Showers of Love

This is a little late, but I finally got the pictures on disk, so now I can share.

On Sept. 13, my family treated me to a wonderful adoption celebration/shower. It was a beautiful day filled with fun, food and laughter. Jacinda Hope recieved tons of wonderful presents. There are so many people waiting to love all over her. And everyone was a great sport about having it even though there's no referral. So even in abstract Jacinda Hope, you are LOVED!!!

Here is a picture of my shower cake, lovingly created by my mom. Notice the Ethiopian/American flag pin that the Cabbage Patch Kid is sporting.

The theme was Somewhere Out There...you know the song that goes "Even though I know how very far apart we are, it helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star..."I was quite a hit with the kiddos, of course that is nothing new, unless they were more attracted to Jaci's Lite Brite than me. One of the little boys said it was the best party he had ever been too! The little girls are my niece Leah on the left and Aimee's Ethiopian Princess Brynly on the right. They are getting very excited to have a new Boss arriving. LOL!

Here is Jaci's V. Smile courtesy of Grammy...

New Day, New Attitude

OK, I took a deep breath and feel better. A day or two of moping is not that big of a deal, right?
Yesterday my best bud, Aimee sent me an e-mail that really put waiting into perspective. I told her that I knew that God had a reason for this and she agreed.

I agree that there has to be a reason for this. Perhaps your little girl is spending her last days with her first mother. Who are we to take that from either one of them?

As soon as I read those words, my perspective changed. That for now is enough to hold on to.

Three months

Today marks three months that my dossier has been in Ethiopia.
Three months is a fiscal quarter. Three months is a pregnancy trimester. Three months seems like three years for me today.
I knew the road would be hard. I thought the paperwork would be the hardest part, but it wasn't. That was easy. Waiting has not been easy for me. I would say that I feel like I have been riding a roller coaster, but I can't really find the high points today. I can easily remember all of the wrong feelings that "today could be the day." the fleeces I have half-heartedly placed before the Lord (if the phone rings in the next five minutes, this week will be the week) and the self-doubt (maybe if I pray more or sin less, this will be the time.) And yet it hasn't come.
Three months may only be 90 days, but for me it feels like a lifetime. A long lifetime of going home yet again to an empty apartment where I long to hear giggles, laughter and questions from an unidentified little girl that I already adore.
And yet at three months, I am still asking...will it EVER be my turn?

Britax Blessings

A few months ago I started making my list for items I will need now that I am preparing for the arrival of a preschooler.
I researched safety ratings, customer satisfaction, etc. on everything from car seats to toys and through the process I have developed quite a wish list for Miss Jaci! I have found some of the coolest books on adoption, the greatest language development tools and some precious little girly things I want to give her.
But the car seat was my hardest choice. Early on in my research I fell in love with a car seat. Now keep in mind I am a single gal who knows more about shoes than seats and the reason I first fell in love with this particular seat was due to its adorable seat cover. And to my credit, I moved beyond outward appearances and turned to safety. These seats were top-notch and had a price tag to match. One day I was excitedly describing the Britax seat I had "discovered" and a snotty, yuppie mom corrected me on how to pronounce the brand. I am not sure whether that tuned me off of the seat or I just decided to select something equally as safe and a little easier on the pocketbook. But I moved on and selected a practical version and was satisfied, even though I didn't actually buy it.
Late last week I started noticing that some of my fellow bloggers with my agency were all getting those cute little Britax models and I starting thinking about THE SEAT. On Saturday night I even started stalking Ebay.
Well on Sunday I was talking with a woman from my church and she asked me if I needed a car seat. I said yes and she told me she had a perfectly good one sitting in her basement, if I wanted it, it was mine! And yes, you guessed it...it's the Britax one I have had my eye on since the very beginning!
What a blessing! It's nice to be reminded that God is in the small stuff.

Long time, no post

So last week was not a banner week for me. It wasn't filled with really bad news, but a whole lot of little annoyances that added up. There were days when I felt like I was living the children's book, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."
It started Tuesday...I was on my way to my company's headquarters for a meeting and when I went out to the car that morning to leave. I put the key into the ignition and instead of an engine starting I heard a clicking. That was it. I had lights, I had a horn, I had the radio, but the car was going no where. Turns out it was just the battery. More of an annoyance than an actual issue. Bought a new battery, had it put in and I was on my way.
On Wednesday, I heard back from the company referenced in the previous blog entry that I was NOT their choice. I had asked the Lord to open the doors that needed to be open and to close those that were not His choice for me, so that I had no doubts in my decision. I have no doubts now. The Lord is nothing, if not thorough.
And on Thursday it was the whopper, not the burger, but a really bad computer virus that left me unable to access my computer. In fact I rushed it to Austin a great tekkie at Staples and he took good care of it. Of course, the computer had to be restored to factory settings, which means basically everything would have been wiped out. Luckily the boys at Staples were more than happy to back up my disorganized desktop for a not-so-small fee.
So here it is Saturday night and I guess I am no worse for the wear. My wallet is a little lighter, but I am hoping to hear some news on the adoption front soon.
A referral would definitely change my view! And you know what they say...it's always darkest before the dawn!