Finally Ours......

I made it back! (Saturday actually.) I did go to court on Friday as planned, only to find out that none of the judges were there that day! However, they allowed me to go home. They rescheduled court for Tuesday (yesterday), and allowed the wonderful lady who owns the orphanage to represent me. She called yesterday to say that we passed court and she has the adoption decree!!!

I am SO glad that part is finished! As soon as she gets the attestation from Accra, we can file the I600! I can't wait for the day when I can finally bring our kids home!

Serwaa & Kontoh

One More Day.....

Well, tomorrow is my court date! I can't wait. I hope it will go smoothly and quickly. After court, I am taking the kids, their bio mother, their Auntie, and the orphanage director out to eat (if you can go "out to eat" in Ghana)! Then, I will head to Accra for my flight which leaves a little after midnight. I think it will be strange for the kids and I to spend our last hour together with the whole family. I mean, what right would I have to act sad because I'm leaving the kids, when the bio family will probably never see them again after tomorrow. I'd much rather have a quiet goodbye time with them. But- it is what it is. By this time tomorrow, I'll be on my way to Accra as the proud mother of 3 children.

Still in Ghana.....

Wow. Where do I begin? Well, I'm in Ghana. I've been here for 14 days now I think. First night I got in VERY late, so I stayed in Accra at Hotel Obama. It was ok. Just a place to sleep. In the morning I got a flight to Kumasi. (Shoulda taken the bus, but don't know how it works.) Ms Mary (who runs the orphanage) picked me up at the Kumasi airport & took me to the hotel near the orphanage. It was about $13/nt USD. It wasn't bad. There was no a/c or hot water, no towels are provided, no internet, and it was so dim I couldn't see anything. But, I'm pretty durable, so it was alright for the 10 days I was there.

Anyways- Friday afternoon I was taken to the orphanage. I had this awful fear that I wouldn't recognize my own children when I got there! But they actually took me inside, then brought the kids in. They are beautiful! Just like the picture! They were SO quiet & shy! But by the end of they day they were a little more comfortable. They are really great kids!


Let me sidetrack for a minute & tell the hard details. The first few days were devastating for me. Everything I knew about the kids was false. I know our agency switched representatives in Ghana. So I guess the old rep was the bad guy who lied. Anyways- the hardest thing was their ages. I started to wonder Friday if they were really 8 & 6. So I asked Serwaa her age. "I am 10 years old." Shocked. She is older than my bio daughter. Hard. Because our first priority with the ages was to keep her the oldest. Then Kontoh. He says 8. You know he was going to be my baby. I'd been picturing this boy who just turned 6 two months ago. It's like I lost 2 years of my baby's life in that one second. We didn't even know his official birthday. He will actually be 8 in March. It honestly took a few days for me to accept it. But I'm ok now.


That's enough of that. Over the past 10 days, I've met with social welfare twice, and the lawyer 3 times. By the way- at the lawyer, I got to meet my children's mother (who I thought was deceased). She was a sweet, quiet lady. I liked her.


Yesterday I got to my new hotel in Kumasi. (I'd been advised to stay near the orphanage so we could run all the legal errands. But I really needed some time with just my kids.) We've been having a great time- swimming, eating on the balcony, reading Christmas stories online.... What's strange is that it feels different than I thought. I don't feel like I'm with brand new kids. I just feel like I'm with my kids. I'm sure it won't be this easy when we get home. But so far- everything is normal.


In just 2 days, they will officially be my children!

The Day After Tomorrow....

I am going to Ghana!!! I will leave Wednesday afternoon and get there Thursday night!

I am SO excited to finally see my kids! And nervous. I hope they like me!

It's kinda confusing though, this trip. I don't have a court date. I will be meeting with social welfare sometime after I get there. Then (if they like me, I guess) I will stay there and wait for a court date. I've never heard of anyone doing this before. If anyone else has, please let me know!

Also, please pray for me while I'm there. I've never been away from my daughter for so long! (ESPECIALLY during Christmas, which is totally OUR time!) And since I will be there for an undetermined amount of time, feel free to donate to my broke mama fund! I was told to plan to be there for at least 3 weeks. I'm guessing it'll be awhile since it's during Christmas and New Years! Ugh!

