Created for Care

This past weekend was a great weekend! I attended the Created For Care Retreat in Atlanta, GA. Me and one of my besties, Beth, that is adopting domestically had a great time together!

Ahh! Driving in Atlanta in this HUGE (haha) SUV!

I would say I had two three four highlights of the actual retreat. It was totally great, but these things realllly were the icing on the cake!

Yes we were only gone for the weekend...

Speaking of cake, lets talk about food! These ladies knew what women want. FOOD! They had great meals, but even better snacks! We had all the sodas and candy we could want for free all weekend. They even had one of those candy shelves that they have at candy stores filled with some healthy and some not so healthy treats! Every night they provided multiple types of cakes and desserts. At one point during the weekend, they even had free ice cream bars! Yes. The food alone would have been worth the trip!!

Although...it gets better!!  Not only was there great good but they had some awesome ministries represented. I was a little excessive the first night there and bought something from just about every booth. (Well maybe not, but I did buy a lot!). It was just as cool as I had imagined seeing and meeting some of the women behind these ministries!

 I was pretty pumped I met and talked to Kelly Putty from Ordinary Hero.

Here is a run down of the ministries we got to support!

Light Gives Heat 60 Feet Sole Hope 147 Million Orphans 

WIPHAN Ordinary Hero Visiting Orphans Mwana

My African goodies :)

Our new t-shirts!

On a more serious note the next highlight was the experience of worshipping with over 400 women who have a heart for adoption. Sometimes I would catch myself just staring around the room thinking these women all know what I am going through. All these women get it! Most of the worship songs were cleverly geared towards trusting God and his timing. It was so much more powerful to sing those songs with these women that clearly have had to trust in His great timing and release their plans to God.

Adoption Friends!!

The last highlight was the most personal one to me. If you have read anything about this retreat you have probably heard of the Date with God session. I was very apprehensive about this because I thought it was corny. However, we got into the room and the leader explained that we shouldn't talk to anyone else. It would be like being on a much anticipated date with  your hubz and  your chatty friend comes up and talks the whole meal. Something about that picture whipped my mind into the mindset that this was in fact a "date" with God. So for the first time (maybe ever) I just sat and released myself to God. I just really felt like God wanted me to talk about myself. He wanted to hear everything I was holding in, He wanted ME to talk, He wanted all the attention on ME.  I know that sounds weird and kind of not really the way God works, but it was something I needed. It was really cool and I am glad I went and had that experience on a Date with God.

 Overall. Great retreat!

The trouble with IF.

Ryan and I have some great things going on in our lives right now. Some of those things are public knowledge and some of them aren't ready to be shared. All of the stuff we have going on is really exciting, IF it all works out. IF....that is a word that has been haunting me the past few months. I have been caught off guard by how much I let the implications of that word harden my heart. I have started not allowing myself to get excited because what IF it doesn't work out? The IF has really crushed my spirits and so not typically my style. I think because I want this stuff to happen so badly that I am trying to guard myself from disappointment. One example is our adoption. I am really so excited about it, but I haven't even let myself go to the true excitement of becoming a mom. I just keep thinking what if Ethiopia closes the doors to adoption? What if the wait gets even longer? Will I ever get my Ethiopian baby? Then comes the doubts of what will happen IF I get a baby... What if he has too many issues for me to handle? What if he doesn't attach to me? What am I doing!! It is a deadly spiral and the devil definitely steals my joy, kills my excitement, and destroys my mood! And this my friend, is not the way I want to live my life. I want to rest in the fact that my God is working for my good. I was created to do GOOD works that he has prepared in advance for me to do. He will sustain me and be my rock. He is who I want to focus on and be excited about! So that is what I am trying to do. Focus on God and know that whatever does happen is going to be for GOOD! I am going to try and let myself get excited and break past the wall of doubt because I was created to enjoy life and be the light of the world! How can I be the light if I am afraid to shine?!

Delivered!

Our dossier has been delivered to Ethiopia. Yep. Pretty excited! Doesn’t mean anything, just good to know it made the long trip!
We are “unofficially” number 83 on the ever increasing and ever slowing wait list.
We got some bad news the day before we were DTE. Our agency increased the wait time to 18-24, just to get a referral (matched with a baby). This was definitely not expected, but it should have been. Things are just slowing down. We pray )and would love for you to pray) that things would miraculously speed up. It’s all in God’s timing.
What does that look like for our family? Well it looks like it will be a long time before we have our Ethiopian baby here. That’s about all I know. I am okay though, I know God has a plan for our lives and He will give us a baby when we are ready.
On a lighter note, I will be attending the Created 4 Care retreat this weekend! I am soooooo excited. I get to see some bloggers that I have been following for a long time, meet other adoptive mommies, worship with those mommies our Creator, and relax! What could be better??
Here are some pictures from the last few days…


A Pig Roast (yes they had a literally PIG) Luau.

