Happy New Year - To My Daughter

Dear Sweet Baby Girl:

As this year comes to an end, I can’t help but think it will hopefully be the last year of my life spent without you. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about you and how much I look forward to being your mom. In the coming days, I will wonder if you are born yet – I know you have already been conceived in my heart. God continues to bless my life in ways that I couldn’t even imagine, and I continue to see His plan being played out. I know that every step I have taken so far is leading me closer to you. No doubt 2009 is going to be a wonderful and memorable year. I can’t wait to lay my eyes on your beautiful face!

Love,
Mommy

Here's what a dossier looks like

This represents months of hard work collecting various paperwork - medical report stating I am healthy, police report stating I'm not a criminal, home study from my social worker, photos, birth certificate, reference letters, passport, employment letter, financial statement, etc. Every piece of paper had to be notarized, then certified by the county in which it was notarized, THEN authenticated by the Secretary of State. Quite a tedious process, but no doubt worth every second!

Yes, Gina, there IS a Santa Claus!

So would you believe the day after I posted my last entry, I opened my mailbox to find that beautiful envelope I've been waiting for from CIS? Everyone said it was a 6-11 week wait, but it turned out to be just less than 5 weeks - my own little Christmas miracle! So my dossier is now complete and was Fedex'd to my adoption agency today. Lord willing, I will officially be on the waiting list by mid-January. Woo hoo!

Congratulations Abby!

I received the wonderful news today that my friend Abby received her referral from Ethiopia - a beautiful 2-month-old baby girl. I am so thrilled for her. She will travel to Ethiopia in 3-4 months to bring her home. It's going to be wonderful to have a friend who goes through the journey before me - I'm sure I'll learn a lot from her experiences. Hearing her news made it seem all the more real that this is really going to happen for me. I am waiting on 1 little piece of paper from CIS (Citizenship & Immigration Services) that will enable me to officially get on the waiting list. It would be a wonderful Christmas gift to get it in the mail - I hold my breath every day when I open the mailbox. Hopefully the wait won't be much longer - then I can breathe and officially start to REALLY wait!

Welcome to my blog!

I look forward to sharing my adoption journey with my family & friends. In January, after a lot of thought and prayer, I made the huge decision to adopt a baby. I’ve always known I wanted to be a mom, and while it isn’t happening the way I figured it would, I am extremely excited and feel very much at peace with my decision. I have been interested in adoption for a long time, and felt drawn to becoming mom to a child who needs a home. I chose to adopt internationally from Vietnam and got the ball rolling in gathering all the necessary paperwork to make it happen. Unfortunately, the U.S. began accusing Vietnam of unethical adoption practices over the summer, and the program officially closed in September. I didn’t know what I was going to do as my options were limited since many countries won’t adopt to single parents. The head of my local agency touched base with me in late September to see if I had made any decisions. She had just returned from adopting 2 sisters from Ethiopia, so out of the blue, I casually asked if she ever thought Ethiopia would open to singles, and then BOOM! she informed me that they would be able to accept me into the Ethiopia program. It blew my mind as I didn’t think Ethiopia was accepting singles, but I learned they will approve a small quantity of single applicants. I prayed about it, did some research, and talked to a few people who have adopted from Ethiopia or are in the process, and it didn’t take long before I reached the conclusion that God wouldn’t have opened this door if I wasn’t supposed to walk through it, so I have proceeded with the transfer. Everyone around me has been so supportive, and I know this baby will be surrounded by love. I’m a little freaked out – and very excited! – that the current wait is only 6-9 months as opposed to the 3+ year wait I was expecting from Vietnam. Once I receive my referral (meaning I get the call that they have a baby for me), I will likely have to wait another 2-3 months before traveling to Ethiopia to bring my baby home. By this time next year, I could be a mom! I am requesting an infant girl, 0-12 months. I am just a few weeks from submitting my dossier – an unbelievably extensive amount of paperwork for those of you unfamiliar with the international adoption process - which will officially put me on the waiting list. Please keep me in your prayers as I ride this rollercoaster. International adoption is an adventure, full of highs and lows, but I am keeping the faith that my child will be presented to me when the time is right.