The final countdown...

Just a quick note to say we are up to 10th on the list (with only about 4 people ahead of us actually NOT waiting for a girl). Woo Hoo!

My middle name is NOT patience

Uhgggg.... no referrals this past week! I was really hoping that last week would be the week. I was so pumped up on Thursday that every time my cell phone rang I about jumped out of my skin thinking it was our specialist at the adoption agency calling with our little boy. I think they are busy trying to get everyone through court before it closes but I REALLY hope for a lot of referrals this week. If you know me, then you know that patience is definitely NOT my middle name (nor does it have much of anything to do with me at all).

Holy Cow!

In the infamous words of the late, great Harey Carey.... Holy Cow! Today I checked our adoption online forum (as I religiously do EVERY SINGLE OBSESSED day) and saw that a family received a referral for a baby boy that had a dossier submission date of 11/13! That is only 2 days before us. This means our referral is imminent... could be any day now! I am sort of freaking out right about now.

It's sorta like golf...

...the lower the number the better! We are up to 16th on the waiting list! Half of those above us are waiting for sibling sets or girls... We are coming so close!!!

Got $25 to lend?

Ok, I know this is supposed to be a blog dedicated to our adoption, but I can never pass up sharing about other international justice issues as well. I have just started investing in a great organization called KIVA. Go to KIVA.ORG and check them out! Kiva is a non profit organization that gives micro loans (small amounts) to people in developing countries for business development. For as little as $25, you can help someone across the world start up their own business and empower them to lift themselves out of poverty. This is a loan, you get repaid! The payback rate is over 97% and really, are you using that $25 dollars for anything useful anyway? Instead of earning a measly interest in your bank account, loan it to someone whose whole life it will change. Here is one group I have supported from my favorite place to visit in the world: Guatemala! There are many other entrepreneurs waiting for loans in multiple countries around the world!

Click below to learn more about a specific person you could loan money to!

Come on Rain!

Ethiopia currently sits on the verge of a famine due to the lingering drought and increase in food prices. The rainy season should start soon, and the country needs a great season to end this drought! See these articles for more info....

BBC story
VOAnews story
MSN story

Wow, time flies when.... you're waiting?!?!?

Whenever I get on this blog site I look at the countdown to adoption on the right side of the screen and see the little icon representing our son moving on down the line toward our referral. I can hardly believe it has been over 6 months since our dossier hit Ethiopian soil. I never thought I would see the little icon get as far as it has, since we were originally told our referral would come around 5 months. I realized today that the little guy is going to go off the screen before we actually get our referral at the 8-9 month mark... I just had to fix that as the timeline only went up to 7 months... We are currently sitting in the low 40's on the unofficial wait list for our agency and are slowly moving up! We are probably actually around 70-80 on the list and they do about 25 referrals a month, so we should be finding out who our little boy is in 3 months or so! In a side note, pray for LOTS of rain this rainy season for Ethiopia, they really need it!