let tomorrow be the day...

As I write this, it is 7:00 am in Ethiopia. I am praying that this will be the day we get our court date! Tomorrow is Michael’s birthday. I can’t imagine a better birthday present, than finding out our court date!!! January 27, 2010 sounds like a great day to find out the date, doesn’t it? We are praying that all of the other waiting families will also find out their court dates SOON!

three months old

Our daughter is three months old today. We wish we could be there with her, but we know she is in good hands. It is nice that we can rest easy knowing that the staff at the Gladney Care Center is taking such great care of her.

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Congratulations to all of the families who received court dates and referrals this week. There is nothing quite like finding out about your child for the first time. I know Michael and I will never forget that moment. I am sure finding out you have a court date is exciting too. I would certainly love to find out. Hopefully we will hear something next week!!!

an update

We received our very first update on baby M. yesterday!!! Oh my goodness, she has grown a lot! The measurements we received with her referral, which were taken on December 8, were 7.9 pounds and 19.7 inches long. She was almost 7 weeks on December 8. The measurements taken on January 14, at 12 weeks old, were 10.1 pounds and 20.9 inches long. We are so grateful that Gladney updates us every two weeks.

In addition to the information about her growth and development, we received a picture of her. The picture brought tears to my eyes the moment I saw it. She has the biggest grin on her face. She looks so happy, which makes our hearts swell.

The update came with mixed emotions. We were so happy to see her and read about her development. However, it really made us realize how much we are missing. We are happy she is growing, but everyday that goes by is another day we will spend without her. We can’t wait for the day that we can spend every moment with her. Soon we will go from seeing one picture of her every two weeks, to holding her in our arms. Heaven.

ouch!

I just scheduled the appointment for our travel vaccinations. Gladney suggests we get vaccinated for the following:

Yellow fever
Hepatitis A and B
Tetanus
Typhoid
Meningitis

The grand total for vaccinations for the both of us is $804!!!! They told me they were going to give us receipts with codes on them and we could file it with our insurance, but that they do not accept insurance. I scheduled the appointment for next Wednesday, but when I told the lady on the phone that it was my husband’s birthday, she made me change the appointment. She said he shouldn’t have to come on his birthday! We are going next Thursday instead.

So, for any adoptive families who have traveled or will soon travel, I have a couple of questions:

1. Did you get vaccinated for all five? (We will not be traveling outside of Addis)

2. Did you find a place that accepted insurance?

grease, sweat, and a small bundle

Well, tomorrow makes three weeks since we received our referral. What a whirlwind it has been. We went straight into 12 days of extreme busyness. We had a production of Grease with our 7th-12th grade students. We spent 15-17 hours at the theatre most days. It was really hard to not be able to spend hours a day just thinking about our little girl and getting ready for her arrival. Our students did a great job with the show and we are so proud of them. Living life with kids who are passionate about something is such a joy. I have to get on my soapbox and say that parents need to make sure their kids are passionate about something. If they don’t have interests and passions when they are kids, they will not, in my opinion, transition into adulthood as easily as those who already know what it means to be passionate. They will be lost. This is just my 2 cents.

Here are a few pics from the show. This is a glimpse into our world. This is the world where talented, driven and dedicated teenagers live and the world where hairspray, sweat and a musty theatre, smells like home. This is the world of musical theatre.

(This '66 Mustang convertible was loaned to us, by a guy we didn't even know. Amazing!)

This week a special little package is going to be hand delivered to our little girl by sweet Beka. She is in Ethiopia right now meeting her son for the first time. We are so thankful that she would be kind enough to take a package with her and to take pictures of our daughter.

My sister got little M. some clothes to go in the small bundle. Aren’t they cute? We also sent a photo album with pictures of us and some of her family members. It didn’t photograph well, so I didn’t include a picture.

Michael and I are really feeling a strong desire to go get her. We have no clue how long it will be before we get to hold her. Several people have gotten really quick court dates lately, but that doesn’t mean we will. There is so much we have to do to prepare for her arrival and to prepare to travel. Sometimes, I just don’t even know where to begin. This waiting is MUCH harder than spending over 11 months waiting for our referral. It has only been three weeks, so I can’t imagine what three months will feel like.