We are Accepted!!!

I just got off the phone with AWAA and we are officially accepted into their Ethiopia program!! I felt somewhat sure that we would be, but it was so nice to hear someone congratulate me on it! Now we will have to save and hope hope hope that tee shirt sales go well! I will be going to proof them tomorrow and hopefully have them by the weekend. I am going to get a picture of them up on the blog too.

Our next step is to sign the agreement with them and pay our first program fee of $1,125. Then we will be assigned a family coordinator and we will start our home study paper chase!

Timeline

1. Apply to America World. 9-14-09
2. Wait for Approval. 9-29-09
3. Return Adoption Agreement and First Payment.
4. Wait for Homestudy Contact.
5. Dossier Documents arrive from AWAA.
6. Wait for Homestudy Documents to arrive.
7. LET THE PAPER CHASE BEGIN
8. Obtain Copies of Birth Certificates
9. Obtain Copy of Marriage License
10. Apply for Passports
11. Request and Notarize Letters of Employment
12. Home Study Application
13. Autobiographies Completed
14. Criminal Background Checks
15. Residential History
16. Statement of Faith
17. Medical Examinations for Each Member of the Family
18. Fire Protection Inspection
19. Environmental Health Inspection
20. Copies of Tax Returns
21. Pet Vaccination Verifications
22. Current Financial Statements
23. Create Floor Plan of the Home
24. Photo Session of the House
25. Home Study Reference Forms
26. Homestudy Interview 1
27. Homestudy Interview 2
28. Homestudy Interview 3
29. Jackie Hague Training
30. Greg Hague Training
31. Reference Letter A
32. Reference Letter B
33. Reference Letter C
34. Final Copy of Homestudy
35. Receive Passports
36. Criminal Background Check
37. Send USCIS I-600A Application
38. Receipt for I-600A arrives from USCIS office
39. Mail off for State Certification of Docs
40. Receive State Certification Documents
41. Receive Fingerprint Appointments
42. Complete Fingerprint Appointments
43. Receive I-171H
44. Mail Dossier to AWAA
45. OFFICIALLY DTE
46. Receive Referral
47. Accept Referral
48. Receive Schedule of Court Date
49. Pass Court
50. Receive Tentative Travel Dates (TTD)
51. Confirm Post Court Paperwork Complete
52. Receive Confirmed Travel Dates
53. Travel to Ethiopia
54. Pick up our Children
55. Arrive Home

I found this on someone's blog, but it was such a detailed timeline of how our adoption should progress I thought I would post it for you to see exactly why it takes so long" to get a baby". There is a lot of paper work that has to be filed and a lot of different forms to fill out . I thought it would be encouraging to add in our dates and see how we are progressing.

Our fun new shirts!

I found a lady in bloggy world that is making tee shirts in order to raise money for donations to an orphanage in Ethiopia that she will be visiting soon. Jennifer makes the coolest tee shirts and I wanted one so bad. Well, so did Abby and she was looking at all the colors you could get the tees in and picked one out she really liked. Well, I ordered her one for her birthday and one for me too. They came in the mail today and they were soooo cute! I couldn't wait until November to give it to her! So here we are modeling our Africa shirts. I'm not sure if you can see in the picture, but Jennifer even sewed a little heart on Ethiopia for us! Her etsy store is Lilbluebird. She has some darling baby clothes too! Now, Esther is bummed because we didn't get her one, so Abby said she would buy her one for her birthday gift.

Adoption Poster

Here is the poster that Abby made to set up at a table to sell tee shirts. We are going to seel tee shirts at the Belews Creek fall folly and the Auburn Baptist Fall festival. I think she did a really good job on explaining who we are and why we are raising money.

Where we will stay

When we travel to Ethiopia, more than likely we will be staying here. This is the place that the majority of AWAA families stay. Not too bad, if you ask me!

Shoes for a cause

I stumbled upon these cute sandals and the terrific cause behind them. The women that make these shoes live in Uganda and are making them to pay their way to school. They are super cute and I love that you can meet the women that make them via the blog world! They also make them for weddings to match bridesmaid dresses. Let me just say that I would love to wear these shoes as a bridesmaid because most wedding shoes are painful! Plus its like shoes, a bridemaid's gift and a good cause all rolled in one! They are trying to get the word out on college campuses throughout the states so that college age girls can meet and connect with the same age girls across the globe.

Here is the link!

Tee Shirts!

