An Email

We got an email today, one in a long line of emails that we will be anticipating. This one said, "Congratulations. Your dossier is in Addis Ababa and you are now officially waiting." I decided to take this one step further. MY email said, "It's sort of like I'm pregnant." And my very funny friend said that my uterus is on the other side of the world.

Ah, humor. We're going to need it.

The Question I Need to Ask

Who left the owl pellet on the kitchen table?

A Day for Realism and Dreaming

I planted the blue flowers yesterday. They have been stepped on twice now despite the big sign that says "Do Not Step on the Plants" and the big, poky sticks I put up around them to impale anyone who forgot. While my plants may "tolerate drought and a little crowding" I don't think they will thrive under boys' shoes. We'll see. I'll go prop them up again in just a minute.

The other thing we're doing is finishing off our blue and pink peeps that are sort of like...hmm. What is sort of like a stale, hard marshmallow? No matter what the consistency, I can't help but dream a little bit and think, "Next spring at this time, will we have another who thinks a Blue Peep is an awesome dessert?"

Children as Flowers

I ordered flowers from one of those catalogs. I must have placed my order back in the late '90s for I can no longer remember what they are nor where I was planning to plant them. I know I had a plan; I am not the type to order flowers spontaneously. 

Hooray, then, for the internet, which could enlighten me on exactly what is a "Cupid's Dart" and: do deer eat it? does it need full sun? will it come back by itself? do I have to dig it up in the fall? does it need water? can it thrive on neglect? The happy news is, I seemed to have ordered well. Here is the description:

Cupid's Dart are an attractive, easy to grow perennial flower. These blue daisies look great in a flowerbed, and offer striking contrast to other flowers in the bed.

Once established, Cupid's Dart plants will grow for years with little attention. They are drought tolerant, and don't mind a little crowding.

And there, thought I, is the type of children I wouldn't mind having around too. Most days. Ok, some days. It's the "don't mind a little crowding" part that I really like.

 Joel told me he had a dream that Agitu referred a child to us already. It made my legs go weak.

Saying No Thanks to the God of the Universe

Today I was reminded of when I responded to God in a "no thank you" sort of way. I cleverly disguised it: I heard Him wrong, He forgot how many kids we already have, Addis had had cancer, not a teenage pregnancy. So God pursued me. Thankfully. 

The first way He did it was when I was being grumpy at the library checkout. This particular library is "self checkout." That means that while I unsuccessfully place my books under a red laser that I'm not supposed to look at, the librarian stands on the other side of the desk staring at her computer. I think she has a tally on her screen of how many times per book it takes me to scan the bar code. When I had reached my limit, and then some, I tried to charm her into doing her job. "I don't think I have the touch," I said. Translation: "I will steal these books if you do not come over and help me." While she successfully scanned each book on the first try, I glanced about trying to look occupied. That's when it happened: a book called, "There is No Me Without You, One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue her Country's Children."

Because it didn't say anything about Ethiopia in the title, I picked it up. Had it said Ethiopia, I honestly think I would have left it on the shelf. There were no pictures on the front. I opened it to the pictures in the middle. Undoubtedly, Ethiopian children. Beautiful, haunting, parentless Ethiopian children. I handed it to the Scanning Librarian. "I need this one too," I said vacantly, knowing now that God had broken into my life and there was no going back. 

I read to page 23. I stopped and ordered my own copy from Amazon. I kept reading. I dreamed about orphans. I couldn't put the book down. I read paragraphs to my husband until he just sighed and put his book down. 

I hope this book is old news to many; if it's an unfamiliar title and you're interested in Ethiopia, don't even bother with the library. Just go to Amazon. Maybe buy a couple. Addis is reading my copy right now.

Big Accomplishment

Sometimes I find things to do that don't get undone for, say, 7 to 8 weeks. This is one of them. Or three of them. HAIRCUTS.














Not the best pictures but I feel like it is a recordable version of the fact that I try to be a responsible parent. Now if only my blog could smell like bleach.

One little email

People who have adopted internationally will read this and think, "She has no idea how long this wait is actually going to be," and they'd be right. I thought about my anxious, excited, impatient, thrilled self and realized I may still be waiting in December. If I keep up this level of emotion, I will have aged significantly and may lose the sympathy and interest of my own family. So, yesterday was about calming down. 

And today I get an email that says we are days away from "officially waiting." 

Glad my coffee was half caff.