My New Hair!

It's not a big secret...I'm going through a mid life crisis. Well kind of. Ever since I turned 30, a few years ago, I've been trying to look younger, be hipper, etc.. I've been wanting to add pink highlights to my hair, seriously! So I didn't get the pink today, but I did get four new colors! I gave the stylist total control of my hair and it was so much fun! I went to the Paul Mitchell School and wow was it a steal! I'm going to do it again in a few months and I think I'm going for the pink next time!

6 Referrals in the Last Two Days!

So for those hundreds of you out there that check my blog daily (sarcasm attached), there have been six more referrals of children in the last two days! 3 boys and 3 girls, ages ranging from 6 months to 6 years. The family that saw their six year old for the first time today submitted their paperwork the same day we did! How excited they must be right now! I can't imagine the elation! So where does this put us on "the list", you ask? Haha! I really don't know. I just emailed our caseworker to get a better idea. In the world of adoption forums, we have an unofficial list and according to it, there are only 4 families ahead of us requesting a girl over 12 months old. The referrals that came in today were not newborns, so the possibility of us getting a child over one is still there. For those of you that know me, you know I over analyze things and that's exactly what I've been doing with this adoption...lol! I have the printed "unofficial" list and I stalk our agency's forum all day long and wait for referrals to come in and then I excitedly cross their names off MY list! My list is in no way accurate, because people add their information voluntarily. I like my list because it's probably shorter than the actual list and it makes me feel like this adoption will actually happen some day.
Are you ready for more over analyzing? Soooooo, IF our agency gets another batch of referrals like they did today in the same age range, we could very likely receive a referral REALLY soon, like REALLY SOON! I know I've been saying that for like ever, but it's the wishful thinking part of me.

Miles had a really great time at school with his classmates on his birthday! Daddy surprised him and snapped some pictures! I will post soon. We went out to eat as a family and he was overjoyed to receive some birthday presents! I wonder where he gets his zelousness from? HaHa! He has his birthday party this weekend and I really hope some of his new friends show up. If not, it will be Miles, me and Brandon and his grandparents watching a magician show and running around the Willard Recreation Center....lol! That would be a great photo op!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MILES!

So my baby is four years old today! I can't believe he is that old! I am just simply crazy about him!

Updates

Family
Everything is going great here! Brandon loves his new job and has started classes online. I am involved in everything! And Miles just learned how to write his name! He will turn four next week and I am so proud of him. He is just a sponge.
He just finished his soccer season and boy was that work! He really didn't like it until he "won" a trophy. There was eight weeks of drills teaching them the skills to play soccer and then the final week there was a game. It was hectic! Every parent was on the field with their child and cheering them on to make a goal and about 10 three and four years old were throwing tantrums when they didn't get the ball. This is him upset because he didn't get the ball.
Miles did make the first goal! I was trying to let some of the other kids get a chance and he didn't like that. Well they issued trophies to all the kids and this is him realizing that soccer isn't so bad.

So we received our team pictures and Miles is such a clown, I tell you! His personality is really starting to shine and it's becoming VERY obvious that we have an entertainer on our hands. He loves to be funny and I think we are going to look into getting him into classes at the local children's theater. See if you can find the teachers child in this photograph...lol!

He will be starting basketball next week. What are we doing to ourselves?

Our garden is coming along. We added mulch to the raised bed and I'm hoping to plant strawberries in it. Imagine a yearly supply of fruit from about 30 strawberry plants! I have to talk Brandon into it first. Originally, that bed was supposed to be for spring vegetables. But I was thinking we have so much room in our yard to build another raised bed, so why not use it now and plant our strawberries? He is going to kill me! It was a lot of work, but it all for the good right? We also added four blueberry plants that are two years old (pictured on the right), so they will produce a handful of berries this summer and in the years following each plant will produce about ten pounds!
Adoption
So we passed our 3 month waiting mark and didn't even realize it! There haven't been any referrals in the last week and a half, so there hasn't been much news. We do think we will be given a referral by Christmas and are hoping to travel by February. It's just hard to know much right now because it really depends on when the families ahead of us are given their referrals. The families that are getting referrals right now waited about 6 months.

Our First Missouri Garden

Those of you who know me, know that I get really excited about my vegetable garden. I know it's not the time of year to start planting things, but I had to get it started. We modeled this garden after a friend of mines. This garden is the same size as our Corpus Christi garden (4x20), but it is raised. We laid down chicken wire, landscaping cloth, mulch, and then the cinder blocks. We won't plant any veggies until next year, but I couldn't wait to get it laid out. I did order some blueberry bushes and am working on finding some strawberries. As you can see from the pictures, I have plenty of room for some corn, wheat and some apple trees...lol! You think I'm kidding. In the spring, we'll be fencing in the yard and planting all kinds of goodies. And then we will be Little House on the Prairie...you know Laura Engles was from this area...Ha!

