Monday Update # 7 - Vacation coming up

I know it's Tuesday, but this is the MONDAY Update. It's my blog, I get to name the posts :)

First, let me say I am touched that you are reading this blog. Thanks for sharing this time with me, even if it is quite uneventful for the moment. It's fun to know my friend Sarah is reading this in her mountain escape, Jenny the supermom out in the boonies (hee, hee), Elizabeth in the midst of being a newish mom and a pastor, our moms, my dad in Brazil, Megan (though she only cares about Samba updates), our cousin in France, new bloggie friends in CA, WI, MA & NH who are amazing marathoners, gardeners, artists, professors, world travelers, interior decorators, polyglots and articulate bloggers all at once. Yes, once you adopt from Ethiopia, or even think about adopting from Ethiopia, you are apparently given superhuman powers and can do ALL OF THIS plus raise beautiful, self-confident kids who will change the world by the time they are five and a half. I can't wait to get my powers! (I hear they are in the mail.)

Here is our newest project: the back porch. At some time in the near future, this will be a playroom. It is a perfect place, because it opens up to the kitchen on one side and the study on the other (we spend a lot of time in these rooms) and has nice windows from which to watch the birds outside. I plan to put gates at either entrance and make it a big pit where the kids can have at each other. JUST KIDDING... Right now, Bill is tearing up the ceiling which had water damage from before we replaced our roof. Next, we will be having the fun task of pulling up two layers of yucky, cheap linoleum to see how many palmetto bugs we can find (if Julie from LA is reading this, DO NOT click on the link!!). After that, I hope I can make enough $$ at EF to replace it with Bamboo flooring. Otherwise, we will just seal up all the cracks and put down more cheap linoleum.

More fun coming up, as Bill, Samba and I embark on a mountain adventure. Though most years you would have found us backpacking 20 miles out in the wilderness for 5-7 days, this year we are staying at a friend's cabin in the mountains. (I don't think my back could carry a backpack at this point.) Some friends have GRACIOUSLY offered us their place free of charge. I look forward to doing NOTHING in the mountains where we can escape this HEAT (it was 99 degrees today!). I look forward to some down time with meu amor and my doggie.

After a week out last year

Though we will miss these previous opportunities: sitting under a rock with all of our gear while it pours down rain and the sun quickly goes down before we've set up camp; picking around 40 ticks off our poor doggie's body and who knows how many off our own; throwing a temper tantrum halfway up a steep mountain and refusing to climb further (it wasn't a good idea to throw my backpack halfway down); seeing our cooking pot float down river; having Samba chase a mama bear and her cubs out of the woods; having Samba push us to the extreme opposite ends of the tent every night; trying to keep Samba from leaping to her death as a puppy when she found herself on a ledge above us; having an unidentified critter eat through our food bag suspended up a tree; having to dig a hole to use the bathroom; having giant foot blisters and hip bruises; falling forward with a 40 lb pack strapped to your back; and sleeping on a giant root (ouch). Seriously, these things have happened, but we have found so much MAGIC and PEACE out deep in the woods! I think we'll find some of it in this little cabin, too.



So, next week, there won't be a Monday Update, unless I decide to do one on another day again. I can already tell you, there won't be any sibling referrals and that is okay for now*****. I will vacation from the Internet even if we have access, so to everyone, have a wonderful few days. I look forward to catching up on the blogs and the news when I get back.

***** For any readers outside the Ethiopia adoption world: Ethiopian courts (which handle foreign adoptions) close from mid August to mid September every year. There are usually very few (if any) referrals during this time. Thankfully, our agency has had and is having a lot of families travel before the closings to get their kids. This means that there are a lot of empty beds (30-40) that will be filling up and hopefully there will be a wave of referrals once the courts open again. Let's hope some young siblings come in. *****

Number of referrals for young siblings in the past week: 0