March 13, 2008
Hard Day!
We are really coming down to the wire on our dossier and other paperwork. It looks like several our requirements will have to be redone now :( I have been stressing about all of it coming together as it should for the past month, and today I feel like all my biggest worries came true. It was one of those days when it seems everything goes wrong. Please pray for our process and our emotions as we proceed.
March 10, 2008
Life Books Website
I found this website that is designed to help people make life books for their adopted kids. The thing I really liked about it was the "hand picked links" button. There are some fun links to follow from this page. I thought you other adoptive parents might like to check it out...
February 27, 2008
Homestudy Interviews Done!
We had our last interview today, so we are thinking we will be sending in our dossier by the end of March (and meet our deadline). It went very well, and we are very comfortable with our case worker. Thanks for checking in on us and for all the prayers. We are ready to move on to the next steps...finally.
February 23, 2008
Scrapbooks
In order to earn a little extra money for our adoption I have made some cute little scrapbooks. Each book has 20 different 6x6 pages and I have 4 boyish ones and 4 girlish ones done so far. Although they have mostly boy or girl pages they could be used for siblings too. These would be great for baby shower gifts, grandparents, or parents who want a fun way to keep photos but don't have time to scrapbook. Each book is going for a minimum donation of $38.00 plus shipping. I also plan on making some adoption/Ethiopia specific books if anyone is interested in those. If you are interested in either one of the finished books or pre-ordering a adoption/Ethiopia book please leave a comment on this blog and I will get in contact with you. Thanks and hope you enjoy them!
February 22, 2008
A bit of relief among the harsh reality
As we prepare to bring our child home we are required to do educational courses about adoption. Some of these have been a very good reality check for us, and some tell of the heart breaking trials that orphans and abandon children often go through. As I was reading one course on orphanages and institutionalized children I came across this paragraph that made me so happy...
"IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A "GOOD ORPHANAGE"?
In Ethiopia, orphanage children performed as well as family children [children living in a home with a family] in various behavioral and psychological testing, especially those who entered the orphanage early. Superior social interactions with peers have been seen among orphans from Ethiopia and Romania. Indeed, in many countries, orphanages may appear attractive to desperately poor families."
From THE HANDBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION MEDICINE by Laurie C. Miller. © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
We know that the Ethiopian people highly value children and are very loving people. The orphanage that our little boy will come from, Hannah's Hope, is so wonderful and we have heard nothing but great things about it and the people who work there. We feel so blessed to be adopting from a great country and a wonderful orphanage whose people try with all they have to keep these children safe, healthy, and loved. We know that this does not guarantee that our child will not have suffered, but it does give us hope.
"IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A "GOOD ORPHANAGE"?
In Ethiopia, orphanage children performed as well as family children [children living in a home with a family] in various behavioral and psychological testing, especially those who entered the orphanage early. Superior social interactions with peers have been seen among orphans from Ethiopia and Romania. Indeed, in many countries, orphanages may appear attractive to desperately poor families."
From THE HANDBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION MEDICINE by Laurie C. Miller. © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
We know that the Ethiopian people highly value children and are very loving people. The orphanage that our little boy will come from, Hannah's Hope, is so wonderful and we have heard nothing but great things about it and the people who work there. We feel so blessed to be adopting from a great country and a wonderful orphanage whose people try with all they have to keep these children safe, healthy, and loved. We know that this does not guarantee that our child will not have suffered, but it does give us hope.
February 20, 2008
New Date
So providing that all goes well we will finish up our homestudy interviews next Wednesday. It could be a very long day, but worth it if it means we can be done with that part. I feel like the rest of my dossier is just sitting there getting dusty waiting to add the last item (homestudy report) before we can send it off. Please continue to pray for quick writting and processing of the study so we meet our deadline. This and safety for our little guy are our top prayer needs right now! Not much else to report except a few very precious donations, thanks guys!
February 16, 2008
No Homestudy on Friday
We did not end up having our second interview this Friday :( Our agent had to cancel, but hopefully we will get it done next week! Since the homestudy is the only thing left to do we are anxious to be one of the "Dossiers in office" on the bi-weekly emails from Martha. Please be praying that we get done soon since we are starting to feel a little bit of a time crunch with our dossier due date.
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