From Ethiopia to Wilmington

New Picture I HAVE to share!

2010-12-05T18:29:00.001-08:00

LOVE THIS BOY!!! He has big things in store for him!

Month ONE of TWELVE!!

2010-12-05T17:25:00.000-08:00

We are getting closer to January 9th, the first day we met Aaron. It's amazing that in less than a month we will celebrate 1 year together as a family of 4!! I think I'm going to 'try' over the next few weeks to re-cap each month (almost 12 total) that we've spent together!!

So tonight------Month #1 January (uncensored, unglorified---just REAL events!)

We met Aaron on January 9, 2010 for the very first time. I can't put the emotions into words when I first saw him. My legs were shaking and I was SO scared. I could quickly identify him as the nannies rounded the entry way with the kids, he was wearing the outfit that I had sent in his care package. First thought, what's wrong with him? Why is he so TINY compared to the other babies? The outfit that I sent to him was a newborn size, he's now over 5 months old?? Shane of course is calm, cool and collected. I continue to shake as I take him from the nannies arms. Aaron didn't react to me taking him, didn't cry or smile or anything. Just stared at me as if he was looking through me...not at me! We held him for what seemed like hours, he sat in our arms and eventually ended up just peacefully falling to sleep in my arms without a fuss. The entire time I held him I prayed that this sweet baby boy whom GOD had brought into our lives was ok. We never expected to arrive in ET to greet a 9 lb baby boy. When we were matched with him (in Oct!) he weighed more than he did the first day we met him (In Jan!). After we left the transition house that day I felt like I could/should throw up. I quickly ran to update everyone via email of how wonderful it was to meet him, how great he was and how precious and perfect he was----all the time trying to convince myself of the words that I wrote. I mean wasn't everything supposed to be PERFECT?? We didn't get to see him the next day, Sunday. This just made my nerves shoot higher, a whole day to sit and stir about our initial meeting. We tried to stay busy and explore, but since I wouldn't eat (due to the nerves!), I wasn't in the best spirits. Monday morning came and we spent the majority of the day with the kids. We held Aaron and also took time to play with the older kids. We were able to get Aaron to interact with us a little more and 'almost' got a smile from him. Overall the day went by really quickly and a small (and I mean really small) piece of my anxiety was lifted by the time we were able to spend with Aaron. We left him for his last night EVER in the transition house, never again would he have to sleep with 5 other babies and two nannies. The next morning we came to the transition house and since then...he's been with US!! We truly believe that the agency staff cared for him the best they were able and knew how. He was clean and in the routine of being held and fed. We have learned so much about Aaron within the past year that makes us really understand why he was in such bad shape when we first met him. We have worked countless hours with our pediatrician and specialists (ENT, pulmonologist, urologist, speech pathologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, infectious disease and development pyschologist---did I get all of them?) to identify the issues that led to our eventual diagnosis/treatment. As you know, all of these resources are not available in ET and therefore how would they have known?? Each day I thank God for Aaron coming to the US and for the people that have been placed in our lives to help him/us. The problems we've discovered (which I WILL talk about because they aren't anything life threatning, super funky or secretive) told us so much about why he was always hungry at the transition house, why he couldn't sleep and why he ALWAYS cried!! The first 9 weeks home with Aaron were SO hard, but I was convinced that I couldn't let down my guard. I'm super-mom, I can handle this one!! Nope---I couldn't, not without Super-dad. Super-dad slept in Aaron's room with him for the first 9 weeks we were home. Aaron woke up every hour and therefore for one of us to get sleep we had to take shifts. Shane took the first from the time we put Abby to bed (8) until about 3 or 4, depending on which hour he woke up. What was hard about him waking up was the only way to get him back to sleep---a bottle!! He wanted to eat every two hours and that's two hours from the start of the last bottle (it took 30-45 minutes for him to drink 4oz). Exhausting, just thinking about it now! So I'd go to sleep right after we laid Abby down and sleep until 4. Shane would then go to sleep and wake up around 10. Then----the adventure for the day would begin....sometimes to the children's museum, sometimes to the mall to ride the carosel, sometimes to the park (depending on how cold it was). We were walking zombies, equipped with enough formula to feed this little guy round the clock!! There are so many things that are popping back into my mind as I think about the first few weeks home, they exhaust me....but I'm so pleased to say though...WE ALL SURVIVED and we are still married!! Month #1 = pure exhaustion, start of our medical detective work and mastering the art of baby swaddling to try to increase sleep!! And of course---JOY over the fact that we now have a super tiny little boy to love and care for!

1 Year Ago TODAY!

2010-10-28T03:27:00.000-07:00

I year ago today we were crusing through life as two parents with a 26 month old little girl. I took the day off to spend it with Abby at the Children's Museum in Wilmington. Shane was working and I had just put Abby down for a nap. The phone rang, 206 area code. It was our sweet Aaron Alarm!! We got the call informing us about Aaron, our official referral.

One year later.......
Aaron has been home with us for over 9 months. He started off with us as a mal-nourished little 9.8 lb 5 month old. He is now a thriving little 14 month old that weighs at least 22 lbs!! We don't know how he keeps on weight because he NEVER stops! In 9 months we have experienced every emotional feeling possible, but the one thing that comes to mind the most...joy. Pure Joy! The kid has a smile that will knock your socks off, a scream that will pierce your ears, a laugh that you can't help but join in and non-stop energy. We've been through 2 surgeries (one more scheduled for next week!), 6 months of PT and OT and count-less visits to the Dr. for recurrent pneumonia and aspiration related illness'. Bottom line---thank goodness Aaron is here and with us and has access to the best medical care in the world. Our sweet baby boy has made miles on progress and has such a great future in store for him. His personality will help him overcome the delays associated with being so tiny and the love we have for him is overflowing.

It's crazy amazing what can happen in a year!! Every January one of my best friends and I go through the year in re-cap (what we think will happen in the year to come, what happened in the past year and what we look forward to). Well my friend (and you know who you are!)---you are in store for a BIG BIG year, can't wait to share it with you.

One another note---I picked up our final adoption decree from our lawyer this week. Aaron Israel McCumbee is officially ours!! Sweet little thing, we are so lucky to have such a complete family!

FALL!

2010-10-18T10:17:00.001-07:00

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It's been a LONG time!

2010-08-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

How do you make up for over a month of news??

It's been a busy summer and I can't believe how fast it flew by!

In the middle of the craziness---our baby boy had a birthday that we had a blast celebrating!

6 months home!

2010-07-12T15:50:00.000-07:00

We've survived our first plane trip across the country with two kids. We went to Scottsdale, AZ to visit the newest addition to our family, my brother and sister-in-laws sweet baby girl NORA! The trip was great, it was so nice for all of us to be together. The first morning the kids woke up at 3:15 because of the time difference, they thought it was 6;15....the other mornings got better!

Aaron has been home for almost 6 months, gained almost 11 lbs and is really picking up the pace with everything. He's starting to really have a lot of separation anxiety from me (mommy all the time!), but that's totally norm I guess :)

We are in potty-training boot camp with Abby and within a week she's almost mastered the art of being a 'big girl!'. She was nice enough to donate the old/unused diapers to baby brother---so sweet!

Life is busy, but life is great! We're taking it one day at a time and just enjoying the ride!

5 Months Home!

2010-06-12T18:23:00.001-07:00

Aaron at 10 month--19.2 lbs (and we love every roll!)

Aaron at 5 months ---10 lbs

It's so hard to believe that we've been a family of 4 for 5 months!
January 15th, 2010 we arrived home with a tiny little miracle, weighing only 10 lbs (at 5 months old!). 5 months later we are so proud of our sweet 10 month old baby boy, now weighing 19.2 lbs! The pictures alone tell the story and truly show that LOVE is the biggest thing a child needs (a little food always helps too!)

Words can't express how much we love this little guy and how he has forever changed us forever! His smile is amazing, his laugh is contagious and he is one MAMAs BOY!

The past 5 months have dealt curveballs, valleys and peaks----but one thing we've learned is that our baby boy is a fighter!

We are preparing for our 6 month post-placement visit from our social worker and then it's on to finalizing the adoption in the US.
We have a busy summer ahead, but boy....we are just blessed with some sweet kids, great family and wonderful friends.

Our sweet kids!

2010-05-17T17:36:00.001-07:00

Man I just LOVE them!

May Fun!

2010-05-10T18:11:00.001-07:00

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Pure Emotions!

2010-05-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

Pure Emotions! Can't put pure JOY---that would be, well a lie! Can't put pure SADNESS--that would be a lie too!! Just pure EMOTIONS this fantastic Mother's Day weekend!

I had just an absolute wonderful weekend with my sweet family! I wish I could've also spent it with my mother, but distance can sometimes through a knuckle ball into the perfect world!

The weekend started with a date night (with Aaron in tow) at the Melting Pot on Friday night. We left Melting Pot and went to a friends house until late. It was nice to have adult conversation and catch up with friends!

Saturday afternoon we headed to the beach for a fun afternoon. We ran into another good set of friends and got to spend time with them and their fabulous kiddos. Saturday night Shane made a wonderful dinner for me and we spent so much time talking about the past 4 months of craziness.

Sunday I got to sleep in!! It was wonderful, then we went to see baby Nathan (Shane's sisters baby!) get dedicated at his moms church. We went to lunch with the rest of his family and then came home for long naps. Our crew slept until after 5pm. When we got up we headed to the beach for a walk and some ice cream, two of my favorite things.....with three of my favorite people. The weekend was fantastic and I couldn't ask for anything more from my special people!

