Cutest Message Ever

I got the cutest e-mail message from my 5 year old nephew today. This is what it said (his mom apparently typed what he wanted to say):

Hi Auntie, so what are you doing? I miss you and I can't wait for you to come to oryando. I can't wait to see my new cousin Sprout-I don't know what you're gonna name her, except for Sprout. OK, I should get going. So you can go back to work so good by. That's all I got to say mom.

Eli

Oh my gosh, it just totally made my evening. He is so excited for me to bring Sprout home. At first, he didn't really want me to have any children because, as he told me, "I already have enough cousins Auntie". But the more I talk about it and the more my sister talks to him about,

the more excited he gets.

Oh, he's also excited about his trip to Orlando (oryando) in November and is hoping I will be able to join them.

Thanks for the message Bear..............you made your Auntie laugh.

This picture of Eli makes me laugh too! He had fallen asleep on the couch and his dad put black tape on him. When he woke up, he couldn't figure out why we were all laughing at him. Oh my gosh, it was soooooo funny.

Sisters

This is my sister. That's me on the right and her on the left. As I type that I am reminded of a funny story. WheneverI would see a picture of the two of us together and I couldn't tell who was who, I would ask my mom "mom, which one is me". She would take the picture, look at it and immediately hand it back saying "that's you on the right". Every time, I was on the right. Amazing....each time we posed, Tina would be on the left and I would be on the right. As the years went on, I realized that she would barely glance at the picture, but say right away "that's you on the right". That's right folks, even mom couldn't always tell us apart, but instead of hurting our feelings and saying "I'm not sure", she just always said I was on the right. She knew that if we were asking her who was who, then we certainly wouldn't know if she was right or not. I chuckle about that a lot.....especially when I'm on the right.

Anyway, back to the point of my post.....

For those that don't know me, yes, I am a twin. An identical twin. We are incredibly close, but for all those who are curious....no, we don't feel each other's pain. No, I don't know when she is sick. No, I can't read her mind. No, we never switched boyfriends. No, we never switched classes in school. Yep, we're boring that way.

My sister recently moved to Houston, and though it's been a year since she left, we are both still struggling with being apart from each other. Yes, we talk on the phone....A LOT. And yes, we visit each other (in fact, in the one year she has been gone, we've seen each other 6 times....not bad for being 2000 miles away). But it isn't the same. I can't just get in the car and drive to her house so that I can do nothing there instead of nothing here. I can't call her at the last minute and ask her to go to a movie with me. It definitely has been a growing experience for both of us.

Tina is married to Ron and they have two wonderful little boys. Eli is five, and will be starting kindergarten this year, and Ethan is two. My sister has always shared her family with me, and that is a gift that is so precious. It's harder now that she is in Texas, but when they lived in Portland, I would always be included in their family outings.....and if I wasn't I would just invite myself. :) I can't wait for my daughter to come home so that I can finally share my family with her.

This is us this last Christmas in Houston

Sprout's Room

I thought I would post a couple of pictures of Sprout's room. I had most of the furniture due to the heartbreaking failed adoption of my first daughter Aliyah, so when I moved into this two bedroom I decided that instead of storing the furniture I would go ahead and set up the nursery. It's been fun to get things all together. Sprout's furniture is in cherrywood, so I've kept myself busy refinishing a toy box and a night stand to match (well, they kind of match). Her bedding is yellow bumblebees and is just so darn cute. My mom came up from Eugene and helped me sew the window seat cushion in bumblebee fabric....ok, ok, she didn't help, she did it all....thanks mom. But I made the lampshade with the leftover fabric.....I do have some talents (just don't look too closely at it.....unless you WANT a good laugh). Anyway, here they are....

This is her crib (ignore the mess under the bed....they are books, but I don't have a bookshelf yet). That box to the left is the toybox I refinished. The blankets are on there because Sprout's real name is on the box and I don't want anyone to see it. That lamp on the right is my handywork, as is the nightstand it's sitting on.

Here's a better view of my talents..... :)

Above Sprout's crib

Sprout's window seat.....my mom made the cushion and that green pillow. The two pillows on each side of the green one are yellow, and that one on the right is just a hunk of foam. She left that one for me to do to match the green one.....you can see how far along I've gotten with it.

And finally, a look at the other side of the room. This is the changing table/dresser. And YES, those drawers are PACKED with clothes already. What's worse is that the side cabinet there is FILLED with shoes. Oh, and that's not all......her closet is full of clothes too. This little girl will certainly not have to worry about what to wear.

The Mailman

For those of us in the adoption process, we learn real quick that the mailman is either your best friend or your worst enemy. He/she is your new best friend every time you go to your mailbox and there is something there that you had been waiting for. On the other hand, he/she is your most torturous enemy every time you look and what you're expecting is STILL not there.

Today, my mailman was my best friend, for when I opened the mailbox, this is what I found.....

