A Little More Detail Please?

So the brief tidbit about the referral is out.  You got the important stuff.  Now for a little more detail sicne the questions are rolling in.

1.  Is she healthy?

Yes, Mihret is healthy.  She will have the usual parasites going through her system and malnourishment.  In addition, she has had a bout with pneumonia, likely when she was about two months old.  The lab work we have is from when she was recovering so it shows a high white blood count and very low iron.  Requests for current lab work has been done.  With low iron, which is not really a result of pneumonia, can indicate a trait called Thalassemia so we need to know if the low iron was from something else underlying that has passed, or if it's a long term thing.  A new lab report will tell us if the iron has built back up with the iron supplements she is on.  At the time she was recovering from pneumonia, she was quite malnourished too so her weight was just under the 3 percentile.  Her height was at the 97 percentile.  Long and lean.  The pictures we received show her at 7 months old so it's obvious she's gained weight and gotten much healthier.  New measurements have been requested as well.  In short, nothing crazy or unusual.  She's a healthy little girl.

2.  Did we expect so young?

Absolutely not.  Having quite an open age range, we expected an older child as a higher number of people request younger than older.  There are a higher number of young ones being placed as of late, and it is suspected that it is because of the failing economy and people have to relinquish sooner.  

3.  How are we staying so calm?

This seems to be a very common question.  We just are.  We have about another year to go before we get her.  It's been three and half years so far.  We've learned patience.  Plus we've been through this before so we know that freaking out and wanting her tomorrow will get us nowhere except depressed.

4.  Have we been shopping?

No.  And we won't be for a long time.  We learned our lesson with Mikiyas.  We'll get what we need to get started before she comes home, but a lot of things we'll get once she is here. 

5.  When do we get her?

Optimistically, ten to twelve months.  With the recent news of MOWA cutting back their processing of files by 90%, no one has felt the effects of that taking place yet.  CAFAC advised me this morning that MOWA works the files about two weeks before the parent court date.  It's such a recent decision that they don't know how much of a delay will be caused.  Right now, the parent court dates happen three to five months post referral.  That could change and then make the whole post-referral process longer than ten to twelve months.  We shall see.

6.  Is Mikiyas excited?

Beyond excited.  He was shaking with excitement.  But he knows it's a long wait yet and he is content. 

7.  Will we be fundraising to help with our adoption costs?

We are undecided.  Although it would be helpful, there are many other causes and people that need more than we do.

8.  Will we make her name easier to say, or as some people say it, "What are you doing with that"?

Mihret can be pronounced two different ways.  Most commonly, it is Mih-he-ret, with a slight roll of the tongue on ret.  The other way is Mir-ret, like it is spelled, also with a slight roll.  CAFAC has been calling her Mir-ret so that will likely be what she will be used to.  We've also been considering calling her a shortened version, just like Miki is short for Mikiyas.  We are not fully decided on it, but will get back to you. 

9.  What happened to her parents? or Why was she placed for adoption?

As it was / is with Mikiyas, we will not be sharing the personal details of the kids' adoption stories.  It is their story, some of which they don't fully know or fully understand.  When they understand it and are ready to share it, then it can be their decision to tell you. 

10.  Are they brother and sister?

Because I know what the question means, I will say that they are not biologically related.  But to answer the question as stated, YES.  And once everything is legal, that will be the only way we answer the question as stated.