Blog #1, the Announcement

Hello Everyone.  I've started this blog to keep family, friends and anyone who's interested up to date on our adoption.  That's right, we're adopting.  We decided a long time ago that if we did not get pregnant within a year of Chris re-deploying that we would start the adoption process. 

Well we did just that and last August, after hours and hours of research, we chose an agency to do a Domestic Infant adoption through.  We want a baby, like anyone would. We didn't care about the color or gender, shoot we didn't care if it was twins!  Because of those loose "restrictions" we placed, the agent told us we could be matched with a birth mother oh so very quickly.  We were terribly excited at the thought of having a child home by Christmas.  Then our emotions dropped drastically when we realized that we need all of that money in such a short short time.  I know there are tax credits and Army credits but those are just reimbursals.  Then there are organizations that will give grant money to those adopting but they all said it would be around $3,000.  Our first payment would have needed to be nearly $10,000.  Ouch.  So we walked away sad and just as desperate as before. 

The longing never left us. The need to raise children in a Godly way, to love them, hold them, teach them never left.  We didn't know what to do. How could we ever raise that much money? 

I help do the childcare for MOPS at my church. If you don't know that's Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers.  I love working with kids and these dear children are tons of fun.  So, four times a month I go teach, play and sing with these kids.  About once a month I get asked if I'm a Thursday mom or a Friday mom (the childcare rooms aren't big enough for all the kids so it's split to two groups).  I try to brush it off and just say "Oh I don't have any kids, I love working with them though".  And I usually get the response of something like "Oh that's so great of you to do this", like I'm this hero working with kids without having any of my own.  I didn't realize having a child is a pre-requisite to working with one.  I hate getting asked that question. 
Well I went off on a rabbit trail here.......A month or so ago, at our MOPS steering meeting, we were going around the table and saying if we were moving or staying (and staying in our position or want another one).  Well I didn't realize how emotional I would get!  I started crying before I could even talk.  FINALLY I was able to get some words out.  I stated that I am not moving but I will not be returning as a coordinater for moppets because I needed to get a job or make money somehow to pay for an adoption.  The wonderful ladies prayed for me and expressed their support.  Then we moved onto a devotion reminding us that God will give us what we ask for in prayer.

Well that lit a fire under my butt.  Why are we just sitting around waiting for someone to drop a baby in our lap?!  Perhaps we should look more towards international adoption.  I've actually heard that it could be cheaper (or at least the cost more drawn out) than a domestic adoption.  So that very day I talked with Chris and told him how I felt, and he agreed.  The next day, he looked up the different countries that Americans are allowed to adopt from. He looked at all of the variables, length of process, cost, how many & how long of trips required and basic requirements needed for each country.  For example, to adopt from China, you have to be at least 30.  When adopting from Russia, there are two trips required, one of about 3 weeks and another of 6-8 weeks.  For a week we did nothing but research and pray.  We narrowed it down to a few choices and I decided it was time to get an opinion.  I texted my brother Jason and asked him what country he recommended.  He replied with Ethiopia, Uganda or Peru.  Peru has about a 4 year wait for adoptions, Uganda requires you to live in the country for about 3 years and Ethiopia, well that was one of our top choices.  Since Jason spent about a month in Ethiopia last year, I knew it was an educated recommendation.  We took the weekend to think and pray about Ethiopia.

It didn't take long for me to know that Ethiopia is the country for us.  So there ya go, we're adopting from Ethiopia.  While researching countries, we were also researching agencies.  We have decided on Holt International.  They are an amazing organization that you can find more about at www.holtinternational.org you can also support children around the world and the homes in Ethiopia that they run.  I highly recommend reading about their history, it's amazing what a strong willed Christain woman can do! 

We know that this is the best decision for us.  While I don't think that God made us infertile so that we cannot have children but so that when a dear child becomes an orphan in Ethiopia, we are here waiting to take them into our home and be their forever family.  We would love to adopt two siblings under the age of 5 but the agency said that it can be rare so we should be open to a single child...and we definitly are!  Now please, I don't want to hear any sympathetic comments about how "oh God will allow you to get pregnant eventually, it's just not His timing now".  We really don't want to focus on pregnancy or infertility.  I can't say that I'm over that and maybe I never will be but God will get us through that pain.  We must focus on preparing ourselves to take in a new child or two that may very well be traumatized from losing one or both of their parents. 

So now we have to finish filling out the application (they left an important document out of our packet so we're waiting on that).  Hopefully this next month's budget will allow the $300 needed to go with the application as well.  As most of you know, we had a pipe burst earlier this month and the plumber and cleaning of that pretty much tapped us out.  (and no, insurance didn't cover it, it was $85 under our deductible)  After our application is approved, we will start the homestudy, mostly paperwork collecting but we will need to come up with anywhere from $1,200-$2,500 to complete the study.  That should take about 2 months.  We are trusting God to supply our needs.  Once our homestudy is done, we can apply to different organizations and ministries for grants...which actually can give much more than $3,000 (that info is thanks to a dear friend at MOPS). 

Well, I think that's all for now.  I'll keep posting to keep you updated on the entire process.  There may also be a blog or two expressing frustration but I hope not!  Hopefully this summer I can start putting stuff up on www.etsy.com and make some money!!  I love you all and thanks for your support.