We are in the process of designing tee shirts to sell for our adoption costs. They will be $15 each. We are going with 2 different color shirts, Royal blue and maroon, with white ink. The kids and Greg , my mom, sister and friends have given me input on them and I think they are going to turn out really nice. Stay tuned!!

Getting organized

I made a file crate for all the documentation we are fixing to get into. I really want to be DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) by Feb 2010. That is my goal so I need some organization! I have a file for AWAA, the home study, travel plans (can't wait to fill that one up!) and mementos. I am sure I will need to add folders a long the way, but its a start!

Step one

We signed and mailed our application today! AWAA has ten days to let us know if we are approved or not. If we are, then we start our "paper pregnancy". We have been holding on to the application for about 3 weeks since we filled it all out and prayed over it and now it's in the mail!!

Being an Example

I have never really liked to be an example. Usually as a kid if someone said they were going to " make an example out of you" it meant you were going to get in trouble and they were going to use the consequences to let other kids know they better not even think about doing anything such as you had just done. Or sometimes worse, if you did something right and you were made an example then there was a standard you had to live up to.

Maybe it is wrong or bad, but I like being average. I have always looked average. Never really turning heads walking in a room, but I don't think I have ever been called " a dog" either :) I have always been an average athlete, never MVP, but I was able to contribute to the team. I always hates softball though because of having to be up to bat and everyone watching just you.

Grades were the same way, a B average was okay with me. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be invisible or hidden, but never really wanted to be the one people were whispering about either. Being the " Go To" girl was not my dream.

I think that there are a lot of girls like me out there and that is why the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer has been such a huge hit. The heroine , Bella was like that, just wanting to make it through high school and not cause any ripples and when she falls in love with a vampire and he loves her back, it puts her right in harms way of much more than she could ever imagine. When, by the fourth book, she has become so much more than she thought she could be and she ends up being very special, almost destined to greatness, even though she was unwilling to step up to the plate. This theme resonated with every girl who longs to only be average because deep down inside she is afraid that she really is just average and if she is made an example she will eventually fail.

What does this have to do with an adoption and on an adoption blog?

As much as I long to adopt a baby and as much as I feel God has called us to do it, that its not just a whim or a phase, I don't want to be an example. To those who think we shouldn't adopt a baby of another color. To those who think three children are enough. To those who don't understand why we would even want to. I don't even want to be a biblical example of a christian who follow James 1:27 and looks after orphans. Why? Why if God has called us to it wouldn't I want others to look and to learn of His Love and how He made all colors of skin and loves us all the same. To witness His provision to care for more children and that they are a heritage unto Him. To teach others that when we care for the least of these we are caring for Him . Shouldn't I be excited for that? Why do I shy away from that part of adoption?

Because I'm scared.

Scared that I might fail as a mother to a child that doesn't have the same heritage as my own. Scared that our extended family wont except him and that I will feel defensive and hateful to them. Scared we won't have enough money to get through this process and raise more children.

Then He whispers something so simple yet so profound to me....I can't, but He can.

He brings back verses to my mind that I learned as a child like,"The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it" and "Cast your cares upon Him for He careth for you." The one that sealed the deal on my questioning was "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

See, I'm not average.I am victorious. My life doesn't belong to myself. I gave it to Jesus as a little girl and it wasn't just a ticket to heaven, it should encompass every part of my being.

We teach our children to be "a sermon in shoes", we tell them to let their " little lights shine". Well, then I am not going to shirk my responsibilities and calling just because it might make me uncomfortable to be the topic of conversation or the reason for debate.

So, if you think we are crazy or you have negative things to say, I am sorry. My life is not my own...I am bought with a price. So yeah...I'm an example.

New friends

We invited the Raymer family (www.raymeradoption.blogspot.com) over for dinner last night. We had such a good time of fellowship and fun talking about ministry (he is a pastor too) and adoption. Nathan and Esther had a blast playing with their kids. I am so thankful for the opportunity to meet others who are passionate about the Lord and adoption. I am a bad blogger though because I took no pictures of the kids together...what was i thinking? (or not thinking!)

Two Children

We have been praying about the possibility of adopting two children instead of one. There is a part of me that has always dreamed about having twin boys. I know that is would be a major adjustment to our family and double the diapers, bottles etc, but I am praying that if God wills to give us twins that He would and we would be given what is needed to take care of them through HIM.

We did say on our application that we would like two children, both boys. I feel like they need to be able to have each other to lean on and love on and share a heritage together. I am not sure if we will be able to send in our application this month or not...I sure hope so, I am ready to get this ball rolling!!