BIG DADDY BINDER!!!

Ok, so today's task was to compile all of our adoption documents into a GINORMOUS 3-ring binder. It needs to be organized a bit more, but at least we know what's what. Yes, every single one of the sheet protector pages contains a document that must be obtained, completed, mailed, faxed, certified, authenticated, paid for, fingerprinted or something... :)

This weekend, we'll work to plot a giant wall "map" of our to-do list and then make deadlines. I can't wait to get things going! At least now, even though I am overwhelmed, I can make heads or tails of what to do next and have some sense of control. I cannot imagine being done with this process, being "paper pregnant" and waiting months to get our referral! That will be an insane time and as my dear friend from Colorado says, it will be "Excrutia." But at least then, I can shop for baby clothes and be "legit!" :)

So here it is, "BIG DADDY BINDER." Don't ask me why I named it that, but its a big 'un! Ok, time to get to work! WHEW! I'm pooped already. :)

Ethiopia Adoption Video

Wow! I have been so blessed to be a part of a Yahoo group dedicated to adoptive families from our agency. Everyone from our agency is a Christian so the power of prayer is evident. So far, I have been quiet, waiting in the wings, listening and watching prayer for those awaiting forms, court dates and travel dates to go get their children! .

There was a lost of frustration this past week. Papers were lost, not being processed, court approval was not gained, travel information not received. A group prayer occurred on Sunday night for two hours. On Monday and Tuesday, MIGHTY things happened! Court dates were given, court was passed, travel dates given and plans made! Amazing the hand of God when we just cry out to Him! It is just so cool to see a group of total strangers, waiting for their child. I could say so much more, but for now, I had to post this video. If you ask why we chose Ethiopia instead of a domestic (U.S.) adoption, or another country, this is why. I think the sound of these Ethiopian children singing is the best choir my ears (and heart!) have EVER heard. Read the statistics. Look at the pictures. Gaze into the eyes of these children.

We desire too, to make the number of orphans in Ethiopia MINUS 1.

OY VEY!

Lee and I sat down for 2 hours last night to pour over our first set of documents. I must admit I haven't been so overwhelmed since working to complete my Master's Thesis in graduate school. It seemed an impossible task, as does this adoption. I cannot even begin to describe the sheer amount of paperwork involved in the "paperchase." So, after praying to commit the process to God, we took deep breaths and began to read. Lee maintained a level of calm I could not believe! So today, I decided I would bite off little bites of each task and complete them daily. I have to get a big chunk of this done before I start my new job so I will do a little every day. Each time I work on a task, I will pray that God will be in control of that step. It is amazing how much better that makes me feel than pretending we actually have any semblance of control at all over this entire situation.

I spent 100 bucks on birth and marriage certificates. Between that, our first payment to the agency and homestudy fees, our adoption account is wiped out. Please continue to pray for financial miracles. We believe God will provide for us throughout this process! I do not like asking people for money, so we hope that God will surprise us! Pray my new job affords us the abillity to save and be good stewards of God's blessings.

I also hooked up with other families on our agency Yahoo chat group. It is ONLY Ethiopia families from OUR agency. what a blessing it is to read their notes and emails. One family just returned from the court date and will be going back to get their son in a few weeks. She mentioned that she is soooo thrilled that they changed the laws to require parents to travel twice. Despite the cost involved, she said she wouldn't trade seeing her son when he was tiny, because in a few weeks he'll be much bigger. It is indeed a blessing in disguise.

So, we're on our way. I promise not to bore you with daily updates of the tasks we've completed, but this is the first tangible thing I've done. Everything else thus far has been rather abstract. Mostly dreaming about holding our child.

Someone told me that you can't eat an entire elephant at once. You must bite off one bite at a time. That's what I intend to do, committing each nibble to the Lord. Today was yet a tiny sampling.

Off to write our autobiographies, talk to people about writing recommendation letters, write our application letters, etc. Good thing my favorite thing in the world is to write! :)

Lee has already kindly agreed to let me take the writing duty over. :)

What a Quote!!!

I stole this off a friend's adoption blog site. She is on day 62 of waiting for her referral. All paperwork is in and she is officially "paper pregnant." Yesterday's entry was this:



"Waiting is one of God's most powerful tools of grace.
God doesn't just give us grace for the wait. The wait itself is a gift of grace.
You see, waiting is not only about what you will receive at the end of the wait.
Waiting is about what you will become as you wait"

-- Paul David Tripp

>I fully intend to print this out and post it in every obvious spot in the house--at eye level.

