Musings before debate

Oh boy, getting back in to blogging mode is hard. Having spent most of my waking hours these last few weeks working or chasing a two-year-old has left me editorially challenged. A lot has happened, though. Here are a few tidbits:

Spence had a good show at the Cookeville Fun Fest and is gearing up for the Nillie Bipper show in Cleveland, TN. He's building some beautiful new lamps out of walnut and exploring some new shade designs as well as night lights. This is my porch swing -- for sale, of course.

We took a crew of friends down Roaring River one Sunday and everyone emerged alive and well.

I made some new friends in Knoxville at an Ethiopian New Year party of families who have brought home children from Ethiopia and who are in the process of doing so. I didn't get many pictures; I was too busy gabbing with everyone and warming up the injera I brought from Nashville's Gojo. Everyone was super nice and it was so heartwarming to meet their children and hear their stories about Ethiopia. Caroline developed a crush on a young man who was there with his mother and siblings. She followed him everywhere and downright embarrassed me. See her google eyes below.

In a moment of impulse and bravery, I cut off my hair. Kim, this picture is for you. It's a horrible self-portrait in the bathroom of my office today. This is so you can find me at the workshop tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I'm attending the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital International Adoption Clinic workshop. A number of clinicians and psychologists will speak on issues related to adopting internationally (medical, bonding, etc.). Afterward, I'm taking Spence climbing at the indoor climbing gym in Nashville (his maiden climb), then we're going to eat at Gojo. I'm seriously addicted to Ethiopian food and need it at least every other week. I can't wait!!

Now, it's 5 minutes 'til the Mississippi debate, so I gotta go.

All roads lead to Ethiopia

A few little tidbits for you (some bigger than others):

The first Bethany families are headed to Ethiopia in a little over a week: Holly to pick up Bereket and Beth to pick up Levi. Hopefully, Kelli will be on the same plane. Her little girl Ruby has been sick and in the hospital, so she has not been able to get her passport. But she is doing better and should be on her way to a passport soon. Prayers for all these families.


While we wait -- to travel, for referrals, for I-171H's -- a bunch of my blogging buddies are "walking" to Ethiopia. It's a little over 7,400 miles, and we're tracking our personal miles each Friday. It's been very motivating for me to virtual walk with a group. I find myself several times a week saying, "I've gotta get in my miles." I even got up at 6:30 this morning and walked 4 miles. My mom's joined in too.

Two nights ago, I had a dream I was at a party. I was talking to a woman who was from our adoption agency (not our SW). She told me that our date was March 12. She said it reluctantly, like she wasn't really supposed to tell me. I said, "Our referral?" And she said, "Yes, she will have had the baby by then." Now, I don't know what that means, but I was shocked to wake up and remember the actual date. Some of you are probably calculating the wait -- it's 9 months from DTE -- and saying, "Noooo! That's too long." If you are, remember it was just a dream. But I did look and March 12 is a Thursday. I guess we'll see.

Wistful

The other day I was watching Caroline play in her new sandbox. She talked to herself, sang her favorite songs and seemed totally content to play alone.


But it made me a little sad. She has lots of play buddies at day care, but I rarely get to see those moments. It makes me wonder if she'll love having a little brother or sister, or prefer to be a loner. Sometimes she's more independent than I wish she was, but I guess that's a good thing for now. Spence and I are both close with our siblings, and we want that for Caroline too. Hopefully by spring she'll have a little one to get in trouble with.

Ethiopian cuisine in the neighborhood

Yesterday, Caroline and I rediscovered a neighborhood treasure within walking distance of our little Nashville house: Gojo Ethiopian Restaurant. I knew it was there, I'd even been there once when it was a scary hole-in-the-wall. But it always looked so deserted I wasn't sure it was even in business anymore. A few months ago someone painted it a bright orange and changed the name from Lalibela to Gojo. Well, last night we decided to give it a go, and it was an absolute delight.

