JOY

Hello all,
I just had to share my joyful moment. We have been waiting for a certified copy of my birth certificate to be sent to us from the US government since I was born in Germany. We asked for it in December and have only received a letter stating that we may need to go to a formal court hearing to get it released. A man from the Secretary of State's office called me today to let me know that they cannot give me a copy of my Certificate of Birth Abroad, but that they did find my US birth certificate and were going to send me 2 copies of that and refund the rest of my money. Hallelujah, finally!! I would have been a big problem to submit the Ethiopia paperwork without that document. Now forward we go.
Maia

Countdown to babies

The Countdown Begins…
The Timeline:
February - I600A submitted to immigration. 90 days processing, expected approval in the beginning of May.
- Dossier and all outstanding fees sumbitted to Christian World Adoption for approval.
March - Dossier sent to the US embassy for authentication then to the Ethiopian embassy for authentication
April - Dossier sent to Ethiopia for translation and approval.
May - We receive names and medical reports of the boys and immigration approval.
Possibly July - 8 weeks from immigration approval is the court date.
Possibly August - 5 weeks from the court date is the embassy date when we get to travel to Ethiopia to pick up our children.

The above timeline is VERY hypothetical in that there can be delays at any stage of the process. Still we are hoping that our two newest children will be in our home as soon as possible. At this time we are pulling together the final documents for the dossier and the rest of the CWA fees.
Our friends have been extremely generous to us. We have some who have showered us with baby furniture and clothes. We have others saving clothes and other baby things for us. Children’s Heathcare of Atlanta, Maia’s employer, has given us $10,000 toward the cost of this adoption. We are grateful that Maia works for an outstanding company. We thank all of the others of you who have given us monetary donations. Every little bit moves us closer to bringing these children home and we are so grateful to all who have participated with us so far. We will continue to keep all of you updated on how things are progressing. Again, Thank you. Dave, Maia, Bren, Jace, Joel, Bryce, and soon to arrive Seth and Quinn.

Sleepless nights

I am up late tonight unable to sleep so I thought I'd put up a post. Christmas was a unique experience this year as the boys were a surprise to all who asked them what they were getting. There were no presents underneath our tree this year as we bought the boys a trampoline a few months ago and are saving our money for the adoption. When asked what they were getting for Christmas the boys would launch into a dissertation about the new boys in Ethiopia and how expensive it is to bring them to the US. They would tell people how they are contributing and how Jesus gave the greatest gift of all. Those were proud moments for both Dave and I to witness. My mom made the boys each a small tote bag and filled them with underwear and socks. When they opened them they were thrilled. They were so grateful and excited that they received anything. The feeling this Christmas season was so much on giving and the gift. I hope to replicate it somehow in the future.

Disappointment

I am reminded today that my worth comes from who I am in Christ rather than my accomplishments in this world. It matters not how much one works, is ethical, and praiseworthy. In the end it is up to the fickle nature and agendas of those who are in power over you. I should look to my work and know that those things that I do that are prompted by His Spirit are approved and not look for commendations by man. Still I am disappointed. The workings of this world state that one should be rewarded accordingly for good work. I need to not believe the lie. We are here to serve God, to glorify and enjoy Him. This is what I must hold on to. He has other plans for me and they are for my good. I can grieve but I must not dwell. Lord help me move on from this place.

Home study

The Home study should be complete January 5th as long as we have all of our paperwork together. I'm excited that things are moving along.
My mother has made color specific quilts and decorations in our home for the boys. Bren is yellow, Jace is blue, Joel is red, and Bryce is green. We spoke about what colors the new boys should be. After a couple of days of thinking we decided that the colors of the Ethiopian flag would be appropriate. They are orange and turquoise. I couldn't believe it because Christmas 2007 when she painted a pirate ship in the boys bathroom, she made each of the sails their color. There were 2 extra sails so she mixed paints and just painted them colors that she thought would look nice. Those 2 sails are orange and turquoise.

Newsletter #2

A great Christmas “hello” to our adoption family. Thank you for your prayers and donations as we continue along this adoption road.
What have we done so far?
At this time we have completed our orientation with Christian World Adoption, our adoption agency. We attended a webnair, signed our contracts and paid the first fees. We have also begun our home study. We turned in a large amount of paperwork including a transracial parenting plan, a cultural awareness plan, our family histories, and a family budget. We had one visit from our case worker and there will be 2 more before the home study is complete.
What are you working on now?
We need to have certified copies of birth certificates and immigration cards for the dossier that gets sent to Ethiopia. We are waiting to receive those in the mail. We are having our physicals done and doing the required education for both the home study and CWA. We will also be getting our finger printing done in the next couple of weeks. All parts of the dossier need to be notarized so we are currently attempting to collect all the documents needed, such as employment letters, drug screens, and bank statements, get them notarized appropriately and then not lose them.
What comes next?
We submit documents to US Citizen and Immigration Services to obtain international adoption approval once the home study is complete. When we obtain approval then we send in our dossier, pay the rest of our fees and await a referral. (A referral is when they match you with your children.) We feel like we are well on our way and the excitement keeps building.
Fees?
We would be glad of any help, if you feel led check out the CWA website or email us. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We wish all of you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

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.