DTE number 5

We are DTE 5 months now.I am really not excited to be posting this post. My "cup is always half full" brain never thought I would have to wait 4 months let alone 5. We are also researching grants and fundraising possibilities because adopting Mikias will add about $5,000 to our expenses. He is totally worth it...still not a lot of fun trying to figure out the expense side of adoption.

So I am kinda blah today. It would be an awesome day for a referral..but who knows...we may be waiting another 6 weeks. I may have no hair left on my head by then, but still...we wait.

While we are waiting we had to celebrate our 5 months with ice cream, so we went to Kernel Kustard last night with friends to enjoy another friend of ours play at a "local flavor" concert. It was a nice time, even though I have to admit I would have much rather been there celebrating a referral call not a 5 month DTE!

Our monthly celebrations

We had decided when we were close to being DTE, we would celebrate each month with ice cream. It has been a fun way to mark each passing month as we wait on our referral call. The day we found out we were DTE ( March 26) we went to Kernel Kustard with Amy....I Loooove the Kernel!!

On month number one (April 26) we had Root Beer floats at home...one month down..how many more to go??Month number two (May 26) Our friend Deana had her wisdom teeth out so we picked up some Zacks Yogurt to go and took it to her house and shared our month number 2 with her. Month #3...the kids were in Virginia with Nana and Gramps, so Greg and I had Bill and Leah's ice cream and Abby assured me they had ice cream in Va too. ;)Month number 4 ( Could this be our last month!!???) Greg had to have three teeth cut out and so it was Zack's again ( I am sensing a theme with Zacks and oral surgery!)

It has been fun to celebrate this way, but let me tell you I am hoping and praying not to make it to month number 5! Maybe we will celebrate our REFERRAL DAY (SOOOON PLEASE!!) with Kernel Kustard just like we started out back in March!

DTE Month number 4

Being DTE for month number 4 feels kinda like I imagine turning 40 will feel like..thankful we made it, but not real thrilled to be here either! I do expect we should be getting a phone call any day! Now, thats exciting!! We actually heard that the paperwork on the little boy Mikias is progressing and it is possible we might be able to adopt him as well as a baby. Thats exciting for us as we have been praying for Mikias for months now. If we are able to adopt Mikias, then we will change our baby request to either boy or girl.

I am beginning to feel a bit weary of the waiting and I realize it is only begun. We will now have to wait for a court date ( October will be the earliest) and then an Embassy date ( praying its November!) and then we finally will bring them home! I read this quote the other day an I am trying to cling to it.

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength." - Corrie Ten Boom

Month Number 3

We are three months DTE today!! On the unofficial list we are 7th in line for a baby boy and 12th overall!! Every month on our DTE day, we have celebrated with ice cream!! Month 1 we went to Kernel Kustard, month 2 we had Zack's yogurt and to celebrate tonight, we are gonna have us some Bill and Leah's ice cream. Yum!! Here is hoping for a referral by month #4!!

Two months DOWN!

We are TWO months DTE today!! Whoo Hoo!! It has really went by fast. It is realistic to think we could get our referral within the next 8 weeks! ( I am hoping it is closer to 4 weeks!) I am praying about the courts closing in Ethiopia in August- October and that we have received our referral and passed court BEFORE they close courts. God knows the perfect time for us to travel and to bring them home..so I am trying to rest in that.

To celebrate our DTE, we went to Kernal Kustard ice cream...YUM!! To Celebrate our DTE #1 month we had root beer floats and today we are going to go to Zack's Yogurt ( are you picking up on the ice cream theme!!) Happy 2 months DTE to my fellow DTE buddies, the Herwehes and the Michels!

December progress

Its coming together! I received two of our notarized references in the mail this week and Greg's birth certificate now authenticated also came in the mail (less than a week!). We also had our doctor's physicals done on Thursday and Friday and we pick them up on Monday. Our passport appointment was postpone because Greg wasn't able to get out of the doctors office in time Thursday. So that is Tuesday. We go for fingerprinting Tuesday as well.

Our other letters we have needed to be signed or written should be back to us by the end of next week. After I get everything that had to be notarized in, it has to all be certified by NC, so I have to send it off for that.

THEN the kids will have doctors appointments and after that I think we can have our home study visits begin. By the time that is over hopefully we will have our fingerprint appointment with the FBI. I am still praying we can get this all done and turned in and be DTE by the end of February!