Wondering who we would have as our new coordinator Samuel and I both received calls today from Sarah. After a delightful, heartfelt conversation with her we are both VERY happy to have made the switch!! With a heart for adoption and her clientele, she put us at ease and made us feel not only comfortable with the switch but excited it had happened!!! PRAISE GOD HIS WAYS ARE GOOD AND HIS PROTECTION COMPLETE!!!
As far as our wait Sarah shared with Samuel that there was a pending baby boy referral awaiting medicals before being ready for referral. She also stated, however, that there was a family whose baby boy referral had developed an illness and that the family was now deciding if they felt comfortable moving forward with the adoption. If they did once the referral information was gathered for the new baby and he was referred we would be #1 if not they would get the new baby referral and we would not move on the list. It may take a few weeks for all this so... more waiting...
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
A good lesson...
The situation presented by both coordinators at our agency have offered us the opportunity to share it as a life lesson for our family. We have discussed the ramifications or gossip, rumors, innuendos, restoration and communication. What a delight when what the enemy means for evil God turns to our benefit! HE indeed is good!
As far as our Embassy issue I emailed another coordinator, who I have had occasion to talk to via phone on a more personal level, and she gladly said she would take care of the situation. That was on the 15th and today (the 18th) she forwarded us the Ethiopian Embassy email stating the situation was noted and clear. Praise God!!!
As far as our Embassy issue I emailed another coordinator, who I have had occasion to talk to via phone on a more personal level, and she gladly said she would take care of the situation. That was on the 15th and today (the 18th) she forwarded us the Ethiopian Embassy email stating the situation was noted and clear. Praise God!!!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
New direction...
I called the worker at the agency I spoke to last Saturday. I called just to see how she was doing, along with her sick granddaughter who she had brought in with her the Saturday she was fielding calls. We had a great conversation, noting how much "lighter" things felt at the office and mentioned we would be hearing from the director shortly (who had been on vacation when all this transpired).
The email, which we just received, was very encouraging. The director noted that there had been a very small minority that was unable to work within the team-oriented atmosphere she tried hard to engender, that by mutual decision, the employees were no longer at the agency and that they looked forward to a more positive, cooperative working atmosphere.
From my conversation earlier with the agency worker it looks like they are already on their way with this!!!
The email, which we just received, was very encouraging. The director noted that there had been a very small minority that was unable to work within the team-oriented atmosphere she tried hard to engender, that by mutual decision, the employees were no longer at the agency and that they looked forward to a more positive, cooperative working atmosphere.
From my conversation earlier with the agency worker it looks like they are already on their way with this!!!
Monday, December 15, 2008
As the coordinators turn...
My title for this post is definitely meant to bring to memory the crazy scenarios of soap operas in connection to what is happening at our agency, LOL! (BTW, haven't seen one of those in over 25 years!)
After reading a post from another family stating that our coordinator had said she was also leaving our agency, and with families increasingly upset, I decided to email our coordinator. Unfortunately her response proved vague and full of innuendos, yet amazingly it did NOT get me upset...AT ALL. I emailed her trying to encourage her to think about her own future career in adoption, the undo stress she was causing clients, and asked her to reconsider her form of communication to other families. Unfortunately I received a broadcast email a bit later (it went to all her clients) which was a repeat of the one she had sent to me personally. Very sad...
Oh and our situation with the agencies name and the Embassy? In the midst of all this back and forth she was unable to take care of it, though she suggested we email the embassy ourselves to handle it. I think I will just call the agnecy and ask them what to do.
So how are we feeling with all of this? Not frazzled at all as in our opinion, the behavior of both of these coordinators called into question their own professionalism rather than the agency's . Hard to explain but other than feeling the need to try to help this young woman out and encourage other families "this will all work out" we are at total peace!
After reading a post from another family stating that our coordinator had said she was also leaving our agency, and with families increasingly upset, I decided to email our coordinator. Unfortunately her response proved vague and full of innuendos, yet amazingly it did NOT get me upset...AT ALL. I emailed her trying to encourage her to think about her own future career in adoption, the undo stress she was causing clients, and asked her to reconsider her form of communication to other families. Unfortunately I received a broadcast email a bit later (it went to all her clients) which was a repeat of the one she had sent to me personally. Very sad...
Oh and our situation with the agencies name and the Embassy? In the midst of all this back and forth she was unable to take care of it, though she suggested we email the embassy ourselves to handle it. I think I will just call the agnecy and ask them what to do.
So how are we feeling with all of this? Not frazzled at all as in our opinion, the behavior of both of these coordinators called into question their own professionalism rather than the agency's . Hard to explain but other than feeling the need to try to help this young woman out and encourage other families "this will all work out" we are at total peace!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Where is the compassion?
With our agency's Yahoo group "chatting" about the situation with the coordinator who resigned, and with "talk" of our coordinator leaving, I decided to call another coordinator I had communicated with via email and phone before we signed on with the agency. I also called the agency to talk to someone as well.
Noting that I was not really phased by the situation I asked for clarification (both volunteered to work taking calls that day). Hearts notably full of anguish for the families, they explained as they could. Piecing together their accounts and my own experiences, I was satisfied that the issue at hand involved employee and not agency issues.
So to answer my title question, I found it in the hearts of the two women I spoke to today. Their hearts bent towards meeting the emotional needs of adoptive families and ultimately the children they desire to adopt I was blessed to share with them, encourage their hearts and and commend their commitment to work on a Saturday because of their compassion for the families.
Noting that I was not really phased by the situation I asked for clarification (both volunteered to work taking calls that day). Hearts notably full of anguish for the families, they explained as they could. Piecing together their accounts and my own experiences, I was satisfied that the issue at hand involved employee and not agency issues.
So to answer my title question, I found it in the hearts of the two women I spoke to today. Their hearts bent towards meeting the emotional needs of adoptive families and ultimately the children they desire to adopt I was blessed to share with them, encourage their hearts and and commend their commitment to work on a Saturday because of their compassion for the families.
Friday, December 12, 2008
No news from our coordinator...
We have not heard back from our coordinator about our agency name issue, which is pretty odd and she usually works quickly. In the mean time I checked our HS and it appears our placement agency's name is NOT on there. Apparently she missed that on her review. Not sure where we will go from here and hopefully she will email us about this soon. I think being so close to #1, and remembering the "paperwork issues" that right as we hit #1 closed the doors on what was to be a second adoption in Taiwan, has me a bit antsy. Time to pray and give this over to the Father!
On another note there has been a bit of drama involving another coordinator at the agency. For unstated reasons she has decided to leave the agency without any notice except an email stating her departure with innuendos concerning the agency. It has several families very upset and concerned of course about the agency's credibility. Being the daughter of 2 social workers, one an LCSW director of several family preservation programs, I had heard over the years of issues concerning my mother's workers and knew this coordinators form of notification was definitely VERY unprofessional. Innuendos put doubt in some families minds about the agency but really left me questioning her own professionalism. No fear going on here.
On another note there has been a bit of drama involving another coordinator at the agency. For unstated reasons she has decided to leave the agency without any notice except an email stating her departure with innuendos concerning the agency. It has several families very upset and concerned of course about the agency's credibility. Being the daughter of 2 social workers, one an LCSW director of several family preservation programs, I had heard over the years of issues concerning my mother's workers and knew this coordinators form of notification was definitely VERY unprofessional. Innuendos put doubt in some families minds about the agency but really left me questioning her own professionalism. No fear going on here.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
USCIS/Placement Agency
I recently saw a post on our agency's Yahoo group from one of their coordinators stating that the placement agency's name must be written on the USCIS application so that the Ethiopian Embassy will know when to schedule your VISA interview during your "Forever Family" trip. Since we had changed agencies I wondered if this was all in order for us so I emailed our coordinator. She first told us to check ourselves with USCIS here locally but when that did not work said she assured us she would ask the Ethiopian Embassy about our case.
On another note...Though our coordinator has been on top of our paperwork it really has been increasingly hard for me to contact her. Not that she in unavailable, she answers emails quickly, just that conversations with her are distant so it has been hard for me to want to contact her. Her heart does not seem to be in it and we do not feel she is our advocate. Just a gut feeling and hard to explain unless you have been in this scenario. Of course I look forward to "the call" (our referrals!) but just wish it was from someone else since she just does not seem she is "happy" for us.