The whole weekend I had this underlying sadness going on though. I couldn't figure it out at first and then.....it snapped. Mother's Day Weekend! While I am so happy to have Aaron in our lives I still morn for his biological family. The pain that they must feel and what his mother must feel. I kept finding myself hugging him extra hard this weekend and saying an extra little prayer of thankfulness. I'm so thankful she made the hardest decision she ever had to make to enable him to be with our family today. The little guy's a miracle and continues to make great strides! He has a fierce temper, a smile that'll knock your socks off and loves attention from anyone that he can flash his perfect smile to!

So on this Mother's Day weekend----I'm happy, sad and just flat out grateful that we have our family together!

Too SWEET!

2010-04-29T16:21:00.000-07:00

Just had to post this sweet picture of our baby boy!

Loving the WARMER Weather!

2010-04-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

Loving the nice weather, healthly kids and great time with family!

Have a great week!

Our Sweet Babies!

2010-04-22T17:58:00.000-07:00

Well sweet baby and sweet toddler, I guess! I just refuse to admit that Abby will be 3 in September, it's so hard to believe. Aaron is now 8 months old too---can't believe he'll be 1 the beginning of August.

Life has been crazy the past few weeks. Abby was sick the week before last, Aaron last week (with pneumonia!) and Abby again this week with a high fever! We seem to be on the mend and look forward to healthier days ahead. We survived and are so grateful everyone is starting to feel better. Aaron is up to 16 lbs now, that's 6 lbs more than when we brought him home a little over 3 months ago! He's an amazing fighter, charmer to new faces and a little man with a personality that reaches the edge of the earth! Each day we learn more from him and about him, he's really growing into a little person so quickly!

Happy EARTH Day!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-03T16:39:00.001-07:00

We are spending Easter in Jacksonville, FL with my parents! Lots of fun, some retail therapy, yummy food and great company! The kids are sleeping great, always makes for a great trip!

We are so grateful this Easter for family, friends and our two precious kiddos!

Happy Easter!

One Sweet Baby Boy!

2010-03-25T17:03:00.001-07:00

Aaron is rolling, sitting and laughing, laughing, laughing!! Most of the time, he's a pretty happy little boy! We are really enjoying every minute! We have a FUN weekend coming up! Some of our favorite friends coming into town---yes 8 people (4 adults and 4 kiddos) in our 1100 sq. foot house! We just love the crazy times together too! Shane's mom is getting married tomorrow night and a cook-out with all the friends on Saturday! We are really looking forward to the weekend and I'm sure we'll have fun pictures to post. Here's a recent picture of little Aaron. He's now gained 4 lbs and grown +2 inches (in a little over 2 months!)....good job baby boy---we are keeping the formula supply at Wal-Mart very low! Have a great weekend everyone!

Catching up on some long overdue posts!

2010-03-10T17:17:00.000-08:00

It snowed in Wilmington, NC!! Yes, we live at the beach and it snowed a few weeks ago! Abby had an absolute blast. She and Shane made snow-cream, a snowman and mourned when it melted later in the day! I'm so glad it snowed, the best kind of snow (it was all gone within a day!). Here are a few pictures!

I have a few minutes!

2010-03-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a LONG time since the last time I posted. Before we traveled to get Aaron I was so diligent about posting and updating. Now in my spare time, it's laundry, sleeping and relaxing!!

Life is GREAT! We are settling into our routine with the kids and work. This morning I had an 8 o'clock meeting in the office and I made it there on time (even managed to make it without baby throw-up or dog slobber on me, amazing!). I just assigned to a new project which is requiring a few part-time hours before I 'officially' start back in mid-April. So part-time work, here I come for awhile!

Aaron is doing fantastic. Thanks to some miracle working by the worlds greatest dad, we are now down to just one bottle in the early morning (like 3:30-4:30). Shane really has the most patience in the world. You never really know what kind of dad the man you marry is going to be, but I must say.....I truly hit the jackpot!! Truly!! Shane has worked with Aaron on the night-time sleep for the past 6, almost 7 weeks and we are now almost there.

The kids love each other so much. Today on the way to drop them off at the sitter (who I shouldn't even call a sitter, because she's such a dear close friend!), Abby said to me in her two year old voice "Mommy, you brought baby brudder back from Africa and now he's my brudder and you are his mommy and daddy is his daddy". Ok---make me cry before heading to a big meeting, like the emotions weren't there and in full swing!! Abby has so much love in her and Aaron just craves attention, especially her attention. They are so sweet together and both just so much fun!

Tomorrow afternoon/evening we are leaving to head to Mimi and Papas house, in FLORIDA! It's our first big trip with the two kids and we are so thrilled to see my parents again. We are going to travel at night so hopefully the car experience won't be too bad for either kiddo!

I can't find my camera cord, but will post some new pictures as soon as I can. We got back to the Dr. next week and I'll be able to confirm then, but I'm guessing Aaron has picked up at least another 1 1/2, maybe 2 (making him about 14 lbs!---he was 10.8 when we came home 6 weeks ago!).

-Meredith

+2 pounds for the little man!

2010-02-09T13:05:00.000-08:00

Well we went back to the Dr. today and little Aaron is gaining weight like crazy!! He has now gained 2 whole pounds in less than a month. Aaron now weighs 12.8 and continues to grow like crazy! We are still struggling with a little cold, but other than that everyone is really adjusting well. Everyone has been asking for new pictures so here are a few snapshots from our fun days home! We had a really big weekend, but that's worthy of it's own post later when I have more time.

We sure do love this little guy, it's amazing Friday we will have been home for 4 weeks! Time Flies and we sure are having fun! A little sleep would be nice, but I guess he doesn't want to miss anything! Oh well---that'll come soon!! Enjoy the pics! Best wishes to all!

Cute Video!

2010-01-30T14:27:00.000-08:00

Abby is loving this BIG SISTER thing!!

Home!

2010-01-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

Well after a year of wondering what life with two kids was going to be like---we've 'almost' figured it out. We got home on 1/15 and have been busy, busy with the kids. Abby has adjusted amazingly well, we couldn't ask for anything more from a two year old! Aaron is getting better each day, or maybe it's that we are figuring him out more each day. Either way---life is getting better for all 4 of us with each passing day.

We took Aaron to the Dr. last Monday and today (a week later). In ONE week the child gained a whole pound---a whole pound!! We've seen a night/day difference in how responsive he is, the way he plays and his overall personality. He smiles on demands, craves attention and loves his big sister.

We are so grateful to be home with our crew and are loving the time at home with the kids!

Enjoy the pics!

We FINALLY met him!!!

2010-01-09T06:56:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!!We just got back from an amazing day!! We met sweet little Aaron today for the first time!! I must say, he's a laid back kid! He's tiny, but pretty strong with what we can do. We spent about 5 hours with the kids today and had such a great time! Really, words can't describe the experience today! Here are a few of our favorite pictures, but of course we took a million!! We had a traditional Ethiopian Coffee ceremony, traditional lunch and spent many hours with the older children as well!! I can't wait tell each of you about it our day!! We are exhausted so we are headed back to the hotel to order our CHEESE PIZZA staple food!! I'm looking forward to a coke and pizza and some of America's worst television programming to round out our great day!More updates soon!!

Love,The McCumbees

In Addis Ababa!!

2010-01-08T09:57:00.000-08:00

We are here!! We arrived at 11:30am this morning, Addis time! All our luggage arrived in one piece--all 6 pieces! Even the item we had to gate check in Dubai arrived as scheduled, amazing!! We got to the hotel and things are good! We slept off some jet lag today and will meet Aaron tomorrow at 11am. We have tried a few different meals and so far so good.

We are going to dinner tonight with the group for a traditional ET meal/dance and doing a little sightseeing.

We are holding up, tired...but excited! Cell service is not good so until we get a calling card we won't be able to call home.

Hopefully we can post some pictures tomorrow!

IN DUBAI!!!

2010-01-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

We are in Dubai, waiting to board our flight to Addis Ababa!!!

JFK was a nightmare, but we made our flight and survived the international terminal. Fun experience, let me tell ya!!

We leave in about 1 hour for our 4 hour flight to Addis. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we'll get to meet Aaron today!! If not, we'll meet him first thing tomorrow morning at the big Christmas celebration with all the kids!!

We are both holding up well. We both managed to sleep on the 12.5 hour flight---I actually slept over 8 hours of it. We went to our hotel in Dubai and slept more, then ate breakfast again. I have nothing but great things to say about Emirites air, great service and really a nice way to travel!

We'll try to upload pictures of little Aaron as soon as we can!!

Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes, so far all is great!!!

IN RALEIGH!!!

2010-01-06T12:43:00.000-08:00

We are in Raleigh, just waiting to board the plane!! We get to JFK at 8 and then off to Dubai at 11. We lucked up with the checked bag! We had 5 huge 50 lb suitcases so we only had to pay for one extra suitcase!! The lady checking us in was awesome and didn't make us mess with the 1 or 2 lb overages!!! We'll update again as soon as we can, but we are on our way!!!

Just a few more days!! Overwhelming Day!!

2010-01-03T18:13:00.000-08:00

Emotions.....lots of them!! Run down of the day!!

9:30----Church surprised us with $$ for our trip, awesome....and donations!!

12---Lunch with great friends!!

2---More surprise donations

3---Friends arrive with more donations

5---Final Wal-Mart trip (I hope!) and dinner with Brandi!!

7-9---packed up donations in storage bins!!

CRAZY DAY!! Lots of wonderful surprises which helped to turn a little of the anxiety of the trip into excitement!

My mom arrives tomorrow afternoon/evening and it's our last day of work tomorrow!!

We are thrilled and really almost ready to go!!

New Fun in the 'Beep'----aka Jeep!!