8 Referrals in the Last Two Weeks!

So I know I haven't been the best blogger lately. Honestly, there has not been that much news for us. Some of our blog friends have received their referral, which is always exciting to see someone else go through the motions. After the Ethiopian Courts opened, there has been a flood of children being referred to families. Last week there were 5 referrals, 4 girls and one boy. And this week there were 3 referrals, 2 girls and 1 boy. The girls are coming in really young, like under 2 months. I'm kind of freaking out here, because it's looking like we will get a referral of a young girl before we'd get a referral of a girl over one. Don't get me wrong, what God gives us is our child. I was just mentally prepared for a toddler. It's exciting either way!
As for where this puts us on the waiting list, who knows? But in my own research, and from what our case worker told us a few months ago, we are probably around 15 families ahead of us for babies and the same for toddlers. So hopefully really soon.
We still haven't worked on her room. After a few years of disappointments, I am kind of scared to do it, honestly. I know it's going to happen, I just want to give myself a little more time. From time of referral until travel is looking like 2 months, so at the rate I go, I'll have plenty of time then!

ETHIOPIAN COURTS OPENED TODAY!!!!!!!!

The Ethiopian Courts opened today a week early! Praise God! So there will be many adoptive parents and agencies trying to get a court date for their referrals they received before or during the court closure, so the back log may be there for a little while, but they are open and can process orphans, so this means the referrals of children are in the near future and we are just a little bit closer to baby Marley!

Because of the age range we selected we know our baby is on this earth right now. We have been praying for her to be here by December 31, 2008, which means we would have to receive a referral like right now for that to happen. It's possible. Please continue praying for our baby. Right now the only thing I can think of is how hard it must be for her family to give her up. We, as adoptive parents, don't go into this wanting a child so much that we forget that someone is loosing thiers. Our daughter will probably be about a year old and that is a whole year she has gotten to be with her family. I truly hope that we are able to meet her family.
In the midst of waiting, we are settled into our new town and love it! I'm involved in multiple play groups, a prayer group, I volunteer at the church and I'm working on updating our family scrap book, I'm about a year behind. Brandon loves his new command and is active with Miles' soccer team. Miles really enjoys his new school and church. He goes to pre-school two times a week for the whole day and when we pick him up, he doesn't want to leave. He really enjoys learning and playing with a bunch a kids all day. I swear sometimes I think we should be brining two home for him, instead of just one. He needs siblings bad! It was 49 degrees this morning...brrrr! You guys know me, I got my heating blanket out!

2 Months Waiting Today!!!

So today marks the day our dossier arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia two months ago! AND, the Ethiopian courts open in three weeks! Yeah!

Preparing for Marley!

So last week our agency had 6 referrals! They are starting to come quickly and as soon as the courts open they will be coming faster! Our agency also added a 6th orphanage from which they pick children up from to refer to waiting parents like us. This 6th orphanage is only working with our agency, and they work towards trying to help mothers keep their children. Being PAP, prospective adoptive parents, it's so easy to just want this child. But we have to remember that in our anxiety, there is a family that is struggling with their live or struggling just to feed their family. We encourage you, our blog friends and family, to get involved in helping with humanitarian aid in Ethiopia. We have contributed, even in the midst of trying to pay for our adoption. So the referrals that our agency had last week didn't move our place on "the list." They were mainly infants and boys.
I went to a consignment sale for Mother's of Multiples at a local church this weekend, looking for jeans for Miles, he's growing so fast. I didn't find any jeans, but I did find Marley's crib set! And what a steal! This is a Pottery Barn set and is in Imaculate condition. I got this set for $20! Yeah! We won't be painting for putting up her crib until we recieve the referral, and because her room is currently my scrapbook room...lol!

Ethiopian Courts Open in ONE Month

The Ethiopian Courts open on October 9, 2008! That's one month from today. After the courts open, they can start the process of processing orphans and declaring abandoned or children as orphans and put them up for adoption. Many of the children in Ethiopia are not abandoned, but given up by their family for a better life, or because they can no longer care for them. These babies in Ethiopia are very loved.
So when the courts open, we should start seeing some more referrals of children. We are still praying for our daughter to be home by December 31, 2008. We have been praying for this date for about 6 months now and we have faith that it will happen. Honestly, it's beginning to look like it might take a miracle, but hey, we are always welcoming miracles! So for our prayerful friends out there, please keep us in mind and be praying that our daughter will be home with us by the end of this year.