Update after January Conference Call

Based on what I could decipher from the conference call, we can currently expect a referral around September if they can average 10 referrals per month for the rest of this year. If they are able to get more the time would decrease. A guess on where we are in line based on the information addressed is #75-90 overall.

Also, the wait time to travel after receiving a referral has increased and a lot of families have had trouble passing court the first time. So, we are no longer expecting to travel 2-3 months after receiving a referral. The more likely guess is now 3-6 months it seems (sometimes longer). This news is disheartening, but it is for a good cause. The Ethiopian courts have implemented new procedures to help lessen the risk of child trafficking which is slowing things down and making it harder to pass court in some cases.

Conference call scheduled...

Our next conference call is this coming Tuesday. I already have it on my schedule at work, so I should be able to join this one first hand and report back!

The Sky is FALLING!!!!

Maybe some of the northerners can explain this strange sight to me!!!

Maddie called the strange material snow and tried to catch it on her tongue! Can you imagine?! She also laid in it and made a little man from the white matter!

A Big Girl Bed!

Our adorable daughter informed us that she was a big girl and needed a big girl bed. She had been sleeping on her pull-out Dora couch on the floor for the past few weeks because she was not a baby anymore and her baby bed (toddler bed) was too small. I thought for sure she just wanted a change of pace, but I was mistaken. She is like her Mom, when she gets an idea in her head, it's GOING TO HAPPEN! Hehe!

So here is a big girl bed for our big girl!

Maddie LOVES the fact that her bed wears a tutu (the bedskirt is actually called a tutu and made of tulle). And the comforter (on clearance - YAY!), is ballerina princess themed! Not as lovely/grown up as the Shabby chic quilt I originally picked out, but MUCH cheaper in the long run! And I don't care if this gets dirty!

One Month!

We have officially been waiting one month! This month has FLOWN by and the next few should also! That will make this whole waiting thing a lot easier!

For an update, in December our Agency only made 3 referrals due to some problems with internet cables and not being able to get information. BUT, the first two days they were open this year they made TEN referrals! Yay for all of the families that finally have pictures of their child(ren).

So, based on everything that has happened, we are about 65th in line for the adoptive families we KNOW about. If you take in to account that there are a number of families that we don't know about, the number is more like 70-120. So, our wait time is likely 8-12 months AT THIS POINT. We won't have a good idea on the wait until we're closer to the front of the line! But late 2009 seems like it might be about our referral time. Then it will take 3-6+months for court and travel. So, our son is not likely to be home before early 2010 (no adoption credit or extra dependent in 2009, bummer...it's the CPA in me talking, you know).

Synopsis, since that's a lot info:
1) Currently processing boy dossiers submitted in April (ours was submitted in Dec.)
2) Expected wait to referral is 8-12 months from today (late 2009)
3) Expecting to travel in 2010

We will keep everyone posted as we learn more. We will have another conference call mid-late January.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Maddie!

Well, our little girl has reached the big 3.0! Hehe! On Friday she enjoyed a party at school with cookies and favor bags. Saturday we went to Monkey Joe's and dinner with Colton and Beckett (and Jon and Emma)! A great time was had by all! And today we had just us three for cookie decorating (Maddie wanted birthday cookies intead of cake), present opening and ice skating!

I don't think Maddie will be eager to go ice skating again any time soon, but it was still a lot of fun...for me! And we got a few cute pictures. Maddie had a great time watching everyone ice skating, so we'll be taking her to a hockey game soon! The Charlotte Checkers tickets are quite inexpensive! Maybe next year we'll try roller skating instead! At least those might be easier for her to balance on...we'll see!

Maybe I'm not leaving on a jet plane...

After some major weather delays, I won't be heading to the Windy City afterall! Ends up it was too windy in Charlotte!!! Go figure! So, I will be around. I'll make sure I post the adoption update SOON! Enjoy the rest of your week!

Be back soon!

For my one or two loyal readers (you know who you are):

Since I visited D.C. right BEFORE Obama arrived, I only thought it appropriate I visit Chicago right after he left. Not really, but it sounded good.

I will be heading to the Windy City for a few days, but I will post an adoption update sometime before next Tuesday, I hope! I will have some good, up-to-date information to share at that time. There's a lot going on at AW (our agency) this week!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Happy New Year!

It has been a good day, despite the germs circulating the house! My birthday present from my husband, this wonderful, embarrassing picture! It's free and will provide me many hours of entertainment! There's also talk of a new book...we'll see!

Maddie bought her Mommy an International Barbie toy. It's a little doll with ACCESSORIES! Haha, Maddie can't imagine anything better than a doll with accessories! And, of course, there is nothing better than pink cupcakes with Barbie decorations! So she and Ben made these!


All of the ones with pink flowers on them belong to Maddie, though, OF COURSE!

I hope this New Year is well to everyone!