2009-12-30T06:06:00.000-08:00

With Christmas came lots of cool presents for Abby (and Aaron when he arrives home!). Abby has enjoyed each of her gifts and bounces back and forth from each one---with her short attention span. Yesterday it warmed up enough to get outside and play for a little while. She requested a ride in her 'beep'---toddler talk for Jeep!! Thanks to the Byer's Fam for supplying hours of entertainment for her, SHE LOVES IT!!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T18:54:00.001-08:00

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Drum roll please..... We introduce to you (many for the first time!) Aaron Israel McCumbee

2009-12-17T03:38:00.000-08:00

We got the OK from WACAP to post pictures of our little guy......SO HERE HE IS!!!

We are told that he's not a big fan of the camera, he'll fit right in with the rest of my crew!!

The top picture is the latest and greatest (taken on 12.1.09)!!

The bottom is the one we received at the time of referral (10.28.09).

We're pretty excited to be able to share his picture finally!! Enjoy!! As you can tell he looks so different in each picture, I'm sure he'll change even more before we meet him on 1/8.

We'll be in ETHIOPIA on Jan. 8th

2009-12-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

So we are going to have a crazy travel schedule getting to our little guys, but it'll be worth it.

Driving 2.5 hours to Raleigh, NC and leave at 6:30pm on 1/6

Raleigh to NY (JFK)

JFK to Dubai (Overnight in Dubai)

Dubai to Addis Ababa, ET ---arriving 1/8 at 10:30am

We'll be leaving Addis on 1/14 at 7pm

transfer through Dubai to JFK

JFK to RDU --arriving at 1:30pm on 1/15.

So we are pumped!! Ready to enjoy the holidays and not stress about travel plans. Everything is finished and we're going to sit back and enjoy some time with family and friends!! My last day at work is going to be 1/4 and I'll return full-time on 4/15 (or around there, not sure the exact date yet!). Shane's working out his schedule soon too, we are so excited to have some time off with the kids!! SO grateful for flexible employers!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

ONE STEP CLOSER----- WE PASSED!!

2009-12-15T13:23:00.000-08:00

So I just heard from our agency and we passed court today!!! YIPPPEEE...

More to come after we book travel, but I'm hoping we can still get a ticket for arrival in ET on 1/8.

Our Court Date is finally here!!!

2009-12-14T10:23:00.000-08:00

So 12/15 is our court date, but since Ethiopia is 8 hours ahead of us.....it's really tonight while we sleep or sometime early morning!! Thanks for the positive thoughts, we'll let you know as soon as we hear more!! If we pass, we book our tickets for 1/7-1/14!!! Prayers for passing the first time!!

Hopefully we'll post good news soon!

Baby Aaron Israel McCumbee is 4 months old today!

2009-12-08T18:12:00.000-08:00

So last week we decided on 'baby brudders' name.

The little guys name is Aaron Israel McCumbee. Aaron (Shane's first name) and Israel (his given ET name, meaning 'Chosen one!'). We are so excited and the more I look at his pictures, the name is really fitting!!

So baby Aaron is 4 months old today!

Not only is today Aaron's 4 month bday, but it's also one week from our 12/15 court date! One week, only 7 more days until we can book our travel and confirm when our trip will be! I just can't wait :) The uncertainty of travel, craziness of the holidays and just pure lack of patience is catching up with me. I try not to sit down long enough to think about it, little ENERGIZER bunny over here....I'm going, going, going!!

We took Abby to Airlie Gardens to see the Christmas lights, Santa ('Ho Ho') and the trains! We had a blast. Abby really liked Santa, but only from a distance. She was NOT so thrilled when it was our turn to talk to him!

Hopefully the next post will be good news about our court date!! Have a great week!!

Just for Laughs!

2009-12-07T11:17:00.000-08:00

Abby LOVEs cucumbers!! I try to avoid the produce section when she's shopping with me because she insists on eating them in the store! A lesson learned the hard way---she was in one of those 'car carts' and next thing I knew half the cucumber was gone. I asked her where it went 'In my mouth' was her response. Lovely!! I guess they sorta wash those things, maybe??

Build up that immune system girl!!

Update!!

2009-12-01T17:18:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I last posted an update. We've been waiting (Shane patiently!! Me, well not as patiently!). We heard that our court date was moved from 12/13 (Sunday) to 12/15. The Ethiopian courts apparently scheduled 20 cases over the weekend, so ours was re-scheduled for 12/15 (two weeks from today!). We should hear the court decision within a few days and then we will be able to book our travel. Right now we are either looking at travel dates for 1/7-1/14 or 1/21-1/28. We will know which dates we will travel as soon as our agency receives our Embassy Appointment in Ethiopia. So if we travel on 1/7, our Embassy appointment would be 1/12. Take a look at our timeline on the right hand side of the blog----1/12 is the day we submitted our adoption application to WACAP in 2009. How awesome is that, we could complete everything in exactly 1 year!!! Everything has worked out so well.

So here are the next steps.
1. Pass Court on 12/15 ---- the little man is officially ours!
2. A court decree will be issued in which our name will be on his birth certificate
3. Ethiopian agency staff applies for his passport (He will have an ET passport until we get back to the states to finalize the adoption!)
4. We arrive in ET (hopefully on 1/7!)
5. We meet the little guy and somewhere around 1/12 or 1/26 we visit the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, ET to obtain his VISA so he can leave ET and travel home with us to Wilmington, NC!!!
6. The adoption will be finalized here in the states and that is when he'll become a US citizen

We should hear more about the Embassy Appt. within the next two weeks, hopefully before our court date.

We've received several updates on baby brudder. We have 3 pictures of him now and each one looks so different. Same kid--just different!! It's amazing to watch a child grow in pictures and not be able to meet him!! A little over a month and we could be holding him---praying for time to pass quickly!

Hopefully more info to come soon!!

TIME TO CELEBRATE!!! WE HAVE A COURT DATE!!

2009-11-13T17:49:00.000-08:00

Today we got wonderful news!! Our court date in Addis Ababa, ET is DECEMBER 13th!! DECEMBER 13th---that's a month from today my friends!! Wonderful news to hear on our anniversary!! Our case will be presented to the courts and if we pass we will travel 4-6 weeks after that. So we are looking right around the 2nd week in January to travel to meet our little man. We are thrilled and I had to share the news! The next few weeks are going to fly---I mean fly!! We will be out of town for the next three weekends and then we have a baby shower at our house for the fabulous/marvelous Peggy Sellars (and baby Paisley Sellars!). Then---only a week to wait until court!! So great to hear the news on this special day that we celebrate 5 years of marriage!!

Thanks for your thoughts my friends!!! Have a great weekend!!

Celebrating 5 years of marriage!

2009-11-12T17:15:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, November 13Th is our 5Th Anniversary. I know people say it all the time, but seriously....it's so hard to believe that we've been married for 5 years. We celebrated a little early because Shane is headed to OH for a hunting trip with his brother and dad. To top off the celebrations, we got a new picture of 'baby brudder'. He looks completely different, but still very very cute!!

Baby brudder was apparently not feeling well this week. We got word today that he had to spend the night in the agency clinic. Apparently he wasn't eating well!! He was released back to the transition house today and is doing much better. Amazing---all this is going on a world away and we have no control, can't hold him and don't know until after it has happened. I'm sure the change in diet (addition of formula mainly) will take a little while to get right with his little body. I did ask for a copy of the clinic notes so we can see how much he weighs now, length, etc. Just for curiosity!!

We hope to hear something any day about a court date. I know they are working as fast as they can to secure the date for us, the patience is just lacking on my part!

We have a big week of travel ahead of us. Shane left today for OH with his family. Abby and I leave on Sunday to drive to Asheville, NC and then up to Indianapolis, IN. We'll spend Wednesday-Sunday in Indy for a good friends wedding (Shane is meeting us there). I can't wait to see all of the girls from high school again and celebrate Annie's big day! And of course show off BOTH of my babies!!

I wish I could share the sweet picture!! Hopefully I'll have more news to share soon!

Switching Seats!!

2009-11-04T18:07:00.001-08:00

So we get a KICK out of reading church signs!! We have a 'coffee table' book from a good friend that has TONS of Church signs in it and love to read funny church signs! Shane even sends one of his friend a text message when we pass a good one!! SO.....that leads to my next topic!!

Have you ever read the sign "If God is your co-pilot, switch seats!"?

Well I know we all get stuck in the rut of day to day stuff. We get so busy about me, my family, my job, my work, etc......sometimes we just forget we aren't the pilot!! Once again, I was knocked back into my place today. Some health scares continue to keep me humble! Grateful for health, confirmation that I AM NOT SUPERWOMAN (man---did I really have to admit that? UGH!) and made it pretty clear that I'm not in control. So back to the DR. I'll go tomorrow, but until them----I've switched seats, I'll be the co-pilot and will chill out on the stressing about things that I can't control. I have vowed to quit stressing about everything....
- Our court date that will make us one step closer to bringing our baby boy home!
- The trip to Ethiopia and leaving sweet Abby for the week!
- This silly house of ours (That's been on the market for almost a year!!)
- Jobs and job security or new job possibilities!
- The poor people at UPS that I completely fussed out on Monday because my package was not delivered overnight with all of our signed adoption paperwork (yes, they heard the wrath of MEREDITH and I should really write a letter and apologize, I was not very nice!) Documents arrived Tuesday and all is well, just frustrating!!

So I'm switching seats, you should too!! Join me on the worry-free train.... at least for a minute or two. I'm sure I'll have a freak-out moment or two and will need a reminder, who knows maybe we'll see another 'sign'. Think of me the next church sign you see (some of them really are pretty ridiculous, but I guess they get your attention).

I'll end on this for tonight..... for all of you Wal-Mart shoppers "Wal-Mart isn't the only 'saving' place"..... HA!!! That one really made me laugh when I read it, yes I said laugh was my response! (sorry if I read it on your church sign!).

