Age Range

     After speaking with Children's Hope International today, we decided to expand our age range again to 2-6 years.  We started out at 3-4 years, then 3-5, now 2-6years.  We are now at are maximum age range before we would have to redo some paperwork.  The reason we decided to change is complicated.  Essentially the broader your age range and other preferences the quicker the referral.  We chose the age that we did so that she will be as close to MVM's age as possible with still being young enough that the adjustment won't be so difficult for her.  I hope we are still fitting that criteria.  MVM says that he just wants to be a big brother and maybe be able to pick her up.  How cute is that?
It has been quiet on the referral front last week and this week.  Hopefully that will change real soon!

Until next time,
DMM   

Kisses from Katie.mp4

The Count Down!

     MVM  is pointing out our current number on the waiting list.  Over the Thanksgiving holiday, my family, including: my aunt, uncle, cousins, sister, nieces, brother-in-law, mom, sons, and husband all participated in writing little prayers or messages to our daughter-to-be on each of the little Africa's that represent our place on the waiting list.  Each of those Africa's is a family waiting to adopt a child from Ethiopia.  We are currently number 47.  We started almost 5 months ago at 53.  Hopefully that number isn't as bad as it sounds.  There was a 4 month lull in the process when nothing was happening.  There has definitely been much more action this month.  Thank you for all your support family!  

We love you dearly!

The Maley Clan

Good things!

    No whining this week!  I am remembering all of the things I have to be thankful for (since it is Thanksgiving week).  There is nothing like counting your blessings to snap you out of a funk.  I have so much to be thankful for and I know our daughter will come, it's just a matter of time.  

Meanwhile, we are trying to come up with a middle name for her.  Up until last week we planned to use her given name.  What I never really thought about is that she won't have a middle name.  My pediatrician pointed that out when I had the youngest two boys in for their immunizations.  I got so excited because that is something we can actually do right now.  No waiting!  So we have pulled out the baby name books and are coming up with a list.  It would be nice to have something to call her instead of "sister."

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

See ya next week,

DMM

Keep life normal!????

...That is the advice we are given as "waiting adopting parents".  "Try to go on with life as you normally would."  I find that to be the most ridiculous request.  Waiting to adopt a child is the most abnormal experience I have ever had to live through for such a long period of time.  The anticipation of "the referral" and the events that follow invades every aspect of our family's life.
We skipped our family vacation last summer so that we could use that money for the adoption.  We are really feeling the need to plan one this year because that time with each other is so important to us.  So, how do we plan it?  We really believed that our next family vacation would include our daughter.  Do we plan it in hopes that she will be here by then or do we wait to make sure she will be here?

My cousin is getting married in California next September.  We won't be able to take the kids, and if our daughter is here we wouldn't be able to leave her that soon.  Can we definitely bank on her being here by then?  No, we can't.  Can't make plans because we don't know.

My son worries in the back of his mind about the week we will be gone to Ethiopia.  It has given him an underlying current of anxiety that makes him worry about a lot of other things.  All of the reassurance in the world will not appease his concerns and so he lives his daily life stressed out.

I am obsessed with finding any scrap of information I can on other blogs.  I spend more time than I would like scouring the Ethiopia blogs that I follow.  I battle myself between trying to get the adoption off my mind and letting myself be excited about bringing our daughter home.

We were at DQ the other night and all 6 of us squeezed into a booth.  One of the boys said, "What are we going to do when sister gets here, we won't be able to fit!"  Then, MBM said,"that's Ok she can sit on my lap."  I just wanted to hug him and cry because I don't want him to miss out on those moments.

We need her home NOW!  The only way life is going to feel normal for this family is if we have our little girl home with us.  We have carved out a place in all of our hearts for her and we need her here to fill it in!  We are praying and would love it if you would pray with us to "get this show on the road!"
Love,
DMM

4 Months Waiting!

Even though we are still waiting, the latest developments in the Ethiopia adoption program have really made us hopeful that things are moving in the right direction again.  The four months between referrals was really unprecedented so we felt  pretty concerned.  Now that there have been 2 referrals in 5 days, we are hopeful that things might get rolling again.

I also wanted to clarify to people what being on the waiting list really means.  It may sound like we are waiting for children to become orphans, but actually we are waiting for orphans to become adoptable.  There are millions of orphans in Ethiopia, but the process for them to become adoptable is somewhat tedious.  Obtaining birth certificates for the child or maybe a death certificate for their deceased parents can be really time consuming in Ethiopia.  Most children do not have that kind of paperwork.  There are agency representatives in Ethiopia that track down these documents.  Getting one birth certificate may take a whole day of travel.  Therefore the wait!

Thanks for checking in!
DMM

Celebrating Orphan Sunday!

We celebrated orphan Sunday last night by going to see the African Children's Choir.   We didn't know what to expect and we were blown away!  I know it's a good thing when my teenagers are impressed.  All of it was spectacular, but we were all especially impressed with the drummers.  Wow!  If you ever get the opportunity to see them, it is well worth your time.
Adoption news:
There was another referral this week, which means we climb another rung of the ladder!  Yeah!

Have a great day!
DMM

Moving up the Ladder!

Great News! Apparently this news came out on Monday and for some reason I didn't receive the email. There was a referral of a 5 month old baby girl made this week to a family using our agency. The first referral in 4 months! We are hoping that this means there will more to come soon! The courts re-opened sometime in the second week of October. We have officially bumped up to waiting list #51.

It is such a relief to have some good news to tell after that long wait.

Thanks for checkin in'
DMM