Yesterday was it!!
Natalie called to tell us about our (hopefully!) future daughter. She is 4 1/2 months old and the most beautiful thing I have ever laid my eyes on. We accepted the referral right away. She looks so healthy and happy. I know they are taking wonderful care of her at the Gladney center. To say the least, we are soooooo EXCITED!
About the call:
I got the call while driving home from the mall. I was with my mom who was up from Florida to help me get the baby's room together. I was not expecting it at all. About two weeks ago, my mom was saying how great it would be if we got the referral while she was here. I highly doubted that we would get the call on the one and only day she is here. I was shocked when the phone rang with the UNKNOWN caller ring and almost died when I heard Natalie's voice. I was in a state of disbelief when she said she had some exciting news. We conferenced Chris in, but had to wait because we weren't by the computer. We went straight home (trying to drive as safely as possible) to wait for Natalie to call us back at 5:00pm. My mom was hysterical! She had just had a dream about the baby and couldn't believe her luck at being with us. Chris picked up his mom and we were all together when Natalie called. It was about 5:15, as she was on another call. When we opened the email, it was pure joy. We already had reservations at a fancy restaurant (for my mother-in-law's birthday/Valentine's Day), so it was a perfect night of celebration!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Thank you!
It has been great reading everyone’s supportive comments. I really needed that! I have been keeping up with reading everyone’s blogs and hoping for some referrals. However, I haven’t been able to comment at work (my mother-in-law doesn’t have a computer at home), so I thought I’d just say thank you here and let all those other waiting families know that I am thinking of them during this time.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Here at four months
4 months
AKA
17 weeks
It has been really difficult to be patient during this process. I’ve come to the conclusion that this is because of my expectations. Being a constant blog watcher, I have seen others get their referrals at an earlier time. Although I kept telling myself not to expect to have the same luck, I’ve hoped for it anyway. It is hard being hopeful everyday and then nothing. No phone call and no idea what will be. At this point, the hope is dwindling out of me. It feels like it just isn’t going to happen anytime soon. I spoke with Natalie at Gladney this week. She is very understanding and answered some of my questions. She can’t tell me anything about our possible wait time except that they are still trying to keep the 3 to 5 month time frame. Of course this means things could go even longer than 5 months before we hear any news. It is hard to plan anything because we just don’t know what will happen. To be honest, I’m even a little afraid to set up the baby’s room. I don’t think I can look at it for the next few months. We have been staying with my mother-in-law. I keep saying that we don’t want her to be alone, but I just can’t stand our empty house.
Ok, enough of my pity party!! Our house was not that empty this weekend. Our foster son, R. and his sister came for a weekend visit. I didn’t even know how much I missed him until he was back. It felt like home again. We stayed at our house so they could play outside and with their games. Yesterday we went roller skating. They did not know how to skate, so there was a lot of falling down. R. requested sushi for dinner since his dad doesn’t eat that kind of food. It made me feel good that we’ve left our mark on him! He misses his friends, his old school, and day care. I do think he is adjusting well and enjoying being with his extended family. I hope he comes back soon!!
AKA
17 weeks
It has been really difficult to be patient during this process. I’ve come to the conclusion that this is because of my expectations. Being a constant blog watcher, I have seen others get their referrals at an earlier time. Although I kept telling myself not to expect to have the same luck, I’ve hoped for it anyway. It is hard being hopeful everyday and then nothing. No phone call and no idea what will be. At this point, the hope is dwindling out of me. It feels like it just isn’t going to happen anytime soon. I spoke with Natalie at Gladney this week. She is very understanding and answered some of my questions. She can’t tell me anything about our possible wait time except that they are still trying to keep the 3 to 5 month time frame. Of course this means things could go even longer than 5 months before we hear any news. It is hard to plan anything because we just don’t know what will happen. To be honest, I’m even a little afraid to set up the baby’s room. I don’t think I can look at it for the next few months. We have been staying with my mother-in-law. I keep saying that we don’t want her to be alone, but I just can’t stand our empty house.
Ok, enough of my pity party!! Our house was not that empty this weekend. Our foster son, R. and his sister came for a weekend visit. I didn’t even know how much I missed him until he was back. It felt like home again. We stayed at our house so they could play outside and with their games. Yesterday we went roller skating. They did not know how to skate, so there was a lot of falling down. R. requested sushi for dinner since his dad doesn’t eat that kind of food. It made me feel good that we’ve left our mark on him! He misses his friends, his old school, and day care. I do think he is adjusting well and enjoying being with his extended family. I hope he comes back soon!!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
15 Weeks and Waiting
We are into our 15th week of waiting. The beginning of January was difficult with R. gone but we are adjusting. We’ve rearranged the house and plan to spend some extra time with my mother-in-law. Hopefully we will hear something soon about the little babe. Every time I call my mom she has had a hopeful tone in her voice. I think she might be thinking about this baby as much as I am! I know it will be difficult even after the referral. Then we have to wait for a court day and pray it goes through. After that I will on pins and needles to get over there. I’m already really excited about the trip. In other news, we went to lunch with an Ethiopian adoption group last Saturday. It is a huge group and the people are all awesome. It is wonderful for us and will be wonderful for our children to have this group of people. The children were all beautiful, happy, and smiling!
