COURT NEWS!!!!

Today the 817 area code made my day!!! Gladney called around 4:30pm to let us know that our case will be reviewed on July 2nd!! That's next Friday!! Our federal court date in Ethiopia is a little unsure because it was listed as July 18th, which is a Sunday. Clearly that is not right so hopefully we will find out our actual court date on the 2nd. But Gladney thinks that if all goes well on the 2nd then we'll probably be in Ethiopia the week of July 19th!

I know that many things could go wrong on the 2nd that would keep us from traveling on the 19th but today I am celebrating this progress in getting our little Buster home!!!

Growing Boy

We received an update from our agency last week with our boy’s latest measurements and he is growing!! He has gained almost 2lbs in the past month! He is still below the 5th percentile in terms of American weight charts but he is happy, healthy and growing and that is what matters to me! Gladney (our agency) also included a new picture with his update and he just seems like such a happy boy. He has his hands in his mouth and is clearly grinning. He is also wearing a Sponge Bob t-shirt, which totally cracks me up for some reason. I was looking through the folder we have created with all photos and realized that we have pictures of him documenting each month of his life since he was 4 weeks old. I’m so glad that thanks to traveling families and to our agency that we are able to compile all these photos for him.

On the same day that we got our update we had our appointment for our travel shots. I am SO pleased to have that checked off our list. As with most things, Damon researched where we would be able to get the best deal and we ended up going to Passport Health. They have clinics all over the country and we found that from calling around to various places in Columbus that they were by far the cheapest. I also really liked the nurse that gave us our shots and she didn’t try and talk us into any of the shots that I was uncomfortable with like yellow fever or meningitis. I don’t even like to take aspirin so I am not the easiest of patients (to say the least!). The nurse was also very eager to see pictures of our little guy and she told me that if I don’t bring him with me when I go back for the second round of Hepatitis shots (6 months – year) that she will charge me extra. Very sweet.

I have decided that it is time for me to do some serious weightlifting in preparation for baby Buster. Many friends have advised this and until now it has gone in one ear and out the other. We went to see my in-laws yesterday and I spent much of the afternoon holding my nephew. He is about 8 months old and weighs around 20lbs so he is a big boy. But if our guy continues to grow at the clip of 2lbs a month then I am going to be in serious trouble. I was definitely sore this morning and in the grand scheme of things I didn’t hold him for that long. I have never had a strong upper body so I fear a bit for my arms and back.

Do you know what would really motivate me to lift some weights? A court date!! Hopefully, it will be soon!

Our Dads

"Any man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a dad." -- Anne Geddes

Let the Process Be the Goal

This past weekend I flew home for a baby shower. Once I get all my photos uploaded then I will post about the shower. I had a great time and was extremely touched by all of the love and support. Of course, whenever I fly home the number one thing I am excited about is to spend time with family and friends. A very close second would be a visit to The Yoga Room. This place is one of Tulsa’s treasures in my opinion. I have been to many yoga studios in Columbus to search for something similar and have yet to be successful. My sister, who lives in St. Louis, has run into the same problem. A lot of the other yoga studios I have been to seem mainly focused on the physical aspect of yoga and don’t really have a meditative side to them. I know it is not very yoga-like of me to compare and I should try and feel content with the options that I have. The Yoga Room will always be my favorite though. During the session this past weekend, the instructor said two things that really resonated with me. I thought I would share in the hope that if it helped me then perhaps it might do the same for you.

Let the process be the goal

When he said that I found myself just repeating it throughout the practice. I really felt like he was speaking directly to me. It is easy for me to get caught up in what I perceive the end result of this adoption process to be. However, once I reach that goal then if I continue with this way of thinking then I will always be focused on the next goal and the next one. It is a lot of future thinking that isn’t always productive. However, if I try to steady my mind on the process then I am living more in the moment and can be more open to the blessings of today. Let the process be the goal.

Don’t indulge imagination

Oh my, I am the queen of this! My imagination takes me to all sorts of really terrible places. Why am I worrying about things that haven’t happened? Does it do me any good to wonder about what will happen if we don’t make it through court before rainy season? Nope. There is still the real possibility that we will. And if we don’t? We’ll be okay. We will be sad but we will be okay. Other people have done it and so can we. I am doing my best to not give into the fear about all that might happen and instead just know and trust that it will work out in the end. Don’t indulge imagination.