On another note...Though our coordinator has been on top of our paperwork it really has been increasingly hard for me to contact her. Not that she in unavailable, she answers emails quickly, just that conversations with her are distant so it has been hard for me to want to contact her. Her heart does not seem to be in it and we do not feel she is our advocate. Just a gut feeling and hard to explain unless you have been in this scenario. Of course I look forward to "the call" (our referrals!) but just wish it was from someone else since she just does not seem she is "happy" for us.
Monday, November 24, 2008
So besides celebrating...
what else is done once you get a referral? What about getting your referral information reviewed by a doctor? Someone posted this question on our agency's Yahoo group and here was my response:
"For our first adopted daughter, who was sn, we had a few doctors look over her medical information before and during the process so we could be set up for her when she came home. We were blessed to have a great doctor who looked at her updates (it took 5 months for her adoption to be completed), along with dear friends who helped us understand her updates and keep a close eye on her progress.
At the time we lived in Tampa, FL and knew we had all the major specialist we could need right in our backyard. Actually her first neurologist appointment was at 8am the day after we arrived home from Taiwan as she had 2 seizures when we were there to bring her home.
For our second daughter the information was so minimal there was not much that we could not decipher ourselves. Though not 100 % sure we were pretty certain she would have a cranial issue (we could see it in her photo) BUT as we knew she was ours we just dealt with it once she was home. In the end she had tortocolllis, believed to be from her development in the uterus as her ear on that side is also misshapen. In her case we had no updates as we traveled 6 weeks after referral, so not much for a doctor to keep track of."
This time we also expect very little medical information, with the bulk of it being the blood testing results and measurements.
"For our first adopted daughter, who was sn, we had a few doctors look over her medical information before and during the process so we could be set up for her when she came home. We were blessed to have a great doctor who looked at her updates (it took 5 months for her adoption to be completed), along with dear friends who helped us understand her updates and keep a close eye on her progress.
At the time we lived in Tampa, FL and knew we had all the major specialist we could need right in our backyard. Actually her first neurologist appointment was at 8am the day after we arrived home from Taiwan as she had 2 seizures when we were there to bring her home.
For our second daughter the information was so minimal there was not much that we could not decipher ourselves. Though not 100 % sure we were pretty certain she would have a cranial issue (we could see it in her photo) BUT as we knew she was ours we just dealt with it once she was home. In the end she had tortocolllis, believed to be from her development in the uterus as her ear on that side is also misshapen. In her case we had no updates as we traveled 6 weeks after referral, so not much for a doctor to keep track of."
This time we also expect very little medical information, with the bulk of it being the blood testing results and measurements.
Friday, November 21, 2008
The REAL waiting has begin...
Today we received an email from our adoption specialist telling us we are now #2 on the list!
After a month or so of quick movement on the baby boy list our time has finally come to really WAIT. What I mean is that since (as we were told) there are no more outstanding or pending baby boy referrals, and of course there can be no way to know when there will be a need for more baby boy families, we have no idea when we will move up the list again. This is the most difficult and bittersweet wait for us. On the one hand we are of course excited, encouraged and filled with hope to parent two more blessings BUT it is now that our hearts are especially heavy thinking of the difficulty, despair and hopelessness that will lead our children into our lives. It is a sobering time as you wait rejoicing at the possibility of adding to your family yet faced with the reality that our joy comes from someone else's devastating loss.
Looking at our two adopted daughters I often think of and pray for their birthmothers, thanking God their birthmothers chose to give them life and praying they will somehow be comforted in their decision to have someone else parent them...
After a month or so of quick movement on the baby boy list our time has finally come to really WAIT. What I mean is that since (as we were told) there are no more outstanding or pending baby boy referrals, and of course there can be no way to know when there will be a need for more baby boy families, we have no idea when we will move up the list again. This is the most difficult and bittersweet wait for us. On the one hand we are of course excited, encouraged and filled with hope to parent two more blessings BUT it is now that our hearts are especially heavy thinking of the difficulty, despair and hopelessness that will lead our children into our lives. It is a sobering time as you wait rejoicing at the possibility of adding to your family yet faced with the reality that our joy comes from someone else's devastating loss.
Looking at our two adopted daughters I often think of and pray for their birthmothers, thanking God their birthmothers chose to give them life and praying they will somehow be comforted in their decision to have someone else parent them...
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Surprise email
We just got a unsolicited (I would have emailed for information tomorrow, LOL!) email telling us we are now #3 on the baby boy list! She also told us that there was one outstanding baby boy with no more pending referrals (meaning there are no more baby boys waiting for medicals or other paperwork to be official referrals).
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Perspective....
With our first adoption I just KNEW that getting our HS done and getting on the waiting list would greatly relieve my desire to have my baby home...boy was I WRONG!
We were on the waiting list a few weeks before changing agencies (due to their inexperience with the country) and amazingly ended up at the same number in our new agency! We knew the other families on the list and it was fun to see us all move up the list, until the moving stopped, that is. What was originally meant to be a couple of months stretched to, 3, 4, 5, 6... and we never did make it to #1. I think we were 5 when we chose to adopt our princess who was a special needs waiting baby. I never imagined I'd be happy that the list had gone slow (she had just been placed for adoption internationally) and that we never had made it to #1 since that meant adopting our daughter.
For our second adoption we seemed to fly up the list, hitting the single digits in just a few months, until the list all but stopped moving. Remembering our first adoption and the miracle we had experienced to bring OUR daughter home made the situation easier, though not easy! Over the next several months knowing those "ahead" of us on the list was exciting as one by one we knew we were finally making it to the "top". I remember the day we knew we were #1 on the list as the family ahead of us had accepted their referral. We were over joyed and excitedly awaiting official word from the agency. What should have been a joyful email telling us we were #1 on the list was actually news that the doors to our adoption had been closed along with our dreams of adopting from the country. Though our hearts were broken we knew God had called us to adopt so we prayed. Within a few hours we had a renewed vision and the doors began opening to bring our now 2 yo daughter home to be ours.
At the beginning of this adoption we faced many hurdles, including the closing of the Viet Nam program. Our hearts were saddened but remembering God's faithfulness to us in the past we prayed once again. In HIS goodness HE lead us to Ethiopia. Our road was filled with bumps until we understood the hold up (we were to adopt 2, not1!) and as soon as we changed that things went much better. I just checked with our previous agency and we would have been #320 now! With that in mind being 4 is, well, GREAT!!! Perspective in everything...Please feel free to remind me of this when I am going crazy waiting!!!
We were on the waiting list a few weeks before changing agencies (due to their inexperience with the country) and amazingly ended up at the same number in our new agency! We knew the other families on the list and it was fun to see us all move up the list, until the moving stopped, that is. What was originally meant to be a couple of months stretched to, 3, 4, 5, 6... and we never did make it to #1. I think we were 5 when we chose to adopt our princess who was a special needs waiting baby. I never imagined I'd be happy that the list had gone slow (she had just been placed for adoption internationally) and that we never had made it to #1 since that meant adopting our daughter.
For our second adoption we seemed to fly up the list, hitting the single digits in just a few months, until the list all but stopped moving. Remembering our first adoption and the miracle we had experienced to bring OUR daughter home made the situation easier, though not easy! Over the next several months knowing those "ahead" of us on the list was exciting as one by one we knew we were finally making it to the "top". I remember the day we knew we were #1 on the list as the family ahead of us had accepted their referral. We were over joyed and excitedly awaiting official word from the agency. What should have been a joyful email telling us we were #1 on the list was actually news that the doors to our adoption had been closed along with our dreams of adopting from the country. Though our hearts were broken we knew God had called us to adopt so we prayed. Within a few hours we had a renewed vision and the doors began opening to bring our now 2 yo daughter home to be ours.
At the beginning of this adoption we faced many hurdles, including the closing of the Viet Nam program. Our hearts were saddened but remembering God's faithfulness to us in the past we prayed once again. In HIS goodness HE lead us to Ethiopia. Our road was filled with bumps until we understood the hold up (we were to adopt 2, not1!) and as soon as we changed that things went much better. I just checked with our previous agency and we would have been #320 now! With that in mind being 4 is, well, GREAT!!! Perspective in everything...Please feel free to remind me of this when I am going crazy waiting!!!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Nothing new, but confirming clues
Samuel asked our adoption specialist for an update and was told we were still officially # 4 on the wait list for two baby boys. She also mentioned that there were still outstanding baby boy referrals they were waiting to receive formal acceptance paperwork for and that when that happened the list would be updated.
