Congratulations

Recently SEVERAL families made it through court!!! CONGRATULATIONS! We're so glad so many of you got through! It's a huge accomplishment and now you are forever families! What a great thought! Check out the FBI forever families list to see all of them! There is one family that didn't make it through court and I know that it has been difficult for them as there are a few who have been delayed several times. Please pray that they get through court right away and can be with their children soon. Also pray that we get our court date. We are hoping for February but we are being patient and when it is supposed to come, it will. We are still enjoying our sweet boys referral pictures!

For those of you who are traveling, I just realized, you are going to get to see our son in person before we will. I know your bags will be full but if you'd be willing to take pictures of our son while you are there we would APPRECIATE it! Also if you have room in your bag, and we understand if you don't, to take an outfit for our son we would really appreciate that too! Let us know!

Enjoy making your travel arrangements for Ethiopia! How exciting! Enjoy every moment and, again, congratulations!

Pictures!

Saturday we spent the day with my niece, Quinn, and my parents. We had her try out K's rain forest spin and play. She really seemed to like it! I am glad she could try it out and break it in a little for him! I think it will go over well! I can't wait until they will get to play together!

Berkley was a little jealous and needed some attention! He enjoyed it so much he fell asleep!

Kate found her Christmas present a little early... oh well!

3 months old

Our son is now a little over 3 months old! I hate that he is growing up so fast with out us being around to watch him and all of his changes. It makes me look foward to the days ahead that we will have together!

Just for K

We are really busy but I had to stop for a second and post these pictures! Look at the cute K stocking we found! David's family also got K a stocking! Although we won't have our sweet baby home for Christmas this year he will be in our thoughts and hearts!

.

It has been a hard week for us. We went to a funeral for one of David's best friends.

His (best friends) family could really use prayers so if you remember, they would be very blessed by them. It was a hard situation and I know that the love of God and prayers can work miracles.

Still so happy!

If there is anyone traveling soon and you would be willing to take an item or two to our son PLEASE let us know! I would apprecite it SO much!

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE being on the referral/court process part of the FBI list?! It's still a great feeling! I am SO happy that we've received our referral! Thanks be to God! I knew He would match us with the right child and I really think this is the perfect child for us! I am sure this is written on every ones referral, but when I was re-reading some information I noticed our referral said, "We truly believe you would make a great match for him!". I loved that they put that, regardless of what they write on the other referrals! I hope we don't stay on this list TOO long but it's nice to know: we have a boy!, his pictures are oh! so cute, background info., estimated age, etc. I can't wait to see updated pictures and get a court date! I love walking through the house and seeing his pictures and his smile, no matter which room I am in. I don't want to wait TOO long for this sweet boy to be in my arms, but it's a face I could wait a lifetime for if I HAD to! He is precious!

Oh, and I have got to work on his room some more and added some finishing touches (see below for wall sayings).

Snow? In SOUTH Texas?

This past Wednesday snow fell in Texas! I really don't like Christmas time in Texas b/c it is really hard for me to get in the spirit of things. Back home we always had snow sometime around Christmas, but Texas' weather is usually pretty warm and it feels like fall rather than winter. This year I got what I wanted, a white Christmas!

A gift from work!

I have the greatest co-workers. They have been patient with me through the ups and downs of this whole process. When we got our referral I made sure to call them and let them know. They were really excited for us and I loved hearing their enthusiasm on the phone as I told them details of our referral! The next day when I went into work they had ordered balloons for us! What a great idea. I love them so much! I would have never thought about doing something like this and it was the nicest gift! It made the day even more special! How cool are these?!

K's wall sayings!

We knew we wanted to put a couple of sayings on K's wall but weren't sure what we wanted. After we got our referral it was clear to us what we would choose! We had no trouble in our decision and knew these two sayings were perfect!

Our Referral!

