asking for prayers

Hi all, I come asking prayers!

We have friends who have a court date tomorrow and we're praying for a speedy, positive outcome. Join us in praying for that. 

Also, Justin is having his fingerprints done again at noon 12/30.  Please pray that these go well and are accepted (miraculously like our homestudy prints) so that we can accept a referral. Without these prints, we won't receive our FDL (important piece of paper that says we can adopt a non-citizen & bring them back to the U.S.) and our agency won't be able to give us a referral until that is done. 

Please pray that the technician be skilled and know how to get the best prints possible off Justin.

Please pray that Justin be patient and have God's peace about this process. This can be so frustrating.

Please pray for quick processing of these last documents so that we'll be ready to accept a referral as soon as one is ready for us! 

Thank you for praying with us; it blesses our family and allows you to play an important role in the making of our family!

Welcome Family and Friends!

Hi Everyone! Welcome to our blog. We keep this pretty up-to-date with all adoption info...and anything else that interests us. Check out all the links on our sidebars for more information on our agency, All God's Children International, our home study agency, Family 2 Family Adoptions, or any of the other adoption blogs listed alphabetically. These are other families in various parts of the Ethiopian adoption process that we communicate with regularly. 

In our next few posts, we'll try to answer some common questions we receive and also add some facts about adoption, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, or our journey thus far. If you have some questions you'd like to ask, simply click on the comment section and leave one. We'll be sure to answer them all. 

Please feel free to check out our archives and older posts, laugh at the stories and pictures, and absorb all the info. Thanks for stopping by, we're so glad you came!

interesting things

1. I had a dream last night where Julie (our case worker) called to tell me that our new official number was 1/2. I kept asking her, "What does that mean? How can our number be one half? That's only a fraction!?!" And she just kept repeating herself over and over. Weird. Maybe it's a hint that I'm half way through the wait for my referral. 

(There are rumors around that I may be unofficially #5 on the boys list...but I'm choosing to ignore that. Better to stick with officialness if you ask me.)

2. It snowed in Houston. It's crazy, I know. Yesterday it was 75 degrees and today it snowed. For hours. Real snow. It even stuck to stuff. Amazing. 

3. The etsy site it actually up and running. I've even had a purchase already. Amazing! New items will be added soon. And I can make different versions of anything you see on there in other colors or themes.  I also went ahead and designated the sale of all Africa items to go directly to orphan care. 15% of all other purchases go to orphan care as well. Check it out. If you'd like. No pressure. : )

woo hoo!!

It's in! Our new numbers are in!! Let's review, shall we?

October:

girl: 25

boy: 15

sibling: 9

November:

girl: 19

boy: 11

sibling: 9

And now, for December:

girl: 15

boy: 8

sibling: 10

Holy Smokes, Batman! Single Digits! Yay! 

Sidenote: we received our info at 4:45 pm (CST) on Friday, so we have the most up to date numbers after some officially accepted referrals. So, other bloggers, adjust off us! 

Also, I do realize that our sibling number went up. Another family in the program ahead of us changed their homestudy to accept twins, so they ended up in the siblings list ahead of us. I've been assured that it is still very highly unlikely that we would end up with siblings because they aren't referring many of them lately. And that's fine. Just keep those referrals coming!

Plus, there were several referrals that went out this week so I know that unofficially, we are even lower on the girl's list for sure. Yay!

It's time!

It's the first week of December.
We all know what that means.
New official numbers.
YES!

(I really hope I get a phone call before Friday.)
(Waiting all week REALLY stinks.)

Here's hoping for single digits.
It's going to happen.
I just know it.
Yay!

big list -- revised

I don't feel like I have much to blog about...but here I am anyway. 

Life Updates:

1. My grandmother was released from the hospital on Thursday. Praise God! Thank you for all your prayers and kind words.

2. Christina did in fact pass the bar. Like there was any doubt. 

3. I had Lasik surgery on both eyes and it went well. No severed cornea or anything. 

4. In the last ten days I joined a small group and then volunteered for it to meet in my house. And to make dinner. 

5. We went to the midnight opening of Twilight. With the entire population of 15 year old girls. Wow. 

6. The doggies are no longer allowed on any furniture. It's an adjustment (for them and for Justin) but I like it!

7. I finally get to contribute to Thanksgiving Dinner this year. Probably more out of necessity than anything else, but I'll take what I can get! 

8. I got sick last week and fell...and broke my glasses. It's ok though -- see #3.

For those of you who don't know me personally, or see me get things done, let me tell you how it is. First, I make lists. Lists of what I want to do. Then, a list with the correct order in which to do those things. Often my lists have sub-lists. Usually, I like lists to be completely scratched out. I tried making those cute little boxes for a while, but it didn't clearly differentiate the stuff I'd done. So, like I said, I like to totally scribble things out. 

I have a lot of things to do. Especially in the next few days and weeks. So I'm making a public list because that keeps me accountable (very important for completion!) and honestly, it gives me something to blog. 

Things to do this week: (unordered as yet)

1. Buy new pet beds for living room.   done!

2. Grocery shop.  done, but need to go again!

3. Make foodstuffs for multiple Thanksgivings. And small group on Tuesday. done and done.

4. Send Misty her bday pics

5. Vacuum couches (for last time!)  done--yay!

6. Get out Christmas stuff! Yay! done!

7. Realize how much Christmas stuff there is. definitely done.

8. Make a list of Christmas stuff to actually get out and stuff to give away. 

9. Get spare bed for Travis and Dad from Amber.

10. Find pile of money

11. Get Etsy site completely done.  done.

12. Finalize graduation stuff?  done. the big day is Dec. 21

13. CIS Fingerprints - scheduled for Friday morning!

There. That's it. For this week. Anyone who reads this has my permission to ask me about these things.   Also, it is my goal to stay pretty busy until the new year so that the waiting will not seem too bad. This is usually not a hard goal, but this year, there doesn't seem to be much on the calendar yet.  That should take me through two new sets of numbers (Dec and Jan). During this time I will also be cleaning out the extra room so that in January, when surely we will be a single digit, I'm going to start-- yes, really start-- on the baby's room. Absolutely! Yes! So there it is. My goals. And a timeline. Awesome. 2009 will be the year of the baby. 

