One of the first questions people ask about our adoption is, “Do you have a Blog?” Not until today. But I’ve decided to embark on the world of blogging so that supportive and curious friends and family feel better connected to our everyday. And so that I continuously feel closer to each of your thoughts and prayers (thank you—Donovan and I feel them). Not that I will be blogging daily, mind you. Now onto the other questions…
Question #2: How long have you been waiting?
This is one of the most difficult questions to answer. Honestly, we have been waiting for a child for many years. Our adoption process officially began in December 2007, when we chose our amazing agency Adoption Advocates International in WA. We completed our homestudy a few months later and our Dossier was sent to Ethiopia on the eve of our 10th wedding anniversary, July 24th. It was our present to each other to have the 2-inch stack of signed, sealed, stamped and triple-stamped paperwork completed. Now we continue to wait. When people say, “Oh you’ve only been waiting a year?” I want to kick them in the teeth (gently and lovingly, of course). It was three years ago this month that Donovan and I began traipsing around from doctor to doctor to see if it was safe for me to have a pregnancy given the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. And for those of you who know me well, you know I was planning way before that! Obviously, that plan didn’t work out, so we moved on to the other plan we had always had for building a family…adoption. The goodest of things come to those who wait.
Question #3: How much longer will you have to wait?
Not so sure. I could easily become obsessive about timelines, but that has potential for disappointment and I am careful to not buy into the business of disappointment these days. We don’t have a log-in date like many other agencies do because AAI works to match babies with families according to needs and desires. That being said, we have received word from our agency that the process is going smoothly in Ethiopia and we can expect to have a referral for a single infant (a child under 12 months) likely by spring. Once we receive a referral, it should be approximately 4 months until we travel to Ethiopia to fetch our little bambino.
Question #3: Do you have to go to Ethiopia to get the baby?
Our answer to this question is an affectionate and enthusiastic, “Hooty Yeah?!!” We are choosing to travel to the orphanage in Addis Ababa to bring our baby home so that we have the opportunity to meet the amazing people who have mothered, loved and cared for him/her. Also, I am pretty dang excited to have some kick-butt photos by my photographer husband to someday show our baby his/her beautiful homeland! Do I hear an “Amen?”
So many questions…feel free to ask!
Donovan and I love when people ask about our adoption!!
We'll keep you posted...
