It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged and honestly…I just am not in the mood. However, I think it’s important to update those of you who follow my blog and let you know where we’re at with our adoption.
On July 7th we were matched with a birth mom from Florida who was due to have a bi-racial baby boy September 6th. We accepted and were SO excited!!! In the next 2 months that followed we got prepared, received baby boy clothes, and just could not believe how lucky we were!! We talked on the phone with the birth mom several times and texted with her almost daily just to keep updated on how she was doing and to talk about her doctor appointments. We were lucky to get to know her. She was very nice and supportive of us and was grateful to be able to choose a family for this little guy. A family she knew would love him and could provide for him the life she wanted him to have. A life she felt, at this time, she could not give him and said he “deserved it”. I was surprised by the mixed emotions I felt in these conversations we had with her. We were so excited to be bringing a baby home, but we knew it came with a significant loss. My heart broke for her as I know she so badly wanted to be the one who could provide that life for him.
On Sept 5th we were told by the agency in FL that she was having contractions, etc…and that it wouldn’t be long. We drove to Minneapolis that afternoon and got the call around 6am on Sept 6th that the birth mom was being taken to the hospital and it was only a matter of time. By the time we had booked tickets, got the airport and start boarding the plane she had given birth!!! We were thrilled when we go the call and a picture of him! He was beautiful…possibly the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. Long story short…we flew down, met birth mom, everything went great, however, we did not end up bringing him home with us. We got to bring him back to our hotel for a few days, but things ended up not working out and we had to turn him over to the agency/foster care. We were heartbroken to come back without a baby. We had to believe this all happened for a reason. God has a plan in everything. He placed us in this situation for a reason…a reason we may not be able to see now, but some day we will. We pray for him every day and think about him all the time. Maybe that was God’s plan all along!
During our stay in FL we were blessed to celebrate our 2 year anniversary. Although the conditions weren’t ideal it made us realize that when everything around us is falling apart…we still had each other. We made it a point to enjoy our day by going to the beach and doing some shopping at the little stores along the bay. It was stressful and Josiah was NEVER far from our minds, but we knew we had to be strong and move forward. We flew back to North Dakota a couple days later and continued on with our lives. It was hard to come back empty handed. It was hard to face people. To have people ask “where’s your baby?” when they didn’t know the story. Through it all we have been SO blessed to have our family and friends around us to support us.
We have kept our story pretty private and have only told a select few. There really is no reason for everyone to know what happened in our situation. All we ask for are prayers.
We meet with our social worker Thursday evening at 6pm. We are hoping that in having a meeting with her we are able to move forward. We feel we have given ourselves enough time to grieve. That’s not to say he’s not a part of our thoughts and prayers anymore because he always will be a part of us, but we are ready to move forward. There are so many children that need forever families and we cannot wait to get back out there and see what’s in store for us!
I will keep you posted. We also want to thank everyone who sent gifts and cards and called to lend your support. We so appreciate it.
Tasha & Chaske
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Catching up...
Wow, things have been sooo hectic around here lately. So much to do…so little time!!
This past weekend we had the Biegler Family Reunion. We have this every year on the 3rd weekend of August. It was a blast as always!! Good food, family, and softball. It was a beautiful day as well…only in the 70’s!! Nice contrast to the past years where it’s typically in the upper 80’s-90’s. It was so nice to be around family…Chaske and I truly enjoy and appreciate all the family we have around us here. Also, the morning of the reunion the guys went golfing…this yearly tradition is one Chaske just loves! He fits right in with our family…he really appreciates and enjoys his time with them.
In more “catch up news”- we also made a trip the cities in the middle of July to see my cousin and her family! We got to meet their new addition Easton!! He is sooo cute! We had a blast…visiting them is always a good time! We try to make that visit a yearly mini-vacation! :) Visiting them this time around also meant we got to see my cousin’s husband before he gets sent off to Afghanistan. Sad to see him leave his family and newborn baby boy, but we are very proud of him and hope for a safe return. One of the best parts of this trip was knowing in a month they would be coming back to stay with us for the family reunion…so saying goodbye wasn’t so sad…this time around anyway. Their little guy Aiden just loves Chaske. They are definitely best buds for life :) He even made a countdown for returning for the reunion…so cute! I also got to watch my cousin’s daughter Deja play soccer…very cool!! We loved every second we spent with them- my cousin’s husband Mark also took Chaske to go tubing down the river with his friends…very cool! If you know Chaske- he’s always up for some water adventure! Being around that little baby boy definitely made me even more impatient :)
So, all in all, it’s been a fun summer. Busy, but fun! Being around family and having fun is helping distract ourselves from waiting for our little one! So far, it’s working…our family and friends are so supportive around here…we couldn’t ask for more!!
Hope you’re enjoying your summer!!!
Until next time…
Tasha & Chaske
This past weekend we had the Biegler Family Reunion. We have this every year on the 3rd weekend of August. It was a blast as always!! Good food, family, and softball. It was a beautiful day as well…only in the 70’s!! Nice contrast to the past years where it’s typically in the upper 80’s-90’s. It was so nice to be around family…Chaske and I truly enjoy and appreciate all the family we have around us here. Also, the morning of the reunion the guys went golfing…this yearly tradition is one Chaske just loves! He fits right in with our family…he really appreciates and enjoys his time with them.
In more “catch up news”- we also made a trip the cities in the middle of July to see my cousin and her family! We got to meet their new addition Easton!! He is sooo cute! We had a blast…visiting them is always a good time! We try to make that visit a yearly mini-vacation! :) Visiting them this time around also meant we got to see my cousin’s husband before he gets sent off to Afghanistan. Sad to see him leave his family and newborn baby boy, but we are very proud of him and hope for a safe return. One of the best parts of this trip was knowing in a month they would be coming back to stay with us for the family reunion…so saying goodbye wasn’t so sad…this time around anyway. Their little guy Aiden just loves Chaske. They are definitely best buds for life :) He even made a countdown for returning for the reunion…so cute! I also got to watch my cousin’s daughter Deja play soccer…very cool!! We loved every second we spent with them- my cousin’s husband Mark also took Chaske to go tubing down the river with his friends…very cool! If you know Chaske- he’s always up for some water adventure! Being around that little baby boy definitely made me even more impatient :)
So, all in all, it’s been a fun summer. Busy, but fun! Being around family and having fun is helping distract ourselves from waiting for our little one! So far, it’s working…our family and friends are so supportive around here…we couldn’t ask for more!!
Hope you’re enjoying your summer!!!
