Decisions so far...

to catch you up...we had almost completed our homestudy (we had 3 visits with our amazing social worker) prior to deciding on Ethiopia. We used Bal Jagat-Children's World adoption agency and really like them. The director, Hemlata, is very straight forward. I LOVE that. I never have felt like anything was being sugar-coated. We have also collected quite a bit of our paperwork, so hopefully the process from here on out will be smooth. Hemlata referred us to Lisa Anderson at Children's House International. My wonderful husband talked with Lisa this morning and thought she was great. Decision is made, we will be using CHI. The program is currently really great and if everything keeps going this way, it looks like we will be able to travel in January or so. I finish my MA in Speech-Language Pathology in December, so it would be ideal if we could travel right after I finish and then I could stay home for a bit.

Oh, and we are requesting a baby girl! We are VERY excited!

Drum roll please....

We have decided to adopt from...Ethiopia! We are very excited! Tommy, my sister Nicole, and I went out for Ethiopian food last night to celebrate. It was Tommy and my first Ethiopian food experience and we fell madly in love with it. We went to a restaurant called Merkato in Little Ethiopia, which was awesome and reasonably priced. We will surely be back soon (can you tell that food is of utmost importance in my life?). I have been reading a wonderful book called Without You There Is No Me. Highly recommend it...Now it's time to consider more tough decisions...Which agency? Boy or girl? age? siblings? More tough decisions. During the last 6 months we've gone from girl to boy and then back to girl again. I feel like this process is full of big decisions that don't really matter, I'm just thrilled that somewhat soon we will get to be parents. Anyone who gets Tommy as a dad is a very lucky person.

Our adoption so far...

We have talked about adoption for years. We love kids and have always wanted a big family. This, coupled with our passion for travel and learning about other cultures, attracted us to international adoption. I thought that since I am currently obsessing about the topic, "blogging" would be a healthy expression. Which country? A HUGE dilemma. The question is partially so perplexing because, well...it doesn't really matter to us. And then it does. It doesn't matter because we are certain that no matter which country the child comes from, that will be our child, meant and destined to be a part of our family. We will try our best to teach that child respect and appreciation for the culture of their country...and with our passion for travel, we are sure to visit.
So, I started reading. I read about the pros and cons of international adoption. Quite frankly, I was amazed at how many "cons" were put out there. I started feeling almost defensive. People judgingly ask, what about children from this country? I have lived abroad. I very well may live abroad again. I love this country, but first I consider myself a citizen of the world. I worry about all children without families. Many children living in this world face a reality where they have limited food and medicine, and no opportunity for an education. I very well may adopt from the U.S. in the future, but right now, international adoption is my calling.
Then there is the issue of adopting outside of the parent's race. Another huge issue. Some believe that this should NEVER happen, stating reasons such as white parents being unable to teach their child about racism. I come from a biracial household and genuinely felt special as a child because of it. I just cannot believe that a child is better off without adequate food, medicine, education, or parents than with us. I do not believe in attempting to be "color blind." Colors in life should stay bright, be celebrated, and be learned from.
I know that regardless of the country we choose, we will have lots to think about and read about in preparation...and I'm thrilled.

My first blog ever

There are so many exciting things happening in our lives, that I felt the need to begin a blog and share. This first blog is an experiment, since I am not the most technically savvy of folks. I hope you enjoy reading about our adventures.