Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! This year I am spending Christmas with friends and family. It has been a busy few days but a lot of fun! I hope everyone else is having a great holiday as well! Maybe by this time next year I will have a referal - or at least be close to that point :)

I haven't posted anything for a bit now as my life has been very busy lately with work and Christmas around the corner. All the relatives have been slowly trickling in and this year looks like it is going to be a fun one.

I received news today that my file was sent to foreign affairs! They say that it is really slow right now; it used to take about 2 weeks and is currently ranging between 6-8 weeks. I will count on the long wait and hopefully be pleasantly surprised with a shorter wait. Then it will be sent to the Ethiopian Embassy which can take up to 25 days. Once this is done my whole dossier is sent to the provincial government and off to Ethiopia! This is still a bit away but closer every day!

Secret Pal makes day!

Yesterday I got my approval in the mail and sent it off to CAFAC today! On my way back from the post office I stopped at the mail box - not expecting anything as I already got the mail I was waiting for. To my surprise there was my parcel from my secret pal!!!! I can't tell you how amazing this timing was as this truly has been a challenging week. Decembers theme was something for travel or something Ethiopian. My secret pal send me a beautiful poem in a home made card (he/she must be a scrapbooker as they send the most beautiful cards). Then she sent me a change pad travel system - a very cool one !, a super soft Disney blanket - the perfect size for traveling, some bibs, a soft baby book, and an Ethiopian Amharic book. Each parcel was individually wrapped with a little note on each one. So much thought and care into each parcel that I receive! It is very strange to be getting stuff for my baby when I am so early in the process - but very cool all the same!

Mail surprise!

I was coming home from a long day -- make that week at work today and stopped by the mail and guess what I recieved! Well yes a ton of junk mail and tucked between that was a parcel noticed. Althought it said I couldn't go until tomorrow after 1 I decided to chance it - and it was my Ministry Approval!!!!!!! One more step completed! Tomorrow I will be sure to send the whole package off to CAFAC.

November is coming to an end!

I can't believe that it is December tomorrow! I suppose to need to get moving on my Christmas shopping. This weekend I bought a Christmas tree - last year I had just moved into my new place so did not have one. I am realizing how picky I am about decorations and so far my tree is looking pretty sparse :) My job now is to actually sit down and make a list of all the Christmas presents and errands that I need to complete.

Another week gone by and no home study returned :( I have done a lot of reading and it looks like most people got them back in one month so maybe this will be the week for me as today is the one month point. I realize this is only the start of the waiting process but I think I will feel much better once my whole file is gone to Ethiopia. Despite my obsessively checking my mail all week for my home study the week went by pretty fast. I do some weekend respite (like a weekend foster parent) and had kids this weekend. We had a lot of fun and I find that it always helps to take my mind off the waiting period.

Ethiopian Dinner and meeting new people!

All week I have been checking the mail constantly! I know that it could be a couple more weeks until my homestudy arrives back from the government but I was hoping it would come. To my surprise my parcel from my secret pal arrived! I was like a child -- so excited and almost in tears as I read the beautiful poem and opened the gifts! I think this exchange helps me to pass the wait -- as everyone involved in this process knows.....I still have a LONG way to go!

Tonight was an Ethiopian event - dinner with many other people in different stages of the process. I met some wonderful people and loved to hear all about these experiences. There were also many beautiful children of all ages in attendance and it was nice to see that this long wait is so worth it! I made some great contacts and look forward to following different people through their process!

Keeping my fingers crossed that my homestudy will return to me this week!

The beginning

After reading tons of peoples international adoption blogs I decided that this was something that might help pass the time while waiting for my little one.

I have wanted to adoption since I was about 10 years old. Initially my dreams were to adopt from Haiti. For years I had researched into this process and the orphanages, agencies, etc... that I would need to have information about. After much soul searching and realizing that due to the volitility and political issues this program was not for me at this time. At this point I began looking into other programs. Instantly Ethiopia came to mind; after looking into this program I decided that this was the way to go. I liked the care that these children recieved and am very interested in all the cultural aspects. So began the journey....

In August 2008 I began submitting paperwork and decided on which coordinator and agency to use throughout the process. In September I had my home study and am not currently waiting for it to return and recieve provinical approval.