And one more thing- Delta's 65% off adoption travel is a joke. It's only discounted from 1st class tickets, which are like $7,000! So it's more expensive than the regular fare! I was totally counting on some $500 tickets, so I'm mad about that!

But, regardless of how much I'm gonna miss the other half of my family, and how broke I'm gonna be when I get back, I am ECSTATIC!!!! Hopefully I'll get to post some pictures of my (big) babies soon!

One Fine Day....

I spoke to our adoption agency today. They said that they have officially requested a court date for us! I hope it will be soon because I am SO ready! My suitcase is even packed. (Well mostly- I'm guessing I need to bring only dresses. Guess I better find out for sure!) I've bought Goodwill's entire dress rack pretty much!

Writing Prompt.....

So the writing prompt for today on nablopomo.com is :

"Tell us the story of a piece of jewelry you own. Where did it come from, and what does it mean to you?"

I'm totally NOT dedicated enought to write about a prompt every day for a month. But this one I can definately do!

My favorite piece of jewelry is a necklace. It says "Expecting from Ghana".
It came from a dear friend on the other side of the country. I have only met this friend online, but she probably understands me more than any of my 'real life' friends right now! She wore this same necklace while she was waiting for her child to come home!

This necklace means ALOT of things to me. Mostly it means hope. It reminds me that my children WILL come home. Her adoption process was very similar to mine. (Very long, drawn out, and frustrating. But then again- whose adoption isn't!?) BUT- her child DID make it home. And it just reminds me that one day my wait will be over too!

It's really cool to be wearing the exact same necklace someone else wore while waiting for their child from Ghana!


So there you have it. Can't believe the first writing prompt I found was something so easy!!!

Another Birthday...

My little boy turned six today. I just hate that we've missed both of their birthdays. I thought for sure my kids would already be here. But we haven't even met them. Not sure how you can miss someone you don't even know, but I assure you it's possible.



We have confirmation that our dossier was received by the representative in Ghana. So that's good news! If anybody has spare time, please help me pray for a really quick court date. We have waited SO long just to get to this point, I'm not sure how much longer I can wait!

FedEx.....

Well, as far as I know our dossier is FINALLY on the way to Ghana!!! I am so excited!!! I've been waiting SO long! African Cradle is going to email me once they have word that their rep in Ghana has received it! I hope to hear before next week is over! I just can't WAIT to get a court date and see my kids!!!




But I am so sad tonight. One of my friends (whom I only know online) lost her baby this week. She was adopting two little boys from Ghana. I couldn't imagine going to Ghana to pick up ONE of my kids. Just. Can't. Imagine. So sad for her. And it's an ominous reminder of how different things are there. So many illnesses here are so treatable. It makes me just a little anxious.
 

Funny Thing.....

So we mailed off our passports recently to get our Visas for Ghana. They were delivered to the Ghana Embassy on the 28th. By the next day they had already stamped them & sent them back to us. It took ONE DAY. But all the families waiting for their kids visas to come home to the US have to wait for months!!! Funny how it takes the US embassy that long when ours were done in one day. Just doesn't make sense.




And in case you're wondering- no our dossier STILL hasn't been sent to Ghana. Why? Couldn't tell ya! When I spoke to the agency on Tuesday they said they had to speak to their rep in Ghana to see if the rep was ready to receive our dossier. Yep. I am not even gonna call again today to ask. I am just gonna trust the good Lord to take care of it before I have to call again Monday. Because quite honestly, I am exhausted of calling. I know He's got the whole thing under control. Just gotta remember that. Enjoy your weekend Carrie.

POA Received by Agency....

I spoke to African Cradle today, and they confirmed that they received my new POA yesterday. They said they expect my dossier to be FedEx'd to Ghana this week. I'm not sure why it wouldn't be, so that's what I'm hoping for! (Although I wanted it sent today!!!) I'm not sure why I pay to express mail anything, it never actually speeds anything up! But hey- I tried!

Finally Moving Again.....

Things seem to finally be falling into place! First, we get the 171H, and this evening we got all of the info we need to change our Power of Attorney! Naturally, I've already printed & filled out the whole things (3 copies for each kid)!


