Six Months

Months on the waitlist:

 

Current average wait time:

19

On our six month waiting anniversary we rearranged furniture. Since we will be on the list for a little while longer (after crunching some numbers, we are estimating 2-3 more years); we decided to wait in comfort. We went out and bought ourselves the most comfortable couch in all of the five furniture stores we visited. Is it pretty? Nope. However, it is perfect for cuddling while watching TV :). When we purchased the sofa last month, we were trying to figure out a good delivery date. Since both of us work during the week, we requested a Saturday.

Furniture store salesperson: "How does Saturday February the 11th sound?" 

(Rob and I immediately stared into space with confusion)

Rob: "Why does it feel like we have something going on?"

Salesperson: "Well, the next possible date..."

I interrupt: "It is our anniversary!"

Rob: "That is right!"

We are both laughing at this point because we really, truly thought we had a major event to attend. The salesperson laughs and tells us she always forgets her WEDDING anniversary as well. Embarrassing!! Do we tell her we are actually celebrating every month on our agency's list? No. This will open the door to questions about the why and the how and the when. Not to add the fact that she will probably think we are silly. Therefore, we just looked at each other and smiled. Rob immediately hugged and kissed me. I am guessing to make up for the forgotten "wedding" anniversary :).

Happy six months waiting!!!

The Meaning Of A Dream

I had an extremely vivid dream last night. My phone rang and it was our caseworker calling with our referral. I remember feeling unbelievably excited. I remember crying and nervously trying to call Rob to let him know. We met up at the house (which was not our current home) and we waited for our phone to ring to hear all of the details about our son. The phone rang and right when she was going to tell us his age or anything about him, my alarm went off :(. I told Rob as soon as I woke up and guess what? He had a vivid dream about him as well. His dream was much nicer than mine though...he saw him! He said we were in a strange house (again) and I was holding him while sitting on our couch. Then I got up and handed our baby to him so he can feed him. He said he was beautiful. Perfect round face with curls to die for. So jealous that he actually had a dream of holding him! 

Earlier this week my sister called me and told me that as soon as she woke up, something or someone told her to start praying for her nephew’s birth mom. She said she prayed for a long time and had never felt that feeling before. 

I wonder what this all means. Maybe God has picked the birth mother of our child. Maybe he has been conceived. Maybe it is just coincidence but I love it. I love that we dreamt of our little boy on the same night and I love that my sister spent some serious time praying for his birth mom.

Five Months

Months on the waitlist:

Current average wait time:

18

This last month was a quick yet slow month, if that makes any sense. Quick because we were constantly on the go. Nonstop cleaning and changing sheets because we had family from out of town stay with us every weekend :). If we didn’t have company, we were the ones out of town. Busy, busy, busy. Although Christmas is truly my favorite holiday, I could not have missed our son more than anything in the world this season. We prayed and talked about his birth family more than usual this last month. While eating our Christmas feast, we prayed that they were not feeling hungry, while laughing with our family, we prayed for their happiness, and while going to bed in our warm beds at night, we prayed for their safety. We wonder what they are doing every day. Only God knows our son’s story. He also knows when our time will come to meet our baby boy and we are eager to witness His perfect timing.

On our five-month waiting anniversary, we cleaned. I know, I know, I just mentioned how most the month was spent cleaning, but I have been feeling under the weather for a week now and have not done much around the house. I promise it feels like my head will explode if I cough one. more. time!

Happy five months waiting!!!

One Year Later...

I cannot believe that a year ago we contacted Gladney and began our adoption journey. I remember the excitement we felt when we told our family we had decided to adopt a baby boy from Ethiopia. Feeling cheerful and full of anticipation that we were going to be parents. Then we began gathering our documents. Sigh. THAT was tough. Stressful because we had no control on the pace in which things were moving (and are moving). Anxiety while waiting for different documents. Grieve due to the slow downs in Ethiopian adoptions. Then relieved and hopeful when we were finally placed on the wait list. That is when the conversations changed from “we need to get that letter notarized…” to “I wonder what his personality will be like…”. Can anyone say emotional roller coaster for 2011?
Realistically, we don't see ourselves receiving a referral in 2012. Which gives us more time to grow closer to God and each other. And really just enjoy the year together as we keep falling more in love with one another.

Happy New Year! I wonder what 2012 has in store for us :).

Baby B's Christmas Presents

Christmas was great! Our son received his first Christmas gifts :). We had already decided on a safari theme for what will be his bedroom. Therefore, he received his first:

Giraffe stuffed animal

Lion socks

Monkey blanket

And we bought him a little present from Mexico 

Wooden elephant pencil holder

Thank you Jesus for blessing us with great family and friends.

Crying Is Good

Our agency has monthly conference calls. That is their way of providing us with any updates about the process. Lately, they have a guest family speak at the end of each call (love it). On last month's conference call one waiting mom explained that the way she copes with the wait is by giving herself time to cry. That granted me permission to cry and to tell everyone about it. I was afraid to tell family and friends that I have cried during this process. Afraid that they would come to the conclusion that I wished our situation was different. Since I stopped holding back the tears, I just forewarn Rob with an "ok I am fixing to cry in three, two, one..." and he just hugs me. Sometimes he is driving but the support is still there.
So there you have it. I cry. I cry a lot. Not because I am mad or disappointed but because sometimes I want to put a face to the little boy I so pray for every day. Sometimes from the overwhelming feeling I get from the thought of how blessed we are to be experiencing such a wonderful journey. The journey of adoption. Sometimes I cry for two minutes and sometimes I need the whole evening. But I now know it is ok. I am not the only one and I have a lot more crying to do :). I hope I don't run out tears. I mean, I still have many more emotional experiences coming up: the referral and meeting our son. :) :)
 

Cousins/Friends

You know that cousin/friend you can talk to about anything? Sadly, mine lives many miles away. I remember as little girls we would stay up until sunrise just talking about "life".

December 2000

After nearly ten years, she finally came to visit us and boy was it nice catching up.

 

December 2011