Until next time…
Tasha & Chaske
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Africa
So- as many of you probably have heard and seen there is a major crisis going on for the horn of Africa. This includes countries such as Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya...It is truly heartbreaking. I can't help, but feel the need to do more than just donate and pray. I hope that you find it in your hearts to do something to help these people. Anything is better than nothing at all. You may feel like you don't make a difference, but any little bit here is huge over there. Even if the amount you donate provides food for one starving child for a short period of time...it's something! We are all called to help one another. I know it's easier to turn away and go about your day, but that doesn't make it right!!! It's so easy to donate and cut something simple out of your life for awhile...starbucks, pedi/mani, whatever...just do something! :)
If you want to help a really good website is: http://www.wvi.org/wvi/wviweb.nsf
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
If you want to help a really good website is: http://www.wvi.org/wvi/wviweb.nsf
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Monday, July 11, 2011
What we want you to know once baby comes home
Dear Family & Friends,
We want to share with you some information that we hope will best equip everyone around our baby to assist us in laying the strongest and healthiest foundation - emotionally, physically and spiritually.
In many ways, our baby will be just like any other baby. However, we have done a great deal of research on bonding and attachment. While many people think a baby doesn’t feel a loss at such a young age- they do. Our baby will know things are different and will most likely recognize their loss.
Attachment between a parent and child occurs over time when a baby has a physical or emotional need and communicates that need. The primary caretaker (usually mom) meets the need and soothes the child. This repeats between a parent and child over and over to create trust within the child for that parent; the baby is hungry, cries in distress, mom feeds & calms the baby - which teaches them that this person is safe and can be trusted. By God’s very design, an emotional foundation is laid in the tiniest of babies, which will affect their learning, conscience, growth and future relationships. The security provided by parents will, ultimately, give children a trust for and empathy towards others.
Children who come home through adoption have experienced interruptions in this typical attachment process. The loss of a biological mother at an early age can be a major trauma on their little hearts. The good news is that we can rebuild that attachment and help them heal from these emotional wounds. When our baby comes home, he/she will be overwhelmed. Everything around them will be new and they will need to learn not just about their new environment, but also about love and family. The best way for us to form a parent/child bond is to be the ones to hold, snuggle, instruct, soothe and feed him/her. As this repeats between us, they will be able to learn that parents are safe to trust and to love deeply. We are, essentially, recreating the newborn/parent connection. Once they start to establish this important bond, they will then be able to branch out to other, healthy relationships.
Our little one will have, what may seem like, a lot of structure, boundaries and close proximity to us. Please know that these decisions are prayerfully and thoughtfully made choices based on immense amounts of research and instruction from trusted adoption mentors. We will be doing what we believe is best to help them heal from those interruptions in attachment as effectively as possible. Why are we telling you all of this? Because you will actually play an awesome and vital role in helping our baby settle in, heal, and lay a foundation for the future. There are a few areas in which you can help us:
The first is to set physical boundaries. It will help us immensely if adults limit what is typically considered normal, physical contact. This will (for a while) include things like holding, excessive hugging and kissing. Adopted children are prone to attaching to anyone and everyone too easily- which hinders the important, primary relationship with parents. Waving, blowing kisses or high fives are perfectly appropriate and welcomed!
Another area is redirecting our baby’s desire to have his physical and emotional needs met by anyone (including strangers) to having us meet them. A child struggling to learn to attach may exhibit indiscriminate affection with people outside of their family unit. It may appear harmless and as if they are “very friendly” but this is actually quite dangerous for the child. To share this is difficult for us because we have snuggled, cared for, fed and loved so many of your children. Please understand that we want nothing more than to have baby Faulk hugged, cuddled and cherished by ALL of you. But until they have a firm understanding of family and primary attachments, we would be so grateful if you direct him/her to us if you see that he/she is seeking out food, affection or comfort.
Please know we are new at this and all babies are different. Our little one may attach right away or it might take months. None of this is written in stone until we bring our little one home and get a feel for everything!
We are incredibly blessed to have so many loved ones around us. We couldn’t ask for better friends and family. Thank you so much for your love and support . If you have any questions please feel free to ask at any time!
Chaske & Tasha
We want to share with you some information that we hope will best equip everyone around our baby to assist us in laying the strongest and healthiest foundation - emotionally, physically and spiritually.
In many ways, our baby will be just like any other baby. However, we have done a great deal of research on bonding and attachment. While many people think a baby doesn’t feel a loss at such a young age- they do. Our baby will know things are different and will most likely recognize their loss.
Attachment between a parent and child occurs over time when a baby has a physical or emotional need and communicates that need. The primary caretaker (usually mom) meets the need and soothes the child. This repeats between a parent and child over and over to create trust within the child for that parent; the baby is hungry, cries in distress, mom feeds & calms the baby - which teaches them that this person is safe and can be trusted. By God’s very design, an emotional foundation is laid in the tiniest of babies, which will affect their learning, conscience, growth and future relationships. The security provided by parents will, ultimately, give children a trust for and empathy towards others.
Children who come home through adoption have experienced interruptions in this typical attachment process. The loss of a biological mother at an early age can be a major trauma on their little hearts. The good news is that we can rebuild that attachment and help them heal from these emotional wounds. When our baby comes home, he/she will be overwhelmed. Everything around them will be new and they will need to learn not just about their new environment, but also about love and family. The best way for us to form a parent/child bond is to be the ones to hold, snuggle, instruct, soothe and feed him/her. As this repeats between us, they will be able to learn that parents are safe to trust and to love deeply. We are, essentially, recreating the newborn/parent connection. Once they start to establish this important bond, they will then be able to branch out to other, healthy relationships.
Our little one will have, what may seem like, a lot of structure, boundaries and close proximity to us. Please know that these decisions are prayerfully and thoughtfully made choices based on immense amounts of research and instruction from trusted adoption mentors. We will be doing what we believe is best to help them heal from those interruptions in attachment as effectively as possible. Why are we telling you all of this? Because you will actually play an awesome and vital role in helping our baby settle in, heal, and lay a foundation for the future. There are a few areas in which you can help us:
The first is to set physical boundaries. It will help us immensely if adults limit what is typically considered normal, physical contact. This will (for a while) include things like holding, excessive hugging and kissing. Adopted children are prone to attaching to anyone and everyone too easily- which hinders the important, primary relationship with parents. Waving, blowing kisses or high fives are perfectly appropriate and welcomed!
Another area is redirecting our baby’s desire to have his physical and emotional needs met by anyone (including strangers) to having us meet them. A child struggling to learn to attach may exhibit indiscriminate affection with people outside of their family unit. It may appear harmless and as if they are “very friendly” but this is actually quite dangerous for the child. To share this is difficult for us because we have snuggled, cared for, fed and loved so many of your children. Please understand that we want nothing more than to have baby Faulk hugged, cuddled and cherished by ALL of you. But until they have a firm understanding of family and primary attachments, we would be so grateful if you direct him/her to us if you see that he/she is seeking out food, affection or comfort.
