So Thankful!

The AZ garage sale was a huge success. All our friends got up super early and worked like crazy to sell their things just for us! Here's Mikele with our poster! (love her) Please check

her BLOG for the full recap.

Cathy and Heather were awesome pricers and sorters. (love them)
Some of the wonderful friends. (Gaynor, Holly, Heather, Mikele, Jen and Kelley) LOVE ALL OF THEM!

It really was early... still dark.

Sincerely, thank you for your friendship and for your love for our new baby.
Ruth 1:8
... May the Lord reward

you for your kindness ...

Garage Sale!

Many of our dearest friends in AZ are having a garage sale this morning (and tomorrow) for our adoption. We are humbled by their hard work and generosity. Please pray for the garage sale to be a success and for us to be one step closer to our next goal of $7200.00 for our referral. Love you guys!! (It's killing me now to be there with everyone!!)

Thankful

This past week we received our "On Deck" email from our agency. That basically means that our family is one of the next families that will be matched/recieve a referral for our child. It could still be 1-3 months but it feels awesome to be at this point in the process. I wanted to share a story of something that happened today. Scott was at work and a nice young man came to his office. He had known that we were adopting and he shared with Scott that he and his wife were really interested in adoption as well. They're young with a little baby but they still wanted to plan a time to get together to talk more about adoption. They agreed to talk to their wives and make a plan. As he was leaving Scott's office he handed him an envelope. To our surprise, it had a check for $500.00!! FOR US!! For our adoption!! To think that this sweet young family wanted to partner with us to help a child find a 'forever family' is simply awesome! Scott called and told me and I started to cry, so thankful for the ways God provides for our family.

2 Corinthians 9:11
'Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.'

Still Waiting

Last night Scott was talking to the kids about our new brother or sister from Ethiopia. He was telling them that someone else is taking care of them until we can come and bring them home. All along we've told the kids that we are not deciding if their new sibling is a boy or a girl. The kids took turn praying and when it was Scotty's turn, it sounded something like this. "Dear God, please pray for the people that are taking care of our new baby brother from Ethiopia, and please make our new baby brother a girl."

When we asked him why he wanted a sister he said, "Sissy needs someone to play dolls with, doesn't she?"

We've been waiting almost 4 months to be matched with our new little Murray. Each week that passes we're getting more excited. Ethiopian courts close for 2 months during the rainy season. This year they will reopen at the end of Sept. So for now we continue to wait and pray that God would prepare our family for this new person. We pray that our new child would be safe and well taken care of until we are united. Thanks for continuing to join us on this journey!

Hebrews 12
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

Conference Call

There was a conference call today for all the families adopting from Ethiopia from our agency. One of the husbands who was able to be on the call took these notes. I just thought I would pass them along to all of you to pray for us in the next phase of this adoption. The $$ seems a little overwhelming but we know that with God all things are possible.
Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

--After you receive your referral, AWAA will send in all of your
documents and request a court date for you. You will have 3-4 weeks
notice before traveling to attend court.

--The first trip will be approx. 1 week (arrive 2 days before court
and stay 24 hours after court). The estimated costs (based on 2
adults) are $1500 - $2000. This does not include airfare.

--During the first trip, there will be sightseeing and activities
planned. There will also be 3 hours a day to visit your baby at the
Transition Home.

--Second trip could be anywhere from 5-12 weeks after passing court.
(It depends on how long the Embassy takes to complete their
investigation.)

--Second trip will be 4 days long. Only one parent is required to
go. Arrive on a Tuesday morning and leave on a Friday evening.

--Estimated cost for two adults is $1200 - $1300, not including airfare.

--Courts will close sometime from August - October for approx. 45
days. AWAA does not know the exact closure dates yet. This will not
affect referrals, but it will affect when you travel for court. If
you don't have a court date before they close, you will have to wait
until they reopen to travel.

Video

Really precious video of a family and their adoption experience. Although Scott and I don't know this couple personally we can really relate to their hearts for kids without parents. It's worth your time to watch it.

Evyn's Gotcha Day + Adoption story from emily Vogeltanz on Vimeo.

Dossier To Ethiopia

Today is the day!

Dear Scott & Katie,

Congratulations! Today is your DTE date in our Family Waiting List.

Have a nice weekend with the paper-chasing weight off of your shoulders!

Many Blessings,

Caitlin Edwards
Africa Family Coordinator

This means that all of our paperwork is on it's way to Ethiopia. Now the estimated 4-6+ month wait begins for us to be matched with our child. At that time we will be given a small amount of information about our child.(and a picture!!) Can't wait for that day...

Best News!