Tomorrow, we will have it notarized and mailed! African Cradle will have it on Monday. (That's right, I'm impatient. I overnight EVERYTHING! It's going from SC to CA. No time to wait for regular mail!)

The plan is for African Cradle to FedEx it to Ghana once they get it. I think that takes about 3 days, or so I've heard! And hopefully, court will follow soon after!


Also, we mailed off our visa applications today! Hope to get those back soon!

Starting to feel like this might actually happen!
 
 

Not Really An Update......

African Cradle said today that they have the name of the person we need to change our Power Of Attorney to! But now they are waiting to get his address. (The last POA we filled out had the person's name & address. I guess we have to have the name & address for it to be legit.) But anyways, she said they'll hopefully have that info tomorrow! Not holding my breath! But praying!!!

171H....

We got it today!!!! I had been sitting on the front porch waiting for our mail lady since 2pm. This would be the day that her truck broke down! She got there a little after 4pm. As I was running up the driveway I saw one of those big white envelopes in her hand. I knew that had to be it! And it was!!! I'm not even sure what I did with the rest of the mail pile, so I hope there was nothing else important in there!



Now- the only remaining issue: getting my dossier to Ghana. I know most people don't understand that since their dossiers went to Ghana the day after it was completed. which is how it should go. But I just can't get that lucky. On Friday, our agency said they definately have a new rep to work with. I was told that on Monday they would email me the name of the new Power of Attorney.


That hasn't happened yet. They said their phone conversations kept getting cut off because the power was out. Now I thought that most people in Ghana used cell phones. So not sure how that adds up, but whatever. The agency is going to try to call again tomorrow to get the info.

Hoping this won't be another month-long attempt to get in touch with someone!

Approval.....

A WONDERFUL lady from the NBC called me today! (If for no other reason, she's wonderful just because she actually called me back!) But, on top of that, she said she was looking at my I600A as she spoke! It's no longer in the box!

And to make it better, she said she stamped and mailed the approval today! Not just the receipt letter with the new SIM#, stating that they were reviewing the file. But the APPROVAL!!!

I am just so happy. I know there's lots more to do, but this is the very first news I've gotten from anywhere since March 9th, when my homestudy and dossier were complete!

So, now we will hope that our agency finds an ethical rep to work with soon. (Things didn't work out with the old rep, so they are looking for a new one. That process has also taken ALOT longer than I ever imagined.) But hey- I'll think about that tomorrow. Today I am celebrating our I600A being approved!!
 

Double Digits....

My little girl is 10 years old! Not sure how that happened so fast. I just hate that she is growing up so quickly! She is such a great kid, though. She is so polite and well behaved, plus she has a heart of gold.

So, for her 10th birthday, here are 10 things I love about my little girl (in no particular order):




1- I love that she begs me to go home and get her wallet when someone on the street asks for money.

2- I love that she cries every time we pass the homeless people downtown.

3- I love that she has made her future brother & sister a chart with pictures to help them learn our alphabet.

4- I love how she draws me pictures every week, & I'm a princess in half of them.

5- I love how she tells me 5 times a day how pretty I am, even when I look hideous.

6- I love that she doesn't know what "black people" and "white people" are. She has light skin. Her mom has kinda dark skin. Her dad has darkish reddish skin. Her future siblings have really dark skin. That's all.

7- I love when she puts those fake eyeballs on her fingers, puts her hand around the corner, and sings that song on the Geico commercial.

8- I love how she sticks her head out the car window like a dog and sings Michael Jackson at the top of her lungs.

9- I love that she is always singing. Especially at the beach. I can never hear her over the ocean, but I know she is singing because her mouth moving.

10- I love how, when I say "good night honey bun", she replies "good night mommy bun".

School....

My daughter started school this week. Finally, something to concentrate on other than the adoption! We are using a different curriculum than last year, and love it so far! (It's the Lifepacs from Alpha Omega.) I was homeschooled in middle school with the same thing and I liked it. We also seem to have lots of extra time to do stuff I want to do. Like play with that globe beach ball she's holding in the picture! We even have time for art & music class.

