Merry Christmas

Another Move!!

There was another referral today, which brings us down to #29 on the Baby Girl list and still #15 on the Toddler Girl list! Congrats to all the families who received referrals this week!!

Baby Girl Wait List Movement!

Wow! We moved down 2 spots in one day on the Baby Girl list!!! We're still #15 on the Toddler Girl list.

Heart 4 Hearts Rahel from Ethiopia

Check out this ADORABLE doll I purchased from Target through Amazon for $24.99.  Can't wait to get it!!!! I think its going to be a few weeks since they are out of stock, but I just couldn't pass it up!! You can also purchase directly from Target and ToysRUs although they are out of stock as well last time I checked.

Ethiopia Wait List Movement

More Ethiopia Wait List Movement!

Ethiopia Wait List Movement - AGAIN

Ethiopia Wait List Movement

Ethiopia Wait List Movement

We moved up one spot on the Toddler Girl list.....

And then we moved up another spot on the Toddler Girl list a few minutes later!!

We're now at #18 on the TG list and still #35 on the Baby Girl list. WOW!

Ethiopia Wait List Movement - AGAIN

Exciting!

More Ethiopia List Movement!

The Toddler Girl list moved up one spot today! Woohoo!

Ethiopia Wait List Movement

There was wait list movement today on the Baby Girl list! We moved up to #35!  Still at #22 on the Toddler Girl list. I love list movement!!

What's New & Exciting?!?!?!

Well, we decided to add ourselves to the end of the Toddler Girl list today!!!  We're actually already approved for the age range 0-36 months so are now on the Baby Girl list (0-24 months) and the Toddler Girl list (24-36 months)!!!  I thought for sure the Toddler Girl list would have been at a higher number, maybe in the 30's, but was pleasantly surprised and a little shocked that we are #22!!! I think there is a very good chance we're going to have a toddler!! The estimated wait time (which was last published in July) is 6-12 months, as opposed to the Baby Girl list which is 12-18 months.  Right after getting added to the Toddler Girl list, I immediately started feeling like we need to get busy around here and start child-proofing and getting some projects done! I'm just so excited now to be on 2 lists!!!

Ethiopia Wait List Movement

:-)

Ethiopia Wait List Movement - AGAIN

Moved 2 spots on the list today! This is SO exciting!!

Ethiopia Wait List Movement

Ethiopia Wait List Movement - Keep 'em Comin'!

We are now at #41... 

No, wait, what's this? We are really at #40!!!

 

I couldn't even believe it when I checked our agency's update site! I think both referrals were for toddler girls.  We have been seriously thinking about going on the toddler girl list as well as the infant girl list. The main reason is that even though we've been moving along nicely on the list so far, I don't recall seeing any referrals for infant girls. So we only moved on the list because those people were on the infant girl list as well as other lists. At some point we'll probably hit a point where everyone before us is only on the baby girl list and then there may not be much movement for a while, maybe months. Our homestudy is approved for up to 36 months so we can go on the toddler girl list for 24-36 months I believe.

Ethiopia Wait List Movement - AGAIN

Wow! A sibling group of 3 kids got a family today! That's so cool! And up another notch we go (they were probably on the infant girl list as well as sibling list).  I'm surprised and excited about the movement of the list thus far. Not only are many children getting families, but I am that much closer to my baby girl!

Ethiopia Wait List Movement

I love list movement!!

Nothing really new on this end so I haven't been posting much.

Ethiopia Wait List Movement

I LOVE seeing list movement!! We are now at number 44!

Ethiopia Wait List Movement - AGAIN

Another referral today! Which means we are now at #45! Wow!

Ethiopia Wait List Movement

We are at #46 now!! Yippy!  So far it's been 4 months and we've moved 4 spots. Not bad. There was an agency update a few weeks ago that basically stated that with all the changes to the Ethiopia program that the wait time estimates have increased to the following:

1. Infant girls:  12-18 months
2. Infant boys:  12-15 months.
3. Toddler girls:  6-12 months
4. Toddler boys:  4-8 months
5. Children over 5 years:  3-6 months
6. Siblings:  We cannot predict, as there is such a wide variety of what families on this list are approved for.

