Sunday, July 29, 2012

Amazed...Anticipating...Anxiously Awaiting

For two years, we have been working and waiting for our children in Ethiopia - children we do not know, have never seen but to whom we know the Lord will lead us.  The first of three big days in international adoption are "referral day", the day the anxiously waiting family finally receives a phone call and email with the details and pictures of the child they have been matched with.  The second big day is the "pass court day" when the parents travel to (in our case) Ethiopia,and appear before the courts to formally and officially adopt their child.  Most families pass court on the first go-round, but sometimes more information is needed on the child to be adopted before the adoption can be granted.  The third and last day, often the most exciting and emotional, is the "Gotcha day!!"  On this day, the family has passed medical, received their child's Visa, and may now bring their child home from Ethiopia.   

On Friday I spoke with our case worker at the adoption agency about different financial concerns I had as well as questioned her about referrals given during Ethiopia's rainy season (Aug. 8-late Sept) when the adoption courts are closed.  She informed me that referrals are still received, approved, and given to families during that time but a Court Date cannot be made until after the courts reopen near the end of September.  So, once again concerned about the money, I replied, Okay, well that gives us a month or two before we will receive a referral to raise the money we need to accept it.  To my shock and delight she replied tentatively.. or a few days. (!?!?)  What?!?!  So after a little prodding on my part, she told me that the agency was about to receive more referrals to give out but she couldn't say anything officially to me until the children's files had been approved and released for referral.  But...she said...I will be calling you on Monday!  She did tell me that she didn't want to say too much and get my hopes up, but that it looked very much like a referral was coming our way.  

So, in true Lauren fashion,  I absolutely got my hopes up.  Come on, seriously, what did she expect! We have taken some drastic measures to be able to find the almost $14,000 we need to accept the referral, but by the grace of our most loving Father in Heaven, we were able to manage to gather all but about $500 of the total sum needed.  We also had some wonderful friends and family who were able to help us by contributing to our adoption fund.  I am so humbled and amazed by the goodness of God and the wisdom in his timing.  He has blessed us beyond measure to be able to build our eternal family through adoption.  We are so deeply grateful for our wonderful friends and family who have loved and supported us throughout the wait.  We still have a long journey ahead of us, but we have faith that the Lord will continue to help us bring our children home.  

Long story short?  Stay tuned...we might have some great news to share tomorrow!!  ...But don't get your hopes up!  :o)   

Friday, July 27, 2012

Meanwhile in Afghanistan


Let's face it...sometimes men and women just aren't good at the same jobs.  I know, I know, all the feminists out there are crying foul right now.  Just think about it for a moment.  The picture above makes the job of an Infantry soldier look great!  Peaceful even.  The picture below is a little closer to reality.  Here is a pretty picture - it's almost 110 degrees outside, you're covered from head to toe, carrying an extra 55 pounds and your only mode of transportation are your feet.  Not too bad?  Well, add the tat-tat, ta tat-tat of small arms fire and the BOOM of an IED explosion and now your day is a typical one in Afghanistan.  
This picture of my sweet, handsome, strong husband was taken just one hour after he and his platoon experienced yet another IED explosion.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I think I will handle the stresses of managing our home and securing funds for the adoption without complaint from now on.  In fact, I feel quite spoiled in my air conditioned home, with a soft bed and quiet neighborhood.  Even as a veteran of OIF, I cannot begin to comprehend what some of these soldiers in Afghanistan experience on a regular basis.  Feeling very grateful for the soldiers who honorably serve to defend and protect.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

We're Number 1!! We're Number 1!!

Wahooo!!  After more than 19 months of waiting, we are FINALLY #1 in line!!  Well, at least we are first in line for a sibling group or twins, and first for a boy in our age range.  We are, however, fourth in line for a girl.  Isn't that amazing?  We could potentially receive a referral for a child or a sibling group in the next month or two!!  We are so thrilled, but we also have a lot of work to do.

If we receive a referral for twins or siblings, we will be required to wire the agency $13,860 in order to accept the referral and start the process to appear before the Ethiopian courts to formally adopt our children.  Here's the thing...our total adoption expenses will be over $35,000 and we can't do it alone.  I know our Father in Heaven will help us bring our children home, but we need your help too.  

See the link at the right to 100 Good Wishes...it links to our page where family, friends, and other well-wishers can send our children a good wish and make a small donation via Paypal to help us bring them home.  We are also applying for adoption grants and squeezing our budget to continue to put in as much of our own money as possible.  Thank You in advance for your loving support of our family and our children. 

If you are interested in the breakdown of adoption costs, there is a new tab at the top of our blog entitled Adoption Expenses, which will show you the first page of the financial agreement we signed with our adoption agency. 

