And this is my present dream

To pass court on the 18th (duh).
AND Travel to Addis before the 2nd week of December.
I said it was a dream, ok?
Anyone want to dream with me?

(Then N gets to spend more time with us b/c he will already be off for the holidays!)

Court date countdown (18 days)

I could play it chill and pretend that I am hopeful but not holding my breath for passing court on the 18th, but that would be a BIG.FAT.LIE. This is for sure the hardest wait that we have felt in this process. We have had some other very hard times, but this wait actually has a timeline. And for better or worse I am planning our life of togetherness which I hope will "officially" begin on the 18th. You can play witness to the next 18 days of our life! :)

Today's fun highlights included a nice long run, the successful feeling of completing a cleaning project and thoughts of some wine this evening.

To balance the fun highlights, I should mention that my true feelings right now are that of total stress and "how in the world can I get everything done" which relates only casually to Y and more to work and other commitments.

Peace out! See you tomorrow and the day after, and the day after that until we reach the 18th!

To market I should go

Ever since we got our court date, the thought that Y will actually be living and breathing in our house has become so real in our minds that sometimes I am overwhelmed. Our defense mechanism for the last year has been "well, we don't really know when things will happen." While that is still true, at least we have some kind of date (that would be November 18th, 2009 in case you forgot). And that makes me think only one thing: holy shnikes we have a TON to do! Good thing I am taking time out of my busy schedule to blog and eat veggie chicken nuggets at midnight! If you name your fears/stresses, doesn't that help them to go away? That's what I'm going with, so here is the list of things we need to do:
1. Choose a middle name for Y
2. Buy a bed/totally make her entire room AMAZING! :)
3. I actually can't think of a number 3, but you can see how 1 and 2 are fairly consuming.

Presently Y owns the following items:
1. "I *heart* MJ t-shirt
2. Colorful Nike's from Aunt J
3. Books from Nanna Main
4. A rug from the Amish peeps in Wisconsin
5. Rocking chair from WR garage sale
6. Cabbage Patch Kid and blocks from Amanda
7. About $20 worth of cute sale clothes from the Gap purchased by myself and N.

What else do you need for a 3 year old? Anything? :) Your thoughts on this issue will be greatly coveted!

We got it! We got it!

A court date that is! November 18th! Way sooner than expected and we are joyful!

Love Letters

During the latter part of our dating "career" N was at home in New Brunswick, Canada and I in Ethiopia. Long before mobile phones and internet hit the rural areas of Ethio, N and I were snail mailing it (Seriously, I still find it strange to be in a taxi with an Ethiopian grandma and her chickens, only to hear her mobile ring and her answer with a "a bait"). I have boxes and boxes of letters that we sent to each other during that time. Some are funny, some are depressing, and all speak of our love for each other and our longing to be together again (ok, you can stop reading if you are grossed out!). I often miss sending those kinds of letters to each other. Now we text message, facebook and e-mail and as of late, leave post-its on the mirror for each other. Those are all good and fine, but there is something about the written word that just feels very intimate.

Tonight we are tasked with our most important love letter. We have until tomorrow at 3:00pm to come up with a letter and photo for Y. We aren't so good with the picture taking, but our friend took the above photo last week and it is good enough! I'm not sure what one says to a three year old who has had her life turned upside down in the last few months with our comings and goings and her move to a new place. Of course we will tell her that we love her and miss her, but what does that mean to a three year old who can only see us through a picture?

We are longing for the time when we are together and we can care for her. And we can love her forever. And we can be her family in a real and tangible way.

Referral

Y was finally and officially referred to us today! (Just to remind everyone we have been patiently waiting for this moment for, um...awhile) It has been a long journey, people. Judging from the looks Y shared with us via her referral photos, things have been tough for her lately too! We did glean some new information from her paperwork:
Her birth date is August 3rd (August is THE birthday month in my family and extended family)
She needs to put on some weight (and we were worried about her candy consumption)
The spellings of her name are as varied as Bjork's wardrobe choices.

Summary:
Gladney (our adoption agency) is now working on our case.
Our paperwork will be submitted for a court date.
Our court date will come at an unknown, but hopefully soon, date!

Things are good!

Sidist

I enjoyed a lovely Ethiopian Easter Sunday in Asco in April. It was the first time in a long time that I have felt a sense of life while being in church. Worshiping (although I did not understand everything) in a congregation of children was a joy to be apart of. I could not help but think that perhaps this was what church truly should be. A place for orphans, the sick (all have HIV, but they sure don't "act" sick) and those who love and care for them.

I came across this photo today and happily remembered this day in April (Y "sat" in the service with me but kept screaming that she wanted candy, so I had to take her out early). I choose this photo to mark our 6th month of wait list life (4/1/09).

Come quickly referral. Come quickly.