Dossier and Cruise

Some exciting adoption news: this week our dossier was mailed to Ethiopia! This means that we are now on "the list" and eligible for a referral. What THAT means is that as soon as a pair of siblings comes into AAI's care over in Ethiopia that matches our request (siblings under 2, at least one girl) and that no one higher up on "the list" is interested in, we will be notified and have the option to accept the children. Very exciting!

However, from all reports, it will probably be somewhat of a long wait. We're trying to settle in and not be impatient, though it's hard! We would love your prayers during this time, that God would be watching over our children, wherever they are, and that He wouldn't make us wait TOO long. :)

We just took our first real "vacation" since we've been married: a cruise to Mexico (Royal Carribean) at the end of September and had a fantastic time (minus what I will refer to as the "forgotten driver's license dilemma.") Lots of good food--I think we must have gained about ten pounds each! We left out of Los Angeles (San Pedro) on a Monday evening and docked in San Diego the next morning. Monday afternoon, right after boarding (thank you to my mother who saved the day by rounding up people at Creston School to repeatedly fax my driver's license to US Customs officials until they finally got a fax that was clear enough for them-boy were they picky), we enjoyed a big buffet style lunch. Then we hung out until it was time to go to dinner. We got to sit by some really awesome people, Sheila and Megan, who we really enjoyed getting to know over the course of the cruise. That evening we checked out some of the entertainment aboard the ship. We also took advantage of the late-night (11 p.m.!) Mexican buffet.

The next morning we docked in San Diego. After sleeping in (I referred to our room as a dungeon, as it had no porthole and was pitchblack 24/7 unless you had the lights on), we had a big breakfast onboard and set off to explore the San Diego shore. We got to see some really neat ships, and also went to the top of the Hyatt to see a BEAUTIFUL view of San Diego, the water, etc. We headed back onto the ship for lunch. Kevin entered a ping-pong tournament, but unfortunately lost in the third round. Most of the people playing weren't as good as him (we own a ping-pong table for goodness' sake!), but he had to play one of the best people in the third round. Kevin climbed the rock wall that afternoon as well, and we spent some time up on the pool deck. More good dinner and company and entertainment that evening.

Wednesday morning we arrived at Catalina Island. We got up early and took the ferry to the island (about a ten-minute trip)--the big cruise ship drops anchor a ways off-shore. We went kayaking and it was an amazing way to see part of the island. It was also a lot of work! We walked around for awhile, ate lunch at a cantina and went on the glass-bottom boat. We headed back to the boat late in the afternoon. I took a nap while Kevin went back to the rock wall. :) That night was formal night. We got dressed up and attended the "Captain's Gala" in the big theater. There were complimentary appetizers and drinks, which was fun. The ship's captain, from Norway, came out and talked about the ship. Not too exciting but it was fun being waited on and being dressed up. Afterwards we headed off to dinner. We stayed up late to enjoy the amazing midnight dessert buffet, complete with ice- and chocolate-sculptures. It was quite a sight to behold! We were so exhausted however that we downed our food and went to bed.

Ensenada was the final stop on the cruise. Thursday we got up early, ate breakfast, and got onto a charter bus to go to Fox Studios Baja. The studio was built to film "Titanic" and some of the sets are still up. They have the old car from the movie, for example. It was pretty neat to see all of the recognizable scenes. They also had some displays from "Planet of the Apes" and some other movies too.

The neatest part of Ensenada, however, was the bus trip to the studios. It was about an hour-long trip through Ensenada and then up the BEAUTIFUL coast. It was so neat to see a bit of Mexico and learn some of the history behind the country from the tour guide. The last night on the cruise we enjoyed some time out on the deck looking out on the vast ocean. Pretty amazing. (I think the cruise rekindled my enjoyment of traveling--I can't wait to go to Africa!)

Friday morning we returned to San Pedro, and drove home. The cruise was tons of fun but we were both so happy to get back home to Anna!!!! We missed her terribly--I think it was too long to be away. But we had a great time and she had a WONDERFUL time with Grandma and Grandpa Perruzzi. I hear she even got to treated to breakfast at Starbucks!

That's the latest news here. Please keep us, our adoption, and Ethiopia in your prayers!