Did you see my red letter notations, LOL? Still looks like she is saying there is more than one referral they are waiting on to update the list, but the latest clue is that the outstanding referrals are for baby boys!!! Are you following my thoughts, here? I'm no Nancy Drew and we'll see how it pans out in the next couple of weeks to see what number we are but this is getting sooooo exciting!!!
Did you see my red letter notations, LOL? Still looks like she is saying there is more than one referral they are waiting on to update the list, but the latest clue is that the outstanding referrals are for baby boys!!! Are you following my thoughts, here? I'm no Nancy Drew and we'll see how it pans out in the next couple of weeks to see what number we are but this is getting sooooo exciting!!!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
JUST Waiting...
It hit me yesterday that we are JUST waiting. What exactly does that mean? Well after months of calling near and far to get things done, filling out STACKS of paperwork, chasing down documents, marking our "X" until our hands dropped off and waiting for this and that to get here and there, we now have NOTHING to do but W-A-I-T!!!
On one hand it is a GIANT relief that our dossier is now complete, in Ethiopia and all we have to do it wait to meet our babies. On the other hand waiting with nothing to do makes the process somehow feel less real. Well at least we have NO LACK of things to do at home. In fact we are using a new "family style" unit study curriculum and having that foundation set before the boys are home will be wonderful. I am already re-working our schedule so I get my "heavy" time with the older girls from 5-8 am (we did not change our schedule with the time change) and again at nap time and some in the evening. With Amelia now an active 2 year old the new schedule will give her more mama time not to mention extra time for Annelise who is chomping at the bit for learning time.
Hmmm, all this sounds really good and the time a gift from God...remind me of this when I am going crazy with the wait, LOL!!!
On one hand it is a GIANT relief that our dossier is now complete, in Ethiopia and all we have to do it wait to meet our babies. On the other hand waiting with nothing to do makes the process somehow feel less real. Well at least we have NO LACK of things to do at home. In fact we are using a new "family style" unit study curriculum and having that foundation set before the boys are home will be wonderful. I am already re-working our schedule so I get my "heavy" time with the older girls from 5-8 am (we did not change our schedule with the time change) and again at nap time and some in the evening. With Amelia now an active 2 year old the new schedule will give her more mama time not to mention extra time for Annelise who is chomping at the bit for learning time.
Hmmm, all this sounds really good and the time a gift from God...remind me of this when I am going crazy with the wait, LOL!!!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
They got it!
We finally heard a bit ago that our dossier had been picked up at DHL and it now at IAN Ethiopia!! WHEW!!! Praise God!!
The next step you ask??? It is now going to be translated, which will take 3-4 weeks, so it can be ready to submit for approval once we get our referrals!
The next step you ask??? It is now going to be translated, which will take 3-4 weeks, so it can be ready to submit for approval once we get our referrals!
Friday, October 31, 2008
End of the month update...
We wanted an end of the month update so I asked our adoption specialist if this would be our last move up the ladder for a while. She had told us previously we would see more movement but I was not sure if she meant just to #4.
I just saw her response now (we were out voting!). She said she expects further movement in the next 2-4 weeks since there were still referrals pending (referrals that were given out but had not been officially accepted) and since she mentions 4 weeks (Families only have 2 weeks to accept a referral.) I am sure they are waiting for medicals on new referral as well. Anyway VERY exciting!!!
My heart has surely been full with prayers for our baby boys. wondering who they are, where they are and when we will "meet" them. Abba has been faithful to give me HIS grace to stand and wait, knowing HIS plan is perfect!!!
I just saw her response now (we were out voting!). She said she expects further movement in the next 2-4 weeks since there were still referrals pending (referrals that were given out but had not been officially accepted) and since she mentions 4 weeks (Families only have 2 weeks to accept a referral.) I am sure they are waiting for medicals on new referral as well. Anyway VERY exciting!!!
My heart has surely been full with prayers for our baby boys. wondering who they are, where they are and when we will "meet" them. Abba has been faithful to give me HIS grace to stand and wait, knowing HIS plan is perfect!!!
That was fast!
Our VISA 37 was received!!!
Subject: RE: Visa 37 Check
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 3:13AM
From: ConsAdoptionAddis@state.gov
To: kniseleynook@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Visa 37 Check
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 3:13AM
From: ConsAdoptionAddis@state.gov
To: kniseleynook@hotmail.com
Good Morning,
Please find the following response for your inquiry:
I-600A expires 08 Mar 2010
Finger Print expires 27 Aug 2009
Approved up to 2 male children, related or unrelated, 0-24 months
Regards,
IV/Adoption Unit
Thursday, October 30, 2008
God's creation...
I asked our adoption specialist if we had a new waiting list number and the answer was YES!!! We are now #4!!!
So for fun...
Four: four sides. Ancient Hebrew, the four sides of a square
On day 4 the foundation of the earth was complete and ready for life.
Commandment 4: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy!
4 winds of the earth (Rev. 7:1)
4 corners of the earth (Rev. 7:1)
4 horns of the golden alter
So for fun...
Four: four sides. Ancient Hebrew, the four sides of a square
On day 4 the foundation of the earth was complete and ready for life.
Commandment 4: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy!
4 winds of the earth (Rev. 7:1)
4 corners of the earth (Rev. 7:1)
4 horns of the golden alter
VISA 37 CABLE
So you have no idea what this is? Well I had no idea what this was either until this month! The VISA 37 cable is a cable sent from our local USCIS office to sent to the National Visa Center who then sends it to the Embassy, in our case in Ethiopia. It lets them know we have been approved to adopt along with information about our aproval like for how many children, the gender, the expiration of our fingerprints and the expiration of our approval.
At the request of our agency, I put together an email to the Embassy in Ethiopia to have them confirm their receipt of our VISA 37 cable. Our adoption specialist said it would take a day or two to hear back from them.
Oh, still no word about our dossier being picked up by the facilitator.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The eagle has landed!!!
Our dossier has arrived in Ethiopia!!! Praise God! Now it will be picked up by the agency facilitator and begin the translating process. I am not sure how long this usually takes but will find out.
The other news we received today is confirmation that our official standing on the list will not change until the family who received the referral officially accepts the referral.
The other news we received today is confirmation that our official standing on the list will not change until the family who received the referral officially accepts the referral.
Prayer requests...
As we pray for the boys we wanted to ask you all to pray along with us.
- Please pray for the babies' health. We have heard of several babies who have died during the process (this happened in Viet Nam as well).
- As we move up the waiting list and knowing that it is God who sets the solitary in families, please stand with us as we pray for "our" children to be referred to us, those are are truly in need of a family, those boys He has called to be our sons, those boys we can bless as a family and train as arrows for His Kingdom.
- Agree with us that there will be some connection with these boys so that we can discern they are "ours".
- As far as the process please pray for our paperwork to arrive safely in Ethiopia and for the translation be completed without hitches.
- Please pray that the boys paperwork is in order and without issue.
- Pray specifically for all the necessary signatures to be on all the documents, and all documents needed are available for the court process.
Friday, October 24, 2008
List jumpin???
Just got an email a bit ago from someone with our agency who I have been corresponding with for a few weeks. Her family had been #3 during the court close down and was recently told they were #2 . Anyway she let me know that they got their referral today!! They are going to have his medicals looked at on Monday or Tuesday, just to be safe, and then accept the referral. I am sure they are going to have fantastic weekend!!
So if you are keeping up with my mind here you know what I am thinking. We have probably just hopped into another place…well at least unofficially! You do not “officially” move up the list until the family accepts the referral (signs the paperwork) but unofficially we are 4 or maybe even 3 since they were #2 before the referral! Ok, so at this point I am preparing my heart to sit at our next number for a bit, as I am sure this flurry of activity will be over soon BUT it sure is fun and amazing to JUMP up the list so quickly!
And it's off...
Just got an email letting us know that our dossier is bundled up and awaiting the DHL man to come and take to begin the journey to Ethiopia! It will be picked up today by 4pm and typically takes about 5 business days for it to arrive in Ethiopia.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
More news today...
Just heard that our adoption documents will be sent out to Ethiopia either tomorrow or Tuesday of next week. (Our adoption specialist is off on Mondays.) When it arrives back at the agency tomorrow it just needs some post-it notes marking somethings for the facilitator in Ethiopia, our Power of Attorney added along with our passport photos. It will then be shipped via DHL and will typically take about 5 business days for it to arrive at the agencies facilitator in Ethiopia. Of course they will be tracking it every step of the way!!!
Grace, grace, grace, grace...
