Sorry for the delay...

Well, I am one of those people who believe that if you don't have something nice to say, you are better off saying nothing at all...

I guess that is why I haven't posted in the past few weeks. We are still in the 'hear nothing' stage.... We were very optimistic that we would have a referral this summer, and be able to travel by Nov/Dec to pick up our little one, but it isn't looking good.... This week a family that has been waiting since December for a referral was FINALLY referred a beautiful baby girl... only 2 months old. There are many families in front of us in line, and I don't know if my patience will hold out! (Keep in mind we have only been officially waiting for just under 2 months!)

Today we received a video of waiting children. How I wish we could take them all in! So many kids.... most of them older, or with siblings....Some that have been waiting for many months, years... so sad. AAI really does all they can to place these older children. Many older kids find families through them. Maybe in a few years when Leyton and Baby girl "X" are older..... ( I know.... Jon is saying over my shoulder... 'let's worry about this one first!')

Well, anyway... I just wanted to stop by and let all of you who might still be checking in, know that we hadn't fallen off the face of the earth, and we haven't gotten 'lucky' and made the trip to Ethiopia already!

We are still here.... still waiting.... still pouting..... Keep us in your prayers that she is out there, and will find her way to us Very, very soon!

1 month down.... hopefully not too many more to go!

Well, it is official. We have been waiting for our referral 1 month already. Honestly, I thought it would seem much longer than it has. Of course, each morning when I wake up, I rush to log into my inbox, to see if by some freak of nature, I have received the word.... That hasn't been the case yet, but I'm sure that we will be hearing something in the not too distant future!

The director of AAI has been in Ethiopia for the past week, and said that Layla House will be getting several new babies and older children in the coming weeks. Of course, there is a 3 month mandatory wait before the babies can be reffered. The Ethiopian Government has applied this rule, to make sure that someone doesn't come back for the babies, and it also provides adequate time for medical evaluation.
Everything will work out, and we will get the baby that we were meant to have.
Looking forward to that day!

The all-day Embassy trip...

There has to be a better way to do things at the US Embassy in Frankfurt.

Wednesday morning, bright and early (7am)... Jon, Leyton and I piled into the car for the (what should be) 2 hour drive to Frankfurt for our embassy appointment. We arrived in the city with little problem, and to our surprise found a front-row parking spot.... Where was the line???
Hmmm... after further inspection, we discovered that the Consulate had moved. Yes, Moved.... no, they didn't tell me that, the 500 times I have had them on the phone in the past year.... Nor, did they have a sign up, indicating so. By the sheer grace of God, a very nice English-speaking cab driver pulled up beside us, and let us in on the secret.... He was also kind enough to draw us a map. He assured us that it was no more than 15 minutes away, so we hopped in the car, and headed out. We soon realized that we had missed a major turn in the road, and were on the wrong track.... Needless to say, it was 10:30 by the time we arrived at the new/improved Embassy. The line we were looking for before, was now 3 huge lines.... No signs, or directions of any kind.... We went up to the building to ask where we needed to be, and the guy kindly replied.... 'to the left'. That would have been fine, but there were two lines on the left. One line 1/2 a mile long... the other, about 1/4mile.... Jon jumped in the long line, and after standing there a few minutes, I realized we were the only people in the line speaking English. I decided that this couldn't be right, so I got in the other line, and waited patiently for someone to ask. Finally after about 10 minutes (and the lines not moving at all...) An officer came out, to announce that the computers were down, and that the passport services were on hold. Thank goodness that wasn't what we were there for. We had an appointment to refile our I-600 A.... Preapproval for an Orphan Visa. After finding that out, he gave us a number and let us inside... (10:58am..He didn't even check our ID's.) We went inside, where we were told to sit and watch a board for our number to come up.... then we could go upstairs and wait some more.... Hmmmm....
At about 1:15, our number was finally called. Thank goodness that I have had a phone relationship with the woman at window #15 for the past 6 months... Sandra was nice, and took our paperwork, and gave us a form that had to be delivered to the 1st floor, paid for and then returned to the window, before they would go ahead with the processing of our application. We went to pay, returned with our receipt, and waited some more.... at 1:45, we were told it would be about 30 minutes before the form would be completed. By 2:30, we were on our way out of Frankfurt, only to be stuck in traffic.... We didn't make it home till nearly 7pm.... What a day. Too bad We will have to do it all again before we travel to pick up our little girl.... I still have to get my passport ammended. I know... I know.... I've been married almost 6 years, and still have my maiden name on my passport... Oh well, Another day.

On a happier note, more referrals have been made, so we are moving up!

Moving faster than anticipated...