Okay, I realize its a little past time for me to post. Honestly, I had not had time to catch up from Thanksgiving, work came too fast! I spent the weekend putting luggage away, etc. Also, my feet didn't touch the ground for a while. I'm not sure they still have and I'm still on cloud 9. We are beyond happy!

There have been a few moments in my life that were PERFECT, happily memorable, and/or just plain wonderful. Some of those: my first kiss, being baptized, graduating high school, meeting my husband for the first time, getting married, etc. It's interesting because with each of these what I envisioned was entirely different than what came to play out. Still, these times stand out and they are the memories that I never want to forget. Speaking of which, our referral day was nothing as I had pictured but it is now included on my list and encompasses everything. It was amazingly wonderful! The first time we got to see our boys face! What could be greater?

David had joked with me one day that the reason our referral hadn't came yet was because I wasn't being patient. I laughed but was aggravated all the same time b/c I didn't think there was ANY way I was going to gain patience. Try as I might, it is a huge character flaw and I didn't know if I could honestly become patient. I tried several times and failed miserably. However, the week of our referral I just decided that it wasn't a big deal and it would come sometime in the future. I still checked to see where we were on the list but with far less frequency than before. I knew it would come when the time was right. The day of the referral I checked it right before leaving to go home and saw we were still second and figured "tomorrow, maybe". I guess David was right, b/c our referral came a day or two after my newly gained patience!

I went home that night and was exhausted. David, luckily, was home on vacation! Our cupboards were bare so I suggested that we go to Wal-Mart and get some much needed groceries b/c if not I would be going to bed at 4:30pm! I really hate going to Wal-Mart and so I figured it would be a good day to get it over with and it would certainly keep me awake! We were out of Clairitin so we figured we'd better hit that line first, before it became too busy. While David stood in-line I shopped for some other items we needed (well maybe not patient entirely). David made a weird face while he listened to a message on the phone. He is always missing messages and things so I wasn't too surprised. But then he had a serious look on his face. It scared me b/c he didn't say anything. He just was all serious and said Mary called. I thought he was meaning someone from church so I was trying to decode what he just said. I kept trying to ask questions and he said a couple of things and then handed me the phone. It was so strange b/c he really didn't say anything more. Just motioned to me to say something! About that same time the ppl. in front of us left and we were at the cash register. They had a big sign posted "NO CELL PHONES IN THIS AREA"! (Apparently it interferes with their equipment.) I heard a familiar voice on the phone say, "Chelsea, this is it!" I realized it was Mary with Gladney but really didn't believe that this WAS it. I really don't know what she said after that. I was in shock and the lady at the cash register started yelling at me to put the cell phone up. Dirty looks were flashed my way by other customers. I wasn't about to do that so I just stepped back. I could hear David trying to calm the lady and explain to her what was happening.

Mary was still talking, as I listened I realized she was trying to schedule a time to go over everything with us. She said something about another referral at 5:30PM, staying late, and what would be the best time for our referral. I was so surprised that I think I mentioned something that we needed to finish grocery shopping b/c we needed groceries, then I realized what I said and I agreed that 5:30PM would be workable and we were on the way. Mary was nice and re-assured me that the other family would be getting their referral at 5:30 so we couldn't get ours at that time :)! Then said how about 6PM? I said that would be great and didn't think to ask anything else, so Mary prompted and asked if there was anything we wanted to know about the baby. I didn't think she could discuss that before our "referral at 6PM" so I was really glad she asked! My first question "boy or girl"? Boy! We had been back and forth, during this process so much, on what we wanted and I was afraid when she said one or the other I would be disappointed. The minute she said boy I thought PERFECT! Then she told me his name and how old he is. The name was unique and fun. It has a great story behind it. I was so shocked when I heard his age. 2 months! Wow! We couldn't get much luckier! How perfect, we won't miss that much of our child's life! I knew how blessed we were and everything was even better than I imagined (minus being at Wal-Mart). I handed the phone back to David and it was my turn to check out. The lady at the register scanned my license while I appologized for being on the phone. The lady was nice and said that we could stay on it! It was funny.

