My Blog Critics

Well my blog critics recently informed me that my last post was depressing and I need something new and fun. I completely agree. Unfortunately, I don't feel like I have much to post right now. I mean we are still waiting and nothing has changed. So I asked these "critics" what I should blog about. The reply? "Us!" So, this post is dedicated to two people who are very excited to meet their first grandson. Now, as a disclaimer, that statement does apply to both sets of our parents as everyone is VERY excited and our little boy will be the first grandchild on both sides!!

So, without further ado, I give you...

MIMI and PAPI

Mimi and Papi are also known as Mom and Dad (although their most distinguished title is that of "Autumn's parents"). Mimi was not always so certain she wanted to be a Mimi. In fact, since Brian and I made the announcement to our parents late last November that we will be adopting, my mom was on a mission to find the perfect replacement name for "grandma"- because she doesn't look like a grandma you know. After many months of asking everyone what they refer to their grandma as, she heard the name Mimi. The suggestion of this name came from a recent Belgian exchange chaperon who was staying with my parents. It is Flemish for grandma. She liked it and it has now stuck for a couple weeks! Mimi feels so confident in her selection that I was informed it could now be announced to the entire blog world.

Papi was a much easier decision. In fact, it was only because I said I couldn't blog about "Mimi and Grandpa" because they just don't go, that my Dad decided on Papi. There was a brief discussion that went something like this:

Mimi: Chuck, pick a name.

Papi: Your not supposed to pick a name. Your name becomes whatever the first grandchild refers to you as.

Mimi: Yeah but you have to refer to yourself as something. You can teach them to call you whatever you want.

Papi: Fine. Then since we are so close to the Mexican border, how about Papi?

Mimi: Mimi and Papi, that sounds good together. How do you spell Papi?

Everyone: 5 minute long discussion about the many ways to spell Papi (pronounced Poppy)which ended in Emily and I using an online Spanish/English dictionary.

And that is the story of how Mimi and Papi came to be.

We Heard Beautiful Boy Today

Did your heart just jump out of your chest reading that? Mine did when I heard my phone playing "Beautiful Boy" this morning! My Mom and my sister (who I work with) came running out to my desk. What did they see? A girl who was about to cry tears that were not the much anticipated tears of joy. Instead they saw the watery eyes, lump in the throat, shaking the head "no" look of a false alarm.

Here I must apologize to all my faithful blog readers. That was mean wasn't it? Well, now you know how I feel. Bad attitude, right? Yes, I know that sounded like the attitude of a four year old stomping her foot and slamming the door while sticking out her tongue saying "neener neener" but that is how I am feeling. It is mean to put anyone through the butterflies in the stomach that you feel when reading someone's blog and hear that they got THE CALL. It sucks even worse to hear your phone ring and think this could be MY CALL and to have it be a false alarm.

Christy was calling to tell me about some changes in the waitlist procedure. I had heard about this change so it wasn't a surprise and had seen the warning in the bi-weekly update on Friday that everyone would be receiving phone calls. So, I knew there was a good chance that I would get a call without it being THE CALL. Unfortunatley, even knowing that was probably going to happen today, I was still unable to prepare myself for the way a false alarm made me feel.

Since being unofficially #1, I have received 2 false alarm phone calls. I certainly can't complain that our agency is mean or lacks in communication. The phone calls are all very nice and caring and kind but e-mails would be so much easier to handle than phone calls while hanging out at #1. When asked if I had any questions I said, "well since you are calling me now I assume you won't be calling me later today with a referral." A polite "no, we don't have anything for you yet" was the reply. At least I know it still won't be anytime soon and can try to mentally prepare. I was really hoping for a referral before the next travel group. Now I am thinking maybe Almaz is still so bogged down with trying to get families through court that she won't be giving out any new information on children until the courts officially close (Aug 1) and this next travel group has come and gone.

I know God's timing is perfect so I will wait and try to do so with a good attitude. I just wish I had a better idea of when it is going to happen. Last night I opened my Bible and it happened to fall to Ecclesiates. I saw some underlines and read about there being a "time for everything." God's timing will be just right, but I don't think it's out of line to ask for no more false alarms along the way :).

Starting To Feel Real!

Well this is certainly starting to feel real for us. My grandma gave us some money toward a crib. I was shocked at how expensive all these baby things can be. Brian and I were very pleasantly surprised when our parents got together to surprise us with enough to buy the rest of the crib :) and the matching dresser.

Last night my sister and I put it together while Brian was at youth group. Brian did stay around long enough to take out the trash for us :) Having a crib in our house really is making this feel so much more real.

