Dear friends...

Now that we are well into this process, we have decided to start sharing the news of our adventure with family and friends. Everyone has been very enthusiastic and supportive. I'm hoping to use this blog as a way to document the adoption process, as well as to let others keep up with whats going on. I also hope this will be something our child will enjoy reading in the future.

We have our third (and final) meeting with our social worker tonight. She has said that in this meeting we will be discussing our parenting philosophy and our reasons for choosing adoption. She gave us an article on discipline to read and we will also be talking through that. Since it echoes how we already parent, it should not be any trouble. Otherwise I'm just waiting on paperwork to be returned to me so I can pass it along for completion of the home study.

On our way

Things are moving right along! This past weekend we had our home visit with our social worker. I cleaned all weekend in preparation for her arrival... the house hasn't been this clean in a long time. Over all it was a very easy meeting. She had a tour of the house, and had us tell her the significant items in each room. So for instance, several of our rooms are adorned with Cale's handiwork. The kids loved having someone to show around the house and to tell about their treasures. She asked what the kids like to do, and what we like to do as a family. It was a very relaxed meeting, and would have been more so if I hadn't been so nervous! One interesting thing we found out during this meeting is that our social workers kids go to the same school as our oldest. Strange that we have never crossed paths, but I'm sure we will now!

Otherwise, we are plugging away at the paperwork and Ive started the online training as well. Not too exciting, but every form filled out is one step closer to our dream!

Sent!

Handed two fat envelopes to the mail lady today! And then, tried not to pass out. :)

Two envelopes

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." ~Martin Luther King Jr.

There are two envelopes waiting to be stamped and mailed. They are the first step towards growing our family by adopting a son from Ethiopia. I am weary from trying to anticipate the entire journey to know if I am strong enough. With this inital paperwork, I take this step in faith and hand it over to God.