1 month and counting

By the time many of you read this we will have been officially waiting one month (well 4 weeks at least)!! I won't lie and say that we aren't hoping that it will be any day that we get the call!! We were concerned with our house building situation because we aren't sure when we will bring baby boy home and when we will move into our new house. We had been told by the homestudy agency that if we moved after the referral we would just catch up on the post placement visit. However Natalie told us that we will have to update our homestudy and send it back to CIS if we move before we return home with Ian. So, I am hoping that baby boy will be home before we move so that we don't have to do anymore paperwork! We are hoping to be in our new house by Christmas (wink wink again from the contractor) so God willing we will already be home and settled with the baby. Moving will be tough but I am sure that we will make it as smooth a transition as possible. Cortney and I have moved many many times during the past 7 years (just ask the friends and family who have helped us!!) If there is one thing that we are good at it is making any house feel like home quickly!! Hopefully this will be our final move. We are finally building our dream house (well, dream house on a budget) in our dream neighborhood and with God's blessings we will fill it with our dream family!!

I have had so much fun reading everyone's adoption surveys. Cortney was saying last night how good it has been to have the blog because of the connections we have with others in the same situation. Our common goal of bringing our precious children home puts us in a position to understand the highs and lows of the paperwork and waiting. I have looked to blogs for support and answers many times over the past few months. It makes the waiting just a little more bearable.

Adoption Survey

1. How many blogs are listed under your favorites list that you check EVERY day? 15 or so but I check the ones on other people's pages too!!

2. How many times a day do you "go to the bathroom" and end up checking blogs? When I am near a computer I check blogs at least 3-4 times a day. But most of the time when I am at work I call up my personal secretary (my sweet sister who didn't really ask for or accept this job!!!) and have her check a blog or two!! Thanks Jamie for blog stalking for me!!

3. Do your kids recognize the other kids from the blogs that follow? No kids, but my husband knows each one of you as personally as I do even though he isn't a blog stalker.

4. Do you keep track of how often people update their blogs and get upset when they don't keep to the schedule?? I don't keep track but I want updates! Even if it is to say that you have nothing to say give me something new to read!!

5. Favorite time of day to check blogs? When I get home at night.

6. Who's blog is your favorite? Umm, well I love many but somehow you just connect with people and from the start I have prayed for and worried alongside of Tara and Eric, Renee and Geert, the Bakers, and the Breedloves.

7. How many of the blogs that you follow are people that you have never met in person? I have never met any of them!!!

8. How long have you been married? almost 3 wonderful years

9. Fav. food? vanilla ice cream and mini chocolate chips!! I only like the little ones and I have to have a lot of them!!!

10. Fav. TV show? Grey's Anatomy, anything reality, and Days of Our Lives (and Tara was embarrassed to put MTV!! this has got to be worse!)

11. Anything that you forbid your kids to watch on TV? This is tough, I would love to say that I am going to ban TV but I have seen my nieces and nephew in action! They love their cartoons and Disney channel!!! Nothing too violent for Ian.

12. How long was your adoption journey from beginning to end? We started in April 2007, and are still waiting on our referral!!!

14. What did you imagine your family to be like as a little girl? Great husband, great children, and lots of vacations!! My fairy tale will be complete when our little one gets here!

15. Favorite Momma down time activity? My favorite down time activity will always be sleeping!! I love to walk with my mom and talk on the phone with my sister but boy do I like to nap (too bad I don't ever get to!!!)

16. Do you have more online friends than "in person" friends? Nope. Other than MySpace and email I never had any online communication!

17. Tell us the cartoon character that you most look like: Miss Piggy? HAHA, I guess more like Daffy Duck!

18. What toothpaste do you use? Colgate

19. Stupidest adoption comment/question that you've received? I can't even say it on here, it hurt me to my soul and showed stupidity that I will never forget.

