7 things...

My friend Steph 'tagged' me and so I am supposed to tell you 7 things about myself. Here goes...

1. I am a homebody. I love to be home. I am not necessarily an introvert or a hermit but i need a certain amount of time at home. I go squirrely if i am out too many nights in a week.

2. I come from a huge family. My dad has 11 brothers and sisters and therefore i have close to 50 first cousins. I always thought this was normal - doesn't everyone have a family like that?! Its great and i am a bit sad that our baby will have a total of 4 cousins.

3. I am hooked on General Hospital. Yes, I admit it. I have watched it for years and now with the help of our satellite dish i can still watch it when i get home from work.

4. I remember my dreams. I tend to have very vivid dreams - last night George Canyon was singing at my church?! - and i tend to remember all kinds of little details. I have also been able to dream sequels - if i thought about an 'old dream' long enough before i went to bed i could pick up where we left off last night. Haven't tried that in a long time.

5. I can't spell to save my life...like you haven't noticed.

6. I don't like driving in bad weather. I grew up in the country and was used to driving in snow. But the last couple of years i just hate it. I recently cancelled a hair appointment due to the weather and i am now known as a 'city wuss'. Who cares if you have 4 wheel drive - if you can't see, you can't see!!

7. I am not a morning person - i hate getting up and can be down right grouchy till I 'wake up' - which can take a while - even after a nap. I am not a night person - by about 9:00 -9:30 my brain shuts off. Ask anyone who has been playing cards with me - all of a sudden i can't remember who's turn it is, what has been laid, what trump is... So i have no idea where i fit. But, if you see my eyes glaze over at about 9:30, you know what is happening.

There you go. I think i was the last to get tagged - if there is anyone else who would like to share their 7 things - you are 'it'!!!

updates

Hey - wanted you to know that i appreciate your prayers on behalf of my family. Val is still in hospital and will be for a while. We are very excited that the Drs have a plan and in the next few weeks she should see if things are working or if a plan b is needed.
I am so disappointed...today is an Ethiopian Adoptive Family get together. there was supposed to be a picnic in the summer which got rained out. Today is a "Christmas" celebration. i was really looking forward to going and meeting some 'cyber' friends!!! However, I have come down with a doozy of a cold (does this sound familiar?!!! it seems like i get through one cold and then get another before i know it!! so sick of this!!!). I had thought i would still go - but that would be spreading germs to those sweet babies and they don't need that!!! I am so sorry to be missing!!! Hope you all have a good time!

Val

Hey - if you know Val (or even if you don't)- please say a prayer for her today. She has been admitted to hospital and hopefully is finally getting the care she needs to heal. Pray that the Dr's will get to the bottom of all this. Pray that there will be no other complications. Pray that the nursing staff will be diligent about her allergies and special needs. Pray for Brad too. Thanks everyone.

Brenda Math

Yippee - we have made it through month number 3. Hey - give me some credit - i am celebrating even the small numbers!!! They are all worth celebrating in my books.
In my quest to accept the longer referral times, i have come up with a new plan (in my brain anyway -). Brenda Math... Since i like to 'pad' my time frame - i am going to say that it will be one year till our referral. I know, I know what you are thinking- Brenda, you are nuts - say it ain't so!! One year is sooooo long!! When we started our adoption, we were told 6-8 months for a referral - and now (9 months later) they are saying 8-10 months - and call me negative but i have a feeling that this won't be the last change in our time frame before its all said and done. I guess Brenda Math is my way to protect myself. Now, if it is true and we will end up waiting one year till our referral then we have just finished the first 3 months, a quarter of our wait - or 25%. Looking at the big picture is way better for me - 25% done is way better than 3 months. Of course i wish Brenda Math wasn't needed and we would just get our referral in the 6-8 months we were originally told. And maybe that could happen - I believe in miracles. But chances are pretty slim. So - yippee for 25% Lets hope the next 3 months fly by!!

nothing new...

well - here you go with your monthly 'there is nothing new' post. Really - there isn't. Unfortunately i have no good news to pass on to those of you wondering. We are still waiting... and will be for quite a while. I am slowly trying to get used to the idea of 2010. I was putting the Christmas tree away last night and really wondering if we will be home with a baby by next Christmas - i really don't think so.
I get asked all the time for updates - which is actually really nice - it means that people care and are generally interested in my life. But believe me - when the day does come and I do have news - you won't need to be asking - cause i will be screaming and shouting and freaking out - and if you don't hear me causing a ruckus - then it will be Grandma. There was one referral announced this past week - so we did move up the line a tiny little bit. I personally think there will be a bunch of referrals announced soon - you heard it first here. Just my gut feeling.
If you think of it, you can pray for Val this week. She hasn't been feeling too great for quite a while now and will probably be admitted to hospital this week. She really needs the care they can give her and we are all hoping that she is feeling better soon. We love you Val. She has got to be the bravest person i know.

Mixing it up

hey - this one is just for fun. The things i have done are in bold.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - of coarse not at my present job :)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching -didn't see any :(
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check - opps :(
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car - does a lease count?
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

hmm - seems like there are a few things left to do in this lifetime!!!

suprise surprise...

