11/22

Hi everyone. I feel like we have gotten a lot done in the past couple of days. Tim finished his autobiography and got his employer letter and I got several documents approved for the dossier, Proof of insurance, Doctor’s letter, Shanon’s employment letter, Tim’s Letter of employment, Proof of medical insurance( insurance card, Shanon’s physical exam, Tim’s physical exam, Copies of passports. On the employer letters and medical items, I have to get a county seal before they are completely ready. I also started working on our application letter for the dossier. Hopefully, I can get some more stuff done this weekend. Tim got free tickets to a fundraiser at the Underground and Mercy Me played. We had a lot of fun. Here are a couple pics. Bebo Norman also played, he is the 1st pic, but his didn't turn out well.

11/20

I was on our Ethiopia adoption yahoo group today and I read a post about the costs of adoption that got me thinking and I wanted to share it with you.
She "compared the cost (financial & emotional) of the adoption, to the
price Jesus paid for our lives. That while we didn't have to put ourselves on a cross and shed blood, that the price we were paying to save a life was similar
in that God requires much from us. She said that adoption was a test,
and for most people, money is the thing we cling to for stability.
So, she said that the money, the tears, the emotional rollercoaster,
was the price we would pay to save a life. Like Jesus, there are
times when we cry out, "Lord, let this cup pass from me!" but then we
must say, "Never the less, not my will but Yours be done."
We need to reach that place of complete surrender and say, "Whatever
you require, Lord, I will do it!" Sure, there are times when other things get in the way, where Satan tries to set up blocks and bring us down emotionally. But that is
when we cling to God even more and continue to pray, "Lord, your will
be done!" Nothing will get in the way of His will as long as we continue to
walk in it. I have to assume that as long as my heart and mind are
focused on Him, that these trials are part of His plan to test my
faith and help me grow. Just like my salvation came at a price, so my
daughter's life and future must come at a price....And God says to
me, "This is what you asked for, now how much are you willing to
give? Your plans, your money, your future?"
I have to say, "God help me to give whatever you ask, and to do it
with a happy heart (which is the hardest part of all)."
Tim said,It's like the credit card commercials; a baby bed $500, the cost of the adoption $25,000, the price to finally see your new baby and save their life, PRICELESS!!

11/19

Hi everyone. Hope you all are doing well. Today, we just mailed in our I-600A form, probably should have sent it in before now but we had to wait to get Tim's birth cert. as we had a little mishap w/it!! We are really starting to move on the home study front. I think all we need is Tim's employer letter, tim's autobiography, guardianship letter, the rest of our reference letters, finger prints for the I-600, to finish our online training, and 1 more meeting w/our social worker. We have some of the stuff for our dossier together also and now that we're almost done with the home study paperwork I will be kicking the dossier stuff up a notch!!

11/12

Sorry it has taken me so long to write a new post. We have been very busy. We have completed our two home interviews, have started our online training, completed our safety audit and fire inspection and today we just did our BCI and FBI finger prints. We have also almost finished with the baby's room and all we need to do in there is decorate and get the furniture, etc. My dad flew in on Sunday and we were able to spend a little time with him and then on Tues, he and my mom drove back to Maryland. Now they are going to start packing again, as my dad recently accepted a job in W. Virginia and they have to be there on 12/1. My dad seems to be happy about this but my mom has reservations, as she really likes it in Maryland. I am a little happier about this, as they tell me it is only a 3 hour drive from here. Much better than the 10 to Maryland and we may be able to spend Christmas together. So far, everything seems to be going relatively smoothly and I think our home visits went well. Hopefully everything continues to go well and w/o problems. Hope you all are doing well!