09.27.09
Ethiopia Pics
While I have a few minutes (Asher is napping), I thought I’d post a few pics from our stay in Ethiopia. I was there for close to three weeks, but the first week I had Asher by myself, so I wasn’t able to take a lot of pictures. Once Owen got there, I started taking pictures like mad, but still feel like I didn’t get enough, or capture what I wanted to. A lot of the pictures were taken from a moving van as we toured the city or drove from place to place with our CHI drivers, so I don’t feel like the photos can convey the “feeling” of Addis Ababa or its people adequately.
The first moment I laid eyes on Asher (with his buddy, Cullen, and being held by Tsegay’s wife, Almaz)
One of Asher’s Nannies saying goodbye.
First picture as a family.
Tsegay holding Asher.
09.21.09
Priorities
Yeah, the blog isn’t exactly a priority right now. I’ve been in survival mode for the last two weeks, so there are a lot of things way down on the list.
We’ve been home with Asher for two weeks and two days. I can’t seem to remember what it was like without him. I don’t ever remember being this tired or this happy. 
I would be lying if I said it was easy. We’ve all had a lot of adjusting to do. The first few days were rough with very little sleep as Asher adjusted to US time. We had lots of 2 am parties with the little guy. Fortunately, Owen had a couple weeks off, so we were able to take turns getting up with him. We still haven’t solved the sleep issues entirely, but we’re working on it. Owen had to go back to work today, so it looks like good old Mom will be the one getting up most of the time. Currently, Asher goes down at 7:30 pm, then wakes up between 10:30 – 11:30 pm for a bottle, then goes right back down to sleep. Sometimes he’ll sleep til 6:30 or 7:00 am, other times he’ll wake up at 2:00 – 3:00 am and fight going back to sleep. Sometimes we rock him back to sleep and put him back in his crib, other times he goes in bed with us. As I said, we’re in survivor mode right now, so we go with whatever works!
We had our first Pediatrician appointment last week. Asher is right on target for everything developmentally and physically! The Doc said he can’t believe how healthy he is! I was relieved to hear that. We did four immunizations. The Doc was willing to wait on some of the others. I didn’t want Asher to get all of them at once. There are a couple we will do titers on, so hopefully he won’t have to get them.
I’m still trying to process our whole trip to Ethiopia. It all seems so unreal. It seems like it went by so fast, but in reality, I was there for almost 3 weeks. As hard as it was being there the first week alone with Asher, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I think it made such a huge difference in bonding with him. By the end of that first week, he KNEW who his Mom was. I’m so grateful I did it.
I’m going to try to post more about the trip as I get time. It’s hard making time for the computer now. Asher is sooooo active! What little computer time I have, I usually spend on Facebook because that’s where all my friends and fam are. I may end up transitioning all posts to Facebook notes. I post all my pics there now anyway as well. It just might be time to put the blog to rest. I think it may have served its purpose.
Here are a few pics of our new family!
09.07.08
While I wait
No referrals this week. ‘Nuff said about that.
Since there’s really nothing else for me to do while we wait for a referral, I’ve finally started working on filling up the nursery. With the help of friends and consignment sales, I think I’ve got a pretty good start.
My two-year old patient has graduated to a “big-girl bed”, so her Mom passed on her crib to me (thanks Stacy!!). The crib has gone through three babies and it’s in perfect condition. Who knows how long our little one will be in it, or if it will ever be used. We’re open to co-sleeping, and I won’t be forcing the crib issue if it is an issue. So, a free crib is right up my alley. It’s a beautiful dark cherry.
Here’s the bedding I ordered for it on Friday.
I think it’s going to look great when it’s all put together. The set comes with the quilt, dust ruffle, bumper, fitted crib sheet, 2 window valances, diaper stacker, and toy bag. I was afraid it might be too dark but the nursery is painted a light gold color that I think will set off the green perfectly. Yay! No painting required!
I’m also working on filling up one of the closets (there are two in the room).
Most of the clothes are gender neutral but I do have several boy outfits from our Vietnam days. I love buying clothes but I’m restraining myself until we get our referral and know the gender of our little one.
When I go shopping, I’m amazed at all the “stuff” for babies. Do babies really need all this stuff? I’m talking about all the stuff beyond the basics. Another question, how long will they actually use this stuff? There really should be a list somewhere that spells out exactly what one can’t live without. Of course, I have my own list of stuff that’s just too cute to pass up and I’m sure others have their own stuff list. I know how trivial this must sound but to me, there’s absolutely nothing too trivial when it comes to navigating this whole parenthood thing.
