Life with the D'Angelos

Waiting waiting waiting

2011-01-08T18:52:00.000-08:00

I havent blogged in a long time and for many reasons.So today I begin again and hopefully will continue. To bring you up to speed Peyton is turning 2 in a few weeks and such a funny little girl I can not imagine life without her in it. Caitlyn is now in culinary school and really enjoying it ,Zach is in high school and dating a little too much such a strange kid he is and I mean that in the best possible way, Aiden is doin great still tryin to find his nitch but such a sweet heart and currently Peytons favorite bro and well Carson is now 11 oh my and just an amazing kid he surprises me every day!! As far as our adoption its been a long road.We have had our referral since june and I have watched my sweet angel grow up through pictures, It is such a hard thing to grasp. There is no end in sight for our case no court date and the Ethiopia program is having so many delays we will be lucky if our little one is home by summer.I have decided with the new year to put adoption away what I mean is I need to focus on my children here,I will never get back these moments so I need to focus on them.It does not mean I dont love our little one in Ethiopia I do and she is in the best hands she could be in but there is nothing I can do for her but wait.My children here need me and I am going to spend this time making wonderful memories.

Court Closure

2010-08-06T02:46:00.000-07:00

I hate Court closure need i say more-Aug 6- September 27 oh my praying the time goes quickly-some pictures of how were keeping busy

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

Wow is it July already holy moly!!!! Lots goin on in the D'Angelo home but I see July/Aug being super busy as we have many projects to get done before life gets just a bit crazier! Busy is an understatement there is so much on my plate right now some days I cant sleep! Our foundation website is almost ready to go live so stay tuned.We are also planning our 1st big fundraiser in Bontus memory more details to come.The kids are all great and enjoying living on long island with the beach being 1o min away.John is working way more then he should but we knew this when he took this second job(project but its like a second job)-it wont be forever its just the begining stages of his project and will be time consuming then it should let up. No vacation plans for us but thats okay Me,John and Peyton will be heading to vegas in september but thats all we have planned for now!!Happy 4th of july to the blog world

wordless wednesday

2010-05-12T19:25:00.003-07:00

14 year old boys are wierd !!!!!

2010-05-06T06:49:00.001-07:00

So my zach is now 14. Having a boy teenager is very very different from a girl.Caitlyn would tell you everything even stuff you prefer not to hear. I knew everyone of her friends and I knew everything about them who they liked,who they dated,what they ate for dinner. So Zachs life is somewhat of a mystery to me. Hes funny and outgoing inside our family and I assume hes like that around his friends when I am not around. He has a girlfriend named Taylor but thats not up for discussion, I have met her and shes quiet as a mouse !! He has a best friend named Megan who is loud and funny and its funny to watch them together(i imagine they will date some day they are a cute match). Zach is not into sports but likes to jam on his guitar (privately). Hes very private and some times I get concerned but all his friends parents tell me how much they love him. Having other people tell you they love your teenager means alot,it means hes respectful to adults and has manners outside the home-it means so far I think we did a good job! I know hes trying to find himself as I watch him changing. Appearance is huge for teenagers and Im curious to see how this evolves. Yesterday I saw him wearing neon black and rubber bracelets(you know the bracelets we wore in the 80s) .Well its very odd to see my son wearing bracelets oh and a sparkly neon studded belt hmm should I be worried??? not yet I dont think it seems to be the style right now-Did I say 14 year old boys are WIERD !!!

Chunky Baby

2010-05-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

Title says it all. The kid eats everything and anything which is good and bad. She eats all her vegtables and fruits but she also eats dirt, grass and bugs!! Yes bugs!! And she shovels the food in as fast as possible. I just dont know what to do with her shes healthy but she needs to eat less-try explaining that to a toddler. Shopping for her is tuff. She cant wear most jeans or pants because they are too tight around her belly or if they do fit they fall below her belly as in the picture. Im at a loss all my other kids are picky eaters so Im thrilled she eats but she needs to eat less .I know I know she will thin out the more she walks and I shouldnt worry but I do

Collecting Children HUH????

2010-04-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

Living on long island I dont know too many families that have more than 2 children. Long Island is super expensive and Im not even sure how my friends without kids even survive here. Anyway people are usually shocked when I say I have 5 children,seriously shocked. Most people ask tons of questions especialy now with Peyton. Heres how a recent conversation went and im still taken back by it

**Are they all yours? Ummm yeah all 5 are mine.

No you know what i mean- Umm they are all mine,I didnt give birth to all my children but they are all mine.

Oh so how many are adopted- Just 1

So your done right- nope not done

Wow what are you collecting kids?-----------------------

What does someone say to that-collecting kids-i just kinda looked at her paused and walked away. Is that how some people look at it? so strange the world we live in

Wordless wednesday

2010-04-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

Okay we are still alive

2010-04-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

Wow 2 months since I have blogged-I could be the worst blogger ever. We have been busy busy busy! Baseball season has begun, paperwork ,Caitlyns turning 21, Peyton turned 1 ,Easter, we had 3 car accidents(no one hurt,2 werent a D'Angelos fault) and we took a trip to Disney WHEW!!!!! Here are a few pictures from the last 2 months

wordless wednesday

2010-02-03T09:59:00.001-08:00

Matilda Jane-ohh my

2010-01-27T13:18:00.000-08:00

No thats not the name we have chosen for our next child LOL. Its a clothing company.I seriously have a Peyton shopping problem. I love buying her clothes,hair bows,etc. Yes I had a girl before but when I had Caitlyn I was a single mama and dressing her was mostly through hand me downs-3 boys later and then Peyton. I know i have a problem but I am savy ! I usually only buy on clearance, have a coupon,buy ebay,thrift shop etc. So although I buy alot I dont spend alot. Anyway I was shopping at gymboplace.com (its a community of people who sell their used gymboree clothing) I came accross the brand Matilda Jane and oh my !!!! I did my research and they very rarely have sales and on ebay a used outfit will cost as much as if I bought it new UGH UGH UGH-so what does one do ? Yes I splurged ughhh I bought Peyton an outfit UGHHHH-dont ask which one cause I cant remember there were too many to choose -I convinced myself I can make the money back by reselling it on ebay when we are done-so patiently or not so patiently waiting for the postman

here is the website if you have a girl I suggest you stay away lol

http://www.matildajaneplatinum.com

Happy Birthday Peyton

2010-01-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

According to Peytons Ethiopian birth certificate her Birthday is today !!!!! We know she was born in march and will be celebrating in march this year but after that its January 21 !!!! January 21 is dear to our hearts cause on January 21,2008 we started talking about adding to our family after our dear friends gave birth to their first child. Happy Birthday Miss Peyton