We just got some great news from our agency that was wonderful and a revelation of God’s goodness. This week there was a flurry of activity at the agency and we are now OFFICIALLY #5 on the wait list. I just KNEW in my heart that the next official number we were going to be was 5! Why? Five means grace!!! So we have the boys' names and our agency's name which all mean God is gracious and now we are number 5! Just another reminder that this adoption is the Father’s plan and can only be completed by HIS grace!!!
And there was more news. Our documents, which are presently in at the Ethiopian Embassy in
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Baby steps...
Today we got a couple of tidbits of information from our adoption specialist. The first is that there are no families ahead of us (or after for that matter) currently waiting to adopt 2 baby boys. That mean that if twins do become available (though a rarity it is of course possible) they would be referred to us.
The second tidbit was very exciting. The last document our agency needed for our dossier (a document they generate) was received by them today from the their states Secretary of State. This means that tomorrow our dossier is going to get packaged up and sent to Washington D.C. for authentication. They should have it back by late next week and then it is off to Ethiopia! PRAISE GOD!!!
All these "baby" steps really add up and we are so blessed to know when we are "past" each of them. We are extremely grateful we have such a wonderful adoption specialist who is on top of all this and who is sensitive to keep us in the loop.
The second tidbit was very exciting. The last document our agency needed for our dossier (a document they generate) was received by them today from the their states Secretary of State. This means that tomorrow our dossier is going to get packaged up and sent to Washington D.C. for authentication. They should have it back by late next week and then it is off to Ethiopia! PRAISE GOD!!!
All these "baby" steps really add up and we are so blessed to know when we are "past" each of them. We are extremely grateful we have such a wonderful adoption specialist who is on top of all this and who is sensitive to keep us in the loop.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Already moving??
Well it looks like our place at #7 will not be for too long. I just saw on our agencies Yahoo group that a family received a referral for a baby boy which means we may be hearing soon that we have moved up the list and down in numbers!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
We are all done!!!
Earlier today I tracked our new agency license and was quite relieved to see it had arrived. Our adoption specialist was kind to send us an email to confirm it's arrival and also let us know they still needed a copy of our USCIS VISA approval. After getting it to them via email/PDF we are officially all done with our part of the dossier! The agency has one document that they are waiting on from the Secretary of State of Colorado, (I believe it is their agency license) which should arrive any day now, and and then our entire dossier will be complete and go to the Ethiopian Embassy to be authenticated!!!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Off to Raleigh again...
Samuel left early this morning to Raleigh to gft our last dossier document certified. He called during the say to let us know when it was all done and had already taken it to Fed Ex for it to go to oue placemnt agency. It looks like tomorrow might be the day we are finally done unless they was the new court document.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
We have a number!
When we found out we would not be getting our last document into our agency when we thought I decided to ask our adoption specialist what number on the wait list we WOULD have been if we could have gotten on the list next week. This was her response:
Sent:Fri 10/10/08 1:19 PM
"Hi guys-
I'm sorry for the trouble you are having! I am going to make a special consideration and place you on the wait list today. You did such a quick job correcting your documents and I have no doubt that this will be corrected soon too.
You are family #7 on the wait list. However, these lists are going to be moving in the next couple weeks. We are waiting on medicals for children and then will be giving referrals. Have a great weekend!"
I was floored when I saw this and was between shouting, screaming and crying. I know the journey ahead of us is long but to finally be waiting to meet our babies is such a milestone!!! We praise God for this gift, HE IS SO GOD!!!
Did you notice we are 7? Isn't that just perfect? The number of perfection, completeness, wholeness, HIS sabbath and HIS rest! Isn't God awesome???!!!
Amazingly right after this email we received a call from our homestudy agency. Miraculously they had received the new license, NOTARIZED!!! Samuel had them send it to us USPS overnight so he can take it Monday to be certified in Raleigh (The girls and I will stay home and cook up an Ethiopian feast!) and then send it to our placement agency via Fed-Ex. Amazingly it should arrive at the agency when it would have originally!
Sent:Fri 10/10/08 1:19 PM
To:kniseleynook
"Hi guys-
I'm sorry for the trouble you are having! I am going to make a special consideration and place you on the wait list today. You did such a quick job correcting your documents and I have no doubt that this will be corrected soon too.
You are family #7 on the wait list. However, these lists are going to be moving in the next couple weeks. We are waiting on medicals for children and then will be giving referrals. Have a great weekend!"
I was floored when I saw this and was between shouting, screaming and crying. I know the journey ahead of us is long but to finally be waiting to meet our babies is such a milestone!!! We praise God for this gift, HE IS SO GOD!!!
Did you notice we are 7? Isn't that just perfect? The number of perfection, completeness, wholeness, HIS sabbath and HIS rest! Isn't God awesome???!!!
Amazingly right after this email we received a call from our homestudy agency. Miraculously they had received the new license, NOTARIZED!!! Samuel had them send it to us USPS overnight so he can take it Monday to be certified in Raleigh (The girls and I will stay home and cook up an Ethiopian feast!) and then send it to our placement agency via Fed-Ex. Amazingly it should arrive at the agency when it would have originally!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Bigger Little Bumps....
We just got a message for the director of our homestudy agency stating that the new license should be at their office by Monday. That means our Monday trip to Raleigh to get it certified will have to be postponed to Tuesday. Just one more day but after months of paper tracking, pushing and peddling one day seems like forever. Not to mention the fact that we cannot get on the waiting list until we have all our documents in to the placement agency. My honey's response? Just more water to pour on the altar!!!
Little bumps, here and there
Every adoption has its bumps and easy paths, valleys and high places...and this one is no different. Amazingly when the new license arrived at our agency yesterday it was NOT notarized. Our agency director was very apologetic, even though it was really not his fault and planned on contacting the social servoes department who take care of this as so as possible. The new plan is to have them resend the license...but this time notarized!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Almost there...
Just got word from the director of our HS agency that their new license has been issued! Hopefully we can get it either tomorrow or Friday, then after getting it certified we pray it will be on our adoption specialist's desk by Tuesday. Once that happens we will be on the waiting list!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Triumph!
On 2/14/08 I posted in my blog about the miracle of God’s provision for our adoption. We were completing our application for USCIS and were about to fill in the box that would determine the maximum children we could adopt. For those who have followed along in my blog you might remember Samuel's income was barely enough to adopt one, but with renewed vision, and unbeknownst to us, Samuel called the last company that had not sent him his 1099. You should have seen him when he came down this morning with calculator in hand. He asked me to look up the USCIS chart and how much we would need to adopt 2, and then with a BIG smile turned the calculator to reveal the amount. Adding in his reimbursement income the amount surpassed what we needed. Well that day the girls and I had been writing baby names on the board. Of course one was Courage which we had already felt led to use, and among several others was Triumph. As soon as Samuel showed us the amount we all looked at the name and yelled out, “Triumph”!
Here’s a note from Samuel:
Last night I was irritable because I felt frustrated at not accomplishing what I thought I should have accomplished. I was also frustrated because I felt like I didn’t have the tools necessary to accomplish what I felt I could accomplish. This morning when I was talking to the Lord, I heard Him ask me if I wanted to continue pursuing success and accomplishment or if I wanted His triumph. I then remembered the following verse: But thanks be to God, the One always leading us in triumph in Christ, and the One revealing through us the odor of the knowledge of Him in every place. (2Co 2:14 LITV)
Triumph=G2358 θριαμβεύω thriambeuō three-am-byoo'-o From a prolonged compound of the base of G2360 and a derivative of G680 (meaning a noisy iambus, sung in honor of Bacchus); to make an acclamatory procession, that is, (figuratively) to conquer or (by Hebraism) to give victory: - (cause) to triumph (over).
When I looked up the word “triumph” in the Hebrew, I found the following, which correlates with today’s feast (Yom Teruah-Feast of Shouting):
Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to Elohim with a voice of singing! For יהוה Most High is awesome; A great Sovereign over all the earth. He subdues peoples under us, And nations under our feet. He chooses our inheritance for us, The excellence of Yaʽaqoḇ whom He loves. Selah. Elohim shall go up with a shout, יהוה with the sound of a ram’s horn. Sing praises to Elohim, sing praises! Sing praises to our Sovereign, sing praises! For Elohim is Sovereign of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding. Elohim shall reign over the nations; Elohim shall sit on His set-apart throne. Nobles of peoples shall be gathered together, The people of the Elohim of Aḇraham. For the shields of the earth belong to Elohim; He shall be greatly exalted. (Psa 47:1-9) Singing (Triumph KJV) H7440 רנּה rinnâh rin-naw' Shouting: kjv: cry, singing, rejoice, joy, gladness, proclamation, shouting, sing, song, triumph.