Please know we are new at this and all babies are different. Our little one may attach right away or it might take months. None of this is written in stone until we bring our little one home and get a feel for everything!
We are incredibly blessed to have so many loved ones around us. We couldn’t ask for better friends and family. Thank you so much for your love and support . If you have any questions please feel free to ask at any time!
Chaske & Tasha
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Moving forward
As many of you know, Chaske and I faced a really hard decision this week. Last Thursday we were asked if we would be interested in adopting twin 4 year old boys. We were hesitant initially as we are prepared for a baby. We have had our nursery set up for 2 months. And mentally, we were expecting to be matched with a baby. However, something in us decided to proceed. The birth mom wanted a family without children and the agency really liked our profile and was very interested in us. We took the weekend to think about it. By Sunday, Chaske was feeling pretty good about the decision to say yes to them. I still was going back and forth. When Monday came around the agency said the mom was on her way into the agency and wanted to know if everyone was still comfortable with showing their profiles. Originally, we were told the agency was choosing the family…so we said sure we still feel pretty good about it. The mom ended up taking the profiles she liked home that night to decide. The next day (Tuesday) we were informed she had picked us! Our social worker called to let us know the good news, but said to let her know how we were feeling. Typically, once the birth mom chooses you, you shouldn’t say no. However, since this isn’t what we were prepared for our social worker said to let her know. I went to pick up Chaske from work and we talked it over for about an hour and a half and I just couldn’t get there. I SO wanted to. I really struggled with my feelings…and still am. I wanted to bring those boys home…no doubt. We would have loved them and got through whatever tough times there would have been during attachment. BUT part of me really wanted to bring home a baby. There were a lot of tears…Chaske was ready to call her back and say “let’s do it!” I just didn’t think it was fair to these boys that my heart wasn’t completely there. That’s not to say it wouldn’t have been there once the time came…actually I’m pretty sure that baby dream would have faded once we brought them home. Plus, we plan to adopt multiple times…so eventually that baby dream would have came true. I prayed if it was meant to be that it would be put on my heart more…as I really was 50/50. So, we said no and that was that. Then yesterday (Wednesday) our social worker called and asked if we were still comfortable with our decision. I told her not really and that I was still struggling with whether it was the right thing to do. I was really sad and I actually missed those boys. Like we had lost them. She said that we most likely started to attach to them already then. Probably true. She said the mom still hadn’t picked a family as she really liked us and didn’t think much of the others she had taken home. She said she could call back down to Texas and tell them we were back in it, but we had to be sure if we were picked again we would be ready to accept. She said to think about it and call her back if we wanted to be reconsidered. I hung up feeling so many emotions. I was excited that it wasn’t too late and they could still be ours! I talked to a lot of adoptive moms over the weekend and just kept replaying all the pros and cons, etc…I prayed a ton and I just couldn’t get myself there all the way. I know this is normal and we might even feel this uncertainty with bringing home a newborn. I know it’s normal to feel scared and still proceed. I just couldn’t do it. I pictured myself taking down the nursery I was so excited for…it broke my heart. Either way I was sad. Either way we were gaining and losing something. I gave myself the day to think and I told myself if the mom chooses a different family then that’s that. She did. I felt a relief…maybe that’s what I needed? I needed to know they would be ok. I am still sad and struggling today, but I have no doubt their mom picked a great forever family for those boys. A family that is probably “there” and prepared for them and really excited! I miss them…we feel like we lost “our” boys. However, this is what we signed up for. I was told by a good friend and adoptive mom “It’s OK to wait for a baby. And it’s OK to jump right in. There is no wrong or right answer and no matter what you guys choose it will all work out perfectly. God has a plan for you guys and these boys.” So while it’s been a rough last few days…we have had the most AMAZING support from our friends and family. We feel so blessed to have an amazing social worker and a great group of adoptive families around us. The ones who have been there and done that are the only ones who really understand the feelings we were faced with and the situation we were dealt. Many of them have faced this exact situation so they were great inspiration to us! We are so thankful to have even been considered for those boys! They will probably always be in our thoughts and prayers from here on out! I can honestly say we are looking forward to bringing home a little one and I’m still excited to keep our nursery! It’s really special to us! There are many children that need homes and families…that includes babies! I know it’s perfectly normal to want a baby as a first time mom…and that it’s ok to wait for one! Although…the wait is HARD! I was excited to have that part over with :) Bring on the baby! Thank you to everyone who got us through these past few days. It is SO appreciated!! It’s times like these that make you realize your real friends and family!!
Happy Thursday!
Happy Thursday!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Still waiting for a match
Sorry I've been lacking with the blog lately...hard to find motivation with this long wait. I have a ton of topics I want to cover about adoption in general, however, it's one of those situations where I have so much to say I don't know where to start! And I also want to make sure I cover the topics accurately and the best I can. So, while I've started typing them several times...I have yet to post them :) Can you say I'm a little Type A?! ;)
On a side note...we have shown our profile to a mom and it is being shown without us knowing as well. So it can literally be any day!! Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Also, I know a few of you have told me you were having a hard time commenting on my posts...I'm not techy enough to figure this out so keep the encouraging emails coming!! :) I love them!!
Tasha
On a side note...we have shown our profile to a mom and it is being shown without us knowing as well. So it can literally be any day!! Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Also, I know a few of you have told me you were having a hard time commenting on my posts...I'm not techy enough to figure this out so keep the encouraging emails coming!! :) I love them!!
Tasha
Monday, May 9, 2011
Weekend recap!!
On Saturday God’s Children Adoption Agency (our agency GCAA) had an adoption gathering. It was so fun! This was our second year attending it. It is so nice to see the Bismarck adoption community grow SO MUCH! There were lots of families there. Some who have adopted, are in the process, or want to adopt. It was so nice to catch up with the families we know and meeting new families. We even got to meet a family in the same boat as us: no kids, adoption is their first choice, and close to our age! It was so nice to chat with them and share our stories. Most families are or have adopted from Ethiopia, but there were a few domestic families there as well. It was fun to think that’s probably the last GCAA gathering we will attend without being parents! It’s fun to go, but also bittersweet when you see all those little adopted children running around…they are so so cute!! Makes us feel a little jealous and out of place, but it was so fun! We have been getting so much support from families in Bismarck who have adopted…always fun to see them and keep in touch!
