I emailed our agency today with a few questions, one of which was a possible time line.

She promptly wrote back (as she always does…love her!) and said the wait time is about 2 months! Then another couple months to the first travel dates and another 2 to the final/pick up date.

Of course, all this is approximate and subject to change…either sooner (if we’re lucky) or later (if there’s delays). It’s the end of July now; so her dates are September for referral, November for the first travel (when we meet her) and January for the second travel (to pick her up).

Exciting news

But for now, I’ve got back-to-school shopping and getting ready within the next few weeks, then soccer right after that for Gab & Pierce. And there’s always the church stuff to keep me busy. I’m definitely looking forward to the referral and meeting her, but I think when people look too far ahead, they rush or miss what’s going on now. And for now, I have a busy 2-year-old, a soon-to-be Kindergartner, and a 2nd-year-middle-schooler! I’m sure the time will fly by, as it always does when I blink.

We decided to send for our dossier guide…the paperwork that goes to Ethiopia for the government’s approval.

Wanna see how fun it is? Surprisingly enough, it’s less than we had for the home study. We are accepting volunteers to do this for us

• letter indicating why we want to adopt (done)
• birth certificates for both parents (done)
• marriage certificate (done)
• “good conduct” clearance letters for both parents, notarized by police department
• medical report for both parents, signed and notarized by dr (done)
• 2 home study reports
• letter of employment verification (notarized by employer) (this week)
• letter from bank indicating good standing (notarized by banker)
• letter from life insurance company
• letter from health insurance, indicating policy for adoption coverage
• 3 letters of recommendation from friends/family, signed and notarized by friends/family
• obligation of adoption-reporting, notarized
• verification from United States Citizen and Immigration Services with approval to adopt
• passport photos (done)
• photocopies of passports
• power of attorney; 3 copies, signed and notarized
• copies of past 2 years tax returns (working on it today)

A week ago, Paul was feeling really dizzy….long story short, the doctor said it’s vertigo.  Dizziness for no reason, basically, with no real time line to when it should get better.

I’m really surprised how many people have this from time to time. About half the people I talk to have this or their spouse does. For something that’s so common, I’m wondering why it’s not talked about more!

Recently I read (somewhere) that 2-3% of ER visits are due to vertigo.

Anyway, I just think it’s strange…and I hope it goes away soon.

Please check out my new page, ” Fundraiser FHE Chart”….and even better, order one

(yes, I know that was shameless, but I had to!)

So tomorrow Paul & I are going to go get our FBI & state fingerprinting done.

We have to clear the background check, which won’t be any problem at all. Paul’s had so many security clearances done and they’ve checked me out, being his wife. Plus there’s nothing terribly interesting anyway

This is the last of the home study big stuff…all we have left “to do” is the dr visits. Paul has to get a couple papers signed from work (verification of employment) then we can send stuff in.

I’m glad this part is close to done…of course, then we just move on to 2 more sets of stuff like this

Other than that, nothing new.

So to raise money for the adoption, one of the things we’re going to do is hold a yard sale. Paul said I can sell what I want (Yay!!) so the baby boy clothes and all the baby stuff is going.

We told the agency we want a girl under 2, but are a little flexible, so I’m pretty sure we’ll get a baby that’s not quite a baby anymore

It’s going to be in May. We’re going to talk to friends to see if they have anything they want to get rid of…they can donate it to our sale. So far we have a friend donating a couch, and 2 others said they have stuff for us. This way we’re helping people get rid of things they don’t want anymore, and we’re getting help without asking for money…it’s a win-win!

It’s very exciting to see it all beginning to fall into place!

We finally received word from the agency we chose. We were denied.

They said the group they work with in Ethiopia does not accept applications from Mormons.

They have the right to decide of course, but with so many children that need a home, I don’t think it’s right to base a decision by a church the applicant belongs to.

So we did a little more research and found another agency that will hopefully work out. We send our application in today so hopefully in a week we’ll know.

Yep, another wait….sigh.

So this week is gonna be a little….interesting. Life should be taking a turn, in every area of life.

We’re hoping to hear back from the Agency we were interested in adopting through. I hope to hear they’ve accepted our application and we can move on to phase 2 (of a million).

Paul got a new position in church, one with more responsibility. He’s excited and looking forward to it.

There’s a change at work and he’s hoping to get a promotion.

*sigh*

I’m just not a fan of waiting. I can do it of course…just not a fan. (can you tell I’ve been on FB lately??)

Wish us luck

…for my headache, apparently.

Bleached the shower, headache went away!

Guess the braincells I killed were the ones hurtin’…guess I should be careful how often I do that.

#35

Yes, I’m going to discuss the weather.

If you’ve watched the news lately, you’ve noticed that it’s been snowing a bit here on the east coast. And by “a bit” I really mean WAY TOO MUCH.  We’ve had 2 big storms and lots of flurry days.

I just feel sorry for our chickens. Normally they get to go out in their yard, but with 2 1/2 feet of ice/snow, they’re stuck in their house. Poor things are so bored!! Every time I go out there, they come running to the door to see me, hoping for treats (which they get every day) and some break from the monotony.

I really do try not to complain…they way I look at it and tell Gabby, is this…what if we’re going to have a very dry summer or a drought? And this snow is a blessing in disguise, filling our well so we don’t run out of water? We just never know what’s in store in our future and we just need to take what comes and try to see the silver lining.

That being said, I’m still ready for spring!!!!!