wordless wednesday

2010-01-20T02:17:00.001-08:00

carson as baby new year

words to live by

2010-01-15T16:30:00.000-08:00

I really needed something today-This was perfect

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever."
-Psalm 23

Flashback to High School ramblings

2010-01-14T23:04:00.001-08:00

I bet you thought this post would be about my High School reunion -nope I missed that due to our adoption which is fine I honestly feel like with facebook we dont need reunions. Anyway High School as I remember it wasn't so bad but when you are in high school you really can't wait to get out and become an adult- Well adult life has proven to be alot like high school !!! In more places then one I have found the same high school drama in my adult life. One example is the PTA-If you have never been in a PTA let me tell you all the rumors are true. I for one just do my job and avoid the drama but the drama is everywhere. Sometimes I think its a women thing, women need drama and will do anything to create it. Facebook can bring drama-its very easy to post exactly how you feel and before you can delete that post 20 people have responded. It also is very easy to delete friends something I did recently when I was upset and now regret somewhat. I recently experienced some drama in an online support group-some will say I created the drama but I really dont believe I did. I was hurt ,felt singled out and left out(see those familiar high school feelings).I should have taken it up privately with the person but when you feel attacked you react and I think I needed to know I wasnt over reacting. Anyway I felt like I was in High school as the event escalated and I could not escape. Lets see where else -----Family--and thats all im gonna say about that cause you read my blog LOL. In the workplace-I don't even work anymore but my former co-workers still try and drag me into the drama (i worked with all women). I remember as Caitlyn was going through High School I would tell her its High School Drama you just have to survive but I never really told her it will always exist, I never told her that those feelings she felt or the way her friends acted will exist even throughout her adult life. I told her to ignore those who created drama and sit on the sidelines (only problem with this is you get walked all over so maybe not the best advice).Why doesnt this happen with men?? My husband pretty much has no drama-my brother had no drama-Do I need to talk to my soon to be high school son about the high school drama ??? or am I safe til Peyton goes to school? and for girls the drama starts around 4th grade if I remember correctly. Maybe this is why god gave me 3 boys-less drama cause honestly the drama makes me uncomfortable !!!!

On a side note the kids are great and Peyton is growing to fast and getting ready to walk -As far as the progress of our second adoption, well I have decided to stay private about that for now on due to the "drama"

21

2010-01-05T16:16:00.000-08:00

This picture is Peyton and Caitlyn

21 pounds is how much my baby girl weighs

21 is how old my daughter Caitlyn will turn this year

21 is how old I was when I met my soul mate

21 of january is the day of Peytons birthday

21 of january 2008 is the date we started the adoption process

21 is how many pounds i would like to loose lol

When the Doctor said today Peyton weighed 21 pounds it got me thinking about the number 21

Goodbye 2009

2009-12-31T06:29:00.000-08:00

Saying goodbye to 2009 is bittersweet. 2009 started with sadness and then turned to tragedy,and ended amazingly.2009 will always be the worst and best year of my life and I hope 2010 is filled with only good times and happiness.I hope all of my friends and family have a wonderful new year.We have so many things already planned for 2010 -disney trip, my SIL wedding,Peytons first birthday,and much much more- NEW YEAR NEW MEMORIES !!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-30T13:23:00.001-08:00

Dreaming of a white Christmas.............

2009-12-20T11:29:00.000-08:00

Snow,Snow,Snow I cant remember the last time we got this much snow.Thankfully I knew the storm was coming and I hit target friday night to stock up on snow boots,gloves,hats etc. We love love love the snow however I live on a dead end,well my driveway lives on the dead end along with one other house and guess what? They never ever plow us ,so john usually shovels the street but theres just way too much out there. Three phone calls to the town so hopefully we will get plowed if not we will all be out there shoveling the street (meaning the D'angelos because that other house this effects well they are elderly and we are not letting them).

The man in the big red suit

2009-12-19T13:58:00.000-08:00

I first took Peyton to see Santa a few weeks back.She loved him from the sidelines,waving and smiling however she is not a fan up close she screamed like I have never heard her scream.The bottom picture was taken just before she realized where she was sitting.The following pictures were taken yesterday-no crying but still not smiling. I promise not to torture her anymore for 2009-santa we will see you next year

My heart and soul

2009-12-01T04:55:00.000-08:00

Around june when I realized it would be months before our baby girl came home I threw myself into a project to keep me busy. "The movie". I have planned every detail of this movie from the music to the timing of pictures etc.After hours and hours (it was great therapy) of working on it I had the chance to show it at her baptism on sunday. I have to admit I am so proud of it,there are some details that could be better but I am of course my worst critic. Here you will find the link to it please make sure your volume is up cause the music has so much meaning.****warning****it is about 18 minutes long

http://gallery.me.com/ddangelo6#100000

wordless wednesday seems to be the only thing i blog lol

2009-11-11T13:07:00.001-08:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-07T10:10:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin picking and the tongue

2009-09-28T16:08:00.000-07:00

So today we went pumpkin picking which was early for us this year since we usually go in october.However my son carson reminded us that we missed going last year.Last year everytime we planned to go the weather was bad so today the weather was perfect. I usually get some great photos during this event and I use them to create thankgiving cards for our families. Oh the joys of now trying to get 5 perfect smiles.Little miss Peyton who never takes a picture without smiling decided sticking her tongue out would be more fun,yep so almost every pic you can see her tongue-oh well

wordless wednesday

2009-09-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

Peytons first week home

2009-09-06T07:54:00.000-07:00

Its so hard to believe Peyton is home yet on the flip side it feels like shes always been with us.It so strange to no longer have adoption stress that I kinda dont know what to do with myself. Peyton keeps us busy but shes soo good,content,sleeping at nite and just plain happy!!Here are some pictures from her first week home.