The rest of the shopping trip was a blur. We started putting items in our cart. I was so excited I couldn't think. I really don't know what we came home with, grocery shopping after receiving such wonderful news isn't a great idea. I know there were a few things I saw I knew we needed. Other than that I don't know what we came home with! It really didn't matter, suddenly nothing else mattered. The lady was amazingly fast at checkout (as I am sure you well know, usually its forever of a wait) and we were on our way home planning how things would go to get ready for 6PM! We called a friend and asked to borrow her high speed connector. She was sweet and said she would bring it by. Then we got our digital camera out and called Mary. We were able to record the whole referral with our camera. She went over all of his information. We were trilled to have as much background information as was provided. It was sad but interesting. We couldn't see half of what she was talking about (b/c of dail up), although she had provided attachments, but we were able to pull up one of his pictures. He was/is BEAUTIFUL! David and I both ooohed over him and Mary was in agreement. Our friend came over with the high speed hook up and ooohed over him too! We didn't let Mary off the phone before we accepted our referral!!! We plugged in the high speed hook up and looked, stared, and marveled over our new baby boy. We put the pictures on a disk and went straight back to Wal-Mart to print out tons of pictures! We called everyone we could think of on our way to Wal-Mart and while in the store to tell our good news! We have the 5 pictures, 500 places around our house! Every time I see him I think I fall more in love with him. He is perfect!

Wal-Mart, the right place, the right call...

David’s thoughts:

I think Wal-Mart is overrated for a variety of reasons. And there are a ton of reasons why I would prefer to shop elsewhere. From our location we don’t have many choices – but I feel somewhat addicted to the place. If you can’t get it, or find it anywhere else, there’s a good possibility it’s at Wal-Mart. I say that because we scuttled off to this wonderful place to do our shopping (cupboards were bare!). While standing in line for some allergy medicine, I reached into my pocket, and grabbed my cell. Apparently I left my phone on vibrate since church service on Wednesday night. I noticed that I had two voicemails…as I quickly turned the phone on its’ loudest volume, I listened to the voicemail. Hhhmm…that’s annoying! Both voicemails were from work!! I am on vacation sooooo that was a little annoying. When I got through with each of those, there was a new message. This kind of stuff happens all the time with my silly phone. I miss calls I shouldn’t, it doesn’t always ring, and sometimes I can’t tell who it was that called, because my phone doesn’t always register them. So no real surprise I really had three voicemails. This last message was left at 5:03pm. It was very simple, and from Mary. She simply left a message saying she had tried to reach Chelsea, and that my phone was also on the list of numbers to call. I quickly wrote down the phone number and hurriedly called back. Much to my delight the phone was answered by Gladney, and specifically Mary. She asked if both Chelsea and I were present, because she had our referral. Now mind you, I’m in line at Wal-Mart getting allergy medicine. So I motion for Chelsea to come over and grab the phone, that it was Gladney. The funniest thing is that she didn’t believe what was happening, or take it seriously at first. And then you could see the excitement build and overflow as each piece of information was received. By the way, near the Wal-Mart pharmacy they have a sign saying no cell phones allowed, and they mean it! Chelsea had this quickly pointed out to her, and had to leave me while I paid for the meds. It did give me a chance to explain to the lady working the counter what had just happened to us. As soon as she found out that we were receiving news of our referral, she lightened up on the rule, and apologized…of course it didn’t hurt that Chelsea had just hung up the phone! We rushed through the rest of our trip as quickly as possible, but Chelsea was just overwhelmed. She couldn’t take it any longer – and we had to call Mary back at 6pm. Turns out that we made it back home with only minutes to spare! I suppose to make a long story short for now, we were referred a beautiful, happy, and precious baby boy! HOORAY, HOORAY FOR US! Thanks for your support again! And I can guarantee there will be more to come! If you couldn’t tell, I’m not the least bit excited!