As I was meditating on this, the Father reminded me of something that I didn’t even connect. A while back He had told me that I had been resisting His grace. Now He was asking me if I wanted to continue chasing accomplishments or if I wanted His Triumph. Then it hit me that Hannah and the girls had come up with the name “Triumph” for one of our sons’ middle names. I was also reminded that children are an inheritance from the Lord and felt Him show me that He was bringing the inheritance (the two boys) He had called to be a part of our family!
It is good to give thanks to יהוה, And to sing praises to Your Name, O Most High; To declare Your kindness in the morning, And Your trustworthiness each night, On ten strings, and on the harp, To the sounding chords of the lyre. For You have made me rejoice with Your work, O יהוה, I shout for joy at the works of Your hands. O יהוה, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep! A senseless man does not know, And a fool does not understand this. When the wrong spring up like grass, And all the workers of wickedness blossom, It is for them to be destroyed forever. But You, יהוה, are on high forever. For look, Your enemies, O יהוה, For look, Your enemies do perish; All the workers of wickedness are scattered. But You lift up my horn like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil. And my eye looks upon my enemies; My ears hear the evil-doers Who rise up against me. The righteous one flourishes like a palm tree, He grows like a cedar in Leḇanon. Those who are planted in the House of יהוה Flourish in the courts of our Elohim. They still bear fruit in old age; They are fresh and green, To declare that יהוה is straight, My rock, and in Him is no unrighteousness. (Psa 92:1-15)
Shout (Triumph KJV) H7442 רנן rânan raw-nan' Shout: kjv: sing, rejoice, shout, cry
By this I know that You did delight in me, Because my enemy does not shout for joy over me. (Psa 41:11)
Shout (Triumph) H7321 רוּע rûa‛ roo-ah'
A primitive root; to mar (especially by breaking); figuratively to split the ears (with sound), that is, shout (for alarm or joy): - blow an alarm, cry (alarm, aloud, out), destroy, make a joyful noise, smart, shout (for joy), sound an alarm, triumph.
I will know you are pleased with me if my enemy doesn't defeat me. (Psa 41:11 CJB)
There is a battle. The enemy knows that if we don’t know there’s a battle and we try to accomplish things in the flesh, we will be defeated. Therefore, his greatest weapon is to tempt us to try to accomplish things in the flesh. However, the word says “the battle belongs to Yahaveh.” The enemy is afraid of the man who pursues Yahveh and waits for His Triumph instead of trying to accomplish something in the flesh.
And the Spirit of יהוה came upon Yaḥazi’ĕl son of Zeḵaryahu, son of Benayah, son of Yeʽi’ĕl, son of Mattanyah, a Lĕwite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly, and he said, “Listen, all Yehuḏah, and you inhabitants of Yerushalayim, and Sovereign Yehoshaphat! Thus said יהוה to you, ‘Do not fear, nor be afraid of the face of this great army, for the battle is not yours, but Elohim’s.
(2Ch 20:14-15)
But Dawiḏ said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the Name of יהוה of hosts, the Elohim of the armies of Yisra’ĕl, whom you have reproached. “This day יהוה shall deliver you into my hand, and I shall smite you and take your head from you, and give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines today to the birds of the heavens and the wild beasts of the earth, so that all the earth know that Elohim is for Yisra’ĕl, and all this assembly know that יהוה does not save with sword and spear, for the battle belongs to יהוה, and He shall give you into our hands.”
(1Sa 17:45-47)
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Our paperwork arrived!
Gratefully both of the reference letters that needed to be re-done are now certified and at the agency. Our adoption specialist did not have time to look them over so we will hold our breath waiting for that news.
We did however receive a bit of bad news, though we really are fine with it as we feel it is better to be safe than sorry. The director of the agency just arrived back from Ethiopia and has decided that it is best to have a more recent copy of our HS agency's license. She was also concerned that the license would expire before the dossier was even submitted to MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs in Ethiopia). The good news, according to her, is that if they have it within two/three weeks there really will be little change (maybe none) as to what number we will be on the waiting list.
Now we just have to sit tight and wait for the new license for our HS agency to be ready and notarized (last 2 things we need!). The agency had their site visit yesterday and were told it should be issued and to them by 10/13!
We did however receive a bit of bad news, though we really are fine with it as we feel it is better to be safe than sorry. The director of the agency just arrived back from Ethiopia and has decided that it is best to have a more recent copy of our HS agency's license. She was also concerned that the license would expire before the dossier was even submitted to MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs in Ethiopia). The good news, according to her, is that if they have it within two/three weeks there really will be little change (maybe none) as to what number we will be on the waiting list.
Now we just have to sit tight and wait for the new license for our HS agency to be ready and notarized (last 2 things we need!). The agency had their site visit yesterday and were told it should be issued and to them by 10/13!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Exemplified?
Status: Arrival at Unit
Your item arrived at 9:30 AM on September 29, 2008 in HIGH POINT, NC 27260
Just got our exemplified copy of our name change court papers. They are not any better than what we already have AND are done up with cheap construction paper. The document looks just a hokey as the original one we were trying to get to look more professional! Besides being stapled on construction paper, it is a fill in the blank document that has the peoples names who are certifying the document handwritten in. Oh and they forgot to even write what their document was certifying (our name change)! They left the blank for it, well, BLANK! Samuel had to call them and they were very apologetic. Anyway the agency said the document we already have, along with the 2 certifications for it from the Secretary of State's office in FL will be just fine.
Oh and get this so it will have to do. We are still waiting to her back from the courier in Florida about the documents she was taking to be certified.
Your item arrived at 9:30 AM on September 29, 2008 in HIGH POINT, NC 27260
Just got our exemplified copy of our name change court papers. They are not any better than what we already have AND are done up with cheap construction paper. The document looks just a hokey as the original one we were trying to get to look more professional! Besides being stapled on construction paper, it is a fill in the blank document that has the peoples names who are certifying the document handwritten in. Oh and they forgot to even write what their document was certifying (our name change)! They left the blank for it, well, BLANK! Samuel had to call them and they were very apologetic. Anyway the agency said the document we already have, along with the 2 certifications for it from the Secretary of State's office in FL will be just fine.
Oh and get this so it will have to do. We are still waiting to her back from the courier in Florida about the documents she was taking to be certified.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Two down, two to go...
Praise God! Our 2 notarial issues have been re-done, are off to be certified and should be at our placement agency by Tuesday or Wednesday! We are grateful that our dear friends responded so quickly to get these done. After speaking to the agency we decided to move quickly on these as our adoption specialist said the program director might consider using the license as is and go ahead and put us on the waiting list as soon as the other documents were done. We will have to wait until the director gets back from Ethiopia next week to see what she says. Though the thought of finally being on the waiting sounds great we really would rather be "safe than sorry" and not have issues in the court process later. In the end we are all remembering that though we want ALL our paperwork out of our hands this really is only a small bump in the road, maybe a few places difference on the waiting list and THE WAY God has designed for OUR babies to come home to us!
BTW, the director is there working with their present orphanages and looking into a few others they may work with in the future.
BTW, the director is there working with their present orphanages and looking into a few others they may work with in the future.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Keeping this all in perspective...
I just heard back from our HS agency's director. He said the state licensing consultant was scheduled to visit the agency next Monday, Sept. 29th (Avonlea's B-day BTW!) and that there was really nothing that could be done to speed up the issuance of the new license.
So keeping this all in perspective...
We have had several setback each time we adopted and after it all, once that baby is in your arms it really seems so minor. That sweet forgetfulness is really what gets you back in the saddle to adopt again, LOL!
All in all this is no biggie. We have a big holiday season ahead of us this fall so we just want to get the paperwork out of our hands so we can enjoy it! (and our
daughters 15th birthday-15?!, didn't I just give birth to her! Where does the time fly?) So since we are not ready to get on the waiting it must be that our babies are not ready for us either!
Hannah-who tagged her sweetheart to take care of all of this!
So keeping this all in perspective...
We have had several setback each time we adopted and after it all, once that baby is in your arms it really seems so minor. That sweet forgetfulness is really what gets you back in the saddle to adopt again, LOL!
All in all this is no biggie. We have a big holiday season ahead of us this fall so we just want to get the paperwork out of our hands so we can enjoy it! (and our
daughters 15th birthday-15?!, didn't I just give birth to her! Where does the time fly?) So since we are not ready to get on the waiting it must be that our babies are not ready for us either!