"NOTICE OF FAVORABLE DETERMINATION CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR ADVANCE PROCESSING OF AN ORPHAN PETITION"

I'm sorry for the long delay in posting. When nothing too exciting is going on it's hard to think of things to write. Today that is NOT the case; I have some really great news. Okay, let me give you the time line. We've been done with our home study meetings since December 8th. On January 19th our case manager/social worker, Beverly, gave us a rough draft which we approved and then turn in to our International Family Coordinator to review. She had minor corrections that needed to me made (specify what type of special needs were permissible etc). Jan. 25th we turned it back in to Beverly to make the final corrections. She made the corrections and we sent it back to our family coordinator for FINAL approval. On Feb.5 we were told it was sent to Springfield, IL to receive state certification. Actually it was not turned in until Feb. 25 because Beverly needed to have the head of Lutheran Child and Family Services signature and she was out of town and then sick. (FRUSTRATING!!)

We then waited 4 weeks and 6 days (who's counting) to receive our certified home study. We also received our State of IL foster license. The certified home study was then sent to the USCIS in Chicago to complete our I-600 application(remember we had our fingerprints and application and $860.00 already submitted. Then we waited again...are you sensing a theme here...). Each day I checked the mail and still no approval. I know the mailman thought I was crazy as I hovered over his shoulder...

On Saturday the 17th of April Scott was at an adoption conference at our church, the boys and I had just gotten home from a soccer game and I quickly checked the mail...our approval arrived!!!!

This was the FINAL document we have been waiting for since December 8th. Finally!

The second Scott walked in the door I took a quick picture then I ran out the door. It was 12:50 and the post office closed at 1:00. I made it. I made photo copies and then carefully packaged our dossier (group of paper work that will eventually be translated and sent to Ethiopia).

I just have to show you all the list of documents that make up our dossier.

Application Letter

Husband’s Birth Certificate

Wife’s Birth Certificate

Marriage License Divorce Decree (if applicable)

Husband’s Physical Exam Form

Husband’s Doctor’s Letter (if applicable)

Wife’s Physical Exam Form

Wife’s Doctor’s Letter (if applicable)

Proof of Medical Insurance

Proof of Life Insurance
Financial Statement

Husband’s Employment Verification Letter

Wife’s Employment Verification Letter

Home Study

1st Letter of Reference

2nd Letter of Reference

3rd Letter of Reference

Husband’s Police Report

Wife’s Police Report

USCIS Approval

Agency Recommendation

Agency Post-Placement Commitment

Holy cow! I can't believe that Scott and I got this all done!!

We got an email with specific instructions on how to submit these documents.

Hello Katie,

Please see below for instructions on sending your dossier to AWAA. It includes everything that will be needed for your dossier at dossier submission.

Dossier to AWAA Instructions
Send in 3 copies of your Dossier Information Sheet paper clipped together. Next, securely attach your check or a copy of your online payment confirmation to one of the copies.

Please put your original dossier in the following order:
· Photo Pages
· Passport Pages
· Power Of Attorney (certified)
· Dossier Cover Sheet (certified)
· Please put the remaining documents in the order they are listed on the Dossier Cover Sheet.
o All documents need to be originals with exception of your I-171H, proof of health insurance, and proof of life insurance (which are notarized under a “Notarized Copy of an Original” form).
o Please note that if you have any criminal history (even if it did not show up on your background check), you will need to add a notarized repentance letter in your dossier. This will need to be reviewed by me.
o If you have been divorced, a divorce decree will need to be added to your dossier.

Next, put two COMPLETE and FULL copies of your original dossier (everything included in the list above) together. Use the aforementioned order for your copies, as well.

Last, place your passport photos in an envelope and include ONE copy of your BOTH Hague Certificates.

Send to:
America World Adoption Association
Attn: Caitlin Edwards
6723 Whittier Ave
McLean, VA
22101

I also suggest obtaining a tracking number for this package.

***Important Reminders:
· Be sure to not send in your original I171H as you will need the original when travelling.

· Please do not unstaple or tamper with anything that has been stapled together.

· Please be sure to check page 5 & page 19 of your Dossier Guidelines to ensure all documents that need to be notarized and/or certified are.

· Verify that all notaries’ commissions have not expired AND that all documents are under one year old.

· It is very important all directions on here are followed to ensure quick processing of your dossier in order for it to be sent out as soon as possible.


I hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have any further questions!

Many Blessings,


Caitlin Edwards
Africa Family Coordinator

I sent the dossier certified and it was received yesterday (April 19th). Here's the email that I've been waiting for MONTHS to receive.

Hi Katie,

I successfully received your dossier. Congratulations on receiving your I-171H!

Your dossier looks great. However, I will need you to scan me a signed copy of your passport page. The one put in your dossier is not signed by you.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

God Bless,

Caitlin Edwards
Africa Family Coordinator

But I forgot to sign my darn passport!! I signed it and then raced it over to Scott at church he scanned it and then emailed it as a PDF file (so glad he's techno). So here's where we stand.