Have a great night…WE ARE!!!

Another week

Today marks another week for us. What this brings us to, I really am not sure. I know Wed. has always been the week marker for us but besides that I have lost count and have stopped counting. There is no longer any need, I know that it should come sometime this month and eagerly anticipate it. However, as we've said from the beginning, it's God's time and not our own. It's a peaceful feeling and there is no rush. It will come. I thought it was interesting that several families have said that they feel that God hand picked their child for them. There are little things that they have found their child does that they are grateful for! I've always believed that would happen for us. I know God will provide "the match" for our family. I was joking yesterday that that is why this process has taken so long! :) We both have, in my opinion, very diverse personalities. I can't wait to see who our baby will be and the personality he or she carries. All in good time, all in God's time.

No News…

So the last post was made while Chelsea was in Nebraska. I don’t think I did my part while she was gone – I didn’t post anything else!! She normally does a lot of our posting, and I may have lost or jeopardized my posting duties with my lack of performance!

We were sure we would receive our referral just in time for Thanksgiving, but that obviously didn’t happen. I suppose it is just as well since we would have been separated by 20 hours of driving, or roughly 1200 miles. It would have been awkward for me to jump up and down on the phone, and not have my partner in crime jumping up and down right there with me. It wouldn’t have helped any that I worked all week either! Perhaps timing really is of the essence.

We’ve grown so much over the last 14 months, and continue to do so! It is fantastic when your eyes are opened to new things, and new life! We celebrate with great joy in the new found perspectives of life and family. We also continue to celebrate with those who received such exciting news on Monday! A huge Shout-Out, thunderous applause, prayers of thanksgiving, and all other acts of celebration rang out across the adoption and blogging community as families made it through court! WAY TO GO!

The week here in East Texas has shaped up beautifully. As for us, we have enjoyed a “cold front,” that actually made our heater kick on! In fact, today is such a glorious and sunny day! The sun rays our peering through our modest home, working their way from the front windows toward the rear. And the sky is bluer than ever…cloudless as well. Could today be our day? If so, it couldn’t be on a more spectacular “winter” day!

Oh! Thanks to all of you for all the happy birthday wishes! It was much appreciated!!

Holding Steady

As was previously announced, Chelsea is off to visit her great-grandmother in Nebraska. Unfortunately she did not get to carry with her the news of a referral. We still maintain hope that it will occur this week. I must say that my perspective of our wait time has changed drastically in the past 48 hours as I have read several of your blogs and your time frames. We greatly appreciate you sharing your hearts, as well as the encouragement you send our way despite your own agonizing wait. To all of you who have been through court once or more, and are awaiting your next day - know that our thoughts and prayers are with you! YOU are very close! On another note, http://muchhasbeengiven.blogspot.com/ Sarah and Davis posted a great video from "Children's Hopechest." We have included a link to it on our post today, and hope that you have the opportunity to view it! What a tremendous way to communicate the situation and need in Ethiopia. I've already found it a good way to help others understand our decision to adopt, and our decision to adopt from Ethiopia.

As for us, we keep holding steady, awaiting the exciting news of our referral...and continue to enjoy all of your support.

ENJOY: http://www.youtube.com/user/childrenshopechest

Hoping

We are hoping to get our referral today. I am going to see my great grandma for Thanksgiving (95 years old) and I want to take a picture w/me when I go!

Well I'm outtie. It looks like we aren't going to get our referral today. Everyone have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy time w/your families!

Yesterdays News

We found out yesterday that, according to the FBI list, we are now 4th on the list instead of 5th! We're excited about it! Even better, when I just checked it this morning I found were 3rd! :)

Today would be a perfect day to get a referral as it is David's birthday! :)

26 weeks

So somehow I got off on my count of how long it has been that we have waited for our referral and have actually been waiting one week longer than I realized. Today makees 26 weeks.

