It's Been a Rough Week

First of all, thank you all for your support in this very difficult time. The kind words and prayers were so comforting and I also appreciate the emails I received with information about other agencies. In light of the timeframe given to me by Gladney, I have no choice but to switch agencies. I am hopeful that I can find an agency that is single-friendly and with a shorter projected wait time; I am actively researching all the suggestions left in the comments and private emails. Hopefully something will pan out and I will be able to continue with my dream of bringing home my daughter from Ethiopia.

Despair

I just learned from my agency that due to new regulations in Ethiopia regarding singles, my adoption won't be processed until 2012. I have nothing else to say.

baptism

I just came back from a lovely celebration for T.J., my friend Tefera's baby. (I met Tefera in Ethiopia; he was one of the social workers in the orphanage and he is here for 6 months to be with his wife and newborn). Tefera said that Ethiopian baby boys get baptized when they are 40 days old and baby girls when they are 80 days old. Daniel, known as T.J.(Tefera junior) is 40 days old today. I didn't go to the ceremony-I'm sure it was all in Amharic- but I was invited to their house to enjoy some traditional food and drink. Yummy injera, doro wat, gomen, and other veggies and some other delicious chicken dish and some homemade tej--the honey wine. Very tasty!

T.J. is a cute, little munchkin. I got to hold him for a bit. He fell right to sleep in my arms. :) There was one other American woman there but otherwise I was surrounded by Ethiopians and their beautiful children. So, so adorable!

On the homestudy front, I'm down to the final stretch. I need to do the Hague training videos and a couple of pieces of paperwork and I'm waiting for my final two references and then I think I'll actually be done! My new self-imposed deadline is November 30, 2008. Wish me luck!

Even Kindergarteners Know...LOL!

Anything is Possible!

"It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America. " -Barack Obama

Yes We Can

I left my social worker a *firm* message on his voice mail on Friday and let me tell you I was in shock when his agency registered on my caller ID this morning! Although I wasn't able to get my homestudy done by the end of October, like I had hoped, at least I now know exactly what what I have left to do. I actually think I can get it done by the end of November! :-D