We Choose You!

First thing this morning we signed the Referral Acceptance Letter, and the check, as they say, "is in the mail". You can see how happy DH was...sorry no picture of me signing since i was in my pajamas- complete with "Get R Dun UW" tshirt (classy, I know). Next up: AWAA is able to request our court date in Ethiopia. We should find out our court date in about 3 weeks. So, we wait...hey, we're pretty good at that!
1 John 3:1 is what is in my mind today, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are!" How great.

Referral Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today seemed like an ordinary day. Big boy went to school like usual. T and I went to the consignment shop to drop off the double jogging stroller (in great condition...hmmm..who's kidding who here?)...and we were headed to buy crawfish for dinner. I was on the phone with DH, rejoicing that the consignment store had accepted all our goods (meaning: more $$ for girlie baby stuff) and I passed up the Starbucks, wanting a Frap soooo bad, but decided to skip it (partly because of Dave Ramsey and partly to wait until we had a referral to celebrate). Toby Mac "made to love you" playing on the radio, and Terra calls...I knew. I kept shouting "its 703!" to DH and then hung up on him. I recognized Terra's voice and I pulled into a bank and was just weeping in the car while Terra connected dean to the call. We don't have tinted windows on our minivan so there were some nervous people in the parking lot of the Chase Bank. I think they were worried that I had snapped because of the economy and that I might do something rash. he he! We cannot tell you much about her, as we want to respect Ethiopia's laws but: she is an older baby/ young toddler...and she is beautiful. She looks very delicate and small (kind of like my T) and has a pouty mouth and the cutest tiny pigtails:))) funny: my youngest son things she looks like kai-lan...the little Chinese girl from the Noggin show ni hao kai-lan... the boys were most impressed with her hair and thought she was cute. She looks like a JG. Sometimes the most ordinary days can be extraordinary.

Ten things for JG

We have made it to our Tenth Monthiversary of our dossier traveling across the sea to Ethiopia. It sits in an office somewhere in Addis Ababa, hopefully near the top of the stack...waiting... So, i was going to write a funny (or at least i thought so) Top 10 List of reasons why i BETTER get a referral this month...but i thought better of it when i realized i sounded like a selfish kid, believing that the world revolves around me. So, instead i decided to post 10 things i want JG to know...things I hope she can look back on to remember the time we were waiting for her.
Ten things I want you to know: (for our JG)
1. You were loved before we met you, before we saw your sweet face and there is nothing you can do that will make us love you less.
2. Yes, I have received children out of my natural body…and I love them with an astonishingly strong love. I have birthed you with no less tears, no less longing, and no less joy.
3. Adoption was not a second-choice for us. We had this purposed in our hearts from long ago…you, my dear, are the answer to a fourteen year old girl’s prayer.
4. I will say it again. You were not our second choice. You are the princess that your daddy slayed dragons and fought for.
5. Sometimes you will feel lonely and sad for your birth-family and land, and that is okay. We are happy to listen, cry with you, and dry your tears. Your sadness will not break you, and it will not break us either.
6. We will never give you up. We will never give you away. Never. Even if you beg us.
7. Your skin may not look like mine, or daddy’s, or your brothers’….it is the most perfect shade of brown! You were painted by an artist who is more brilliant than Monet. You are an impression of your Father’s glory.
8. Your mommy & daddy are not perfect. I eat anchovies on my pizza, and daddy’s feet stink. We do not expect you to be perfect either.
9. I pray that you will live a life full of joy, full of love, full of faith. Life may not go as you would have planned, but I hope that you can sing along to the melody of God’s song for you.
10. We want to see your face soon. We want to hold you close, gaze into your eyes, to smell your hair, to see you smile. We will wait patiently.

Court date shuffle!

Well, things are moving for a lot of Ethiopia families with referrals! Most people are recieving court dates 3 months after their referrals, but many of the families with April court dates got news yesterday that their NEW court dates were in March!!!
This court-shuffle effects us because if we recieve our referral April 9th (the longest wait ESTIMATED), then it is now likely that our court date will fall before court closures (beginning of August until beginning of October). Good news for us!
To summarize for my peeps that do not speak Adoption-ese:
DTE: the date paperwork travels to Ethiopia. this determines your place "in line".
Referral: you are matched with a child- you find out their age & see their picture for the first time.
Court: happens in Ethiopia without us...it has been taking about 3 months after referral, but is starting to move a little faster:)
Travel: about 2-3 weeks after a successful court date. We will be in Ethiopia for about 1 week.

Fat Tuesday Points to Ponder

So, since it's Mardi Gras, i thought i would share the wealth of my info on cajun slang:
"boude": to pout, or be mad.
"envie": a craving.
"possede": a bad, naughty kid, (it comes from the word for possessed).
"pass a slap"/"watch the slap": i'm going to slap you!
"The mouse": the cajun version of the tooth fairy is a mouse:)
check out more at: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/5949/Help/cajun1.html#A
Yes, we are still waiting! No, no word! And while jambalaya is on the menu for tonight, I'm actually trying to diet, since my boys started asking if the only baby coming was the one from Ethiopia:) Possedes!!!!!

Pass the Fanta, Britney!

We are # 4 in the girl line!!!! I am thinking March will be our month.... so i celebrated by buying a crib skirt from Pottery Barn Kids (on clearance, of course). I thought i would never say these words...but i am worried that JG's room may have too much pink. Nah, momentary lapse of judgement!

9 Monthiversary of DTE and "You might be adopting if"...

Well, on our 9th Monthiversary of our DTE (we are now within our expected wait time of 9-11 months), I have decided to put my AWAA Yahoo group addiction to some good and do something fun!!!
You might be Adopting from Ethiopia if….
You have a blog.
Most people who read your blog are also adoptive parents.
Your family has been compared to Brad and Angelina’s by people you don’t really know.
You have considered getting an epidural for dossier preparation.
You have ever yelled at a USCIS worker.
You have ever asked your Senator to yell at a USCIS worker.
You spend more time on Yahoo Group than watching TV.
You think a NAG is a good thing.
You are starting to use acronymns for everything (ET, YG, NAG, DTE, TTD, DH, BTDT, RR).
You have Kari’s phone #, and you’re not afraid to use it!
You can tear up in church at the CCLI words at the bottom of the screen because they read “Billy/Cindy Foote”.
You email Pete when you have computer problems as if he is your personal Tech Support.
You consider Steven Curtis Chapman like a long lost member of your family.
You know your exact # in line (well, OF COURSE not counting mystery families).
You say the words “mystery families” with a growl as if they have personally done you some bodily harm.
You have ever called a forty-something woman a granny to her face and she considered it a complement.
You have a lot of Facebook friends that you have never met…but you have written encouragement on their pages, and cheered them on as they’ve brought their babies home.
You kind of enjoyed getting your shots, because it meant you were one step closer to Africa.
You, at all times, are able to calculate the time in Addis Ababa.
You enjoy telling people that you are “18 months pregnant” and complaining of back aches.
You have pregnancy cravings which your hubby indulges.
People are starting to insist you write a book about your adoption experience: possibly because you have learned so much, possibly because they want you to stop talking to THEM about it, and possibly so your book can fund your next adoption and you will stop sending out fundraising letters.
You would rather see the area code "703" show up on your caller ID than oil flowing out of your backyard. (HINT HINT Terra...please call me soon!)
You have more Adoption fundraiser T-shirts than you have underwear.

9 Months!!! We are #5ish in the girl line, and by this time next month we could have our referral!!!