5 Months today

It's official, we have been waiting 5 months for a referral. I'm not sure how much longer we will wait. We "think" we will hear something this spring or early summer. It's just a guess. We've played the guessing game before with Igor and we were WAY off! So, our hearts are not focused on a month or a day or a season, yet....

A week from Friday, our agency will be hosting a conference call for families waiting for a referral. We are looking forward to the conference call, it should be filled with all sorts of great information. Oh, I wish the call was tomorrow... but like our referral, we will wait.

Look-alike Meter

I saw this on William & Susan's blog and I HAD to give it a try. From the day we brought Igor home, everyone has said Igor looks just like Rob. Yes, even strangers come up to us when we are out and about and comment on how much father and son look a like. According to the computer model, Igor looks a little bit more like me.... hmmmmm....

Spring has sprung... but only for a day

Today, we had a taste of spring. It was 60 degrees and a few of my daffodils opened. The majority of my daffodils are still unopened. They must sense that Wednesday and Thursday the temperature will back in the 40's.

The drought has taken a terrible toll on my bulbs. There isn't a crocus, Hyacinth or tulip coming up.... okay, I have ONE tulip out of the hundred or so bulbs I planted in the last 18 months. heavy sigh... I have been researching rain barrels and cisterns since we probably won't be able to water this summer. I think we will go to the next town over and buy 4 rain barrels. They are selling them for cost. I hope my father-in-law will help me make the modifications to the drain spouts. This will allow me to catch enough water for a few herbs and tomatoes this summer. I may break down and plant pumpkins... I need to stop thinking about my garden, otherwise, I will be ordering seeds online tonight.

On the adoption front, at least two families had favorable court rulings today and are the proud parents of beautiful girls! Six families will be in Ethiopia at the end of the week to pick up their children! The last time families picked up their children, referrals quickly followed. Here's hoping for more referrals in March.

The Crud has left the building....

We are sooo over The Crud. We are feeling better and back on schedule. Thankfully, we did not get the flu which is hitting our area hard.

Rob's birthday was Wednesday. Because of a church dinner and meetings Wednesday night we will celebrate his birthday tonight! For dinner we will have steak, salad, mixed veggies and baked potatoes. This afternoon Igor and I made a chocolate chip crumb cookie cake for dessert! It's a cross between a cake and a cookie. Rob is going to love it.

On the adoption front, another family received a referral this week! The first week in March Rob and I an appointment for our Hep B and Meningitis shots. We still need our Yellow Fever vaccine but we'll have to go to a health department in another county. I'll probably make that appointment for sometime in late March.

The Crud's second victim

After two weeks of a "Crud" free home, The Crud is back and this time, Igor is the victim. This morning he woke up saying he had a bad cold. His temp was 101.5 and he had the chills. Igor was upset when he learned that he would not be going to church. I explained he was too sick. He gave me one of his famous blank looks, which means; What mommy?? He didn't have enough energy to protest too much, he cuddled up in our bed until lunch time. If you know Igor, this boy does not stop for a cold; he normally ignores it and goes on with life. Our boy is sick with The Crud.

Igor and I watched one of the Planet Earth DVD's while he was resting. The announcer said they were in Ethiopia. Igor perked right up and said, "Mom, they are in Effopia. That's where my brother lives." It was great to see Igor making the connection.

This afternoon Rob and Igor were coloring at the kitchen table when Igor said he wanted to take a rest. He didn't leave the table; he put his head on daddy's lap and promptly fell asleep.

Caramel corn production has stopped until The Crud is gone and the house is disinfected. I hope to start back up on Tuesday but it will depend on Igor's recovery.

What's in a number?? A time of reflection.

I think we are Dossier #32. Some of you are wondering what's that?? Our adoption paperwork is called a dossier. Our agency gives each dossier a number when it is received for final processing. We are #32. So, what does the number mean? Honestly, I wish it meant that we would be the 32nd family to receive a referral! Twenty-two referrals have been issued so we are #10 on paper. However, it is not as simple as that.

So here's the process- As children become eligible for adoption our agency reviews the child's file and then matches them with a family. Some families are requesting infant girls, others a boy, some are open to either gender.... We requested a toddler boy. Only a hand full of families have requested a boy in this age range. We may receive a referral before the 32nd referral is issued because our agency will "skip" down to the families that requested this age range. However, there will have to be a toddler boy that becomes available. We could be waiting well after the 32nd referral.

As we learned from our Russian adoption (which took two years), where we are in line doesn't mean much. For Russia it felt as though we hit every adoption stumbling block possible and then we waited and waited. While we were in the program, Russia families did not go in “turn” or in number order. It was much more like an individual faith journey than a process within a numbering system.

