One Year

Yes, it has been ONE YEAR since our dossier has been in Ethiopia without a referral. Officially twice as long as told when our dossier first got there. As of the last agency update, there is no referral on the immediate horizon. Apparently, things have slowed dramatically. One reason, which is actually good, is that due to the rains the crops are good this year and more families are opting to keep their babies/children. There are also more agencies over there vying for babies, thus less for our agency. AAI did say they are networking with other orphanages in underserved areas to perhaps increase the number of babies and children they receive.

We know now we will definitely not make court before the closure this fall and it is looking more like we won't even be bringing our child home until next year. I think we are beginning to wrap our heads around this reality.

When we started this process I told myself I would not buy anything for the baby until we actually had a referral. Well, ONE YEAR is an awfully long time to stifle the shopper in me! They have great shirts on a website called Adoptionbug.com and they had one I just could not resist. Buying the onsie helps me believe this will happen someday, just not in my timeframe.







For now, it sits folded on my dresser as I wait for a little one to put in it.

Thoughts on Forty

Well, today I turned forty. There . . . I said it! I am not quite sure how I feel about it yet. On one hand, they say "40 is the new 30" and I have had plenty of people tell me I don't look as old as 40---for whatever 40 is supposed to look like. On the other hand, forty is halfway to eighty which is the average lifespan. Need I say more?

I have often thought during this adoption process, and do as well today, if I should be doing this "at my age." "What am I thinking" . . . "Am I nuts". . . "Why do I want to start over? Should I not be thinking about getting a convertible, a boat, or at least some "me time?" All I can answer myself with is that I do not feel my family is complete. Don't get me wrong, I love my girls more than anything in the world; I just feel as though there is something (or someone) missing in our life. I think God has put this in my heart to do something beyond myself. To make someone's life better and in turn better ours. I don't think age matters in order to accomplish this.

They say age is just a number and if kids make you younger . . . and 40 is the new 30 . . . then I think I may just be having my 21st birthday all over again next year!

Like a Bandit

It has been awhile since my last post for several reasons: 1. Nothing has happened on the adoption front and 2. I have been very busy redecorating. The person I believe to have benefitted the most so far from this pending adoption is my youngest daughter Jenna. She has made out like a bandit! By this I mean she has recently received an all new bedroom.

When Troy and I started this process we decided that the girls should maintain keeping separate bedrooms. We figured this would be the best way to continue to keep the peace. With Jenna being in the smallest bedroom we thought it only right that she be moved to a larger one and the baby be given her old room---the smaller one. For Christmas Jenna received a new comforter complete with curtains, pillows, and a lamp. Now of course, with that not matching the "new" room's colors at all, we had to get new carpeting along with a new coat of paint on the walls. Throw in a ceiling fan . . . and new wall decor . . . and a desk due to having more room . . .and a butterfly chair . . . and a really cool floor lamp . . well, I think you get my point---like a BANDIT!

The future babies room sits empty except for my scrapbooking table. I made a vow with myself that I would not touch the room until we get the much awaited referral. Don't want to jinx things, you know? Anyway I figure we will have plenty of time to redecorate that room between referral and actually bringing home our child.

The pictures above are of Jenna's new room. You can click on the pictures to see them larger.