Wow...

That really is the only word I can use to describe the last year. So much has happened and so much more will happen. The journey through the adoption process has definitely not been easy but I have learned a tremendous amount about myself, Ethiopia, international adoption, ethics,patience, friendship, blogging and so much more.

I know I have said this before but I never dreamed how much my life would change forever when we started this process. I had no idea that not only would a daughter be joining my family but that I would be fortunate enough to meet some amazing and inspiring people.

The people that just get it. The ones we can sit and have coffee with for 3 hours ( I did that with this person this weekend.) The ones that understand the guilty feelings, the why is this happening, the frustration, the lack of answers, the fact that we may never have all the answers. The people who get adoption and especially international adoption and want to talk about the process, ethics, the country, the culture, how to be a good parent in a transracial home, how to make sure our children know who they are.

The people that have been there and done that or are going through the journey with you. Sure, I will admit when I started this blog, I became a blog stalker. I found blogs for other people with our agency that had dossier dates close to ours and just started reading. From there I found other blogs and wow I have learned a great deal as a result.

The best advice someone once posted on the forum was to not do this alone. To find people close to you on the list and start dealing with the wait, the anxiety, the guilt and all the other emotions that come with international adoption together. I am so glad that I took that advice and now I have these amazing women in my life that sit and have coffee with me, respond to my panicky emails, will be (hopefully) my travel buddy, let me know my daughter sucks her thumb and just offer a hug even if it is virtual when I am having or had a bad day or celebrate my joy with me. I will be eternally grateful to all of these people and hope to pay it forward when I can.

In Peanut news: Well not much new. We have confidence that she is doing well and that she has a full head of soft, curly hair. We also just learned that she has quite the set of lungs on her and if she needs to cry that rest assured we will hear her. I can't wait to meet this sweet little girl and hear that cry for myself. Other than that we are just waiting (again). I do have some more paperwork to do that I haven't really looked at yet but not much else until our court date.