Final HS Over

It was a walk in the park..................


Another check off the list.....................

Final HS is over!!!! Yes

I can only sit and wait for it to be completed and sent to me, so the next steps can take place

I have only 6 more items needed for the dossier w/4 of them coming from the HS agency.

So the way I see it, I should start making a "BBL" (before the baby list) of all the things that need to done in the house that I know I won't have time to do once we are home and a list of all the places I want to go, resturants I want to eat out before the baby comes.

Like clean closets, finally unpacke the rest of my moving boxes that have been in the closet for almost 2 yrs now.

Don't Worry

"If you pray don't worry".......

"If you worry don't pray"..........

Prayer Changes Things

Biometrics

I don't care how many times you get letters from the Immigration office, my hands start to shake each time I see something that looks offical from Immigration

I have an apt. for my biometric fingerprints in June.

Yes!!!! Another check off the list.

Gettin My Green Thumb On..............

OK,

Momma Would Be Proud...........

Taking a break from the adoption topic and paper chasing and showing off my green tomatoes in my very own back yard

Here is a pic of my home grown tomatoes. I'm no gardner, but I am very proud of myself :)

2nd & Final Home Study Visit

Got My Fingers Crossed

Thoughts on my upcoming Final HS Visit?

I have lots of questions, but I only want to know one thing, when will it be ready?

Well maybe I will throw a few questions in there other than the obvious

She states there is a 2 week turn around on the complete report but the finger prints, police and child neglect clearnace is what takes the longest and holds the report up.

So..........I am hoping that the completed report is done no later than late July or sooner.

Video At The Bottom of This Page

I have no clue as to what I am doing, but I guess I must be getting pretty good at this blogging thing b/c I posted a video at the bottom of this page ALL BY MYSELF , of an Ethiopian Adoption from YouTube

This Brings Tears To My Eyes.....So Heart Wrenching

From CNN:

Ethiopian children dying daily from starvationCNNEGU VILLAGE, Ethiopia (CNN) -- A year of drought and soaring food prices has threatened the lives of tens of thousands of Ethiopian children."We have nothing to feed our children," said Egu's village elder. "We are losing our children day by day."Ethiopia's Health Ministry, along with UNICEF, monitors the health of thousands of children here, but the number of areas they have been able to regularly visit has been cut in half this year.The small rains that normally allow Ethiopian farmers to plant a second crop each year did not come this year, adding to an already critical food shortage."It's an open crisis and there are more people than we expected, than the government expected, who need additional food," said Bjorn Ljungqvist, head of UNICEF Ethiopia.There is a critical shortfall in the supply of therapeutic foods used to treat children with severe acute malnutrition, the UNICEF official said.The UN's children's agency is appealing for $10 million to pay for emergency needs of more than seven million children under five as well as pregnant and lactating mothers in 325 drought-affected districts.The World Food Programme (WFP) supplies the emergency food for UNICEF, but rising food prices mean it could not guarantee aid for all the areas in need."Unless you get immediate assistance the risk is, you fall into severe malnutrition and eventually death, so unless our supporters come in immediately for this we fear that is what is going to happen in the country," said Jakob Mikkelse, the WFP's nutrition and education chief.Egu is a village UNICEF is no longer able to visit on a regular basis."If we were not here, those children who we had found now, with severe acute malnutrition would have died at home," UNICEF Emergency Nutrition Project Officer Samson Dessie.UNICEF estimates six million Ethiopian children under the age of five are at risk and more than 120,000 have only about a month to live.As the relief workers depart Egu, they leave behind a few emergency food packs and a promise to return.The Ethiopian government has worked with UNICEF since 2004 on the Enhanced Outreach Strategy (EOS) to provide food for child survival. The effort distributes child survival packages that include vitamin A supplementation, de-worming, measles catch-up, nutritional screening and referral to supplementary or therapeutic feeding programs."EOS is really very important from many perspectives with regard to child survival," Dessie said. "The first is it brings high-impact, low-cost child survival packages like vitamin A, which can reduce child mortality by up to 35 per cent."