Sick

Today is the first day I have felt like posting. David and I have been very sick with the flu. Luckily it was bad enough, that we got in to see the doctor right away! It worked out even better b/c we had an appt. the next week to update our medical forms for our Gladney file. So we ended up killing two birds w/one stone. Even with the meds. we feel crummy, but are starting to feel better *fingers crossed*.


Check this out: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3231213.stm . It is the first doll to be MADE IN Ethiopia! This doll has been released for a little while, and I have been wanting to find information on it!!! I think it is really neat b/c the doll really does look Ethiopian esp. in the eyes! I think that is my favorite part, I love big Ethiopian eyes. They are so beautiful! I am so proud of the accomplishments they are making, as I know the maker of this toy is very proud (the article does a great job stating this)! I have read a few stories (there are many) on Senzero and think it is neat that this doll is taken from one of their favorite story book characters! Anyway its a neat article, check it out!

Another week

Tomorrow makes another week of waiting and brings the grand total to 6 months. I realize it is not much of a wait compared to other countries and no matter how long the wait, it will be worth it when we get our baby. However, it's not the length of the wait as much as it is the expectation of normal versus reality. We were given an expectation of 3 to 5 months. As we exited our window we were sorely disappointed. I always plan for things to be a bit worse than I expect b/c it seems to be my luck, but as we have reached these past few weeks our hearts have grown heavier. It has really got to be ridiculous for us and we feel as if we will never get a referral. I know it will happen, to hang in there, that God is in control, all of that- but time marches on and we are left standing still.


On a more positive note today a few things happened that I really enjoyed. I got several records at work that I had been waiting on and excitedly took them to the people who had been waiting on them. As I took them the records I realized there were a couple of people who thought I was not bringing them their paper work, but our referral information. It was too late when I realized what was happening and could see the joy on their faces and their arms come out ready to hug me. Then once I showed them what it was they were still excited but in that odd state of "what to do from here". I felt bad and didn't really know what to say and they also seemed to be fishing for the next move! Even though it was an awkward situation, it was neat to see their excitement and made me feel great that there are so many people pulling for us to get this referral! Our baby is out there and we are going to bring him/her home… I just don’t know WHEN.

So whats new?

This past Wed. makes 5mo. and 3 weeks of waiting for our referral.

There are lots of pictures below that I have been meaning to blog. The very bottom pictures are of some capri pants that I bought. They are really neat and by purchasing them you can help to end extreme poverty in Africa by 2025. OmniPeace donates 25% of its profits to Millennium Promise, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower the poor with skills and tools required to pull themselves out of poverty and become self-sustainable.

The other picture is of the food cubes I bought. I am planning on making my own baby food so now I have something to store the food in!

On Oct. 31 David and I had the day off so we rode a train to a town that is about 1hr. away by car. It was really fun. Later in the afternoon we played with the dogs outside and took a silly picutre together. We had also bought a pumpkin and I got to carve it. I really wanted to carve something different this year. I am really happy with what turned out (see below)! There are 3 posts b/c I can't post as many pictures as I would like to... 3 posts later I get the finished product! I guess I shouldn't get so behind on blogging!

Another week

Today marks 5 months and 2 weeks of waiting for a referral. It also makes 1 year and 2 weeks of waiting toatl! If I tagged you scroll down to the previous post for directions! :)

My husband e-mailed this to me. I thought it was neat and thought I would share:

"You are the defender of orphans ... Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless." Psalm 10:14, 17

Every family is a gift from God. That includes the family you came from, the family you've created and the institution of family. It's worthy of every ounce of attention, effort and care you can apply to it.

