i think it's there

Dear son,
Hello! We should be very proud of the Fed Ex man. Our paperwork says it arrived in Addis Ababa yesterday at 3:15pm. That is your city! Our paperwork made it from here to there! That is great news. Now your dad and I will be assigned a number, which should give us an idea of how many waiting parents are before us. In the mean time, I've got to look into some daycare, a baby bed, and more great kids books. I've also got to find you a good doctor and I've got to keep reading. I'm reading Bringing Up Boys by Dr. Dobson. Once the America World has the dossier in her hands, she will notify us. Then I will notify you of details. I learned that once I know who you are I can send you care packages. I think I'll get started on a small but cozy blanket to send to you.

Oh and by the way, your dad and I have been married for 4 years today! August 27, 2005 was our wedding day! We love each other so much and we can't wait to share that love with you. Your dad got me a massage at a nice salon and I made him a photo book of memories over the past 4 years. Tonight we are going to dinner at Justus Drugstore in Smithville. It's a great wedding anniversary!

Stay tuned for more info, and pray that they review our paperwork soon! You could be at the Transition Home right now. I heard that there are lots of babies and toddlers there lately.

-from the anticipating mother-to-be

Coincidence

What a coincidence! I was researching hotels in Dubai for work and then I checked our dossier's current destination in route to Addis. And guess where it was......Dubai! What an odd coincidence! It was in Paris for 4 days, now Dubai. Where next oh kind mailman? Addis Ababa, Ethiopia?

Son, I hope you are having a good day. Your dad started his first day of teaching third grade today. What a lucky group of 19 kids, huh? I think they will have a very fun year with Mister Jones. I'm sure they will be asking a lot about you and anticipating your arrival just as we are. Love you.

Will you like bikes too?

Son -

This is a pretty cool story. This is Adrien Niyonshuti and he is a professional cyclist, from Rwanda. See, Ethiopia and Rwanda are in the same Continent. They are kind of close to each other, Rwanda being a little south-west from where you were born. None-the-less, Adrien is racing Lance Armstrong and a bunch of other Europeans in a major race right now. This is one of the highest levels of cycling he can participate in. It is quite extraordinary, to say the least. Here is what he said in his first day of the race, “It was tough today.This was the first time I have done a 200km stage. It was very hard for me. I was happy just to finish.”

Now you know, and will become well aware, that cycling is my favorite pastime. He being from Rwanda, which has such an incredible history (we'll talk about this), makes his story even better. Read about him here, in this story, and you will learn a little more about his story. He is quite the inspiration. I hope you like cycling one day, and if you don't it's okay, we'll find something that you love to do.

sleep tonight, play tomorrow

...dad

new jersey

Dear Son,



Now we must think good thoughts about Mr. Fed Ex man because he is taking our papers from MO to Ethiopia! And guess what is going to make me a crazy mama? The Fed Ex tracking updates. Yes, I can track our package from here to there. It's made it to New Jersey so far! The social worker said that I should not be alarmed if it sits in some European countries for awhile. This is normal. And once it gets to Ethiopia they sometimes mark "Wrong Address" on these dossier packages. She said that this is normal too and once it gets there the AWAA staff in Ethiopia will go to the Fed Ex office to pick up our dossier. They are sending us a package of Frequently Asked Questions while we wait. I have many questions about how this selection process works on their end, so I hope the package answers some of that.


Here's the anticipatory sticky note I put up at my desk:



Dossier sent from AWAA - August 20, 2009.

Dossier's arrival in Addis Ababa _________.



Referral received _________.

Travel date _____________.

james says

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep onself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

today i learned

Today I learned that the America World Transition Home (where you will go between your old place and here) has 60 nannies and 4 nurses. One lady was visiting there and said that every crying child was tended to. That news made me glad. They also mentioned that there were baby rooms with cribs and boy rooms and girl rooms for older kids. So my question of the day is baby bed or big boy bed? Which will you prefer?