Timeline after submitting dossier to AWAA:
1. Dossier receives two staff checks.
2. Dossier is taken to the State Department and Ethiopian Embassy for additional authentication.
3. Dossier is sent to Ethiopia within 1-3 weeks of arriving at AWAA.
a. DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) date is the Friday date the dossier is mailed to Ethiopia.
b. On this same day, families receive an email from an Ethiopia Family coordinator that includes the Fed-Ex tracking number for the dossiers’ journey to Ethiopia.
c. Your wait begins!

We should hear by this Friday if our dossier is on it's way to Ethiopia. Worst case scenario is the 2nd week of May. I can't begin to tell you how excited Scott and I are to have this giant step completed. We are thankful to God for all the details that have fallen into place. I know so many of you have asked how you can get involved in helping us bring our child home from Ethiopia and I want to thank each of you for your interest and care. Soon we will let you know all about fundraisers and other ideas we have to raise the remaining $$ we need. God has provided for us this far and we are confident He will continue.

Please pray for this journey, for our new child and for our little sweethearts already under our roof. Pray that God would prepare each heart in our family for the changes that are ahead.

If you've read all this you have way more patience than I do:)

Much love!

Update

I know it's been a long time since I've updated this blog and I'm sorry to say that we are still waiting for our home study to be sent to USCIS. It has been approved at the state level so now we wait for the final approval at the government level. When we get our approval then all of our documents (called our dossier) will be sent to Ethiopia. It should be a couple more weeks so we are trying to be patient. We all get so excited each time we see something that reminds is of Africa and "our new little brother" as Amelia says. This picture was taken at the Lincoln Park Zoo last Saturday.
Some dear friends of ours, who also have a heart for adoption sent me this blog entry that they stumbled upon. These words are so true, I know it's long but totally worth reading. Thanks for checking in on us and please continue to pray for our adoption.

Dear Shepherd, Sissy, Maggie and Ikey,

Recently we were told by people whom we love and respect why they oppose our plans to adopt. One of the reasons given was that we would not be able to pay for your college education.It's true.You all have college funds - college funds which recently took a terrible hit - but "they" say that by the time you're 18, college will cost anywhere between $200,000 to half a million dollars each. You might as well know now, we won't be covering that. I'm telling you now, babies.The people said that the day would come when you would look at us with resentment because you had to apply for school loans while many of your friends got a free ride from their parents.Maybe you will. Maybe you'll resent us. I really hope not.

But maybe I should tell y'all now why your dad and I have decided to do what we are doing.I know you're going to think I am going off topic (I do that a lot) but several years I saw a story on a TV show about how the latest trend was for parents to give their daughters boob jobs for high school graduation (I don't know what they gave their sons.) When interviewing one of the moms, she said, "I just want my daughter to be happy." And as I tossed a throw pillow at the television, this really huge thought occurred to me: I don't want my children to be happy.

My goal as your mom is not your happiness, sugars. In fact, I spend at least half my day making you unhappy. If I had a nickle for every tear that falls in this home on a daily basis, we wouldn't need to worry about college tuition at all.Happiness is fleeting, sweet babies. That means it doesn't last. It's a quick feeling that comes from a funny movie or a heart shaped lollipop or a really good birthday present. It's great. I love to be happy. But happiness is a reaction that is based on our surroundings. And our surroundings are so very rarely under our control. Even when - especially when - we think they are. So no, I absolutely don't want you to spend your life chasing something that has so little to do with your own abilities. You'll just be constantly frustrated.There are two things I desire for you, precious loves. There are two things that I spend most of my time as a mother trying cultivate in you. Happiness ain't one of them. (This means, sorry, no boob jobs for you.)

The first is, I want you to be content. Being content is so much different from being happy. Being content is not based on your surroundings. Being content comes from within. Contentment is a spirit of gratitude. It's the choice you make to either be thankful for the things you do have, or to whine about the things you don't have.Being content and grateful leads to consistent joy.As you know, because I've told you lots of times, Paul talked about being content. Paul said that he had "learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." And Paul was in some rotten situations, kiddos, really rotten.How could Paul be content whether he was in prison or if his life was literally a shipwreck? Because Paul was constantly seeking to be in the will of God instead of his own, was constantly sacrificing his own comfort for the sake of the gospel, and was constantly being confirmed, strengthened, and blessed by God because of his obedience. He was given a supernatural power - that means something kind of like magic, God magic - to do things that most other humans could not do. And guess what? The bible tells us (in Ephesians 1) that God will give you the exact same power! If you want it!Which leads me to my second desire for y'all.