To Ethiopia and back

2009-09-01T05:48:00.001-07:00

Ethiopia
Day 1:
We landed in Ethiopia around 8 am. It was so surreal thinking Peyton was so close. We headed off the plane down the escalator to the first desk we saw and was told to wait on this very long line. We finally got to the end when they told us we needed to get our visa first UGH-For those of you traveling at the end of the escalator make a left to get your visa then go stand on the customs line. Then it was on to baggage ,thankfully everything made it safely. As we walked through security I could see tons of people waiting for family members John made an immediate right out of the door but stopped to look at the crowd of people and all the way to left were 2 men holding the sign "better future adoptions" I started yelling to John and screaming over to them I was soo excited. Baisa our driver and Beryihien (we will called him Ber) drove us to the guesthouse. Aguitu (Our director)was at the entrance of the guesthouse waiting for us with tears streaming down her face.I went over to her and we hugged and cried. We chatted for a bit and Beti(our cook) made us a yummy breakfast.When Breakfast was over Aguitu asked if we would like to go get our baby,of course we said yes. I was feeling every emotion as we drove down the road to the care center.As soon as we reached the gate my eyes started to well up and by the time I got inside the care center the tears were flowing. The head Nanny took us into the second infant room as I looked quickly at all the cribs searching for peyton. The nanny lifted her up and handed her to me and I cried so hard I couldnt breath (john was crying too but he wont admit it)so we went and sat in the lounge area. As I sat down I looked up and Aguitu,the nannies and Beisa and Bir were all crying with me.I couldnt believe how beautiful Peyton was. We headed back to the guesthouse with peyton where the nanny offered to take her so we can rest but I told her we needed to just have some time with her.
The rest of the night we spent just loving on her
Day 2
We had to bring Peyton back to the care center so the staff could take her to the clinic for medicals.We decided while she was gone we would stay at the care center(which ended up being about 3.5 hours). We had so many care packages to give out from families waiting to bring their kids home. We decided to pull each child into the lounge area seperately so those that didnt get care packs werent upset. As the children came in I took out their packages and explained that they were from their families ,as I spoke the nanny translated. The children were sooo excited and I was excited to do this for them. Then we needed to take pictures for the families so we started with the babies.The nannies were great they brought each baby out to me. All of the babies were so cute and I got to hold 2 very special babies Bona and Gadissa. It meant so much to be able to hold these too babies as I know their mommies and they long to hold them. After the care packs and the pictures it was time to play with the kids (my favorite part). I really was unsure how this would go with language barriers ,would they even want to play with us,etc. Some of the children were shy and unsure of us,others were curious and then there was little Ebsa who just wrapped his arms around my leg. I sat on the floor while john gave out some picture books we brought.The older children were so excited to show off there english and Sitota and Yohanas took the magna doodles we brought and showed me how they write their names. Little Hyat and Deratu loved my long hair and kept playing with it taking my clips out and putting them back in.John of course found a little boy Mathaus(sp?) to play with the football we brought. Then it was lunch time (for those wondering they had pasta).We had such a wonderful time.The kids were happy and so easy to play with.There was about 15 of them and we love all of them.
After the care center we went to the Hilton to exchange our money. It is frowned upon to bring your children out in public so we took a nanny Chaltu with us. Chaltu was with Peyton all day and had not eaten anything so while at the hilton we fed Chaltu and bought drinks for Baisa and Ber. It was a fun time getting to know them.
Day 3
The nannies picked up Peyton today to take her for HIV testing so we decided to go shopping at the Mercato (ethiopias largest market) Aguitu sent our driver with us so he could haggle the prices. The mercato was nuts,parking took us a half hour. Baisa took us into a tradional clothing booth and we made a huge pile but the guy wouldnt give us a price til the end. After he told us our total I nearly fell over(i was told everything in ET was dirt cheap and this was not).Our driver haggled a little but we believed we were still paying way to much(later on we found out we paid about 5 times higher then we should have).I do not recommend the Mercato to those traveling its crazy and as soon as the vendors saw us they were all over us. Next up we went back to the care center as we pulled up it was potty time there was about 8 potty chairs lined up and the kids were all sittin goin potty it was the cutest thing.We brought our poloroid camera-The kids loved this watching their faces magically appear!!!We had another great day with the children.
Day 4
Today we left Peyton most of the day with the nanny. driving around in Ethiopia is not safe and then you add in the fact its rainy season and the dirt roads are just horrible so it was best to leave her back.John being a doctor he wanted to visit the hospital.Aguitu took us to the government hospital where Bontu passed away(yea this was an emotional experience). Nothing can ever prepare you for what you see in Ethiopia and the hospital was extremely eye opening. The government hospital offers free care for the orphanage children although if the can get to the pediatric hospital its much better.We met with the hospital surgeon and he gave us a tour-it was heart wrenching,so many people barely any doctors,nothing looked sterile.On the childrens floor the cribs looked rusted and mothers were sitting on the floor holding there ill children. We walked passed the delivery room which was filled with about 8 mothers in labor there outside glass windows looking in were about 30 family members watching. The resources are limited if someone has surgery the family is responsible for the changing,feedind and paying for and getting any pain meds(therefore most dont get pain meds).The hospital had a first class floor that was a little cleaner-this floor was for patients who pay out of pocket. It is hard to imagine that in the year 2009 people live like this.We take so much for granted.After the hospital we met with the head of the health Bureau to discuss a foundation we are starting in Bontus name that will help with medical resources.After that we went and visited a small orphanage about 20 minutes away.It was small but sooo clean and the children were all clean,dressed well and the girls hair were done beautifully.We played with the kids for a bit but I was missing Peyton so we needed to get back.After spending the rest of the day with Peyton it was time to get ready to go to the cultral dinner show.Aguitu treated us 2 other families,BFAS attorney and his wife,the driver,guide and accountant.We had a great time and I even attempted some ethiopian dancing (not by choice) hopefully my dear friends holly and Jen will erase that video!!!!!! for those traveling i highly recomend the Faskika show (sp?).
Day 4
EMBASSY DAY-this is the final step. The embassy approves youradoption and issues Peyton her visa.This process was very smooth.One family had a small glitch but with the MOWA paperwork but the agency staff were on top of it and it was taken care of quickly.I needed to do some more shopping so we went to the Haile Salassie store(sp?) this store is government run and has fixed prices and the prices were good!!!That evening we had a bonfire and coffee ceremony at our guest house and yummy food that our cook Beti made.It was great to just relax with the other families.
Day 5
This was our busyiest day and our last day.We left Peyton the whole day but I really needed to see some more of Ethiopia. Aguitu picked us up and took us to Tewahedo church.It is the first church in Ethiopia and its way up in the mountains.The scenery going up was amazing.The church was beautiful and so much history.Many people live on the grounds of the church,many of them sick with Aids and Hiv-they believe living there will heal them.I highly recommend visiting this church.Then we went back to the Haile Salassie store but they were closing for lunch. So we picked up the other families and headed to the care center to say goodbye with a pit stop at Robero to buy coffee(highly recommend) At the care center we had the chance to meet Bontus birthmom which was emotional and I think I may have caused more harm then good.I gave her a photo album of Bontu and hugged her and had Aguitu explain we were starting a foundation in her name but she was too upset and walked away.not sure what I expected but it was just hard. The nannies had a coffee ceremony for us which was so sweet. I went and hugged the head nanny and cried with her (i just love her) then we said goodbye to the children and some of them cried. I had a hard time leaving the care center.all of these children have families coming for them except 1 little boy. He was the one who sat on my lap and snuggled up to me.He has no family coming for him,hes been there for months and it breaks my heart that he may never have a family and all his friends will leave and he will still be there.I pretty much cried about this for 2 hours. If anyone reading this may be interested in him please let me know-it is my mission to find him a home-he is around 5 or 6 and sweet as can be.
We dropped the families off and head back to Haile salassie to finish shopping.Then it was a mad dash to pack and get to the airport.We got to the airport 4 hours early just so we can get a bassinet on the plane.Highly recomend getting the bassinet Peyton slept 12 of the 17 hours on that plane.

