Unofficially #1

Oh My Word!! We are unofficially #1. I am such a big baby that I started crying when I found out the news. The family in front of us got a referral on a little boy Monday night (congrats "M" family -thrilled for you!!). So, that means that we are up next -aggh! I will probably duct tape my phone to my body. I just pray that we are not like the family that sat at #1 for 6 weeks. Y'all would have to come visit me in the looney bin. I promise that I will post all the details of "the call" once we get it. Just wondering, have any AGCI families gotten new numbers yet this month?

Cuckoo

Yep, that's me. I am going a little (okay, a lot) crazy waiting for our new numbers. Today is the 6th, so I am just wondering, what's with the delay? Don't our case workers know that we anxiously await these updates. It does not change when we will get our referral, but it makes us feel better :) Sure, they have a few other things to do with their time (give out referrals, schedule court dates, help with travel ...); but some of us get a little nutty during the wait. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. I know that we are getting closer to seeing that little brown face, and I am SO EXCITED!!

Rollercoaster ride = Adoption

Well, my last post was about two trips; but this week, there is a *rumor* that the law requiring the additional trip has been postponed. Hmm?? We shall see . . . I was just warming up to the idea of getting to spend several days with my hubby learning about the fabulous country. When we go for pick-up, there will not be much time or opportunity for sight-seeing etc. My husband asked me why I thought this new change had occurred, and I laughed and responded that it was because we are "in line". The last time we adopted, I can not even tell you the changes in process that took place WHILE we were adopting. Let's see - second DNA test, birth certificate to come through central authority, country SHUT down ... I hope that I don't sound jaded or bitter - I actually have a big smile on my face as I type this because I know that in the end, we will have a new little one to love. It will ALL be worth it! Just look at this cuteness if you doubt me

Two Trips

This week has been a busy one for Ethiopian adoptions. The country announced that they will now require two trips to complete the adoption. Obviously, the second trip is for "pick-up", and no one is entirely sure when the first trip will occur. We do know that it will be post-referral, and we will get to meet our little one. Having made several visit trips during our adoption from Guatemala, I look forward to this. Sure, it means more time and money; but, on the "up" side, it gives us another opporunity to experience the culture. And, best of all, we will have the blessing of putting our hands on our little guy that much sooner! It helps make the whole process more real in my heart that much earlier.
On another note -
Apparently, my math was a little fuzzy on my last post. While our official number is still #7, I think that our unofficial # is only 6. That's okay, because if there is one thing that I learned from our process with Gigi - you can't rush these things. God has the EXACT child picked out for us, and he will be placed into our arms on the EXACT day at the EXACT hour. Amen?!?

March On!

Okay, I know that my lack of posts is just pitiful. So, for the sake of our next child (and Stacy and Laura), I am writing this update. We have had a ton going on, and we were not really sure which direction the Lord was leading us (do we EVER know??), so I have not posted. But, there has finally been some pretty good movement with our agency, and I want to document it. We got our "numbers" phone call yesterday, and we were told #7 for boys, #21 for girls, and #10 for siblings. In the meantime, we received an email update from our agency that includes referrals that they have given that are not reflected in our numbers. According to this email, we are now #4 for boy. Aggh! This means that there are only 3 people in front of us for a boy. Now, our case manager told me that it might take until June for us to receive a referral, but that seems kinda hard to believe with this few people in front of us. She did say that the closer you get to the bottom of the list, the longer it can take because the referral has to match your parameters. For us, our home study says that we can take a boy, or girl, or siblings up to age 20 months (agency rule, not ours). So, those are pretty broad parameters which increases our chances. We are getting excited!!

Closer to You

We got our January numbers, and we are creeping closer to you. I am ready to crank up the pace, so I am praying for lots of referrals this month. In other news, we are all moved into the farm house, so you will have LOTS more room to run and play. Also, we have a new kitten, but Gigi thinks she is hers, so you might have to wrestle her for a turn.

BOY 15
GIRL 29
SIBLINGS 12

We can't wait to see your precious face - maybe in April or May.

Snow and new numbers

We woke up to about 2 inches of snow yesterday - practically a blizzard here in the south LOL - so the kids headed outside to play. They managed to attach a sled to the back of a four wheeler using a tow rope, and they had a blast! I only got a couple of pictures of Daddy and Gigi ready to head outside and then playing on the trampoline.

There was not a lot of movement for our adoption numbers this month - boy #17, girl #35, and siblings #14.