Sunday was Mother’s Day…again bittersweet…hopefully my last one without being a mom :) I took my mom out to eat at Johnny Carinos on Friday after work and Sunday we cooked breakfast for her, gave her flowers, candy, and a card…and then cooked supper for her as well. She does so much for us throughout the year. She really is the most giving, selfless person I know. It was nice to spoil her for a day and give her a break from all the cooking she does!
All in all, it was a great weekend. We continue to wait to be matched. We are finding it even harder to be patient after that adoption gathering, but we are holding on and praying we’re matched soon!!!
Have a great week…
Tasha
Sunday was Mother’s Day…again bittersweet…hopefully my last one without being a mom :) I took my mom out to eat at Johnny Carinos on Friday after work and Sunday we cooked breakfast for her, gave her flowers, candy, and a card…and then cooked supper for her as well. She does so much for us throughout the year. She really is the most giving, selfless person I know. It was nice to spoil her for a day and give her a break from all the cooking she does!
All in all, it was a great weekend. We continue to wait to be matched. We are finding it even harder to be patient after that adoption gathering, but we are holding on and praying we’re matched soon!!!
Have a great week…
Tasha
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Coffee fundraiser!!
Hey everyone!
So Chaske and I are looking to raise a little money for our adoption and we have set up an account with an online coffee company. They specialize in helping families raise money to fund their adoptions. Anyway, if you are interested in ordering some coffee from their website it’s:
www.justlovecoffee.com/faulks
It’s just like any other fundraiser…whatever you purchase a part of the proceeds go toward our adoption!! We are not much for fundraising, but we have a ton of friends and family that LOVE drinking coffee so we thought it would be a good one for us!! Also, there are some really unique kinds on there that you don’t find around here. You place your order, coffee gets shipped to us, and we deliver! That simple!
We so appreciate all your support in bringing our little one home!
Thank you,
Chaske & Tasha
So Chaske and I are looking to raise a little money for our adoption and we have set up an account with an online coffee company. They specialize in helping families raise money to fund their adoptions. Anyway, if you are interested in ordering some coffee from their website it’s:
www.justlovecoffee.com/faulks
It’s just like any other fundraiser…whatever you purchase a part of the proceeds go toward our adoption!! We are not much for fundraising, but we have a ton of friends and family that LOVE drinking coffee so we thought it would be a good one for us!! Also, there are some really unique kinds on there that you don’t find around here. You place your order, coffee gets shipped to us, and we deliver! That simple!
We so appreciate all your support in bringing our little one home!
Thank you,
Chaske & Tasha
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Baby calves
I figured since there isn't any fun news with our adoption right now I would give my first picture post a shot :) This way I'm practiced up for when our little one comes!!
I love spring because it means baby calves!!! Aren't they sweet!?
Tasha
Friday, April 29, 2011
Ethiopia
Even though we are adopting domestic vs international…there is not a day that goes by that Ethiopia is not on my heart. My heart is constantly stirring over the need there is to give those orphans homes. Ethiopia is such a wonderful place with beautiful people. I know it will never be lifted off my heart until we adopt from there. I know everything happens for a reason and I really do feel the timing wasn’t right for us, but it’s still a struggle when your eyes are open to something so devastating. There are days I feel guilty. I feel we turned our backs on those children. We tried that process several times and every time we would start something would come up…so we took that as a sign. Maybe God knew we weren’t quite ready for it…He knows what we can handle :) However, we know “orphans are orphans” no matter where they are and we are so excited to bring out little one home.
It’s funny how much everything has changed since we started talking about adoption. We 100% were adopting from Ethiopia. We had no interest in domestic. Too many risks we thought. We didn’t want the birth mom to change her mind. Well, here we are…so excited to be matched with a birth mom. Sometimes we have to put aside what we “want” for what we are called to do :)
Have a great weekend....
Tasha
It’s funny how much everything has changed since we started talking about adoption. We 100% were adopting from Ethiopia. We had no interest in domestic. Too many risks we thought. We didn’t want the birth mom to change her mind. Well, here we are…so excited to be matched with a birth mom. Sometimes we have to put aside what we “want” for what we are called to do :)
Have a great weekend....
Tasha
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Waiting
So even though our social worker just received our profile books and hasn't had a chance to even distribute them to agencies around the country I can't help, but keep my phone close! Even though it's not even possible for us to be matched quite yet :) I so hope we get matched soon! While we wait we have been super busy...in the past couple weeks we have met with 3 landscaping clients, I have been designing a home for a private individual, we have both been working a ton of o.t., my mom and I painted the nursery, we're still working on new trim and chair rail for nursery, and we still have to clean carpets and build our addition! So...we are busy...but that's a good thing. Takes my mind off the wait! We would love to have a summer baby so we can enjoy exploring and a few little getaways with him/her!!
Fun fact: 60% of people have some sort of relationship with adoption. Whether they are adopted, have adopted, know somebody who is adopted, etc...how cool is that?!
Seems like everybody we have told lately that we are adopting has had a story of their own! The family we bought our rocking chair/ottoman from has a daughter that adopted a little girl from China and is working on her second adoption! Small world :)
Time to get back to the "To Do" list...I'm having writers block about blogging topics...I love reading other blogs, but feel like until things start getting exciting there's not much to say, but I will keep you all posted with any news! :)
Have a great weekend...
Tasha
Fun fact: 60% of people have some sort of relationship with adoption. Whether they are adopted, have adopted, know somebody who is adopted, etc...how cool is that?!
Seems like everybody we have told lately that we are adopting has had a story of their own! The family we bought our rocking chair/ottoman from has a daughter that adopted a little girl from China and is working on her second adoption! Small world :)
Time to get back to the "To Do" list...I'm having writers block about blogging topics...I love reading other blogs, but feel like until things start getting exciting there's not much to say, but I will keep you all posted with any news! :)
Have a great weekend...
Tasha
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
A couple steps closer...
So, while we had our 3rd and final home study a few weeks ago…we were just informed our social worker has completed writing it up!! So, basically it’s finalized and officially done! :)
Also, we have put the finishing touches on our profile book! Now, all we have to do is print and send 15-20 copies to our social worker so she can distribute them to agencies for the birth mothers to look at! Basically, this is a book that tells “our story” to birth mothers…really all they have to go off of when picking a family. It took a lot of work and is a bit nerve-racking as it’s all that represents us to them!
Once we get those printed and shipped all we have to do is WAIT! Which, many say, is the hardest part…although I feel it’s a huge relief to have it out of our hands…whatever happens, happens! It’s all in God’s hands and up to the birth mothers to choose us :)
We are SO excited and anxious! We can’t wait to be matched!!
