Finally! "The Call"

Ok.. so last Friday, the 23rd I called Holt to ask some general questions about the process. They advised me the odds of being matched the following week or before May 1st were pretty much zero. Even though they said no hope.. I still felt like there was a chance. Either way Chris and I were fine with traveling twice, it's just that much closer to meeting our baby.

Fast forward... Tuesday April 27th.. I'm at Napa Auto Parts.. minding my own business up at the check stand.. when my cell phone rings. I'm in the middle of the transaction with other customers around, so I figure it'll be rude to answer it, so I hit ignore. I didn't recognize the number and since Chris and I have sold some stuff on craigslist lately, I thought maybe someone saw an old ad and wanted to buy something? Before I'm out of the store I see that there's a voicemail message.... AND who would it be.. but, our social worker Sharon asking that we give her a call. Now.. I'm only a couple miles from home.. but, there was absolutely NO WAY I was going to drive all the way home and then call her. I immediately called her back and she told me that we were assigned a baby boy named Abush Alero and he was six months old. I completely burst into tears.. I was a mess.. but, a happy mess. She then told me that because she didn't get the email until after Holt had closed for the day, that that was all the information she had. She would have to email the rest of the information about Abush the following morning.

I got off the phone with Sharon and immediately called Chris. My first words out of my mouth were "Sharon the social worker called" llooonnnnggg pause.. BURST into tears.. poor Chris was like.. WHAT NOW? I said we have a son.. we're going to be a Mommy and Daddy! YEAH. Unfortunately, we had to wait till morning to find out any other information.

I decided to stay home for a few hours and Chris headed off to work. We were both waiting by our phones for the 8am email.. and man did it take forever to get that email.. well at least till 8:30 or so. We found out that he had been in care since he was 10 days old and that he was very happy and healthy.. YEAH!!! After we got all his background and information we decided to call Dr. Hayes up at OHSU and have her look over his medical chart. I had this prearranged and they knew that I could call at any time. Dr. Hayes specializes in foreign adoption and knows that things can be very time sensitive. Well she must have cleared her calendar and dropped everything because before I knew it we were on a conference call with her at 3pm. She went over everything in detail for over an hour.

Once we got off the phone.. we looked at one another and were like "HE'S OUR SON". Then we had to hurry and call Holt. Holt is only open till 4:30 and they needed to be sure and get it documented that we had accepted our referral so the following day in Ethiopia they could start to transcribe our documents and have them submitted to the court. Here's where it gets sticky.. we have no idea if the documents made it to court to get in under the old program? We should find out within the next couple of weeks if they made it or not. This means one trip or two?? Keep those fingers crossed.. it's going to be a nail biter. Of course Holt said to pretty much plan on two trips.. but, they also said there was no way we'd get a match this week either. My glass is half full people!

There's LOTS more to say.. but this is all for now.. (cliff hanger)

Check 1, Check1

Finally.. USCIS cashed our check!!! YEAH. USCIS.. what does this mean.. basically.. it's the government starting to process Jo's visa and immigration paperwork. We originally sent it in on March 29th, but, it was returned to us on April 8th because we didn't sign one of the forms.. DOH! I thought it was an internal only spot on the paperwork. Their letter also stated that the check we sent was the wrong amount, even though I called Holt, and USCIS for verification of the amount. Once we got the paperwork back, I triple checked the amount again, so I was holding my breath that the check was the correct amount. But, you're bound to have fiasco's through this process.. it's just part of the journey.

Still waiting for that phone call. I thought up a bunch of non-important questions yesterday just to give me an excuse to call Holt.. They called me back today.. but, now I can't remember any of my questions... HUM.. Basically.. when are we going to find out who Jo is?

This morning.. I yelled out.. "Morning JO"! I need my Jo.. and I don't mean my coffee!!

GAME ON! Bring it.

Ten Days and Counting!!!

Just a quick post.. received verification from Holt that our dossier made it to Ethiopia last Monday, April 12th. Once the dossier is there they will start to translate it into the native language, this can take any where from a few days to a couple weeks. We have approximately 10 days to get a referral or we travel twice.. man.. can this come down to the wire or what??? Overall, I'm pretty relaxed about it.. but, the waiting can be a killer. I guess when you're on the adoption journey it's all about waiting; waiting for appointments, waiting for paperwork, waiting for the courts, waiting for a phone call, waiting for a travel date.

Keep your fingers crossed that our phone rings SOON!

"Jo, Come Home"

Is my phone working.. did I miss a call.. that's what I think during the day when I'm just waiting for it to ring. I guess this time is best spent trying to enjoy the last few months of the Mackin's just being two.. and appreciating a quiet house, and having free time?

Nothing really new.. meeting great new friends on the yahoo message board. It's fun to connect with people that are going through the exact same process as us.

Here are a few more pictures of the nursery. The bear and doll (I named her Alice when she was given to me) were made by my Auntie Nancy.. she passed of cancer when she was in her early 40's. I was 14 at the time. The Disney books were books my sister and I had growing up.. OH.. how I can't wait to read them. And the "I hope you dance" sign.. well.. that's what I think of, when I think of being a Mom.. being in my living room and dancing with my baby (Isn't that a Rod Stewart Song?)! It's going to happen.. I know it. And the cow.. well.. I grew up in Tillamook.. so how can there not be a cow. Carter keeps eyeing it though.. she loves stuffed animals.