Referrals in May

There were four referrals in May that I know of - I say "know of" because I keep up with this information through our yahoo chat group for families adoption from ET through our agency. There may be families we don't know of who received referrals, but we doubt this.

SO, two families received referrals May 7:
infant boy (DTE 10/5/07)
2 Waiting children (older children) (DTE 12/21/07)

AND two more families received referrals May 29:

Infant Girl: DTE October 5th 2007
Infant Boy: DTE October 5th 2007

Based on the new referrals. The wait time for both infant girl & infant boy is 7-9 months from Dossier Submission or DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia).

So the month of May saw five children get referred to four families. Our agency's goal is to be able to get 10 referrals out each month. This month was busy as one of our coordinators was in Addis Ababa Ethiopia for half the month working with staff there. Also, the courts are slowing due to power outages and no rain - PRAY FOR RAIN!

For those wondering where we are in line - we are about family # 40-50. Some of these families though are requesting girls and/or siblings and/or waiting children so it does not always go straight down the line.

We are looking at 5 more months of a wait right now. We've waited 2 months thus far for our referral (note the ticker! Love that ticker!). After referral, it may take 4-6 weeks to get a court date and another 3 weeks to travel after we pass court. It may take us two or three or four tries to pass court, depending on if the paperwork is there or not.

Isaiah Justice Peterson was born in Kenya today!

He is our nephew. My brother, Joel, and sister-in-law, Elizabeth, have been living in Africa for the past 2 years. They called my parents this morning at 3:45 AM to report Isaiah finally decided to come see the sun! He was 7 pounds, 6 ounces at birth. IN Kenya, they don't measure length though. He has a full head of black hair, like all the Petersons. When asked if he has a big nose (like Joel), the reply was "not yet!" He does sneeze though like Joel :) Very cute! He has broad shoulders - so mom and I think he'll be a porker! He's a good eater already which is good! We are soo happy and can't wait to see our little nephew when they all arrive in the states in July. I should be able to post pictures soon.

Let it Rain!!

Our prayer for Ethiopia is that it rain! Let it rain! Ethiopia needs rain in order to have adequate electricity to operate courts and MOWA (ministry of women and children's affairs). Currently there are mandatory power outages that are slowing the process of adoption for many families in many agencies. Families receive a referral of a child and then have the option to accept or reject that child. Upon acceptance, paperwork is completed and a court date (CD) is scheduled. This CD requires much paperwork and the very important but sometimes late recommendation from MOWA - it is sometimes late due to the increasing number of families adoption from Ethiopia, the understaffed and underpayed employees of MOWA, and the mandatory power outages that make it impossible to print. So some families are not passing court the first time and must go back again. A successful "pass" in court means that the child which was referred to you is legally your son/daughter at that point. When families pass court, they can then share pictures with friends and family, but not until then. Sooo, while there are many things to pray for, one to pray for now would be RAIN! Let it RAIN!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's day Mom! I think of this time next year and wonder, "will I be a Mom? What kind of mother will I be?" Oh the pensive thoughts... It's funny though, when I think of myself as a mother, I visualize my own mom. I remember her affirming words and smile. She was and still is always quick to let us know we're "ok", we are doing a great job, or she's proud. Mom always was able to bring a smile to my face, or make me laugh - still is. I can call her up and tell that she may be tired, but once she knows it me, she perks right up as if I've just made her day (and I know she's still tired!). On days I'm just "blah" - my first instinct is to call mom and see if she wants to shop or hang out. I told Roscoe, just walking into their condo, makes my muscles relax! It's crazy! Their condo has the Peterson scent, but it's a scent that evokes peace, calm, and safety for me. I want this for my children. I want their immediate thoughts of their mother to be so positive and filled with love. It sounds cliche but I guess i just can't explain it the way I feel it.

So Mom, Happy Mother's Day and I only hope to be the kind of Mom to Micah that you are to Joel and I :)

Referrals for AWAA families

Four families recently (4/25/08) received referrals for their children. There were four total referrals in April - a bit lower than usual but our agency seems very busy at work to get more referrals out to families. The recent referrals were as follows:

Infant Boy: DTE: 10/5/2007
Infant Girl: DTE: 8/30/2007
Toddler: DTE: 10/15/2007
Waiting Children: DTE: 3/19/2008

Waiting children are older children. There tends to be less interest in the adoption of older children. This is why a family with a DTE 3/19/08 received referral so soon. Roscoe and I would love to adopt older children in the future - but for now, we figure we should learn how to raise children from birth forward! :) According to these referrals, the wait time for an infant boy is still 5-7 months.

There is a YG for families from our agency adopting from Ethiopia. I have been checking posts and connecting with families, but I find the more I am on the chat group, the more anxious I become about our adoption. I have started to have dreams about our referral and travel - and if you know me, I typically have anxious dreams. So I'm scaling back my chat group activity. The adoption is out of our control now and we are just waiting. Worrying will not help anything or anyone.

So anyway, we are almost two months along in our waiting. It is going by fast!

Waiting, Nesting, and Celebrating!

It's been a while since the last post. It has been over a month since our DTE (the date our dossier was sent to Ethiopia). One month down, 4-6 left to wait! We (well more myself than Roscoe) are in nesting mode. We painted the nursery over the weekend and it looks so peaceful! We have a crib, furniture, bedding, baskets, stuffed animals! Ready for a baby to inhabit! (i'll post a pic soon) We also got great news on Sunday. Joel and Elizabeth (my brother and sister-in-law) found out they are having a boy! He is due May 24th and will be delivered in Kenya. They will then travel to the states sometime in July (4-6 meeks after the baby is born)! We'll have em for a year and then they may return to Africa. It is so exciting - our sons may just be the same age, as we are expecting a referral between August and October for an infant around 2-4 months old (typical age at referral, but we actually requested a wider range of 0-12 months). So I suppose there are many in my family waiting and nesting. Soon though, soon we will bring home our boys!

DTE March 19, 2008

Our first blog. First post to our blog. First baby. First adoption. Many firsts. To catch everyone up briefly, we started the adoption process late September 2007 with America World Adoption to adopt a son (0-12 months old) from Ethiopia. Our homestudy (1st part of the adoption process) was completed January 2008. Our dossier (second part of adoption process) was completed March 2008. Our dossier, a packet of paperwork needed to adopt a child, was sent to Ethiopia on March 19, 2008 (this is called our DTE date or "dossier to Ethiopia" date). The packet was picked up in Ethiopia by an AWA representative on March 28, 2008. All that we do for now is wait...wait...wait... For those who know me, I like to plan - so waiting without knowing is not always easy - well, never easy really, not knowing what age he will be, or when we will travel. and when he will come home to our family. But God's timing is right, and we will wait on Him. We are praying the timing works out for Roscoe, as he cannot leave his business in the busy times of summer and winter - for him to go, we need to travel Oct-Nov (a small window, yes!). That's just that way things are when you run your own business. The odds are against us as far as referencing the average wait times for recent families adopting with our agency. In addition to these matters, Ethiopia's courts close on August 6th this year and do not open again until October (date yet to be confirmed). So although we can get a referral in the months the courts are closed, we cannot get a court date scheduled until the courts reopen. The court date is needed to legally adopt the baby. The current wait time for a referral for a boy from our agency (timeframes vary from agency to agency) is 5-7 months. So this puts us in August-October for a referral - and a likely court date November-January as the courts will most likely be backed up when they return. Travel is 2-3 weeks after the court date. So we are in a season of waiting and preparing for parenthood.