Pin Pals

Last weekend Pete and I got together with some of our adoption friends (Katie, Sean, Bethany, Mike, Doron, and Peter) for a night of fun. We went bowling for a couple of hours and then out for appetizers and drinks afterwards. It was nice to see everyone again and we had a blast! We enjoyed catching up with everyone, as well as commiserating about the adoption process. We especially loved the cupcakes Doron brought from her vegan bakery. Yummy! Here is a picture of the gang-

We leave for Miami this evening for our cruise tomorrow afternoon. I am super-excited, but still need to finish packing! I can't wait to tell you all about the vacation, we've been looking forward to it for a long time. We are doing a ten day cruise to the Panama Canal, with stops in Costa Rica, Jamaica, Haiti, and COLOMBIA!

We're approved!

We received word today that FANA has officially approved our dossier! Yay! This is the final hurdle before we receive a referral. We are very excited and relieved to be able to check this step off our list. Now we go back to waiting. Patiently waiting.

In other good news, our friends Katie and Sean were also approved today! The Colombia crew has a bowling date scheduled for Friday night, and now we will have much to celebrate!

Mañana

We received an email late yesterday afternoon from the International Program Coordinator at our adoption agency. She said that our dossier is "going to Committee" tomorrow! That means that the committee at the orphanage will be reviewing all of our documents. They could approve us or ask for more information on some aspect of our life. Technically they could also reject us, but let's not focus on that!
We probably will not hear anything until Thursday at the earliest (and it could be much later). We will keep you posted...

Happy Birthday Gayle

Last night we attended a "Waiting Parents Meetings" at the adoption agency. Every few months they invite a guest speaker to come in and speak on a topic relevant to adoption. It's a nice opportunity to learn something new, plus it's an excuse to catch up with our friends. Last night we heard a pediatrician speak about medical issues related to international adoption.

After the presentation, we broke out into sessions by country. This is what we look forward to most as it is sometimes our only update for months. However, last night's news was not the best. We learned that some of the "rules" have changed in Colombia. While we are hopeful that this will not effect us, there are some families that were impacted in a negative way. Our hearts go out to them right now.

On a happier note, it was my birthday yesterday. 31! We celebrated by going out for Thai food before the meeting with our friends Bethany, Mike, and Katie.

Strollers and car seats and carriers! Oh, my!

Yesterday Pete and I braved the wild world of baby stores for our first real shopping adventure. When I mention that I am thinking of buying something for the baby, many people ask, "Have you heard something?" The answer is no, but let me explain.

With an adoption, there is obviously a lot of waiting. In the early "paperwork" stage, there are many milestones to check off. This chunking of time and crossing-off of lists helps to pass the weeks and months along. Do you ever wonder what it looks like to get all of those things in order? Here's a picture of Gayle in all her organizational glory filling out homestudy and dossier documents back in May 2008:

So my point is, once the paperwork has been submitted, your fingers have been printed, and your home and psyche have been evaluated, there really is not a whole lot to do but wait.

We've decided that one of the fun things to help pass the time is to shop! If we buy something for the baby every month or so, we figure that will give us something to look forward to. Plus it will help spread out the costs, which is probably a good thing.

So that brings us to purchase numero uno... a stroller! We weren't really planning on buying a stroller when we went out yesterday, but we found a really nice one on clearance (2008 model) and we had a coupon- the perfect storm for a major purchase! Here's a picture of Gayle trying it out (I'm a natural, right?):

Distractions

When you are waiting for a referral, one of the most important things is the ability to distract yourself. Fortunately, Pete and I are easily distractable! While our jobs do a good job of keeping our minds occupied from 8-5, we have found other things to keep us busy during the rest of the time. Here are some of our favorites:

1. Home improvements- We have been doing some prepping and painting lately (most recently the future nursery)!
2. Wii- Our new favorite game... Rock Band! In case you are wondering, Pete's specialty is the guitar, while Gayle rocks out on drums and vocals.
3. Learning Español- We have started using Rosetta Stone to learn Spanish, and Gayle is taking a Spanish for Educators class through her school district.
4. Hanging out with friends- Last night we went to dinner with one of the waiting families we have met through our adoption agency. We had a blast! We know that the friendships we are making throughout this process are valuable and the connection we share (and our kids will share) is very special.

Pete getting the high spots

Our dossier has been delivered!

It's the moment we've been waiting for since July... Our dossier finally made it to Colombia! One of the wonderful families we've met through our adoption agency (who are in Bogota with their daughter right now) was kind enough to deliver it personally to the orphanage yesterday. We are lucky that our dossier was in such good hands! Surely this personal delivery will make a greater impact than one that simply arrives by mail. Or so we hope!
So what does this all mean, you ask? Well not much. We still have to be formally "approved," and they will likely require more information from us (i.e. clarification on the psych eval, etc.). But we are thrilled nonetheless that we finally have some movement in the right direction!