11.25.2013

#42

We received a short email today from our agency letting us know we are currently #42 on our agencies waitlist.  This is a list of all the families who are currently waiting to be matched with a child.  The list is not divided by gender or age, it's just one big list. 

We were also told this number will go down as soon as they have a chance to review and approve our dossier!

11.23.2013

Another big step & a photo

The final documents we had been waiting on for our dossier arrived Friday afternoon!  I sprinted out of the house to grab the mail and quickly started assembling everything we needed on our dossier checklist.  I love that Ryan works from home a few days a week.  It made taking a quick photo of him to put in our paperwork so much easier.  Let me tell you, the fact that he shaved for this photo on a Friday afternoon, truly showed me how much he loves me and was willing to help get this thing turned in!

We rushed out the door at 5pm, ran a few errands to get things notarized, copied and then sent our precious stack of papers away.  Praying next week we might hear they have all been approved and we will finally be given our official wait list number.

I'm giddy about the thought of getting "the call" again, in a few months or years it just makes my heart race.  See with Luke, I missed the call.  Then when I did arrive home to open up his picture I didn't have the romantic reaction adoptive parents always glow of having.  I was crushed, I didn't feel overwhelming instant love for him.

It was more like....  Who was this kid?  Why was he wearing pink? Why is he so tiny?  He doesn't look like what I thought he would look like?  Ummmm, cause somehow I had imagined in my mind what my Ethiopian child would look like?!

Now looking back on it, maybe I knew this picture also represented a little baby boy who was taken from his parents arms and placed in an orphanage.  He was alone, had know idea what lay ahead of him and the journey it would take.  Maybe I just couldn't be joyful knowing for months another parent had faced the greatest loss imaginable.  How cruel the world seemed that this heartache had been placed on her for no fault of her own.

He is our precious son who God put in our family.  He has a past, and a first family that loved him more dearly then I may ever truly understand.  At times I want to hop on a plane and sit together with his birth parent once again.  Cry and share together.  I had no idea how I would miss them as much as I miss his birth country.  See the love he has from our family and his first family is something I could have never imagined in my little dreams about what our referral day might be like.  That little picture didn't reveal to me all we would learn, feel and experience along this road.  Adoption is such a jumbled mess of emotions, losses, joys and beauty.  All of which I wouldn't trade for the world.

It's ok to not feel instant love for a emailed photo.  It's ok, because now 3 years later I love him more fiercely then I ever thought possible.


Someone is very excited about being a big brother!

11.08.2013

Village to Village International

Our family is thrilled to be partnering with Village to Village to help bring our little girl home!  


Village to Village is an amazing organization with a vision to bring hope to the global orphan crisis by caring and advocating for orphans and providing financial solutions for adoptions.  V2V helps families by taking donations on our behalf that are 100% tax deductible and 100% goes to our adoption!  They take zero funds from the donations for themselves.  They are an amazing group of people who share our heart for helping children in need around the world.

I hope you will check out the profile they put together for our family and learn more about what V2V is all about!  Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

11.04.2013

Asfaw's Story

I came across this video posted by a friend on facebook.  Such a powerful story.

I hope you will take a few moments to watch Asfaw's Story.




Today we also had our USCIS fingerprinting done.  I have to say it was very surreal sitting in the room with Ryan and Luke.  Just over 3 years ago we were going through the same process for our first adoption.  Holding my almost 4 year old and remembering the same prayers I had for his adoption and now here we are on journey #2.  This time with our eyes much more open to the needs of children and the unimaginable loss they will or have already faced.  

Luke then rambled off a few questions, asking me if a baby had been born yet and where she was.  My heart skipped a beat.  So many unknowns, but trusting in Him.