Other than wrapping up the adoption paperwork we have been very busy! We pretty much have everything bought for the nursery (thanks to my wonderful parents for helping with that!) we still have to paint and do a few updates to the room! On top of that…we are hoping to add a little addition onto our house and we have some landscaping jobs (about 5!) already lined up for spring/summer!!! Needless to say we are busy…however, I think it’s a blessing in disguise as it should help time move a little faster while we wait!
Many of you have asked what you can get for our little one…we do plan to have a baby shower once we bring our baby home! There are so many variables that we figured that's our safest bet...we have all the basics to start out :)
Until my next post…
Tasha
Also, we have put the finishing touches on our profile book! Now, all we have to do is print and send 15-20 copies to our social worker so she can distribute them to agencies for the birth mothers to look at! Basically, this is a book that tells “our story” to birth mothers…really all they have to go off of when picking a family. It took a lot of work and is a bit nerve-racking as it’s all that represents us to them!
Once we get those printed and shipped all we have to do is WAIT! Which, many say, is the hardest part…although I feel it’s a huge relief to have it out of our hands…whatever happens, happens! It’s all in God’s hands and up to the birth mothers to choose us :)
We are SO excited and anxious! We can’t wait to be matched!!
Other than wrapping up the adoption paperwork we have been very busy! We pretty much have everything bought for the nursery (thanks to my wonderful parents for helping with that!) we still have to paint and do a few updates to the room! On top of that…we are hoping to add a little addition onto our house and we have some landscaping jobs (about 5!) already lined up for spring/summer!!! Needless to say we are busy…however, I think it’s a blessing in disguise as it should help time move a little faster while we wait!
Many of you have asked what you can get for our little one…we do plan to have a baby shower once we bring our baby home! There are so many variables that we figured that's our safest bet...we have all the basics to start out :)
Until my next post…
Tasha
Friday, April 1, 2011
Our little trip!
After work today we are heading out to Medora to spend the night and Saturday morning we are heading to Billings for our friends' wedding! It will be nice to getaway for a few days after all the busy weeks we've had. Collecting paperwork, fingerprints, physicals, creating our profile book, working o.t. at work, etc.....to say the least...we are ready!!
It's fun to think this could be one of our last getaways...just us! We have been told by our social worker to stick close to home and not make any plans from here on out just in case we are matched with a birthmother and have to travel right away! That was music to our ears! We are more than happy to put everything else on hold :) Our profile books haven't been distributed yet, so we are safe for about another week...then it's all up in the air...love it!!
Hope you all have a great weekend! Again, thanks for all the encouraging words, phone calls, etc...we have received!! We are so excited!
Until my next post...
Tasha
It's fun to think this could be one of our last getaways...just us! We have been told by our social worker to stick close to home and not make any plans from here on out just in case we are matched with a birthmother and have to travel right away! That was music to our ears! We are more than happy to put everything else on hold :) Our profile books haven't been distributed yet, so we are safe for about another week...then it's all up in the air...love it!!
Hope you all have a great weekend! Again, thanks for all the encouraging words, phone calls, etc...we have received!! We are so excited!
Until my next post...
Tasha
Sunday, March 20, 2011
3rd Home Study done!!!!!!!!
WHEW!!! We are done with our home study! We have a few more things to hand into our agency- physicals, statements of good health, another background check...but as far as the meetings go, we are finished!
Also, some more big news!! We are almost positive we are going domestic! This was not our original plan, but like they say: We plan, God laughs :) At this point Ethiopia is going through some transitions that I have previously mentioned. It sounds like they are getting things worked out, however, the process sounds like it will still be delayed. Sad, but true :( Right now, we just feel like that would be a pretty drawn out process and somewhat of a risk. Any time a country goes through changes there are always risks. They still remain to be quite stable, but when you don't have children, like us, it's hard to add so much time to the process. At this point we firmly believe we will- FOR SURE- adoption from Ethiopia. As most of you know, we plan to adopt more than once :)
At this past home study we discussed: age, gender, twins/siblings, race, health, open/semi/closed adoption, agency fees, travel, etc...we are hoping for a newborn, African-American, boy or girl, healthy, semi-open adoption. Semi-open means we will write letters to the birth parent(s) through out agency if they are interested in doing so. Sometimes the want to get updates and sometimes they just don't for their own reasons. We feel however it is suppose to work out, it will...
So- while we got thrown for a bit of a loop these past few weeks, we feel comfortable and confident with where we are right now and are very excited!!!
Our next steps....hand in additional paperwork, make a profile book (shows birth parent(s) an insight into our lives), Lindsey (social worker) finishes writing up our home study, distributes our profile books, and we wait!!! We are hearing typical waits are 4-6 months to be matched. Some have waited as little as a few days!! :) We are hearing the fact that we are young and without children makes us more appealing...we will see!
Lots of changes, but we have faith we are the right path!!!
Until my next post....
Tasha
Also, some more big news!! We are almost positive we are going domestic! This was not our original plan, but like they say: We plan, God laughs :) At this point Ethiopia is going through some transitions that I have previously mentioned. It sounds like they are getting things worked out, however, the process sounds like it will still be delayed. Sad, but true :( Right now, we just feel like that would be a pretty drawn out process and somewhat of a risk. Any time a country goes through changes there are always risks. They still remain to be quite stable, but when you don't have children, like us, it's hard to add so much time to the process. At this point we firmly believe we will- FOR SURE- adoption from Ethiopia. As most of you know, we plan to adopt more than once :)
At this past home study we discussed: age, gender, twins/siblings, race, health, open/semi/closed adoption, agency fees, travel, etc...we are hoping for a newborn, African-American, boy or girl, healthy, semi-open adoption. Semi-open means we will write letters to the birth parent(s) through out agency if they are interested in doing so. Sometimes the want to get updates and sometimes they just don't for their own reasons. We feel however it is suppose to work out, it will...
So- while we got thrown for a bit of a loop these past few weeks, we feel comfortable and confident with where we are right now and are very excited!!!
Our next steps....hand in additional paperwork, make a profile book (shows birth parent(s) an insight into our lives), Lindsey (social worker) finishes writing up our home study, distributes our profile books, and we wait!!! We are hearing typical waits are 4-6 months to be matched. Some have waited as little as a few days!! :) We are hearing the fact that we are young and without children makes us more appealing...we will see!
Lots of changes, but we have faith we are the right path!!!
Until my next post....
Tasha
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Decisions, decisions...
