So Much Excitement!

    There have been so many referrals lately in the CHI ethiopia program.  It is so exciting!  One family who just got a referral said that their dossier arrived in Ethiopia at the beginning of March.  I was thinking in my head that we probably won't hear anything until mid-fall - but I guess it could happen sooner.  I called the travel clinic today to get rolling on my shots, just in case things keep rolling right along, I want to be ready!

    Bret & Lauren (16) are boarding a plane in New York right now bound for Egypt.  They are going to Cairo, and Asswan and on a cruise down the Nile.  L has always been a big fan of all things Egyptian.  She has all the dates, names, locations and history memorized.  She does beautiful Hieroglyph style art.  She is now going to get to see the country in person.  Technology being as amazing as it is, they are able to send me photos from each location from their cell phone to mine.  I am so thrilled for both of them.  I do sure miss them though.  I don't realize what a great team we are until Bret is gone for a day or two.  This time he will be gone for over two weeks.  I am trying to get as many projects done as I can to surprise him when he gets back.

    Many congratulations to all the families who have been matched up with their babies this week.  May those referrals keep on rolling in!

Chicken Adoption

I was inspired to write today  - even though our family is feeling sad.  Last night one of our hens, and her three chicks flew over our back fence and got killed by our neighbor's dogs.  We thought for most of the day today that they must be around, but my husband found the evidence this evening that they aren't coming back.

The reason I wanted to make this post was the amazing story behind these chickens.  About six months ago we inherited a group of chickens from a friend of a friend who is battling brain cancer.  They were mainly older hens, many past the point of laying.  As the weeks went by, my husband noticed a "broody" hen in the bunch.  This hen spent all day and night in the nest box.  She wanted to hatch some eggs.  We don't have any roosters, so this was never going to happen, but she persisted.  She went days without getting up for food or water and we knew we had to do something.

My husband, on a whim, went to the farm center and picked out three two day old chicks.  He brought them home and put them under her - not knowing what might happen.  It was love at first sight for all of them!  "Mama Grace" as the hen became known instantly took up care of these three tiny balls of black feathers.  She kept them warm underneath her and lavished them with love and attention.  Christina, Sally, and Kayla (as the chicks were named by our kids) fell in love with Mama Grace as well.  They would ride on her back and stare up into her face with adoration.

The rest of the hens weren't so crazy about the chicks, so Grace and her adopted babies took up residence on our porch by day and in a dog carrier at night.  They loved to spend time in our garden.  Grace was fiercely protective of the babies - and was known to puff up and chase our lab, our kids, and my husband if she felt they were too close to her little ones.

When they were a month old, Christina was injured.  We still don't know how it happened.  She hurt her leg badly and couldn't walk when we found her.  We were sure she wasn't going to make it and put her in a box in our bedroom.  Grace was so distraught by this, that eventually my husband said he was going to give the baby back to Gracie and see what happened.  She stayed with her injured baby, encouraged her to try to move and protected her all the while.  Within weeks, Christina was up and around!  She had an extreme limp that diminished over time.

Within the last weeks we were noticing that the chicks are almost as tall as their mama - and that these birds who were all black when we got them, were starting to develop brown feathers on their necks that resembled Grace's (a completely different breed).

So today we are mourning the loss of our pets - and remembering and sharing a beautiful adoption story.  Grace loved those chicks as her own, and I'm sure she fought to the death to try to save them.

Man Time

I find myself relating to all the stress so many families feel as they play the waiting game.  My four kids do keep life so busy, that I don't find myself spending too much time "feeling" the wait.  That being said, I am on the computer every day (or many times a day) checking CHI updates, reading family blogs and list serve postings.  I check the ticker on our blog to see how the time is passing.  I asked my husband yesterday, how long would he guess it has been since our dossier arrived in Ethiopia?  His guess was "about 10 days?"  It has been a little over a month!  He is one of those people who really doesn't feel the wait, and will just be elated when the day finally arrives.  I have to say, I am a bit envious :)

This is a photo taken of the girls 5 years ago!  I know the wait for our little one in Ethiopia will someday feel like nothing, because looking at this photo, I don't know where those 5 years have gone.

OOPS!

Here is the photo that was described but didn't show up.

Photos

The first photo is of Av and J and "Cinnamon" the dog when we were in Sacramento waiting for our POA document to be authenticated.  It was another great excuse to get out of down and do an overnight at the Hyatt.  The kids had a great time.

The second photo is of Av, J and Olivia on a firetruck at our local Firefighter's Pancake Breakfast.  The kids can't think of anything better than eating pancakes that a firefighter made in the firehouse.  Watching the heliocopter land is always one of the highlights of the morning.

The last picture is of Olivia looking beautiful hugging a tree.  (The hairstyle is only minutes old - and only took about four hours to do!)

It's Been A Long Time

I had a feeling I would be one of those bloggers.  My last post was about a month ago!  When I was younger and tried to keep a diary, it was the same story.

Now that we are waiting, and all our paperwork (including the newly required POA) is done and sitting in Ethiopia, there isn't much to report.

What has been going on is that I have been enjoying - and spending too much time - reading other adoption blogs.  I have also been introduced to the world of list serves and have been in contact with families in our area who are going through the process or have their little ones home already.  I happened to find out that there is a weekly play group for Ethiopian adoptees and their families about 20 minutes away from our home!  I have been so excited to hear about families who have received referrals, made it through court and are traveling.  It is beautiful to see these families being created and knowing even though the wait seems long - in the scheme of things - we will in those shoes before we know it.

My husband and oldest daughter are getting ready for a trip to Egypt in the next two weeks.  My 8-year-old is getting ready for drama camp and I am busy planning our home schooling for the next year.  It feels good to be out of the school year and looking ahead at the summer.  We go to family camp next weekend and a home schooling conference in August.  It is going to be a great summer.  and when we get to the end of it, three more months of waiting will be over.