Hannah-who tagged her sweetheart to take care of all of this!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Still working at it...
Well we got word about our dossier today. The good news was that it looked very nice and professional. The bad news was that 2 of the notarial signatures were under the limit (expiration date must be at least one year away), one document had the wrong date, and our HS agency's license was about to expire. I guess since we had originally submitted it with the other agency and then switched we had overlooked these documents getting "stale".
We are sure two of the issues will be taken care of very quickly but as far as the agency license (about to expire AND notary expiration date too soon), well we have no idea. It expires 10/31. so we at least know it will have to be re-done before then. We have a call into the director of our HS agency for more information. Time to pray... (is it ever not time to pray?)
We are sure two of the issues will be taken care of very quickly but as far as the agency license (about to expire AND notary expiration date too soon), well we have no idea. It expires 10/31. so we at least know it will have to be re-done before then. We have a call into the director of our HS agency for more information. Time to pray... (is it ever not time to pray?)
Friday, September 19, 2008
Matches made in heaven...
Just got an email from our adoption specialist.
"Hi guys. I got to look at your dossier a bit today. I'm not finished yet, but so far so good. You really did a good job on it- it looks very nice and professional."
I was so blessed she took the time to give us an update. Hopefully it will be completed by early next week.
Earlier today I also found out from her that the "matching" of parents and children is done by the agencies US staff. Of course we know who puts the solitary in families and will be praying for His match making!!!
"Hi guys. I got to look at your dossier a bit today. I'm not finished yet, but so far so good. You really did a good job on it- it looks very nice and professional."
I was so blessed she took the time to give us an update. Hopefully it will be completed by early next week.
Earlier today I also found out from her that the "matching" of parents and children is done by the agencies US staff. Of course we know who puts the solitary in families and will be praying for His match making!!!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
It's review time...
I just spoke to our adoption specialist and our documents are at her desk! She told me it takes about 5 days to review the documents so we should be hearing something by next week. As far as the change of name documentation, after speaking to an attorney we are convinced it would be quite difficult to make a change BUT we will continue to check. We are having the document exemplified (it is a certification of the judge) and then will wait on our specialist to see (per her) if we need anything else.
It's there!!!
10:16 DELIVERED
Delivered to receptionist/Front Desk
Signed for by S. Torres
Ship date Sept. 16, 2008
Delivery date Sept. 17, 2008, 10:16 AM
Status-Delivered
The packages were delivered! Praise God! Now to wait for the director to review our documents and tell us what we need to do. In the meanwhile Samuel is looking for an attorney and I am busy filling out paperwork to have our name change judgment amended to look more "professional".
Delivered to receptionist/Front Desk
Signed for by S. Torres
Ship date Sept. 16, 2008
Delivery date Sept. 17, 2008, 10:16 AM
Status-Delivered
The packages were delivered! Praise God! Now to wait for the director to review our documents and tell us what we need to do. In the meanwhile Samuel is looking for an attorney and I am busy filling out paperwork to have our name change judgment amended to look more "professional".
Waiting...
This morning we have prayed and gave this entire situation to the Lord. As with each other hiccup God has used it to bring incredible insight into our lives and HIS word has brought healing and direction.
While we are waiting for the decision about our documents we can still rejoice that everything else is done and on its way to our agency in Colorado. Of course we are tracking the packages! Each time I refresh the page to check the whereabouts of those 2 precious envelopes and it goes through another step an incredible excitement hits the air because we know we are that much closer to the reality of meeting and parenting our children.
Here is our tracking information.
Sep 17, 2008
8:08 AM On FedEx vehicle for delivery LITTLETON, CO
7:20 AM At local FedEx facility LITTLETON, CO
3:39 AM At dest sort facility DENVER, CO
3:43 AM Departed FedEx location MEMPHIS, TN
Sep 16, 2008
11:04 PM Arrived at FedEx location MEMPHIS, TN
9:41 PM Left FedEx origin facility GREENSBORO, NC
8:53 PM Picked up GREENSBORO, NC
While we are waiting for the decision about our documents we can still rejoice that everything else is done and on its way to our agency in Colorado. Of course we are tracking the packages! Each time I refresh the page to check the whereabouts of those 2 precious envelopes and it goes through another step an incredible excitement hits the air because we know we are that much closer to the reality of meeting and parenting our children.
Here is our tracking information.
Sep 17, 2008
8:08 AM On FedEx vehicle for delivery LITTLETON, CO
7:20 AM At local FedEx facility LITTLETON, CO
3:39 AM At dest sort facility DENVER, CO
3:43 AM Departed FedEx location MEMPHIS, TN
Sep 16, 2008
11:04 PM Arrived at FedEx location MEMPHIS, TN
9:41 PM Left FedEx origin facility GREENSBORO, NC
8:53 PM Picked up GREENSBORO, NC
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Not so soon...
The good news is that Samuel was able to get almost all of our documents done. The bad news? He was able to get ALMOST all of our documents done. Unfortunately this time around (they did it for our last adoption) the office would not certify the copy of a document that was generated in FL. It was a copy of a Report of Legal name change. We were using it, along with our certified change of name, because the certified document is handwritten and phony looking. Our only way of getting a type written original document would be to petition the courts in Hillsborough county to re-open our case and amend the court order. Not fun , or expedient but even though my heart is aching and I am hardly able to understand a delay like this, faith is rising up in my heart as I KNOW that THIS adoption is not our PLAN. It is the Father's work and it will have to be the HIS work from start to end! GRACE, GRACE!!!
I just heard back from our caseworker who says she will check our dossier tomorrow and see if they can use what we have. Our desire, of course, is that it be good enough to pass court. So I guess we will be sending in the dossier tonight BUT we will wait to celebrate until we hear back about all this! Abba open doors!
I just heard back from our caseworker who says she will check our dossier tomorrow and see if they can use what we have. Our desire, of course, is that it be good enough to pass court. So I guess we will be sending in the dossier tonight BUT we will wait to celebrate until we hear back about all this! Abba open doors!
Dossier in hand...
Samuel left for Raleigh this morning to get all the paperwork certified. The girls and I stayed home and will join him to go to FedEx tonight to mail our dossier to our adoption agency.
When Samuel arrived at the SOS they told him it might not get done today but we know God will work it out in our favor. You are supposed to get documents in by 10am and he got there at 9:50am so it should be fine. In our favor is the fact that, though we have 20 documents, there are only 3 notaries for them to certify. I'll keep you posted...
When Samuel arrived at the SOS they told him it might not get done today but we know God will work it out in our favor. You are supposed to get documents in by 10am and he got there at 9:50am so it should be fine. In our favor is the fact that, though we have 20 documents, there are only 3 notaries for them to certify. I'll keep you posted...
Monday, September 15, 2008
A movie or an adoption?
Every good adventure movie has to have several suspenseful moments. Well in international adoption it is no different. On today’s marquis was “Dr. Stranded in Cincinnati”. What you say, you can’t believe it? No joking here. The doctor, who's office had been closed since the 5th and who was heading back to NC to open his office today, got stranded in Cincinnati, Ohio! We were headed out to his office early AM when after prayer Samuel felt he should call the office. After calling, and calling, and calling and getting no answer we figured something must be wrong. Samuel then called the cafe they run and was able to get someone who told him they were about to board the plane back. They must have told the doctor about our call as he called us back and promised to take care of it TODAY! Sure enough he did keep his promise, though I must admit it was too close for MY comfort! Oh, how God is ever dealing with me!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
My God is good!
While reviewing the goodness of God in the previous week (something we like to do during our Sabbath meals)I was moved to look at the date that our application for the 171H was approved. I was amazed to see that it had in fact been approved the day of my prayer about our 171H, September 8th. See my entry for that date. God's goodness will never cease to amaze me!
Friday, September 12, 2008
They have names!!!
Catchy title, huh? I am now going to be totally cruel and tell you we will wait to share it until later!! But I will let you know that both their names mean "favored" (GRACE, GRACE)!
These were some of the runner ups:
Addison
Emerson
Edmond
Andrew
Aiden
Pierce
Pierson
These were some of the runner ups:
Addison
Emerson
Edmond
Andrew
Aiden
Pierce
Pierson
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Sore fingers, happy hearts!