The United Nations counts 143 million kids around the world as orphans. 143 million innocent children are waiting for love and support. That statistic simply makes my heart ache.
Why This Matters
Even in the U.S., the consequences of neglecting our waiting children are horrifying.
*
30% of all the homeless adults in the United States spent time in foster care.
*
One in three youth who turn 18 and leave foster care resort to stealing, prostitution, or selling drugs.
*
One in four spend time in jail or prison.
"If you have large numbers of orphans who are rootless and foodless, and bewildered by their position, and feeling pretty angry and anti-social about what has happened to them ... you have the possibility of real instability ... Poverty can be the basis for the attraction of extremist groups." - Ambassador Stephen Lewis, the UN Special Envoy on HIV and AIDS in Africa.
What You Can Do
Help for orphans can take many forms. You can: pray for them, speak up for them, mentor vulnerable children and support those who directly support these young ones. It doesn't require that you have unlimited resources or that you be a high-profile celebrity. A good place to start is to become informed. I highly encourage you to visit VoiceoftheOrphan.org. There you'll find more specific statistics of the scope and breadth of this tragedy as well as useful action steps you and your family can take to care for orphans and waiting children. You'll also discover: Why This Matters to God, What God Says, and What Happens to These Kids.


-Taken from “Focus on the Family” web page

One other thing:

Just click on the name of the CANDY and the recipe appears!


2 Minute Microwave Fudge
5 Minute Fudge
7 Layer Bars
Aaron's Buttery Cashew Brittle
Almond Bark
Amanda's Peppermint Creams
Ann's Cream Nut Candy
Bavarian Inn Peanut Bars
Beth's Delicious Fudge
Brownie Fudge Dessert
Buckeyes
Buckeyes
Butter Toffee
Candied Yams
Candy Bar Brownies
Candy Cane Brittle
Candy Cane Fudge
Caramel Krispie Treats
Caramels
Carmel Corn
Carol's Christmas Treats
Chocolate Almond Bars
Chocolate Balls
Chocolate Billionaires
Chocolate Chow Mein Candy
Chocolate Covered Cherries
Chocolate Covered Nuts
Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls
Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Chocolate Covered Pretzels
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Chocolate Nut Caramels
Chocolate Popcorn
Chocolate Silk Bon Bons
Chocolate Truffels
Christmas Candied Walnuts
Christmas Crackle Candy
Christmas Mice
Chunky Mallow Candy
Cinnamon Hard Candy
Cinnamon Popcorn
Cranberry Nut Fudge
Cream Cheese Candy
Creamy Chocolate Truffles
Creamy Microwave Pralines (Texas Stye)
Crispy peanutbutter balls
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Deborahe's Holiday Chocolates
Disappearing Marshmallow Brownies
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Divinty
Dorothy's Peanut Butter/Butterscotch Noodle Cookie
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Brownies
Fudge for One

Fudge Puddles
Georgia Nuggets
Grandma Donna's Nummies
Grandma F's Delicious Fudge
Grandmother' s Holiday Fudge
Hard Candy
Hard Tack Candy
Hazelnut Fantasy Fudge
Ho-Ho Hash
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Honey Comb
J & D's Peanut Butter Balls
Jeanne's Tiger Butter
Jen's Chocolate Meringues
J's Cream Fudge
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Magic Marshmallow Fudge
Mama's Fudge
Maple Rum Balls
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Marzipan
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Memaw's Reese's
Meme's Best Ever Peanut Butter Fudge
Meringues
Micky's Mints
Microwave Peanutbutter fudge
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Milk Fudge
Milky Way Bars
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Mocha Truffles
Mom's Mints
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Orange Balls
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Oven Carmel Corn
Peanut Brittle
Peanut Brittle
Peanut Brittle
Peanut Brittle (Microwave)
Peanut Butter Balls
Peanut Butter Balls
Peanut Butter Balls
Peanut Butter Bars-An Elve's Favorite Treat
Peanut Butter Candy
Peanut Butter Candy
Peanut Butter Cups
Peanut Butter Cups
Peanut Butter Fruit Squares
Peanut Butter Fudge
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Peanut Butter Snowballs
Peanut Clusters (mircrowavable)
Peanut Krispies
Peanut Patties