I'm a co-pilot tonight!

What a CRAZY WEEK!

2009-11-02T11:35:00.000-08:00

So last Wednesday was a day that we will forever remember. I took the morning off to spend with Abby. We went to the Children's Museum, ran errands, had lunch with daddy and headed home for a nap. A few minutes after Abby went to sleep the phone rang (the office/home phone). I debated on whether or not I should even answer it, it was my day off?? I did answer it, thank goodness!! It was our agency contact (Shane was on the line as well!). Of course when she said Shane was on the phone, I knew it was 'the call'. I was sad that I was at home and he was at work so we couldn't hear the news together, but it all worked out great. She proceeded to tell us about our sweet little 2 1/2 month old baby boy. He sounded just perfect, everything that I had hoped would happen. I was secretly (ok, maybe not so secretly!) hoping he/she would be a tiny little one....I just love those baby milestones and how fun it is to watch them grow!
So we listened (and I cried--yes I did!) and then she said she would email us all the information and a PICTURE!! We we were on the phone together (Shane and I) when we opened the picture, because I'm silly like that and wanted to see him at the same time. Hard to miss the pretty pink mis-matched outfit he's dressed in, but if you look past that....he's just the cutest little thing. Perfect little round face, looks like maybe a little bit of hair and some squishy full cheeks!
So eager to keep the momentum moving I called our pediatrician and made an appt. for 1.5 later. Shane and I went to the Dr. and his medical records looked great. With that step under the belt we waited for our documents to arrive on Friday so we could officially 'accept' him. The documents arrived while I was at lunch, I went to Shane's office and we signed/notarized the documents. They went back in the mail for overnight delivery to our agency today. So things should be moving right along. The next step is to be assigned a court date. That could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, I think. Another part of the patience/waiting game. Lots of that, but it's been a good learning experience for me (I'm in the most IMPATIENT person in the world!).
So one thing we were able to do was to send a 'care package' to 'baby brudder' (this is how we will refer to him until we decide on his name! On a side note: Abby has named him 'Ju Ju'---don't ask, we don't know how her little 2 year old mind created Ju Ju....but if you ask her baby brudders name she responds with 'Ju Ju'!) So here's what we sent baby brudder on Friday.

Friday night we celebrated with friends from church at our 'Trunk or Treat' event. Lots of fun and it was great to be able to share his picture with close friends. It's been so neat to see friends and family get involved in the process and we can't wait for that excitement to continue when we bring baby brudder home! So of course I have to share some Trunk or Treat pictures.

This is Abby with one of her best little friends (Blaire).

I'll make sure to post more news when we have it. Thanks for all the kind words and we look forward to sharing more news soon!

IT'S OFFICIAL!!! IT'S A BOY AND HE'S SO CUTE!

2009-10-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

Well we got 'the call' today!! We have some information about a pretty (yes, I said pretty) little boy. 2 1/2 months old and super cute, super cute. Sorry I can't post any pics, but he's adorable! We took his info to the pediatrician today and he's a healthy little man! He weighs a little under 10 lbs and has cheeks that look super squeezable! I have a picture printed off to share with those of you I see. We don't know anything else about time lines yet, but will keep you posted!

More to come on the little guys name...............

Fun Night of LOTs of Laughs!!

2009-10-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

We went to the park tonight!!

Dinner with family!!

Home to play!!

What a fun night with Abby!

Just what we all needed to get our mind off of other things!!

Busy Week and Weekend! No news yet!

2009-10-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

So I know everyone is checking the blog more frequently, so I figured I would make a quick update. Still no word yet! Probably a blessing we didn't hear anything last week. Minor health scare in our family directed our attention in a different direction for a day (or two!)---all is well and we are so thankful for modern day medicine and great doctors! After a rough end to last week we had a great weekend with good friends. It was nice to relax and spend so much time watching the kids (Abby and two of her best little friends) do what they do best! Making messes, laughing without worries and loving unconditionally (unless they were in timeout--then we weren't loved too much!).

Hoping this week will bring good news and less worries!

Happy Fall Everyone!

And we are number......

2009-10-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

On the wait list for a little boy (0-12 months)! Yes....NUMBER 1!!!!!!!!

The other two people in front of us are requesting a little girl-----so the next little boy that matches with us is on his way to lovely Southeastern North Carolina!! YAY!

Should hear more soon, very soon!! Keep checking on us and keep our little one in your thoughts! He (or maybe she, but probably HE) is out there and just waiting for us!

We've been waiting for our little one for about 6 months now, wow how time flies (IS IT REALLY MID-OCTOBER??)!!

A weekend in INDIANA!!

2009-10-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well exhausted is the only word that describes me today!!

I had an absolute fabulous time with all of my high school buddies! Friday morning at 7am I boarded a plane and went to Indy for the weekend. I had a blast and it's exactly what I needed to 'pass' the time until we hear more adoption news. I got home Sunday night about 9:30pm and talked Shane's ears off about the weekend events!

Here's a picture of our high school buddies!! Can't wait to go back for Annie's wedding the end of November and another chance to see all the girls!!

Keep your fingers crossed for more adoption news!!

We are still just waiting patiently. The Ethiopian courts opened last Monday, October 5th so we should see movement pick up within the next few weeks!

Too cute!!

2009-09-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

Had to share this picture!

Abby was so fun tonight.

We'll post new adoption news as soon as we hear something.

READY, SET, GO!!!!!!!! It's almost BABY time!!!

2009-09-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

Well just like Abby says in the video "Ready, Set, Go!!"..... Things are getting so close!! We should hear more news about the adoption within the next few weeks. We got an email today from our agency that we should be hearing more in the 'coming weeks'. Our contact there said there are only a few families in front of us and we are getting VERY close! So exciting to hear an update. I didn't even ask for the number of families in front of us. At this point, I think I'll just be excited when she calls us. I keep trying to imagine what that day will be like. Will I cry? What will we be doing? Will Shane and I be together? So fun to think that it's getting so close (honestly, kinda makes me nervous!). We've had so much other stuff going on that I've been trying to just put it in the back of my mind....or at least tell myself that! So keep checking, could be tomorrow we have news or it could be a few weeks!! Keep those fingers crossed and we'll keep you posted when we hear something! BOY OR GIRL----these are some exciting times!!

Abby is 2!

2009-09-05T17:51:00.001-07:00

What a wonderful day!!

We were surrounded by lots of friends and family to celebrate Abby's 2nd birthday!

We had Abby's party at Savannah Farms in Hampstead, NC and it was an absolute blast. The weather was perfect, the kids loved the animals and everyone had a great time!

We started with cake...

Then we spent time playing with the bunnies and ducks and feeding the goats and the cow!

After the animals came....

The tractor/hay'less' ride! It was so fun and all the kids did great!
We had such a big group that we took two trips!

Then it was time to feed the chickens and look at the 'green' eggs!

At the end of the day. Abby had this much fun!!

Thanks to everyone who was able to come and share in her special day!

We are so grateful for all of the wonderful people in our lives!

A tribute to my sweet Grandmother

2009-08-29T16:53:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a crazy couple of weeks. Last Thursday my dad called to let me know that my grandmother passed away during the night. She had been struggling for a months with kidney failure and a few other problems. I'm so grateful we were able to visit her one last time when we went to FL a few weeks ago. She really seemed to enjoy the company, we took her outside on a walk and Abby tried her hardest to break her wheel-chair (or should I say take it apart).

We left on Tuesday to drive to Tennessee for the services. We stopped a little over half-way on Tuesday night and then drove the rest of the way to Cleveland, TN on Wednesday. My parents and brother arrived about an hour or two before us. Abby of course fell asleep about 20 minutes before we got to the hotel in Cleveland (that was the name of the game for her on the trip---she slept for a total of about 2 hours during our 18+ of travel).

The visitation was on Wednesday night. Abby and Shane went for a few minutes, but Abby didn't last long. It had been a long 'nap-less' day so they went back to the hotel. The visitation wasn't bad (have I mentioned how I really dislike funerals, visitations, etc)!!! I met several cousins for the first time, lots of my grandmothers (mamas) friends, and saw so many people I hadn't seen since I was little. The funeral/memorial service on Thursday was really nice. I made a slide show to remember her and it was played at the beginning of the service. We bid my mama farewell in a very unique way. My grandmother was an avid sports fan. She loved watching people she knew and others play. She was the most enthusiastic fan (complete with a cow bell in hand at every event)-----yes even at our tennis matches in high school!!! At 16 my brother and I weren't too impressed, but now it's funny to laugh about! Given her love for sports and her instrument of choice to cheer, we rang blue cowbells as my grandmother left the church and was taken to the cemetery. Everyone who knew her, knew it was appropriate and exactly what she would have wanted.

It was a sad event, but I know she looked down on us with such a grin. She was so dedicated to her family, loved each one of us and surely was pleased at everyone who gathered to remember her wonderful life!! We'll miss her here, but I'm so happy to know she's pain free and walking on the golden streets above. Enjoy the pictures of her life, she was a great and very talented lady!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQcX_UgcSIA

Fun trip to Florida!!

2009-08-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

We just got home from our fabulous trip to Florida! It was so nice to get away and be with my parents for a few days. Shane wasn't able to go on this trip, so Abby and I braved the plane 'scene' together. All and all----went great! She was a champ during each of the 4 segments and really only 'lost' it once on the way home. She enjoyed some videos on my I-pod, colored (on her paper, the plane and the people next to us!) and we read books. Thankfully the segments were short since she was a 'lap child'.
We got to see my sweet little grandmother last Thursday, which was so nice! There's a picture of our trip to see her too. I'm so grateful we were able to see her, she really loved watching Abby run around!
No super exciting news on the adoption front. Really it could be any day now!!! Chances are pretty good that our little baby is in transit somewhere in ET. Surely the little one has arrived on this earth and is just waiting to be 'matched' with our family. It's so weird to think with one phone call that our life will change so much!! I look forward to the new post that I'll be able to tell each of you about the little boy or girl (or both, just kidding.....kinda!) We did say that we were open to 1 or 2 children (siblings) under the age of 12 months, so twins. Yikes---what if that really happened, that would be a GOD thing for sure!
Enjoy the pictures from our trip to FL. We had a fantastic time and enjoyed every minute!