We got word from our agency that Ethiopia has agreed to hearing 20 cases per day. It's better news than 5 per day, but still only half of what they were doing. So...it sounds like instead of waiting 3-4 months between referral and our 1st trip it will be more like 6-8 months?! There really is no way of telling right now. All we can do is wait and see how fast families in front of us are moving through...however, it can take a while to actually see that. In the meantime, our social worker thinks we should meet for our final home study this weekend and get that wrapped up. While we wait to see how everything in Ethiopia goes she thinks we should put together a profile book for birth parents to look at for domestic adoption. We all agree there is no point in us wasting time and at least this way we are still making progress...whether it be international or domestic. Chaske thinks we should proceed with domestic for now and once we bring our baby home we can see where Ethiopia is sitting and start the process with them! We can also do them simultaneously...this is the route I would like to go, but we're not sure if this is realistic for us right now.
LOTS to think and pray about. We would probably have a little more patience if we had children already, but with this being our first it's hard to have such a long wait for Ethiopia, but at the same time we promised ourselves we will not turn out backs on these children and are 100% sure we will adopt, at least once, from ET! Just trying to figure out the best path right now :)
I will keep you all updated! Thanks for all the support we have received so far...you have all been so wonderful!!! Thanks for all your concerns and prayers!!
Until my next post...
LOTS to think and pray about. We would probably have a little more patience if we had children already, but with this being our first it's hard to have such a long wait for Ethiopia, but at the same time we promised ourselves we will not turn out backs on these children and are 100% sure we will adopt, at least once, from ET! Just trying to figure out the best path right now :)
I will keep you all updated! Thanks for all the support we have received so far...you have all been so wonderful!!! Thanks for all your concerns and prayers!!
Until my next post...
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Today is the day...
Today is the day all the changes over in ET are suppoes to go into effect. Please pray that whatever comes out of this is truly in the best interest of the children over there...
http://adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia_alert.html
http://adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia_alert.html
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Ethiopia changes...
Ethiopia's court is making some huge changes. Right now they hear about 40 cases per day...starting March 10 they are saying they are going to reduce it down to 5 per day. This would cause major delays to adoption. Our agency has said UNICEF has made it their mission for the past 5 years to lessen the number of adoptions. They believe it's best for children to stay in their country of birth. Can't say I disagree with that, however, Ethiopia is no where near being able to provide a great life for these orphans right now. They are better off in a different country with a loving family than living on the streets, starving, dirty, alone. As you can imagine, this is so frustrating and effects us big time. This would cause a huge delay in the time between our referral and our first trip as they have to hear our case in court before we make that first trip. All we can do is hope and pray they come to their senses and they figure out a more efficient way. We always know domestic adoption is an option for us, however, our hearts are set on Ethiopia. I will keep this blog updated with any new news.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/-Ethiopia-to-Cut-Foreign-Adoptions-by-Up-to-90-Percent-117411843.html
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/-Ethiopia-to-Cut-Foreign-Adoptions-by-Up-to-90-Percent-117411843.html
Friday, March 4, 2011
Questions
Ok- so this is my attempt at clarifying some questions that we often get asked. I will, in no way, be able to cover them all in one post, but here are some that we get asked the most….I’m sure I’ll have posts down the road to cover more :)
Why Adoption? I could go on and on with this question with statistics, the Bible, etc…and get really in-depth, but I think simply put: There are millions (147 million to be exact) of orphans in this world that need good, loving, caring homes and families. We have a house, food, and can provide this…so I think the better question is “Why Not?” I don’t get offended when people ask this, but at the same time if you just took a little time out of your day and did some research this wouldn’t even be a question. I think by now everybody knows the demand for orphans to be adopted. Once your eyes are open to this, you can hardly turn your back.
Can’t you get pregnant? I’m sure we can, but we don’t care to…at least not until we do what’s been put on our hearts.
Why Ethiopia? Again. Why not? If you read the statistics on my blog you will get more clarity, but a big reason is we have huge hearts for Africa...Ethiopia specifically. I have always had a heart for Africa ever since I was little. So, for us, it’s a no brainer. It’s an amazing country, beautiful people, and a wonderful culture. We really feel like the lucky ones here. Also- we don’t qualify for all countries…marriage, age, etc…so that also limits us as well, but even before we knew that we had already chosen ET! We considered Rwanda, Ghana…maybe our next adoption :)
Do you get to pick health, gender, age…? Yes. They don’t particularly care for you to pick gender with your first child. We are open to both gender and hoping for an infant 0-6 months at referral time. Infant girls are more sought after for some reason so we will probably get a baby boy. We are hoping to get them home less than 12 months old. Also, when you fill out forms they ask about if you willing to accept about any medical condition you can possibly imagine. We put down healthy infant. We will get whatever baby is ours.
How long, how much…? Right now we are hoping from start to finish it will be around 12 months. MOWA (Ministry of Womens Affairs) used to see 40 adoptions a day and have now cut it down to processing 5 a day. We are hoping they bump it back to 40 otherwise this could delay our first trip quite a bit! Adoption seems expensive because you’re seeing it all up front unlike biological children. It’s roughly (2 trips) $25,000-$30,000. However, there are credits, grants, etc along the way. It’s NOT as scary as it seems. Trust me...if we can do it, so can you! :)
Do you travel to ET? Yes!!! There is now a two trip requirement (different post :) So we will make our first trip to meet our baby, appear in court, and accept our referral in person (this never used to be a requirement) We can arrive the day before court and leave the day after, but I’m sure we will want to stay longer and do some sight seeing and hang with our baby! 2nd trip we pick up our baby, embassy appt, finalized up all the paperwork, baby’s visa, etc…that trip is about 5-7 days. The flights over and back are 20 hours each way! Yikes! We are really looking forward to these trips. It’s not every day you get to go somewhere as cool as Africa!!!!
How do you know your baby is healthy? Well, how do you know any baby is healthy? They do the best they can…again…3rd world country. They run tests, height, weight, etc…and then they recommend you have the referral evaluated by a International Pediatrician here in the U.S. to confirm everything and read over all the information that is given to us. The information is very minimal. We will get some blood tests, measurements, pictures, and that is about it. After that you just have to have faith that this is your baby and you deal with whatever comes after that!
Do you get to meet birth parents? Maybe. With the new rules in place we will have court the same day that the birth parents (if still living) have their court to relinquish their rights. We have talked with our agency about this and they don’t particularly care for the families to meet, but if we really want to do it and they agree to it. They will try to make it work under their supervision.
Do you pick birth parents? Do they pick you? No, this is not like domestic adoptions. Our agency matches us with the baby they think best fits what we put on our application. We are free to turn down a referral and wait for the next one if we just don’t feel it’s our baby.
So, this is a quick (if you can believe it) way to answer some questions. I LOVE questions and teaching people more about adoption so feel free to ask away!! :) As you can see I could talk adoption all day long!
Until my next post...