Another Quote (reflection)

Last night I had a really good conversation w/a member of Hope Adoption Agency, who brought her baby girl home in March. We were really having a good conversation. when the conversation ended, amoung other important things that we talked about, there was one thing that I woke up thinking about this moroning.

"If you have never been touched by adoption, you don't understand"

Thank you Shane S.

What A Way To Sale Glasses

http://www.adgabber.com/video/video/show?id=546804%3AVideo%3A95636

What Was All The Fuss About????

First home study visit complete. :)

It was a piece of cake( after the fact) :)

She was a very nice person, and it felt like I was sitting at my kitchen table talking w/a frined.

I only have to do 2 visits so the next and the lfinal HS visit is May 31

Wow I am excited.

BFG (Big Fat Grin) :)

1st Home study visit on Saturday

Yes she called,


I have a meeting w/the Social Worker on Saturday!!!!

hmmmmmmmm, for some odd reason I am not nervous any more.

She sounded nice on the phone, and they way I see it, we are suppose to meet three times, after Saturday, that will be one down w/2 more to go! :)

The process will make you wonder at times.....

sometimes you just want to: Scream

This is exactly how you feel at times in the adoption process.

You feel like your under investigation for something you did wrong, not for something you're about to do that is good.

I guess it is all apart of the process, today at BOA(Bank Of America) I had to get a bank letter and the status of my account, and I just feel to get around fees and silly questions when getting the forms you need for the HS and dossier you have to pretty much run the entire adoption story down to them start to finish, w/a sad look on your face before they will say ok, NO CHARGE!! They wanted to charge me a fee for my letter, and all it took was 5 mins. for her to type it on their letter heard. After all I had written down all it needed to say.

Then before she hands it to me, she says, we don't do this normally, but b/c you are adopting I will do it for you for free. I thanked her, said God bless you, and went on my way, no need to argue, state any points, b/c after all I had what I needed and she was even nice enought to give me 2 copies.

Yikes!!! Possible HS visit this week

Well I'm not really prepared for this, but what the heck!!!!!!

I cleaned like crazy yesterday for some odd reason, but not b/c I was expecting a visit from the SW, so the house is good. But I am nervous. I called the coordinator today to question her a/b the physical form I have to have completed by my doctor, and she said well tonight you should get a call regarding your visit this week. I sounded calm, and happy, but deep down my stomach started doing flips.

I always laughed at those who were nervous as h#!& when it came to their HS visits. I guess this is my punishment.

I was ok until I got this 4 page cross culture questionair to answer before she arrives, and I know the answers I want to give, b/c there are no right or wrong answers, but some of the questions are really weird for me, but I guess I can prep before she arrives.

Well I should not be nervous, I am an open book, and to know me is to love me.....I think??? This process has you questioning all types of things a/b yourself.

Fingerprinting

appointment made for the 22nd of May

Sagem Morpho----------sounds so important.

This is a live scan of my digits. Criminal History Record Information(CHRI) is what they are checking my prints for, these prints are good for 12 months from the date of clearance.

The Eagle is in the air

Yet another check off the list

HS application is in the mail............

HS coordinator told me I should get an appointment in 2 weeks for our first meeting.

One more check off the list

Well I can say that I sat myself down Friday night until Saturday night( I was determinted) and completed my 10 hours of educational classes on line in two days. I really enjoyed them, very informative, but happy it is over!!!!!

More and More paper work!!!!!!!!!

Can I just tell you this is how I am feeling at the very moment

Got the application for the HS today and let me just allow this picture to speak for me....

YOU KNOW WHEN YOU ARE AN ADOPTIVE PARENT WHEN....

The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.

2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.

3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.

4. The fact that, if 7% of the population adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convvencing to you.

5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who have experienced the blessing of adoption.

6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about your adopted child's "real" parents.

7. You had no idea how you would afford to adopt but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing where God calls you He will provide.

8. You have never taken an airplane ride half-way around the world with a child you just met.

9. You believe God's heart is for adoption.

10. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.

11. You know what the word "Dossier" means, and you can actually pronounce it!

12. You have welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.

13. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you are the blessed one to have him or her in your life.

-Author unknown