I don't want you to be happy. I want you to be holy. That means, I want you to seek that God-power to make you content. I want you to want the Kingdom of God more than your own kingdom. And that's hard, babies, that is so hard. And that usually means passing up a lot of what the world considers happiness. But it means that you will achieve blessings directly from God that most of the world never dreams of because they are too occupied with the achieving the perfect birthday present!This means you may be poor, 'in want' as Paul said, and that's okay. It will never, ever be okay with the world for you to be poor. So you'll be up against the world. But not your dad and me, loves, because it was never our goal for you to be wealthy - at least not in the way that the world considers wealthy.Darlings, we love you so much. You will never even grasp how much we love you until you have children of your own, and then you'll get it, and then you'll apologize for the ways you treated us ;) But our goal is not to please you.

Our goal is to please our Heavenly Father. And nowhere in the bible does the Lord command that we save our money to send our kids to college.But the Lord does command us to care for the orphan around fifty times. He does tell us to care for the poor around 300 times. He does tell us that when we care for the neediest, we are caring for Jesus Himself. And in chapter six of the book of Matthew, He tells us to seek His kingdom first, and let Him worry about the rest, like college tuition. Because it's all His anyway.They said that one day y'all would resent us for using 'your' college money to go and get your sister out of an orphanage in Ethiopia and bring her home to you.But I know my babies. Even at your tender ages, I know your hearts, and I have already seen you weep for the least of these. I know the prayers I offer up to God that He and not the world would shape the desires of your hearts. I am trusting Him to answer those prayers.

So, sugarbears - I just don't believe those people.Love,Mommy

Fingerprinting DONE

At 7:30am on Monday we dropped Amelia off at friend's house, drove to Naperville, got lost, drove around in circles, got mad at our TomTom, called USCIS for better directions and finally made it to our fingerprinting appointment.

Scott doing a little happy dance at the thought of being one step closer to our new little Murray.

Home Study Report Review

This might seem little to many of you but I just got this email from our family coordinator. After she reviews the home study it can be sent off to USCIS, approved and then complete!! So exciting.


Hello Katie,

I received your home study today and will review it within 7 business days.

I hope you have a blessed start to your week!

Caitlin Edwards
Africa Family Coordinator

Letter from CEO of Our Agency

I just got this email and thought I'd pass it on.

Dear Scott & Katie,

We have had such a positive response to our posting and email about Haiti adoptions. We’ve heard from many families that are interested in more information once it becomes available. If you’d like to add your name and e-mail address to this list, please email info@awaa.org with “Haiti Adoption Interest” in the subject line.

I spoke with someone today whose family is now strongly considering adopting after he and his wife learned of the plight of orphans in Haiti. After they learned a few days ago that adoption from Haiti isn’t readily available for new adoption cases, he and his wife are now considering adopting a child from another country. We believe that God is using the tragic events in Haiti to help a child who is in need of a family – even though that child isn’t in Haiti.

I know that God works in mysterious and unpredictable ways – and I wonder if this tragedy in Haiti isn’t God’s way of showing us that there are orphans all over the world in need of families. Instead of an earthquake, tens of thousands of children have been left as orphans in Ethiopia because of HIV/AIDS, poverty and famine; your family can get more information about Ethiopia adoption by going to our website or emailing ethiopia@awaa.org. In Rwanda, the aftermath of the genocide, HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty have left many children as orphans; this is one of our newest programs and we’ve been encouraged to see the results; families can email a Rwanda Family Coordinator at rwanda@awaa.org. Our China Waiting Children Program has children available age six months to fourteen years including young children with minor and medically correctible special needs; please email waitingchildren@awaa.org for more information about this.

I encourage you to pray and seek the Lord’s will for your family. And please continue praying for those in need in Haiti – a crisis of this magnitude will require years and years of help – and I pray that by the mercy and grace of God this will not be a time when orphans are left by the wayside, but that permanent families will be sought for them.

Blessings,

Brian Luwis
CEO


6723 Whittier Avenue
McLean, VA 22101
Toll Free: 888-ONE-CHILD
Fax: (703) 356-8973
www.spirit-of-adoption.org

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

Click here to learn more about AWAA’s An Orphan’s Ticket Home campaign. Subscribe to our Orphan’s Ticket Home Blog here.

Great News!!

Our second try at the I-600 application was accepted! We got the approval letter in the mail today. Seeing Department of Homeland Security as the return address made me so happy. We actually got 5 letters today. The other ones were our appointment times for our USCIS biometric FBI fingerprinting. FEBRUARY 1st at 8:00am we will be going to the USCIS office here in Chicago! (Don't worry, I'll take pictures;))



I found this little flow chart and it helps to understand the process.




We are almost ready to ship our dossier. (in the next couple weeks) We are just waiting for our home study report to be done and approved by the state of IL. Please try that our social worker, Beverly gets it done quickly. We have a long way to go but we can't help but get excited about each step.

Africa 2010!!

Dreaming, hoping and praying that 2010 might be the year for our child to come home.

Ephesians 3:20
Now all glory to God, who is able,

through his mighty power at work within us,

to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.