Gray Skies are Gonna Clear Up...

Name that tune! :)

Today was some day. I went to the dentist because my jaw hurts so bad when I chew that I've been living on SlimFast, broth, and peanut butter on a spoon for two days. Anyone surprised that the cause is that I've been clenching my teeth for the last couple months? (It's not just the adoption stuff -- there's some other drama going on with people very close to me.) But the good news is that now that I know what's going on, I can stay conscious of it and stop doing it, and do some things to heal it. And, I found a great new dentist. :)

Even better news... when I got home our home study was in the mailbox! Whoohoo!!! So tomorrow that will be mailed to USCIS with supporting documents. It took about a week to get our Vietnam approval once the correct documents were sent, so if everything goes smoothly we'll have our USCIS approval for Ethiopia late next week. Then we take a huge stack of documents to be notarized (there is a notary at John's work that has been super nice about helping us out with this). THEN, two documents get sent to the Secretary of State to be State Certified, which should only take a week, and then we can send in our dossier!!!

On the Vietnam front -- the negotiations have been postponed. No word on a new date for talks to begin. Thank God we decided six months ago to pursue a concurrent adoption in Ethiopia! It's taken me that six months to let go of Vietnam. Not that I don't still get waves of emotion when I read new information about what's going on with it, but the waves are much quicker and shallower than they used to be. I really don't think Vietnam will open back up for at least a year, and really, that would probably be best for us. We'll have time to complete our Ethiopia adoption and then figure out what we want to do from there. It feels good to NOT feel much when Vietnam comes up.

So I've been reading There Is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene. It's the story of an Ethiopian woman who agrees to take in an orphaned teenage girl, and suddenly becomes flooded with orphaned children needing a home. The story of how her life evolves is interspersed with factual information about Ethiopian culture, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and international adoption from the sending country's side. I'm about 2/3 through it, and it's a well-written book that keeps your attention. I'm one of those people who reads at bedtime, and it's been awhile since I've found a book that I wanted to pick back up during the day. I can easily recommend this book! Check it out: http://www.amazon.com/There-No-Me-Without-You/dp/1596912936/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225348231&sr=8-1

One last thing: a shameless plug for my new online shop. I promise not to break out a bright blue sequined gown with giant letters spelling out the web address a la Macy Grey (anyone remember that?), but here it is in plain old black and white:

www.terrapincreek.etsy.com

I'll be adding new items throughout the holiday season, so check it out every so often for handmade jewelry and gifts! :)