I was having a bit of a hard time with this initially. Probably because I'm so afraid of it turning into what happened with China with the wait time continuing to increase, and of course because the longer it takes the older I get. But we shall see. I really hope we'll be matched some time next year. And even better if we can travel to get her before Christmas 2011. One can hope.

Ethiopia Wait List Movement

We are now number...

USCIS

Went to USCIS to get fingerprinted this morning, which seems to have gone well. Met somewhat of a local "celebrity" in the New York adoption community (I would say so anyway). WAY back when we were rushing to meet the China deadline 3 years ago, I had found a contact name of someone at the Manhattan USCIS office from a couple different local Yahoo groups, Mr. Hernandez. I've read good things about him being helpful and all that.  We had contacted him by phone once or twice about expediting our paperwork (deadline was approaching fast) and we even drove into the city to go in person to the office back then. We didn't actual meet Mr. Hernandez then (even though we did ask for him), but I believe his assistant/co-worker had to get him to approve something for us and had disappeared into the office and came back with our fingerprinting appointment..FOR THAT SAME DAY! Only thing we had to do was drive as fast as possible back in the other direction to another location before they closed. LOL Which we did and managed to get our I171H in time to meet the deadline.

So anyway, back to today. This time our appointments were in a USCIS much closer to us. We got there early and were taken right away. Freddy went to the back of the room first where they did his.. then I went with another guy to do mine. We were a couple of sections apart but I could see him and heard him talking with the girl doing his fingerprints.  Another guy had gone over to the area where he was and they were all chatting and laughing, although I couldn't hear what they were talking about.  Then when my prints were done I sat back down and waited for him to get done. What I didn't realize was that he was already done but was chatting it up with the guy that walked over to his area. Then Freddy starts walking toward me the other guy disappears into an office and he was like "you know who that was right?"  And immediately I said "Mr. Hernandez?!?"  LOL Like I am old friends with the man or something and it could only possibly be him. LOL And it was! I was like why didn't you tell me!!  lol  So when he came back out of the office we went back to chat with him a little. He had remembered our names.. which is a pretty common name and FROM 3 YEARS AGO! What was really funny was that while Freddy was doing his fingerprinting and Mr. Hernandez had gone over there, he was actually the one that said to Freddy that he recognized the name and said to Freddy that Freddy probably knows him. And when he told him his name Freddy told him it sounded familiar, but it took him a minute to link it since he's in a different office, then it hit him. Then apparently, the guy doing my fingerprints said something funny and I laughed and Freddy told them "That must be my wife laughing at me for not immediately knowing who you are".  LOL  Ok so if I had actually heard what they were talking about I probably would have been laughing.  LOL

So we chatted a bit about the new adoption and about how he ended up in the new office due to USCIS centralizing it's process now and then left. I know this means nothing to anyone (unless #1 - You live in NY and #2 if you've been desperate to find a contact name at USCIS that can help you..AND came upon the name Mr. Hernandez. LOL) but I just wanted to document it here and I really did feel like I was meeting a celebrity.. LOL Oh my sad little world!  LOL  I did manage to resist the urge to ask for his autograph! A valid  I171H will have to suffice!

China: 38 Months Waiting.

10 Things..

Transracial Adoption & Adult Adoptees

Lately I've been reading a lot of transracial adult adoptee blogs and have found them to be very interesting and informative tools to learn more about adoption and identity from the perspective of the adoptee, which after all, will be my child(ren) one day. I really appreciate those bloggers for being so open and honest about their lives, and even though I am sure they don't all blog to enlighten adoptive parents and potential adoptive parents, I'm grateful to have the opportunity to be able to read their stories and to be able to be open to being enlightened (I hope that made some sense! lol ). I will say that some of posts may not easy to read (maybe they weren't easy to write either), but I still find it important to be exposed to it and that's really my main point for posting this.

At some point I came across the below blog post and I've seen other adoption blogs link to it since then so I figured I'd post it as well.

John Raible Online - Crash Course in transracial parenting

Great information about books, movies and links to other adoptee blogs, some of which I've added to my sidebar and have been going through. I think it's a great place to start if your looking to learn more about various transracial adoptee perspectives. I've included some of the books from the post below.



Happy reading!

Fingerprint Appointments!

