Yeah, we're still here

Hello, Gary has been bugging me to post since it has been a couple weeks since we have posted anything and because he posted the last 2 or 3 times. I have been meaning to, but haven't had anything real exciting to add. But I can talk about the adoption forever, so I will give alittle update.

First of all...waiting is hard. Jeepers, I thought it was hard when I was pregnant and in those cases I had a due date and the doctor will only let you go so far past it. So it was hard to wait, but we knew what we were waiting for - we had a fairly specific date.
Well, the wait for a baby boy is 4-6 months, but that is just an estimate. And the wait to travel after that is about 12 weeks, though it seems alot of people are only waiting 9 or 10 weeks. So, who knows when we will have a referral and then when we will get meet him. I use our adoption agencies message board list as a guide, but it isn't anything I can hold my breath on. So, we watch and wait and wait. We get excited when other families post that they received their referral or their travel date, because it so exciting AND, very selfishly, because it means we are moving up on the list. Best guess for us is a late April/early May referral (where we get the babies information and picture) and traveling in July. I kinda don't like giving myself a date, because then I might come to hope and plan for it and if things slow down then I will be disappointed.
From what I remember reading, there are 4 millions orphans in Ethiopia. Why then does it take so long? Many reasons, I think I have heard the government has to wait a certain amount of time to allow an orphan to be adopted, maybe to be considered an actual orphan, in case someone comes to claim the child. But still there are so many already orphaned. Our adoption agency, Children's Home Society and Family Services, runs the care center that the children are in. There is only room for so many children, I can't remember the number, say 60. Those children are evaluated and then matched with a family. The family accepts the referral and then a court date it set and the family travels to Ethiopia to adopt the child. When the 60 kids are anywhere in this process but haven't been picked up yet, there is no room for more children to come into the care center. So, basically a child has to be picked up so another can come in and then the process starts again. I think the slow down comes in with the Ethiopian court. I am sure they are so, so busy, and the dates get pushed back, so everything gets pushed back. That is all my interpretation from what I have read here and there. Pretty logical, but I had to think it all through to understand why we have to wait.

And so we are back to waiting is hard.
It is hard on the kids too. Jack said - out of the blue, I think we were at the store - I wish we could get our baby brother now. Summer, I tell him - but that is a long wait for a 5 year old. Katie is the same way, talks about her baby brother all the time, wants to know how old he will be and when he is coming, etc, etc.
Annalise LOVES babies. Every time we see a stroller, say at the mall, she will wriggle away from me to go check out the baby. Same with carseats, someone is carrying one and she is trying to peek in to see the baby. She has a little kitchen in her room and 2 high chairs and she loves to feed her dolls. Every kid under 4 years old that she sees, 'baby, baby!'. But, I think a new baby in her momma's arms all the time is going to be a little different. Jack, my cuddle bug, climbs onto my lap and Anna can be busy doing anything, but she will drop it to come running across the room screaming, 'MY MOMMY!'. She pushes him off my lap. Hmmm, so I think she is OK with the wait.

OK, so I said I would give a little update, and I just rambled on about poor me waiting.

Some friends of ours from nearby left on Saturday for Ethiopia. They are picking up their little girl. I know they will be really busy after they get back, but I can't wait to meet her and here about their trip.

That is it for tonight, I will post again soon.