Tagged

I was tagged by my sister. Directions were to post the sixth picture in my sixth album that is on my computer, and then explain it. It's kind of funny because the leaf picture below is my sixth picture. It's not anything exciting. Just a picture I took one day when I was playing with my dog. She is a ham and likes to get her picture taken and was being cute, so I started taking pictures. She happened to stop by these flowers (that picture is below too). After I took her pict. I noticed the flowers and the leaf so I had to take a picture. Oh and here is the good part- you get to pick who you tag, no limits! I tag Rebecca, Jen, Laura , Lauri S, Kellie, J, A, & T, Ethiodyssey, Our Walk by Faith, Rebecca and I have ran out of time so if you are reading this, I also tag you!

Nothing

If the FBI list is correct, the last person to receive a referral received theirs on the 17th. Since then, there has been no movement. We'll see what's to come. David and I have both "given up" on waiting, NOT actually of course, I guess it's like the saying "if you watch the pot it will never boil". The wait consumes you after a while. Our referral will come when it is supposed to and when it does we will be ecstatic. Until then were not really thinking about it and talking about it too much. It's too hard otherwise.

Introductions

Last night I was fixing a bowl of ice cream and when I went to wash off the scoop my outdoor cat jumped on the outside of the window I was standing in front of. She scared me to death but it was also weird b/c she had something huge in her mouth. I decided to go find her and see what she had caught. First let me say that it is raining like crazy outside and that this cat doesn’t meow like other cats. She also does NOT respond to being called by her name, etc. She brrrs and makes a noise like little kids do when they are trying to mimic the sound of a vehicle running. So when you call her we have learned if you make the brrr sound she will come.
I head out back and she runs to the front like she is ready to come in but will only come in the front door (she does this often). Well I go out the front and don’t see her- so naturally, I do what every cat owner does, I stand out in the rain brrr’ing for her. About that time my new neighbor (whom I have met once) steps outside as I am calling for my cat. I try to tone it down and brr quietly for her. Of course the rain picks up and is falling loudly. I am getting soaked and I really do need to get her inside for the night so I am forced to brr even louder. Next thing I know our neighbor is back outside with her husband. I can just hear their conversation “Come see the neighbor girl”! “But, it’s raining like crazy out there.” “No, come see, she is standing out in the rain making strange noises”. So now I have an audience. I continue brr’ing and luckily a few min. later Kali hears me and comes running. She STILL has the thing in her mouth. Not registering what it is and in a hurry to get away from my audience I pick her up. About that time she lets go of what is in her mouth. A huge wood (cock)roach lands on my shirt. I (gently) drop the cat and start dancing around trying to get it off of my shirt. Anyway I am sure we made a great second impression on the neighbors. I got the roach off, waved at the neighbors, gave the hello nod, and took our cat inside! It was quite the event.

Also, this is the second run in I have had with one of these roaches. The first night we moved to Texas our rental house had several of them in the garage. I was less than thrilled. I’m sure you’ve heard everything is bigger and better in Texas. Well it includes these lovely roaches. As I was washing my face, to get ready for bed that night, I grabbed the hand towel to dry my face. As I was drying it something felt awfully strange, when I pulled the hand towel back I realized I was drying my face with the back a wood roach. One of these little treasures had found its way inside and decided to make my first night in Texas a good one! Everyone who lives in this part of Texas says that the wood roaches will come in your house no matter what, that it’s the little ones you have to worry about. They still gross me out. Where I’ve lived before you only get roaches if your house is really dirty. Anyway I have no problem with bugs and spent a majority of my childhood collecting them. However, these bugs and I have never had a good introduction!

Tomorrow is a new day

While we didn't get our referral today we've got lots of great comments that have really helped encourage us. Thanks everyone. I guess all thats left to say is tomorrow is a new day...

