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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours!
Hope everyone enjoyed the first part of their holiday. We're looking forward to another short week of Dad working and being at home with us for a long weekend again! I have to say that I'm hoping that 2010 is the year we bring home our third child from Ethiopia (or at least have a face and tentative travel dates to pray over!). I am frustrated lately that it seems as if our adoption paperwork is stuck somewhere in never never land. I'm still waiting on that letter assigning us a time for our finger print appointments and I'm giving it time with the holidays happening right now. And it's not that we're not busy or even content with our lives as they are right now, but I'm frustrated that we started this and we've prayed for this and we've talked about this and we're ready to move along with this and it seems as if we're totally stalled out. So will you pray with us and for us? We need a jump start and we're hoping that letter is in the mail and will be here any day so at least we know we're moving forward with this. We appreciate your prayer and are looking forward to a fantastic 2010!
So remember the post about how I like to get things taken care of with this adoption ASAP and get all stressed about it? And the post about how I overnighted our home study paperwork twice because the first one didn't get there fast enough and our case worker received it all twice? Well, I thought I would try on patience for a change so when I mailed our home study in to the USCIS office I kept letting it go when I didn't receive a confirmation letter. I kept looking for it (as mentioned in a previous post) but I just figured it was there and being processed very S L O W L Y. Well, last night I figured it was slow enough. I really have no clue how to go about finding out where our home study is or if it arrived or not. This office not only handles all orphan petitions but all immigration cases which means there are not phone numbers posted on their website. It's a big office with lots of local offices and I didn't have a clue how to go about checking on our application. So I got on our AWAA Yahoo group created just for those adopting from Ethiopia through AWAA (our agency) and asked those who were also paper chasing if they had heard anything since sending in paper work to the new address. Turns out yes they have and not only that but a woman who has adopted from Ethiopia who lives out in Katy (that we met a while back at a Tom Davis Chick-fil-a event) responded that there is a Houston CIS e-mail address. WHAT?? An e-mail address? How have I missed this in my EXTENSIVE, EXHAUSTIVE search of this website? SURE ENOUGH I get on to find it and there it is plain as day! Can we all see God's hand here? Love things like that...I digress. So I e-mail the Houston office last night and ask if they have received our home study not really expecting a response for a couple of days. By 7:30 this morning they have e-mailed back that they have not gotten our home study and until they are in receipt of this they cannot schedule our finger prints which is the last thing standing in our way before we mail off ALL of our paperwork and officially get on the waiting list for our child. SOO...I run around like a chicken with my head cut off and scramble all the paperwork together and make copies (one at a time on our home printer with Wyatt trying to pull them off to hand them to mommy!) and put the boys in the car and head to the nearest Parcel Plus and over night it all again! Deja Vu! Now it should be there again by 10:30 tomorrow morning. Never mind where the other one is or why it was signed for but nobody has it. I don't care (shouldn't I? quite a bit of PERSONAL information there!) where it is just as long as someone who SHOULD have it gets it somehow! Ugghhhh...craziness. And the poor boys! The craziness that ensued this morning...ahhh...I'll spare you the details but I am not proud of how I handle those little souls when I'm in a hurry and stressed like I was. Definitely something to work on!
So tips to those who are behind us on this journey. First off...check on things quickly if you don't get confirmation. Give it time (10 days to 2 weeks) but then e-mail away. Secondly, when it comes to mailing in your I-600A application and the decision to file your application before your home study is complete my only advice to you is that if you decide to file the application maybe hold the check to mail in with the home study so you have another way of knowing if they got it. But scratch that if you live in Texas like us because it just donned on me that we had to mail in a money order! Okay...so I guess my only advice is to have a great sense of humor and expect delays. Oh, and to remember when your youngest finds a lone crayon and is coloring on the white couch with it while you're frantically trying to make copies of important paper work scaring the you know what out of him when you yell like a banshee will only prolong getting back to making copies! Color away little Wyatt! We'll just throw it in the wash...
WATER! Yes...that is right. Water. CLEAN water. And I don't mean for myself here...I mean for those around the world that do not have the option of clean water. Clean water to wash their clothes, clean water to cook with, and most importantly clean water to drink. I can't imagine being a mom and not being able to provide the basic need of clean water. I also don't know if I can even imagine...I mean really IMAGINE what that would even be like? And while I'm so thankful that God has blessed me with this location that I live in that provides the basic necessity of water so easily to all of us I have been reminded how so many people in OUR world do not have this basic convenience. Look at the image above and really look at it. Now imagine if that were you and your child was thirsty. Your only option is to dip your child's cup down in that water to quench their thirst. No apple juice, no lemonade, no milk, no CLEAN WATER.