Take YOUR Candle and Go Light YOUR World!!

2009-07-28T18:40:00.000-07:00

So on rough days (ok, almost everyday!) I listen to K-Love online while I'm working. It gives me motivation and I love hearing the words to songs. I think of it as a way of worshipping/working/praying all in one (helps me get through the day!) Hey--the other day the K-love listening paid off, I called into one of their contest and won some free music downloads and was registered to win a trip to Disney. Well I didn't win the Disney trip, but it was pretty exciting just to get through on the first try!! Hope none of you heard me on the radio though, I sounded like a real doof---I was shocked to really be on the radio, WEIRD MOMENT!

So here are the lyrics to a pretty cool song (by Chris Rice---who I really like!). I think it's a message that all of us can use daily! I was flying to Charlotte tonight for work and listened to the song for the first time. There I was looking out over the sky through the window of the airplane (sun setting and just beautiful) and something just hit me with this song! I think the man next to me thought I was a nut (or had gas or something!) because I was just smiling ear to ear!! Something just put me a peace. I don't know if it was the time away from the craziness just to listen to some music and relax or the great view out of the airplane window. This overwhelming since of peace was just placed on my heart. Suddenly the stress of the adoption, selling our house, job uncertainty, raising an almost 2 year old and family illness don't really seem so big---hopefully the peace will stay!!

I spoke to the agency coordinator last night (Monday, 7/27) and she said it is still looking really good for us to travel to pick up Abby's baby bro/sis by Christmas! Wow--what a wonderful Christmas present that would be. We found out I was pregnant with Abby on Christmas Day ('06) so what another great little Christmas miracle. So we'll probably be getting 'the call' within the next month or two, it's just amazing that August is almost here! Our little Abby will turn two in a little over a month! CRAZY!

So here are the lyrics, enjoy! If you haven't heard the song, please take some time to download or listen to it (Make sure it's the Chris Rice version though, I was going to connect one I found---yikes! Stick with Chris Rice!). It really gave me some motivation---don't know where I'm going to focus all this motivation yet, but watch out....I'm energized for good!!

There is a candle in every soul

Some brightly burning, some dark and cold

There is a Spirit who brings a fire

Ignites a candle and makes His home

So Carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, and go light your world

Frustrated brother, see how he's tried to

Light his own candle some other way

See now your sister, she's been robbed and lied to

Still holds a candle without a flame

So Carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the lonely, the tired and worn

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, and go light your world

Cause We are a family whose hearts are blazing

So let's raise our candles and light up the sky

Praying to our Father, in the name of Jesus

Make us a beacon in darkest times

So Carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the helpless, deceived and poor

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, and go light your world

Carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, and go light your world

Beachy Times!!

2009-07-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

We've had a blast at the beach with Abby this summer. We're really trying to 'soak' up the time as a family of three and enjoy the time together.

Last Friday we went to eat dinner at Carolina Beach and then let Abby play in the sand! We all left soaked, but had a blast in the process!!

We had so much fun with my brother and sister-in-law (Matt and Andrea) in town last weekend. We went to the aquarium, shopped and ate lots of yummy food....in about a 48 hour time period! It was great to see them and Abby is still asking for them!!

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!

Busy days!

2009-07-14T18:02:00.001-07:00

So we don't have any new 'news' on the adoption front and life just continues to soar! It's just so hard to believe we are almost half-way through July! AMAZING--and it just keeps going quicker!

We've had a lot more activity with our house (it's been on the market a little over 6 months now!). We've had 3 people come this week alone, great news, but exhausting to try to keep clean! Abby is a little tornado, ripping through the house each day, creating her own 'perfect storm'.

Between the house, out of town trips and visitors coming to our house the weekends have come and gone. My brother and his wife (Andrea) are coming to town this weekend, I can't wait to see them!! We'll take lots of pictures this weekend and will post some next week.

Have a great week!

NUMBER 6 on the LIST!

2009-06-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

So I got an email today from WACAP (after I emailed them because I'm inpatient and curious!) saying that we are #6 on the waiting list....so 5 families are in front of us! Crazy! She said that some of those families are open to toddlers so they could be matched a little quicker. So as the families in front of us are matched, we move up the list! In the meantime we are really trying to relax, enjoy the summer and our time together. The courts in Ethiopia will close for 6 weeks in Aug-Sep 11th. During this time we can still get a referral (be matched with a little one!), but court dates will not be conducted. We are probably still on track to hear something late July, August---who knows maybe Sept. Our goal is still to travel by the end of the year, but of course, we know that's out of our hands!

Abby is hilarious at this point! Shane and I can't help but laugh at all the things that she says. A few of my personal favorite "I ike em" translated to "I like them!". She's figured out how to delay bed-time by requesting "hug!"---then you start to leave the room, "Mommy, daddy---a kiss!". It's amazing how it starts so early! Last night she had a special request to sleep with Donald Duck, Daisy, Minnie Mouse and two babies---yea not too much room left in the bed for her! She's just funny---we are enjoying this stage so much!

Girls trip to FL

2009-06-29T19:04:00.001-07:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Julie Mixon Photography!

2009-06-29T18:13:00.001-07:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

So as you've probably read earlier posts, we've been so blessed by the love and support of so many people! Early in the process when we told people about our new adventure in adoption, one of the first people to jump on board was Julie Mixon. Julie is a talented photographer, great friend and wonderful person! Julie volunteered her time and talents for two different weekends to a 'benefit shoot' to raise $$ to help bring home McCumbee baby #2 (On a side note: I can't wait to find out if it's a boy/girl so I can at least refer to the gender is postings!). Julie has helped us raise a considerable amount of $$ and provided some amazing pictures for the families that participated! Here are just a few of my favorites of our family that she took! THANK YOU JULIE (and Heather!) for your time, dedication and support!

Tribute to the Daddys!

2009-06-22T07:52:00.000-07:00

Shane and I realize each and every day how lucky we are to still have our dads here on earth with us! Papa and Papa 'T' are here for Abby and add so much to her little life!! Abby truly loves her Papas. She asks about both of them, wants to talk to them on the phone and regardless of the amount of time since we saw them last....runs into their arms! Shane and I have such great dads and are so grateful for the impacts they've had on our lives!

Abby is one lucky little lady! She had the opportunity to spend 9 whole months at home with her daddy after she was born! Words really can't describe the kind of father that Shane is for little Abby! I used to joke with him that if it was 'physically' possible for him to feed her that she wouldn't need me, joking of course....but he was just so helpful (and continues to be). Shane is truly OUR 'prince charming'!! Before Abby was born I bought Shane a picture frame (which is now in Abby's room) for Father's Day that reads "My prince charming has already come, I call him daddy!'. I just couldn't stand it, this is totally the relationship that I have with my own daddy and before she was born I knew I wanted the same for her! Shane loves his little girl inside and out with all of his heart, it's just so clear when you see them together---she stole his heart instantly!

We had a wonderful Father's Day! Shane had two baseball games in the 100+ weather and did great! We made it out to one of the games to watch him pitch and Abby did lots of cheering!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day! Have a great week!

TOMS Shoes - YouTube - TOMS and Podo

2009-06-17T17:30:00.001-07:00

TOMS Shoes - YouTube - TOMS and Podo

Shared via AddThis

I bought Abby and I a pair of TOMS today! I encourage each of you to do the same! Take a look at the video above. For every pair of shoes that you buy they supply a pair of shoes to someone in need! The video link above is about their work for the people in ET.

BUY TOMS!

I'M SO PROUD TO HAVE YOU AS A FRIEND!

2009-06-15T06:11:00.001-07:00

I'm just so proud that I can barely stand it! So proud of one of my very best friends and her sweet family! Almost 5 years ago, right after I starting working at PPD I met one of my closest friends. It seemed like we'd known each other forever, the more we learned about each other the more we leaned on each other for love, support and advice! Throughout the past 5 years we both have experienced the birth of children, the loss of loved ones, the frustrations of work and the joys of raising our kids! We have so many funny stories to tell and so many great memories that we've been able to share.

So here comes the next adventure.... We are adopting together! Yes--one of my very best friends and her family have started the adoption journey! We've been talking about it for months, doing research together and sharing our ideas, concerns and joys! I'm so excited for her family and this wonderful decision that they have made. "Adoption is the single greatest thing that you can do for another person!"--- I truly believe that and know that this family has been blessed with giant hearts to start this new journey! Any child would be lucky to be raised in such a loving family, sweet mom/dad and two wonderful big sisters!

This wonderful friend has been such an inspiration to me throughout the past 5 years! She has taught me so much about forgiveness, how to love unconditionally and make great things happen out of tragic situations!

You are a true inspiration and I can't wait to share in this wonderful journey!

5 babies in 1 week!!

2009-06-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

We got an email from our agency saying that 5 families were matched with little ones last week!! WOW, 5 in one week---what great news! We are quickly moving up on the list and I'm really starting to prepare mentally for the 'call'. How will I react? Cry--probably!!! Keep up the prayers and we'll keep you posted as soon as we hear something! June 13th is a big day, it marks the 6 month mark since we submitted our adoption application to WACAP. WOW, has it really been 6 months? Where has this year gone?

