crib, puts his hands in the air, and says, "Abram GONE!" Yes, Grayson, Abram is gone. We don't know where he is. He's hopefully in the Gladney Care Center by now growing bigger with each day that passes. It was a great moment to talk about Abram being in Ethiopia like he was in Guatemala and how we loved him even though we didn't know him yet.
In other, exciting news, Aaron passed the exam he had been studying for for months! He is now a CCIE (Cisco certified internet expert)! This is a HUGE accomplishment as there are less than 20,000 in the world and only about 6,000 in the U.S. He worked so hard for this and I am so proud of him for achieving this HUGE goal! I have to admit, it is nice to have him back in the evenings. Most nights for the last several months were spent studying...and it paid off!
Here are a couple of pictures from last week. Grayson and I went to the Children's Museum and met my sister, my nephews, and niece there. The kids had a great time playing together. Grayson cried for his cousin Ellie as we left the museum that day!
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Posting a little prematurely.
Tomorrow marks 27 weeks. I'm not really sure how I feel about that. On one hand, I'm getting impatient to the point that it's getting downright hard. But, on the other hand, I know each day is one day closer. It just begins to become hard to constantly adjust your expectations. I had told myself back in January we still had a long time. Then, there were several boy referrals in a matter of a couple of weeks. I let myself believe that it would be sooner than I originally thought. Now, we're back to maybe one or two referrals a week. And, none of them have been boys lately. So, I'm back to thinking it will never happen:) The upside to this mindset is that when it does finally happen, I will be totally surprised!
Right now, I'm focusing on praying for the families that have court dates this week and next. There are 3 families in Lafayette with approaching court dates. One is this Friday. I am so prayerful that they pass this first time around. She visited her little boy in Ethiopia in January and he was very sick. They have obviously been extremely worried about him since then. It is very important that he get to come home soon. The other two families have court dates next Friday. One family is our neighbors! I am excited that their little boy is very close in age to Grayson! The other family has been waiting so long. Their referral took NINE months! I cannot handle 9 months, Lord, please don't test me in that way! Please keep these families in your prayers!
On a happy note, Grayson and I had a wonderful day yesterday. We met up with two other moms and their little boys and went to the Children's Museum! Both families we met through our Lafayette Ethiopian adoption group. The boys (and moms) had sooo much fun! It was a great day. We were laughing about what it would look like next year when we try to go with our 6 children! I forgot my camera, but will try to get some pictures from one of the moms that remembered her camera.
Right now, I'm focusing on praying for the families that have court dates this week and next. There are 3 families in Lafayette with approaching court dates. One is this Friday. I am so prayerful that they pass this first time around. She visited her little boy in Ethiopia in January and he was very sick. They have obviously been extremely worried about him since then. It is very important that he get to come home soon. The other two families have court dates next Friday. One family is our neighbors! I am excited that their little boy is very close in age to Grayson! The other family has been waiting so long. Their referral took NINE months! I cannot handle 9 months, Lord, please don't test me in that way! Please keep these families in your prayers!
On a happy note, Grayson and I had a wonderful day yesterday. We met up with two other moms and their little boys and went to the Children's Museum! Both families we met through our Lafayette Ethiopian adoption group. The boys (and moms) had sooo much fun! It was a great day. We were laughing about what it would look like next year when we try to go with our 6 children! I forgot my camera, but will try to get some pictures from one of the moms that remembered her camera.
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