Amen to that.

Things that make me happy v.2

When I would get really anxious during our wait for a referral it helped to focus on other little things that put me in a good mood. As the wait for a court date gets harder and harder, I decided to do the same thing. I need to make an effort to think about other positive things rather than worrying about the two trips, wondering when we’ll get our court date and how I am sad that we won’t be with our boy for his 5 month birthday next week. Sigh.

So here we go with version 2 of things that make me happy (in no particular order).

1. I made a dress. Yep, this domestically challenged gal made a dress. Okay, so Jen helped me but I actually did a lot of it. I still need to make straps but I am pretty pleased with my first attempt. I think the last time I used a sewing machine was in 7th grade Home Ec. and I made a locker organizer. I remember that locker organizer very well. It was navy and had red, yellow and green pockets. I like this dress a lot more than my locker organizer. As I left for the craft night benefit, I don't think Damon actually believed that I would come home with dress. I am sure he imagined me arriving there and getting lured in by the wine, good conversation and snacks and never actually making a dress. He had already gone to bed when I got home that night and when he woke up in the morning he said with a very surprised tone, "you made a dress." Hello. That was my intention. I had a hard time getting a good picture of it but you get the idea. I am quite pleased with myself.

2. I am going to Tulsa this weekend to spend time with my family and see some friends. My mom has a fun weekend planned and I can’t wait!

3. The World Cup starts this weekend in South Africa! I wish that soccer were as big here in the US as it is in other parts of the world. I love the idea of the whole country coming to a stand still to watch a soccer game. Maybe someday that will happen here. Of course this year there is the added benefit that it is in Africa. If this video doesn’t get you psyched to watch some soccer then I don’t know what will.

4. Okay, don’t make fun of me for this one. But can you tell what this is?

We get a free bag of dog food!! It’s the little things. We feed our dog the Cadillac version of dog food so it can be pricey. This little card will get us a free 35lb bag of food for our little girl. Free makes me happy!

5. My friend Katie made this painting for us. The blue in the star part of the flag works perfectly with the blue that Damon just painted in our nursery. I smile every time I look at. I will be forever touched that she made this.

6. As you know, I can’t post pics of our boy online so I had Damon help me put a little heart over his face so I could share this with you. This is a still of the video from Heidi as she is giving him our photo album. I am so glad that our pictures are in his crib. It is like we are watching over him in spirit. I know you can’t see his face but can’t you tell he is just a cutie?! Don’t you want to wrap your hands around that little belly? Maybe, that is just me. This picture makes me beyond happy!

An Amazing Gift

Yesterday was a good day! I knew that Heidi got home on Tuesday (go check out the beautiful photo of their family of FOUR!) but I was not expecting photos from her so quickly. I opened up my email mid morning and I had an unread message from her with the title, “Pictures of (baby’s name)!” My heart started pounding and it seemed like it took hours for the photos to download. It was probably 30 seconds. He is growing!! In the pictures he had on overalls and I seriously thought that he looked like he was ready for college. His eyes make my heart melt. Heidi gave me a wonderful description of him and used words like amazing, alert and happy. Oh the JOY!! Later in the morning two more emails came through from Heidi with VIDEOS!! Yes, I got to see my baby smile and look around and shake his arm all about. He is real. The videos make him seem truly alive to me. Of course, I know that he is real and alive but to see him interact with someone I adore was almost too much for me to handle. I almost lost it when Heidi put our photo book in his crib. It seems that if I don’t cry at work these days then something is terribly wrong. I just love him. Thank you, Heidi!!

I have also realized that Damon and I need to hurry up and get our travel vaccines. I am not looking forward to this. I am not sure why I am being a baby about it but I am. I think I will bring a picture of our little guy with me and just stare at him to remind myself that it is totally worth it!!

Question for Ethiopian Adoption Blogging Friends: Does anyone know of a blog for a family that has a court date and they will have to travel for that court date? I am starting to get nervous (biggest understatement of the century!!) about this whole two trip thing and would like to be able to properly stalk anyone going before me in this new era of Ethiopian adoptions. My anxiety is starting to creep up and up and I don’t like it!

Time to go watch my video for the billionth time!!