Now all we have to do is pick the bedding so we can paint and replace the current guest room decor!

*We would like to thank those who contributed to making this blog post possible. Thank you to the soon to be: Great-Grandma Stalker, Grandma and Grandpa G, and Grandma and Grandpa T.

Still Waiting...

We are still here and still waiting for our referral call. The past week hasn't exactly been enjoyable. I thought #1 would be so exciting but it is just really emotional. The excitment and anticipation are unlike anything I have ever experienced. It is pretty nerve-racking to be waiting for the phone to ring and disappointing when the day ends without it ringing. Brian is hanging in there. I can definitely tell he is getting more excited about being a Dad as we near this monumental moment. He is always so encouraging to me when I get anxious and impatient. It's a good thing one of us handles this pressure well.

I have bad days and better days. I just really haven't been myself as I feel I have a big giant cloud over my head filled with pent up emotions that are just dying to be released. I can only anticipate the joy of seeing our baby's face and learning all about him - right now the anticipation is a bit overwhelming as it sits just under the surface as my days slowly go on as usual.

Last week I caved under the pressure and asked our case worker some questions about our number and the status of referrals. I was kindly reminded of the procedure and found out nothing more than I already knew. We are still officially #6 although I am 99.9% positive we are really #1 and have been for at least a week. I was told AGCI tries to focus during this time on getting families with referrals through court and that referrals would slow down a little but still be given out during the court closure. Again, nothing new.

Today travel calls went out. Congratulations to Karen and Sharon on their travel dates. They will finally be united with their children. On the other side of things phone calls went out to let families know they will not be making the court closure. I am so sorry for those of you who had hoped your cases would make it and they did not. Please keep these families, including Michelle and Jana, in your prayers as they readjust their expectations and wait until fall to meet their children.

I am really hoping for a referral before the next travel group leaves on the 26th. Even though I haven't yet seen a single picture of our son I already am hoping for more from people who travel.

#1

WE ARE #Brian just got home from work and called to tell me there was a message I needed to hear. Now I am pretty sure Christy will call my cell phone so I didn't think it was THE CALL but knowing we are so close I completely had butterflies thinking that maybe it was. It was Shannon. She is 2 spots behind us on the list and just got her monthly call telling her she is officially #3. She knows how crazed I am and so she went out of her way to call us and tell us she is #3 making us #Can you believe it?!? Shannon, I am pretty sure you are the most thoughtful person in the WORLD! Thanks for the phone call!!!!

LAME

False alarm. Even the "new" phone won't let me assign ringtones like I thought. Looks like I will just keep jumping every time the phone rings. Hopefully we will get the call soon so I can stop worrying about it.

#2?

Matt and Emily got their update call yesterday and were told they were #12. We are 10 spots apart so I am pretty sure that makes us unofficially #
I am dying to know if I have calculated things right. Thanks, Sunny for the heads up! My phone is so old and lame I couldn't set different ringtones for different people. This inspired me to finally set up my work cell phone to replace my personal one. We are now up and running and when I get THE CALL I will hear Beautiful Boy by John Lennon. Hopefully this will keep me from jumping everytime the phone rings...

W*E*A*R*E*F*R*E*A*K*I*N*G*O*U*T

Rob and Jana got their referral of a little boy making us #The exciting part is, we do not know who is #1 or #2 so it will be a COMPLETE surprise when we get the call.

Gift of Prophecy?

This is my cousin Shelby posing with us. She has been visiting my parents for a little over a month now. A couple weeks ago she told me she thought we would be #5 before she left. She leaves on Saturday. She is holding up 5 fingers because she was right!! We are #Jana is 3 spots ahead of me. She got her call today and was told she is #2 but there is a family who has received their referral but have not officially accepted it yet. Once that family officially accepts we will be #As I told my friend Amy, I think #4 is close enough that I need to start carrying my cell phone into the bathroom with me so I don't miss the REFERRAL CALL (insert SCREAM here). Now, yes I know there are families who waited at #1 for 7 weeks, so I try not to get my hopes up too much, but we could be seeing our son's face THIS MONTH - making it absolutely impossible for me not to be EXCITED!!!!!!

Time of Praise

It's a miracle. Karen and Sharon have Ethiopian children that are completely and legally theirs. Many people prayed and fasted last week pleading with God to let their cases slip through the "loophole" this week - and it happened. They will be traveling sometime this summer to pick up their children. How exciting. The unimaginable pain they both must have been feeling at the possibility of losing the children that were already theirs in their hearts is now gone as these children are theirs on paper. Congratulations!