Time for an Update

"So, have you heard anything?"
"How's the adoption going?"

I have been hearing those questions (or versions of them) quite often these days, so I figure it's time for an update...

As I said my January entry, my dossier was registered in Ethiopia on December 31, 2012. I have heard the wait can be over a year, close to two, so I'm anticipating a referral somewhere around December 2014, but am always hopeful that things will move faster. This entire adoption process has always been out of my hands, and I know that whatever the plan is, the timing will be perfect. All I know is that six months have already passed! :)

Throughout the last few months I have been working on completing my educational requirements and have made some great connections! I always meet great people at my trainings, and in April I met a couple who adopted their son from Ethiopia and was in the process of adopting their daughter (who is also their son's biological sister!). They gave me some great advice about the process and the travelling. They were also able to help me make connections online to other groups and people going through the same things. I'm looking forward to lasting relationships with families who have also adopted so our children can have connections too.

Since the last time I updated I have started to find myself in "parenting" situations. One of these occurred when my step-brother shattered his heel. When he was at the hospital he needed to have some casting redone and I told him that I heard it was pretty painful for him the first time so I was going to head to the waiting room when they came to do that. He said I couldn't and insisted that I hold his hand (even though his mom was in the room). Of course I did hold his hand and was doing a fine job of helping him keep his mind off things until the nurse came in with a shot. I told my step-brother that I would still hold his hand, but wouldn't be able to watch that part and we both made it through the procedure. The day of his surgery he also insisted that I be there that night to spend time with him (which also included calling the cafeteria to order his dinner). During both of these times I kept thinking that someday it might be my child needing me to comfort him/her (hopefully just at home, sick...not in a hospital bed).

I did take "one step closer" to parenting when I used gift certificates to purchase an iPad. I plan to use this to help me learn Amharic, to help my child learn English, and to stay connected to our family and friends.

One final item - I will probably be closing my t shirt fundraiser at the end of July. If you have been planning on ordering from this, please order before then. Apparently there is a minimum commission amount for the company to issue a check, so please share my fundraiser page with friends and family to help boost my sales. (I will be keeping my coffee fundraiser open, so feel free to check it out whenever you get a chance - the coffee is yummy and it makes great gifts!)

That's pretty much all I have for today. I continue to appreciate everyone's interest in the process, and especially any positive thoughts and prayers you are offering to help with the waiting period.