I received a very exciting email in my inbox this morning.... It seems that a fellow adoptive family waiting for the referral of a little girl, recieved that referral yesterday. This family is also using AAI, as thier agency, and have only been waiting for 4.5 months. This is very reassuring, since we were given a much longer estimate. Of course, there are many unknowns involved, and one can't be sure that this pace will continue. But, it does make the wait a little easier, when the list in front of us is moving along. We are currently #48 on the list of total families waiting, but around #20 of families waiting specifically for a little girl. So, I say.... 'Keep the referrals coming! We can only move up the list from here!'

Officially WAITING!!!

Last night we received the news that we are now officially on the waiting list. Our dossier was sent to Ethiopia yesterday. Isn't that exciting!?!?!?!
We have waited 2 long years to get this far, it doesn't seem real. Although patience isn't a virtue that I was blessed with, I have come to gain a little in this process. And it is true, that patience pays off!
On the down-side, as exciting as this news is, we could still be waiting up to 9 months to receive the referral of our little girl, and then it will be 6-8 weeks after that, before we can bring her home....

So, I guess you can consider us 'Paper-pregnant'!

Please keep us in mind when you are speaking with your favorite higher power... We are hoping for a speedy referral time! Although this is wishful thinking... we would love to have her home by Christmas!

Thanks for continuing to follow along....

Dossier submitted!

Well, It is now out of our hands.... We have finally received all of the necessarry documents, and our Dossier is at the agency getting ready for translation. We also received word that our documents have been sent to D.C. to the Ethiopian Embassy for Authentication. We have been told that this can take between 10-21 days... so keep your fingers crossed that it moves quickly! In a few weeks we will officially be on the waiting list for our little girl. So exciting!

The slugger...  

The paper chase.... and T-ball!

Well, after a few weeks of collecting, we are well on our way to a completed Dossier! We are currently waiting for 2 additional documents, one that should be here this week, and then an employment letter from my Hallmark boss, that won't arrive until after Easter.... As soon as we have those, we can send our dossier to AAI. We are so excited to get it submitted!

Thanks so much to our local JAG! It is really a hassle to all involved, to have to leave work to get documents notarized. Our JAG officer, has been great, and even used her personal time, to meet us at the Clinic, and MP stations, to have forms notarized. She has been great, and we appreciate her help! The military isn't like being in the states, where you can find a notary who is willing to travel.... It is like pulling teeth here, to get JAG to help you out.

On another note, Leyton had his first T-ball practices last week.... He loves it, though we have to work on base order... he likes to run straight up the middle! It's amazing what a little ball, and stick can do... For a bunch of 3 year olds, he and his teammates are pretty focused at practice. Hopefully it will stay that way!

The ball is slowly rolling...

Well, this week we received our Dossier Packet from our agency. In the next few weeks, we will be collecting all of the necessary documents (birth certificates, tax forms, reference letters, Home study, etc...) that make up the dossier, and get them notarized and sent off for translation into Amharic (Ethiopia's native language). We are very excited to finally have the okay, to get our documents together so that we can get them submitted to Ethiopia for consideration.
Once they make it to Ethiopia, it could take up to a year, to receive our referral... Lets all keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't take that long!

Also this week, we received information on a child that we are sponsoring to go to school in Ethiopia. Our agency runs a scholarship fund for needy families. We have received a 7 year old boy, Tilahun, who has a younger brother and two younger sisters. We are very excited to write to him, and maybe visit, when we travel to Ethiopia to pick up our daughter!

Things to do while we wait....

With all the time we spend waiting between milestones, I have decided to start a few projects.... This blog of course, is the first one... I have uploaded a few links, and a photo show today, so be sure to check them out!

My second project is going to be a 100 good wishes quilt...
To welcome a new child, a tradition exists in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei (aka 100 Good Wishes Quilt). The family invites friends and family to contribute a square of cloth along with their wish for the baby. Part of the square goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other goes into a scrapbook with the wish for the child. It is said that the quilt contains the luck and energy from everyone who contributed a piece of fabric. Although this is a Chinese tradition, I think it is a great idea, and a great way to welcome our little girl to the family!

If you would like to contribute to the quilt... And I hope you will! Follow the directions below.... Of course, after we receive our referral, I will be sending out a request letter to our friends and family who don't respond to this post...

Here's what you do:

Choose a 100% cotton fabric that you like. It can be from a fabric store, fabric you already have, or something that is special to you. (Why 100% cotton? Blends tend to be problematic - don't know why, that's just what the experts tell me.)


Some Wish Fabrics that we have already received. 


Prewash the fabric so it shrinks and is clean; then iron it so that it is straight enough for cutting.

Cut two squares (one 8"x8" , and One 2" X 2" ).

