Announcement of Adoption to my Hero

1/29/2009

Dear Mom,

You are a blessing to me. I know I do not say it enough, but I truly appreciate you. I think about you everyday and I pray to be a mother like you. You amaze me with your willingness to give of yourself ,as you sacrifice your needs every day. You think of your children every moment of your life. You kiss their boo boos away (yes even as adults). You are their number one supporter. You cry with them when they tumble; but you are the first to lift them up. Your words are a comfort to them when they are sad and your hugs are indescribable. You experience all of their emotions with them, whether they are of happiness, saddness, nervousness, fear, excitement, or pain. You see mom... you are my hero and my inspiration. I want to be a mother just like you. You are a best friend to me.

With that being said, I would like you to follow me on my next journey, because I know you will support me during this adventure. Our family has been called by God to another miracle...a baby boy...in Ethiopia. As a child, I knew you were special. I watched you. I watched how your hands moved, gestured, hugged, and yes even scolded. When I miss you, I still think of your hands. I think of how gentle they are...how caring...how giving...how comforting. I need your hands now. I need you to follow this journey with us. You have taught me so much, and to share these gifts with my children...all four of them. Somewhere out there, a little boy has been or will be born to a beautiful woman who will make the ultimate sacrifice and give her son to our family to raise. This woman will trust God to take care of him and place him in a home that can give him all the things you have taught me to give. God has entrusted my family and those around us to use our “hands” of love with this child. I believe he is meant for us, and it was always God’s plan. He knows us, He knows you, and He knows all of our family and friends. He trusts us, and He has called us to fulfill this request.

God has blessed me with three beautiful children and a wonderful husband; and I thank Him everyday for the opportunity to know them. Thank you for being a part of our lives and such an important inspiration to me. You are the best grandmother, mother, and my best teacher.

I love you mom.

Eating 1/2 ; not twice as much

Last night, my hubby and I were relaxing and I told him he needed to rub my feet because we were having a baby. I went on to add that now I could eat whatever I wanted because I was eating for two. After a long pause on my end and some quick reflection...I thought for a second and realized that I probably shouldn't be eating for two, I should be eating 1/2 the amount I normally do in order to save money for the adoption. This brings me to my next goal of fundraising and grants. I do have a financial plan detailed in an older blog entry, but I'm open to suggestions to save for this little bundle of joy; although I could use the weight loss and eating 1/2 would help out with that goal.

I thank everyone for their suggestions and kind words thus far. It is so inspiring and the tips to save time have been awesome. Hubby is ordering the marriage and birth certificates today, and I'm calling a second local homestudy agency to see if I have better feedback and response time.

It is also wonderful to already know of two people right before me in the process. I'm sure we'll be crazy together and I look forward to the process and possibly traveling with you!

All of this excitement sure makes this crummy Mid-West snow and temp seem like nothing.

FYI- Homestudy scheduled, as well as physicals...check, and double-check

One word says it all...APPROVED!

Megan from AGCI just called. We were approved. I say that so casually. I assure you that "casual" is not the case. I have been nesting, losing sleep, and worrying like crazy. I actually didn't expect the call until 3:00 Central time. However, I was caught off guard with the news at 11:00 our time. Wonderful!! I had been telling myself to control my reaction. I didn't want to be a huge dork or spaz...which I know that I am. I think I kept my cool. However, inside I was going crazy. Afterwards, I tried to call my husband, text my husband, and e-mail by husband. He didn't respond in his 30 second window of opportunity. Soooooo....I continued to call him, text him, and e-mail him. He finally called! It was a long 5 minutes people...trust me.

So now ladies (and gentlemen) I can officially annoy you with questions, stalk your blogs (in a good way I promise), and worry.

We have set our conference call for Monday, and the older kiddos will be at my sister-in-laws to make it nice and quiet here.

BLOGGER QUESTION OF THE DAY? Our next step is the dossier and homestudy. What should I expect? Are they going to find all of the dust bunnies in my house (like the ones on my dirty computer screen featured in this blog)? Honestly, what should I do to prepare?

Decision Day!

We are sending in our application via e-mail this afternoon. I'm nervous and excited to get this journey started! AHHHHHHHHH! It's real.

Did I mention I was...am nervous. I know we shouldn't have done this already, but we have chosen a name for our little guy. I know...it is a little too early for this type of thing. But...I cannot help it. Our family loves him already.

BLOGGERS WHO ARE ADOPTING OR HAVE ADOPTED, PLEASE GIVE SOME ADVICE THAT WILL EITHER CALM ME DOWN OR MAKE THIS PROCESS MORE SMOOTH.

Serendipity

I went to the library this morning with the kids to play and check out some books. What was supposed to be a regular library visit turned out to be so much more.

The library was not busy at the time I went and only one other family was in the Discovery Room with me. We started talking and it turns out that the women I was talking with has a beautiful little girl from Guatemala. It is such a small world. Her dad is the director of an international adoption agency and she passed along his info to me. How awesome is this? Perfect timing.

So...I was so excited about this that I called Big Daddy to tell him while he was showing the inaguaration to his class (which is cool enough in itself.) Anyway... the world became even smaller after this conversation. A women over heard me talking to Big Daddy and apologized to me for listening in to my conversation with Big Daddy, but she wanted to introduce me to her son from Ethiopia. He is 18 months and so adorable. Trust me, he is a cutie and I'm more inspired than ever to get the process underway.

ser⋅en⋅dip⋅i⋅ty 

1.
an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.
2.
good fortune; luck: the serendipity of getting the first job she applied for.

Adoption Seminar

I"m excited to hold a pamplet in my hand for an adoption conference here in town sponsored by Kingdom Kids. It will be my first seminar. I have to share something inspiring that I read on the paperwork:

"If just one new family from every chruch in America would make the decision to take a child into their home, we could completely wipe out the entire foster care system in the U.S.!"

Explore. Dream. Discover.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -Mark Twain

Kisses in the Wind

I travel to other people's blogs often ;and I am very guilty of stealing information and touching stories. I found the following poem and just had to post it. I'm a thief.

KISSES IN THE WIND
I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams. You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.
I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long. But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.
Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you. I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.
Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend. But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight. And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.

Merry Christmas Again!

Merry Christmas in Ethiopia today!

Ethiopian Christmas is known as Ganna. It is celebrated on 7th of January,the Feast of the Epiphany.At dawn, everyone dresses in white. Most Ethiopians don a traditional shamma, a thin, white cotton wrap with brightly colored stripes across the ends. The shamma is worn somewhat like a toga. Urban Ethiopians might put on white Western garb.Christmas celebrations take place both in ancient churches carved from solid volcanic rock and modern churches designed in three concentric circles. Men and boys are made to sit separately from girls and women and the choir sings from the outside circle. Candles are given to people as they enter the church. They light the candles, then walk three times around the church and stand throughout the mass, which may take as long as three hours.Traditional Christmas dish includes Injera, a sourdough pancake like bread, which serves as both plate and fork along with Doro Wat, a spicy chicken stew served in ornamented baskets.Giving gifts is not a big deal in Ethiopia and children usually receive clothes as presents.On Christmas Eve, people remain outdoors and pray and chant all night. In the morning, a colorful procession marches to the nearby hilltop headed by three young men with whips to keep everybody in line, where a service is held. After the prayers, priests bless the bread and wine and distribute it to everybody. People dance, play games and feast for the rest of the day.---Sources: eHow.com, How Stuff Works.com