So before you buy another THING for Christmas...buy water. $10 will provide someone in Africa clean water for 10 years. My family wants for nothing and we do not need another thing so we will be asking for water. I will also be giving water this holiday season. And BOY DO I FEEL GOOD ABOUT THAT...now, my relatives may not be so keen to recieve water for Christmas but as I've been reminded lately from some encouraging fellow bloggers isn't it supposed to be CHRISTmas anyhow? Aren't we supposed to get caught up in how to glorify Him more and praise Him on this holiday built around His birthday? I will be the first to say that I don't do that...it has taken me 32 years and countless large and small gifts to really "get" CHRISTmas. And while I will give in to the consumerism of the holiday more times than I care to admit this season and will take gifts and give gifts I will also be asking for and giving water. How does one give water you ask? Perfect...let me tell you my friends!
Go here to charity:water and either donate in someone's name as a gift or buy a gift from their e-store. Or go here to Water 4 Christmas and give or see their Etsy store to buy gifts that will donate profits to clean water. Or go here where your $10 will make a world of difference to someone. Either way...please GIVE...let clean water be a gift you give this Christmas. Give HOPE. Give JOY. GIVE because Christ first GAVE to us. Give because we are called to give. Won't it feel good to say "I got clean water for children" rather than "I got more stuff that I didn't need nor have space for?"
Now...I will end with my FAVORITE new video...it changed my holiday traditions. My prayer is that it will change yours too!
I am a believer in and am striving daily to be a follower of Christ. I am a wife to an amazing husband who loves better than any person I've ever known. I am a mother to two beautiful, curious little boys. And Josh and I are currently in the process of adopting from Ethiopia.
Join 5 for 50. A global initiative to alleviate poverty and suffering for those affected by the HIV/AIDS virus. Every one of us CAN make a small difference!
February 2nd-CLEARED by Embassy!!! SHE IS OURS! AMEN! Done and done...
January 28th-Cleared for Embassy appointment ONE HOUR after we canceled our flights after hearing that they hadn't heard from Embassy. Will be on same flight tomorrow.
January 20th-submitted to Embassy
January 18th-received e-mail with all post court paperwork documents for T (court decree, passport, birth certificate)
December 27th-confirmation that we indeed did pass court on December 24th!!!!! She is officially OURS FOREVER!!
December 23rd-Go to court with several families in court room at same time. MOWA letters were delivered later in day after judge left for the day. Found out our letter was written but judge had not signed off.
October 25th-recieve phone call telling us our assigned court date will be December 23rd.
August 10th-REFERRAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!
August 4th- "On Deck" e-mail preparing us for upcoming referral...we're next in line! #1 for both a boy and a girl!
March 18th-DTE
March 12-Received e-mail from our family coordinator that AWAA successfully received our dossier and it has been staff checked. Next is DC authentication.
March 10th-Received our I-171. Sent our dossier to AWAA-2nd day air.
January 22nd-had our finger prints taken at 8:00 am when they opened. Only took 15 minutes! Nice!
January 20th-received our finger print letter telling us to come any weekday between 8-3:30.
January 15th- Received e-mail from Houston USCIS office they have received our home study and have reviewed and our finger print appointment will be in the mail next week
December 10th- Sent our home study to Lewisville office again after hearing from Houston office that they never received it. Overnight #2.
October 14th-Overnighted home study to USCIS
October 13th-received finalized home study in the mail
October 9th-AWAA Texas mailed finalized home study.
September 19th-4th and final home study visit completed
September 6th-7th-Completed our separate interviews and the beginning of our couple interviews for our home study. 3 down, 1 to go!
August 31st-Mailed in our I-600A...sent personal check the first time and got it back. They no longer take personal checks regardless of the fact the instruction sheet says that they DO! Sent it back same day with money order.
August 24th-Mailed all documents to AWAA-Texas and social worker. YAY!
August 22nd-Sable vet appointment...vaccinations are updated and we have records to show that.
August 21st-All doctor appointments complete including follow up TB test result appointments. All paper work for home study is collected after we pick up our doctor paper work on Monday!
August 18th-Autumn's doctor appointment (blood work, TB test, physical, Tetanus shot). Josh finished autobiography. Paid fire inspection fee.
August 10th-Received check list for home study. Printed out application, signed all papers, began gathering others. Wrote Autumn's autobiography.
August 6th-Got marriage certificates from court house and requested Josh's proof of employment letter, proof of life insurance letter, and proof of health insurance letter.
August 5th-assigned a family coordinator. Read through LONG LIST of required documents. Wrote Autumn's Non-Employment letter.
August 2nd-Sent online request for both of our birth certificates
August 2nd-Completed online Hague training
July 30th-Signed and mailed AWAA contracts and first international program fee
July 30th-Received phone call saying we are OFFICIALLY approved for the Ethiopia program
July 23-Received e-mail asking for more information from AWAA
July 14th-Completed online application for Ethiopia program through America World
Why Africa?
* There are 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia (2007) • 1 in 6 children die before their 5th birthday • 46% of the population of Ethiopia is under 15 years old • 60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition • The median age in Ethiopia is 16.9 years • 1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (6th highest in the world) • 720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone • Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa • Drought struck the country from 2000-2002 (first year no crops, second year no seeds, third year no animals) • Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school. 88% will never attend secondary school. • Ethiopia’s doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000.