We send out our I600A application to USCIS on 6/2 (overnight) and I received our fingerprinting appointments in the mail today!! Our appointments are for 6/22, less than 2 weeks away! Wow! That was pretty quick! I wonder how long it will take to get our I171H after that.

On another note, I can't believe it's June already! One month and a day since getting on the wait list and already down 2 spots! The estimate wait time till referral is supposed to be about 8-12 months, which I think will probably be at least 12 months since the list seemed to have shot up in the past couple of months. Eight months would be January 2011 and 12 months would be May 2011. I just hope that we can get her home before the end of 2011. Oh I CAN'T wait!! :-)

We Picked A Name!

When we decided to start an adoption from Ethiopia we decided that we'd pick a new name for our future Ethiopian daughter instead of using the name we picked for our future Chinese daughter, Raven. I just feel that that is our Chinese daughter's name and if we don't get to complete that adoption then we won't be using it at all.

ANYWAY, we decided on the name Alicia, pronounced "ah LEE sha". One thing I like about it is it has the same first two letters as Freddy's given name. Freddy also likes the spanish connection & pronunciation "ah LEE see uh". I think it's a pretty and feminine name. I've had it in my head for a few months now and it's definitely the one. :-)


Most likely we will use "Alicia" as her first name and use her Ethiopian name as her middle name, depending on how old she is when we receive her referral and what her Ethiopian name is. We might keep her Ethiopian name as first name and use Alicia for middle name. Not sure yet, but we will in some form be keeping her Ethiopian name.

Ethiopia Wait List Movement

A family accepted a referral of a six-month old baby boy today so we get to move up on the list one spot (they were probably on the baby girl list as well which is why we get to move up a spot). Congrats to that family!

Dossier To Ethiopia!!!

I wasn't expecting to get an email from our agency today, but I just happened to check and received an email stating that our dossier is on it's way to Ethiopia!!! WOW! I knew that they had sent it to DC to be authenticated. Pretty exciting!

China: 37 Months

I haven't really been keeping track of China referrals or updates lately. It's too much. I'm trying to just focus on our Ethiopian adoption right now and some adoption books that I've been reading. Plenty to keep me busy! No newly finished craft projects yet either. Slowly working on finishing another crocheted blanket, but that's about it.

List Movement!

If I have this right, I think we just moved up one spot on the list today! According to our agency site, a family accepted a referral for 2 four year old boys today and that family was on all the lists (baby girl, baby boy, toddler girl, toddler boy and siblings) and everyone (after a specified number) moves up one slot.. so we are now at #49 (if i have that right). Very exciting!

ON THE LIST!!!!!

YES!!!!!!! I decided to check my email a little less than an hour ago and saw the email from IAN that WE ARE ON THE LIST!!!!!! #50!!!!!! YES! YES! YES!

So now we official get to wait more, but just to be on the list is such a huge relief. Now we just watch the list go down down down till they get to us. I'm not even going to try to predict how long that is going to take, but hey, I've been waiting a looooong time already. I'm used to it at this point. LOL

YES!!

Tracking..

I'm not stalking Fedex..

(woohoo!)

Final Docs Off To Agency!!

I received the last documents I needed from our home study agency and Fedex'd everything to our agency today!!!! They should have it tomorrow morning!! I hope all of that is in order and we will hear something by end of day tomorrow.. although I have a feeling I will have to suffer through the weekend before getting on the waiting list. It's going to be a loooooong weekend!!

Oh and it's our 5th wedding anniversary too today!!

No Documents Today..

Maybe tomorrow... if tomorrow, then homestudy and final docs can be with agency by Friday. Probably won't get on the list till next week.

The baby girl list is up to #50. Ouch. When we started in Jan it was at #24. More than doubled. Can I make it in at or under #55?

We shall see.

Sooooo Close...

Today we received our home study in the mail!! I was sooooooo excited as I was all prepared to turn around and throw that and a few other agency required docs into a Fedex envelope and ship it off to our agency, but then noticed that the home study agency left out 2 docs that we need. We called them and they had the 2 docs right there, already filled out and will send them today so hopefully we will get them by Wednesday. We also called our agency and they said that as soon as they get the rest of the docs, they bring them over to the placement agency and we should get on the waiting list shortly after that, hopefully by end of this week, assuming the homestudy agency mailed out the remaining docs today and assuming we get them by Wednesday. I was a little bummed because I feel like we should have gotten our homestudy a little sooner than we did, and then for it to be missing documents that I specifically requested, well I was a little annoyed. But hey, we're still soooooo close to getting on the list!! A few days isn't going to matter that much in the long run.