08.01.08
Leaving on a jet plane…
No, not to Ethiopia, unfortunately! Owen and I are leaving for California tomorrow for a week. Yay! Vacation here I come! I was just there three weeks ago for a week taking care of my father-in-law who fell and broke his shoulder and a vertebrae in his neck but that was no vacation, I assure you. This coming week will be nothing but relaxation, well as relaxing as being on the go for seven days can be. We’ll be visiting family (Owen’s and mine) and friends, eating lots of good ethnic food, possibly going to Disneyland, definitely hitting the beach, and taking a tour of all our old haunts.
We both grew up in Southern California. We left there eight years ago and not a day goes by that I don’t miss it. Unfortunately, it’s just too darn expensive to live there. Not to mention crowded.
No news on the adoption front. Just waiting, waiting, waiting. We have been on the waiting list for 36 days but who’s counting. ;) Referrals seem to have slowed to a crawl, which is kind of discouraging. I’m trying not to think about it too much. The courts will be closing soon for the rainy season in Ethiopia and not re-opening until October. That means the courts won’t be processing any adoptions during that time. Bummer for those folks who have cases that haven’t been processed yet. All in good time, I guess.
03.31.08
What a day!
I spent the majority of today driving all over town trying to collect dossier documents. First, Owen dropped our sample letter off at our doctor’s office this morning only to be told that they now charge $30.00 per document. Say what?!? When we had them do one for our home study in September of last year, it was free. Needless to say, we weren’t happy about that. Anyhoo, after that we headed down to the Sheriff’s Dept. to drop off our requests for criminal clearance. Those will be ready for pickup Wednesday. Then I spoke with my employer and made arrangements to fax them the sample employment letter. I drove to my Mom’s work and she sent the fax. Turns out the fax number was wrong. I call them back and get voice mail…twice, and no return call. No surprise there. Guess I’ll have to tackle that one tomorrow. Then I drive to our doctor’s office to pick up the letters. They had the wrong address on both letters. I sat there for 10 minutes while they rewrote, renotarized and resigned new letters, and after giving them my sob story of how expensive adoption is, they only charged us $30.00 for both documents (which still stinks as far as I’m concerned). Looking at the letters after I get home, I find that the notary stamp is “faint” on one side on both letters. By this time, I’m fed-up, frustrated and cussing a blue streak. Hopefully, they’ll pass. At this point, I’m just flat-out done for the day.
As frustrating as it all was, I do feel like I’ve made some headway with the dossier. Initially, I felt so overwhelmed and confused about the whole thing. I didn’t know where to start. Now I just feel determined. I guess the hardest part is we have to rely on other people to get these things done. Unfortunately, with the exception of very few, most of those people are incompetent!
Another thing Owen and I have been mulling over is gender choice. Ethiopia and our agency allows it. Unlike many of the Asian countries, Ethiopia doesn’t seem to have more of one gender available than the other. With the Vietnam program, we were more than likely going to get a boy referral. When we initially switched to Ethiopia, we were thinking girl. After talking it over, I think we’re going to leave the gender selection up to fate. I just don’t feel right about choosing. I feel like we’ll get the baby we’re meant to have. Boy or girl, it doesn’t matter.
Last weekend Owen and I toured the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (temple) Atlanta in Lilburn, GA. It’s the largest Hindu stone temple constructed outside India. The temple was built using 4,500 tons of Italian Carrera marble, 4,300 tons of Turkish limestone and 3,500 tons of Indian pink sandstone. No steel or metal was used in the construction, and each piece was hand-carved and numbered, imported from India, then divided into sections and set in place. It took 18 months to build. It is absolutely breathtaking! The only word I can think of to describe being inside the mandir is…magical. We couldn’t take pictures inside but here are a couple of the exterior.
03.27.08
Another Journey Begins!
Last week we made the decision to switch to our agency’s Ethiopia program. When we began the adoption process last year, we were considering Ethiopia but our agency had just started the program and we felt more comfortable going with a program that was already established (Vietnam). Well, it seems Ethiopia is where we were meant to go! It really wasn’t a hard decision to make. Of course, we have some concerns but we know that we can overcome any challenges this change might bring. All that matters to us is there is a baby somewhere in Ethiopia waiting for a forever family. That’s us!
I’ve started working on our dossier this week, and let me just say, I’m completely overwhelmed! Our case worker at our agency has been really helpful but I’m one of those people who HATES asking for help. I’d much rather figure things out on my own. Unfortunately, in this case, I’m going to have to swallow my pride and have her walk me through this entire process! Everything has to be JUST RIGHT or we’re screwed!
Stayed tuned for more ranting and whining!
