4th Plans

Selam (hi),

Ebako (please) no more quizzes. We have a great weekend of golf, family and friends for the holiday. I'm starting by golfing on Friday at noon with three coworkers, then Saturday morning at 9:30 am with Brent & Kim. We plan to continue our streak of three undefeated 4th of July matches (best ball w/ couples). Nick and Kathie Stiles will be joining us at the river for some fun n the sun. Sweetness. - Sam

Word of the day #8

This week week we are going to focus on manners. 

Please = Ebako

Sam took his first quiz this weekend. After Fritz showed him up on Sat. in his Amharic speaking skills I think he realized he needed to step up his game (Thanks Fritz). Sam passed his test (barely).

Words of the day #7

My name is - Sime Christina no

Word of the day #6

Hello/Hi = Selam/Tadiyaas

This One is for my Husband - 4 Months

Yup, that is right people, 4 months! Can yo believe it? We have officially been on the wait list for a referral for 4 months now!  Our agency has told us that the average time for a referral is 4-6 months.

Now we are officially within that window. So things are starting to become more 'real' for us. I have questioned our agency if the average is different because we are requesting two children. They have assured us that the average is still 4-6 months. Also becuase we are requesting one boy and one girl, I thought this could make our wait longer, but they still say that the average is 4-6 months. Of course this is still an average so our wait could be longer than 6 months.

With our agency you are not just a number waiting to be matched with the next available child. What they try to do is really match the children with a family that they think is the best fit or match. I am not really sure how they are able to do this when they don't know us much more than pictures and a letter, but I still trust in the process. I like knowing that someone put 'thought' into matching our children with us instead of just being a number on the list. Even if that might just mean one boy and one girl were from the same region and therefore wanted to keep them with one family. Who knows what it means, but I just like feeling my babies were hand picked just for us and I know they will be perfect additions to our family.

What I do know though is there is a higher request for girls to be adopted than for the boys. It seems that if you request a boy the wait has been much less than for girls. I am speaking across ethiopian adoptions in general, not just our particular agency. That being said, I am anticipating a longer wait becuase we are requesting a boy and a girl (even though our agency says the avg. is still 4-6 mo). Knowing that, my thought is that Jack is likely to be a little older than Hayley, even if it is just by a few months. If I had to guess, I think we will get a referral in the early part of Sept.

Based on the avg. wait times and the age our children when they are referred I estimate that our kids will have been born or will be between May 1 and Aug 1. 

No word of the day today. Sam is already falling behind. Slacker. He better be ready to 'bring it' tomorrow though so he better study up.

Words of the day #5

This is an important one and I can't wait to be able to say it Jack and Hayley face to face!

I love you = Afekrish-alehu (for female) Afekrhalehu (for male)

Word #4

no = ie

To help everyone out, here is a pronounciation guide:
a: as in father
e: as in set
i: as in ship
o: as in go
u: as in oo in boot
gn: as in champagne

Thanks Sam for taking my tests and quizes! They will get harder so study up.

Happy Father's Day

I needed to "log in" to remind myself of my newfound vocabulary, so I could pass Christina's constant quizes. Our children will be smart if she keeps up the constant tests. We have almost been waiting four months. Our estimate was to get a phone call or referral in 4-6 months, so it is becoming especially real this week.

We just visited Chicago and celebrated my mom's future retirement and her belated 60th bday. We took the AMTRAK to Chicago which had been on the "Skinner Family Vacation" plans for around 23 years. We may be slow, but we stick to our word. My mom had a blast, although she may have been just as happy if she had Fritz's daughter, Stella, in her arms in MN.

I'm confident Christina will exceed my expectations as a mother. I really outkicked my coverage. - Sam

Learning Amharic

In preparation for our travels to Ethiopia Sam and I are starting to learn a little bit of Amharic. We also think it is important to know some basic words in order to bond easier with our children. Sam and I are going to learn one new word each day. I thought it would be helpful to post our word of the day to our blog to help learn and thought some of you may be interested too! It will also help to hold me  accountable (I hope).

Here was yesterday's words:
Daddy = Abbabba
Mommy = Amaya

Today's word:
Yes = Awo

And here is to all the wonderful dads out there: Dasella Abbabba's Zare (or something like that)!  A special Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband and the soon to be father of our children. Jack and Hayley could very well be born and awaiting you! They will be so fortunate to have you as their abbabba!

I cannot beleive it has already been almost 4 months!  Wow, how time can fly!

Slide show of Toukoul Pics

Toukoul

I found this video on YouTube of Toukoul, which is the exact place where we are adopting from. This is where we will hopefully be before the end of the year to pick up Jack and Hayley.