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

One GIANT leap of faith

Matthew and I have always been filled with the desire to build our family through the gift of adoption.  In February 2010 we began investigating the process of adopting domestically and internationally...costs, time frames, process, etc.  We decided we would pursue international adoption in the beautiful country of Ethiopia!

We have now officially been in the process with our agency, Children's House International, for two years.  For the last 19 months we have been awaiting a referral.  A referral is a packet of information on a child that meets your adoption specifications for the child you would like to adopt.  A few days ago we increased our age range...yesterday we made a HUGE change. (In my opinion anyway).  After conferencing as a couple - via Skype messaging mind you - and after prayer and fasting we decided to change our child preferences to be as follows:

A girl OR boy between the ages of newborn and 2 1/2 years old, can be HIV+ and can also have minor correctable defects.  We are also approved and happy to accept a sibling boy or girl up to the age of 4.

What is so big about that you may very well wonder.  Well, we have been expecting to adopt a baby girl from Ethiopia for the past two years ...and perhaps we still will, but we felt like we needed to open ourselves up a little bit to allow the Lord to help us find the child intended for our family.  I must say, I am still very excited about this change even though it was a difficult one to make.  A referral could be right around the corner!!  Which of course means <gulp> we need to have at least $9500 ready in order to accept the referral, or more than that if we receive a referral for siblings.  I know God can work miracles, and we are about to need a big one.  

Friday, July 20, 2012

Just Keep On Moving

The process of adoption is filled with many unexpected road blocks for every family choosing to embark on the journey.  We, however, seem to enjoy taking the adoption "road" under perpetual construction with seemingly endless road closures and detour signs hindering the path.  

Did you know that each time you move, a home study update is required?  Yes indeed, it is true, and each home study update costs another big chunk 'o change out of the already withered wallet.  We FINALLY got our second home study update completed and approved today!!  (We have moved twice since our original home study was completed.)  So wonderful!  Except that just today we decided to shift the age range of our child up to 30 months instead of 18 months.  Alas, the home study update is now under way again.  

The good news is...we DID change our approved age range for a child to "newborn to 30 months (2 1/2 years)"!  Yay!!  We are waiting on a referral for a little girl in that range and many, many families just like us want a little girl too.  As a result, the wait can be veeeeerrry looooonng.  (We have been waiting 19 months.)  But as I said, we are excited about the change that we decided to make after careful consideration and prayer.  We know our Father in Heaven has His plan and timeline mapped out for us and our daughter.  Each day we are continually reminding ourselves that all will be well as we continue in faith.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Photo Updates

 We got a dog!  Moto Moto is a Great Dane.
Daddy getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan.
Our First Home!!

Learning Focus and Patience

Can you believe my last post was almost 11 months ago?  What has happened in that time to keep me away...too much, I tell you, too much!!

Just five days after my last post on August 10th, I closed on our first house.  Matt was away at Army Ranger School still so I went through the whole process of contracting, obtaining the loan, making selections and closing on the home by myself.  

A couple weeks later Matt graduated Ranger School and mid September the Army moved us to our new Duty Station in Georgia and into our new home!  A new home means a new Home Study is required.  Unfortunately, we had to wait on the Home Study until we had fenced in our yard and fenced out the massive pond at the back of our 1 acre lot.  Sadly, this meant dipping into our adoption fund in order to be able to put up the fence.  

Obviously we needed to pass the Home Study, so the fence went up.  We finished unpacking our belongings into our new home...and Matt received deployment orders.  He spent the month of February training for deployment at Fort Irwin, California and came home with just enough time for our social worker to perform the home visits and interviews before he left for Afghanistan in March.

The boys and I have been missing Daddy so very much each day.  I am finishing up with the final year of my Bachelor's degree program in Family Life Studies and our sweet, goofy boys are so tired of seeing me with my nose stuck to my textbooks and computer screen.  The good news is that I will finally be graduating in December of this year!!  Wahoo!

So mid-June marked three months of Matt being gone to Afghanistan and a whopping 18 months that we have been on the "waiting list".  We are waiting for a baby girl from Ethiopia between the ages of newborn and 18 months.  We also decided that should a baby girl with HIV come our way, we would love to bring her into our home.  So we are learning all we can now about what it means to care for a family member with HIV.  

I have to admit, I thought that we would have our baby girl by now but the Lord has other plans.  I am learning the meaning of patience as we continue to wait and work for our little girl and trust in the Lord's timeline for our family.  When the time is right we will finally be united with the precious daughter that we belong to.  Keep us in your prayers please, we have been waiting so long and we miss having our beloved Daddy in our home.  

More updates to come soon...