Add your wish. The wish can be your own words and thoughts, a favorite poem or quote, or whatever. Place it on a 3" x 5" or a 4" x 6" card. Your wish card can be as simple or as elaborate as you'd like. If you feel creative and want to decorate it, that's great too. Your wish can be deep and thought-provoking or something as simple and fun as a wish for a lifetime of great hair days. For those of you who are really into it, you can include a picture of yourself so she can see who sent her the wish.


Wish Notes that we have already received. 


E-mail me, if you need the address...

I think these two projects will keep me busy for a while. And of course, when I am not working on them, Leyton will make sure I'm entertained!

And for those of you wondering where Jon might be...

The Army is keeping him busy... He has been in the field for a little over a month now, with another 10 days to go...

Our Timeline...

21 January 2006 Contacted AAI for an information packet.

2 February 2006 Decided to work with AAI, and sent in application.

6 February 2006 Application was received by AAI.

8 February 2006 Began Ethiopian Orphaned Student Sponsorship program.

9 February 2006 Called BCIS to have file moved from Almaty,KAZ to Frankfurt.
Mailed Police Background Check requests to PA.

22 February 2006 Contract packet received from AAI.

24 February 2006 Met Jon in the field to sign contracts.

27 February 2006 Mandie Vaccinated.

2 March 2006 Express mailed contracts to AAI.

6 March 2006 Contract Package arrived at AAI.

11 March 2006 Received FBI Background checks approved and good till June 07.

13 March 2006 Mandie Vaccinated... some more!

21 March 2006 Received Dossier packet from AAI. Received info on Tilahun, the 7 year old Ethiopian Student that we are sponsoring for school.

10 May 2006 AAI sent our documents to D.C. for Authentication at the Ethiopian Embassy.

11 May 2006 Express mailed Dossier to AAI.

15 May 2006 Dossier arrived at AAI, and We have received official agency approval.

23 May 2006 Dossier sent to Ethiopia! Officially on the waiting list!

2 February 2007 Received file for almost 8 month old Sidisse.

5 February 2007 Officially accepted the referral of Sidisse.

10 February 2007 Left For Ethiopia to visit our baby... Ava Sidisse.

11-17 February 2007 Had a great visit with Sidisse.

15 February 2007 Sidisse's Case was filed in court with Group J!

18 February 2007 Returned to Germany.

27 February 2007 Official Court Finalization Date... 9 March!!

9 March 2007 It's official... we are her legal parents!

29 March-8 April Pick up Trip!

4 April 2007 Embassy Appointment.

8 April 2007 Home forever!

A long journey to here....

Wow... seems like things are finally picking up. Just to get everyone up to speed, I will start with the recap of the past 18 months...

In August 2004 , after years of knowing that I wanted to adopt a child, Jon and I decided that we would add a daughter to our family through adoption. We considered going to Ukraine, but with elections being held, and the uncertainty of the government at the time, we quickly decided to switch to Bulgaria. We picked Bulgaria for a number of reasons, but mostly because it was close to us here in Germany, and because we have some friends who live there. We located an agency in Bulgaria, and decided to work with them. After beginning the paperwork, and document collection, we were informed that their program was being put on hold, due to changes in the adoption process there. With that said, we decided not to 'wait it out' and began looking at waiting children online. In August 2005, we fell in love with a 7 month old little girl in Kazakhstan. We contacted the agency, and they assured us that if we paid the agency fees, they would 'HOLD' her for us. We called in with our CC# right away, and began what we thought would be the process of bringing her home.

Needless to say, A few days later we were told that she had been adopted by another family. The agency assured us that they would work with us to find 'our' little girl. And we had no reason not to believe them. In the time that we began preparing our dossier (or collection of important papers for the adoption), Our new agency CLOSED.... Yes, I said CLOSED. We had no idea.... Until one day, we received an email from another agency, telling us that they were given our file, and would like to work with us to complete our adoption. Of course, they weren't given our money.... After this blow, we didn't feel like we trusted the new agency. We put our plans on hold for a few months, and regrouped.

That brings us to 2006. In January, I requested some information on programs from a couple of different agencies. We still planned on going with Kazakhstan. One of the agencies included info on a program that we hadn't even considered.... Ethiopia. Honestly, we didn't even realize that they were allowing international adoptions. After researching agencies working in Ethiopia, and learning so much about the millions of orphans, and the country they call home, we decided to give it a try.

The process seems relatively painless, compared to some other programs, and there TRULY is a need there. We have decided to work with Adoption Advocates International out of Washington State, because we fell in love with the Layla House, and with the Big Brown Eyes of the children it takes care of. We love that AAI requires families to make a commitment to the children left behind. And we are very excited to be working with them.

I will do my very best to keep this up to date... Thanks for following along.