China LID - 3 YEARS!

Well today we've been officially logged in to adopt from China for 3 YEARS! Whoa. I'm not really following/posting about referrals anymore because, well, it's a little overwhelming. And of course I am focused right now on our Ethiopia adoption. Three years have seem to have flown by, but at the same time dragged, if that makes any sense. I really don't know what the future of our China adoption is right now. We'll see what happens once we get back from Ethiopia with our first daughter. Ironically, China has currently referred up to LIDs of April 17th, 2006, so only 365 more LIDs to go.. LOL

Speaking of the Ethiopia adoption, we're just waiting for the homestudy agency to mail the homestudy to us so we can send it to CCAI. Not sure how long after that it takes to get on the waiting list but I am getting a little anxious to get on it already! I hope we get the homestudy this week!

Home Study is DONE!

WOOHOO!! I'm just waiting for the HS agency to get it notarized and mail it to me!!! Then I can send our agency the rest of the IAN docs and the home study and that's it!! Soooooo close to getting on the waiting list!!!

I finished another half-finished project from probably a couple years ago.. lol



I'm actually a crocheting fool these days.. lol ... and I started crocheting another one too. And last year I made a wooden dog food holder. Well I actually made 2 back then, the first one was too tall for Dexter (the bigger dog) at the time, so I never stained it and built a smaller one. Well now Dexter is big enough for it, so stained it today and will give Yoshi the smaller one, which I hope isn't too tall for him and Dexter can use the taller one now. Almost finished with that one, have to polyurethane it still. Then another half-finished project finished! This is a picture of it I took last year.


It's so funny because I am on this kick to finish all these projects all of a sudden. Maybe it's kind of a nesting thing or something.. LOL Whatever it is I hope it sticks around because I have a bunch of less fun projects to do too, like patching the holes in the wall a certain puppy put in them last year! I think he's finally done chewing on things inside the house! He's moved on.. now he's into destroying my backyard! But who can get mad at that face???

Dossier Passed!

Got an email from our agency (CCAI) today that our dossier (minus the homestudy) passed critical review!! Our homestudy is still being reviewed by IAN so once we hear back about that the social worker can get all that stuff together and get it to us so we can send it back to CCAI for everything to go off to IAN. Should hear something next week I hope!

Ironically, next Saturday (17th) will be 3 years officially logged in with China. I hope to be celebrating by sending off my final (Ethiopia) homestudy to the agency by then!!!!! LOL

Dossier is in CO!

Yesterday I sent off all our Dossier documents, except for the home study report, including 2 sets of copies to our agency!!! The homestudy report is in final review at the agency. Once that is done and our social worker gets it printed and notarized I can send that back to the agency and hopefully get on the waiting list after they send everything to get authenticated and then off to Ethiopia!!! I had the rest of the dossier docs completed, sitting here since Monday and was just itching to get rid of them! This will also give the agency opportunity to review everything to see if anything needs to be corrected, which I hope nothing will need to be. I had previously sent the agency some of the documents to review as we were going along so I think we should be good.

I'm starting to feel a little anxious now.. haha I want sooooo bad to get on the list and to move on the next stage of waiting, as odd as that sounds. Let's hurry up and get on the list so we can wait some more!!! lol

Updates

Our child abuse clearances apparently came through March 8th!! wooohooo!! Our social worker updated the homestudy with the revisions that our agency requested and has already sent it back to them for final review!! I went to the city Monday to get the required documents certified, so all we need right now is copies of the homestudy!! Soooooo close!!! I've made the required number of copies of all the dossier documents (except the homestudy) already. I am getting so excited! Can't wait to send that package off to the agency and get on the waiting list already. I know the numbers have gone up a bit since the end of January when the end of the list was at #24, and I think I just read somewhere that someone who just got on the baby girl list is at #31 and I also read that the estimated wait, once you get on the waiting list until you get a referral is 8-12 months now for an infant girl. I forget what it was for an infant boy, but it was about half I think and toddler girl/boy was about the same as infant boy. Our homestudy says 0-36 months so I believe we can change our preference if we decide to down the line for a toddler girl (24-36 months) should we choose to. I am also REALLY thinking about going back to Ethiopia to adopt our second child still (and dropping out of China). When it comes right down to it.. I want a child in this house.. period.