Tasha
Why Adoption? I could go on and on with this question with statistics, the Bible, etc…and get really in-depth, but I think simply put: There are millions (147 million to be exact) of orphans in this world that need good, loving, caring homes and families. We have a house, food, and can provide this…so I think the better question is “Why Not?” I don’t get offended when people ask this, but at the same time if you just took a little time out of your day and did some research this wouldn’t even be a question. I think by now everybody knows the demand for orphans to be adopted. Once your eyes are open to this, you can hardly turn your back.
Can’t you get pregnant? I’m sure we can, but we don’t care to…at least not until we do what’s been put on our hearts.
Why Ethiopia? Again. Why not? If you read the statistics on my blog you will get more clarity, but a big reason is we have huge hearts for Africa...Ethiopia specifically. I have always had a heart for Africa ever since I was little. So, for us, it’s a no brainer. It’s an amazing country, beautiful people, and a wonderful culture. We really feel like the lucky ones here. Also- we don’t qualify for all countries…marriage, age, etc…so that also limits us as well, but even before we knew that we had already chosen ET! We considered Rwanda, Ghana…maybe our next adoption :)
Do you get to pick health, gender, age…? Yes. They don’t particularly care for you to pick gender with your first child. We are open to both gender and hoping for an infant 0-6 months at referral time. Infant girls are more sought after for some reason so we will probably get a baby boy. We are hoping to get them home less than 12 months old. Also, when you fill out forms they ask about if you willing to accept about any medical condition you can possibly imagine. We put down healthy infant. We will get whatever baby is ours.
How long, how much…? Right now we are hoping from start to finish it will be around 12 months. MOWA (Ministry of Womens Affairs) used to see 40 adoptions a day and have now cut it down to processing 5 a day. We are hoping they bump it back to 40 otherwise this could delay our first trip quite a bit! Adoption seems expensive because you’re seeing it all up front unlike biological children. It’s roughly (2 trips) $25,000-$30,000. However, there are credits, grants, etc along the way. It’s NOT as scary as it seems. Trust me...if we can do it, so can you! :)
Do you travel to ET? Yes!!! There is now a two trip requirement (different post :) So we will make our first trip to meet our baby, appear in court, and accept our referral in person (this never used to be a requirement) We can arrive the day before court and leave the day after, but I’m sure we will want to stay longer and do some sight seeing and hang with our baby! 2nd trip we pick up our baby, embassy appt, finalized up all the paperwork, baby’s visa, etc…that trip is about 5-7 days. The flights over and back are 20 hours each way! Yikes! We are really looking forward to these trips. It’s not every day you get to go somewhere as cool as Africa!!!!
How do you know your baby is healthy? Well, how do you know any baby is healthy? They do the best they can…again…3rd world country. They run tests, height, weight, etc…and then they recommend you have the referral evaluated by a International Pediatrician here in the U.S. to confirm everything and read over all the information that is given to us. The information is very minimal. We will get some blood tests, measurements, pictures, and that is about it. After that you just have to have faith that this is your baby and you deal with whatever comes after that!
Do you get to meet birth parents? Maybe. With the new rules in place we will have court the same day that the birth parents (if still living) have their court to relinquish their rights. We have talked with our agency about this and they don’t particularly care for the families to meet, but if we really want to do it and they agree to it. They will try to make it work under their supervision.
Do you pick birth parents? Do they pick you? No, this is not like domestic adoptions. Our agency matches us with the baby they think best fits what we put on our application. We are free to turn down a referral and wait for the next one if we just don’t feel it’s our baby.
So, this is a quick (if you can believe it) way to answer some questions. I LOVE questions and teaching people more about adoption so feel free to ask away!! :) As you can see I could talk adoption all day long!
Until my next post...
Tasha
Sunday, February 27, 2011
2nd Home Study done!!!!
We had our second home study on Saturday and it went so well! We love talking adoption with our social worker. She is a wealth of knowledge and a great resource. She asked us many questions such as:
What types of discipline do you plan to use?
Are you going to be a strict or lenient parent?
What forms of discipline worked for you growing up?
What have you observed from other parents that you like or dislike?
What do you know about attachment and bonding?
Do you plan to take your children on vacation with you as a family?
What things do you plan to instill to make sure you spend quality time with your children?
What are your thoughts on racism?
And many, many more....
We talked a lot about identity and fitting in around our community. We also talked about what school they will go to and the obstacle they might face there. Stereotypes that go along with African-American children, teens, adults. Providing good African-American role models for our child to look up to, etc...It's unfortunate that our children still have to deal with racism this day and age, but the truth is they do. It's definitely come a long way, but has a long way to go as well. It was so nice to talk about identity. Being a bi-racial family it's going to be obvious our children are adopted. They don't get to decide when or whether they want to tell others they are adopted...people will know as soon as they see us as a family. That's one advantage that children from Russia, etc...have. They can wait until they are comfortable talking about it...our children won't have that luxury.
We also talked about when our baby(ies) arrive home and how we are going to go about others holding them. This is a whole different post and it's quite complex. We will most likely send out letters or emails covering this subject for immediate family when it gets closer. We still have more research to do.
All in all our home study was so great. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful social worker that you can chat with and ask questions to. Also, an advantage is she and her husband have two adopted children and no biological children...so basically the same boat we are in. They, like us, have no desire right now to have biological children so we talked with her a bit about that as well...which is probably a whole different post as well :)
We are another step closer!!!!
Until my next post...
Tasha
What types of discipline do you plan to use?
Are you going to be a strict or lenient parent?
What forms of discipline worked for you growing up?
What have you observed from other parents that you like or dislike?
What do you know about attachment and bonding?
Do you plan to take your children on vacation with you as a family?
What things do you plan to instill to make sure you spend quality time with your children?
What are your thoughts on racism?
And many, many more....
We talked a lot about identity and fitting in around our community. We also talked about what school they will go to and the obstacle they might face there. Stereotypes that go along with African-American children, teens, adults. Providing good African-American role models for our child to look up to, etc...It's unfortunate that our children still have to deal with racism this day and age, but the truth is they do. It's definitely come a long way, but has a long way to go as well. It was so nice to talk about identity. Being a bi-racial family it's going to be obvious our children are adopted. They don't get to decide when or whether they want to tell others they are adopted...people will know as soon as they see us as a family. That's one advantage that children from Russia, etc...have. They can wait until they are comfortable talking about it...our children won't have that luxury.
We also talked about when our baby(ies) arrive home and how we are going to go about others holding them. This is a whole different post and it's quite complex. We will most likely send out letters or emails covering this subject for immediate family when it gets closer. We still have more research to do.
All in all our home study was so great. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful social worker that you can chat with and ask questions to. Also, an advantage is she and her husband have two adopted children and no biological children...so basically the same boat we are in. They, like us, have no desire right now to have biological children so we talked with her a bit about that as well...which is probably a whole different post as well :)
We are another step closer!!!!
