The Link Between You and Me

When we started our adoption process last year we were intent on adopting from Vietnam. As an aficionado of Asian and African history, culture, religion, art, literature, etc., each year I choose an office calendar depicting one of those regions. This year I have enjoyed quotes from Vietnamese Zen-master Thich Nhat Hahn. The month our Vietnamese adoption was falling through Thich Nhat Hahn said, "I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry, to fear and to hope. The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death of all that is alive." As our hopes plummeted, I would refer to that quote, determined to arrive, to be present each and every day, determined to find our daughter.
In a matter of months, we were pursuing adoption from Ethiopia. With that decision came a sense of peace and direction we had not experienced thusfar in adoption. Our daughter was waiting for us in Ethiopia, we knew it. Appropriately, June's quote from Thich Nhat Hahn is so fitting to our current situation, "There are hundreds of thousands of stems linking us to everything in the cosmos, supporting us and making it possible for us to be. Do you see the link between you and me? If you are not there, I am not here." This quote speaks to my heart; it speaks to my daughter. That link is tangible and we will follow it all the way to Ethiopia...

What We've Been Waiting For

We had a Montana Ethiopian picnic/waterpark gathering yesterday at Bonner Park. It was great with about 30 people and kids attending! Timing was perfect for our family as we've been really anxious about missing the agency's phone call from Ethiopia. Saturday's ET gathering was a wonderful distraction, while we waited for our agency to make contact with us again. The Ethiopian children were beautiful, the parents were knowledgeable, the food was fantastic! Clark and I held a one-year-old little girl adopted in April; our boys got to meet some great kids... It was wonderful. We played the day away and went to bed with our fingers crossed.

This morning we were treated to an email from the agency with a referral for a one-year-old girl. She is described as, "weak, a bit malnourished, beautiful, a head of hair (which they had to shave, I'm guessing lice), beautiful (really they said it twice!) and healthy (all blood-work came back ok)". She sounds perfect! I've been in tears off and on (ok, more on than off!) all day. We have a little girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We will have pictures and a full medical/history profile in a few days. We are so, so excited!!!

Phone Call

Friday at 2:45 a.m. our phone rang. I raced to the portable phone base in the family room. NO PHONE!!!!! As I ran around wildly searching, I listened to our international agency co-director say she has a question for us.... She was calling from Ethiopia and in their time-zone it was around noon, but the only way to contact her was via email. Unable to call her back and unable to sleep, we drummed up a litany of questions she might have for us, all the while hoping she giving us a referral. It was a loooong night!
We were very excited, as we had recently agreed to accept a referral based upon her good judgement and information gleaned from available paperwork. This phone call could very possibly be our referral and we missed it! UGH!!

School's Out

It's been awhile since our last post. We've been fighting colds and getting through the end-of-the-school-year ongoings. Liam's had a difficult spring with his asthma! On a brighter note, school is out and the boys and I are gearing up for our summer together. I love working the school schedule!!! In celebration of summer, we took a long weekend and rented a Forest Service cabin up Rock Creek (The Hogback Homestead). It was a beautiful weekend to enjoy the sunshine and mountain air. The boys did a lot of hiking, whittling, cooking in the campfire and playing in the creek. I recuperated from my cold (basking in the sunshine with my book!).

Before leaving on our mini-vacation, I called the co-director of our adoption agency. I was interested in finding where we are on the waiting timeline (expecting 30's-40's). We were thrilled to discover that for an infant to 1-yr-old we are 7th! For a 1-yr-old to 24-month-old we are 2nd or 3rd! We are still trying to digest this fantastic information, as well as the notion that it is entirely plausible that we will have our little girl by Christmas-time.

Going Places!!!

Our Dossier is on the way to Ethiopia. We are officially waiting and it feels great, great, great!!!

This weekend Clark and I went to the Good Food Store. While cruising down the fragrant aisle of happiness (coffee), we found an Ethiopian blend. Of course we had to purchase some ($12.95 per lb., yikes!). The next morning we had a history lesson with the kids--Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee--followed by a cup all around. Turns out Ethiopian coffee makes us all feel a little wild, jittery, jet-fueled, crazed.... I might cut back to a half a cup. The kids are never again to sample the Ethiopian blend. Clark was as happy as a clam.

Four: What's Cookin?

Today is June 1st, a goal to have our dossier in Ethiopia by. As of now, we are not completely sure where our paperwork is. The latest update said our papers sailed throught the US Dept. of State Wednesday morning. That afternoon when our papers were taken to the Ethiopian Embassy, it was closed for "The Downfall of the Duerge". We've Google'd that phrase and have not come up with any information... The embassy was open again Thursday and our papers were submitted. If all went well with processing (the embassy reviews and stamps each document for adoption approval) our dossier could be waiting at the embassy, or better yet, they could be on the way to Ethiopia. Either way, we are getting so close!

Clark brought home a beautiful pictorial African cookbook (he's so great!!!) and we are going to begin experimenting with some recipes. Doug, Clark's dad, might be in for some surprises during our regular Sunday-night dinner. I'll post the recipes that we like the best. Many require ingredients and spices not common to Montana, as you might guess!