ANYWAY.. I made another little dress over the weekend and I FINALLY finished crocheting that little blanket I previously posted about. I found another half finished crocheted baby blanket in the closet so I'm working on finishing that too. Trying to keep busy so I don't obsess over getting on the waiting list too much! hahaha

I think that's all for now. Not must else going on.
Peace.

Sinuses & Sewing

I couldn't think of a better title for this post. LOL

First up, my sinuses are KILLING me! I have a sinus infection and down to the last day of anit-biotics tomorrow and yet it feel like I have a screwdriver going through my head. This seems to be a new recurring thing lately. I thought the Zyrtec-D was working, but I don't know if it's the infection or what but it's not working. Zyrtec-D and 2-3 Tylenols, then we can talk, at least for a little bit. Anyone out there in blogger-land have any suggestions for a killer sinus headache? Oh and the new thing is when I drink something cold, it goes straight to my head, like brain-freeze but without the fruity tasting Slushie.

ANYWAY... next is sewing. I've been on a mission. Not just sewing but crocheting too. As I start some new projects I've been forcing myself to finish some older projects that have sat around for a while. I recently finished this little dress I started probably about 6 months ago, maybe a little more.

Then there is the little baby blanket I've probably been working on for a couple of years off and on.. haha I have to be in the mood to crochet, and actually remember that I have something to crochet.. haha. It's still not finished, but I'm really close to finishing it.

Then there are the new projects... I finished the curtains for the nursery and a matching little crib quilt. I have more of the fabrics I used to make a crib skirt, sheet, pillows, etc.




I'm trying to decide what is next. Whatever it is, it has to be done with existing fabrics.. LOL I'm banning myself from the fabric store.

Tomorrow will be 5 weeks waiting on child abuse clearances. It's supposed to take 4-6 weeks. So any day now. Our homestudy is with our agency bring reviewed (I hope). Once the clearances come thru, and the homestudy is finalized, we can submit everything and get on the waiting list.. Can you hear the clock ticking????!!!!

I broke down over the past weekend and bought the new Sade CD for my birthday (14th). I LOVE me some Sade! There's one song on there.. caught me off guard and had me balling all over my sewing machine.. there isn't too much to the song but after everything I've gone through these past 7ish years.. to where I am right now, with a renewed outlook for this new adoption and yet another paperchase almost done and even with the talk of 2 trips to Ethiopia (and where is that $$ going to come from), it connected with me..

There's a long hard road ahead
But a voice inside me said
You know there's something that you need to know
It's gonna be alright
Said there's something that you need to know
It's gonna be alright
And when in this life in this life
When I can only turn my chin
I know it's gonna be alright
When this big old town is closing in
And I have lost again
Here I could stay
But I'll keep moving on
Here I could stay but I'll keep moving on
Could be I won't be wrong
There's a long hard road ahead
But a voice inside me said
Said there's something that you need to know
It's gonna be alright
Said there's something that you need to know
It's gonna be alright

It WILL be alright.

And on that note, I'm out. Peace.

Update to "First Date" HAHAHA

So today is hubby's day off and he just got up and came downstairs so I said "happy anniversary" and he is like "oh happy anniversary" and goes to kiss me, but before that I asked him what anniversary it was and he proceeded to say "umm wedding anniversary?" (which is in May), "log in date? house anniversary?".. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA so I proceeded to show him the blog and he goes " OH YEA, Pitch Black... I usually get that one, right !?!"

Yea Babe, I forgive you (again).

HAHA

First Date

Happy "First Date" Anniversary Babe!


Ten years ago today hubby and I went on our first date. We went to see "Pitch Black" at the mall. Such a romantic devil he is I tell you! LOL Now the only reason I remember the date is because it was in 2000, easy year to remember, and because it was 2 days before my birthday. For YEARS after that, hubby couldn't get the first date day or my birthday straight. LOL Must be "guy" thing. I think he has is straight now, 10 years later, but we shall see. LOL