The "Why" Post - LONG!

Ok, so I've had a few people now ask me a few questions, about the blog & about my adoption. So I decided to clarify a bit.

First of all, the easy one. The reason I decided to title my blog "To Build a Family". No, it isn't that I think I don't have a family already - I have a wonderful, close-knit family. Immediate and extended - we all (for the most part) genuinely enjoy eachother's company & it's great to know there are so many people who are in my corner no matter what. The family I am building is the one that most of us dream of having someday - parents & children. I admit, I'm doing it in a rather unconventional manner (to many people), since there isn't exactly a daddy in the picture yet, but it feels right. After all, I'm not really a "conventional" kind of person in a lot of aspects!

Now the tougher one. Well, it really was the easier decision for me, but it's the tougher one to answer. I've always known that I wanted to adopt - that was a no-brainer for me. See, I'm adopted myself (actually, so was my birth mother) & I have wanted to have at least part of my family come together that way as long as I can remember. I haven't always had the best taste in men, so had told myself that "someday" if I hadn't found Mr. Wonderful yet, I would pursue adoption as a single woman. Honestly I didn't really expect "someday" to be yet, but last year I very strongly felt God leading me to start the process. I have to admit, I wasn't sure why he told me to start it then - I was working part time & living in my parents' basement. Not exactly a suitable situation, as far as I was concerned. But God kept telling me "do the research & be ready". I knew that I had to start looking into things so that when He said "Now" I would be able to follow. Once I started listening to him & taking care of my end of things, everything else started to fall into place. He told me my baby would be waiting for me in Ethiopia, so I started to research the country & agencies. I got a good job that lets me support myself & will also allow me to provide for LB. A few months later I found a large apartment for a very good price - plenty of room for me to bring home my baby. The only roadblock at that point was the fact that things just weren't coming together with the agency I had chosen to work with. I wound up looking at my first-choice agency's website (they hadn't had an Ethiopian program when I had talked to them before so I had gone with my 2nd choice) and discovered that they had just started a pilot program in Ethiopia. That's when things REALLY clicked. So, now here I am. I've been accepted into the program & things are starting to move. Now it's just a matter of doing what I need to do & following God's timing to bring the Lil' Bit home.

This brings me to the 3rd question I am asked. I've been asked lately what people can pray for regarding LB, me, and the journey to make us a family. The biggest thing is for LB's health & safety - or for the health & safety of the birthmother if the Lil' Bit hasn't been born yet. The 2nd thing is that I will be able to get everything together on my end. I am walking in faith big time here folks - trusting that God will provide everything I need to take care of everything involved in this adoption (spiritually & materially). And, of course, strength & patience for me. As I said in earlier posts - I don't do waiting well!

So, I'm sorry about the LONG post - if you made it all the way to the end you have my sincere admiration! Hope this answers some of those questions, but if you have any others or would like more clarification, please feel free to ask!

This is SO TRUE!

I'm not even physically a parent yet (I say physically cause in my heart I feel like I already am the Lil' Bit's mama) and I still identify with pretty much all of this! Saw this today on my blog friend Holly's website & had to "borrow" it!


YOU KNOW YOU'RE AN ADOPTIVE PARENT IF ...
1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.
2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love & family.
3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.
4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you.
5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who've experienced the blessing of adoption.
6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about adopted child's "real" parents.
7. You've been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth.(2 years!)
8. You'd no idea how you'd afford to adopt, but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing He'd provide. (& He does!)
9. You've taken an airplane half-way around the world with a child you just met.
10. You believe God's heart's for adoption.
11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart & family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.
12. You know what the word "Dossier" means & you can actually pronounce it correctly!
13. You've welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.
14. You shudder when people say your child's so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you're the blessed one to have him or her in your life.

Hello Out There - Just Checking In

Hi! Remember me? OK, I know it's been a while, but I haven't had much to post. I'm waiting. I'm waiting to start my home study (SW has been on vacation). I'm waiting to get the last couple loose ends tied up for that. I'm waiting to switch offices at work. And, like I said earlier - I absolutely HATE waiting! So, to that effect, I've been trying to come up with something I can do to kill time. Therefore, I am going to paint my living room. And my kitchen. Who knows - maybe eventually even the hallway, the office, the bathroom, and my bedroom. I won't paint LB's room yet, since I don't know the color scheme.

I am also very slowly stocking up on supplies for the Lil' Bit. Nothing age or gender specific, really, but I have recently become the proud owner of a BabyHawk carrier - I will post a picture as soon as I can get one that isn't a hideous cell-phone shot. I also have a couple gender-neutral outfits that should be bigger than LB will be (ideally). If not, I have 2 brothers having babies this year.

The other thing I am doing is knitting. Right now I am still working on my niece-to-be's blanket, but I will be doing one for Lil' Bit & for my other brother & sister-in-law's baby as well. So I guess I'm staying busy - but I am still anxious to get to the next point. Is patience really a virtue? I'm not entirely sure right about now!

Training

Wow. This was an interesting, informative, but intense day. (This post brought to you by the letter "i"). I went to my agency's training class for families adopting internationally today. I have a ton of paperwork to read (at least I don't have to fill any of it out!) and a lot more to think about now. Fortunately, for the most part it's good stuff - I think it will help me be a better mother to the Lil' Bit. Once I process it more I will share my thoughts on the day with all of you. Oh - LB got his or her first present! My agency gave each family that attended a teddy bear for their new child, how fun is that?! In case you can't tell by all the exclamation points & the disjointed grammatical structure, I'm a little wired tonight. Lots of caffeine, very little sleep last night, and information overload. A friend of mine asked me about my mood tonight & I just said I'm practicing for being a Mama. I don't think he got it, but to me it was funny!

Reflections

Well, I've had about a week & a half to come to terms with my most recent birthday. I know, it's not like it was that big of a deal - I'm only 28, after all. The thing is, I hate my birthdays. They always make me realize just how far I am from where I wanted to be at this point in my life. So, it usually takes me a little while to get positive again & see what I do have. Ok, so I don't have my baby yet - but I am actively working to make it happen. No, I don't own a house - but I have an ok apartment that is big enough, in a good neighborhood, and low rent. I'm not wealthy or fabulously successful - but I make enough to support myself & LB and I have a decent job that I enjoy. Yeah I'm single, but I have a wonderfully supportive extended family & a "chosen family" of friends who love me & are waiting for the Lil' Bit so they can love & spoil him or her too. See - sometimes we don't have what we think we want, but what we do have can be pretty great!

Impatient Much?

OK, I admit it. I'm not very good at waiting patiently. (Family, if you're reading this - STOP LAUGHING! Stop it. Right now - that's enough!). Anyway, as I'm wading through the piles of paperwork to send in for my homestudy, I got somewhat frustrated at the thought of the wait ahead of me. Fortunately, right about then I opened my mail & found the flyer for the international adoption training day coming up at Bethany. YAY - another step will be taken care of. Progress makes me VERY happy. That means I'm that much closer to bringing my baby home.

Happy 2008!

So, now that we're very firmly into 2008, I though it was time to post. Had a great new years, lots of family yesterday (all 5 of my dad's siblings came over along with various spouses, children, & grandchildren) - lots of food, loud laughter, etc. Big families are so much fun! Now it's back to business, trying to finish getting my homestudy paperwork together & sent in so I can move forward & work on getting LB home. Hope all you out there in blog-land had a safe & fun new year's celebration & that you all have a wonderful, blessing-filled 2008!