Today we woke up excited knowing it was the day to get our dossier documents signed and notarized. With a file folder full of documents (two copies of each) Samuel, Avonlea, Olivia and I headed out. When we arrived at the bank I must admit I sheepishly entered the notaries office. I mean there were a ton of papers to notarize. I said a prayer that she would be willing to do it all in one sitting and was blessed when she did. As we went through each document and signed the excitement of our next adoption grew. I could almost see those 2 boys with us.
Everything signed and notarized, and with a sigh of relief, we headed off to AAA to have our 16 pics done for the dossier. Interesting note here. When we adopted Annelise we needed 2 photos each and our AAA Plus plan included that for "free". Later, while adopting Amelia, we needed 4 each and our plan then included that. This time we needed a whopping 8 photos each and, you guessed it, the plan now allows for 8 each per year! Isn't God good!!
Pictures in hand we then took Avonlea and Olivia out for lunch to celebrate AND as a thank you for all their help during the process. We could not have done it without them.
Once home we were delighted to see that our documents had arrived from Florida. We also found out that the process had not been without a bit of drama. We had called the FL SOS to ask how much the total cost would be. We asked about a particular document which I felt would be $20 instead of $10. We were told that it was indeed only $10, which would make our total $30. Of course you know what happened. The document was in fact $20 to certify and our check did not cover the entire cost. We were so grateful that the courier caught this, and after explaining the situation and getting nowhere, she kindly paid the extra $ to get it done. Praise God! Had we have sent it via mail they would have returned it un-certified. We will send the courier a $10 check and a BIG THANK YOU!
The last order of the day was to make copies of all the dossier (minus the medicals we are waiting on) and get the NC documents in order to take to the capitol to be certified. We are soooooo close!!!
Everything signed and notarized, and with a sigh of relief, we headed off to AAA to have our 16 pics done for the dossier. Interesting note here. When we adopted Annelise we needed 2 photos each and our AAA Plus plan included that for "free". Later, while adopting Amelia, we needed 4 each and our plan then included that. This time we needed a whopping 8 photos each and, you guessed it, the plan now allows for 8 each per year! Isn't God good!!
Pictures in hand we then took Avonlea and Olivia out for lunch to celebrate AND as a thank you for all their help during the process. We could not have done it without them.
Once home we were delighted to see that our documents had arrived from Florida. We also found out that the process had not been without a bit of drama. We had called the FL SOS to ask how much the total cost would be. We asked about a particular document which I felt would be $20 instead of $10. We were told that it was indeed only $10, which would make our total $30. Of course you know what happened. The document was in fact $20 to certify and our check did not cover the entire cost. We were so grateful that the courier caught this, and after explaining the situation and getting nowhere, she kindly paid the extra $ to get it done. Praise God! Had we have sent it via mail they would have returned it un-certified. We will send the courier a $10 check and a BIG THANK YOU!
The last order of the day was to make copies of all the dossier (minus the medicals we are waiting on) and get the NC documents in order to take to the capitol to be certified. We are soooooo close!!!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Truly a miracle!
Our 171H is here!!! Yes, you just read right, our 171H, the approval we have been waiting for from USCIS is here! That's right the one that should have taken, by my observations and conversations with our HS agency, at least another 5 weeks. Though getting it this soon was a surprise and blessing beyond words, the greatest blessing was the how it was an incredible answer to prayer.
If you remember I had asked God to work a miracle and have it here before the end of the month. I asked this as that is when I thought we would have the dossier done. Well seeing how quickly we had put the documents together this morning as I prayed over the 171H I felt a nugget deposited on my heart, "before your dosser is done." Figuring we were done with the dossier on Monday or Tuesday pf next week I saw how impossible that would be and dismissed the thought. Oh faithless heart look at the miracle your GREAT and MIGHTY Elohim has done!
I let our caseworker, Courtney, know that our 171H had arrived. She too was amazed. She said it was standard procedure to check in a month or so to make sure it had been sent to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia?! We are really heading to Africa!
If you remember I had asked God to work a miracle and have it here before the end of the month. I asked this as that is when I thought we would have the dossier done. Well seeing how quickly we had put the documents together this morning as I prayed over the 171H I felt a nugget deposited on my heart, "before your dosser is done." Figuring we were done with the dossier on Monday or Tuesday pf next week I saw how impossible that would be and dismissed the thought. Oh faithless heart look at the miracle your GREAT and MIGHTY Elohim has done!
I let our caseworker, Courtney, know that our 171H had arrived. She too was amazed. She said it was standard procedure to check in a month or so to make sure it had been sent to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia?! We are really heading to Africa!
There can be miracles...
Samuel just called the courier to make sure our package had gotten to her. To our delight she was just then at the SOS office dropping our docs off and said she would pick them up latter that same day! Wow, this is BIG!!!
On the home front all but one of our NC documents are all done, in order and ready to be notarized. Tomorrow is the big day to get them notarized. There is one straggling document and that is our medical report. Though we had it done for our HS, the wording was not correct for the dossier and had to be re-done. We called the doctors office on Monday and to our amazement the ENTIRE office is out for 10 days. It would be too hard to get a new doc, and since this is God's adventure, we will have to sit tight until they re-open Monday.
On the home front all but one of our NC documents are all done, in order and ready to be notarized. Tomorrow is the big day to get them notarized. There is one straggling document and that is our medical report. Though we had it done for our HS, the wording was not correct for the dossier and had to be re-done. We called the doctors office on Monday and to our amazement the ENTIRE office is out for 10 days. It would be too hard to get a new doc, and since this is God's adventure, we will have to sit tight until they re-open Monday.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
From the Papa's heart...
Tonight after Samuel came home from Fed Ex his heart was so full with the goodness that comes from meditating in God's word. Children in bed we sat and he shared his heart with me.
Samuel: Today, as I was on my way to the PTI FedEx office to send our reference letters and name change to Florida for certification, I was meditating on God's words to me, “Be quiet.” I was also meditating on the scriptures from our morning Wisdom Searches:
Trust in יהוה with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; Know Him in all your ways, And He makes all your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear יהוה and turn away from evil. It is healing to your navel, and moistening to your bones. (Pro 3:5-8)
I was thinking about what it meant to know (be intimately acquainted with)God in all my ways and I felt the Lord show me He wanted me to know HIM in every area of my walk with HIM. I knew Elohim wanted me to walk intimately with HIM as I mowed the yard, spent time with my children and wife, as I drove, as I worked, as I did everything. I was also meditating on the fact that I had resisted God's grace by striving to move forward in my own strength and by leaning on my own understanding.
When I came home from FedEx, I was talking with Hannah about my resistance of God's grace. I had realized I had just been going through the motions with the adoption, wanting the boys yet not passionate about it. I was too "busy" working at other areas of my life, among them business issues, and striving to make things work on my own. At that moment God popped into my heart that Evan’s name meant grace, but that He was going to give us a double portion. I was immediately reminded of a scripture in Isaiah. "For your shame [ye shall have] double; and [for] confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them." Isa 61:7 I knew that by resisting God's grace in other areas of my life I had cut myself off from a blessing God desired to give me, and that as I received God's grace I would posses HIS double blessing.
At that moment I told Hannah that I realized God wanted to give me double grace and that I felt we should name both boys with names that meant reflected that. Well filled with a renewed joy and excitement we pulled out the baby name books and started looking at names.
Samuel: Today, as I was on my way to the PTI FedEx office to send our reference letters and name change to Florida for certification, I was meditating on God's words to me, “Be quiet.” I was also meditating on the scriptures from our morning Wisdom Searches:
Trust in יהוה with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; Know Him in all your ways, And He makes all your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear יהוה and turn away from evil. It is healing to your navel, and moistening to your bones. (Pro 3:5-8)
I was thinking about what it meant to know (be intimately acquainted with)God in all my ways and I felt the Lord show me He wanted me to know HIM in every area of my walk with HIM. I knew Elohim wanted me to walk intimately with HIM as I mowed the yard, spent time with my children and wife, as I drove, as I worked, as I did everything. I was also meditating on the fact that I had resisted God's grace by striving to move forward in my own strength and by leaning on my own understanding.
When I came home from FedEx, I was talking with Hannah about my resistance of God's grace. I had realized I had just been going through the motions with the adoption, wanting the boys yet not passionate about it. I was too "busy" working at other areas of my life, among them business issues, and striving to make things work on my own. At that moment God popped into my heart that Evan’s name meant grace, but that He was going to give us a double portion. I was immediately reminded of a scripture in Isaiah. "For your shame [ye shall have] double; and [for] confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them." Isa 61:7 I knew that by resisting God's grace in other areas of my life I had cut myself off from a blessing God desired to give me, and that as I received God's grace I would posses HIS double blessing.
