August 29th Reflections

First I must shout out to my dad because today is his birthday! I will not post your age dad, so relax.... But I must say, I hope our son learns from you the art of doing for others while asking nothing in return, and the importance of hard work.

We are in the process of scheduling doctor visits for a million tests, obtaining financial pictures (does that mean we take a picture of the money we don't have???) and securing references (please, please find something nice to say).

What we've realized through this arduous journey, is that all couples should go through this process! It certainly makes one appreciate the role of parenthood and the immense responsibility of raising a child.

Ok, enough of my soap-box... Things are going well and if we can stay focused we should have our formal application completed soon. That is, if our insurance company, bank, and physician reports fall into place.

Then, we'll be waiting for our 6 hour home study. Todd and I are practicing all the nice things we will say about each other and all of our family. Don't worry - we've rehearsed and it sounds very sincere.....

Our big Purchase!

Just wanted family and friends to see the bed we selected yesterday. It is very simple - but my favorite color red. The bedding is by Nautica and is a patchwork of primary colors. One step down to a complete room! Now, if we can just agree on a "theme".

And, we're off....

This past Saturday, we attended a workshop at the Gladney Center. The 3 hour program explored topics such as: bonding, child development, understanding medical referrals and how to travel home on a 21 hour flight. We learned more than we could have imagined and explored advice that we know will help equip us for this future transition. Todd and I are both so impressed with the care and support Gladney provides adopting families.

We sat at a table with a couple adopting from Russia and a woman who is adopting from China. These families have been waiting for some time now to bring their babies home due to processing delays. We felt sort of guilty when we explained that we could have a referral in as little as 6 months.

Today I learned that a young boy who visited Fort Worth, TX during Bright Future Camp will be attending the school where I work. This young boy is from Ethiopia and I can't wait to hear his story and meet him! The ironic part is that his story was posted on the Gladney webpage for a while and it happened to be the first story I stumbled upon when first considering adoption.

Our formal Gladney application should arrive any day now and we are sending off our 1600A for approval as well. One step closer to our home study and answering a million questions - one of which is, "what would you change about your spouse." Todd and I are carefully considering how to answer that question with the least amount of sarcasm as possible.

We are exicted to embark on this journey together and we are so thankful we have friends and family who have been so supportive. Thanks for sharing this journey with us.

Step 1

We attended a Gladney seminar and completed our first (but not our last) application. We were told, much to our surprise, that we could expect a referral as early as Feb.!!!But now, our focus is our long Gladney application and obtaining permission to adopt a U.S. immigrant.

Tune in for updates - it's going to be a long, bumpy ride.

"Oh! We're having a 4-5 year old boy... I guess on paper we're pregnant???"

HERE WE GO!

A couple of months ago, I caught a documentary piece on Africa - Lisa Ling's rare inside glimpse into the world of Ghana's "fishing children". The special focused on reuniting African children with parents who had turned them over to work on fishing boats. Many of the boys were between the ages of 4 and 10 years old and worked as many as 10 hours a day. A relief organization worked to reunite the boys, but many were left without homes due to death and the inability to find their families. Thus, these boys were placed in orphanages.

I remember a male reporter who brought in toothbrushes for the boys at the orphanages. The young children carried these toothbrushes around with them and wouldn't put the toothbrush down because it was the only possession they owned. These boys were so "proud" of their toothbrushes and what it represented for them. Weeks later, I still couldn't forget these boys... I felt drawn to them in an unexplainable and unimaginable way. Their resilience and optimism impressed me on many levels.

After sharing my reactions with Todd, we immediately began discussing the possibility of international adoption. We began the journey of researching programs and found The Gladney Adoption Agency. Knowing families who have adopted from Gladney, we automatically felt at home with the decision to work with Gladney.

So...let the paperwork begin:
Orientation
Applications
Background Checks
Homestudy Reports
Fingerprints
Physicals
Dossier
Are we having fun yet?