Well, today has been a bit of a down day in the adoption world. I got a message from our agency today that explains why new court proceedings are going to take longer in the future than they do now. Its out of our control (like most, if not all of this adoption). I am sure its really a good thing and for our own benefit to have more checks and balances. Basically, if i understand it all, its a double and triple check to be sure that the baby in question is relinquished by both parents. In my opinion that is a very good thing. I would be so devastated to find out in a year or so that our baby was not really relinquished by one or both parents - i can not even fathom that. So, i don't really think its a bad thing - although i am not sure if some of it is not a bit redundant. Of coarse this means - longer wait times and the whole system getting more bogged down. uggh - like we needed one more thing to slow it all down. It does make me nervous that things just 'change' like that. Our AP did warn us in the beginning that in the international adoption world things can change at any time. You really have no control - and that's what worries me most. I think of the Chinese program and how well it was going a few years ago and where it is now. I hope and pray (real hard) that the Ethiopian program continues to work well, despite the slow downs. I know i whine about waiting - but think of all of those kids just waiting to be part of a family. I am an adult, i should be able to handle the wait - those poor kids.

holiday photos

Christmas 08 at Granny's

Kyle, Uncle Mikey and Aunt Brenda

Granny and AJ

Flood Dec 08

This is just down the street about 3 blocks from our house. Luckily we are high enough to have a dry basement!!!!!

I spent last night going through our digital photos. Can you believe we have had our camera for almost 3 years and i have not printed one single photo yet?? Bad bad bad. In September (i know i am a procrastinator) we pre-purchased 300 photos at Blacks and they give you a really cool CD to order your prints with. Well - 456 photos later - hmmm not sure if they will be ready in an hour :) We don't have high speed here in small town ON so i think it took all night to down load. I hereby promise to be more vigilant with my photos!!!!! After i ordered the photos, i then spent the rest of the night organizing the photos i knew we had but weren't in a book - including the before shots of our house (we moved 3 1/2 years ago) and Brad and Val's wedding (they got married 5 years ago). Not sure that our baby will ever have a scrap book let alone photos in a book some where :) So, while i was at it i figured i should get some photos on here for Grandpa Chuck. I know he will appreciate seeing what we have been up to. For those who don't know -Mike's Dad lives in Burkina Faso and drills water wells there. This is the second Christmas we have missed together - but we look forward to his visit in the spring. We will have Christmas then!!!!!

2009

Well here we go with a new year!! Its pretty exciting to be closer to our kidlet. We have come along way in the last year to be where we are today. I am so realived to be finished with the home study and approval process!!!!! The waiting stinks - but we knew it would. Here's to 2009 and all the surprises it will bring.
We had a great New Years Eve. We had an amazing dinner at one of my favorite places!! Its a tradition to go there every New Years Eve. The food was great!!! I have a cold though and was sniffling and sneezing through all 4 courses so i don't think i tasted it to its full potential. A good time was had by all and we rang in the new year by watching the 'ball' drop in NYC. I love Dick Clark but i really think its time for him to retire...
To do some catching up...
Mike and i did manage to get out after boxing day. We did a little shopping - and then did dinner and a movie. It was a nice night. The most fun part though was the shopping :) We ordered a crib for baby!!!!!!!!!!!!! The store was having a no tax event so we decided to bite the bullet. This kid already has better stuff than we have!! I hear this is just the begining!! We bought the crib that eventually changes into a double bed, a dresser/change table and then the mattress and all that jazz. Its black ('weathered ebony' to be exact) and I love it!!!! If I was more computer savy i would post pictures of it - but alas it would take me forever to figure it out and so we will wait till its home and assembled to show you all what it looks like. So, its been ordered and will arrive in 8-10 weeks - we need to get moving on that room and get it finished. Wow - what a difference it will make to walk by that room and not see it full of ladders and paint cans! This is realism setting in. I am really looking forward to making that room more inhabitable!!!
Back to Christmas for a minute- i got some great books that were on my list. "I am Chocolate, You're Vanilla" is a great book (so far) on raising black children in a white world. I also got my own copy of 'There is no me without you". The first time i read it - it was a copy from the library. This is my own copy that i hope to lend out to friends and family so that they can get a feel for Ethiopia and the AIDS crisis and orphans. Its an amazing book and so current. if you havent read it yet - get in line and you can borrow my copy!! I also got Mike "Bless Ethiopia" which is a beautiful photo/coffee table book. It has amazing photos and some good info in there as well.
We also survived the 'great flood of 2008'. The flood had both ends of our street under water but we are high enough that we had not one drop in our basement. The whole town would have to be under water for that to happen. It was a bit of a three ring circus though with all of the flood 'tourists' out to see the spectical. Only in a small town!! We could have charged admission and made a killing!! I will have to post some photos later on.
I see this post is a bit disjointed - guess its a bit like my brain. Must get back to the couch for more cold meds and my fav blankey.
Happy New Year everyone!!