And yes, we got her a bookbag even though she doesn't go to 'real' school. Bookbag shopping was always her favorite thing about school, so I just couldn't take that away from her!

By the First of September...

Well, a supervisor from the NBC called me back the other day. He wasn't able to help either. But he said they plan for all the boxes to be unpacked by the first of September. At least that's some kind of time frame. He said there are about 20 people working overtime on weekdays and Saturdays trying to get it all done. Still isn't as logical as unpacking the old boxes before processing new applications, but hey- who needs logic?

Anyways- I've already been sitting around since March with no progress. What's another couple of weeks?
 
Six months of nothing- here I come!

Weekends...

I HATE weekends. They used to be fun. Not this year! At least on weekdays I have this small inkling of hope that someone will actually call/mail/email me with something. Anything. But not on the weekends. All offices and agencies are closed. On weekends I just feel so hopeless.

Absolutely hopeless.

I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. It's hard to sleep. I'm not about to hang out with friends, for fear they might ask me how things are going. Can't even talk about it without crying. And my poor daughter. I know she feels like she has a hundred year old mom, because I never feel like doing anything. I am so emotionally and spiritually drained that I feel half dead.

I read other people's blog, and they all seem to be going somewhere. They get court dates. They meet their kids. They bring them home. Me? I'm just frozen.

Maybe, Just Maybe.......

I just spoke to a WONDERFUL lady at the NBC in MO. She didn't say "Sorry, you're file is in a box. We don't have a timeframe."


She asked me lots of information on my case. She asked the date I filed. The date I submitted my homestudy, and to which office it was submitted.

She asked me to email her copies of my receipt notices and stuff like that from USCIS.

She is going to request my file. Could it be that maybe, just maybe, she will take my file out of the notorious box in the back room?

I. Hope. So!

In Hiding....

Over the weekend some friends asked my husband, daughter and I to come to their pool. It's a weekly thing. We all (about 7 couples) get together and just hang out with the kids at the pool. But this weekend- I wasn't interested.

I haven't even wanted to hang out with the extended family lately.

I try to escape church before I see one of our friends after the service.

I avoid making new friends.

Truthfully- I'm afraid someone will ask about our adoption. How is it going? And I don't want to have to answer.

I'm tired of saying "I don't know." Or "We're still working on it." Or "It's just going very slow"....

I'm tired of explaining where we are in the process, and why it hasn't changed.


I'm in hiding.


Praying that something will happen. Soon.

NBC.....

Just as sort of an update... I am still waiting on my 171H. I filed the I600A in January. My homestudy was sent to DSS in March. DSS sent it to USCIS in May. On July 1st, all local offices sent all of their I600A's to the MO National Benefits Center to be processed. I have called twice a week since the first week of July. Everytime I call I am told "I apologize, but your file is still in a box in the back. We can't give you a timeframe of when your case will be looked at." Someone is supposedly unpacking the boxes and entering the information into their system. Then the file gets assigned to a worker. My case isn't in the system yet.




So this time I asked the rep about the cases that she is currently working on. What date were they filed? The answer: July. So the people who have filed recently are getting approvals VERY quickly. (Which I am glad about. I wouldn't want anyone to wait.) However, all the new files are being worked immediately. They haven't made time to even take the old files out of the boxes in the back room.



Seems a little backwards, doesn't it?



Anyways- someone suggested that I contact my senator to get involved. (Glad she thought of that. I'm not that resourceful!!!) So, I called them today. They are very nice. They emailed me a form to fill out and send back to them. Hopefully they will be able to help!

So Tired of Waiting......

I am seriously losing my patience! When we first started this whole adoption process, I thought for sure our kids would be home by this time! Instead, we haven't even met them! Haven't been to court. Haven't really progressed at all in the last 5 months! I understand things just go slow sometimes. But geez louise! I want my kids!!!

My Three Wishes....

Remember when you watched Aladdin when you were younger? (Yes, I was actually a kid when that came out. I'm not too old!) Well I always think about my 3 wishes. Even as an adult. What would I wish for? Then it occured to me.... I actually have the 3 things I wanted out of my adult life!



Wish #1:   I wanted to marry a UPS man.

