Paperwork Nightmare

Everyone is always wondering how our adoption is coming. My answer is usually the same: slow. Not only are we constantly discouraged by the financial aspect of funding the process, but the paperwork involved is beginning to resemble a monster that is consumming our house. On top of fundraising and paperwork, we also have four children to raise and homeschool, as well as regular life to live.

I have begun to dread opening emails from the adoption agency. They usually read something like this: "Dear Jessica, Please find attached a new form required by the Ethiopian government. Please fill out the form, notarize it, have it state certified, supply new fingerprints, and return it to me with a money order for $670." Yikes. Not only is that a fee we weren't anticipating, but that sort of process can easily take us six months. And fingerprints cost $80 a person.

Through all this we know that God has a plan for our family. He is guiding this adoption and it will work out on His time, not ours.

The Wait and See Method

Now that we have a written homestudy report (only 3 months late and very poorly written), we have decided to see if we can finance the Ethiopian adoption through adoption grants. And donations are still arriving from our envelope campaign. We returned home from the Pacific Northwest to find an annoymous donation of $100 awaiting us!

So for now we are going to continue to pursue the international adoption, despite the overwhelming cost and emotional labor it requires. Sometimes I feel I am on a teeter-totter with this adoption.

A Special Thank yoU!

I wanted to give a special thank you to my friend Sue who donated some unused homeschool curriculum to us. She allowed us to sell the curriculum and keep the money for the adoption. Those ebay sales earned us over $300! Thank you for your generosity Sue!

Graph #2 of Contributions Received.

Here is an updated graph of where we stand with the financial aspect of the adoption. The green amount represents the over $3000 we have received in donations. The blue section is a rough estimate of how much left we need to come up with to finish the adoption. This amount is just an estimate. The new Ethiopian laws as well as unexpected expenses can increase that amount. The line that says "Other" and has a zero value is the amount we have gotten from grants. We are not yet eligible to apply for grants because we are waiting for the homestudy report to be completed. We have done everything on our end, and now must wait for the social worker to finish her part.

Despite the changes in Ethiopian law, Michael and I have decided to continue on this path for adoption. We are not sure how it is going to work out, but after reviewing our other options we have decided that at this time this is the most viable option for our family.

Uncertain Future

Mike and I were sad to learn yesterday that they did indeed pass new laws concerning adoptions from Ethiopia. They now require both parents to travel to Ethiopia two times to complete the adoption. In some circumstances (which they have not yet outlined), an escort with power of attorney may be able to take the place of one of the parents.

Even with the escort, one of us would have to go to Africa and we would be paying for two tickets, two times. A quick look at Delta on random dates shows the price to be $1,956 per ticket. Times that by four and you can easily see the new financial burden placed on my family.

We are undecided about what steps to take next. Other programs offer lighter travel requirements, but with four children already in the home it is hard for our family to qualify for those programs.

I just received an message that international adoption is not for sissies. Isn't that the truth! I wouldn't wish this emotional turmoil on my worst enemy.

Moving Slowly

Things are moving pretty slowly around here lately. The donations continue to arrive, and we are so grateful and thankful to all who have contributed to our adoption. We have a second meeting with the social worker scheduled and then hopefully we will have the homestudy completed. In the meantime we are enjoying this little burst of spring and hoping the snow will hold off until winter arrives again.

Ugggg!

One thing is for certain about international adoption: NOTHING IS FOR CERTAIN!

We were surprised to learn that adoption laws for Ethiopia are changing and we may not make the cut-off before the new laws are passed, if they are passed. Meaning that both Michael and I might have to appear in court in Ethiopia, and that we might have to do that twice. As you can imagine, this would cause a HUGE strain on our family- both financially and emotionally.

So please keep us in your thoughts and prayers while we hope that our daughter is brought safely home to us.