Abiding

Abide (verb):

To wait
To pause
To delay
To stay
To continue in a place
To have one's abode
To dwell
To sojourn
To remain stable or fixed in some state or condition
To continue
To remain
To wait for
To be prepared for


That about sums it up.

Now, because I know you'd be disappointed about waiting 25 days for this post and just getting the above material, I will expound...

The above picture is a shot from our nursery. Niiiiice, right? I believe it is a perfect summary of our current life. Let me note that while February tends to make me feel a little grey around the edges, I do not feel that itchy kind of impatience that just simmers under every surface (in regards to our adoption). I am abiding. I like that word. A lot. To me, it implies a patience and stillness that does not usually accompany waiting. A discipline and obedience. It also makes me think of fast falling eventides, deepening darkness, and the Help of the helpless. Don't get me wrong--I have my itchy moments, but overall my heart is just truly striving to abide.

Update on the adoption process for all you curious cats: We are on our agency's waiting list, and the next step will be a referral. (A referral is simply when they refer a specific child to us, in our case an infant 0-12 mos, and we have the opportunity to "accept." The referral will include all available information on that child, including a very sweet and much anticipated picture.) We then wait for a court date to be set in Ethiopia, during which we will be represented by someone from our agency. After we pass court, that child is legally considered "ours." A travel date is set after court is passed. Our "ballpark estimation" (aka: waaaay open to change) is that we might receive a referral at the end of March and be able to travel sometime this summer.

Now to use the above picture to describe our recent activities...

(1) The crib is assembled. It is beautiful and I love it and I am currently leaving it alone until we receive a referral.

(2) Inside the crib is a baby doll. We take the doll out of the crib once every day and say "Ohhhh sweet baby, I love you," in our baby voices. Moses inevitably comes running into the room, thinking we are speaking to him. We hold Fake Baby down for him to greet. Initially, he sniffed, licked, and then started chewing on Fake Baby's plastic hand. (He's a smart one, that dog.) He is only praised when he sniffs and walks away, which he now does. And I'm positive he is thinking, "Those looney people--that is a FAKE baby."

(3) I came home with an 18-24 mo. sized Star Wars t-shirt the other day, and I thought Nick was going to pass out from sheer joy and excitement.

(4) We moved our bookcases (pictured on the right) from their old spot (where the crib now resides) to the opposite wall. They hilariously leaned AWAY from the wall in Pisa-esque fashion. (Apparently the floors in this 60-year old rental home are not level? What?) We laughed, I documented the event on Facebook, and we moved the shelves to a different wall (with a much more level section of floor, of course). Hours later, I check FB only to find lots of public concern over the safety issue of my leaning bookshelves. *Sigh* Mother-guilt: I am already SO over it.

(By the way, the blue fabric underneath Nick's favorite teenytinytshirt will be used as curtains behind the bookshelf doors, so I can store whatever I please inside! Well, that was the original thought, but now I like the fabric so much I might use it for curtains instead! Let's face it--although fabric-hunting/nursery-decorating/teeny-tiny-clothes-purchasing is the ultimate materialistic side of becoming a parent, it is just so much stinkin' fun. "Nesting" is a universal motherhood-preparation experience, prego hormones or not.)

(5) I think I will look back on this photo in years to come and find that it sentimentally reminds me of the "abiding era." Oooo, stuff is a mess and all cluttery and crazy around here. But our hearts, minds, and house-space are slowly growing in expectation for our new child. We are "expecting."

So we're off this weekend to celebrate a post-Valentine's/pre-Anniversary/Babymoon in lovely Destin, FL, courtesy of a B&B gift certificate generously given to me last fall and some flight vouchers we scored around the same time. Almost-free vacay! I. Can't. Wait.