My first time to wakeboard! I was up just long enough for a picture!!

What an excellent day!!
My week has been amazing. Probably one of the best weeks I have had in a long time. I am overflowing with joy from having Jesus in my heart!! I hope you all do to and know the awesomeness I am feeling right now. Have a great weekend!!

DTE!

Today is our day!!! We are officially DTE!

What's next?? Well we are at the waiting stage! We just wait for the sweet baby that God has for us. The wait time is really long right now, but not something we are focusing on. God has a plan for us and His timing is perfect, so we are resting in that! This day is super important because it means we are ready. Any day, any time we could get a referral. Let the wait begin!!!

Dossier Received!

Dossier Received! What a much anticipated subject line in my inbox! I literally can't stop smiling! Our dossier made it safe and sound to America World in Virginia. I was told that our anticipated DTE will be next Friday! March 16th,2012. This is the date that we will determine our spot on the ever increasing wait list.
I still have a little anticipation about actually being officially DTE. I am continuing to pray that next Friday is in fact our date. I can't believe we are finished!! It is so weird to be done with the paperchase. It is all out of our hands. Ahhh!!
Here are some pictures to document this emotional/dramatic week in our adoption!!

We didn’t get to go mail it off together, but we had some fun the night before!
 

Before: Compiled Dossier, After: Tracking receipt!  

Woohoo!!

What a wonderful day!!

Wedding Day Cry

It is ready. Our dossier has been checked, and checked again. It is tied up and ready to be packaged and mailed. I finally feel a sense of relief. I can't believe all that waiting and preparation is over.  I kind of feel like I did after my wedding. I cried a little on the way home from our reception because I just had so many emotions all at once. I have had an amazing array of emotions today!  I am exhausted from all the stress of the paperchase. I am relieved that it is over. I am so excited to be in the next "trimester". I am giddy with anticipation of what's next. I am just so happy.

What is next? Well I looked at a few blogs and it should take about a week or so for AWAA to send off the dossier to Ethiopia. We will get an email I guess saying our officially DTE. That is the "dossier to Ethiopia". This is the day that we are known by on the wait list.

We both would really appreciate some prayers for our dossier. We need prayers that we turned in everything and that all the papers are exactly like they are suppose to be. We need prayers that the mail delivers smoothly and that nothing gets lost. We also need prayers for us. We are about to enter an incredible waiting period. I am sure this is just the beginning of my emotional days.

And lastly. Thank you so much to everyone so far! We have had such a smooth and uncomplicated paperchase. We appreciate all the encouraging words, all the sweet messages, and especially just the simple questions of how things are going. It is wonderful to know y'all are thinking and praying for us! We have a very long way to go, but it's going to be a beautiful ride!!

Ahhh! Soo exciting!!

Today was a wonderful Monday! It was a beautiful day outside AND we got our USCIS approval in the mail!!! Yahhh!! That means that tomorrow I will be running down to the Mail Room and mailing off our dossier!!! It is finally here!!!

Dream On...

Last night I had a dream about my baby. And orphans.

 It was a really special dream because I actually saw his face. I have had a dream before of me holding a baby, but this was a different baby. This baby's name was Everett (Real Ethiopian right? lol), and he was very young and very sick. I don't actually remember if I was looking at his picture or if he was actually with me, but nonetheless I saw his face.
I am very grateful for that part of the dream.

The rest of the dream was really sad. I was at an orphanage with lots of older boys and I was like "studying" their personalities. I guess I was trying to see which one I was going to adopt. Strange. At one point we went into a room and all the beds were built in cages. It was really sad. I woke up with just a heavy heart because all the boys wanted a family so badly.

I really felt like I had been at an orphanage first hand. All day I have had a longing to be back there. I want to love on those boys and they weren't even real!! I don't know how I will handle actually seeing children in an orphanage.

So that was my dream. Funny how hard dreams can pull on your heart.

What’s next??

Soooo after our home studys are finished what is next??  I am actually kind of nervous about this part because it is all out of my control. My first taste of waiting! After our last interviews, our social worker will write up a report. Then she has to send it to our AWAA Social worker, then to our Family Coordinator, then back to our local social worker to make and revisions. Then the report comes to us and we have to approve it. I’m not exactly sure where it ends up, but when all those people sign off on in then it is complete! The timeline for this to all be complete is around 6-8 weeks. I hope with the holidays being thrown in there it won’t take much longer!

