Newsflash: We are referral-less

I have no idea what's happened, but I'm laughing (otherwise I'd cry) because I've gotten a flood of emails in the last twenty minutes all from sweet, lovely people who, for some reason, think we've gotten our referral!

We have not. After 18+ weeks on the Ethiopian wait list (and that's after 5+ months on the Guatemalan wait list), we are still referral-less, but hopeful!

I am, however, hoping that all these folks thinking we did is either creating the energy that will cause us to get "the call," or is some sort of psychic vision on all of their parts, also indicating the the referral is coming...like...in 3 minutes or less.

We only know that the folks at #1 on boys (Paschalls) and the family at #3 on girls have received their referrals. Given that we were #4, the fact that those at #3 got their referral might create suspicion that we're now #1. HOWEVER, the family who was at #3 was open to a girl aged 0-24 months and they received a referral for a toddler. So, if the folks at #1 and #2 are waiting for a girl aged 0-12 months, and I think they are, and have not received their referrals, then we are still at #3. So, we're either #3, #2 or #1. But we are not referred. That much I know!

Now, does anyone have a CLUE what family is at #2 or #1 or know anything about their status? I've heard of a single break in the chain where a family remains anonymous, but two? I've not heard of that. I'm thinking that the families who are #1 and #2 are celebrities. A bit of sarcasm there, but that's how invisible they've been!

So, does anyone have ANY idea who is #1 or #2 (or where I actually fall on the referral list)? Trust me, when we DO get our referral, the entire world will hear about it!

Experimenting with some video

Okay, so amidst my lack of anything to do (tee hee), I dove into one of my latest professional projects. I'm releasing a new website soon, and I need to test how the video portions are going to work. So, here's a little montage for your viewing pleasure and my testing un-pleasure. What happened to my little munchkins????

For Karen

What do you think of my new shirt for the baby that seems, at this point, to be a complete figment of my imagination? I'm trying to convince Julie to get these made, but until she acquiesces, this is my solution. I got it at SimplyColors.com.

There is no real purpose for this post, except that Karen "demanded" it, and when Karen demands, I listen!

Since I have nothing new, I've changed my blog template. What do you think? The brown was just too...brown. I needed something happy. So I chose green. Green always makes me happy.

We have nothing to report on the adoption front, but I have very high hopes for this next week (I don't know why, but I do. Perhaps because anything less is too depressing). There have been no referrals in ONE MONTH! Crazy. However, I believe that if our agency felt there was a serious issue, they would tell us. They are not changing their referral time drastically, and considering that there are now 31 people on the list for a girl, they must know something that we don't because if things stayed the way they are now, the poor folks at #20 and beyond would be old enough to be grandparents by the time they received a referral!

I suspect that some young babies have come to HH for whom paperwork is not yet complete and, therefore, referrals cannot be made. This seems a positive theory, so I'm sticking to it.

We're still busy, though. The boys had their first baseball game today which was hysterical. I almost cannot attend because they move at the speed of tar and it gets me crazy. I had the same issue when Jack was taking tennis lessons. I was more exhausted from twitching on the sidelines trying to will him to move than he was from actually moving.

Today, Henry got a ball in the outfield and threw it to Jack, who was on first base, and Jack tagged the kid out. The coach said, "Good job! Brother to brother!" and Henry replied, with no enthusiasm at all, "Yeah. We're twins." As our favorite friends Michael and Heather say, "He was as serious as a heart attack." That's Henry.

Off to finish painting our new entertainment center. I'm running out of projects. That's not good. So I need a referral so I can go SHOPPING! So, if you have a praying bone in your body, use it (please). I need visualization of my receiving the referral. On Monday. Please.

Hangin' In!

Well, folks, we're #4!

I swear, the closer it gets, the harder it gets. I mean, early on, we KNEW we weren't going to get a referral that particular month, and while it was hard to know that we had at least a month to go, we also knew that we had at least a month to go. Know what I mean?

Now, it's like, "How many infant girls will come to HH this month?" Could it maybe be this month?

In all, we've been on one waitlist or another (Guatemala or Ethiopia) for over 8 months. And I'm ready to be on another waitlist - the TRAVEL waitlist!

The new dog is doing famously. Except for the fighting with Humphrey and peeing all over my office. But, hey, low expectations. I hope to post photos soon.

George came downstairs yesterday and said, "I found a marker with a 'ssss' on it." For the moms - the "ssss" stood for Sharpie. For the non-moms, Sharpie is a permanent marker. He drew all over his stomach in it, but at least he didn't hit his face! I figure it'll be a week or so before it begins to fade. Then last night, he found a green permanent marker (I'm not completely sure where they are coming from, but Jack has been "borrowing" things from school so it's possible that they belong there). That one DID hit his face. Much scrubbing later, it's off, but his face is all red instead. Oh well.

In more exciting news, Henry announced this morning that he wants to be an author! Yeah! I'm sure it'll last 48 hours or less, but for those 48 hours, I'm so proud. He said, "How do I be an author? I don't know how to spell all the words! Do they give me the words and then I just copy them?" 

"Um, no. That's not what you do. That's called plagiarism and you get in big trouble for that."

"What?"

"Never mind."

Grace has finally moved on from wanting to be a waitress. She wanted to be a waitress for the first 8 years of her life. Not that there's anything WRONG with that, but... Now she wants to be a vet, which I find humorous since she can't stand even feeding our dogs because their dry food is "gross." Hmmm. 

Off to the bookstore - my home away from home.

Finis! (I think that's how you spell it)

I am oh-so-pleased to report that after an awful lot of work...and rework...(and a good bit of profanity), the baby's room is finished. A few final touches remain (which I won't draw attention to), but for all intents and purposes, it's done!

