We're Back!

We made it back from Ethiopia safe and sound on Wednesday! Our trip was absolutely wonderful! Everyone, including Ms. Morgan, is doing well. We are seriously jet lagged, and sleep is hard to come by with a 6 month old; but this is to be expected. As soon as we get re-acclaimated, I will post about our trip. I will also be sending out the photos to waiting families of the precious babes we met while in Ethiopia!

Travel

Our travel is confirmed! We leave on Jan 2 and return on Jan 12. We are flying Emirates and staying at the Bejoe House. We are so fortunate to be traveling during Ethiopian Christmas, and our embassy appointment is on Christmas Day (in Ethiopia). I am so excited to see how the holiday is celebrated in Ethiopia!

Because it is the Holiday, airline tickets are scarce and expensive. So for those still waiting for referrals, and the possibility of travel around the holidays 2010, be prepared for booked flights and extra fees. Despite this, it is SO worth it! I can't wait!

If anyone waiting would like me to take pictures of your little one(s)/and or bring a care package, I would be more than willing to do so. The pictures we received from other traveling families were priceless! Send me an email at trashawnmd@yahoo.com, and I'll put you on my list.

Happy Tuesday!

It's Official!!!

I know I'm a bit delayed in writing this, but today has been a VERY busy day!

I am very happy to announce that we passed court today! Here she is. I hope you enjoy!

Three Plus One at OneTrueMedia.com

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Congrats

Congrats to my blog buddy Freda! She and her husband passed court on Monday, and will soon be traveling to Ethiopia to pick up their very handsome son, Jordan!!

As for us, 3 more days. Hopefully, you will be introduced to our Baby M very soon!

4 and 14

Today (Nov 20) is Baby M's 4 month birthday! (Happy Birthday to you...!) She is growing so much, and looks so well taken care of. I can't wait to give her lots of hugs and kisses!

Today also marks 14 days until our court date! I am hopeful and prayerful, that Dec 4th will be the day that Baby M is officially our daughter! Just knowing that she is officially ours will make the Christmas holidays so much merrier.

Until then, I am working and keeping busy. Trying to stay focused; but let me tell you, I am NOT. I daydream about her daily, and find it hard to stay on task. I'm starting to lose my appetite just as I did right before and just after our referral. I guess my stress hormones are increasing as we approach our court date. I guess that's not too bad, especially if I can shed a few pounds.

I am also on a mission to clean house. There is serious nesting going on here. I have been cleaning closets and giving things away like a mad woman. My yellow lab watches me as a vacuum, mop, and dust as if she's trying to figure out what's going on, and who's coming to dinner.

Things seem to be falling into place. We are almost ready. Baby M's crib and nursery furniture will arrive on Nov 30, and we should have our updated homestudy in hand momentarily.

Until Dec 4th, I'll be busy figuring out what to cook for Thanksgiving, and how to do it since I have to work on the three days preceding Thanksgiving. I also hope to get some of the bargains after Thanksgiving and start decorating for Christmas.

Waiting is hard, but it sure is nice to be waiting during the holidays when there are so many other things to distract from the wait.

Happy Weekend!

Thank You!

I want to send out a special thank you to Sharon and Emily. They sent us such beautiful pictures and video of our sweet girl. These really made our day! Can I just tell you she is beautiful! I can't wait to share her with all of you.

In preparation for Thanksgiving, I'll just say that I am so thankful for the wonderful traveling Gladney families who carry things across the ocean for us, and take wonderful pictures of our babes while we wait. I cannot wait to return the favor to another waiting family!

Happy Monday

Carmen

Today marks 4 years since my best buddy Carmen passed away. Ironically, it all occurred so tragically on a night just like tonight. It was cold, dark, and raining. I miss her tons and wish everyday that she was here. Carmen was funny. She always made me laugh, and always had good jokes. She was a party girl, and she forced me to "come out and play" when I would bury myself in books during my residency haze days. She was always so supportive, and my son called her his "Car Car". All the kids loved to be around her. She just had that bubbly, loving life type of personality. I never expected to be devastated by the loss of a friend at such a young age, and in such a tragic way. But I feel so lucky to have been blessed with a true friend in Carmen. And although our time together was brief (she passed at the age of 33), I thank God every day for our friendship and the time we spent together. I love you Carmen!

