We're Getting Closer!!

My fun YG friends have created a list of where adoptive families are in the waiting process and the Blackwell's have made it to the top 10!!! That is so exciting!!! We could get a referral next month or maybe even tomorrow!!! I can't believe that I will finally get to see a picture of our baby, and to call our baby by name! Just to fill in those of you who aren't aware of what we have ahead of us, we will not be able to get our child until sometime in December (maybe a little earlier or later). The courts are closed until Oct 7, and we have to legally adopt our child before we travel. So even though we will be placed with a child sometime soon, we still have quite a bit of waiting to do.

T shirt update... Jamie ordered some new colors and I love them!! The gray shirt is a fitted shirt, but the rest are unisex and run true to size. THANK YOU so much to all of you that ordered them... it has been fun to see you wear them!!!

Night Out!!

It was so incredible to get together with some amazing individuals, who just happen to be adopting (have adopted) from Ethiopia too. It was so wonderful to meet Kassie and the Semlows, and to see the Gillmans, Gibsons, and Martins. I could have stayed there and talked all night!! You all are wonderful people!!!!

An Update is Due!!

My sister in law (miss you already, DeeDee) reminded me this weekend that my blog has not been updated since April, so I thought it might be a good idea to give a tiny update. Referrals are coming right along at America World. A family who had their paperwork turned in a couple weeks ahead of us just received a referral (YEA, Caldwells), so we are hoping for a referral in the next couple of months. Kim and Alisa have also informed me that we are within the top 10 to 15 of families waiting. Courts will close next week for a couple of months, so if we get a referral soon, we still would not travel for another two or three months. Really I am clueless as I do not know what kind of effect the court's closing have on the whole process. We are content on waiting for whatever comes our way. I have to admit that when I found out the Caldwells got their referral, I have started to increasingly get more and more jittery. Like at any minute I could get the phone call. I told Kevin that I feel like I have done a pretty good job of being patient and keeping my emotions under control. This is really not in my nature. I was the kid who unwrapped all of her Christmas presents and wrapped them all back up before the big day. I think that knowing myself that if I don't keep myself under control, that I will not be able to real myself back in. What a mess that would be!! BUT, when we do get that phone call, Lord have mercy on the poor soul that is nearest me, as I have a feeling I will cause serious hearing damage from all my screaming!!! God has really done some awesome things in our adoption process. About the time we finished with our dossier, we were tempted to switch agencies as other agencies were apparently giving out referrals at a much quicker rate. Kevin and I prayed about it, and felt very strongly to stay with AW. At the time we couldn't understand it because we wouldn't have been "out" very much money. We assumed we would have gotten a referral (with the new agency they were telling families it would be a 2-3 month wait for referrals) in the Spring and traveled in the summer. It seemed perfect for two teachers. If we stayed with AW, then we were sure we wouldn't get a referral until the Fall or after; hence, I would have to take a lot of unpaid maternity leave by staying with AW. Since we did not feel at peace with switching, we have stayed with AW. Recently we have heard that the other agency we were thinking of using has been under investigation for child trafficking, so we thank God for not letting us have peace!!! Also, my dear friend, Jamie Jo, took my hand drawn sketch of a t shirt design and took care of all the details in getting them printed. JJ is a director of a camp in Colorado, and has been selling the shirts there. Evidently they have been selling like MAD!!! Every time they get a new order, they sell out within a couple of days. Isn't that crazy? Even more crazy is that one of their campers is Jordin Sparks, and she liked the shirt and wanted to help out AnNi so much that she is going to wear it to the Nickolodeon Teen Choice Awards tonight. She is nominated for three awards, so our shirt is going to be on TV. The show will air on Monday on Fox. Isn't that completely RIDICULOUS?