21

Tomorrow will make 21 weeks of waiting. It is interesting b/c tomorrow also marks the day my great grandma will turn 95 years old! I think it would be neat if we get the call tomorrow on her birthday. We have been doing fine with the waiting for the most part (a day or two was REALLY hard) but I really do think I have gained a LITTLE more patience. Besides, it's all in Gods timing.

Window

On Wednesday (the 15th) we exited our window. It was a sad day. We have now waited 20 weeks for a referral. It has been more than a year now that we have been working to adopt.

My 7 things

I know I was supposed to post this a while ago but I have been so busy so here it is, my 7 random facts:

1. My parents taught me to snow ski when I was 3 years old. I love it and because of that it has came naturally to me. Now that I live in Texas I miss skiing a lot!

2. I am very much a night owl and not a morning person. Typically if you want me to do anything in the morning good luck! I am a total grouch and don’t mean to be! It takes me a while to get going and my energy increases as the day goes on!

3. I loved the 90’s when over sized t-shirts were popular. I have never given this love up and would wear a slightly over sized t-shirt every day if I had a choice.

4. Part of my nose was cut off when I was little. My best friend and I decided to play king of the snow mound. I won, she got mad climbed back up on it and shoved me off. I slid down on my face and cut my nose on the thickly packed ice. They sewed it back on and to this day my nose looks really funny on that side of my face. It does not bother me at all and I often forget about it until I meet someone new who asks me about it.

5. I am ashamed to say I not a reader. I recently bought the Bible on tape and have really enjoyed it. I have no problems reading -but the biggest reason is that I hate to stop and do something. I typically have 3 things going on at once so it is hard for me to sit and focus to read.

6. I am not a great conversationalist. I say things and mean them nicely but somehow people always misunderstand and think I am meaning something else that would have NEVER entered my mind. Someone told me once that I could tick off the pope giving him a compliment. I guess I am doomed that way!

7. I have become addicted to scrapbooking. I love to learn new techniques and see how each page turns out! I hope that I can still have SOME time for it once we get our baby!

I've been tagged!

Jen was sweet and tagged me to take my mind off the wait! It worked really well and I appreciate it! I have enjoyed blogging back and forth with Jen and getting to know her and her family more. It's amazing the heart the have for God :)! There are a handful of people who have made our adoption so special (for lack of better word). I would say Jen is a big one! Thanks for everything!



While I haven't quite got to type in everything yet, I am attempting to post this from home (which did not work). I will post my 7 random thoughts tomorrow after work. However in the mean time I am not going to play by the rules and go ahead and tag my 7 people!

I love keeping up with these blogs and I tag in no particular order:

Christina- Thanks for all the encouragement you have given me. You really have been a lifesaver the days I have been most discouraged about our adoption and have known exactly what to say! I can't wait for you to get your little one.
Laura- Although I don't wish it on anyone, esp. us, I have enjoyed staying on the wait list these past few weeks with you and our writing back and forth each day! :)
Cindy- While I haven't got to post on this blog as much as I would like (or any blog b/c of our SLOW computer, but it’s more because I never know what to post :) I have really enjoyed reading your blog! I also appreciate you posting on our blog so often! It’s always fun to read your comments!
I would say J&T, Rebecca and Rebecca but they have already been tagged.
Lori S - Another one of those people who have blessed our adoption and another one of those blogs I just love keeping up w/and reading!
Better World- It’s been so fun to watch you start the process and get to where you're at now. It was so cool when you chose Gladney. I can't wait until you get your referral.
The Moaks- Come on guys, it's time to update your blog! Can't wait to get together with you guys w/our kids!!!! Hopefully this will be sooner rather than later. Renee if it hadn't been for you I don't know if I would have looked into Ethiopia! Thanks so much!!!
Tara- Your blog is always interesting and you write the funniest things! I still think you should be a writer! Thanks so much for all of the posts, info, etc!