What in the world are we doing?

I have had so many questions about our adoption that I thought it might be nice to fill y'all in on the details of our adoption process. We submitted our application to our international agency November 21st. Now that we have submitted our application we move on to the homestudy. This involves filling out lots and lots of paperwork, including financial information, autobiographies, fingerprinting, background checks, etc. Getting all this done has been easier for me than George. He is very busy working and being a good hubby and daddy...it leaves him little time to try and get the paperwork done. So, I try and get everyting done that I possibly can, then he can just sign on the dotted line. Seems to be working! We are getting there. Tomorrow I hope to get my fingerprinting done. It will feel great to check one more thing off the list! I will keep everyone posted on our progress! Many have asked where we are adopting from and why we chose where we chose. Well, we are adopting from Ethiopia. We have requested boy or girl (doesn't matter to us), age range between 12months and 2 1/2 years old. Our adoption agency told us that 90% of people adopting request an infant girl (under 12 months). So, our timeline could be faster because we are open to boy or girl and we are seeking over 12 months. So, it will be interesting to see who God has in store for us! Feels a bit like I am in my 20th week of pregnancy waiting to hear boy or girl! Except, I don't have someone kicking me from the inside all day! Why we picked Ethiopia is pretty simple...we just felt a deep burden for the people of that country and the poverty and harships they endure everyday. We also happen to think that they have adorable children there! With 5 million orphans in Ethiopia, I am sure God will lead us directly to who it is he has planned to be our son or daughter! We are thrilled and excited to see what is in store for us!

A Harsh Look at Reality

Okay, now this is heartbreaking beyond words. I had not sought out this picture, it just happened to come across my path and now I can not erase this image from my mind. I know this child is of another race, culture, and geographic location, but everytime I look at this picture, I see my children. If you watched the video I posted earlier, you can see why this has struck a nerve with me. Everyday I have more than enough to feed my family. My children have no idea, nor do I, how it feels to go hungry. And, for that I am incredibly thankful to the Lord. But, I can not turn my head when there are pictures like this. It's easy to just look at this picture and feel sad, but it's another thing to let it get down and penetrate the very fiber of your being. This child you see in this picture is or was a real living person. This is not a cartoon...someone did not draw this up, it is not imaginary. This is a real person, a real soul. There is something I can do about it, even if it is a small contribution to a really big problem. This is why our hearts have been burdened to begin the adoption process. And with God's help and provision, we can make a difference while we are still on this Earth.

Check this video out!