Lilypie Waiting to adopt Ticker

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Dossier Certifications




Yesterday, we visited the 'Boro again and had our dossier documents County certified. We took pictures of the county clerk hand writing the certifications for each document and she didnt mind a bit! Liam enjoyed eating raisins and spilling them all over the clerks office. Don't worry, he picked them up (and ate them!) Evan and Lacy quietly sat and played Nintendo. Following the certifications, it was time to seal them up and send them to the State for MORE certifications. This is to prove that your real documents are really real...and certifiably real. So...off via Fed Ex they went. We treated ourselves to lunch at a quaint restaurant off the town square and called it a day. We are getting closer.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Oui Oui Mocha!



I had to show off our littlest family member. She got a new t-shirt yesterday. It flaunts one of my favorite places, Paris. The back of the t-shirt reads: .
J'adore Paris Zee French make no faux paws! however, in order for her to wear it, I have one little requirement. Clean. This is not something that Mocha is always excited to be. As a matter of fact, since this special little purchase, she has had two baths in 24 hours. Why? Why? you ask? Cow patties. Need I say more?!!

Our fourth Social Worker

Just as an update, the new sw was pleasant. I think Chris and I somewhat are wanting some warm fuzzies from this place considering everything we have already been through. I have to confirm that we did NOT get this. It was a very brisk, formal, and nonwarm and fuzzy meeting....no water, no donuts, no hugs. We were able to crack a few jokes though and made a few smiles. On a real note, this agency has lost a friend through all of this. Our deceased (first) social worker's husband and her mother actually visited the agency earlier this week with the baby. She said that the husband was still very much grieving but has placed all of his energy into the son. This was the first time he had stepped into the agency since Kathy died in April. I cant imagine his emotions. She said that before she died, he would come over and that he and Kathy would eat late dinners together in the office. I cannot imagine.
We need to continue praying for them.

Dossier is in review

We spent the better part of yesterday in Murfreesboro getting our Dossier documents signed and notarized. About 30 minutes before we were supposed to meet our (new) social worker for this event, I discovered some discrepencies in the names on the documents. Some have my full name including my maiden name,some don't, some have Chris' middle name, some don't, some have a mixture of the two, some don't. I have read blogs of families who have gotten over there and when they were ready to take home their child, there were typos or strange things wrong with their paperwork. My fear (that I have to subside) is that it will happen to us.
After a panicked phone call and email to the main agency in Minnesota, we were still not sure how to resolve this. The reason is that some documents have been filled out by banks, employers, friends references, doctors,etc. These are the documents that cannot be easily changed. They all have different names. Some, like my passport and the tax statements cant be changed at all. Even our homestudy called me by my first name which I do not go by. I was all in a 'tizzy' as we left to the appt. Our sw was really not sure of the degree of strictness in the name situation. She went ahead and notarized everything with a few notarized 'extras' just in case we need to switch a few out. It is like everything depends on these signatures. Our daughter..bringing her home is dependant on the black and blue ink that covers these white pieces of paper. ..and if there is one typo....ugh.
We faxed the dossier to the agency in MN for review and we are praying that they are not only sufficient but found excellent. After this gets approved, we have to get county certifications to prove they are real and then get state certifications to prove they are even more real! This will then get officially sent to MN and we will prayerfully be placed on the waiting list.

