Reflections.....

So this is the week we were in Ethiopia last year. I have been thinking about it all week. Wow, so much has changed since we brought her home. When we picked Marlee up she was so quiet, babbled a lot, but had a quiet personality. I remember her sleeping almost the entire plane ride home and then we put her in her crib the first night and she slept the entire time. The time difference did not make any difference. She was very difficult to make smile at first. I look back and see how scared she was but at the time I thought it was just her personality. Now that I know Marlee, I can tell you that is not the case.

So what am I thinking about? I am really thinking about Marlee's birth father who we got to meet in Ethiopia. I am framing a picture of us with him and putting it in Marlees room. There is so much talk going around, in the adoption forum world, and some on the news about international adoption ethics. There are some heated discussions and some very valid points on both sides. All I can say is after meeting Marlee's Father, I was at peace with his wishes for her. Yes there was an interpreter and yes, they could have not told me everything but when I looked into his eyes and gave him a hug, I knew this was what he wanted. There were others who met birth family that day who did not have the same experience we did, Marlee's father was at peace with his decision, he did not have to say a word. I do frequently look at Marlees sweet face and see him, the resemblence is so great! What a blessing he has given to us, I hope he knows!

So Marlee is growing like a weed, 75th percentile for height and 40th for weight. She now is sweet but boy she will let you know when she is mad. Yes she is a woman:) We went for her late 15 month check up and the Dr. was amazed at her progress. She did her dance for her. It is quite cute, she moves her legs quickly like she is running in place and spins in circles, she likes to do this to Single Ladies by Beyonce. Docter was impressed with her ability to move her legs that quickly.

Noah and Della absolutely adore their little sis. Honestly, I have to watch them so closely because they can't take their hands off of her. Noah is doing AMAZING in school. He is in first grade and taking 2nd grade math plus ahead in reading. Della is headed to Kindergarton next year, I can't believe it. I just signed her up. The school will not know what hit them, I love that kid, her spirit is one of a kind!

On the adoption side, our homestudy has been approved. Now we send it to CIS and wait to get fingerprinted. Pray for a fast process, the website says 3 months but that is really high, I can't imagine it taking that long. We have our dossier done and taking it this week to the Sec. of State to get verified then sending it in. After that, my job is done. We don't get put in the waiting category until our CIS approval comes so it will likely be 2 months or so and then from that time 1-10 months until we find out who our boy is. After that there is about a 3 month wait to travel. Our wait will likely be on the short side but we are prepared for anything.

Well all for now!

Wow, it has been quite the two weeks......

Since I posted last we have been really busy with paperwork, had our home study, it went well and surgeries. Lets start with the paperwork. Turns out I am very quick when it comes to this. We are just waiting on a few background checks to get the home study ready to go to WACAP(the agency we picked) for approval. After approval, our social worker is sending in our I600A and the bummer on that is that it says Indiana is taking 3 months for approval, that this is about a month longer than last time. Once we get cleared from CIS we are on the waiting list. The wait is about 1-10 months, probably on the low side for an older child. After a referral we will have about 1-2 months to court and then about 1-2 months to travel. The courts shut down in Ethiopia during their rainy season, August through early October, so cases will not be heard then. We are hoping to have a holiday homecoming but are OK even if it is next year!

So for the surgeries, Steve go his ability to produce offspring taken away last Friday. I have to say he took it like a trooper, I also don't think I have much sympathy after 2 c-sections:) Now that Steve is done, we take Noah in tomorrow. For what, well it is quite interesting. His circumcision was not done right when he was a day old:( We have been asking the Dr. about it for years but she kept saying he would grow into it, well it turns out they forgot to snip some skin. OK too graphic, but she finally looked at it closer and now we need to take care of it. The cute little guy is not even nervous, he just knows that Daddy had something last week and it is his turn this week. That kid is fearless, love him:) So I will be taking care of my other man this weekend.

We are also coming up on our 1 year famiversary on March 28th. I am not sure what we are going to do but it is a holiday in our home:) Marlee has been such a blessing and I don't know what life would be like if we hadn't followed our hearts to Ethiopia. We fell in love with her and we can't wait to fall in love with our other child, yet to be known, in Ethiopia.