Summer is cranking up at our house! We're going to Charlotte this weekend, baby shower next, Florida the weekend after and then....it's July!!

Fun in the sun...

2009-06-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

Abby has been a completely different kid since her ear infections have cleared up! We are hoping they are gone for good, but still keeping our fingers crossed. Rather than moving forward with surgery (tubes!) we are trying a dairy-free diet. So far, so good, but it's only been about two weeks. We'll see how things go the next month or two (We have an appt. with the allergist next week). Thought I'd share some fun pictures of our afternoons this week! We've been outside almost every night!

I don't have too much to post about the adoption, still just waiting!! Just to put things in prospective here are some terrifying statistics from a great book that I'm reading about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa (specifically ET).

*In 1999 (ten years ago) - The doctor to patient ratio was 1 doctor to 48,000 patients (the worst in the world!)

*In 2003 - The doctor to patient ratio improved to 1 doctor to 34,000 patients (5 X worse than any other sub-Saharan African avg)

*** The doctor to patient ratio in the United States is approx. 1 to 142***

The more I read, the more amazed I am about events that go on each day in different areas of the world! One rough estimate (from nearly ten years ago!) indicated that there were 61,000 children orphaned by AIDS in Ethiopia. That was over ten years ago and the numbers now far exceed this (yes, exceed 61,000!!). I continue to be astonished and amazed that we live in our 'bubbles' and are so ignorant to the events that are going on in other countries (I am so guilty of this)! No matter how bad it is, the economy, the health care issue, the bankruptcies----we have our life and for the most part our health. If we don't have the best health, we have access to the BEST health care. Why were we so lucky to be born in such a blessed nation? Give thanks everyday for what we have! Pray for the countries/people that struggle for life's most precious gift, another day to live!

Just a thought for the day--each night I read a little more of my book and I am slapped in the face with the reality that others face in the country that we will be bringing home our little baby from! Please pray for our little one who could be born any day (if he/she hasn't already). We are anxious to hear another update and will pass along any news that we receive.

Happy Friday!

WHAT A GREAT WEEKEND!

2009-06-01T12:26:00.001-07:00

Well we had a wonderful weekend! Full of laughs, hugs, kisses (from Abby!) and fun---you could say we experienced many of the great things in life over the last few days!

My mom (Meredith's) flew up on Friday morning to spend the weekend with Abby while Shane and I attended Greg and Karissa's wedding festivities. We all left mid-day and drove to Raleigh for the rehearsal, dinner and wedding prep. Shane officiated (was the Rev.) for the wedding and did an amazing job! Everything went perfect in the wedding, the reception was a blast and after we were able to continue the fun with some great late night activities (there was a band playing in downtown Raleigh)!! Abby loved the time with her "MiMi" (They shopped, played and hung out at the hotel!). The whole weekend was wonderful!

On Saturday morning we went with the Reel Family (Minus baby Emma) to see Elmo Live. Little Eddie and Abby loved it! The seats were great and it was so neat to see the kids faces light up with excitement! Here are a few pictures from the weekend!

Off to Ethiopia!!

2009-05-21T16:41:00.000-07:00

Well we got an email today that said our dossier (collection of paperwork that we spent months preparing!) is off to Addis Ababa. Our dossier will sit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia until we are matched with a little baby. From the best we can tell we should be on schedule to travel by the end of 2009 to Addis to pick up the newest lil' McBaby! Boy or girl, we still don't know.... we'll probably find out in late summer/early fall (August/September)! We are just so amazed at how quickly/smoothly the entire process has gone. WACAP (our agency!) has been so helpful, knowledgeable and professional. We'll keep you posted on when we hear more, but we are very hopeful we'll have a new family member by Christmas! Get ready for the Christmas card to include one more little one!

We have a big weekend planned. Lots of beach, friends and fun! I'll make sure to post pictures next week.

Have a great evening, had to share our exciting news!

Thought for the day!!

2009-05-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

So I'm constantly inspired by the people around me! My friends and family most often---but sometimes people that I don't even know! The whole blogger world is new to me, but a world that has opened up so many new connections! Last week was a tough 'emotional' week. Poor Abby got yet another ear infection and we decided to move forward with getting tubes in her ears. Well on the day we decided, I felt very sad as a mother that I somehow had not protected my baby girl in someway. I know, silly thought, but it just always crosses your mind! So as I was having "my pity party moment" I searched some blogs and came across this sweet blog http://kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com/ . Please, please, please grab a tissue before you read it. The absolute amazing faith that this family has and the pure strength just amazes me! I have to share and please continue to hold this family in your thoughts and prayers! I'm constantly reminded by reading other peoples stories that sometimes the 'big' things in our lives seem so silly when you hear about what other's are dealing with!! Just a thought for the day! This family has touched me with their journey and really made me 're-think' a lot of things! Have you told your family you loved them today? Does it really matter how dirty your house is (Mine's pretty dirty!)? Is that little thing that your child did today really going to matter in ten minutes, tomorrow, a week from now, a month or a year? Take some time to enjoy all the good things in life. Take some time away and be grateful for all the many gifts that each of us have been blessed with!

Just a thought for the day that's been tugging on my heart!
Meredith

Mother's Day Fun!

2009-05-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

So after a few crazy weekends we finally settled down enough to take some 'family' time and enjoy each other. Saturday morning Abby and I got up early and had some time together. She had her milk, I had my coffee and we did lots of snuggling and cartoon watching. She's not even two and she's firm on what she wants to watch---ELMO, ELMO and ELMO. It's actually pretty funny, the remote comes out and she starts asking for Elmo (Not funny to Shane when it's baseball time!). After a big breakfast we made our way out for a fun day at the beach. Colleen and Todd joined us with baby Kobbe for some overdue time of R&R. Abby played hard for a few hours and then She and Shane sacked out for a few hours of napping on the beach. We left the beach about 4:30ish to come home shower, and then go try a new Thai place!! Yummy--it totally made the day complete.

Sunday---Mother's Day! We went to church, lunch and then took long naps after (all three of us!). It was such a treat to get a nap. I had a great Mother's Day with our family! We tried out a new hair-do on Abby---you can see, she was NOT a big fan of the pig tails! I can just hear her now "Mom, you really make me look ridiculous!".

We had a couple really fun nights last week of playing outside with Abby. She really loves being outside when we get home in the afternoon. The cardboard box was a huge hit and provided a few hours on entertainment!
This is my favorite picture from last week--so I have to share!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Not too much new adoption news--still waiting for the call and doing research. I'll be sending out an email in the next few days with details about Julie Mixon photos this weekend. We still have a few spots left if you are interested.

And the total is......

2009-04-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

$2,542.00!!

The yard sale on Saturday was so successful! We had a great turn out for donations, shoppers and most importantly....helpers! We had perfect weather for the event and such a variety of goodies donated. I wish I could thank everyone individually for their support, contributions of items, donations, etc....but please know we are so grateful for each of you for participating. If you weren't able to participate, we are grateful for you too!! There is not way we would be where we are without the love, support and prayers from each of you!

So after a rocky week (Abby getting double ear infections)--- the antibiotic kicked in and even Lil' Abby was able to attend the event!! My camera is MIA at the moment so I'll post some pictures when I find it (honestly--it's just that I'm too lazy to look for it, I'm sure it's around the house somewhere!). Our house is almost back in order (almost being the key word there!).

I'm ordering the extra t-shirts this week so all of you who have placed orders should be receiving them within the next week and a half.

We are so excited for a nice relaxing weekend ahead (I'll post details about that next week!) and spending time with good friends!

Thank you again and I'll post some pictures soon!

Just Flat out GRATEFUL!

2009-04-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

So I promise I'll post about the yard sale, but I had to write and say THANK YOU to whoever loves us so much and donated money directly into our Adoption savings account! I can't tell you how grateful we are for your donation! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I'm in tears over how wonderful this weekend has been and after checking our account balances tonight---the tears just keep coming! Thank you everyone for supporting us so much! I'm overwhelmed by the wonderful friends and family we have. I am speechless and can only say.... THANK YOU!

FINGERPRINT APPROVALS ARE HERE!!! WE ARE ON THE WAITING LIST!!

2009-04-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to post more information tomorrow night about the yard sale this past weekend! Saturday is amazing and I have so much to share, but for this post I'd like to focus on the fact that we received on FINGERPRINT Approvals. Thursday afternoon I went to the mailbox about 5 minutes before Shane pulled in the driveway (coming home from work for the day!). My dad was here for the week and got to share in my pure excitement when I opened up the package that contained the approval. I hadn't even finished reading the whole letter when Shane pulled in the driveway! I ran to the car to tell him the good news and then ran straight to my office to fax a copy over to WACAP (our agency!). Megan, the program coordinator, emailed us within a few minutes to set up a call for Friday (4/24). So we met with Megan via phone on Friday to discuss what the next steps will be. Megan indicated there are about 30 families on the waiting list right now waiting for a referral. With that being said, we are not sure how many people meet the same or similar criteria (wishing to adopt an infant 0-12 months), but the longest person on the waiting list has only been waiting for months. So great news!! Megan indicated she expects that we will be matched with a baby by Fall of this year and travel probably by the end of the year! So----looks like we will be spending part of our Holiday Season celebrating with a new little baby in our house if everything continues to go well.

So after months of completing lots of paperwork (called our dossier that goes to Ethiopia) it's now time for us to relax a bit, research and brush up on a little Amharic (the native ET language)! Our completed paperwork is now on a long and tedious trip to many different places! All of our papers have been sent to WA State (that is where WACAP is located). After it returns from the Secretary of WA State it will be sent to Washington DC. In DC it will have to been signed off on by Hillary Clinton (Sec of State) and then forwarded to the ET consulate. After all the appropriate signatures are obtained here in the states the documents will be forwarded to ET for translation. After the documents are translated they will sit in the ET WACAP office until we are matched with a baby! Once we are matched with a baby the documents will be forwarded to the ET courts for processing. The entire adoption will be finalized before we travel to ET to pick up the sweet little baby!

