Nintendo Wii

I'm a Stroller Stalker

While we're waiting for our referral, I've been busily researching baby gear, since it's some of the only stuff I can purchase until I know our son's age/size. I bought car seats when they went on annual clearance, so my new obsession is strollers.

Other than the safety issues, I'm also considering: Full-size? Lightweight-plus? Cup holder? Snack tray? Weight? Ease of folding? Lime green or burnt orange? I've begun staring unabashedly at other moms' strollers. I've even been known to circle back to check a stroller out from different angles. My internal monologue about their choices usually goes something like this: "Ooh, Peg Perego! Fancy!" or "Oh my word, Bugaboo! I'd have to take out a loan for that one." I've also considered giving these moms 21 questions. "How are those wheels holding up?" and "Can that thing really fold up using only one hand?"

So, if you see me staring in your direction, no worries: I'm only checking out your stroller. I have my eye on a lightweight-plus stroller that's on clearance right now, but I'm not sure I'm ready to commit.

Next up ... the diaper bag!

What Do You Do With Your Wait?

Well, folks, we've been on the waiting list for seven weeks so far, and it really has flown by! To be honest, I sometimes forget how long we've been on the waiting list. This current easygoing attitude is really not in my nature, so I can only assume that lots of people are praying for me! I really haven't worried about anything so far—I've seen enough to know that one should have no expectations when it comes to international adoption. Check back with me on November 20th, however, when we enter the 3 to 6 month "window," which is the average waiting time to be referred a child.

In the meantime, my biggest concern has become, "What on earth are we going to name our son?" I'm tired of calling our son, "our son," "our kid," "our baby," etc. Chris and I have been talking about it this week, and I think we have a few contenders. We currently have about five or so in the running, and when we can narrow it down a little more, I'll post them.

I'm also trying to come up with a list of fun things to do while we wait to become parents. Some things we are/I am going to do are:
1. Have a last "family" portrait taken with our dog, Topher.
2. Shop for baby furniture.
3. (Dawn) Take up some kind of craft. (I am in love with paper of any kind, so I'd like to make notecards and stationery.)
4. Lift some weights. (Have you carried a 20-something-pound child for an extended period of time recently? YIKES!)
5. Sleep in/take naps. (I'm guessing this will soon become a thing of the past.)
6. Eat complete meals while they are still warm. (See note on number 5.)

Any other ideas for new/adoptive parents?

Final Garage Sale!

Saturday, October 4th
7 a.m. to noon
Adelaide Park subdivision
321 Stewart Springs Dr.

We have tons of furniture, home decor, and baby and kids items. Please spread the word!

Jump In, Jump Out, Introduce Yourself

It appears that we have quite a few lurkers out there! I'd love to know who you all are, if you have a blog, if you're an adoptive family, if you live in Tennessee, or if you're a dear friend or family member who just never comments (you know who you are!). :)

For those I haven't met, I'll go first. My husband, Chris, and I have been married for three and a half years. We met and married in Knoxville, Tenn., and now live outside of Nashville. Chris is a student minister, and I work for a magazine. We have a Lhasa apso named Topher. When we began thinking about starting a family, God led us to adopt before having biological children. We are now on the waiting list to adopt a 0-12 month old boy from Ethiopia.

Your turn! Don't let me down!

What We've Been Doing With Our Wait - Week One

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Car Wash Tomorrow!

Saturday, September 6th
8 a.m. to noon
Prudential Real Estate building on Sam Ridley Parkway

We hope to see you there!

Guess Our "Due" Date

Seeing how it is Labor Day and all, let's have a little fun!

I've heard that the paperwork process is like the first trimester, the wait period is like the second trimester, the referral and the court process is like the third trimester, the court date is like going into labor, and the travel is like giving birth.

We've just begun the wait period, which our agency tells us averages 3-5 months. So, give us your best guess for our "due" date (our referral day) as a comment. Who knows, there may be a prize! :)

Let the Wait Begin!

We're officially on the waitlist for a baby boy! Our dossier is on its way to the Department of State and the Ethiopian Embassy, then it will be sent to Ethiopia to be translated into Amharic. The average waiting time for a referral is 3-5 months, so we're hoping it will be before Christmas. At the time of referral, our adoption agency will give us all the info they have on our baby: photo, name, age, medical history, and anything else they may know.

Although we've heard the wait can be the hardest part emotionally, today we are just thrilled beyond belief that we're one step closer to meeting our son. I'm so glad we have football season (yay!) and the holidays to keep us occupied. Please keep praying for us!

D-Day and Consignment Sale Fun

Chris and I mailed our completed dossier to Gladney yesterday! Chris was a huge help running all over town on Friday getting things authenticated while I was at work. We worked really late into the night—really, early into the morning—to finish scanning everything onto CDs. It was a very emotional and tiring day! We had lots of frustrating little mishaps along the way (like don't get home and realize that you left your original, authenticated document that was scanned at Staples). But we're glad to be done.

