WE HAVE A SON!!!!!

Finally!!! We have a SON!!! :) I still can't believe it! We got the call on Wednesday, 9/2 about a baby that was born on 8/31/09 at 8:02am. He weighed 6 lbs 2 oz and 19 inches long. He is healthy and beautiful! Eric and I will leave on Thursday, 9/10 to go get him in Georgia and will be back around Friday, 9/18. I will post a pic of Aidan Mathias...more pics to follow as they arrive from the wonderful care family in Georgia!

Adoption Agency Picnic

Eric and I went to our first picnic last night that is held by our homestudy agency here in Madison. We got to meet several families who have used the same agency we are using in Georgia, as well as a couple just beginning their application. It was great to hear their stories and imagine what our scenario will be like when we get chosen. Most of the couples were chosen within a week of their application, so we are a little different in that respect, but they said the agency is great and the care families that the infants are placed in after birth are really nice. Apparently we travel to the area of Georgia where the care family lives, so it could be anywhere. We then get a hotel room near the care family and stay for about a week.
Everyone's babies were sooo adorable and I can't wait for next year's picnic when we will have our little one to bring.

WE COULD BE CHOSEN REALLY SOON!!

Just got an update from our adoption agency...there are around 23 families in their waiting pool. Of those, 11 requested a girl (we are open to gender) and only three (including us) are childless. So, she said we have a very good chance of being chosen soon, and it looks like we will probably get a boy! I am soooo excited and can't wait for the call!!! :)

Month 1 of waiting

We have officially been waiting one month for the domestic adoption. Even though I have no idea how long this is going to take, it is nice to know that we are getting closer to "The Call". I started painting the nursery green, but am leaving the edging by the ceiling for Eric. I tried, but I am too sloppy and there is too much furniture still in the room to get the ladder just right. I got some really cute orange and white bedding, so am excited to see how that looks when the painting is done. All the nursery stuff is still in the basement right now. I really want to finish the room and put it all together and make it look "ready", but I'm sure we have more than enough time, and I don't want everything to get all dusty just sitting in there. I also picked out the artwork that I am putting in the room (just have to order it). I will attach a pic of the bedding and pics of the artwork. The green on the walls will be similar to the green on the zebra's nose. Oh yeah, and I am going to try inducing lactation again! This time, I am doing the regular (long) protocol which will yield a larger supply. I don't start pumping until right before we get the baby ( so will have to wait for the call) and I will also be using a Lact-Aid supplemental nurser with formula each time I nurse when we get the baby.

Back on track with domestic adoption

We decided to update our paperwork for the domestic adoption out of Georgia, and thanks to the homebuyers tax credit, we didn't have to wait longer to do it! I mailed in the updated lifebook on Tuesday and last Monday we had our homestudy visit with our social worker to get that updated for our new house.
Now, the waiting begins again.......But this time it's not so bad. I feel like we've been able to survive this past year of plan changes, so now we can just relax and wait for the call. In the meantime, there's the fence to finish putting up in the backyard. This weekend is staining and sanding. :\

One year ago today

Today, April 3rd, is the one year anniversary of when we first started waiting for the Ethiopian adoption to go through. Alot has changed since then, and part of me is sad that we took our names off the list, but I know that we will still have a family one day, however that is meant to happen for us. If we were still on the wait list, we would prob. not even have a referral yet. It is taking people about 13 months for one, then three months to travel after that. Knowing that their courts close sometime in August, and that we would have gotten a referral around May 3rd, there would be a very good chance that we would have had to wait through court closure, and out child would be about 6 months older than they were at referral time by the time we got them. So, maybe we were guided in the right direction when we changed our minds. I am eagerly awaiting the day that we have our money saved up again for the adoption in Georgia. Am also watching for infertility treatment studies that let you try free cycles. We almost got into a free IVF trial last year, but they had too many people. I guess we are just waiting to see what happens with our lives in the next year and will go where we are led. We are at the point now where we will have to re-do ALL the adoption paperwork again, including fingerprints, since they all expire around May. We are kind of starting all over again deciding between IVF and adoption. Crazy, I never thought that would happen. For now, though, we are going to enjoy our new house and get it ready for whatever happens in the future.

New House In Mazomanie!!

We put in an offer and the offer was accepted on a new house in Mazomanie!!! We are very excited and move in two weeks!!! ahhhh!!! Now we have to pack non-stop. The nice thing is that it is a spec house and is brand new. There is nothing we have to update or change, except to finish the basement eventually. We just bought all new stainless steel appliances for the kitchen, and will be taking our washer and dryer, so that is all covered. Now, time to buy curtains! (my least favorite thing to buy) ;)