20. Fav. non-adoption website? currently... lowes.com or homedepot.com!!!

3 weeks...check

Okay we have made it three weeks!! This one was quick. We bought some land started building a house, picked out brick color...the list goes on. This house couldn't have come at a better time for us!!! We needed to be putting our minds on something not referral related! So now I am spending more time in Lowes than shopping for baby stuff and that is a good thing for the time being. We met another family this week who is in the process just a few days ahead of us! I have spent a good deal of time reading their posts and I have to say that I am truly inspired! They are such a beautiful and wonderful family!!! I feel so blessed to be going through this adoption alongside so many wonderful people! I think about the children that God will entrust in our care and I can't help but get teary eyed because of how much love they will receive!! In every blog that I visit I can feel hearts full of love for a child that is not yet known. It is pretty powerful stuff!
So here's to another week under our belts!

We own it!!!

As of 9:30 this AM we officially are the proud owners of lot #13 in Happy Valley (now known as the Scott Addition)!!! Our contractor came out today and we decided where the house would be. He is assuring us the fastest timeline possible...wink, wink! We went kitchen cabinet shopping and we are on our way to pick out the brick color right now! VERY EXCITING!! Now if Natalie would only call with our referral that would make this day soooo much nicer!
I was reading another blog today about a family just getting started in the process. She was talking about how she couldn't sleep and how she thought about so many things so much of the time! I am so happy to read that!!! I too do those things. I can be so tired and ready to go to bed and I will look at someone's blog and boom, fear, anxiety, and excitement for the unknown hits me. Then I spend the next hour reading blogs and wondering about how it will go for us. I can't wait until waiting for Ian is but a distant memory.

19th day of waiting!

Did I mention that I can't take my eyes off the pot?? Ahhh, I need help to take my mind off the fact that my little bundle of joy is almost certainly in Ethiopia waiting to be matched with the two most eager adults you will ever see!!! Yes we know that a referral may take up to 3 months. UP TO three months. That doesn't mean it will take three months!! It could be one month or 1/2 a month or 2 months... Each day I wake up and pray that God will allow me to think about the 10 million other things we have going on right now but somehow my mind always drifts back to the single most wonderful blessing (aside from my salvation) that God will give us. I know that it is greedy to pray for us to learn about our child because after all the tragedy that will lead up to us getting him is not even something I am thankful for.

On a side note, tomorrow we will buy what will become the future home of baby Clevinger! Yep you got it, we are moving...eventually. Our contractor will begin construction on our house on Friday and then the race will be on! Which will come first, the house or the baby??? LOL It is kind of funny but not really because we could have to move after the baby gets here and from the attachment books I've read that may not be a smart move.
Maybe this will consume some of my energy, but it is not likely. Cortney and I stand there in the middle of a nice lot located in a beautiful subdivision and watch the children ride bikes and play. We can't help but picture Ian in 5 years doing the same things. We were so excited to find out that our neighbor is also an adoptive mom to 2 boys!! Maybe a blessing in disguise???

Week 2...check

Okay week two came and went. We have officially been waiting two weeks!!! This week was a little harder. I'm not sure why it felt so long but I have high hopes that next week won't be as bad. Even though I told everyone not to buy baby clothes until we have the referral I just couldn't resist a few things when went I was out last night!!

My husband, the avid Reds fan, loved the baseball outfit. They are all so cute!!! I wish that they were filled up with a little baby boy but hey pretty cute nonetheless.

We know that news of a referral may not come for weeks but we are so hopeful for any info from Gladney. I would love to know how many babies are at the point of their medical information being gathered. Also, I would love to know how many other families are waiting for a baby boy! And while I am at it I would like to know where we are on the list!!! However, Gladney assures me that it is best that we don't know that info!??? So we wait...

Stay tuned for more exciting news. Also please pray for our new blog friends Renee and Geert as they are vacationing this week in the Caribbean!!!! So much for a relaxing vacation!!!

We have a Dossier in Ethiopia!

Belay signed for our dossier at 9:45 this AM in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!! Yay, it is there!!! We were already on the wait list so this won't affect referral times or anything but it is pretty cool to think that the many documents that I worked so hard on are to their final destination. No more Fed Ex stalking for me! LOL
I have to admit that the week went quickly. We are ridiculously anxious and hopelessly optimistic but we have a few projects lined up to occupy our time!! Let me just say that we have an awesome God and I would love to shout it from the rooftops!!! Somehow He always pulls us through!