So it looks like we have a few more months to wait, but we are super excited about how fast things have happened!

I can't wait to share the information tomorrow night about the yard sale---it is worthy of it's own post for sure (and I'm far to tired to type another small book!).

Get ready for the best YARD SALE ever!

2009-04-21T17:10:00.001-07:00

Ok guys---it's just a couple days away and I refuse to stress out about a fund-raising event!

After a few curve balls everything is looking great. The yard sale is scheduled for 7am this Saturday (April 25th). The Faithfully Fit work-out will begin at 9am... so bring your clothes for a work-out break mid-morning! We'll be taking T-shirt orders on Saturday and I'll place the order on Monday (April 27th). There will also be a very talented friend (Liz Reel) there on Saturday to sell her goodies that she makes (Pacifier clips, dresses, baby slings, etc) taking special orders with a portion of her proceeds going toward our adoption.http://www.reelbabeez.blogspot.com/
Even if you don't need anything from the yard sale, please stop by to say hello and celebrate with our family and friends during this exciting time.

The location:
Temple Baptist Church Christian Activity Center (off of 17th Street Ext)
709 George Anderson Dr
Wilmington, NC 28412

Contact Info:
Feel free to call me at 910-620-7415 if you have donations that you need to have picked up or if you have any questions/concerns.

Time:
7-12 for yard sale
9am for Faithfully Fit Workout

A friend suggested that I give you a 'sneak preview' of some of the items that will be at the yard sale.... (thanks Kate!) so here we go!! Feel free to stop by Friday evening for a sneak peek, I'll even let you do some shopping "You name the price and it's yours!"---just for you early birds out there!

**Furniture - china cabinet, bed room sets, drawers, mirrors, head-board, etc.
**Tons of kids clothes, toys and equipment
**Books, records, picture frames, etc
**Adult clothes

We'll have a little of everything! We are going to advertise on Craigslist, Wilmingtonyardsales.com and with signs (any other ideas?). Make sure to spread the word. I'll send an email out to all the local people tomorrow with the details for set-up on Friday and for Saturday morning.

Adoption Update: We are waiting for the approval for the fingerprints to come through. After the approval we'll find out the approximate 'wait time'. I'll let everyone know as soon as we find out more info! Keep those fingers crossed for a quick approval.

Keep your fingers crossed for a successful event this weekend and great weather! I'll post lots of pictures next weekend.

(oooh--special thank you to all those coming in from out of town for this great event, love you all and can't wait to see everyone!)

Have a great week! I'll post pictures next week and can't wait to tell you how much $$ we raise for the next lil' McCumbee!!

Home Run Daddy!!

2009-04-16T06:38:00.000-07:00

Well things have cranked up at the McCumbee house in all aspects of life! We got back from the Easter mountain trip and hit the ground running! Baseball season cranks up this week for Shane, he's helping coach a machine pitch team (7 and 8 year olds) and playing in a Mens League (which he dearly loves!). Shane had his first game a little over a week ago and Abby was thrilled to watch 'DaDa' play! First game---Home Run! Here is a picture of Abby congratulating him after the great hit (I thought this picture was too precious not to share!).

The adoption progress continues to amaze us! Shane and I looked at each other last night and said 'Well--guess we better not make plans for Christmas'...it really looks like we might be taking a trip to Ethiopia for our Christmas vacation. We should know more about the time lines next week when we receive our 1-600 approval. After we receive the approval we'll have a meeting with the ET program coordinator at WACAP to discuss how many people are on the waiting list before us and receive a 'rough' estimate on the time remaining before referral/travel!

So exciting times in our lives! This Spring has flown by, the yard sale is NEXT WEEKEND (April 25th). I can't believe the end of April is here! My dad is coming on Tuesday and will help us prep for the yard sale next week. If you have items that you'd like for us to pick up next week, give me a call 910-620-7415 or email mccumbees@bellsouth.net We are going to be setting up on Friday afternoon, feel free to come and help or shop early! I will definitely not turn early birds away, even if you show up really early....like the day before! Come share in the fun, we can't wait to thank everyone in person for your support!

Have a great day and enjoy the great Spring Day!

Things are moving!!

2009-04-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

So we took half-days off of work on Thursday to get our fingerprints completed in Durham, NC. Our appointment was originally scheduled for April 6th, but since we were driving right past Durham on Thursday, we decided to give it a try and go on our way to the VA mtns. I had this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that we were going to show up and they were going to tell us 'tough' you missed your time, but it worked..it actually worked! Not only did we get our fingerprints 'biometics' completed, but I can only say great things about the process (Well minus the fact that I had a 'Mary Poppins' purse---a little difficult when you go through a metal detector and screening checkpoint!). So after the brief hold up in security because all of the 'random' things in my purse (including screws, yes... no clue why I had screws in my purse!), we were off to the fingerprinting room. The staff was great and Abigail was very patient. We were in there and out of there within 30 minutes.

We left the immigration office and headed to the boonies of VA for a long Easter weekend!

The house was gorgeous and it was nice to get some R&R. Shane did lots of fishing and racked up on the big catch of the weekend, a trout! We did lots of relaxing and eating... back to work and dieting tomorrow!

I forgot to post that we got all of our documents back from KY and NC. They have all been verified and we are going to send them to WACAP for review and processing this week. All of the dossier paperwork is now complete on our side. We are waiting on the fingerprint approvals and we'll be on the waiting list, YAY! Things have really picked up and it is really looking like it might be possible to make our African journey in 2009!

We've had a great response for the T-Shirts. I'll place another order on April 27th and will ship out or deliver your shirts after they are complete. Thank you again to everyone for your support! I've said this so many times, but we are so grateful to have such great friends and family!

Have a great week and Happy Easter!

T-Shirts are here and boy are they CUTE!

2009-04-06T16:17:00.001-07:00

So I picked up the T-shirts today and they look GREAT! Here are a few pictures of Abigail and I sporting our new 'tees'. Let me know if you would like to order one. We have a 50 shirts right now and depending on the need we can always order more. We have sizes 2T-Adult XL. Children's sizes are a suggested donation of $10 and Adults are $15. Email me mccumbees@bellsouth.net if you would like to own one of these fun t-shirts!

Cute shirt and a great cause!

Keep those donations coming for the yard sale, give us a call if you need us to pick anything up. If you would like to make a donation feel free to email me and I can give you the account information that we have set up at NC State Employees Credit Union (call me crazy--posting account #'s on a blog doesn't seem like the smartest idea!). We will also have someone at the yard sale/Faithfully Fit event (April 25th) collecting donations.

Thank you again for the overwhelming support!

Documents are on the way to the State of NC and KY for verification!

2009-03-30T16:41:00.001-07:00

All of our dossier documents were mailed today to the State of NC and KY for verification---insert a big sigh of relief here! After a little over a month (ok, almost two or three) of gathering documents, getting things notarized and many late nights, we are finished and have done almost all of the work we need to do! So our hard work is complete, now it's time to learn more about Ethiopia! What will we do while we are there to learn more about the culture? Trying to learn a little of the language and researching 'traditional' names and their meanings. I'm big on the 'meaning' of a name. Do you know what your name means? I don't, but when we picked Abigail (our daughter's name) I knew it was perfect after I researched what it meant. Depending on how well you know our family it just fits perfectly "Joy of her Father!"--- and we know Abigail is the Joy of her father!

The yard sale is coming along wonderfully! We've had so many people offer to donate items and volunteer their time. Thank you so much for volunteering both your time and your items. Our family is looking forward to April 25th and making it a wonderful day to celebrate the joy of bringing our little one home to Wilmington!

Pictures and Yard Sale!! YAY!!

2009-03-17T17:49:00.001-07:00

So Saturday is officially booked for 'Pictures with Julie'!! Thanks to everyone who has signed up for photo sessions with Julie Mixon for the weekend of May 15-17th. Beach pictures on Saturday are booked. I have several spots available downtown on Friday, May 15th and one or two for Sunday, May 17th.

Yard Sale Update: Shane and I picked up lots of 'goodies' tonight!! Please let us know if you have items that you need to get out of your house before April 25th and we will find somewhere to store them for you. Our house is still on the market (and slowly getting a little more traffic coming in/out), so unfortunately we aren't able to store anything else at our house. Please send me an email if you would like to volunteer to help on the 25th so I can put you on the email list for updates that I'll send closer to time.

Thanks again to all of you for your donations, support and signing up for the photos!! I continue to be amazed by the wonderful friends we have and the wonderful friends of friends!

Thank you to everyone!

HAPPY FRIDAY AT OUR HOUSE!!

2009-03-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

Big day today!! We got our appointments for fingerprints in Durham, NC!! YAY, we thought it would be at the earliest June or July. We have an appt. for April 6th!! So looks like we'll drive to Raleigh and spend the night on the 5th for our 8am appt! I don't know how we flew threw with an appt. in less than a month, amazing...absolutely amazing!

Shane and I are going to work very hard to get all the other paperwork gathered this week. Hopefully we can send off all of our dossier paperwork for verification by the end of March! After the 1-600 approval (the reason we are going for fingerprints) is approved and our documents are verified--- we are on the wait list!! FYI--average time on the wait list right now is 1-10 months! Things are moving along and we are getting even more excited!

Julie Mixon photo update.... check out her blog for more info about the photo shoots in May. http://jsmixonphoto.wordpress.com I have 3 more open sessions for Saturday (beach picture day!), several are left for Friday (downtown) and Sunday (Poplar Grove). Email me -- mccumbees@bellsouth.net if you are interested in any reserving any of the open sessions. They are booking pretty fast!