The little girl who waited on us was from Addis Ababa and had lived in the States for many years. She was still in high school and said she came here for the education opportunities. She was helping out her aunt in the restaurant for the summer. She said a family had come in that same day saying they were adopting from Ethiopia. I wish I knew who? I ordered the vegetarian combo. My favorite was the shiro wet (ground chickpeas) and Caroline liked the ye atkilt wet (green beans). She was not a fan of injera, but she kept trying it thinking it would be more like bread. We'll have to work on that one. I'm eager to take Spence and try some new dishes. I think they will do a coffee ceremony too.

In other news...three Bethany families passed court on Friday and are officially parents of their little ones. They will travel to Ethiopia in the next couple months to pick them up. Yippee!

Excitement and uncertainty

It's definitely been exciting to see new referrals coming to Bethany families much earlier than expected, and largely due to the agency's new relationship with a private orphanage. The buzz on blogs and forums is all about names, travel arrangements, hair care, etc. Which brings me to my current state of mind: paralyzed with indecision. I want to plan, make arrangements, buy stuff, paint, organize and prepare...

Should we be considering names? Well, we don't know if it will be a boy or a girl? And depending on his/her age, we may not change names at all. Should we think about sleeping arrangements? Will he/she share a room with Caroline or will we sub-divide her large bedroom? Should we build a bunk bed or will they share a bed? We don't know if our little one will be 3 months or 2 years, sleeping in a crib or a bed.

And here's the biggie: how do we explain to Caroline why there's a new little stranger living in our house, playing with her toys, sharing her room? Will she be old enough to understand? She could be more than 3 years old or barely 2 when we bring home her new sibling.

I guess I'm just a linear thinker/planner. I need to resolve the next thing in line before I tackle something 6 or 12 months down the road. But I also really like to have my ducks in a row. I thrive on having things figured out. The process of adoption is so the opposite of the that. It's more like hurry, hurry (paperwork), then wait, wait (referral), then hurry, hurry to resolve every detail before you travel and arrive home with your sweet little bundle. Like with parenting, I'm learning to surrender and let things in the universe unfold as God intends, knowing they'll work out eventually. But it's hard...

Two weeks, no word

It's been two weeks since our dossier was sent to Ethiopia. Our social worker said that updates on its progress (authentication, translation, registering, etc.) will be sporadic, so I'm trying to be patient and wait a little longer before I start peppering her with emails. I'll be relieved when it makes it through all the departments and ministries and is simply on a wait list for a referral. Hopefully that will happen within the next week.

Bethany Nashville will hold its quarterly international adoption support group meeting on July 7. I'm excited to learn about the progress of other families, meet some kids who've come home, and find out if any families have joined the Ethiopia program. So far, it's still just us.

Referrals for two families!

Two Bethany families received their referrals yesterday! One family is receiving a very young infant girl; the other a toddler boy. This is incredibly exciting for several reasons:

1. These referrals are the first for Bethany's new Ethiopian program.
2. They came much faster than expected -- as much as 6 months faster. These families and all of us who are following their journey are reeling at the wonderful news.
3. The referrals came from the new private orphanage with which Bethany just contracted and we are not far down the list (we're 8th on the list of families on the Bethany board).

Congratulations to Kelli and Beth (and Holly who accepted a COP referral a week or so ago), who will hopefully travel together this fall. We're so excited for you.

Leavin' on a jet plane*

On 6/6 (that's tomorrow), after 6 months and 6 days of thinking, writing, correcting, chasing, driving, notarizing, sealing and copying paperwork for our Ethiopian adoption, our dossier is finally heading to Ethiopia via DHL . It's heading to Africa along with several other dossiers (I'm not sure whose) and meeting up with 18 dossiers that are already in country.

I don't know what to say except: let the waiting begin! We'll get some sporadic updates along the way as our paperwork works its way through various departments and ministries.

I hope you'll stick with me. I'll try to keep the blog interesting as we wait to bring our little one home.

* I mean the John Denver version, even though I like PP&M and even though JD died in a plane crash. I've just been a John Denver fan since I was knee high to a grasshopper. In fact, I think I'll go pop in a CD now and get hopping on this great big party we're hosting Saturday. More on that later...