Bagels & Interviews

I heard from our social worker and we have our first home study interviews scheduled for February 17th & 18th. She is up in Bellingham, so I get to go back to my old stomping grounds. I probably haven't been to Bellingham since I graduated from college. I have great memories of that area and I can't wait to show Jason a little bit of its charm. I may be looking forward to a bagel at The Bagelry more than anything else though. I think Jason will enjoy Boundary Bay Brewery more!

The wait begins already

DEFINTITON: Waiting upon God is exercising confidence in God's timing and help during difficult times.

Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired,They will walk and not become weary. Isaiah 40:31

I am not good at waiting. I don't want to wait on God. I want things to happen when I want them to happen!

Today I ask God that this time of waiting is used to bring me closer to him. That through this waiting I become more dependent upon God.

I know waiting is not easy. My heart will cry out in pain, but I know that God uses this time to remind me that I must depend upon Him so that I know it is only He who does wonderful things in my life. Ultimately then, God protects me by waiting, because when I wait I must deepen my trust in Him, seek His way and bring Him the glory through it all.

I can't get the spell check to work, so please forgive me for any mistakes!

Let's Wrap Up Some Babies!!

Just wanted to let everyone know about Mary Owlhaven's blog today. For those of you who don't know, she is mother to 10 and four are from Ethiopia. Go check it out-there is great stuff happening.

Yippee!!

I just finished my 51 page personal profile! (J only has a couple of pages left in his.) I can't tell you how many hours we have put into them and it feels great to be done. The profiles are for our home study and they are full of questions that ask about EVERY aspect of our life. Once we get these turned in and our references in, our social worker can begin the interview process. It feels good to see the process moving forward a bit.

AGCI Gathering

Yesterday, J and I attended a potluck in Seattle for AGCI families. We had such a great time and met so many wonderful people. There were families who were already home with their adopted children, some waiting to travel, some waiting for referrals and some chasing paper like we are right now. We were very happy to meet a couple who are just starting the process for Ethiopia like we are and they live pretty close to us.

It was uplifting to see so many kids home with their forever families and doing so well. There were 5 adorable babies from Ethiopia, twin girls from China and two little boys from Guatemala.

We also got to meet our caseworker, who we are talking to weekly as we get through all the requirements, and our social worker. Both who are so helpful and will make this process as easy as it can be.

Brothers & Sisters

E is the most affectionate child. He loves his big sister more than anything. When he wakes up in the morning, the first thing he says isn't mommy or daddy, it's diddy (L in E speak.) I am so excited to see this love that God gave them for each other grow and extend to their new sister.

The paper chase begins...

We had our orientation phone call on Friday. AGCI (All God's Children International) led us through the steps in the adoption process.

Right now there is plenty to do and a place for us to focus all our attention. We received our Home Study packet on Thursday and are beginning the process of getting everything together for it. A Home Study is something all adoptive and foster parents complete in their state of residence. Once completed, it basically states that we are fit people to parent. Why you don't have to go through one of these to have a biological child I don't know! Some of the requirements are very simple like getting fingerprinted and gathering copies of birth certificates. Others are a little more daunting. J and I have to separately complete a 50 page personal profile. It feels kind of like taking a test that you really don't want to fail, because the stakes are so high.

We have signed all the paperwork and one of J's lovely sisters is coming to notarize them all this afternoon before I drop them in the mail tomorrow. Once AGCI receives this round of paperwork, we will be assigned a case manager and receive our Dossier (more paperwork). Our dossier includes the home study, and is basically a set of legal documents that will include our marriage license, birth certificates, financial statements, medical records, etc.

I know that for us the hardest part will be in several months when all this paperwork is done and we have to begin the waiting game. Once everything is approved and translated, we will have 2-6 months to wait for a referral for a child. Once we accept the referral, we wait 3-5 months for it to reach the Ethiopian courts. The courts approve the adoption and then we are invited to come and pick up our baby. We will try to keep ourselves busy during this time by focusing on fundraising. We plan to do a car wash or two, have a dinner of some sorts and a garage sale.

We are overwhelmed with the support we are receiving from our family and friends . Thanks for being excited for us and for keeping us in your prayers. We are so thankful that God has blessed us with such wonderful love and support!