It's Getting Closer!

My Court Date is May 19th! If I pass (and I can see no reason why I wouldn’t) Janissa will be legally mine. Travel will be approximately 4 weeks after that, once my Embassy Date is established. My sister-in-law has investigated every possible flight we can take using our air miles (First Class, Of Course!). She’s managed to find a route of only 22 to 23 hours, with only one layover on the way home. Kathy, what would I do with you?

Several families with my agency have the same court date, so I will get to meet a lot of them while I am in Addis. It will be so much fun to see the faces of the people I have communicated with over the past several months, and share in the excitement of holding our children for the very first time. Leah, do you have a date yet?????

Three families have recently traveled to pick up their children and have been kind enough to take pictures of Janissa for me. I now possess NINE pictures of her. As soon as I pass court, I will be able to post them here so you can see how beautiful she is. Thank you Melissa, Quinn and Amber!

Janissa currently has the chicken pox, poor baby. She didn’t have too many (I saw 5 on her face), but she looked tired, her eyes were glassy and her lips were parched. I wish I were taking care of her right now. I know she is in good hands. Chicken Pox has been going through the orphanage since December and the nannies are doing a great job of nursing the kids back to health.

So the count down begins – 79 Days!

In September of 2007 a child was conceived in Ethiopia. At that very moment, God knew that child would be mine. I didn’t. He had to slowly convince me. It was easy, He knew I loved children. All He had to do was show me the love between a mother and daughter. They sat in front of me every Sunday at church, and my heart longed to have what they had. I made the final decision to adopt exactly two months before that child was born. I thought she was in Eastern Europe, but she wasn’t. I was led to another part of the world, and exactly one month after she was born, I signed the contract with my current agency to find the child that God had destined to be mine.

On Saturday, January 31, I saw her face for the first time. It was love at first sight. I had been praying for her and loved her already, but to actually look at her and see her face simultaneously brought tears to my eyes and took my breath away. She is perfect. Her innocent, but wise eyes mesmerize me, so big, so dark, so scared. What do her perfectly shaped ears hear every day? Her delicate, full lips look so serious and I cannot wait for the day when I see them relax and smile. Her little hands are clasped together so tightly as if begging someone to pick her up. Or praying for someone to love and care for her. Don’t worry my sweet little Janissa, I will be there as soon as I can!

Oh Happy Day!

I was checking email and stalking blogs this morning when my cell phone rings. I looked at the incoming call and saw a 503 area code. My first thought is, "Oh, Tania is calling me" because it is a Portland area code. I answered and it was Radu on the other end. He tells me he's been thinking about the travel package I am putting together for him and that he just sent me some information he wants me to include in it. I go to my computer and press the "send/receive" button. Sure enough, an Adoption Avenues email pops into my Inbox. He tells me to open it, which I do. All it says is "Hello. How are you?" But then I notice there are 3 attachments and immediately tears well up in my eyes. Is this my referral? Radu, is this my referral? YES!!!! I'VE RECEIVED MY REFERRAL!!!

So I call Lucia, who I promised would be the first to know. I'm reading all the social and medical information to her: 8 month old girl, father passed away, mother has no means to care for her, she's healthy, from an area southwest of Addis. Now I'm ready to see her face. I forward the photos to Lucia because she wants to see her the same time I do. Okay, ready, 1, 2, 3 DOUBLE CLICK.

WAIT! Mine isn't opening, don't look at her before me! It didn't work for her either. I called Radu and told him I couldn't open the photos. He has me download some viewing program and told me to try opening them again. To make a long story short, when I saved the photos as Word Documents, the medical/social information opens up. So they weren't even photos to begin with.

I now have 3 copies of the paperwork, and no photos. I plan to accept her regardless, but I really want to see her face and look into her eyes, the windows to her soul.

That is all I can tell you right now. I cannot post photos until she is legally mine. Wow, legally mine - my Janissa.

The Adventures of Sabah

Tania and Sabah came to visit for a long weekend. Tania recently traveled around the world to pick up her beautiful daughter, Sabah, in Ethiopia. I was able to experience how wonderful it is to hear the sounds of a baby in my home. I also got to hear the sounds of an angry baby crying in my home and guess what? I haven't changed my mind. No one was injured in my home over the four day stay, so I think it might be safe to bring home a child of my own. Here are a bunch of photos of Sabah's first visit to California.

We met up with new friends and had lunch at Rain Forest Cafe.

Lisa, Zaela, Sabah & Tania

Zaela trying out a chair at Pottery Barn Kids

New BFF's Sabah & Zaela
(Sabah warmed up my stroller, car seat and high chair for Janissa. She gave me a thumbs up!)

Sabella!

Sabah ready to dive into the fountain

Saturday we picked up my nieces Sarah & Leah, met up with friends of Tania's, and had lunch in Little Ethiopia. The food was awesome!

Sarah & Leah

We got ice cream and strolled on Venice Beach

Sabah's first time on a swing

Leah posing for Auntie Mona

We stopped at Tom's Farm on our way to the Lake Elsinore Outlet Mall

Sabah driving the tractor

Sabah playing with Anna & Rose

Monday we went to the petting zoo in San Juan Capistrano. Sabah tried to eat the goat food, and the goats tried to eat Sabah.

Showing off her new sunglasses!

Mama, why isn't the pony moving?

Tania, thank you for sharing Sabah with me. The weekend was a blast and I can't wait for Janissa to meet both of you when she is finally home.

Special Friends & Family

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AUNT MARYANN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARTA

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, TED & KATHLEEN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (ALMOST), LUCIA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (ALMOST), STEPHANIE

Hope I didn't forget anyone!