Notes:
Peyton-when we first got her she was very limp didnt move much,no crying,no sound and didnt move her arms and legs(they keep them so wrapped there) by day 2 with her she was cooing,blowing bubbles and kicking her feet,day 3 she started tring to role over and by the end of the week she can grab at toys.Her head was very wobbly but each day she has better head support.Her head is alittle square shaped but thats from laying on her back all the time.

Guest house- BFAS guest house includes nanny,cook,driver,3 meals and laundry-Everything there was wonderful I wish I could have taken the cook and nanny home!!!

Ethiopia- Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw.I cried everyday.I saw mothers with children on their backs at our van window begging for money,Children half naked no shoes begging for money,people just laying on the streets,sidewalks anywhere.I had to turn down children begging,look away at these desperate mothers. The driving is Ethipia is like nothing I have ever seen.Drivers have the right away not people and drivers can turn,drive on the wrong side,cut people off and no one gets mad(no road rage its amazing).It so overwhelming you feel like theres nothing you can do.Its hard to imagine people live like this children digging in garbage for food. The problems seem so huge.Ethiopia will forever be imprinted on my heart.

shes home

2009-08-30T04:53:00.000-07:00

we are home with peyton

WE Passed!!!!!

2009-08-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

We passed court today and we are leaving in a few hours !!!!!

No desire to Blog

2009-08-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

So I have had no desire to blog- I still have no desire to blog because I want to blog about happy things but I continue to stress over the fact that my daughter is growing up without us. So where are we-leaving for Africa on wed aug 19th but as of right now Peyton is not coming home. We decided to continue with our trip since John has the time off and the kids are still on summer break. We were hoping to have a court date before we left but as luck would have it our new court date is Aug 19th the day we leave. I will most likely not know if we passed that day since I will be on a plane. The plan is to try and bring Peyton home but if thats not possible John will fly back to Ethiopia when its time to go get her. So im trying to think of the positive which is holding my baby baby girl !!!

court delay yet again

2009-07-27T12:22:00.001-07:00

Well no court for us today-We are tentavively rescheduled for friday-I dont even know what to say

Court date !!!!!

2009-07-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

Yes we have a date July 27 court date----woohoo I will post m ore when we get back from vacation

Update no Update

2009-06-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

There really is no update its been over a month now since the courts stopped hearing abandonment cases out of Addis and there really is no end in sight, How am I doing? Its very strange how at peace I am right now. I don't have that crazy cant do anything feeling.I guess cause there really is nothing I can do. I'm not sure how long I will feel this way maybe tomorrow I will be pulling my hair out but for now I am okay and dreaming about the day Peyton is in our arms

yahoo and other agrevations

2009-05-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

One thing I learned along this journey is how no one cares about others adoptions.Everyone(few exceptions ) are out for them selves. With all the issues of abandonment I decided to join a few yahoo groups for support and information.What I found were people bashing my agency and my friends and yes I got caught up in it.Maybe I said a few things I regret but not half as mean as the things said to me.I in turn decided to leave as there is enough stress in this journey.So i find out some are suspcious of my journey and posted my blog.So welcome to my new readers.What you will find here is my agonizing journey.One that I wouldnt wish on my worst enemy.All I have written is raw emotion and is the true me. I support my agency and my friends.My journey truely stinks but it is mine I am so emotionaly spent I can no longer deal with anyone other then my true friends.For those of you with your children home-they are home and be thankful-for those of you waiting-be thankful for what happened to me cause it caused great change for you. I am just a mother trying desperatly to get my daughter home and do not need to be attacked by the heartless

Sick to my stomach

2009-05-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

Well I am starting to believe adoption just is not in our future. Our court date is less then 2 days away and it looks like its not happening. The ethiopian courts stopped hearing abandonment cases last friday and of course this effects us. I really can not express how I feel at this point.Im shakey and sick to the point of throwing up. I am seriuosly at the point that some meds may be in order. I cant sleep,breath or anything for that matter.Yet again we are so close and any hapiness coming to us has been ripped away. I was praying for some sorta miracle today but yet again the day is over and all I can do is cry.

Court Date!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-01T14:59:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we recieved our court date -Are you ready for this MAY 15 yep 2 weeks away. The courts decided to expedite our case because we had lost a baby that was Legally Ours.So if all goes well and we pass court we leave may 27.I still can not believe it!!!!!!!!!!!! I am very excited and nervous at the same time.I think I will be a ball of nerves up until she is in our arms. God is good and I believe he will keep her safe til we get there.So let the madness begin-Packing,shopping,more shopping LOL.Oh and Peyton will be 2.5 months when placed in our arms.I can see some sunshine coming through the dark clouds!!!!

Okay days and Really bad days

2009-04-16T12:59:00.000-07:00

So today started out as an okay day but somewhere it went bad,As I can not hold back my tears anymore. It has been about 7 weeks since we found out our baby girl passed away.Some days I still can not believe it.As the weather is getting nicer out I think about all those long walks we would have taken while the boys were at school.I finally went in her room this past week and emptied out her suitcase then I proceeded to reaarange the room for the third time. With each new referral I found it easier to reaarange the room for the newest baby.As I sat there in her room I wonder is this new baby the one we will bring home or is there more heartache on the horizon. As we try to get excited about this referral I feel guilty for our baby girl-so how do I balance it all? How do we open our hearts? How do we not worry about this baby? I can tell you I need to find a way to balance it all because its starting to affect my mommy duties,my wife duties and my household duties not to mention my diet ,sleep,etc. Maybe it was too soon to accept a referral but I also can not imagine being stuck in limbo in this process. So as I have no idea what each day brings please pray we can figure out how to balance it all

Referral

2009-04-06T15:06:00.000-07:00

Yes Today we officially accepted a referral for a beautiful baby girl. She is almost a month old.Please pray shes stays healthy and strong until we can get to her.We are not allowed to post a picture of her cute little face so here are here adorable little feet

Where do we go from here?

