PAPERWORK FRENZY!!!

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. We are definitely in the thick of our paper pregnancy. Overall, I would have to say that it has not been so bad. Kevin is almost completely done with his part. All he has left is his autobiography. I am having my tuberculosis test with the kids tomorrow and have my physical on Wednesday. We sent off for all of our police/FBI reports today, and I am going to send all of our birth and marriage certificates this week to be certified by their respective secretary's of state. The home study packet should be finished in a week, and then we'll be ready for home visits by our case worker. Once that is completed and typed we'll be able to send in our dossier. I am sure I am missing a couple of steps there, but I think we should wrap up the paper part by January being the earliest.

God has been so good to surround us by families who are adopting. I am so thrilled for one of my friends, Jamie Jo, who is very close to being in Rwanda (literally on her way there) to pick up her precious baby girl, CiCi. She has been a life saver in guiding me through the paper work frenzy and has really enabled me to take the frenzy OUT! I was very touched that she without a flinch handed over her binder containing her dossier and homestudy and told me to look at hers to help out with mine. She did say though, that if my house burns down to grab this binder before I get my kids :) Another friend, Kari, has been a God send as well. She wrote a post in our Ethiopia Yahoo Group explaining all the "coincidences" we shared. We recently started playing bunko together, her son is in my husband's class, go to the same BIG church, and then to find out we are both going to be adopting from Ethiopia. I feel blessed that God would think enough to place others in my life to be a support and to allow them to weave their life threads into the blanket of my life. It's amazing!!!

Why Africa?

Kevin and I have been asked that question quite frequently lately. Some also wonder why we are not adopting in the United States. I know that I have not addressed that question as intelligently as I could have or maybe should have. So many issues have been on our minds. It has been a feat to get to the point where we are at right now. So many times we struggled with doing what we thought would be best for our family. There are so many considerations when contemplating adoption. What about the costs? What about the emotional stability of a child who could need intense attention and patience due to a hard first few months of life? What about our kids adapting to a new member of the family? Believe me the list goes on and on. The bottom line is that God put this into our hearts, and we have to be true and honor what we believe God wants to do in our lives. The details will fall into place. That doesn't mean it will be smooth sailing, but it does mean that we have the assurance that God will be with us and give us wisdom when we encounter the waves.

Now to Ethiopia. Ethiopia is leading the continent of Africa as having the most orphans. Currently there are over 4 million orphans. Most are orphaned because of extreme poverty due to drastic drought and flooding, but about half a million are orphaned by parents who died of HIV/AIDs. By 2010 over 18 million Africans will be orphaned by AIDS. When we decided to adopt, the biggest considerations that came into place were who has a need and where is God drawing us to. We knew we wanted an infant, so we felt confident that the babies in the United States have an excellent chance of being adopted. We were first drawn to China, but when the time came closer to making a decision, China became more intensive to adopt from (up to a four year wait to adopt). When we noticed that America World began an adoption program in Ethiopia, there was an immediate feeling of "this could be it". After weighing the options and lots of prayer, we felt like this was where our paths were heading toward. In the scheme of things it may seem insignificant to be helping just one of millions, but I can't help but thinking of how Scout will feel about this some day. To know that she was one in a million who was given a different way out of a desperate situation.

Moving Right Along

We're feeling official a little more each day. Last night we got a call from our Home Study Coordinator, Steffany. She told me that I will be getting a call from a Local Home Study Case Worker, Shannon, to set up the first of three meetings. A part of compiling our home study is attending a workshop in KC. Since they only have these workshops once a month and the workshop date in November conflicts with previous made plans, Kevin and I are dropping everything and attending the October workshop which just happens to be in two days!!! This will be informative because they address topics like attachment and bonding, talking about adoption with your child, issues in adopting trans-racially and trans-culturally, and other issues pertaining to adoption. This weekend we will also get our home study packet, so we will be quickly immersed in paper work. I kind of feel that my job as a special education teacher has been preparing me for this moment. If you know anything about Special Education Teachers, you know that we reign supreme as the queens/kings in the area of tedious paper work, so bring it on!!!