I had a pretty bad headache yesterday after little sleep on Friday. That, coupled with the relief that our paperwork was done, made me crash for several hours yesterday. I slept hard and long from about 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. yesterday. I guess I needed it!

Our dossier will arrive in Texas on Monday morning. Our caseworker will look through everything to be sure everything is perfect. Although we sent everything to our agency to look over before we went through the authentication process, I'm still a little nervous something could be wrong because we've had two different caseworkers. So, please pray everything is perfect! If it is, we could potentially be on the wait list to receive a referral for our baby boy by the end of this week!!!

While we wait to be one step closer to being matched with our child, I enjoyed lots of consignment sale shopping this week! I went from never having attended a kids' consignment sale to going to two in a week. It's a little overwhelming. But I got some great deals! I got a Bumbo seat, a grocery cart cover, a Diaper Genie, and a changing table pad. It's so fun to shop for Baby H! I can't wait until I know how old he will be so I can do some serious shopping.

Chris and I continue to talk about baby names. For the record, Maverick Robert, aka "Ricky Bobby," is out. :)

We'll let you know as soon as we are offically wait-listed. Thanks for all of your prayers! Please keep praying!

What a Relief!

We got our I-171H in the mail today! This means we're approved to bring an orphan back into the U.S. Next we'll send off our dossier and be put on the waiting list to be matched with a child. Wow! We're so excited!

Garage Sale

It’s Garage Sale Time!

Saturday, July 19, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
321 Stewart Springs Dr. in Adelaide Park

Furniture, children’s items, clothing, toys, Christmas items, home décor, electronics, and more.

Thanks to everyone who donated items for our sale! We didn’t have much to begin with, and now we have a garage packed from floor to ceiling.

Hope to see you Saturday!

Update

It's been a little while since we have had time to update and this is my first time updating, this is Chris! I figured I needed to do more than sign where Dawn told me to and sell stuff on Craig'st list! A lot has happened since our last update! We are both now officially FBI cleared. I know some of you thought that might be a close call, but no close calls here. Our home study has now been completed and approved. It makes me feel good that someone else thinks I can be a good father! We are now waiting on our immigration papers to be approved saying we can bring an orphan into the United States. As soon as we get this document the waiting game begins!

Monday Dawn and I leave for camp with our students, Camp Whatever! We were talking last night that this time next year we will be loading our son up and heading to camp! Well maybe not the whole camp but part of it. We have to start him early!

Thanks for keeping up with us! We are so thankful for your support and prayers! Please continue to pray that God protects our son and his birth mother. Pray Dawn doesn't pull her hair out with all the paper work. Pray that God continues to be faithful, as He has been so many times, as we continue to save for our adoption. Pray for me that I don't fly to Africa tomorrow so I can bring my son to camp with me on Monday! :)

We will update again soon.

Tired!

Chris and I just got back from picking up two loads of donations for our garage sale. We've settled on July 26 so we can get past student ministry camp and have time to sort everything. Thanks to everyone who has given us stuff! Because we've only been married for three years, we personally haven't accumulated enough to hold a garage sale of our own. That doesn't stop me from "shopping" our own house, though, to see what I can sell!

Since my last post we've sent in lots of paperwork and completed part of the home study. We should finish our home study this week.

The rest of our paperwork is going well. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Thanks for continuing to read even though we don't have much to share right now!

Paper Progress

Amy H. told me last week how much difference a week can make, and boy is she right! Last week we didn't have any paperwork ready to send off, and this week we're mostly done and have scheduled our home study. Now is the dreaded process of authenticating documents for our foreign dossier. Yeah, I have no idea what that means either. Basically, I think it means following the paper trails for the foreign government to be sure the documents are indeed authentic. There's a former employee from our adoption agency who now helps people with this process for a small fee (relative to the rest of our expenses), and I'm trying to decide whether or not to hire her. My first instinct was that this fee is so small in the grand scheme of things, and it's worth it to be sure everything is done quickly and correctly. Again, a month ago I didn't know about any of this!

Well, I need to work on gathering more family photos so we can show our agency and Ethiopia what kind of life a child in our family would have. Note to self: How on earth do I "label" a picture of all of our students?

It's a Boy!

Leslie surprised me with this adorable babydoll to congratulate us on our adoption. Isn't he too cute?

Chris and I have decided to officially change our preference from no preference to a boy. We've always talked about the baby like it's going to be a boy, and even though we would love any child, we're just stuck on a boy. Now, it's just official.

I've been working nonstop on our paperwork for Gladney (our adoption agency), our home study, and our foreign dossier. I have two sets ready to send, but I'm nervous about the money part! We're in the last group to receive our tax rebate, but thankfully we should receive it on the 16th. A big thanks to Amy H., who has been a huge help with questions and big-picture encouragement.

We're working on some fundraisers, including a garage sale (probably on June 7), a Nintendo Wii raffle, and Girls/Guys Night Out (click the "How You Can Help" page for more info). If you have any great fundraising ideas, please let me know!

We love you all! Thanks for all of your support and encouraging words! In case you missed Chris's blog about our frequently asked questions, you can check it out here.