Hague Training

We finished up our Hague Training tonight by watching the Attachment and Bonding series on Gladney's website. It was really great! We enjoyed seeing some of the things that we will be able to do to help our little one attach and bond easily.
We successfully made it through the first week of waiting and are excited about moving on to the next week. This week went quickly and I think I answered the infamous, "So when are you getting the referral" question about a million times!! I would love to think that it will be soon but only God knows! We have been in touch with so many Gladney families that are in different stages of this process and it has been so wonderful to see their stories. I am so thankful for Renee for always knowing the latest Gladney family to get a referral! It lifts my spirits up every single time I see a new referral and makes the waiting a little easier!

Paperwork update:
Our dossier will be in Belay's hands (our in country representative) by Tuesday, Aug 14th at 6pm!!!

Do you know where your dossier is tonight???

Our dossier is in transit to Addis Ababa!!!! YAY, this really won't speed up much of the process but at least it will be exactly where it needs to be. Thanks to Kate for working so hard to get everything exactly the way it needed to be and where it needed to be. My FedEx tracking doesn't give an estimated arrival for the shipment yet but I assume about a week.

First week of waiting

Today is the first day of the first real week of waiting. I am excited, scared, nervous, anxious...etc. You could put any word in the end of that sentence and it would accurately describe how I feel today. I have tried to dive into my work so that I wouldn't have so much free time. So for the next few weeks I will be tired, excited, scared, nervous, anxious...etc. LOL I have read so many blogs this weekend and examined more timelines and stories than I even knew possible. I want to have hope that the timeline will be shorter than the projected three months. We have heard so many things about boy waits being shorter than girl and single children being quicker than sibling groups. I want the first baby that comes along!! Is that crazy?? I know that God knows Ian and that he will come to me in his own time but I want him so so much! So for the next several Mondays I will blog about how I plan to spend the week and how we are hopeful. I have heard for sooo long that a watched pot never boils. If you would just stop thinking about getting pregnant it would happen. OR If you would just not worry about it a referral will happen. Well I have come to accept that if it takes not thinking about it or not planning for it, I can rest assured that it will NEVER happen to me! This is who I am imperfect as it may be, God made me this way and he knows that I am OVERLY ANXIOUS!! In our first homestudy meeting our social worker asked us to describe each other in just a few words. I went first. I said well Cortney is loving, compassionate, gentle, and devoted. Then it was Cortney's turn. He said that I was organized. Organized??? Are you kidding me?? That was the first word he could think of?? So there you have it, we may be the last Gladney applicants to ever receive a referral because I won't stop watching the pot. God help us!!!

This One is Gonna Make you Cry!!

I copied this from another blog and it made us cry yet again!

That's what I'm talking about!!!

"Dear Cortney and Lindsey,

You are officially placed on waitlist to receive a referral! Currently, the waitime to receive a referral can be up to three months-five months to receive a referral. Please keep in mind that this timeline is subject to change at any time. Congratulations on making it through the tedious dossier process!"

Yep you got it, we are officially waiting for the baby!!! Do I need to tell you how excited I am???? I have tried to call everyone tonight to let them know that today the stressful waiting starts but no one is home!! This is the beginning of some very long months for us. First we wait and hope and pray for a referral. Then we have a picture of our little angel and we wait and hope and pray for a fast court date. THEN WE TRAVEL!!! Then life as we know it will change forever!! YAY YAY YAY!!! Kate with KBS Dossiers is the best ever! She took the scary right out of getting the paperwork together. She was there to assure us the whole way and I am so thankful that our completed dossier will be in DC on Monday and in Ethiopia sometime soon. But who cares...WE ARE ON THE WAIT LIST!!! That means that somewhere in Ethiopia the devoted Gladney workers will be searching for our baby!

In the meantime we have been working on baby shower stuff. It is so good because I am doing something in preparation of the the baby. Here is a pic of me and Jamie working on the cutest little favors...

And here are the cutest little favors...

And here is Pacey who is not excited about becoming a big brother...

Also, we finally decided on a video camera. It is ordered and will be here in plenty of time before the referral. Cortney was saying tonight that he would rather be waiting for the referral than waiting for the court date. I don't like either but he says that he doesn't know how well we will handle knowing the baby is over there but not being able to go get him. We have to go through all kinds of things that are going to be rough, heck we have been through plenty of rough. But very soon, it will be over and these feelings will be replaced with something far more wonderful..the love of my child.