2009-03-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

So this is the big question "where do we go from here? Its hard to imagine but there are people,family,friends etc that think our adoption is over. OVER??? Yes I am still sad,angry and frustrated but over? no. As I think about the future it scares me.How will we love another child the same way,How will I not worry every second of everyday she is not with us,And How will I survive WAITING,waiting for medicals,waiting for court dates,waiting for travel .I am not a good waiter,I am not a patient person, And I question why and what god has planned for my family. So here I sit in what I call Limbo. I still cry everyday for our baby girl,I still stare at every picture I have of her. So where do I go from here I really dont know,its such a strange feeling I can not explain.For the past year I have thought about,planned,shopped for this baby and now nothing.Adoption was a daily conversation in the D'Angelo house and now nothing.And that kinda sums it all up i guess "nothing"
Ok im rambling and not making sense at this point.Just wanted everyone to know we are officialy back on the list

Our Adoption

2009-03-21T05:43:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone, this is John. Just want to thank everyone for their prayers and support.
As most of you know our hearts were broken not to long ago by news none of us expected. One moment we were at a high point in our lives as we prepared to travel to bring our little girl Bontu home and the next minute we were crushed by the unbelievable news that she had become ill and had passed away during the night.
I am sure many of you have questions about what has happened; so do we. Unfortunately we still don’t know much, only that Bontu had began having vomiting and diarrhea and was brought to the government hospital by the woman who we have been working with from the adoption agency. Apparently Bontu appeared a little dehydrated and was to be kept overnight for IV fluids and unexpectedly died during the night. As is the case with all the children in the orphanages in Ethiopia she did have a medical exam several months earlier which included negative blood work for hepatitis and HIV; i.e. to the best of our knowledge she was healthy. We may never know the exact diagnosis or details; did she succumb to an overwhelming infection, did she have some other underlying problem such as a congenital heart defect? Although we may never know, we do know that things that we take for granted everyday here in the United States don’t exist in the world of the 4 million plus orphans all across Ethiopia. In this 3rd world country children are often malnourished, not vaccinated, and many live in crowded orphanages with scores of other children who serve as reservoirs for infectious diseases. Medical care is limited at best and not routinely available. In fact, Ethiopia not only has a very high maternal mortality rate with 1 in 14 mothers dying during child birth; it ranks number 15 in the world in regards to its infant mortality rate with an average of 90 children per every 1000 not surviving beyond 1 year. To give you a reference in the US the rate is 6 per 1000, Iraq 45 per 1000, and Haiti 62 per 1000. In fact most of the countries listed higher than Ethiopia are on the same continent and I never heard of most of them. I guess the reason I am writing all of this is because as we grieve the loss of our Bontu, we realize that her tragic story is what drew us to Ethiopia in the first place. We choose Ethiopia because that is where we felt the greatest need was, and unfortunately this is a place where the story of Bontu is not an unfamiliar one.
So with heavy hearts we need to acknowledge that our journey to Kennedy has ended in tragedy; but we need to push on, we need to not let this stop us; to do so would be an insult in our minds to Bontu and to her mother who made an unbelievably selfless decision to relinquish her daughter out of love and hope for a better future; only to loose her in the end. So we lost our Bontu; our Kennedy, but we will move on to make a difference in the life of another child, in doing so we are not “replacing” Bontu; but we will never forget Kennedy Bontu - our daughter that we have seen only in photos but who’s face is forever imprinted on our hearts.
We do not know what the timeline will be as our adoption journey continues. It may take a few weeks or 6 months, we don’t know. We don’t know what name we will choose for this child. We do know we will be blessed with a child, and we will not forget the struggles of those we can’t bring home. I personally will not forget that my daughter died most likely due to some physical challenge that her body faced that would have been manageable here in the US. With that knowledge I will be dedicating myself to helping out in some way utilizing the gifts God has provided me. I may in the future ask you all for your support as we work with our adoption agency to improve the medical resources available to the children in their care and do what we can to try to prevent the tragedy of Bontu’s story from becoming there own.
We thank you all for your support, and God Bless.

In memory of Our beautiful baby girl

2009-03-06T06:03:00.000-08:00

I have decided to post Bontus photo in memory of her.We love her so much.I pray everyday that somehow we get through this,I pray for her birth mom who is weeping as well,I pray for our agency who has been nothing but wonderful and I pray for all of the other families that you never have to endure this pain. We take for granted all that we have here in the united states. My baby was healthy but a simple stomach bug took her away from us forever. I think about her every minute of everyday and through all of I still need to be a mom to my children which is not an easy task.Please keep praying us through this

Pray for us

2009-03-05T17:34:00.000-08:00

This has been the hardest journey of my life.Our beautiful baby girl passed away this week and the pain is unbearable.I can not even write anymore

Passed court early

2009-02-26T13:03:00.000-08:00

I still can hardly believe it.We were sceduled for court March 5th and here it is Feb 26 and we have passed. This has been a great week last night I recieved video of our baby girl and today she is ours!! We lleave March 11th oh my so much to do.No pictures to post yet our agency doesnt allow it but soon.Kennedy will be home

Nursery pictures

2009-02-19T15:23:00.000-08:00

So the nursery is done we just need our baby girl!!! Our court date is 2 weeks from today so we are almost at the finish line!!!

Gods plan???

2009-02-06T16:56:00.000-08:00

I keep trying to tell myself God has a plan.I may not like his plan or agree with it but he has a plan. It has taken me a few days to post this.I have been feeling all sorts of emotions and was a little depressed for awhile but Im starting to feel better. Last saturday we lost our referral for Tingirt.Her mother took her from the orphanage and I will spare the rest of the details because it is too heart wrenching to post. I feel like someone has ripped my heart out.We love her so much even though we have never met her.We had plans for her,dreamt of her being a part of our family. The same day we lost Tingirt we were offered the referral of Bontu a 3 month old baby girl. Her referral was coupled with the news of Tingirt.Way too much to handle. It took me an hour to open the attachment to view Bontu and Im gonna be honest I was not excited I had no feeling and I feel so sad about that. Bontu is a beautiful litle girl but I wanted Tingirt she was my daughter. After about 5 days of uncontrollable crying I am happy to say we signed the acceptence papers for Bontu. We have decided to leave 1 picture of Tingirt up for she will forever have a place in my heart. I am very guarded this time and feel terrible but I know when Bontu is placed in my arms I will know she is ours forever. We were able to keep our march 5th court date so we are almost at the finish line. For whatever reason God wants Bontu to be with our family and I have to trust in his plan.Please pray for our family

