04.29.09
Long overdue update (long post)
Wow! I didn’t realize just how long it had been since I last updated the blog. In some ways, I guess that’s a good thing. It means I’ve been keeping busy and not obsessing on bringing the little guy home. Believe me, it’s easy to obsess if you let yourself. It has been 3 long months since our referral. We still have a month to go…possibly longer.
Our court date is scheduled for May 8 (that’s 4 days sooner than I last reported). It seems that there are a total of 14 families scheduled for court on May 8. Our Visa appointment at the US Embassy was supposed to be May 28. I got an email yesterday from our agency stating that the Embassy will only hear 10 cases per day per agency, which means at least 4 families are going to be shit out of luck! What that means is those 4 families are going to get later Visa appointments, either June 11 or June 25. The Embassy is now only hearing cases every 2 weeks. Needless to say, I was NOT a happy camper last night. We probably won’t know when OUR Visa appointment will be until after/if we pass court. At this point, it’s all just so frustrating. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry sometimes.
One of the most frustrating things about this whole mess, other than we STILL DON’T HAVE OUR SON, is I can’t really confirm travel arrangements yet. The email I got 2 weeks ago said we would more than likely have our Visa appointment on May 28, so I went ahead and booked our airline tickets and accomodations in ET. Now there’s a possibility that I’ll have to change everything. Gggrrrrr! There’s also the possibility that we won’t get to travel with the two families I’ve become close to during all this. We have made all our travel arrangements together…even taken over almost an entire guest house in ET!! lol I would be devastated if we didn’t get to travel with them.
Well, enough moaning and groaning. I know I have no control over this. I never have. You would think by now I would quit fighting it. Guess it’s just not in my nature to give in. 
On to better news…my good friend Angie and her husband, Joe, are in Ethiopia right now picking up their son, Silas!! Angie and I have known each other since we both started in the Vietnam program way back when. We’ve cheered each other on and cheered each other up many times throughout this process. It is so great to see her dream finally coming true! She and Joe are also going to take pictures of our little guy for us while they’re there. Hopefully, they’ll get to give him a little lovin’ too. We can’t wait to see his little face and find out how he’s doing!
Now for some pictures…
I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned the little guy’s name here on the blog. We’ve decided to call him Asher. My Mom made these awesome letters to go over the crib. She did such a great job! She also motivated/nagged me into painting the nursery finally. It turned out beautiful! Thanks Mom!
The next picture was a little reward to myself for being smoke-free for almost 3 months! I still can’t believe I kicked a 25 year habit without actually killing someone. Yay me!
We’ve had 2 of the 4 baby showers planned for us so far. Baby shower #1 was a small affair thrown by some friends that weren’t going to be at shower #2.
What great friends we have!
Shower #2 was the big affair that my Mom and best friend, Tiffiny, planned. Party planner, caterer, gourmet cake…you name it, my Mom did it! She had a blast doing it too! She was soooo good at doing it that the party planner offered her a job! LOL Our shower rocked Mom!
Do you think Asher got enough stuff?
Trying to organize it all.
Two more showers to go! I really don’t know where I’m going to put it all. I have the bestest family and friends! Thanks for being there guys and showering us with love and support!
01.31.09
The fog is lifting…a little
What a week this has been! Emotional, exciting, scary, wonderful. Surreal, to say the least. I’ve been walking around in a perpetual fog since Monday. I seem to have forgotten how to function normally. My mind and my heart are in Ethiopia.
Let’s see…”the call”. I’m at a loss for words, so bare with me. I was at work. My cell phone rang at 3:00 pm exactly. When I saw Toni’s name on the display, I knew. I actually had to let it ring a couple of times before I answered because I suddenly felt like I couldn’t talk. Have you ever felt an emotion so deeply that it just grabs ahold of your vocal cords and renders you mute? Well, that was me. I answered and Toni asked if it was a good time to talk. I think I grunted an affirmative. She then said let me get Owen on the line. I was about to tell her she’d have to call his work and have him pulled out of class, but she was way ahead of me. She had him on the other line! From that point on I remember very little of the conversation. I do remember Toni telling me “don’t cry” and me saying “but I can’t help it” as I sobbed uncontrollably. I remember bits and pieces. Me telling Owen to write everything down because I was shaking too badly to hold a pen…telling Toni that she could overnight his paperwork to our home because there was no way I’d be going to work the next day…Owen asking me if I was okay to drive home. Man, was I that bad? Probably. Definitely. I think I’ve been holding so much in over the last months that when we finally got the call, all that emotion came out all at once.