Update

Two families have received referrals ahead of me. That finally gave me the nerve to call Radu personally and ask him what was going on. His previous response of "some families are luckier than others" wasn't doing it for me. Between my sobs I managed to spit out, "you said 3 to 4 months, and it has been over 4 months" (but whose counting, right?). It turns out, because the courts were closed all of August and September, that my wait time didn't start until the courts reopened in October! That's right! I'm definitely not one of those "lucky" ones. That means it could be an entire month before I hear anything. No, I'm not happy. I have now waited the longest amount of time for a referral from Ethiopia than any other family at my Agency. Not an accomplishment I want to boast about. So he tells me to 'keep praying' that it will be (let's all say it together) S-O-O-N!!!!!!! Radu had previously told me that based on the amount of time my dossier has been registered in Ethiopia, that I should be next. That is why I called him when a second family received word. Soon. Soon. Soon. Soon. Soon!

On a positive note . . . I am looking forward to next weekend when Tania and Sabah will be here for a visit from Portland. Sabah is going to test everything out for Janissa: the crib, stroller, car seat, high chair, baby proofing of my house. So if Sabah is happy, I'm good to go! I can't wait to meet them in person. I've taken off 2 days from work so we can go out and play! Whoo Hoo!!!

By the way, despite my sadness of having to wait, I am sincerely happy for the families at my agency that have received their referrals, as well as the families who have court dates and will be traveling soon. Amber - you'll pass this time! I just know it!

SOON!!!

SOON, according to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, is defined as immediately; at once; without undue time lapse; before long (after sunrise); in a prompt manner; speedily; before the usual time.

For the past SEVERAL MONTHS I have been told that my referral will be here “SOON”. Someone forgot to alert Webster that the definition of this word has changed to ‘sometime in the next millennium’ or ‘when ever someone gets around to it’.

By the way, the word right above ‘Soon’ is ‘Sonsy’ which means luck; happiness. How ironic is that?

The week of January 12 is my 4-month mark. I have been told numerous times that I would have my referral by then. Okay, I’ve waited this long; I can handle two more weeks. God has a plan and if two more week’s means getting the baby God intended for me, then two more weeks it is. When I first joined the Yahoo Group everyone told me to get ready because they had all received their referrals in a matter of days, and at the most, within four weeks. That is the reason for my worry, frustration, anxiety, etc. Many doubts and crazy thoughts have been going through my head such as they think I'm too old or they are limiting the number of single people who can adopt. Thank you to my board buddies for keeping me grounded.

I had a great Christmas with my family. Here are a few photos:

My two youngest nephews

My 5 beautiful nieces

My 12 nephews who hate to pose

My Dad made these shelves for my

siblings and me

All 33 of us in the same room!

As I wait and pray, I know that 2009 will be an incredible year for me, one that I will always look back on with fond memories. I wish all of you and yours a

HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!

ADVENT

I haven't posted in a while because I have been feeling discouraged. I guess I'm tired of the same answer I always have to give to those who ask: "I'm still waiting for my referral." Who in their sane mind likes to wait for anything? I don't like waiting in lines, waiting in traffic, waiting for people who don't respect other people's time. It's my pet peeve. But in this little bubble we refer to as Southern California, where instant gratification is always within our reach, I stopped a moment to meditate on this time of the year. It's Advent, and at this time of the year aren't we all doing the same thing? Waiting for the birth of our Savior? How cool is it that I am actually waiting for the announcement of my own daughter at the same time? So this Advent is extremely special to me. Maybe this Christmas Day will bring an extra special joy to my heart - Jesus AND Janissa. To have my referral come now would forever make this season, my favorite time of the year, that much more blessed. Jesus' timing is miraculous and this Christmas I'm expecting my own miracle. So I ask all of my blog followers to pray with me this Advent season for this additional miracle.

Thank you to my friend Tania, who just brought home Sabah, for being so encouraging. Isn't Sabah adorable?



And thank you to my other new friend, Leah, who has even called me to talk personally and has gone out of her way to bring me peace. Leah just brought home Aslynn, another cutie!


Congratulations to Stephanie and Joseph who welcomed Clair into the world this Advent season.

(Sorry, Clair, this is the only picture I have of you)

Thank you also to all of my family, friends, co-workers, fellow church-goers and bloggers who help to keep my hopes up during the "waiting" period. I love you all.

Finally, thanks to my incredibly awesome confirmation students for their dedication, love and support. You all bring me hope for our future!


So here I sit in my PJ's on a Saturday morning at nearly 11:00 a.m. drinking coffee and sampling the brownies that just came out of the oven and thanking God for all of my blessings and for all of you!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Cards

My niece, Lisa, is trying to raise money for a mission trip to Kyrgyzstan at the end of this year. She is selling these amazing Christmas Cards that were hand-made by men and women in Africa.


Each card has a unique nativity scene on the front and is blank on the inside. If you are interested in purchasing any, and helping my niece, please e-mail me at monadube@sbcglobal.net with your order. A pack of six cards is $10.00. Thanks.

Adopting Janissa

Anticipation
Frustration
Expectant
Annoyed
Waiting
Hopeful
Eager
Optimistic
Trusting
Confident
Uncertain
Joyful
Sad
Scared
Anxious
Desirous
Believing
Hesitant
Skeptical
Wanting
Incomplete
Yearning
Distracted
Panicked
Eager
Blessed
Pessimistic
Happy
Delighted
Fortunate
Gracious

And that is just what I feel the first hour of each day!