Subscription Options

I adjusted the blog settings AND added a feed. This means that you can click on the sidebar and subscribe through a newsreader (I actually have never used one of those), or you can click on the "Atom" text at the bottom of the page and have updates register on your browser. Neither of these is the email notification option I was hoping for. Let me know if one of these two is preferential - or if you know how to add the email option.

Having trouble with the email subscription widget

I know we have some very technologically savvy friends. Blogging is pretty new to me, still, and I cannot figure out how to create/activate the Subscription Widget in Blogger. If you can help me (I do follow directions well!) please let me know! It worked last time for Esteban's blog - I just can't figure out how to make it work this time!

Reactions to our referral

Esteban has had a wonderful array of reactions to the news about our referral. They have included...

... refusing to acknowledge that we were talking about her

... telling Julien that he wasn't excited and that he didn't like her

... figuring out that her name rhymes with his cousin Ella's name

... telling Grandma Dawn at dinner last night that we'll be going to Colombia to get his sister

... wanting to push her around in the stroller

... wanting to be treated like a baby like Isabella

An amazing and wonderful array of expressions of his mixed emotions about having a baby sister - pretty great for being not quite 3!

Sabeth's reactions have included disbelief that this is really happening, joy, fear, exhaustion, terror, and delight. I think I'm developing an allergy to pink!

Julien started with terror: Oh my goodness, another child. what did we do? How are we going to afford two kids? I need to make more $! I don't know anything about raising a girl! This lasted for about two weeks and then I put her picture on my desk at work. Every time I looked at it I involuntarily smiled. Boy she is cute. She is going to be my little girl. I am now so very excited to hold her and the other stuff will work out.

Timeline and what comes next

After receiving our referral on 8/4, we had our pediatrician review Isabella's medical report. We wished that had happened overnight, but our pediatrician happened to be on vacation until 8/10. She called on Tuesday 8/10 and gave Isabella the all clear.

With the pediatrician's ok on the medical report, we could then submit our official acceptance of the referral to our adoption agency. We signed all the forms on Tuesday night and sent the whole packet overnight mail on Wednesday 8/11.

On Tuesday 8/17 at 6:30pm Julien received a phone message that one critical form was missing from our packet to be sent to USCIS (Homeland Security). THAT caused a mad scramble! Luckily a phone call on Wednesday morning calmed us down with the news that the form in question is one page and only required Julien's signature. Good news since Sabeth was on the Left Coast getting ready for her brother's wedding. Whew! Julien hand-delivered the form Wednesday afternoon and our I-800 packet was complete! We were told it was sent to Homeland Security that evening.

Now we wait -again... Waiting for Homeland Security to review our I-800 packet and issue a provisional approval. With that approval, the adoption house in Colombia (CRAN) will be able to give us a "gotcha" date - which will translate into a travel timeline for us.

When we get a "gotcha" date, we will have to scramble to buy plane tickets, get our visas, pack, etc. Based on friends' recent experience, we hope we'll be meeting Isabella around October 1.

We're having a girl!

We are so excited to announce that we received a referral for a baby girl from Colombia on August 4, 2010.

On that auspicious Wednesday morning (8/4), Julien was at work and Sabeth and Esteban were getting a haircut for E. Julien got a phone call at work with great news! A referral for us! Within minutes the photos were being emailed and Julien called Sabeth--who was driving and had to pull over--to tell the news. Esteban was very confused about why mommy was crying.

Isabella was born on March 15, 2010, in Bogota, Colombia. She has brown hair and grey eyes. She weighed 6 lbs 3 oz and was 19 inches at birth. At 3.5 months, she weighed 13 lbs. We think the referral pictures were taken at the 3.5 month check-up.

Isabella's birth mother named her Isabella. We love this name and are keeping it - and it means Elisabeth (also Sabeth's name). We had several long conversations about her middle name and finally decided on Grace because she reminds us of the grace we experience through being parents.