I want my baby!

We went to a picnic this weekend for families who have adopted or are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. We have all met through a google group. There were about 15 families there while we were there though I know more came later. It was such an incredible experience. I stepped out of the car as another family showed up. They started getting their kids out the car and out stepped this gorgeous little boy. I started tearing up. This actually happens. We will be doing the same very soon. There were several families there who already had one, two, three, four...adopted children. And there were some like us still in the process. Many already had biological children of their own before they adopted, just like us. It is difficult to put into words how amazing it was to gather with other people who have been through what we are doing right now and to see the results. It was encouraging to say the least. We got some great advice for traveling, finalizing the adoption here in the States, the state of the orphanages, etc.

Z had a pretty good time. I think it was just a bit overwhelming for him. He's just not used to that big of a group of people. They did have a great playground, jumping castle, and lots of bikes to play with. I think the children of different races scared him a bit. It was almost like their color was frightening too him but I know that will get better with more exposure. It's pretty normal. We tried explaining to him that his little brother or sister would look a lot like these kids but he was too distracted to listen.

We ran into a couple from our prior church in Wash Park at the picnic. They just recently returned with their three old daughter. We did not know them very well while we attended DCC and had no idea they were adopting. So that was really neat. It is so valuable to have connections like these while in the process and after.

There will probably be another picnic in August for more opportunities to connect and get to know people. We will also begin attending the monthly group meetings soon. These meetings cover things about adoption and about Ethiopia itself. The last meeting was on Ethiopian cooking but we were unable to go. Yeah for GOOGLE.

Let it all out

All illusions of privacy are gone. We have survived our second home visit, it (all the minute details our lives) is all out now and there is no going back. Seriously though, it wasn't that bad and we understand the need for this disclosure. It is surprising, however, how intimate things got. We answered some more questions together and then did interviews separately about our history, our spouse's history, and family history and about our marital relationship. It went well, as far as we know, and we will be finishing up next week. For those of you who know our families, pray that we will still get accepted after all of that.

So this week I am on a mad rush to get all the rest of the paperwork done. I need to get copies of birth certificates and our marriage license. I need to schedule appointments for physicals. Z and I probably don't have to go in but considering I. hasn't been to the doctor in several years, they will probably make him come in. Ha! I need to passport photos done and send in a reapplication just to get my name changed on mine. We both need to get fingerprinted and then fill out a few more forms. Maybe I should hire someone to help me. Angelina Jolie is lucky!

Second Visit

More adoption news. We had our second adoption class on Saturday. It was good. We talked about sign language especially using it as a bridge for language barriers or post-institutionalized children who may have language delays. We have already started teaching Z so that he can use it to communicate with his little brother or sister too. He loves it. Then we talked about racism and having a multicultural/multiracial family. Sadly we had to leave early and didn't get to hear much of this lecture. Two more classes to go! They do not do classes in the summer so our next one will probably be in September.

Our home visit last week went great. Our social worker is super nice and easy to talk to. We will be having our second visit tonight. More questions! Please pray some more. And our third visit will be next Monday, the 11th. We hope to have all our paper work in by that night. Then she will write up the report and we will move on to the Dossier.

We have filed our I-600A which is the Citizenship/Immigration form for our child. This usually takes between 6-10 weeks to process and is another big part of the process. Yea! Moving right along.

Everything is moving so fast right now. It is exciting. After we finish the Dossier, however, we will just be waiting for 6-7 months to get a referral for a possible child. We will need to find lots to do in that time to keep us busy so we don't go completely crazy.

Second Visit

More adoption news. We had our second adoption class on Saturday. It was good. We talked about sign language especially using it as a bridge for language barriers or post-institutionalized children who may have language delays. We have already started teaching Isaiah so that he can use it to communicate with his little brother or sister too. He loves it. Then we talked about racism and having a multicultural/multiracial family. Sadly we had to leave early and didn't get to hear much of this lecture. Two more classes to go! They do not do classes in the summer so our next one will probably be in September.

Our home visit last week went great. Our social worker is super nice and easy to talk to. We will be having our second visit tonight. More questions! Please pray some more. And our third visit will be next Monday, the 11th. We hope to have all our paper work in by that night. Then she will write up the report and we will move on to the Dossier.

We have filed our I-600A which is the Citizenship/Immigration form for our child. This usually takes between 6-10 weeks to process and is another big part of the process. Yea! Moving right along.

Everything is moving so fast right now. It is exciting. After we finish the Dossier, however, we will just be waiting for 6-7 months to get a referral for a possible child. We will need to find lots to do in that time to keep us busy so we don't go completely crazy.