Friday, January 4, 2008
3 Months and Other Updates
Yesterday was 3 months of waiting. Wednesday was 13 weeks.
I don’t even know where to start. It has been crazy around here but it is slowing down. This may or may not be a good thing! Our foster son is home with his dad for good and I just can’t believe it yet. His room is empty, his toys are gone, but it still feels like he is coming back. I know when school starts it will really hit me. I was very upset the Friday he left and then we were off on vacation. The house has felt empty since we’ve been back.
Our trip was OK. We spent it with my husband’s family in New York and my little sister accompanied us. I love New York, just not in the winter!
This little baby has been on my mind big time. She most likely is born and we have no idea about her existence in the universe yet. It is killing me. I hope and pray that she is safe and healthy and loved. I’ve been getting my hopes up that we will find out about the baby soon. Many people from our agency have gotten their referrals and they have been waiting about the same time as us. I haven’t called our agency but I read a blog of someone who did. The news is that it is taking about 5 months now. Urggghhh! I really think being a pessimist is a great thing sometimes. So it could be March 3rd, our fifth month. I’m sad about this but I’m going to stick to my original plan. We are going to enjoy being parentless if it kills us. We are going bask in the freedoms that come without having a child for a little more time. As C. says, it will happen when the time is right.
I don’t even know where to start. It has been crazy around here but it is slowing down. This may or may not be a good thing! Our foster son is home with his dad for good and I just can’t believe it yet. His room is empty, his toys are gone, but it still feels like he is coming back. I know when school starts it will really hit me. I was very upset the Friday he left and then we were off on vacation. The house has felt empty since we’ve been back.
Our trip was OK. We spent it with my husband’s family in New York and my little sister accompanied us. I love New York, just not in the winter!
This little baby has been on my mind big time. She most likely is born and we have no idea about her existence in the universe yet. It is killing me. I hope and pray that she is safe and healthy and loved. I’ve been getting my hopes up that we will find out about the baby soon. Many people from our agency have gotten their referrals and they have been waiting about the same time as us. I haven’t called our agency but I read a blog of someone who did. The news is that it is taking about 5 months now. Urggghhh! I really think being a pessimist is a great thing sometimes. So it could be March 3rd, our fifth month. I’m sad about this but I’m going to stick to my original plan. We are going to enjoy being parentless if it kills us. We are going bask in the freedoms that come without having a child for a little more time. As C. says, it will happen when the time is right.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
11 Weeks!!
Yesterday was week 11 of our wait for referral. It is getting closer and we are starting to get excited. What does this mean exactly? Well, let's just say that many people from our agency have gotten their referrals around 16 weeks of waiting. Here are some blogs that I follow that recently got the call (as in this week!!):
FairyGood
Breedloves
The Road to Our Own
On the Road
Congratulations to them! It is wonderful to watch their experiences through this adoption process.
FairyGood
Breedloves
The Road to Our Own
On the Road
Congratulations to them! It is wonderful to watch their experiences through this adoption process.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
The Long Goodbye
Our foster son will be reunited with his father this Friday. It is bittersweet, as I am happy for R. and his dad while at the same time I am so sad to say goodbye. Last week he said goodbye to all his friends and mentors at the East Atlanta Kids Club, an awesome organization we became involved in last year. R. has had the chance to participate in an array of fun activities. We watched him race in the annual bike rally and march in the East Atlanta Strut parade. R. and I got to make a wonderful lunch together for our community retirement home members which will always be a fond memory for me. I was tearing up watching him give hugs to a special group of people who have showed him so much love and support. This week he will be saying goodbye to all his friends and teachers at school. He is having his first sleep over with his best friend on Thursday. It’s a school night but his last chance before he leaves. I just want him to enjoy his last few days with us. We are going to have one last family movie night and go to his favorite restaurant. I hope that we can stay in contact with him. His dad said that we could take him for a weekend sometime. This meant so much to me…I just can’t imagine never seeing him again after sharing the last year and a half raising him. Tonight his father came to drop him off at our house after his weekend visit. We usually met at McDonalds. He moved most of R’s toys and his bike. It is going to feel very empty around here for awhile.
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