More movement

The couple holding the number 1 slot on the boy list got their referral yesterday. That puts us up to #4 on the boy list and #16 on the girl list. We may not find out about any more movement up the list until we're in the #1 slot. The families who are now #1 & #2 haven't revealed themselves to the blog stalking community so there's no way of knowing when their referrals go out. We know who is right ahead of us at #3. So, once they get their referral we'll know we're in the top spot. I think we'll get a call or an email from AGCI next week letting us know what our "official" numbers are. I'll be sure to post if/when we get those.

FYI - JB & Carla are now #9 on the boy list and #23 on the girl list.

Top 5, Already?

Just a quick update to say that it looks like we're unofficially sitting at #5 on the boy list. These folks are the new #1.

Also, at the request of my sister, here is one of my favorite blogs of a family who is home with their Ethiopian boys. They adopted TRIPLETS (two identical and another one who hung out with them in the womb)! From the videos I've watched, these boys just crack me up. They are always piling on top of each other. Life is a full-contact sport for them. To see what I mean, watch the video from this post or this post or this post.

New Numbers

Sorry for slacking off on the posting lately.

We got our monthly update call from AGCI on our wait list numbers. Officially we are #12 on the boy list and #23 on the girl list. Last month we were #14 and #27. Those numbers should be dropping soon though. There were a number of referrals that were given out this week. Those people don't come off of the wait list until they are able to officially accept the referral. From what I've read on other blogs, I think we can subtract 4 from the boy list and the girl list numbers based on the referrals that have been made but not yet officially accepted. It's very, very likely that they will be accepted but it takes some time to get through the paperwork.

Last month when we got our official numbers they gave us unofficial toddler list numbers of #2 on the boy list and #4 on the girl list. We didn't get an update on this unoffical list but we were told that there was a toddler referral this week. After a little digging I found the blog of the family who got the referral. They got a referral for a 3-year old girl. I believe they were only on the girl list. So that would put us unofficially at #2 on the toddler boy list and #3 on the toddler girl list. After our first batch of numbers, I've sort of been assuming we'd be getting a boy. All of a sudden I'm realizing that I could be getting a daughter! I'm not sure if I should be scared or excited at that thought so I'll go with both.

Another positive thing we found out from our phone call is that there are a lot of families traveling to bring home their children. From the end of December through early February there are around 30 families traveling to bring home their kids. Each child that leaves the orphanage opens up a spot for a new child to come to the orphanage.

Unless we get a referral, we probably won't get any official updates until next month. Back to waiting....

The wait has begun

Monica spoke with Christy Penney, our adoption case manager, a few minutes ago. We mailed our dossier to AGCI two weeks ago but were missing one document that needed to be state certified. That arrived at AGCI's office today. We're now officially done with our dossier and on the waiting list! Christy called and gave us our official wait list numbers. We are #28 on the girl list and #14 on the boy list. That's great and all but here's where it gets exciting, scary, crazy, etc....Christy told us that there are only three families ahead of us waiting for a toddler girl and only ONE family ahead of us for a toddler boy! C-R-A-Z-I-N-E-S-S!

After we receive and accept a referral it will be approximately 3-5 months until we travel to pick up our child. Our case will go through the Ethiopian courts before we travel.

Laundry Room = Serious Progress

The laundry room project has been moving along nicely the past few weeks. Last week dad and I got the hardwood floor installed. I used various leftovers from Stoney Acres Hardwood Flooring and mixed together the wood species and finish colors. Before I installed it in the laundry room, I laid the boards out in the basement so I could get the mix how I wanted it. They even had a leftover transition piece I could use to go from the hardwood to the linoleum.





This week the cabinets and countertop were installed. As you can see from the pictures, we're still missing a few doors and some hardware but that part is almost done. Don Miller built the cabinets.



The cabinets over the washer and dryer area (they're still in the basement - not looking forward to hauling those up).



The mudroom locker thing I designed for Don to build. I still need to get the coat hooks installed.



Now we're waiting for the plumber to come out and hook up the sink and we'll be functional. Oh and the electrician (me) needs to wrap up a few things too. Did I mention we still have to haul the washer and dryer up from the basement?

What's happening with our adoption?

We're just waiting on the notarized copy of our home study report. The home study report is done, but the agency needs to get it notarized by an Indiana notary. Since they're located in Louisville, KY that makes it a bit harder. I guess they had it notarized once and then realized that something was done incorrectly. Anyway, we should get it sometime in the next week.

Once we get the notarized home study report, we'll compile that with all the other documents we've assembled that make up our Dossier. We have everything else we need for the Dossier. The report is the last piece. Once we turn in our Dossier to All God's Children, we'll be put on the waiting list for a referral and given our first set of numbers (i.e. our spot in line for a child). We'll get a number for the boy list and a number for the girl list. Some families are on both lists and some are just on one of them. Within the lists, the parameters for each family (age of the child they are open to) may be slightly different. Based on what I've read, I think a lot of families are looking in the 0 - 12 month range. The stated time for the wait list is 6 - 8 months. Because we're open to a child between Brennan and Sawyer in age, our time on the wait list may be shorter, but it might not be.

I'll update once we get the Dossier turned in.

In other news - I got one coat of paint on the walls in the laundry room. Progress!

Laundry Room - Drywall

Remember a long, long time ago I was working on a laundry room project? Well, I'm finally back at it. I've been blaming adoption related activities on my lack of production, but most of the paper chasing is out of the way for now so I've started to pay more attention to the laundry room again.

A few weeks ago I started making a push to get the wiring done so I could get the drywall up. I was able to do that and on Saturday, October 11, I finished the drywall hanging. The following week the drywall finisher was able to get everything done. As of last Friday (10/17), it's ready for a coat of primer, and it's still waiting for that coat. The cabinet man was out last Monday to take final measurements for the cabinets. We're going with white cabinets and trim in the room.

Here are a few pictures since my last update.


Generally when I'm working on the laundry room Brennan wants to be right there working with me.


Brennan had a great time nailing these screws and nails into the drywall.


Brennan also provided a little art work along the way. While I've got this picture here, note the two cold water lines (the blue ones) side-by-side in the bottom left of the picture. I have to give my mother in-law some credit here. I believe it was her idea to run a hard water line to the laundry room for watering plants. So, our laundry sink will have an extra spigot for hard water. The current system generally involves me filling a water jug out in the garage. Good idea Vi!


Poor Sawyer was stuck in captivity.


Here's what the area looks like where the closet used to be. I put new drywall up on the walls in that area because the walls inside the closet had been textured.


Here's a shot looking into the laundry room.


And here's a shot from inside the room looking over to the entrance.