Once our H.S. report is complete then we can submit the 1-600A application to USCIS.
A set of forms used to officially request permission from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to classify a child in a foreign country, who fits the definition of an "orphan," as an immediate relative of its intended adoptive parents, so that there can be an expedited processing and issuance of a visa to that child, allowing it to be brought into the United States, either after having been adopted abroad, or in order for it to be adopted in the United States.- Adoption.com

After we apply to USCIS we will get an appointment to get our fingerprints. The timeline for the fingerprint appointment is 4-12 weeks. YIKES! Pray for the 4 weeks!

Once we get the fingerprints then we get our dossier documents certified. I don’t know how long this part takes, but I have a few weeks to figure it out!!

After that we make lots of copies and mail off our dossier! Then we will officially be DTE!!! *Dossier to Ethiopia**

When DTE happens ladies and gentlemen…Our wait time officially begins. The current average wait time for a infant boy is 10-15 months.  This is to get our referral for our sweet baby boy!!

After the referral is accepted, we will son in Ethiopia, Africa waiting for US to come get him!!

Then we wait another month or two for a court date. We will go to Africa for about a week and meet our baby. If we pass court he will legally become our son!  Then we come home and wait. I’m sure this will be the worst part, but hopefully it will pass by quick!

Then we will get the call to return to Ethiopia and pick up our son forever!
That my friends is what our future timeline holds. God speed.

Luke 1:3

I have had to answer the question of why we choose Ethiopia a lot. Honestly I don't mind, I just didn't really know a straight black and white answer. I mean the statistics for this country are staggering, but so are other countries. I know what initially introduced me to Ethiopia was that Ryan and I met the requirements for this country. Some countries have some strannnnnge requirements. Head on over here to see for yourself. So we involuntarily had our country choices cut down. Then I found myself on tons of Ethiopian adoption blogs. The children were just beautiful. I told Ryan about it and we eventually agreed this was the country our child would come from. I say eventually because (being totally transparent here) we were a little nervous about becoming a biracial family. We don't know anyone with this kind of family and it was intimidating. However, we both were in agreement with the fact that we couldn't run from God's calling because of different skin colors.

Now I say all of this with still not really answering WHY? Why not America? Why not Korea? Why not Honduras? Why not _____? My answer in my heart is always it just feels right. I thought this was kind of a silly and not sufficient answer until I went to the Beth Moore Simulcast on Saturday. She spent the majority of the time talking about Luke.  I wish I could tell you all the statistics she mentioned about Luke, but I didn't write them down so I don't remember them. BUT I can tell you that Luke wrote two books of the bible. Luke 1:1-4  "Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught."  Basically Luke just thought it sounded like a good idea to write a book. That book is part of our God's Living Word.  Yep. I was pretty excited to hear Beth Moore point that out. Sometimes it doesn't take flashing lights or and audible voice to know and do what God has planned for you to do. Sometimes it can just feel right, or like a good idea. 

I am so grateful that I didn't run from this good feeling because even though we are at the first part of our adoption, it has been amazing. I can't wait to see what is to come!!

Paper Pregnant

Man oh man! We are getting so much done with our homestudy paper work!! I plan on knocking out everything that needs to be scanned tonight and finishing up our homestudy questionnaire. This 5 page billion question questionnaire really intimitated me, but alas I am almost finished!! Yippeee!! I was dreading starting it until one of my friends mentioned how fun it sounded. Her perspective really helped me get excited about answering personal questions about my childhood, family, marriage, and transracial family opinions!! Thanks Kristen :)  The past few days I felt overwhelmed about all we had left to do because I want to get it done ASAP. I asked for prayer from our women's bible study and you wouldn't believe how relaxed I feel tonight!  I am just so excited about becoming a mommy to a sweet little Ethiopian!! I saw a blog last night of an orphanage in Rwanda and they people are just beautiful. I am know Rwanda and Ethiopia aren't the same country, but it sure did make me bubble with excitement!! Check out the Rwanda orphanage at Pure and Lasting.

Why Ethiopia?

-Ethiopia is one of the most ancient civilizations in the world

-It is mentioned 45 times in the Bible

-The main religions are Orthodox Christianity and Islam

-The population is close to 70 million

-One third of the population survive on less than 1 USD a day

-Amharic is the national language

-Children are orphaned as a result of extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, and child abandonment 

-There are approximately 5 million orphans in Ethiopia

-Malnutrition affects a large portion of the population

-Access to clean water and sanitation facilities are inadequate

Facts Found: http://www.noordinarylove.org/about

An immediate need in Ethiopia.

Please check this out if you have a minute.
http://ordinaryheroblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/immediate-need-in-ethiopia.html