A visit from a friend...

So today we had our first homestudy visit. Not what you expected from my title right? Well after having been through this process twice before with pre-adoption assessment as well as postplacement and re-adoption visits, we have come to see our visits with our caseworker as an opportunity to visit chat, brag, air concerns and be a blessing to others who are adopting as well (she passes our name on to other families who are new to the process) .

I must say that even though we LOVED our FL social worker our first visit was of course an unknown and one that set our house into a "tizzy" 5 years ago (WOW, has it been that long?!!!). I remember the cleaning, and cleaning and cleaning, the fixing and childproofing (we were well past that stage with Avonlea and Olivia). We were in overdrive (or at least I was, LOL!) but soon had our fears put to rest when we had our first meeting.

Well, here we are again, only with experience behind us and another great caseworker we definitely feel a lot more comfortable. So that's one visit down and two to go. For the entire process we have to have a family interview, interview with just Samuel and I, individual visits with Samuel, myself, Yvonne, Avonlea and Oliva. WHEW!!!

We're almost there...

I heard from our homestudy agency on Friday that almost all of our paperwork is accounted for at the agency!!! There are a few odds and ends, copies of marriage and birth certificates, a reference letter and a clearance for Yvonne, but all in all we are doing GREAT!!! They have forwarded all our paperwork to our caseworker for our first visit!!!

The paper trail continues...

We are still here, busy designing forms, collecting papers, organizing documents, calling here and there to get this and that. Little by little it is all getting done.

While I was sick a couple of weeks ago and unable to lift my head from the bed for more than a few minutes at a time, I was blessed to have an administrative assistant help with our paperwork. Not not a hired hand, the wonderful hands of our 14 year old treasure, Avonlea. It was so precious to watch as she typed away filling our paperwork for her baby brother. This will be a sweet memory for her and a special connection between her and her new sibling. Of course Olivia will be right there with her sling shot and wood carving, a perfect little brother sister along with Annelise who is eager to share her life with a new sibling, though not to sure she wants to share mama, LOL! And of course, Amelia, who the doctor described as a "wrecking ball" will give a baby brother a run for his money for sure!!! LIFE IS GOOD, ABBA IS OUR ALL IN ALL!!!

Humbling...

Reading my whiny post from several days ago I felt terrible. In reality my feelings all boiled down to the uncertainties involved in adding children to our family. Whether biological or adopted each of their journeys to us has been a roller coaster ride of faith, ending in their perfect addition to our lives, yet filled with some incredibly intense moments. This one already began one way and went that way, with a few scares here and there BUT if this is indeed Abba's plan then, "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted." Job 42:1-2

Truth be known who am I to be whiny anyway. I mean if my BIG problem in waiting and having a more peaceful experience (which by the way we have prayed away asking the Father to give our children powerful testimonies of HIS hand in their lives.) then what is it compared to the lives of these children who, due to no fault of their own, find themselves in situation that we cannot even imagine.

Living in our country we are really shielded from the vast poverty and suffering worldwide. From Haitians who are forced to make cakes from dirt because they have nothing else to eat or who recently rioted due to the rising cost of food and who compared the burning hunger in their stomachs to bleach or battery acid, or the atrocities committed against women in Congo, or Mexican children who survive by living at garbage dumps, or even the migrant Mexicans in the US in my classroom who at times survived on little more that tortillas and potatoes...the women who lost their husbands during the wars in Guatemala who had to go to the streets with their children as beggars for their food, tin homes in the Dominican Republic, seeming like mansions to others who lived on the streets, unfordable bride prices causing the abduction of young girls as wives... Christians who struggle throughout the world to live as their faith demands though they know their lives may be taken because of it...

Over several days my sweet heavenly Father has reminded me of these scenarios to set my heart straight, and remind me of what is really important. This adoption is NOT about me, NOT about my family, NOT about our comfort and NOT about our desire to have more children. It IS about our loving ABBA reaching out to a child in need, bringing them hope, security, a family and a vision where they have had none. It is about HIS plan of adoption leading this child to ultimately knowing HIM and serving HIM.

Praise YOU Abba for your faithfulness. We bless YOU and thank YOU for allowing us to be a part of YOUR plan...

Hurry up and wait...