Everybody has dreamed about being with their UPS man, even if they won't admit it! They are right up there with firemen and policemen! How can you not love those little brown shorts?

Well, I married my UPS man almost 2 years ago! (That's right, I'm kinda a newly-wed still!)



Wish #2:  I wanted to be a housewife / stay-at-home mom.

I was layed off on Christmas Eve of 2008. Not the best way to achieve the goal of housewife. It was actually devastating. But, it has all worked out. I get to play in the creek with my daughter on hot days. We get to dress up in my old hats and dresses. we have tea parties... It's so much fun!

Also, last year I was able to homeschool my daughter since I wasn't working! I LOVE homeschool! And for the icing on the cake- guess who delivers the school books we order? That's right- my UPS man! It just doesn't get any better than that!



Wish #3:  I wanted to adopt children.

Ever since I saw the orphan chior at my Aunt Verna's church when I was little. Ever since those 'Feed the Children' commercials started coming on TV. Ever since the missionaries started showing those slide shows at my church. I wanted to adopt. Children. Not babies. Not one child. I wanted to adopt children. And here we are. Adopting a little brother and sister for my first daughter.


Sometimes I feel bad having my dream life when so many people are so unfulfilled. But not today. Today I just feel thankful.

I Spoke Too Soon.....

The other day I said I was glad my I600A was being handled at my local office in Charleston. Shortly thereafter, I got an email that said 'I600As are no longer being processed in Charleston'. So, all the files there are being shipped to the office in MO where they will be handled. Back to the bottom of the pile, I guess!

Immunizations

Forgot to mention- I got my immunizations on Monday! I am so glad it's over with! I felt kinda like a pin cushion! And I got it ALL!  (Hep A, Tetnus, MMR, Typhoid Fever, Yellow Fever and Polio!) Ouch!

Al (the hubby) couldn't get off of work this week. So his appointment is next week. I'm sure he can't wait!

Where O Where Is My 171H?

Who knew it would take so long? My homestudy was done on March the 4th. That was the last thing needed for my I600A. I know my social worker got it to DSS that very same week. (DSS has to review the completed homestudy before they forward it to USCIS to be added with the rest of the I600A application.) I recently received an email back from USCIS. They received my homestudy on May 18th. Why it took DSS over 2 months to send my dossier to USCIS I will never know. But either way, it's there now & being "reviewed". Hopefully that part will go pretty quickly. Everything is being handled at my local office in Charleston. Which makes me feel a little better.

As far as the dossier- you guessed it. Still not in Ghana. I have been assured (again) that it is going very soon. I hope and pray that it will actually happen. SOON!

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!

Mete Twi, Kakra!

(I speak Twi, a little.) I started trying to learn Twi about a week ago. I just finished Pimsleur's Twi course. It is very short, but helpful. I can only say about 10 sentences. But hey- it's a start! Now on to my 2nd CD that I bought on Ebay. I don't even know the name of the course, but it looks alot harder! But I'm willing to give it a shot! It would be awesome to be able to speak to my children in their native language. (Even if it's only 10 sentences!)

A little about my kids...

I was just scanning my own blog (weird, I know) when I realized that I haven't even given any information about our future children! I guess I forgot everyone can't read my mind!

Well, we are adopting two children. (Which I suppose everyone has already figured out.) The oldest is a 7 year old girl. She will be 8 in May. Since I'm not sure about posting their names, I'll call her S. Her little brother is 5 1/2 years old. I'll call him K for now. Truth be told, I'm not even sure how to pronounce their names! (Do their letters make different sounds than ours?) Oh well.


My biological daughter is 9 1/2. (That sounds so old! Seems like she was just a baby a few years ago....) She can't wait to meet her new brother and sister. She finds things all the time that she wants to save for them (clothes, toy cars, funny shaped rocks....) She's gonna be a great big sister!

So, there you have it. A (very short) summary of the kids!

Look into these eyes...

These are the eyes of my future children. I just can't wait to get them home. I know I have a long way to go, but I am already getting impatient! I never was really good at waiting. I think the rep from our agency should be back in the US this week or so. I hope he brings new pictures of the children with him! I only have one, and it's almost a year old! I can't wait to find out more information about them. Like what other languages do they speak? Do they have any nicknames? I want to know all I can about them!