Our trip to Costa Rica...We were just about to do a tree top Canopy Tour. It was so much fun as you can tell from Carmen's cheesy grin. Definitely something to do if you've never done it before. Costa Rica is great for Eco Tourism. I'm a bit of a daredevil, so this was right up my alley!
Carmen hanging out on the beautiful Playa de Conchal. A beach with sand made from seashells. Absolutely beautiful. We had a very lazy, very relaxing day on the beach.
Me and my sister Carmen. What a great time we had!

A Prayer for our Dead.......

We seem to give them back to Thee

O God, Who gave them to us.

Yet, as Thou did not lose them in giving, so we do not lose them by their return.

Life is eternal and love immortal and death is only a horizon,

and a horizon is nothing except the limit of our sight.

Lift us up, strong Son of God, that we may see further; cleanse our eyes that we may see more clearly; draw us closer to Thyself

that we may know ourselves to be nearer to our loved ones who are with Thee. Amen

Court Date!

Thanks for all of the prayers and well wishes everyone. I really appreciate all of the support! I am happy to report that we have a court date on Dec 4th!!

"The Blues"

Earlier this week we received this update on Baby M:

When I walked into Baby M's room today, she was pretty upset. When I picked her up, she quickly calmed down and rested contently in my arms. Though all babies like your attention, Baby M seems to especially enjoy—even at this young age—your looking her in the face and talking to her. When I looked away or stopped talking, she would whimper—or put on a very concerned expression. As I left her with a caregiver, she gave me an involuntary salute as if to say ‘Thanks and see ya later.’”

While I love receiving these updates, they seem to make me miss Baby M more and more. With each picture, and update, I long for the day that this waiting process will be over and we will travel to Ethiopia to pick her up. There are so many high and lows in this process that I am beginning to get discouraged. I guess you could say I have been feeling the blues lately. This waiting for a court date is really getting the best of me. I've tried to be patient, and I guess I'm doing a pretty o.k. job, but I'm not sure how much more of this anxiety is going to be good for me. The uncertainty of this thing is driving me crazy. We've been waiting almost 7 weeks for a court date, and it seems we are having no luck. It's even scarier to read stories of people who received referrals in April (other agencies) and are still waiting for a first court date! Yikes. I guess we're not so bad off after all. I feel for them, but heaven knows I pray that will not happen to us! That would be a nightmare. I'll just continue praying each day that we will hear something very soon; and when we do hear something, I pray our court date will be successful on the first time around.

My profession is very high stress, and people rely on me daily, so the unpredictability of this is making life difficult. I have to try to anticipate when I should be removed from our work schedule because they are made three months in advance. As you can imagine, we are already working on the schedule for February, and I keep telling our scheduler, well I might be out by then, so don't put me on the schedule. Then if things are delayed, I'll have to tell them to put me back on the schedule. It makes my work life miserable, and I constantly have people asking me "when are you traveling to pick up your baby?" I give them a sigh and say, I really don't know.

It's all so discouraging. I feel that we have come so far, yet we are still so far. I have been praying for rapid, and successful court dates for myself and all my blog buddies, and for referrals for those who have been waiting extended periods of time. I'm confident these prayers will be answered, but in the meantime I am only human. Sometimes it feels like my spark for this whole process is being slowly extinguished. I know the folks in country are doing the best they can to get kids to their forever homes in an ethical fashion, but that doesn't really shield the heart. I know that they are likely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of cases they see on a day to day basis since adoptions in Ethiopia have grown so rapidly . Let's pray for them too. I suppose, in the end, things work out just as they should. There is nothing we can do to control this process, so I guess we might as well enjoy the ride.

In the meantime, I'll probably have a good cry, say a prayer, each some chocolate, and watch HGTV.