Well, all UPS employees should be looking forward to a generous Christmas bonus this year, due exclusively to all of our cross-country overnight envelopes.
In other news, we're on the waitlist! Our dossier needed a few changes which were promptly made. We finally got our *number* yesterday, and we're officially waiting! I think this is the first time it's felt real, and I'm taking suggestions on how to calm myself down. Preferably without a prescription.
Our new family. Baby E is still a Paper Baby. Crappy phone picture because I'm on my lunch break and won't remember to do this tonight
After waiting anxiously all day for the news regarding our dossier review, we received an email that it hadn't gotten reviewed on Friday. There was an in-office cleanup day that pushed all work behind. When I read that email, I released the white-knuckle grip I had on my cell phone for the past 8 hours, smiled cheerfully and said "that's OK, I know I'm not in control!". Oh wait, no, I actually started crying and speaking in a verrrrrrrry high-pitched voice about how frustrated I was.
However, after a weekend full of the two sweetest boys in the entire world, a husband who graciously allowed me to pout instead of being productive, and lots of baked goods from Wegman's, I'm feeling much better.
However (yes, another one), if I don't know something tomorrow about that dossier, I will likely turn to...I don't know what...please just hug me.
The title speaks for itself. A lot has been going on in our adoption world within the past 6 weeks, and it's definitely time for an update.
List and picture form, because I'm feeling verbally lazy:
Home study: Aaaannnnd I lied already. I have to abandon the list/photo form for a quick story. We completed our home study checklist and sent all the documents into the agency. The very next day, I dropped off some books to a friend at her work. We hadn't seen each other in awhile, and we were chatting for awhile in her (shared) office. After some adoption Q&A, we started talking about how nervous I was for our upcoming home study. As soon as we got onto this subject, her colleague walked in. She mentioned that he is a social worker and often does adoption things. You know where this is going right? He turned out to be THE social worker assigned to our home study!!!! This was phenomenal, considering the home study agency we were using was 2+ hours away. God definitely has a sense of humor :-)
Our home study meetings were actually really enjoyable. The social worker was great, and our study was complete within two weeks. Getting it approved by AGCI, however, was a different story. The draft had a long four-week journey to its eventual approval: Social worker - us - social worker - home study agency - adoption agency - HSA - SW - us - SW - HSA - AA - HSA - SW - HSA - AA. Four weeks. Lots of nail biting. BUT it's done!
The last week has been a whirlwind in Adoption Land. Our dossier had been sitting around patiently for the last month, just waiting for the home study to arrive
Dossier Checklist - Each check mark added a bit of sanity back into my life
The day our home study documents arrived was a happy, happy day. I spent an hour in my office organizing the final dossier lineup, then it was off to UPS. I asked the UPS man if he would poke some holes in my Paper Baby's shipping box. He wasn't amused.
My Paper Baby. She sleeps through the night
Isn't my Baby E the cutest Paper Baby you've ever seen?
On our way to UPS. No, I'm not kidding. Safety first!
Just FYI, overnight shipping across the country was only $48. Not too shabby. Our dossier arrived yesterday, safe and sound, to AGCI. And tomorrow it will be reviewed. The last three months of our lives have been a whirlwind of paperwork, and tomorrow it will be approved. I hope! If so, we will officially be on the waiting list, and I'll be able to share our first official number!
Please, please, please let tomorrow be the end of this portion of the Paperwork Pregnancy. And maybe it could be the end of these as well?
The adoptive mother's stretch marks
We're moving right along with the home study portion of things. Our home study requires that we gather all of the paperwork BEFORE they come to do the interviews, so that's where our efforts have been focused. For those who are not doing the Paper Pregnancy along with us, here's a list of things we've been assigned to gather...
- birth certificates for all 4 of us
- (4) letters of reference
- certified copy of marriage license
- letters of employment
- a copy of our deed
- letters from each of our physicians stating we're physically and mentally healthy
- copies of tax returns for the past 3 years
- State police clearances
- Local police clearances
- FBI clearances (also had to get fingerprinted for this)
- child abuse clearances
- copies of passports
- copies of driver's licenses
- copies of health insurance cards
- current bank statements
- another financial statement stating our net worth
- guardianship info in the case of our death
- Signed contracts
- completion of adoption education
Whew! It's taken a lot of lunch breaks to get through that list. There were also fees involved with most of the things on the list. My favorite: two expedited passports - $380. Ouch
We just finished our online adoption education today. Our adoption agency and home-study agency use the same online courses, so that was nice. Now we just have to finish the "With Eyes Wide Open" workbook, and we'll be able to cross it off of both lists.
Besides the seemingly endless paperwork chase, I think the most daunting part of the adoption has been the financial aspect. With costs approaching $30,000 for an Ethiopian adoption, we've been doing a lot of brainstorming for fundraisers. Our first fundraiser will be something very near and dear to my marriage - coffee! Coffee is a staple in our marriage, and we were excited to find out that coffee actually originated in Ethiopia. How cool is that? So when I saw this adoption fundraiser, I knew it was meant to be :-) For every bag of coffee sold, $5 will go directly towards our adoption fund. Please help us in spreading the word!
Hello, friends and family. Welcome to our adoption blog! There are so many of you and only one of me, so hopefully this mass-communication is more effective than my email and phone call-replying abilities (which are not effective in the least).
So, the basics....
- Why? - Why not? We have a lot of room in our hearts, a little room in our home, and an incomplete family. Add that to the fact that I would rather eat glass than ever be pregnant again, and hey! Adoption! No, really, I've always wanted to adopt. I feel very called towards the aid of orphans, and I've been waiting patiently for the right time to begin. I can't explain how excited I am to finally be acting upon this lifelong desire!
- Where? - Ethiopia. We really feel like our daughter is in Ethiopia, and we can't wait to meet her and know her story. Each country has their own guidelines for adoptive families, and our family meets their "rules" the best.
- Who? - A baby girl! Because we already have two boys, we have the option of specifying a gender preference. I never realized how much I wanted a girl until I allowed myself to fantasize about the possibilities of a shopping buddy.
- When? - I don't know. A year? A year and a half? Two? I have a real peace about this part of the adoption, for now :-)
That's a good place to start. I'll leave you with some facts about Ethiopia. This should answer any more questions pertaining to "Why Ethiopia?".
The median age in Ethiopia is 17.8 years
44% of the population is under 15 years old
There are 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia, and 720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone.
88% will never attend secondary school
Ethiopia's doctor to child ratio is 1 to 24,000
Half of the children in Ethiopia will never attend school
One in six children die before their 5th birthday
One in ten children die before their 1st birthday
1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (6th highest in the world)
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