Another step forward....

We got our approved homestudy in the mail today!!! And since our dossier was otherwise complete, I was able to mail the whole thing to our adoption agency today! I'm sure I looked like such a dork going into the post office grinning from ear to ear just to mail a little stack of papers. But it was exciting! This is the most productive step of the whole process so far, so it felt great! I'm not sure how long it takes the agency to go over it, but hopefully it will be in Ghana soon!

It's in the Mail....

I got a call from our social worker today letting us know that she just mailed our homestudy ! (Which is a HUGE blessing!) She was waiting on DSS to get us a notarized copy of her license. We didn't think they would get it ready so soon. But we're glad they did because she will be on vacation next week! Whew!

No More Notarizing!

Yesterday we FINALLY finished getting everything compiled and notarized for our dossier! So, as soon as we get our homestudy in the mail (hopefully early next week) we can send it in! Woo-hoo! Once we get the homestudy in our hands, I will post pictures of the children! They are so beautiful!

Fingerprints: Check!

Our fingerprint appointment was today! One more thing out of the way! Now if we can just get our homestudy approved! It's all done with except for one reference letter. (Which was mailed last week and never arrived!) The crazy thing is- 2 of our 5 reference letters got lost in the mail! How does that even happen? Oh well, maybe it'll get there next time! (We hope...)

One Step Closer...

Today was our last homestudy visit! That means we are one step closer! I can't wait to get the approved homestudy in the mail so I can add it to our dossier!!!

Fingerprint Appointment!

Our fingerprint appointment from USCIS came in the mail today! We are scheduled for next Friday (the 12th)! I can't believe it is that soon! I hate that we have to drive approx 3 hours to get there, but will be glad to get it out of the way!

More Work to Do...

I was so excited today because our homestudy is almost done, and I had just got in touch with my last reference. (I thought we needed 3 reference letters.) But I found out later in the day that we need 5! Arrgg! Now we have to harass more friends to hurry up & write the letters and send them in! And on top of that, one of the reference letters got lost in mail! And it was only going from one city to the next! It's always something!

It also seems like everything wants to break ever since we buckled down with adopting. First the washing machine, then my car. Then Al's (my hubby) car. I feel like the devil is throwing everything he's got at us! Jubilee (a revival-type meeting at my old church) couldn't have come at a better time this year! I was only able to make it to one night, but it sure did help me!

My daughter was allowed to tell a friend about her prospective brother & sister for the first time today. She was so excited! But her friend wasn't really impressed. I think it hurt my little girl's feelings. :( She's been having to keep it to herself so long that she thought it should be front page news! Maybe next time...

Five Down, Six to Go...

Well, our dossier is almost halfway done! We have now collected 5 of the 11 items on the list! I feel like a kid on a scavenger hunt! All we have left is to get a few forms notarized and get our local police clearance!


Everything for the dossier has to be notarized. But I must say that everyone I have talked to (the doctor, my husband's employer, our banks, Greenville County Schools office...) has been so helpful in sending me what I need. Even though it's not a routine request.

I am just dying to get everything done & sent in! I know the waiting time is going to be long enough, so I'm trying to at least get my part done as quick as possible!

Where We Are Now...

This week we began compiling our Dossier! Hopefully it won't take too long. Always the optimist. Unfortunately I don't have a best friend who happens to be a notary public. (But I am taking applications for that position.) We also had to apply for yet another copy of our birth certificates. I should've ordered a case of them in the beginning! I feel like by the time this is over with half of the population will own a copy of my birth certificate!

In the Beginning...........

Well, this is the story. My husband and I have been talking about adopting for the last couple of years. We already have a beautiful 9 year old daughter, and are planning to add a couple more to the crew through adoption. Not that I have anything against the good old fashioned way. We are just taking a different route.


So, the process started. I have begun to realize that people don't like to talk about adoption. When you announce that you are pregnant, people squeal with excitement and ask lots of questions. When you announce you are adopting, people look at you funny and the only question they have is "why". That's why I've resorted to telling my story to imaginary people online. God bless the internet!