Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Anxiety

I am trying not to be anxious. We are starting our dossier. I printed 20 pages of instructions and requirements tonight. The paperwork is daunting but what I fear most is that all the fees are due when we turn it in. I know that God is bigger than a pricetag, but in my heart I find myself being anxious and strategizing about how we are going to pay it all.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Oh My!!!


My life is like living on the roller coaster Goliath at Six Flags over Georgia. I am either at an incredible height, or a gut wrenching low but either way I'm flying fast. Still, it doesn't seem like I'm going as fast as I would like. We have sent off our home study paperwork and send off our first CWA installment on Friday. Things are moving along.

On the home front Bryce remains the boy no one can stop. This morning, having gotten home from work at 0430am I heard the phone rang at 0700. Shortly later Dave tells me that it was our neighbor. I'm wondering why our neighbor is calling at 7 in the morning. Dave says that Bryce had gotten a stool and removed the key to the back door from the wall. He then unlocked the dead bolt and the door handle and proceeded to go out. Mind you it's 39 degrees outside and he is in pajamas and bare feet. He proceeds out the fence gate in the backyard and walks through the backyard to our neighbors house to knock on their door and ask for candy. AT 7 AM!!!!! Bryce claims that he did not request candy, "I offered." he says.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Masculine moment



So this happened the other day, but it's worth committing to memory. We have a little girl who lives next door who is the same age as the twins. They all like to play together and they generally do well. They boys were playing outside when I realized that I didn't hear them making as much noise as usual. I peeked out the screen door to see them all lined up along the fence and Patti was standing on the other side talking to them. I heard her say something, then the boys would do something, then they would all laugh. I couldn't see them very well, but I did her this statement..."Now kiss on the lips!" Of course, the "Mother voice" boomed out of me "NO KISSING!!!". All the children squealed and scattered. Shortly after that incident I looked out again to see Joel with his pants down, swinging his bare behind at Patti. I yelled "JOEL!!!!", pants came up and Joel came in. He was summarily disciplined and told not to do everything that Patti tells him to do. Later Bren and Jace swore that Patti had told them to kiss each other. Again they were reminded that they did not need to do everything little girls tell them to do, especially if Mom or Dad would not approve. Bren then confessed that Patti had told him to eat a leaf on the way to school and he had done it. He said that it tasted bad and made him feel sick. I again wonder what it is about the male mind that allows for situations like this.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Surreal experiences

So as I was soul searching earlier today Dave was out buying shoes for Bren and Joel whose tennis shoes have worn out. These are the experiences in the Routly household. The boys were invited over to the neighbors to get a "treat". Their house backs up to ours. Shortly after they have gone Bren and Jace (7) rush back and state that Joel (5) has lost his shoe in the compost pile and Bryce (3) is helping him look for it. They go back out to help look. Then Joel comes in and states "I think my shoe is lost forever and I'm sad about that." He was informed that having a lost new shoe was not an option and he had to find it. Dave then left his half-eaten dinner, got a flashlight and went out to help the boys and neighbors search through the compost heap for the shoe. As of this time the shoe is still lost but the shovel that Bren was using to search for the shoe, which he lost during the search, was found. The brand new shoes had been in our house for less than 3 hours.

Humility

So I've never been the most humble person in the world but recently I've realized just how much I don't deserve the compliments I'm getting. As we progress through the adoption process I get more and more comments about how "saintly" we are. Oh if only that were true. I'm as selfish as the next person if not more. I don't want to give up my dinners out, or my trips to Disney World or buying what I want when I want it. I love doing those things. If it weren't for the redeeming work of Christ in my life and the absolute belief that Dave and I are being called to love and care for more children we would happily spend our resources on ourselves. I don't deserve compliments. I'm being obedient to what God has told us to do and I believe that I will get so much out of this life as opposed to one that extra money would buy me. I have learned that the things the media and advertisers and our own bodies tell us is so important, usually serves to weigh us down and make us unhappy. I am trying to be content with the process, give the credit to God's work in my life, and focus on those things that have eternal significance rather than temporal.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

CPN

I PASSED!!!!!!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Paperwork

We are getting closer to turning in our paperwork. I went to my AWESOME friend Judith's house today. She became a notary public just to help people who are trying to adopt. She notarized the documents we needed and now we are ready to send them off to CWA with our first $2500. We are still working on the home study paperwork and hope to be through with it by the end of the week. Then off it goes with it's $650 fee. It's tough getting through all the questions but Dave and I have found it fun bragging on our marriage.
Other items: I take my CPN exam tomorrow and hope to pass as that will be a stepping stone to a promotion at work. I want to promotion so that we can save more for the adoption. Little steps one at a time. M

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Newsletter #1


Welcome to the Routly Adoption Newsletter

I will be posting these letters periodically to update you on our adoption progress. In this first letter I will answer some of the questions we have been receiving most frequently.

What are you doing?
We are adopting 2 small boys (who we will be paired with at a later time) from Ethiopia. We are told they will mostly likely be a 6 month/old and a 2 year old.
Why adopt?
Dave and I were challenged at church recently to assess our life priorities. We were encouraged to determine whether we were attempting to live a life of ease or living a life that had eternal significance. This led us to make several changes in our lives the greatest being the decision to make a life-long personal commitment to children in need.
Why Ethiopia?
We researched domestic and international adoption intensely over the past 5 weeks. Dave found he has a real passion for international adoption so we decided to go that route. After that it was easy. Ethiopia is a country in abject poverty with a program that is very large with many children, mostly boys, waiting for adoptive families. Ethiopia is also a country which will allow you to adopt even if you already have 4 children in your home.
Why more boys?
We know boys. We have boy things. We love boys and boys are waiting. Plus what boy wouldn’t love to be a part of our happy boy chaos.
How much does it cost?
International adoption is very expensive. Many government hands have to touch your paperwork and they all require a fee or salary. The general total is from $25,000 to $27,000 in estimation. I will include a breakdown of the fees on the next page for those who are interested. We as a family have determined to give up unnecessary things until our boys are home. This includes family vacations, dinners out, haircuts (Maia will be cutting hair), and children’s activities. The boys have stated that the new boys are worth more than karate and Six Flags passes and they want them home.
Can we help?
Yes, contact us and we will tell you how.


Here is the breakdown of expenses as listed by CWA. Some of these are variable and we are trying to find the lowest cost options available.

Agency Application Fee $350
Agency Professional Services (first child) $5000
Agency Professional Services (second child) $2500
NCFA Online Parent Training Course (single / couple) $95 / $175
Post-Adoption Administration & Translation $1500
Home Study $1300
US authentication of documents $400-800
Document translation and authentication $650
International fee (first child) $7000
International fee (second child) $4000
Ethiopian visa per adult $60-100
Airfare per adult $1700-3500
Airfare per child $500-1500
In-country expenses per day $200-400
Child Medical Exam, Consul Fee, Visa Photos, Ethiopian passport per child $670

Welcome to Routlyland blog

This is the area where we will catalog the adventure of adopting our 2 Ethiopian boys. Check here for all the details interesting stories and more.