Crisis in Ethiopia


How many times as a mom (or parent)have you felt your insides screaming when your child approaches your plate with hungry grunts and whines. You look at them and say, "this is MY food. No...you have already had your piece. This is mommy's!" Then after you indulge in another bite or two, you relinquish your selfishness and turn over the last few bites of your favorite pancakes, or your best chicken casserole or your buttered roll to the requesting child. Or you find just enough slices of bread to make sandwiches for your offspring for lunch. There is none left for you, so you turn and make some creative (sometimes barely tolerable)conconction for yourself out of frig leftovers and say to yourself,'atleast they got to eat something!'
It is our nature to care for our little ones, even to the point of sacrificing our own needs to meet theirs.
In todays news, Ethiopia is currently suffering from a major drought and elevated food costs. The news captures photos of families standing in lines to receive food rations of mixed cereals. However, due to costs all over the world, the rations have been minimized and fewer aid is coming into the country. As a result, millions are suffering. My heart sank when I read in an article:
"There is no widespread famine. There is localised, critical child malnutrition,"
"Already for some kids... it's too late, but it's not too late for many, many other children who need assistance until the next harvest comes in," said Sonali Wickrema, who designs programmes in Ethiopia for the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP).
"We want rapid assistance now in order to prevent large-scale and long-term damage," she said.
The Ethiopian government says 75,000 children are suffering from the most severe form of malnutrition because of food and water shortages caused by drought. "

At this time, right now, I have no idea where our precious daughter is in Ethiopia or what family she is coming from. I do not know her mother or other family members. She may not even be conceived yet. ..but there is trauma over there. There are blessed little children who are going to bed hungry, some have lost their lives to hunger and disease. Her family could be suffering right now. My heart aches to bring her home. ..to hold her and love on her. To give her my last piece of pancake...to bless her with the rest of my sandwich or let her drink the rest of my (favorite) sweet tea. My prayers are so layered sometimes I cant keep them straight but I hang on to the hope that Christ has given me. I hang on to the beautiful vision He has placed in my mind of her. My heart is torn for her mom and family. I am only humbled..only thankful that we have been chosen to bless her with a new home. I can't wait...just can't wait.
And my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory...

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Adoption update=>delays and new sw

We got a letter in the mail the other day from our local agency. I actually handed it to Chris not wanting to read it. He said, "What do you think it will say?" I responded, "probably that we have a new social worker!" That is EXACTLY what it was. To our dismay, they had given us another sw because our 2nd one was an intern and her time at the agency had come to an end. If you can remember, our first one tragically died during childbirth earlier this year.
Needless to say, this was not welcoming news. Due to the 4th of July holidays, we couldnt call the offices until yesterday. In a tear filled phonecall, I explained with the best of selfcontrol that I could muster, why I felt our family had not only been tossed around like a hot potato, but in light of the numerous mishaps, misinformation, and delays, we felt like our case was not being taken seriously. I did my best to convey how this is a life-changing event for our family not simply a decision to buy new windows for our house (I didnt use those words but I think she got the picture through my crying..) In the end, the agency's main sw whom I was talking to, decided to take on our case herself. THANK YOU!
I feel like we are getting back on track again..however, I will feel better when our dossier is actually in ET.
In addition to the letter from the agency, we got a letter from immigration services stating that our homestudy did not have the right wording to state that our home was safe for a child. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!! This goes back to our first and second social workers. UGH.. Anyway..that is being fixed and an addendum is being sent in the mail 'right away'.
So...how do we stay encouraged? How do we not lose hope? I remind myself that I have only just begun the process. There are many families (including some friends) out there who have been waiting for years for their precious babe from China. There are some families whose countries have just been shut down. Some families whose agencies were false and their monies stolen. My momentary troubles do not compare to these stories and I am humbled. I am reminded that God is in control. I pick myself up off my knees and wipe the tears from my eyes and trudge forward again and I thank God for my agency and for these people who have acted on my behalf and I pray that they are blessed for their work and faithfulness...and then I get back to my day.

Jesus in our Family Picture


This is a picture we had taken of our family at Easter in the Childrens church room after church that day. It was probably a few months after that we really saw the irony of the photo. In the middle of the picture you can clearly see the picture of Jesus on the backdrop appearing to stand behind me and Chris and be included in the family picture. His hands actually look like they embrace us. We couldnt have picked a more appropriate place for him in our family. Although it was a sheer accident (on our part) that we stood where we did, it was by far no accident on God's part to place himself exactly right where He belongs...right smack dab in the middle of our family, our marriage, our lives. I love looking at the picture. I look right past our smiles, the imperfections in my hair, wardrobe, etc...and I laugh..out loud, no doubt..at the beauty and humor of the Lord. It's a perfect picture!