What are those, you ask? Well, they are three original, signed, notorized, homestudy documents. I had my homestudy a few weeks ago, and today I received the final documents. I'm so excited. The first copy will go immediately to USCIS (immigration) so that my I-600A application can be processed. Once they receive this, I will go have my fingerprints done, and then wait for the pesky mailman to deliver my "golden ticket". Finishing the homestudy and getting the final copies is a HUGE step in this process and I'm glad I have it completed and marked off my list.

The second copy will be included in my Dossier that will head to Ethiopia once the golden ticket is in hand.

The third one I believe is my copy as my adoption agency and homestudy agency are one in the same, so they (I assume) have a copy.

I'm one HUGE step closer to becoming a mommy.

Why Ethiopia?

I get this question A LOT. Now, most of the time, this question is asked with sincere curiosity. People aren’t being judgmental, they are just truly interested. But every now and then, this question is asked in an accusing tone. As if it were the most ridiculous place on earth to adopt from. To these people, my answer is short and sweet. I simply reply “because that is where my daughter is”.

But for those who are genuinely interested, I share a lot more. I start off with the fact that because I am single, my options are amazingly limited. Each country has their own guidelines and restrictions regarding adoptive parent/s. China, for example, use to be open to singles. However, they recently tightened up their requirements, and now singles can not adopt. Some of their other restrictions include: must have assets over $80,000, must not be obese, and can not have been prescribed anti-depressant OR anti-anxiety medication in the last two years. Ethiopia on the other had is open to singles, they don’t have a weight requirement (thank goodness), and you don’t need $80,000 in assets. These are not the sole reasons I chose Ethiopia, as many other countries have similar requirements, but requirements like these are what led me to mark OTHER countries off my list.

Once I had a list of countries that I COULD adopt from, I started looking at other factors. The process…..how long does it take, what kind of paperwork is needed, can I request boy or girl, do I have to (get to) travel to pick up, how long is the in-country stay, how many trips do I have to make. All these factors played a part in my decision. Ethiopia, along with other countries, had a fairly short process. The paperwork (Dossier) is relatively easy (compared to other countries), they do allow you to choose the gender and age, they encourage you to travel to pick up your child. They only require one trip and that trip is about 1 week.

After narrowing down the countries with flexible requirements, cost was the next factor. I mean, let’s be real here…..I’m not rich, and I had to fund this adoption with what I had and with what I reasonably thought I could raise in the timeframe I wanted. So, if the choice is between Guatemala which costs up to $40,000 to adopt (with all other requirements being equal), and Ethiopia, which costs up to $20,000, then I choose Ethiopia.

As was stated in a previous post, I don’t care what “flavor” my child comes in. So, the race of the child does not matter to me. That doesn’t mean I’m going into a transracial adoption blindly. I know that being a white mother to a black child will have its challenges and issues. I’m aware of that. I hope I am preparing myself sufficiently to handle these challenges and issues.

As I learn more and more about Ethiopia, and I start to have some interaction in the Ethiopian community, I am 100% confident with my decision. And I know, that I’m choosing Ethiopia because “that is where my daughter is”.

Out with the Old in with the New

Well, it finally happened.........the gas prices drove me to downsize my old clunker SUV and get a more affordable and economical car. As some of you know, I've been wanting to get rid of that SUV since, well, since the day I got it. I just don't have much use for an SUV and the four whole times in the last5 years that I actually had it in 4-wheel drive was on the beach and had nothing to do with "inclement weather". So, when the gas prices started to steadily rise, and the cost of filling the tank was suddenly going over $40, then $50, then $55, and finally last Thursday $63.51, I knew I had to do something.

So, on Saturday, I went into Beaverton Hyundai with one crappy, worn out, needs a break job, "check engine" light on, gas guzzling SUV, and came out with this......

a brand new, non brake squeaking, well running, good stearing, Hyundai Elantra in the fabulous color of Purple Rain. That's right folks, Purple Rain!!!!! The finance guy started singing me the Prince song right there in the dealership.....with air guitar actions and everything.

It's so nice to have a vehicle that I KNOW will start in the morning and that doesn't have the brakes squeaking and squealing (yes neighbors, that was me at 6:40 in the morning making all that ruckess.....but no more). And of course I'm extra happy that I will be saving a TON of money on gas.

Oh, and one more thing I walked out of the dealership with.......a date from the Purple Rain Singing Finance Guy. But that's another post altogether.

P.S......No adoption funds were used in aquiring this new vehicle. :)

Yes, she WILL be black

A recent exchange between me and someone who shall remain nameless.....

Her: "Tania?" (yelled from another office)
Me: "Yes?"
Her: "your baby, the one from Ethiopia?"
Me: "Yes?"
Her: "Will she be black?"
Me: mouth dropped to floor, then chuckling "uh, yeah"
Her:Surprised that I'm laughing "oh, well I didn't know.......those people come in all colors over there"
Me: __________________________ long pause. "uhhhhh, nope, she'll be black"
Her: "ohhhhhhh"

So, if anyone else was wondering......Yes, she WILL be black!

As a very good friend of mine said once "you don't care what flavor your child comes in, do you Tania"?

Not one little bit.