#74 and some stats

So we moved to #74 on the unofficial list. And since I am officially a member of the list obsessed I know that there are currently 18 families ahead of us waiting for siblings and that is whole other ball game. I feel for those at the top of the list waiting for siblings. Some have waited a year and still nothing. I pray their children find them soon and I admire their patience. Patience is definitely a virtue you learn when you adopt internationally and as my family can attest, I am not a patient person. I am working on it.

Here are some things I learned when I called our agencies hotline yesterday:

There are 241 waiting families in the Ethiopia program at CHSFS.

156 are waiting for an infant 0-12 months
23 are waiting for a toddler <18 months
17 are waiting for a toddler <24 months
11 are waiting for a toddler <36 months
6 are waiting for a toddler <48 months
9 are waiting for siblings <3 years
9 are waiting for siblings <4 years
11 are waiting for siblings <5 years
2 are waiting for siblings <8 years

93 children have joined 84 families this year so far.

We are a part of the top group, the biggest one. However, there are so many parameters within that age range so come October I may be a little jumpy when my phone rings. You see October will be 7 months that we have waited. Now we were approved in January but since referrals are stopped June 15th due to court closures in Ethiopia in August and September we can't really count those months. Referrals will start back up in September so we can start counting again. Since right now it seems pretty average for people to wait 8 months it is more likely that we will get a referral in November and then travel in January (hopefully). But one never knows. Our child will find us and if they find us in October that would be fabulous but if not I will wait for them. As much as the waiting gets hard, I know once I hold that beautiful child it will all have been worth it.