At that moment I told Hannah that I realized God wanted to give me double grace and that I felt we should name both boys with names that meant reflected that. Well filled with a renewed joy and excitement we pulled out the baby name books and started looking at names.
They're on their way...
Yippee! So why am I so excited??? I sent a request on Friday to Hillsborough County, FL for a new certified copy of a document we needed to complete our FL dossier documents and it arrived today. It can now go along with our reference letters to the Secretary of State in Tallahassee, FL to be certified.
A little explanation here. All of the documents in our dossier need to be notified and then certified, or as some states put it, authenticated (oh, then they go to the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, DC for authentication but that's another story). This takes place at the Secretary of State’s office of the documents state of origin. It basically means that the SOS office is certifying that the notary that signed the document was a valid notary. This is usually $10 per document, though in the case of a court ordered or state or county issued document two seals are issued, on for the notary and one for the clerk, “uping” the price to $20.
Now about Florda. For both of our previous adoptions we have had issues when we sent our documents to the FL SOS to be certified. For our first they told us the wrong amount over the phone (told us that one doc was only $10 when it was really $20) so when we sent in the docs they would not certify any of them because we had not sent in enough money. For our second adoption the docs were all sent back because they said we had not sent ANY money. In fact we HAD written the check number on our cover sheet and HAD put it in the envelope. We were later told by someone that it was not uncommon for checks to be lost in the mail room! This time we really don’t want to go through any drama or unnecessary waiting so we have asked our old FL sw to recommend an adoption courier to hand carry our docs to the SOS office.
In adoption necessity is truly the mother of invention as several agencies have sprung up to courier documents and some, adoption midwives, even prepare the entire dossier for you!
So Samuel is off to Fed Ex now sending our FL docs off to a courier to be hand delivered to the capitol! Stay tuned…
A little explanation here. All of the documents in our dossier need to be notified and then certified, or as some states put it, authenticated (oh, then they go to the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, DC for authentication but that's another story). This takes place at the Secretary of State’s office of the documents state of origin. It basically means that the SOS office is certifying that the notary that signed the document was a valid notary. This is usually $10 per document, though in the case of a court ordered or state or county issued document two seals are issued, on for the notary and one for the clerk, “uping” the price to $20.
Now about Florda. For both of our previous adoptions we have had issues when we sent our documents to the FL SOS to be certified. For our first they told us the wrong amount over the phone (told us that one doc was only $10 when it was really $20) so when we sent in the docs they would not certify any of them because we had not sent in enough money. For our second adoption the docs were all sent back because they said we had not sent ANY money. In fact we HAD written the check number on our cover sheet and HAD put it in the envelope. We were later told by someone that it was not uncommon for checks to be lost in the mail room! This time we really don’t want to go through any drama or unnecessary waiting so we have asked our old FL sw to recommend an adoption courier to hand carry our docs to the SOS office.
In adoption necessity is truly the mother of invention as several agencies have sprung up to courier documents and some, adoption midwives, even prepare the entire dossier for you!
So Samuel is off to Fed Ex now sending our FL docs off to a courier to be hand delivered to the capitol! Stay tuned…
More prayers...
This morning I awoke with an urgency and delight to pray for the boys. Not an urgency that comes from an E-mergency just that I was being impressed to pray right then. I asked the Father to give us some connection to the boys, just as I did when we were adopting Annelise and Amelia, AND then prayed, just as I did for all four girls, for HIM to give them a mighty testimony of HIS hand in their lives. Each time HE has answered, so I am excitedly awaiting another mighty move!
Monday, September 8, 2008
My heart set to pray...
Recently I have been set to pray over and about our adoption with a different heart. All along I have prayed for the process and for the Lord to bring the children He desires to set in our family but today was different. Today I was moved to pray for our sons. Through this adoption journey, the holds, waits and hiccups, the dream of another child has always been there, though not real. Hard to explain. Now, as I have cried out to God to make me "pregnant" with the reality of these boys my heart has had an overwhelming desire to pray for THEM, THEIR well being, circumstances, and life.
Gettin' it together...
Well the last few days have been quite fruitful as we have gathered the documents we needed, filled in the forms that have to be notarized and made a chart of what goes where, when and for what (a VITAL part in all of this!). While taking care of all this I have asked a million questions of our FANTASTIC caseworker, who has taken care of our case with the utmost care, patience and diligence.
Here is an idea of everything the things needed for our dossier:
Adoption Approval/Affidavit
Adoption Petition
Birth Certificates
Marriage Certificate
Order of Name Change
Homestudy.
International Placement Agency License
Criminal Clearance Report
Employment Verification Medical Report
Bank/Financial Letter
1040 Tax Returns
Proof of Medical Insurance
Proof of Medical Coverage for Adopted Child
Reference Letters
Power of Attorney
Post Adoption Agreement
Passport Photos
These will be gathered, notarized, copied and then they will be certified at the Secretary of State's office. WHEW!!!
Though we are really trying to get all this wrapped up by next week we will still be waiting on our USCIS approval,the famous 171H, so we can officially be on our agencies waiting list. I have been keeping my eye on the cases of families on our NC Ethiopia adoption list and it seems like once your fingerprinting and HS are in the wait is about 6-8 weeks. Knowing our longer approval wait here in NC our agency may consider giving us a referral first, which might help speed up our approval. I have to say, to my amazement, that as soon as they said they would consider this, I felt bummed. Like it was us moving the situation and not God. So by faith I have prayed for another NC USCIS miracle (like the one we had for Amelia). I want God's hand to be evident in this adoption and the boys testimony to be powerful so my faith I have asked the Lord to bring our 171H before the end of the month!
Here is an idea of everything the things needed for our dossier:
Adoption Approval/Affidavit
Adoption Petition
Birth Certificates
Marriage Certificate
Order of Name Change
Homestudy.
International Placement Agency License
Criminal Clearance Report
Employment Verification Medical Report
Bank/Financial Letter
1040 Tax Returns
Proof of Medical Insurance
Proof of Medical Coverage for Adopted Child
Reference Letters
Power of Attorney
Post Adoption Agreement
Passport Photos
These will be gathered, notarized, copied and then they will be certified at the Secretary of State's office. WHEW!!!
Though we are really trying to get all this wrapped up by next week we will still be waiting on our USCIS approval,the famous 171H, so we can officially be on our agencies waiting list. I have been keeping my eye on the cases of families on our NC Ethiopia adoption list and it seems like once your fingerprinting and HS are in the wait is about 6-8 weeks. Knowing our longer approval wait here in NC our agency may consider giving us a referral first, which might help speed up our approval. I have to say, to my amazement, that as soon as they said they would consider this, I felt bummed. Like it was us moving the situation and not God. So by faith I have prayed for another NC USCIS miracle (like the one we had for Amelia). I want God's hand to be evident in this adoption and the boys testimony to be powerful so my faith I have asked the Lord to bring our 171H before the end of the month!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Gotta get to work...
Today, in a conversation I had with our caseworker, I was informed that our process papers had arrived safe and sound at the agency. To make our day a delight beyond words, at 3:12 PM today we were officially sent our dossier packet via email.
It said to read the entire thing before asking questions and of course I read it all in a few minutes and asked away! (Praise God our caseworker is a delight to work with!) By God's grace we really feel we can get this all done in two weeks!
Gotta get to work but here is our timeline thus far:
03/31/08 Homestudy officially begun.
03/27/08 I600A application mailed to USCIS
05/27/08 USCIS Fingerprinting
08/10/08 Homestudy Paper Peddling Complete (WHEW!!!)
08/12/08 Applied to placement agency- IAN
08/25/08 Homestudy approved by placement agency
08/28/08 Homestudy finalized by HS agency! (and mailed to USCIS!)
09/03/08 Dossier officially begun!!
It said to read the entire thing before asking questions and of course I read it all in a few minutes and asked away! (Praise God our caseworker is a delight to work with!) By God's grace we really feel we can get this all done in two weeks!
Gotta get to work but here is our timeline thus far:
03/31/08 Homestudy officially begun.
03/27/08 I600A application mailed to USCIS
05/27/08 USCIS Fingerprinting
08/10/08 Homestudy Paper Peddling Complete (WHEW!!!)
08/12/08 Applied to placement agency- IAN
08/25/08 Homestudy approved by placement agency
08/28/08 Homestudy finalized by HS agency! (and mailed to USCIS!)
09/03/08 Dossier officially begun!!
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