Yard Sale Update... Shane and I picked up goodies from two families this week for the yard sale. We have about 12 people that have said they will come to help and lots of people that have volunteered to bring things that day or donate before. Thank you to everyone who has helped to spread the word!

Have a GREAT weekend!

TIMES ARE TOUGH so SAVE YOUR STUFF!!!

2009-03-02T17:52:00.001-08:00

APRIL 25th!! SAVE the DATE! If you can't save the date, SAVE THE JUNK! Well junk and not soo junkie junk! We all have goodies in the garage, house and kids room that we no longer need. I know times are tough. Rather than ask for monetary donations, we'd like to request you save your extra stuff. We'll gather on April 25th from 7-12 (time may change!) and have a yard sale to help raise money to assist with the adoption costs.
Times are TOUGH so SAVE YOUR STUFF!!!

So many people have asked what is going on with the adoption. My answer "LOTS OF PAPERWORK!"...

Shane and I met with the program director on 2/23 and discussed the next few steps. Basically right now we are waiting on the lovely state of NC. Shane emailed to follow-up on our Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition (1-600) today. The government cashed our check over two weeks ago, but we still haven't heard anything....FRUSTRATING! We are waiting for an appointment to get fingerprints completed. After the fingerprints are completed we'll be one step closer to getting on the 'wait list' at WACAP (our agency!).

I went today to the Wilmington Police Station and picked up our police clearance forms (kinda scary experience because of the part of town it is in!).

We goofed in getting our letters of recommendation for our home study. We were not aware of the different requirements for the letters going to Ethiopia. A few of the letters had the notary license exp (or will expire soon). So, we are in the process of revising letters and getting them re-notarized. Thank you to those who wrote our letters, we appreciate all the hoops that you have to jump through for us.

I'll be sending out an email soon to everyone so you can book times for photos in May. Julie Mixon http://www.jsmixonphoto.com and http://jsmixonphoto.wordpress.com will be taking pictures 15th-17th of May. Email me mccumbees@bellsouth.net if you want first pick on the prime times (and don't worry if you forget, I'll be emailing you!!).

We'll keep you posted when all of our documents have been submitted, we are scheduled for fingerprints, etc. If you know anyone that works in the Durham, NC immigration office...give them a call and ask that they put our forms in the fast lane...seems like they are more in cruise control in that office.

Hope everyone has a great week! We leave on Thursday afternoon for AZ for a long weekend with Matt and Andrea (My brother and sister-in-law). Abby is thrilled to see her 'Maaaa and A-E-uh'. Keep your fingers crossed on the LONG plane ride!

Accepted! Mark your Calendars AGAIN!

2009-02-13T11:16:00.001-08:00

So we've officially been accepted into the Ethiopia WACAP program. We are going to have a meeting the week after next with the program coordinator to discuss details and things we need to do.

Mark your calendars for April 25th!! April 25th is going to be the first of many Fund-raisers for the 'McCumbee adoption fund'. We will gather at the Temple Baptist Church Activity Center for a day of fun. To start the day off we will have a 'Family and Friends' yard sale. Please begin saving your goodies, old clothes, etc. that you no longer need. If you want to donate items and need for us to pick them up please let me know. We will come get your items and keep them until the 25th. Also during that day 'Faithfully Fit' a wonderful group of ladies (and sometimes men!) are celebrating their 8th birthday. Each year 'Faithfully Fit' has a mission project that they contribute to, this year.... we are one of them...yipppeee. So we'll take a break from the yard sale activities to work out and be around lots of wonderful people. Please mark your calendars. We will need a TON of help and donations to make it a success.

Give us a call if you would like to volunteer to help, donate items or have any other ideas for additional fund-raisers.

Have a great weekend!

Documents, documents, documents!!

2009-02-10T16:50:00.000-08:00

So we've had a big week of completing paperwork!! We received the notarized copies of our home study from Nathanson on Monday. I (Meredith) took the notarized copies to the post office, WACAP should receive them tomorrow, 2/11. The notarized copies at WACAP are the only thing that are holding us from 'official' submission into the Ethiopian program. Once we are in the program we will have a better understanding of the # of couples waiting and will be able to judge the approx. wait time.

I ordered a 'live signature' birth certificate today, from Kentucky Vital Records. Shane got a money order and mailed off today for a copy of his birth certificate and our marriage license from the State of NC. Our managers are in the process of completing our 'Employment Verification' forms. Our medical and financial forms are complete. It's just a waiting game now, waiting for the forms to come back in and get our appt. from the USCIS for finger-printing.

Be sure to check back on Thursday. I'll be posting more confirmed dates of an upcoming fund-raiser that we'll need lots of help with!!

Check back with us in a few days! Hope you are having a great week!

Fund-Raising Ideas...Mark your Calendars!

2009-02-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

So it's no surprise to anyone that the cost of adopting a child, internationally or domestically is out of this world!! Shane and I clearly can't afford to front the cost by ourselves, but know that we were called to take on this adventure.... money won't stand in the way!

We have so many people in our lives that are good at so many different things. Artists, photographers, professional fund-raisers, etc...and many have volunteered their talents to help!!

Mark your calendar for the first confirmed date to raise funds to help bring the next lil' McCumbee home!

May 15-17th: Julie Mixon (an awesome friend from college and professional photographer) has volunteered her time and talents to help us raise money. Julie will be in Wilmington and will shoot an entire weekend of family, baby, pet...whatever you can think of. The proceeds of the 'sitting fee' will go directly to our adoption fund. Check out Julie's blog (http://jsmixonphoto.wordpress.com) -- she's amazing and you will be amazed when you get your pictures back, promise! Julie will take pictures at different locations and will schedule 30 minute sessions. The sessions will book for $35 (all of that going to the adoption fund!) and then you can order your prints from her web-site. Email me, mccumbees@bellsouth.net if you would like to get on the books for that weekend. Hurry-- the slots are sure to book up quickly when the word gets out!

Also-- Plans are in the works for a 'community yard sale' to benefit the adoption fund. I haven't confirmed a date/time/place, but I'm thinking early summer. Please save all your 'goodies' that you no longer need (esp. children's items--they go quick at yard sales). We'll come together for a day of fun--sell our 'goodies' and then maybe we can all cook-out. What a great way to spend the day together, get rid of 'goodies' we don't need and raise money for the adoption!!

Another talented friend (THANKS LIZ!) is working on developing a 'logo' for us! Here's what it looks like so far, I LOVE IT! I think we're going to get stickers printed (if anyone is interested!) and we're working on ideas for other items!

I'm always open for suggestions! Each of you reading this are good at something and I'd love to utilize your talents! Lets all join together (that sounds a little hippy "Come together!"--- yea I'm a dork!) and create some ideas that are a little outside of the normal fund-raising ideas!

Our 1-600 application was confirmed as 'received' today. Nathanson (Home Study agency) is forwarding the final copy of the Home Study to us (we'll forward to WACAP) and to USCIS. Another week and we should be admitted to the "WACAP program" and find out approx. how many people are on the waiting list before us!

That's all for now!! Check your calendar and email me to get first pick of the date/time to get your pictures taken!

BIG DAY!!

2009-02-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

Our Home Study was approved yesterday, Feb. 2nd without any changes from us or WACAP.

We also mailed off the 1-600A to USCIS today. As soon as we receive confirmation of receipt at USCIS, the finalized Home Study will be forwarded to complete the application. We will wait for a letter from USCIS to make an appt. to get fingerprints completed. We have to drive to Durham (about two hours) to get fingerprints completed, unless we luck up and the 'mobile' unit happens to be in Wilmington.

In the meantime, we will work on our Dossier paperwork and try to get the next step in line. Things are going very smooth so far!! Keep your fingers crossed!!

WACAP will receive notarized copies of our home study in a few days, then we can 'officially' be admitted into the program (this is when we find out how many people are on the waiting list before us!).

I'm making slow improvements to the blog, I'm new at this!!

Thanks for checking up on us, we'll keep you posted when we hear more!!

Home Study with Nathanson Adoption Services!

2009-01-25T17:51:00.000-08:00

Now that the application has been accepted, time for the Home study process to begin!

We decided to go with Nathanson Adoption Services because they had a social worker in Wilmington, NC. With a local person, we were able to consolidate the visits into three consecutive days (22nd, 23rd and 24th) and lower the overall cost of the home study.

Shane and I met with our social worker, Jennifer, two nights (about an 1.5 hrs each night). The third day (25th) was the 'home visit'. Jennifer came to our house to meet Abigail and tour the mansion, I mean our house!

All of the visits went great! Jennifer was great to work with, easy to talk to and shared tons of information with us. Jennifer will do the follow-up post-placement visits if we requests (I'm not sure how often the visits have to be conducted after we receive the child...but more to come on that!).

Application was accepted from WACAP!! Telling our Family!

2009-01-15T17:45:00.000-08:00

We received an email today indicating our application was ACCEPTED from WACAP. Now the application has been accepted...time to tell the family! The video linked below is how we told friends and family about our new 'journey'. If you haven't had a chance to view the video, let me add this disclaimer.... have a tissue ready and be prepared to shed a tear! The statistics are alarming and clearly show our intentions behind this huge step in our future.

Submission of our Application!

2009-01-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

Today we submitted our application to WACAP (World Association of Children and Parents) with the intentions to adopt an infant (0-12 months) from Ethiopia. After months of researching, hours of discussing and many thoughts and prayers... we took the big step!! We will continue to update this blog to inform family and friends on our progress throughout this adventure.

Shane's side note: If you notice that this blog isn't updated on a regular basis, please give Meredith a call to harass her (She might slack off!).