Until my next post...
Tasha
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Paperwork
Well, there hasn't been a whole lot going on with us lately. Still gathering paperwork, setting up appts, ordering certificates, background checks, filling out forms, etc....OK- so there's a LOT going on with us lately, but nothing too exciting...at least not for any of you :) Being "paper pregnant" isn't as stressful as I thought it would be. Everything just kind of falls into place after you set up appts and order whatever documents you need. It's a lot of waiting...and from what I hear waiting is the name of the game in adoption! We have our 2nd home study meeting this Saturday in Fargo!! We are very excited and have been busy preparing for that. Gathering more documents, forms, and doing some reading on attachment and bonding. From what I see on other blogs this is what we will be talking about for our second meeting. Parenting styles, discipline, attachment, bonding. Our social worker will basically get a feel for what we know/don't know and will fill us in on the rest. Being first time parents it's kind of hard to know how you will parent. It's one of those things that you learn as you go and is different for all families and what works for them. Each kid is different so it's hard to tell until you bring them home what needs will need to be met, etc...It will be nice to get away (even if it's just Fargo) for the weekend. I will post details when we get back :) Have a great weekend!!!!
Until my next post...
Tasha
Until my next post...
Tasha
Friday, February 11, 2011
1st Home Study done!!!!!!!!!!!!
This evening we had our first home study meeting with Lindsey from God's Children Adoption Agency. She came to our home for this first meeting which was a little nerve-wracking, but at the same time nice to get it done with!
She asked a lot of questions to get a feel for our personalities, backgrounds, families, our marriage, etc...such as:
Describe your mom/dad
How were you raised/discplined?
Is this how we plan to raise our kids?
Would you change anything?
What's your relationship like with your family?
Parents' jobs
Describe your marriage
Did you enjoy high school/college?
How did you meet?
Where we've lived/reasons for moving
Our jobs
Plans after baby comes home
Backgrounds
Do we plan to raise our kids in the Catholic church?
And many, many more questions, but you get the picture. We met with her for about 2.5 hours and showed her our house, what room we plan to make the nursery.
Also, one question I "had" to ask is she would approve us for adopting siblings and if we had adequate space and she said yes!! We have been talking about siblings, but that's a whole different post! :)
We were so excited to get this first home study done...it was a huge relief and a big step forward in our adoption. We are eager for our 2nd home study!
For now we just keep on working on paperwork, forms, gathering birth/marriage certificates, etc...
IAG received our application today and will be sending us our packet next week and we will be talking with our coordinator next week to go everything we need to get started! Everything is becoming very real!! Finally!!!
Until my next post...
Tasha
She asked a lot of questions to get a feel for our personalities, backgrounds, families, our marriage, etc...such as:
Describe your mom/dad
How were you raised/discplined?
Is this how we plan to raise our kids?
Would you change anything?
What's your relationship like with your family?
Parents' jobs
Describe your marriage
Did you enjoy high school/college?
How did you meet?
Where we've lived/reasons for moving
Our jobs
Plans after baby comes home
Backgrounds
Do we plan to raise our kids in the Catholic church?
And many, many more questions, but you get the picture. We met with her for about 2.5 hours and showed her our house, what room we plan to make the nursery.
Also, one question I "had" to ask is she would approve us for adopting siblings and if we had adequate space and she said yes!! We have been talking about siblings, but that's a whole different post! :)
We were so excited to get this first home study done...it was a huge relief and a big step forward in our adoption. We are eager for our 2nd home study!
For now we just keep on working on paperwork, forms, gathering birth/marriage certificates, etc...
IAG received our application today and will be sending us our packet next week and we will be talking with our coordinator next week to go everything we need to get started! Everything is becoming very real!! Finally!!!
Until my next post...
Tasha
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Where to start....
Wow, I haven’t blogged in a long time! A lot has happened since the last time I blogged…but I’m happy to announce we are back on the road to adoption!! We have been struggling to decide which agency was best for us. After a lot of research and talking with families who have used these agencies we have finally decided on IAG (International Adoption Guides)!! They are a smaller agency with shorter wait times than any other agency we have talked with. Right now they are saying 4 months for an infant boy and 6 months for an infant girl!!!! Every other agency has told us about 9-12 months…so this is WONDERFUL news to us! If everything goes according to plan (I’m sure all of you adoptive moms are laughing at me right now) we should have our baby home close to the end of THIS year!!!
We have been hearing talks about Ethiopia’s stability lately and all of the changes they are going through right now. There has been some talk that they may close their adoption doors, so we wanted an agency that would move us along quickly! That’s not to say that something can’t still happen, but if it does we have a back up plan of looking at a domestic adoption at that point. However, we really feel like Ethiopia is where our baby is so we are not worrying about that right now.
Now that we have chosen our agency we have our first home study meeting set up for February 12th with Lindsey from God’s Children Adoption Agency out of Fergus Falls. This will be our first BIG step in our adoption journey!! We have always know who we wanted to use for our home study agency…they are wonderful!
That’s where we’re at right now. It has taken us a lot longer than we originally planned to get to this point, but we have to believe it’s all in His timing :) I plan to blog much more from here on out to keep everyone up to date!! This is especially nice for our family and friends that live far away and we don’t get to see or talk with very often!! If you ever have questions please feel free to call or email us. We are always ready to talk adoption!!
We are officially PAPER PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOHHOOOO…I’ve been waiting almost 3 years to say those words!! :)
Until my next post….
Tasha & Chaske
We have been hearing talks about Ethiopia’s stability lately and all of the changes they are going through right now. There has been some talk that they may close their adoption doors, so we wanted an agency that would move us along quickly! That’s not to say that something can’t still happen, but if it does we have a back up plan of looking at a domestic adoption at that point. However, we really feel like Ethiopia is where our baby is so we are not worrying about that right now.
Now that we have chosen our agency we have our first home study meeting set up for February 12th with Lindsey from God’s Children Adoption Agency out of Fergus Falls. This will be our first BIG step in our adoption journey!! We have always know who we wanted to use for our home study agency…they are wonderful!
That’s where we’re at right now. It has taken us a lot longer than we originally planned to get to this point, but we have to believe it’s all in His timing :) I plan to blog much more from here on out to keep everyone up to date!! This is especially nice for our family and friends that live far away and we don’t get to see or talk with very often!! If you ever have questions please feel free to call or email us. We are always ready to talk adoption!!
We are officially PAPER PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOHHOOOO…I’ve been waiting almost 3 years to say those words!! :)
Until my next post….
Tasha & Chaske
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)