Great find

I was at Barnes and Noble getting my latest Book Club book (Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs) and of course I had to look at all the bargain stuff. I tend not to buy too many books as I get MORE than enough from my mom but I did find something neat.

I was looking through these bins that had 50% of stuff in them. There were books, games, stationary and other random stuff. Well, at first I didn't really find anything and then as I was heading towards the front to retrieve my hubby, I stopped at this one bin and decided to look.

Well, low and behold I found an AWESOME journal. I blog while here in the US but have been told that that might be difficult while in Ethiopia so I have been looking for a journal. This one is not too big, not too small, has lined pages and isn't too heavy. I love it already and I haven't even used it yet.

It is my goal to bring it with me EVERYWHERE I go in Ethiopia and to write down what I see, smell and feel at any given moment. It may be awhile before I get back to Ethiopia and since I may not be able to blog while there I don't want to forget a second. I know I will be on a schedule while there but I can write in the cars on the way to Hossana and at night before bed. No worries to family and friends that read the blog as I will translate my writing journal to my blog when I can. I may not share everything from journal but I will keep the journal so I can pass it on to my little one when they get older.

I know this may not make sense to some people reading this but I got so excited when I found this journal. It is perfect and will be so helpful to have along with me on the most amazing, emotional trip of my life.

No adoption news :( Families have gotten court dates and travel dates for July so hopefully as we get further into July we will start seeing some referrals.

Patience

My mom always told me that "Patience is a virtue". Now understand that my family is not a patient family so it was more a reminder for her as well as the rest of us. I am blogging today because I read my horoscope today on Yahoo.com and found it to be very fitting. I don't really believe in horoscopes but read them merely for fun.

So here is my horoscope:

Patience is a virtue -- what you're waiting for will be so sweet when it arrives.

I just found this particular phrase to be really relevant to my waiting for my baby. I know I have to be patient and I know that what I am waiting for will be sweet. How could it not, I have loved this little one in my heart for a lot of years and can't wait to see that sweet face. While the waiting is hard, I know that what I am waiting for will be a perfect fit for my family and I can't ask for anything more than that.

Brief Update

The weekend is starting off great for lots of my forum friends. Sick babies have returned to the Care Center or are doing well and still in the hospital. There are still some little ones that need our prayers so they can return to better health.

A few families who were waiting for court dates have received them and a few more families were told that they have made it through court.

We have heard through the grapevine that we may not see any new referrals until July sometime. There was such a huge push to get a bunch of families referrals and through court that everyone is really busy. Hopefully, lots of families will get their birth certificates and travel dates soon.

So we are still at #26 and probably will be for a few weeks. While we wait oh so patiently (ok impatiently) we will be busy with vacation, visiting family and friends and Brewers games! Go BREWERS!

American Pie

This Thursday I don't really have anything profound to say so my song is just a song. It is one that I love and blasted out the window of my college dorm room more times that I can count. My roommate and I freshman year would either listen to this song over and over or Billy Joel's "Piano Man". I finally 10 years after graduation don't hate Billy Joel. We actually went and saw his musical. Anyway, here is "American Pie" by Don McLean.

In adoption news, we had a huge rush of families that made it through court so THANKS. Thanks to those who said a prayer or lit a candle, it means a lot to me that you care so much.
No news yet on the couple of sick babies but no news is good news right? Let's hope so.

"American Pie"

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to
make me smile
And I knew that if I had my chance
I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while

Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so
Now do you believe in Rock 'n' roll
And can music save your mortal soul
And can you teach me how to dance real slow

Well, I know that you're in love with him
'Cos I saw you dancin' in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pick-up truck
But I knew that I was out of luck
The day the music died

I started singing
Bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
And good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singing this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play

Well now, in the streets the children screamed
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
Tho church bells all were broken
And the three men I admire the most
The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died

We started singin' Bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
And good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singing this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
Bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
And good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singing this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

The power of prayer!!

The last couple of days have been full of mixed emotions. I am asking for people who read this to pray. There are lots of families in various stages of the adoption process that need our prayers. There are sick babies, court delays and a couple of very sad, tragic situations for some families.

I know in the world of international adoption so much is out of our control and I can't even imagine hearing via email that your baby is sick and you are thousands of miles away. Please also pray for the doctors and nurses treating these little ones. I know those babies are in great hands and surrounded by love.

I think it is really easy to get wrapped up in your daily life and frustrations and forget that no matter how bad traffic was or your service at a restaurant was, there are people in this world who would give anything and everything to have food and drinking water for their children. I think sometimes we get complacent and self centered and I am asking people today to take a step outside your bad day and think of how much worse it could be and to give thanks for the blessings you have and pray that others may receive a blessing or too in their life as well.

So to all my forum friends, know that all of your families are in our thoughts and prayers and we pray that you find peace and answers. We pray that the sick little ones return to the care center healthy and ready to be held. We pray that it continues to rain in Ethiopia and that all those waiting to get through court before closure get through. Lastly, we pray for those families who are dealing with something terrible whether it be adoption related or not. Sometimes life is really unfair and I still can't grasp why bad things happen to great people but I am hoping that with the power of prayer some of those bad things will resolve themselves and for those things that aren't so easily resolved I pray you find peace, strength and comfort.

Busy, Busy, Busy

It occurred to me today that I have a really busy summer. In looking at the calendar we have at least one thing every weekend and sometimes as many as 3 things each weekend. I can't believe it is almost the 4th of July, where did the time go....

We have fireworks, Summerfest, baseball games and vacation and that is only the 1st week and 1/2 of July. Wow. I might need a vacation after my vacation to recover. It is definitely go go go. We still want to visit friends, go to the Farmer's Market and spend time at the lake.

In a way though I am really glad we are so busy. I am probably one of the only people I know who love summer but secretly want it to pass quickly and have it be fall. I have a good reason. We are hoping for our referral in fall which is one of my favorite seasons so what a great way to celebrate the season with a baby!

I also knew time was flying by when I scheduled my next hair appointment for the same day as our 7 month anniversary of waiting for our precious little one. Just yesterday I was blogging about hitting 5 months and now I have appointments scheduled for 2 months from now. Nuts.

Well, I am off to try and figure out what you way to kickball. Yeah, that has become one of my weekly activities for the next month and a half. Pretty chill really but I want to look cute and be comfortable.

5 months...

We have hit the 5 month mark waiting for our little one. In some ways in seems like the time has gone by really quickly and in other ways in seems like it is ever so slowly moving forward.

I know that we still have many more months of waiting ahead. I am anxious for our referral which will hopefully come late summer or early fall. When I talked to our specialist last she said that Oct/Nov would be a good reference point and if it comes earlier than what a great surprise. This was before the huge # of referrals in May and I have been told by my forum family that our specialist is pretty conservative in her estimates as to not gets people's hopes up so I am hanging on to that.

No one has hit the 9 month mark waiting for an infant of either gender and 9 months for us is October 22nd so we are really hoping that sometime in late August or September we get the call that will forever change our lives. I already have a note pad and pen by the phone so I am ready when it does come.

When we get the call, we will also get an email with as much info as they have and most importantly a picture of our sweet little one. I won't be able to share that picture with everyone until after we get through court but I will carry it with me everyday and share it with a few family members and a couple of close friends.

So for now, I know we should be over half way into our wait and that is exciting. We are just chugging along with our jammed pack summer realizing that at this time next year our summer's will be full of trips to the pool, zoo and park. How cool is that!