preparation

moving right along.
at a snail's pace.  *sigh*

adoption is the world of HURRY HURRY  HURRY....and waaaaaaaaait.
and then wait some more.
and then HURRY HURRY HURRY!!!!

right now we're in a short wait between the hurrys.  we've finished all our paperwork for the home study.  next friday we have our final interviews with our social worker.  then our home inspection.  yes, we do already have two children in our home who are happy and healthy and well-adjusted; and yes, we have already completed one successful adoption.
yes, we do still have to go through another home study to received that beloved "stamp of agency approval."
its all good.  just those hoops you can't think about too much or you get frustrated.  *check check check it off the list*

while we are in a little lull of calm, we are trying to take the time to prepare for the crazy when our next child does arrive home.  i'd love it if i could store up on extra sleep right now...stock it away for later when i'll need it.  but i tried that with josiah's adoption and it DOES.  NOT.  WORK.  made things worse, in fact...just a little FYI in case you've thought about that.  *grin*
what we are doing is creating a big fat folder of support.  medical specialists, social workers, adoption circles, etc....things that we may find that we need when our child comes home.  this way its already at our fingertips.  research it now in case you need it later, right?

this is a really great time for us to learn more about ghana.  we found a ghanaian association of sacramento (GASCAL).  *score*  unfortunately, we just missed their big annual celebration of ghana's independence in april, but we've got it on the calendar for next year.

we're also girding our loins to answer the inevitable questions that will come when we become a "conspicuous" adoptive family.  our little josiah is light skinned with blue eyes.  no one knows he's adopted unless we start talking about birthmothers, etc (which i do quite often and wonder by people look at me weird. "oh, right!  let me explain...josiah came to our family through adoption.").  with this new little one who will have beautiful ebony skin and dark hair, the biological differences will be more obvious.  while we've had our share of ridiculous and insensitive questions about josiah ("did i cost extra for a white baby?"  seriously.  seriously?!?!?!?!), we're thinking through our reasons for adoption so we can take the time to gracious educate those who ask thoughtless questions....or not.  honestly, sometimes i think you can sometimes reply with a crazy answer and walk away.  they might do better to think through the answer themselves without our children needing to hear it.  read a great little, humorous blog post on exactly this:
top 6 reactions to our adoption

please continue to pray for us as we see God provide mental stamina, TIIIIIME, and funding.  we'll have some news coming out soon about a few fundraising opportunities.
 
"let the word of Christ dwell in you RICHLY, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with THANKFULNESS in your hearts to God."  colossians 3:16

fostering hope in ghana

one of the things you have to come to grips with when you start an adoption is that its costs money.
a lot of money.
in the end, though, its not EVER about buying a child.  it is ransom money.  every penny gets you closer to gathering YOUR child into your arms.
think of it this way: if your child was taken from you and placed in the deepest, darkest jungle on the other side of the world, is there anything that would be too difficult or too costly to get them back?  no, of course not.  and when you are called to adoption, that is exactly how you feel.  YOUR CHILD is out there somewhere, waiting for you...of course there is no amount of money too great, no hoop too ridiculous to jump through, no dance you are not willing to learn so you can welcome them into your home.

that said....we spent a lot of time researching adoption agencies.  since we were going to be spending a lot of money, we wanted that money to be used in a way that would do more than simply bring our child into our arms.  we wanted to work with an agency that would help to keep families together and alleviate the orphan problem worldwide.
this is why we love bethany christian services (www.bethany.org).
they have foster programs and small business loans and gobs of other GREAT ideas in place in so many countries around the world.  in the US, they support birthmothers who choose to keep their babies and help them get back on their feet.  these are the things we believe in.  these are the things that help to keep families together.  adoption is ONE of MANY solutions to help orphans!  we love that our support of bethany christian services helps more than just our family...

here's a nice little article about what bethany is doing in ghana:  Fostering Hope in Ghana

how did we decide to adopt?

one of the questions we hear a lot is: "so, how did you decide to adopt?"
a fellow adoptive mommy friend wrote a blog post to answer that question (*high fives, alexis!*).  i really couldn't say it any better....so i'm stealing her wit instead.  *grin*

click here:
How We Decided To Adopt