A Dream Come True

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." ~Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963

It was not very long ago that the equality envisioned by the Declaration of Independence was far from a reality. Today is an incredible day in history! Whether you support President Elect Obama’s policies or not, you must acknowledge what a good thing it is that our children will never know a world where they cannot aspire to their highest callings because of the color of their skin!

We have no updates, nor will we for several months, but we have been living vicariously through friends so I can share a few of their updates.

A little boy came home to CT from Ethiopia just last week. He is a healthy 23lbs and 30inches and his parents report that by the way he eats, is on his way to being a candidate for the football team. He is extremely happy and affectionate and didn't even mind the 30 hour trip home…oh to be so lucky! We met the parents at the Gladney dinner back in August and they had already recently received their referral, so it took about 5 – 6 months from the time they found out about their child to the time they were able to bring him home. I think that part of the wait is going to be the hardest part of the process for me!

Our friends who received their referral of siblings back in November received the difficult news last week that it will take several months for them to get a court date (you must pass court in Ethiopia before the children are legally yours). There is a new document for relinquished children that Ethiopia started requiring in October and apparently the office that produces that document is extremely backed up. On the one hand, it is understandable that rules and regulations are put in place to prevent the inevitable corruption that surrounds international adoption, but on the other hand it is very difficult to know that two small children will be kept waiting for the love of their new family. Our hearts go out to this family and we are praying that something turns around for them soon. We are also very much hoping and praying that this hold up is a fluke and not a trend…

We have another set of friends who are third from the top of an unofficial wait list. Our agency does not publish these details because referrals don’t always come in exact chronological order, but one of the mothers who adopted from our agency last year started maintaining this list and so far it is pretty accurate, and a huge help when you just want to see where you stand! She calls it the FBI List, which stands for “Forensic Blogging Initiative”. So being third from the top, we think that our friends might get their call this week or next!!!

If you want to check out the FBI list click the link below. We are 7th from the bottom on the wait list tab!

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=ppHBvDAxQ8m6D9u0lLFvNIA&gid=0

Off now to watch our first black president get sworn in!