New Pictures...

I am so thankful to be in touch with a couple of great ladies who got these pictures to me! The children are a year older than the last picture I had! They have grown a little since then. And they are absolutely beautiful!! I wish they were already here with me. My boy just looks so SAD. His eyes. It's a different kind of sad than I have seen in my daughter (Malorie's) eyes. A deeper kind. Hopefully we will get moving soon so we can bring them home.

Can I Just Say This.....

I am so tired of hearing advice to 'really re-think the whole adoption thing before you go through with it'.


I DO understand that adoption is not for everyone. Some people could not ever love another child the way that they love their biological children. And that is Okay. Those people are not selfish or wrong. They know themselves. It would be unfair to themselves and the child if they were to adopt.


I also understand why people caution me. Yes, I already have a child in my home that I have to think about. I know adding more children will rock her world. I know she will no longer receive 100% of my time. I know I will not be able to buy her as many physical things when she is no longer the only child. It will be rough on her. Of that I am sure.


But, for just a minute- can we step outside of our perfect little world? Stop looking at it in a sense of "my child" and the "orphaned children". Are they not all God's children? I know that God put adoption in my heart.


Should I have told him 'Sorry God. My child deserves ALL of her mother's time, even if it means Your other children have no family to love them.'


'My child deserves to be able to afford McDonalds and Dunkin' Doughnuts whenever she wants. Even if it means Your other children do not get even 3 healthy meals a day.'


'My child deserves to have her parents put her through the best college possible. Even if it means Your other children may never get a good education or a chance to make life better for themselves.'


Does that not seem just a little bit selfish? Don't get me wrong. I love my daughter with all my heart. However, she is no more important in God's eyes than the children we are adopting.

It would be much easier (and we'd be alot richer) if we just looked after the best interest of our bio child. But our children in Ghana do not have the luxury. Who will look after their best interest?

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.
Proverbs 31:8-9

Happy Birthday....

Today is my little girl's birthday. She turned 8 years old. I wish I could be there wih her. I wonder if they celebrated. I wonder if anyone at the orphanage even knew it was her birthday. I hope so. I hope something happened today to make her birthday extra special. I hated to miss out on it. I wish I had spent all week shopping for presents and baking cake. But I didn't. Hopefully I will be able to make up for it on her next one. Happy birthday, little girl.....

Airline discount

I just spoke to Delta, and they said adoption travel is 65% off! I had heard that, but thought it only applied to the children's trip home! I am so excited about it! That's less that half the original price! Woo-hoo! Thank you Lord!

Back on Track...

Well, after my recent meltdown/panic attack, I am back on track. I know God will take care of the expense and all the bumps in the road. He always has, so why would He stop now?


And honestly, the expense part over all is far less stressful than the time line. I want my kids home as soon as possible!

So this week (instead of panicking), I'm just going to pray twice as hard.

On May the 9th, it will have been 2 months since I sent my dossier to my adoption agency. I am praying that they will send it to Ghana by May the 9th.
 
I just can't wait for them to be home, running around in the yard, climbing trees, riding bikes.... It's going to be so much fun!
 

So, Now What?

Today I have lost it.

Word has been spreading over that last week that Ghana now REQUIRES both parents be present in court. One of the reason we chose to adopt from Ghana is that neither of us had to travel for court. It was one of the only countries we could afford to adopt from. (Not to mention I just fell in love with the country for some reason.)



So all the sudden it goes from neither of us traveling for court to both of us traveling for court. At first I was a little discouraged. It's gonna be a little extra cost than we thought. Then I started REALLY thinking about it. It's not a little extra cost. It's ALOT extra.


First, Al will miss a week of work. With no pay.

That's gonna hurt. Alot.

On top of that is the cost of food and a hotel for that week. That wouldn't be so bad, if we weren't missing a WHOLE PAYCHECK for that week!

Then, I got the bright idea to check the flight price on Delta's website. Heart attack!


I was nearly in tears when the price popped up as $2,059.99. How are we going to afford $2,059.99?

Oh wait- that tiny writing. It says "per passenger".


And I'm pretty sure there is another part of the agency's fee due before travel!


So it has now gone from 'we are going to be completely broke' to 'we can't do it'. Not that it will be REALLY difficult. Can't. Do. It. There is not even that much money in the bank! Checking and savings combined!!



So what now? We can't just say "Sorry kids, we don't have the money."



We can't say "Just wait another year or two, then maybe we can afford you".



I just don't know.



Anybody who has been through this whole thing- any idea?


I've already depleted my (very small) 401k. We've called about borrowing against Al's 401k twice. They DO NOT allow us to borrow for adoption.
 
We've even sold several pieces of furniture from our house! Still not enough.
 
So, now what?

A Whole Month of Nothing...

In case you wonder what's been going on the last month or so... NOTHING at all! We mailed our dossier to the agency on March 9th. I'd like to say we're waiting on a court date. But we're not. We are waiting for our agency's rep to look over our dossier before they send it to Ghana. He was in Ghana recently, and just got back on March 30th. Hopefully he's back to work this week so he can look at the dossier & send it over so we can start waiting for a court date!