Halloween and November Numbers

Ok, I know. This post is way late. Like...waaaay late. But, better late than never. Right?

Here are the pics from Jess and Dan's famous Halloween Party. I know you've been waiting.

Yay for couple costumes! I am a bunny rabbit. And Justin is a hunter.

Justin will only wear "costumes" he already owns. That explains last year's dentist (scrubs) and this year's hunter (camo). I'm running out of ideas to match what is in his closet. Next year we are in big trouble.

Bunny Rabbit, meet Christmas Tree.

(And yes, we already got the inappropriate holiday mascot joke.)

Here is Jess as Scout from "To Kill a Mockingbird". Don't worry. Nobody else got it either.

Justin along with Dan the giraffe and John who went as Rambo. Please note his necklace of fingers. They were awesome...until the pool volleyball.

I'd like to think that this pose is because the prey is kissing the hunter...but it's not. Justin makes that face most of the time.

Christina, Jess, Nell Ann. During the evening, Jess always manages to slip out of her costume and morph into parts of other people's costumes. It's a unique talent.

There were lots of other pics. Most too embarrassing for the web. The bunny suit was great once the temp finally dropped late night. Before that it was sweltering. Sweats plus fur not only visually adds 60 lbs, but it also really makes you hot!!!

----------------------------------

If you recall, our October numbers were: girl 25, boy 15, sibling 9

Our November Numbers are: girl 19, boy 11, sibling 9

Yay for movement! I have been thinking lately that I am so very glad that the holidays fall in our wait time. It's good to have so much going on that I don't notice every single day that passes. Before I know it the holidays will be done and maybe we'll be in single digits. Then I'll have to get really busy on the baby's room.

By the way, we're taking suggestions for the baby's nickname. We're looking for something gender unspecific. We don't really have a peanut or baby bump or even a smudge (hi Angela!) so we're kinda stuck. So far, all we've got is doodlebug. We'd love to hear your suggestion. Who knows? Maybe our baby will have your nickname!!

anxiety level high

Well, I know that for TWO days now, our agency has been sending out info via email and phone call about new numbers, travel calls and referrals. And I have been waiting patiently...but not so much now. I'm ready for my info! Call me next! Please! 

If I may, I'd also like to add some prayer requests today:

1. My grandmother is back in the hospital not doing well. She's started seeing "ghosts" and thinks our family is part of a conspiracy with the nurses. This is all very new behavior for her. My grandfather and my mother are very stressed out with this. 

2. My dad is still waiting to hear back results about his bladder cancer. He's really hard to get info out of and this worries me. 

3, My father in law is waiting for results on whether or not he has RA. 

4. My best friend, Christina, is waiting to get her BAR EXAM RESULTS today and her anxiety is even higher than mine is. 

5. Also, my hubband is still sickish and is still off work. And we are spending a lot of time together. For some of you, this makes a lot of sense. ; )

Thanks for your prayers! Please include patience! 

I promise to post our Halloween pics soon, too. Hopefully with our new numbers. 

pumkpin carving

This is the story, in pictures, of our Saturday night at the Fields House. We're over for dinner a la Martha Stewart and some good ol' fashioned pumpkin carving.

Everything starts out normal.

Jess is in the kitchen (wearing her famous picture face) working on dinner.

This is her brother, Travis.

He's scooping out the pumpkiny goop.

We saved the goop and baked it for our butternut squash soup.

I'm apparently really happy to be carving a pumpkin.

This is the first time I've done it since I led a group of kindergarteners in pumpkin carving.

This time was more fun...and strangely enough, no less messy. Go figure.

Meet Sally. She belongs to Travis. Or is it the other way around?

Sally is really into stabbing her pumpkin.

Dan is really into stabbing asparagus. In his defense, it was self defense. They are called asparagus spears, you know.

Look, it's the happy couple. Well, half happy. Half undecided.

Dan is taste-testing the squash puree, er, soup.

(It was yummy afterall. It was all really yummy afterall. Especially the desserts. Yep. Yum-my.)

Sally's face is in no way related to the soup. I swear. More likely related to Travis.

I'm pretty sure of that one.

Outside: carving pumpkins

Inside: total shenanigans.

Justin carved creepy hands.

Less creepy than when they were pointy little hands, but still creepy.

Sally carved a stinkin masterpiece. It got better after this photo, but I refuse to post any pictures of that. And since there's no proof, I'll just tell you that the pumpkin fell in the pool and you'll have to believe that Sally's pumpkin is no longer the best. Because it drowned.


The girl pumpkins.



The boy pumpkins.

Fun was had by all.

Except the pumpkins.

*Some pumpkins were harmed in the making of this blogpost.

blog round up

It's time to speak up and make friends! If you read this blog and have one of your own, please let me know! I'd love to link you--and of couse, to meet you!

P.S. Another family told me they think we are no. 9 on the boys list. (I am assuming we are at 10 because I could find supporting evidence of that, but I haven't discovered nine yet...but I'll keep looking!) And I also think we're around 18 on the girls list. Yay!

I can't believe we've moved so much in only three weeks! I know it will slow down and/or stop from time to time, but I just can't stop squealing every time I think about it! Yay!