Owen and I had made a promise to each other that we would wait to open the email with his pictures together. We both raced home. I’ll never be able to describe what it was like seeing his little face for the first time. The first thing I saw were his eyes. A friend of ours said, “What beautiful eyes…deep, warm.” I’ve been staring at them ever since.
We received our acceptance paperwork from CHI the following day and sent them back yesterday. So, the ball is rolling. Unfortunately, referral to travel time has increased to 3 1/2 to 4 months. I don’t know how I’m going to wait that long. The waiting before was nothing compared to this now that I’ve seen his face. The good news is CHI will be sending updated photos every 4 - 6 weeks, so at least we’ll have that while we wait. In the meantime, I have lots to do. My desk is covered with lists and sticky notes. Did I ever mention that I’m one of those anal retentive, uber-organized people?
Tomorrow morning we’re meeting with our group of bloggy friends for brunch to share pictures and gush over our little ones. Michelle and Meredith leave for Vietnam in two weeks to pick up their little boy. Steve and Aimee have a court date in Ethiopia for their little girl on February 3. Angie and Joe’s court date for their little boy in Ethiopia is set for April 6. Jennifer and Matt just received their referral for a little cutie in China (we’ll miss you tomorrow Jenn!). This group of ladies has been there since we started this whole process way back in the Vietnam days. They have been a huge support. I see many playdates in the very near future. We’re going to have the coolest multicultural playgroup ever!!
11.17.08
Snips & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails
Our agency received 6 referrals last week…all boys! Another boy referral came in today as well. Woohoo! It’s great to hear about all the ecstatically happy families!
Saturday night Owen and I met up with our local adoption friends at an Ethiopian restaurant in Atlanta. It was great to hang out with The Nichol’s, The Carley’s, and The Walker’s. Great conversation and good food. It doesn’t get much better than that. I can’t wait until we all have our little ones home.
I’m getting a little more used to the spiciness of Ethiopian food. I’m not much of a spicy food eating kinda girl but I actually enjoyed my meal. I tried the Ye Beg Wot (Key Wot), which is strips of lamb braised in the famous (or infamously hot) berbere sauce of Ethiopian cuisine. I also tried the Ye Beg Alicha, strips of lamb braised in a tumeric sauce with garlic and pepper. I think this one is my new favorite. Not spicy but very flavorful. We’re looking forward to trying more Ethiopian restaurants around town.
I’ve been researching cameras for the last couple of months. Angie really inspired me to give the digital SLR a go. Check out her blog and you’ll see why. Yesterday I finally made the big purchase. I ordered the Nikon D60 10.2 MP Digital SLR. I found the killer deal on Amazon. It includes the following:
Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens
Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR Zoom Nikkor Lens
A 4 GB SD memory card
USB card reader
Lens cleaning kit
Camera bag
An extra EN-EL9 rechargeable lithium replacement battery
A full-size 59″ tripod with case
An instructional DVD (which I’m definitely going to need!)
All of this for the price of what the camera alone retails for just about anywhere. I’m so excited. It should be here Wednesday. I can’t wait to learn how to use it.
09.14.08
Blogging Buddies Meet and Other Stuff
One of the great things about the whole international adoption process, besides bringing home your child, is the people you meet along the way. Michelle and I have been corresponding for quite a while now via email/blogs. Owen and I finally got to meet her and her husband Friday night. We met them at a Vietnamese restaurant. They recently received their referral for a precious little guy from Vietnam! It was great to be able to talk to another couple who knows exactly what we’re going through. Thanks for a great time and great food guys!
Well, here’s the crib and bedding all put together, minus the matching accessories (diaper bag, toy bag, curtains). Those will go up as I finish decorating the room. The color of the bedding is a lot lighter than the advertised picture, which works out well since I was worried about it being too dark.
Ah…another work week begins. I’m already looking forward to Friday. I’m leaving from work Friday evening for a weekend in Kentucky with my BFF’s. We’re having a “girl’s only” weekend. That would include a tea party (yes, I said tea party), movies, bookstore and Starbuck’s. My kind of weekend!