While we could not see it at the time, God was preparing new jobs/roles, a major move, a new church, a new house, speech and OT teachers for Igor..... None of this was revealed until months after Igor's "gotcha" day. But when we saw it all unfold, we knew it was God. He had not forgotten us during our two year process and as always, He had been in control. He had a perfect plan for our family... a plan that was so much better than we could have dreamt of...
God's plans are rarely linear. He has never short changed us by going by our time-line or our number. He sees things, all things and we know he has a bigger and better plan for our family than we have. His plan is perfect and just like last time we will wait on his perfect timing. But sometimes, I wish we could take a ticket, wait in line (in order!) and our adoption would be as easy as creating a spreadsheet and the number 32.

Candle Dipping

Every year Igor's nursery school teacher invites parents and children to candle dipping. This year's invitation was a poem:

A candle's but a simple thing,
it starts with a bit of string,
but dipped and dipped with patient hand,
it gathers wax upon the strand.
Until complete and yellow white, it gives
at last a lovely light.
Life seems so like that bit of string,
each deed we do a simple thing,
yet day by day on life’s strand,
we work with patient heart and hand.
It gathers joy, makes dark days bright
and gives at last a lovely light.
This morning was candle dipping day. We all received a wick which we dipped into the liquid wax and then into water... as Ms Joya sings, "Dip and Walk" and "This Little Light of Mine" to keep us going. It takes about and hour to make a small candle. If you are patient and smooth the candle as you go, you can make a lovely candle.

Handing out the wicks Evan dipping in the wax

the finished candles!

Visit & Art Therapy

We loved our short time with Donna! It's always great to see "old" friends.

Yesterday, Igor & I finally broke out the acrylic paints and the canvass. Igor and I needed a little art therapy. Do you ever have one of those days when you realize you are stuck in a rut? Yesterday was one of those days for us. We needed to shake things up a little bit so we decided to paint. Igor wanted to mix the paints up to create different colors. There is something about paint that calms the soul. Maybe we should paint more often....

Nana, I hope you don't mind, Igor is wearing the apron you sent him for cooking! It's his "painting smock" now.

Referrals will be coming...

Our agency has told us the more referrals will be coming this month! It is so exciting to know that children will be revealed to their parents in February. I remember getting our referral for Igor; it was such an exciting day, week, month....


This morning when I woke up the first thought I had was, please Lord, don't give us a referral this month.... I know, it's a very strange thought. We have been on the adoption journey since May of 2007, why would I think such a thought?


Honestly, I want more time with my little boy. Igor has been with us since November 2005, but for a lot of that time he has been learning English and adjusting. His personality is finally shinning through while the "orphanage Igor" is fading away. Since Christmas Igor has being going through a really rough time. He has had trouble expressing himself verbally. It has frustrated him and us. The poor little guy has been sooo miserable. We finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think last week was a turning point. We have had a few "moments" but they have been moments not hours. Our sweet, beautiful little boy is finally returning and I want to savor this time with him.... alone.

As I think back on the last few days, I treasure some interesting and sweet moments with my boy. Last week Igor saw a dead possum on the road and a very alive vulture. He asked me to pull over so we could watch the vulture. We watched for about 30 minutes as the vulture pulled the possum to the curb and enjoyed lunch. Igor was fascinated by the cycle of life and the food chain. (I am banking on treasures from heaven for this one.)

Yesterday, before church he told us that he was taking a toy car to church to show his "buddies". Rob and I chuckled quietly when he said "buddies" not only is it a new word for Igor but it's the first time he's acknowledged that he has friends (plural).

Igor loves climbing into bed with me in the morning. When I get out of bed to pick out his clothes he rolls on my side of the bed and says, “Mom, I’m in your warm spot” (I’m on your side of the bed.) The mischievous smile on his face is priceless.

I could go on and on with my Igor stories but you get the point. It's not that I don't want our new son to be revealed to us, I DO! I don't want son #2 to stay in the orphanage one more day.... I just want a little more time with Igor. The good news is God has a perfect plan for our family. I know that our referral will happen at His perfect timing, not mine. So, if we get a referral this month, I will rejoice and spend as much time as I can with Igor before son #2 comes home.

"The Crud"

Have you heard of "The Crud"? We hadn't either until we moved south. In the winter you will hear people say so and so has "The Crud". Everyone will nod their head and say, yep, it's that time of year. "The Crud" is an illness that is similar to a cold but leaves you coughing, sometimes for weeks! This week Rob caught "The Crud". Wednesday night he came home with the chills and a cough that kept him up all night. Thursday morning the doctor did a flu test, which came up negative. She gave him a prescription cough medicine that knocks him out. Rob spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday in bed. He feels better this morning but he is still weak. When we get home from church he'll go back to bed. I hope that one more day of sleep will help him get back to 100%.

While "The Crud" germs are in our house, caramel corn production has stopped. I don't want to pass "The Crud" on to you! I have wiped down everything Rob has touched with Clorox wipes (numerous times... If you watch Monk, you know what I'm talking about. "Wipe"). You cannot be too careful!! If Rob is feeling better tomorrow I will disinfect the entire house. I'll start making caramel corn again on Wednesday.

My friend Donna from the DC area is coming for a short visit on Tuesday night. We love having "old" friends visit! I cannot wait to see her!