Adoption and new friendships

2009-01-27T10:57:00.000-08:00

I have so many friends from every journey of my life.Whether they are from High School,through adoption,PTA ,Through my children,MA,PA ,Etc they have all supported us on this adoption journey. My Adoption friends will always be dear to my heart.They understand my ups and downs coupled with my craziness. Only they can truly understand how I am feeling. So this post is dedicated to them. To Gail you are the BFAS cheerleader.You seem to take us from an unhappy place to a more pleasant one. I imagine you are the type of person that lights up a room when you walk it. I tend to think of you as the Mama bear of the group. What ever you say has such a calming effect I don't believe we could make it through all the venting without you. Meg you are a wealth of information, you always know whats going on. We made it through the formula scare together and i am so happy we talked on the phone that day. You have had a difficult journey but yet you stand tall and I admire that. Jen you say everything I feel LOL. You have been named the ass kicker of our group but I don't really see it that way you just speak what you are thinking. I remember the day you received your referral I was soooo excited for you. I am soo glad you crossed over to BFAS with me . Kimberly the great list keeper-what can I say without you we would not have a list to obsess over.I think everyone appreciates the work you put into the list for us. Your day is coming soon I just feel it.I think I may cry when you get the call. Kelie who I'm not sure has a blog or at least i can not find it. Thank you for your encouraging words. We only started really talking and I'm happy to get to know you.Theresa words will never be enough of a thank you.Without Theresa I know I would not have survived this process. She is the first person I turn to good or bad news. She knows how to calm me. She is defiantly my adoption BFF buddy LOL. We began this process together and I pray we continue it together(praying we travel together). These ladies will forever be in my heart.I pray everyday for their journeys.I do hope someday we have a chance to meet!!!

adoption refreashed

2009-01-17T04:25:00.000-08:00

Okay so this week was one of those manic adoption weeks.W hat do i mean by that?You see on occasion through this process i get such sadness,anger,frustration,etc.I have been flying high since our referral on December 12.Well what goes up must come down.This week i started feeling the stress again how much longer and oh my what if we don't pass court on march 5th how can i handle that?I want her home yesterday and threes nothing i can do.I long to hold her and comfort her and who is doing that for her now? I worry how do these little ones stay healthy as I who will only be there for a week prepare for all sorts of scary vaccines.Vaccines for illness that would devastate one.So you see its been a rough week.On these weeks John just stays away ,he just doesn't get it.Don't get me wrong he worries he just doesn't obsess.So why to i headline this post refreshed? Someone from the adoption agency just returned from Ethiopia and announced she had lots of pics and that if we sent her our referral picture she may have a picture of our daughter OH MY!!! Well my email of course was giving me trouble and kept edgetting bumped back as others from my agency started receiving picture.I seriously was crying at this point.Well i have made some amazing friends through this journey one of them being Meg .Meg sent the women and email and a few minutes later there was our beautiful daughter in the most amazing picture(she really is photogenic).So see I think I can survive a few more weeks.This picture was exactly what I needed!!!!

2009-What is coming

2009-01-02T05:26:00.000-08:00

As I think about 2009 I think about all the things we have happening this year.Here's a few:
The cool thing happening
Carson will turn 10
Caitlyn will turn 20
Brian(my brother) will be 30
John will turn 40
I think that's pretty cool.
Like I said John will turn 40 this year.it doesn't seem to bother him but he has made it clear no surprise parties oh well!! John also has to take his medical boards again this year.The has to take them every 10 years.So this will take away some family time as he will be in study mode until September.

Caitlyn will leave her teen years behind this year and enter adulthood WOW!!!She will finally get her driving licence back on her birthday(yeah she lost it on her 19th bday for speeding and zero tolerance,a very hard lesson learned).Caitlyn also has her first dance solo this year and we are so excited for her.

Zachary will enter his teen years by turning 13 in just a few weeks.He already exhibits typical teen behavior-moody,sleeps allot,etc.Zachary will be confirmed in our church this year which is a huge deal.In our church you do not receive communion til you make your confirmation.And the best part for some reason hes the only one this year so we keep calling it the Zachary show.

Aiden will finish up at the elementary school this year and begin junior high. I am so scared for him! He is my mush,my sweetness and I am not sure he will survive.Aiden will also play his second season of flag football and he is soo excited.

Carson my baby turning 10!!! I can not believe it. Carson will enter 4th grade in September whoa!!He will play his 6th season of tackle football and his 4th season of baseball FUN FUN.

Kennedy will be placed in our arms this year.She will also celebrate her first Birthday towards the end of the year.For that matter she will celebrate many firsts with us

As for me on March 5th I will return to being a stay at home mom(and looking forward to it).I will get to travel out of the country for the first time and hold my baby girl for the first time.

I welcome 2009 and all it has to bring!!!Happy New Year!!

Court Date!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-24T20:59:00.001-08:00

Our court date is set for March 5th.We got the email at 5pm tonite as we sat down in church(thankfully john has a blackberry)Two months away I better keep busy 2 months is a long time.We also found out baby girls name Tingirt now I need to find out how the heck to say it!!We are so thrilled this was the best christmas gift ever!!!

Referral day story

2008-12-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

Okay so here's how it played out.
I woke up Friday morning with a very strong feeling we were getting our referral that day. I was suppose to be off from work but was called in to sub. John was working from home and I was sooo mad cause I didn't want him to get the news before me. I texted him every hour on the hour to see if there was any news and of course there was none. I came home around 2:30 and hit the computer to see if there were any referral announcements but there was nothing. I continued to check for the next 2 hours. Around 4:30 I came to the conclusion today was not the day. So I left the house to take Zack to his guitar lesson. I usually come home after dropping him off but instead I decided to drive to the bakery to pick up some things for the party we were having the next evening. As I was ordering a few items I received a text from John saying"Are you almost Home" I texted him back saying "no".Then he texted again "Come Home". I texted "Why". His response was "Please come home". I then tried calling him but he didn't answer.I will admit I was not thinking referral I was thinking the kids needed something and I was feeling like gosh I cant even step out for a minute. As I was driving home now in the middle of rush hour on a very busy road, I still wasn't thinking referral. Then it hit me could this be it,Oh it better be it the way hes texting me. So i started to speed up praying I would make through every light before turning red. As I reached the corner I nearly plowed down my neighbor and didn't stop to apologize(John went over later and apologized). I can not express the thoughts going through my mind,was this really it???Could it be the day we waited for?? If not I am going to kill John LOL!!!! As I entered the house John was standing in the kitchen tears streaming down his face. I kept asking Did they call? He couldn't even answer me he just pointed to his laptop. I turned to look and there she was the most beautiful little girl. She is so perfect,so amazing and ours! We both cried for a bit before we went to tell the other kids. Oh and poor Zachary yeah, still sitting at the guitar store waiting to be picked up oops! So that's it that's how one of the most amazing days in our life happened!

REFERRAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-13T12:12:00.001-08:00

Okay no time for details but she is amazing and only 6 weeks old

Peaceful

2008-12-05T04:43:00.000-08:00

Yea thats how I feel peaceful. I know our referral is only days,weeks away not months , so I am kinda in this peaceful place as far as adoption. As far as everyday life ,My house is a disaster my trees are not up ugh. I have been working everyday things are nuts.I really dont want to miss the holiday season , but its coming too fast, slow down please, I want to enjoy.