I am recently drawn to this bed, particularly because there are several random doors I've collected throughout our house and your dad keeps threatening to throw them out.

come home

Son, come to this address. Sooner than later please.

a guessing game

son,

your dad and i had to occupy some time on our recent road trip home from colorado so we tried to guess a few things about you.

your birthday:

michael says Oct 10, 2007 (you would be 1 year 10 months right now)

kristyn says June 22, 2008 (you would be 1 year 2 months right now)

your name will start with:

michael says T, S, or N

kristyn says K, B, or R

your weight when we pick you up:

michael says 22 lbs.

kristyn says 18 lbs.

our referral day guess is (this is the day we are matched with you):

michael says jan 12, 2010

kristyn says dec 15, 2009 (can i do a re-guess for oct 15, 2009?)

were you born in the country or the city of Addis?

michael says city.

kristyn says country.

will we take you to the beach or the mountains first?

michael says beach. just kidding. he said mountains.

kristyn says beach, because she thinks that the beach at the Joneses cabin in Big Lake, MO totally counts!

i am in such anticipation that i could have kept playing this game for hours. next year at this time we may be playing transformers for hours. or riding our little tike bikes. or your dad and i may be taking turns feeding you a bottle. or we could still be waiting, impatiently waiting. (i don't think we will be, but i have to write that to make myself sound realistic).

guessing games are fun. here may be some answers to your questions:

your dad-to-be is 6'-2"

i'm 5'-1" (and growing!)

your dad likes bicycles, French, baking chocolate chip cookies, reading the newspaper, playing goofy skit characters. he also likes athletic challenges, root beer, fishing, writing pen pal letters, and spending time with his lovely wife.

i like sewing, designing, cooking, laughing with friends, dancing, hosting dinner parties, church fellowship, and keeping up with family. i also like riding the tandem bike with your dad and hearing his stories from the classroom.

i talked with our social worker today. she says that all of our documents look good and she will send them to ethiopia in a couple of days!

a collection

howdy doody little mister jones. we are still working on your collection of books. this weekend i picked up a vintage copy of green eggs and ham, popeye, pinocchio, and a book of a dog that viciously chases a kitty but eventually they become friends (forgot the name). and of course all i can think about (besides you) is decorating your room. these thoughts are ongoing with your room, but also with the whole house. it started two years ago when we bought the little jewel on liberty street. i think the concept is nesting. i love making fine spaces for people but especially for my family.

with some tugging on your dad's arm i was also able to pick up two solid t-shirts for you this weekend. sizes 2T and 3T. olive green and black. i don't think they will stay solid for long. i'm going to personalize them just for you.

It's All In!

Son, it is a big day here in Kansas City. Guess what...our CIS approval came in today along with Michael's Hague Adoption Training Certificate! These were the last two documents we were waiting on before our dossier was complete. It is now COMPLETE! 8 months later! I gathered everything and sent it on to our adoption agency (AWAA) for their final review. They will send it on to the Ministry of Womens and Children's Affairs in Addis Ababa, and we wait. We wait to be matched up with you in a month or two or 10 months... In the mean time, can you at least tell me your name or if you prefer a green pair of shorts over blue? Are you going to be tall like your dad? Are you going to be into Transformers? I am on a mission to find you a good toy truck this weekend, because every boy needs a good toy truck right? One that can haul stuff around. The two best flea markets are opened for "First Fridays" so I think I will find something for you. If not a truck, I'll at least grab a good used book. I'm trying to find good books with humor so your dad and I don't get bored reading them over and over again. Speaking of which your lovely Great Grandma Ileen bought you a book last week. She says it's funny and I believe her.

Oh, by the way your big pup Owen had his surgery this morning and the doc says he is doing fine and the surgery went well. We pick him up tomorrow from the vet.

I hope you had a fun day.

P.S. Your dad painted the kitchen light gray today, and two days ago he put the trim up in our attic! He's been taking lots of good care of Owen too. He is going to be such a good dad.

toy truck photo from flickr