Can I get an Amen?

Madison Grace Colin

Where do I start? I am in love with this child. She is the sweetest thing in the world! And the cutest! When I first arrived at Brad and Erin's I couldn't believe how tiny she is. The pictures make her look bigger than she really is. She is about 7 pounds now so has almost doubled in weight. She is so petite though and her fingers and so long. She has the deepest, darkest blue eyes I've ever seen and she tries to focus when you look at her close. She make the funniest faces, including my favorite face, which is a frownie face. I LOVE watching her sneeze and yawn. I enjoyed feeding, burping and changing her. We danced a lot and we tried an ecclectic array of dance types, including tango, salsa, two step, country line dance, jazz, honeybear diddys, and waltz. She enjoyed that... So, to summarize an amazing first visit with my BEAUTIFUL niece, I have written a top 10 list of my favorite things about my visit with Maddie!

1. The way she crinkles her nose to sneeze

2. Her shrill little "cries" (I think she likes to hear herself)

3. Her little chin dimple

4. Her little outfits with built in ballet slippers

5. The way she screams when she gets her diaper changed (it sounds mean but she is soooo cute)

6. The way my brother is with her. He's so sweet and loves her so much!

7. Erin's use of cloth diapers. I think that is just amazing!
8. Her Montana Grizz outfits and little bear.

9. The way she fell asleep on my chest.

10. Every single thing about her!!!

Erin and Maddie in Phillipsburg

Grampie and Maddie

STTTTTTRETCH!


GO GRIZ!

Daisie feels a little left out

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Zonked out

Step One!

Today was a special day! I was feeling a bit blue after coming back from meeting my niece Madison Grace. I had such a GREAT time with her, Brad, Erin, Mom, Dad and Lee (and Daisie) that I didn't want to come home to work AT ALL. (I'll save my Maddie stories for another post). So, after having a bit of baby withdrawal blues, we got a call from our official social worker assigned to our adoption case! Before, we had Amy, a FABULOUS gal who was assigned as our intake case worker. She was sooo great and patient as this process took awhile to get started. Now, we have Emily and she called to introduce herself. Next, we received an email with our first 15 or so documents, agreements and lists. Then, we saw a list with our next payment total (somewhere around $10,000 and that's only some of it!). GULP! Then, we found out when our scheduled adoption conference call would be (tomorrow). Finally, we received the first of our weekly encouraging emails with updates and a Bible verse. Again, I couldn't be happier that we selected this agency. I highly recommend it thus far, and had to add a quote from the email Emily sent. I can't imagine Jesus not being the originator and protector on this journey.


I am delighted to begin this journey with your family. There will be blessings and challenges along the way; however, I trust our feet will always have the Light to walk in as Christ is the leader of this voyage. I am praying for your family as you begin this exciting stage.
Joyfully,
Emily

I was just thinking today that we've been traveling this journey for 14 months already. During the time I was laid off, I spent 6 months praying about this process and researching agencies. Then, we applied, then we raised and saved money, and now we begin the dossier (paperwork) process. We also are scheduling our homestudy very soon! All that said, we hope to have this stage of the process completed in 6 months! Then, we wait about 4 months (give or take) to get our referral. Then another month to travel to our court date, then another 1-2 months to bring our baby home! So, all that said we HOPE we will have our little angel in a year!!! We are hoping for him/her to be our anniversary present next year!

I realized this weekend how ready I am to be a mother. With Maddie, I was changing diapers, feeding, burping and just finally felt ready. She made the longing in my heart for my own child grow stronger. I can't imagine loving a child more than I love her. She is just precious!


My friend from college wrote on my facebook wall and said she was thinking of me, all he pain we've endured and this song came on the radio as she prayed for us!!! And she gave me an amazing quote I had to share! Check out this song. The words have never rung more true in my life than now!

http://s0.ilike.com/play#Josh+Wilson:Before+the+Morning:143556922:s56102032.13624421.6749593.0.2.287%2Cstd_0de82357ccc346728181ad9cad11a748

"Coincidences are little miracles in which God wishes to remain anonymous."

A little Miracle named Madison Grace