The fabulous crib was a gift from my sweet parents who, God bless them, are (I think) terrified of exactly how many children we're going to end up with. One thing David and I have tried hard to communicate is that we don't want anyone else ever to see this flock of ours as cause for anxiety because it's "one more to buy for." But my parents have always found a way to welcome each of our kids, and this sweet new baby girl is no exception. The crib came at the perfect time as well, since the night before I got it David finally came to accept that the one we've used for eight years simply was not going to safely assemble a fourth (or is it fifth?) time. Clearly, my mother figured this fact out before he did.

Now, I had hoped to time this whole project perfectly: finish room, get referral next day. It didn't work out that way. So now I need another project. Therefore, Dog #2 is coming home tonight. Bodhi, the 7-week-old German Wirehaired Pointer that David's been dreaming about for years will finally find her place in our humble home at about 9:00 this evening after having her official German Deutsch Drath Harr (or some such thing) number TATTOOED into her ear. Good Lord - is she a dog or a cow, one might wonder.

This is her two days ago. More pictures to come! She is a sweet little thing. George (the 3 year old) picked her up and carried her around in a manner that did not look comfortable and she just went limp and let him carry her. That was when she got my vote of approval.

Stay tuned!

Tagged

Oh dear lord, I was hoping it would never happen. But sweet Laurie has tagged me and I'm supposed to note random things about myself. Frankly, I think she's just mad that I haven't updated this blog in a week or so. But I'll indulge her because it will take my mind off the fact that we've been on the wait list for nearly 12 weeks and I'm losing patience!

Here goes:

1. In response to Laurie's revelation #46, I abhor tobacco. Always have. But I've apparently gone a bit too far in communicating this to my kids, as each time we walk past someone smoking, Henry covers his mouth very obviously and then states (loudly), "that smoke smells terrible. And his lungs are turning black." But Laurie, I do not judge. I couldn't think you are any greater!

2. I recently realized how much I love dogs. All dogs. Especially those without a home. If it were up to me, I'd be a dog whisperer and take them all in and train them to have wonderful manners and shake my hand upon seeing me each time I came through the door.

3. I am very, very blessed.

4. I've wanted to adopt internationally for about 15 years. Possibly more. I began thinking about China. Then Guatemala. Now I can't imagine our daughter coming from anywhere other than Ethiopia.

5. I love book covers. I will buy a book simply because it has a fabulous cover. It could be about porn and I'd buy it if it had a fabulous cover. Or a fabulous title.

6. I love bookstores. I can't go into one without buying something.

7. I have a stack of to-read books approximately 20 feet high.

8. I have great respect for everyone who homeschools, especially with the rash of violence in schools as of late (not to mention the fact that my 8-year-old daughter recently came home spouting something about the unacceptable calorie content of certain foods). However, I could not do it. I think I'd kill myself.

9. I've been watching Days of our Lives since I was about 18. The same characters have died and come back to life no fewer than 10 times. But I can't stop. You never know when one might die (or come back) again.

10. Ditto for General Hospital --- but there doesn't seem to be as much reincarnation there.

11. I love Frazier, Friends, and Everybody Loves Raymond reruns. I watch them every night to wind down from 9-10PM.

12. I think I'm secretly in love with Eckhart Tolle. He's just so enlightened!

13. I must have lunch with Ellen DeGeneres before I die. And Nate Berkus.

14. I plan to live to be 105 years old.

15. There is a dog barking outside right now. It's been going on for hours and I'm thinking of pulling an Elaine from Seinfeld. I wonder if Kramer is available for hire at this hour.

16. I would like to guest star on a sitcom before I die (which, again, will be at 105). One episode will suffice (unless they want me back).

17. I would also like to be in a music video. Preferably I'd like to be the one singing, but most everyone's let me know that ain't gonna happen in this lifetime (or with this voice).

18. My biggest pet peeves: folks who don't wave when you let them into your lane, people who take hours to back out of their parking spaces when you are obviously waiting, and people who say "Uh huh" when you tell them to have a nice day.

19. I love The New Yorker cartoons.

20. I need to own a beach house in this lifetime. No more than one block from the sand.

21. I am a speech pathologist at heart. I am fascinated with language development and all things sign language. I WILL be a sign language interpreter in this lifetime, preferable doing a lot of work with labor and delivery patients (could I have a more specific interest? No.).

22. I say "Dude" a lot. A whole lot.

23. I am going to SCREAM if we don't get our referral in the next two weeks!

Over and out...

I will now tag Julie and Karen.

I waited as long as I could and I finally had to email my poor case manager today to tell her that it was my problem, but I was chomping at the bit horribly. We've been on the Ethiopian waitlist now for 9 weeks, which isn't bad. However, we've been on SOME waitlist (either Guatemalan or Ethiopian) for nearly 8 months. I'm ready to move on to the next phase!

We're now #10 for a referral. My case manager assured me that, while it probably doesn't seem like we're making much movement (she's right), the reality is that there have been a lot of boy referrals lately. Just as it sometimes seems as if everyone around you is pregnant with a boy or a girl, so it goes with this process. The pendulum should shift soon and we should see some more significant movement on the list. Also, two families ahead of us are open to a boy OR a girl, and one family ahead of us has different age parameters than we do, so technically we could be further up on the list than #10 very soon.

I asked if it was within the realm of possibility that we might be able to possibly perhaps receive a referral in April, and we were told that yes, it was within the realm of possibility that we might be able to possibly perhaps receive a referral in April. So that felt good.

It was also nice to learn that children come into Hannah's Hope all the time. I had previously thought that it was sort of a "three out, three in" process. I was pleased to learn that, as long as capacity isn't exceeded, kids can come in at any time. So it's possible that in not too long, we could receive that long-awaited phone call.

Stay tuned!