Black Friday

2008-11-28T14:07:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was fun and crazy.My Turkey took way longer then I expected so no nap for me.I headed out with my friend felicia at 10:30 Pm to the outlets that opened at midnight.It was cold,crazy and so much fun.The lines were huge,the sales were amazing and we were there til 4am. The longest line I saw was victoria secret it was about a mile long so I opted not to wait.I broke down and went to gymboree despite the fact John banned me from going til we have a referral.Gymboree had 25 % off your total purchase even clearance it was crazy!!!Then we headed to Kohls which opened at 4.Not so good deals but I got a few things.Then it was onto Taget which opened at 6am. Target was very organized this year and it made shopping very easy for those doorbusters I needed. Then we headed to the mall and believe it or not the mall wasnt so bad. I think Felicia could have kept going but I was getting delirious so at 11am we decided to call it quits. So now I am sooooo exhausted but so happy the bulk of my shopping is done. I took a 2 hour nap and I am trying to pull it together to meet some friends for drinks at chilis.

Tagged!!!

2008-11-16T13:37:00.000-08:00

Okay not sure how this tagging thing works.I see people get tagged all the time so I guess I get to join the club. I feel so special. Thankyou Theresa So if your interested heres 6 quirks about me:

1- I am addicted to Rubbermaid containers and labels LOL. With four kids you gotta try and be organized right?? My kids think I am crazy, but if everything has its own place then you shouldn't lose anything right? A label maker for Xmas would be perfect, hint hint to my family

2-Christmas is my favorite Holiday- My family thinks I am insane I have 7 full size xmas trees,each having its own theme.I decorate them all myself with the exception of my family tree. We have the family tree which goes in the family room, NY giants tree in the upstairs hallway, gingerbread tree in my kitchen, silver tree in dining room, gold tree in the formal living room, rustic country one in my room and a shopping theme tree in Caitlyns room.Yes I am insane

3-I buy myself a bouquet of flowers every week.I love fresh flowers and it makes me feel good.So every week while food shopping I buy flowers

4-I am addicted to gymboree but I think everyone knows that already. I have no clue how big Kennedy will be but she has a full closet of gymboree clothes.

5-I am a slob when it comes to my car.LOL my house I am fanatical about keeping clean but my car is embarrassing.We are always on the go so the car just gets a beating

6-I must start my day with starbucks!!! At $5 a coffee I work just to pay for my coffee. I will drive 15 minutes out of my way to get it.

Okay so thats it I guess I have to tag 2 people now hmmm who shall it be?????
I am going to tag Holly
and jen

have fun ladies
Here are your rules. 6 quirks, no tag back, link to the person who tagged you, and leave them a comment to let them know you've tagged them.

Choosing agencies

2008-11-11T14:33:00.000-08:00

Well we all know we switched agencies a few weeks ago.
However when we began this journey I did sooo much research that brought us to Childrens home society. I still believe they are a great agency they love and care for these children,they take the time to make a wonderful lifebook,they are very well established. What they lack on is communication.They are really good at beating around the bush and not answering your questions.I believe they mean well but its very frustrating for their families.I will admit it I switched to BFAS because their wait is much shorter but as I have been with them a few weeks now their best asset is communication. I didn't even know an agency could be this open about everything. They have a yahoo group that BFAS responds on all the time(even weekends).They also let us in on inside info like this week they posted they have referrals in hand but the computers are down in ET so they are waiting to get pics and medicals.They are so open and honest anytime I call and answer every question I have. So forget the short wait,the communication alone was worth it. I was keeping BFAS to myself for selfish reasons but as one of the BFAS staff put it we want these children to find homes.So feel free to email me if you are still considering an agency dawndangelo@optonline.net

Doing the happy dance!!!

2008-11-07T09:26:00.000-08:00

Okay so apparently we are not number 4 we are #2.Holy smokes!!! Hey Holly that means you are #1. Yes I am doing the happy dance!!!!!!!

Movin on up!!!

2008-11-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah our agency had another infant girl referral today making us #4!!!

#5

2008-11-05T13:05:00.001-08:00

We moved to # 5 today woohoo

Sad day for Carson

2008-11-01T17:32:00.000-07:00

Most of you know how much Carson loves the game of football however I don't think anyone realized how much he loved his actual football. His football he has slept with him for as long as I can remember.His football has gone to school with him everyday.His football has traveled by plane to Florida,by car to North Carolina and visited many Long Island beaches. I envisioned saving this ball til he went pro(hey ya never know). Well somehow his football came to practice tonight but when practice was over his football was no where to be found. You can not imagine how sad I am and how sad I am for him. I am hoping that somehow it accidentally made it into someone elses bag and at tomorrows game Carson will be reunited with it. Pray we find it I'm not sure a replacement will do!

We are #6

2008-10-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

Well we were official on Friday but I only heard a few hours ago.We currently stand at #6. WOW with CHFS we were 90 something now #6. Two families got their referrals on Friday.Although a girl can dream, I am hoping for referral this week.Not going to happen but I like to dream. since us and most other families want a girl under 12 months I am prepared to wait the full 2 months(Still better then 12).Thankfully the holidays are approaching so that should help keep my mind off the adoption.So here's to being number 6!

Need to get out of this funk

2008-10-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

Gosh this weekend is crazy.Last night I had an at home america party.It was fun and now i get to shop for free ($217worth). My SIL brought over a ton more baby clothes for us that was fun to go through. Problem is I cant stand people asking so when is this baby coming? Especially since I have been down.People don't understand the process.When we announced in march we were doing this I have been asked the same question anytime I see anyone.Anything new with the adoption? NO new would mean I have a referral and I don't.Today I am hosting a children's Halloween party for my kids and our friends kids.Again the same question will be asked and honestly I think I may get nasty. I envy John cause the wait doesn't bother him ,hes so laid back about it and sometimes doesn't understand why i get so anxious. Well hopefully the party will be a distraction then back to work tomorrow.

Its just gonna be one of those days

2008-10-25T05:31:00.000-07:00

Well woke up kinda down.The adoption process does that to you.One day you feel great the next you feel down. We rushed so much redoing our dossier for the new agency that we hit snags. Due to our medicals not being correct our full dossier wasn't looked at til this past week. I was hoping yesterday we would hear we were officially waiting but we didn't. 6 families were told Tuesday they were official-yep that's 6 more ahead of us .I cant help but think if we weren't careless we would have been waiting a week ago.Then I start to think the 3 months we waited with CHFS if we were with BFAS we would probably be home with baby already. Then I try and remind myself that its in gods time(not so comforting sometimes) and only he knows who our child is and when the time is right so will we(but its really hard). So today is a hard day. On the flip side I am so happy for for Theresa and Jim who received their referral this week and became parents!!