The world of International adoption is all about this. You are running, chasing, leaping to get papers, meet deadlines, have meetings, sign papers, get things notarized, certified, electrified (Ok I needed a laugh ; ) ) just to sit and wait. Very hard BUT so worth it.

Our update for today is that it looks like we are almost done with the paperwork our sw needs for our homestudy. Our background check will be in next week and we will have our physicals done Monday, so once our reference letters are in we can have our home visit x 3. Yes 3 visits! WHEW! Can you see why we wanted to pick and agency and SW we liked?!

I titled this hurry up ad wait as Samuel and I have been considering having our homestudy expedited. What does that mean? That the actual report, which can take three months to prepare AFTER ALL THE PAPERWORK IS RECEIVED BY THE SOCIAL WORKER would be done in four weeks. Of course there is an extra charge for this, but we are wondering if it will be worth it to have our hs done and our dossier into CHSFS asap. We spent last night praying about it and will do the same tonight. We want Gods timing, and the feeling of urgency (not anxious, just get your bottom moving kind of feeling) is making us think about expediting this part of the process.

Please pray for us to discern the LORDS's will.

My "treasures"...

My greatest dream, as far back as I can remember, was to be a mother. I am so blessed that God has made that dream come true.

Most of you know all our girls personally but for those who don't and to update the rest of you:

Avonlea, who will be 15 in September, is becoming a delightful young woman. Her budding initiative, desire to serve, emotive and loving character and extra large funny bone are all a delight to her family. We are blessed she has a solid relationship of love with the Lord and strives to move forward in all God has purposed for her life. Passionate about God, she wants to share her faith to help other young girls through their youth and is presently working towards starting a young girl’s discipleship group. With a desire to build a strong bond with her sisters she has planned weekly best friend activities with them. Avonlea is an excellent student who excels in math (even though she does NOT like it!) and reading and LOVES history. It is music, the kind she plays, however, that is her greatest love. She loves playing the piano, violin and I think will soon be asking for a flute! She is also creative in other areas including art, sewing, drama and cooking, inventing meals that have made our mouths water. Feminine to a “T” she is also quite at home playing in the brook!

Olivia, our second born, is soon to be 12 years old and is growing into a wonderful young lady. Delighted with nature and inquisitive about how the world works, Olivia has always brought a smile to our hearts. She has loved being a big sister and is especially affectionate and loving with her buddy, Amelia. She is also learning how to disciple Annelise and it is a pleasure to watch. Olivia is growing deeper in her faith and is taking a greater role in deepening her personal relationship with God. Very organized and one who enjoys having her things well kept, Olivia is also very creative. Recently she brought me to tears with a gift she made for me. A wooden cross made with the simplest of materials, but which has been an inspiration to me. She has also been a blessing to those around her as she is learning to give more of herself. When Olivia is not inquisitively tinkering she can be found on the piano which she LOVES to play.

Annelise, four, is our third daughter and was adopted in Taiwan, Republic of China. Though Annelise was a frail 14 month old when we brought her home she has since become a healthy, robust young girl who most would be surprised to hear had any special needs. To date Annelise has “outgrown” most of her special medical issues and needs no special intervention. Though our start with Annelise was difficult, both because of her medical needs and her behavioral issues, with time and a lot of love her change has been extraordinary. It seems like a million years ago and a different life when we saw her self stimulatory behaviors, adoption post traumatic stress head banging, throwing up on purpose, screaming, and not allowing us “in” to her world to bond. Armed with prayer, grace, and patience, we dealt with each issue with love and acceptance and soon saw her blossom. It was actually nursing Annelise, which I thought would be impossible but which I felt God encouraging me to do, that helped put a crack in her shell. Annelise attached wonderfully to her parents and entire family and is now a secure, fun, sweet, VERY active little girl. She loves extra attention and it is a benefit for her to be surrounded with a house full of buddies who love and cherish her. Annelise loves being a buddy to her baby sister, Amelia, and is excited to have a baby brother to help her mama care for.

Amelia, our 18 month old baby, was adopted from Viet Nam. A healthy, active baby when we brought her home, she needed only treatment for the effects of torticollis, a stiff neck, which caused her head to be very misshaped. From day one Amelia readily accepted our attention and soon shared her lovely dimples with us as she smiled and giggled. Amelia also took to nursing, actually beginning only a week after she was with us. She has adapted easily to our family and her new life in our home and continues to flourish. Her vocabulary is growing daily and we are all so thrilled to be experiencing the world through her eyes.