What was I thinking

2008-10-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

Okay busy does not even describe my week. I am in charge of 2 fundraisers in the same week with another one coming.What was i thinking. I guess its good cause I havent had much time to think about the adoption however I do walk pass the half done nursery and think when am i gonna get in there. My 5th grade pancake breakfast came and went saturday.It is amazing how much work one event can be and then its over in 2 hours.After that i was a vendor at a fair then from there I went and finished cleaning up our church garage sale.And that was just saturday.Yikes! This week I am preparing for a art show for our preschool which is consuming my life. Then Nov 3 is the blood drive i am running Holy smokes what was I thinking.Anyway remember those vaccines I am afraid of,yeah,well last night I let John give me 2 out of the 5 OUCH!!!! No passing out but I was already laying in bed so maybe that helped

UPDATE: i just recieved this from our new agency
Yes we received them today. Everything else looks good. We will be taking your documents to St. Paul on Friday to be authenticated by the State of MN and they will be sent to Washington DC for authentication by Friday afternoon. I will keep you posted. Once your dossier leaves for DC you will be added to our referral list. This process take approximately 1-2 months to receive a referral.

Did you read that 1-2 months woohoo we will have a referral by christmas

Did you know I hate needles

2008-10-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

Well being our wait time is shorter and we will likely be traveling soon,I need to get about 7 vaccines. Yeah me the one that passes out.Anyway I came home from my PTA meeting and sitting in my fridge are 5 vaccines UGH.Totally not looking foward to this!!!!

Blogger in training

2008-10-15T18:28:00.000-07:00

Okay its been 5 days since my last post.I am still getting the hang of this whole blogging thing. So what have I been up to Hmmmmmmmmm besides the usual work,football,kidzone,art classes etc. I know you all want adoption news.The switch is done! We pulled our dossier together in 1 day.Our new agency has it in their hands at this moment. So when will the news of referral come,I am hoping before christmas.Dear Hubby thinks Tuesday,yeah he thinks this tuesday, is it possible ,Yep I have seen 2 familes now get their referrals within days of there referral. So I am quickly rushing to finish the room.I painted this weekend,the bookcase and changing table/dresser were ordered monday(approx date to come in Dec 22) and hopefully this week I will go get the crib. I pulled out an adoption baby book that was given to us in april,time to start writing. So we are finally feeling like this is going to happen! And really fast! The pictures here is the furniture we ordered

REST!!!

2008-10-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

Okay we can rest again.All Adoption paperwork is done thank god for John!!! We have an extremely busy weekend filled with football,sweet 16 and more. Bad news is my dryer went. I think we need to splurge this time.In the eight years we have been in this house this will be the 3rd dryer.Is that normal??? I'm thinking we need to buy the better one,we do so much laundry.At this point I hate to spend the money but I don't want to be buying another one for a long time.Anyway here's to nice long weekend!

Paperchasing UGH again

2008-10-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

Okay so I am currently paper chasing again so no time to blog! Those in the adoption world can understand.We will hopefully be done tommorrow then I can rest or can I? I think things are going to go fast I need to get my but in gear and finish the baby's room. Heres a picture of the bedding I chose.

How much does a little one need??

2008-10-07T12:41:00.001-07:00

So I did it! I registered at babies r us. I came home with a huge headache. I did register since we are asking family and friends not to purchase us Xmas gifts(you would not believe the stuff we get) but to get us stuff we need for the baby. Also people keep asking if i am going to register so its now somewhat done. I registered for what I know I need no matter the age such as high chair,car seat ,stroller, porta crib etc. After I have our referral I can go back and add other items. Well it was overwhelming whats out there. Wipe warmer???I cant even remember all the unnecessary things i found. But oh what fun I had. It was a bit strange when I entered and walked over to the registry desk.I said I would like to register.The employee said oh you want to buy for a registry? I need no i want to make one.She immediately looked at my stomach then gave me a puzzled look.I explained I was adopting and then we proceeded. It was fun after I was done they gave me a gift pack and then had the store manager come over to congratulate me.

NEWS!!!!

2008-10-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

No referral yet but we are switching agencies.This is a huge deal.Remeber those pictures of my dossier? Well it has to be done all over again.Are we crazy? Our agency changed their wait times from 6-9 months to 12 months.And referral to travel to 2-4 months.That means we wouldnt get our referral til july then travel the end of 2009 or early 2010.WE love our agency but they have 300 families waiting. We found a new agency that says our wait from dossier to bringing a baby home is 3-6 months. However this is a new agency with only a few families waiting.We feel comfortable with our decision.We are currently working on our new dossier and hoping to have it done by next week.Then we will begin the wait all over again.I am hoping to have a referral by christmas.So, back to craziness of paperwork and now we really need to get started on her room

Decisions,

2008-10-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

Decision's, decisions. Can I tell you I feel like I want to throw up! We are trying to decide if we should switch adoption agencies. We love our current agency,however with the recent announcement extending our wait times We feel very conflicted. With current wait times we will most likely have our child home late 2009 early 2010.Yep that's right 2010.I can not even imagine waiting that long.Am I strong enough? On the flip side we found another agency that will most likely have a referral for us in weeks yes weeks.However they are not as well established as my current agency.Please pray for our family as this is not an easy decision.

Waiting and lists

2008-09-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

Okay so for some reason today is frustrating me as far as the adoption wait goes. I have been seeing referrals on all of my adoption groups yet none from my agency. I dont expect a referral for us anytime soon but it would be nice to see some movement from our agency. Some days fly by and the waiting doesnt bother me and then there are days like today. So i decided to make a list of things that need to get done before this baby comes .
1.get babys room ready(new floor and paint)
2.Order baby furniture(its all picked out)
3.Register(very time consuming i have made 6 trips to babiesrus just to check things out)
4.Finish babys scrapbook( when baby comes home i just want to have to add pics)
5.Start adoption baby book
6.touch up paint around house
7.xmas shop( i am usually done by now and i havent really started)
8.Shop for travel items( there is a laundry list of items we need for travel to ethiopia,I dont want to be scrambling after referral to get these items)
9.organize family photos from the past year(very behind and i need to put them in albums)
10.Buy baby blanket to sleep with so it has our scent(we send this after we recieve referral.)
11. Make album for baby( we send this also at referral i have the album thanks to my secret pal i just have to fill it.)

So i am sure there is more to add to the list. I really have soooo much to keep me busy til referral!!!

the weekend

2008-09-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

Okay so john left at 4am this morning with a few men from church and headed out to PA for a mens retreat. He returns on sunday night. So now what do we do for the weekend.I was planning on going pumpkin picking but the weather is not going in my favor. There are no good movies out so maybe ice skating we will see.

Blogging

2008-09-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

Okay so it didnt take long to figure this out. I am now a blogger!!

Here goes our first Blog

2008-09-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

Okay i am giving into this whole blogging thingy. Give me some time to get it going