All four girls are affectionate and loving towards their parents and one another. We love that they show a deep love and preference toward each other, playing, talking, and sharing with one another. Of course they are children and as such at times can get under each others skin but that is definitely overshadowed by their wonderful relationship as sisters, and friends.

Spring is in the air...

and everyone is pregnant. Ok, so not EVERYONE but in the last couple of weeks we have heard of about 5 people we know who are pregnant. How wonderful!

So how does this fit into my adoption blog? Well I am having spring fever too. I want my baby, and I want him now. I don't want to wait forever to finish my homestudy, just to get on that LONG wait list that could be another 9-12 months before we have to wait another 3-4 months to bring him home.

Ok, ok, ok I admit I am being whiny, ok, VERY whiny. I just had to get it out of my system. I know God's timing will be perfect as it was for the last two adoptions and really for the arrival of all four of our children.

In the meantime I have the four most wonderfully perfect blessings here to bless my heart. I'll write more about them in my next post...

Who's out there?

The comment feature is on now and we'd love to hear from our friends!!! Email me if for some reason the blog does not allow you to leave a comment.

Still here...

So, you may be wondering if I have fallen off the face of the earth. Well though I may have felt like it, or at least how one might feel if you were spun and hurled off our planet, I am still here. For the last 2 weeks I have had a horrible nausea, headache, queasy stomach, spinning thing. The girls joked around that I was having adoption related morning sickness but the joking quickly stopped when they got the bug! Fortunately their's only lasted a week. The unfortunate part? I still have it. Well at least I got downstairs this morning (have been in bed for most of this, unable to stand or even sit up for more that a few moments without feeling like I would pass out.)

Anyway you know I cannot leave this on a "down" note, so here's the funny in all of it. Have you ever seen the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory? Remember the scene with all four grandparents in bed, doing everything? Well that is what it has looked like here, especially when Samuel joined me to do adoption paperwork. As long as I kept my head low I was able to type, type, type and keep our feverish pace to finish our homestudy. Samuel is notarizing and mailing off our documents today and except for our physicals and references it appears we are done with this part of the process. We are trying to get our homestudy done by May, which we need a miracle for as it is only when all the documents are in that they begin the study and that can take up to 3 months! Sure glad our God is in the miracle making business!

So, what is the next step you ask? Well ,we also completed our application to the Unites States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and will mail that in today as well. It is the first part of a two part process. The first comes with the filing of the I600A which begins an extensive background check of the adoptive parents and adult members in the household. It includes fingerprinting and FBI checks. Though they will begin processing our case as soon as they receive our application, our case cannot clear and receive approval until they receive our homestudy. With NC cases taking up to 5 months here (Tampa was only a few weeks!) you can see why we need for the miracle with our homestudy.

Adoption is definitely a hurry up and wait kinda process. In this case with the uncertainties in several countries it is always best to move through what you can get done ASAP before any major changes take place. We'd like to do all this paperwork as quickly as possible and then wait rather than D-R-A-G it out s-l-ow-l-y and wait even longer (believe it our not a lot of PAP's-prospective adoptive parents do it that way).

The second part of the USCIS process comes once you are referred a child and a visa has to be issued for the baby to enter the US. At that time all documentation for your adoption must be checked to make sure the child can enter the country legally.

After we mail off all our "stuff" today we begin the process of gathering all our documents for our dossier (the documents that are used in our adoption case in Ethiopia). This dossier is the "easiest" (note I did NOT say EASY!) so far. Taiwan was by far the most elaborate list of documents, certifications, and applications, oh and and everything had to be done not in triplicate but in, hmm, how do you say 5 copies of something, "quintiplicate"??? :)

Once all those documents are gathered and our homestudy is complete we will "officially" be placed on the waiting list for referral! That is still at an estimated 9 months but with 300 or so applicants doing the same thing as us right now I am sure that will change. So remembering this is all about OUR baby... EXCUSE ME, PARDON ME, LOOK OUT, STEP ASIDE,we are passing through, LOL!!!( lots of laughs!!!) : )

Moving Forward...

Today we officially signed on with the agency that will be doing our pre-placement assessment report, better known as a home study. We have worked with CAS before, and loved them, and are excited to finally be moving FORWARD!!!!