You may have questions running through your mind right now. These are the questions we've already been asked. So here are our attempts at answering them. Please know the answers reflect solely how God has moved in our hearts! They are personal for us!
Why adopt again, wasn't your first adoption hard enough?
Yes, adoption is hard! But that's not what we, by God's help, are basing our family decisions on. Instead, we are learning to welcome the hard, and the very things that require us to lay down our life. Adoption...parenthood... are just two of them. I always thought the words of Jesus in Matthew 19:14, "Let the little children come!" were sweet and fluffy, when in fact they are costly words! They are a willing invitation, with the purpose of exchanging your time, your wants, your needs, for someone else's. Honestly, there is a lot in Quintin, and myself, that wants to resist this. We see and fight it on daily basis; the desire to keep a tight reign on what we perceive is "ours", and heads in the path of least resistance. But God has gently and firmly moved our hearts, beckoning us to continue "Letting the little children (orphans) come!". (Plus, it's the most costly things in life that God often uses to bring us the most joy! Just start with the cross!)
Don't you want biological children?
It's the question! A question most people want to ask, and occasionally a few do. And it's okay. It's a fair question. Our answer, if God worked in our life in this way, we would welcome biological children most gladly. We view children, both biological and adopted as a wondrous gift. In our minds, one is not superior to the other, nor is one a plan A and the other a plan B. We simply are seeking to follow God's leading and prompting, which means continuously placing both before Him in prayer.
Why Uganda?
We love adoption. We love domestic adoption. We love international adoption. Both are worthy of our time and action, and neither one somehow superior. We simply feel a specific burden for orphans in Africa. And that's where we are headed! We would have loved to return to Ethiopia. Lord willing, we will someday, maybe for adoption, maybe so Samuel can see and experience his birth country, or maybe because it's an amazing and beautiful place! Or maybe all three! The Uganda program simply seemed like a better fit for our family during this season of life. - We are 1 of 40 families who were accepted to be apart of a pilot program through our agency. We are really excited! We are prepared for best or worst case scenarios, it being a pilot program. Nonetheless, we are getting to help pave the way for an established program, and that means more children, and less orphans. And that's exciting!!
How far along are you in the adoption process?
We are booking right along!! We have been formally accepted to the program, completed our homestudy process, and are just completing our dossier. (See definitions below.) Maybe it's because we are a bit more familiar with the process and the paper trail, but we are experiencing a little shock at how quickly things "upfront" are moving! Next week we mail off our dossier, and then move into a time of waiting, something we also are familiar with. Once our dossier heads to Uganda, we will wait approximately 3-12 months to be matched a child(ren).
Homestudy: A homestudy is sometimes called an "adoption study," and is a written report containing the findings of the social worker who has met on several occasions with prospective adoptive parents, has visited their home, and who has investigated the health, medical, criminal, and family and home background of the adoptive parents.
Dossier: A set of legal documents and adoption papers used in international adoptions. The adoption papers will include your homestudy, marriage license, financial statements, and health certificates - to name a few. Each country has its own set requirements for the dossier.
What about Samuel, he's only be home for a few months?
It's true, it's not been much time, six months to be exact. And we are in no hurry to see the season of "the 3 of us" end, but adoption takes time. And so, we are moving forward, loving and embracing the time we have with Samuel, but also keeping in mind that the gestation period of international adoption doesn't often happen in 9 month increments!
Adoption is expensive, how are you going to afford a second adoption?
It's expensive. I say this graciously, but please don't talk about orphans as price tags! Our Samuel doesn't have a price tag! I agree, it would be great if it were cheaper, but it's not. It's a good thing to take into consideration if you looking at adoption. But please don't let it be your sole consideration, or your sole fixation with our adoption. We are overwhelmed when we see the numbers, and sometimes fearful, but we serve a big God! A big God who provided for us to bring Samuel home, and a big God we are trusting to do the same for this adoption.
Currently, we are doing three things as we seek to pay for this adoption. We are praying; asking our Provider God to provide! We are applying for grants! Just this week, we sent off our Show Hope grant application. We are fundraising! You can help us get the fundraising ball rolling by entering our quilt raffle below!
We hope this answers a few of your questions! Thank you for traveling this journey with us. We can't wait to see God's plan unveiled... one or two more feet!
We hope this answers a few of your questions! Thank you for traveling this journey with us. We can't wait to see God's plan unveiled... one or two more feet!
Quilt Raffle Details: Support our adoption, and also have the opportunity to win the beautiful quilt pictured below. This "Making The Cut" quilt was featured on the front of Better Homes and Gardens magazine and was created by Diane Reinhart owner of Olive Juice Quilts in Onalaska, WI. The quilt we are giving away contains the same fabric and will look just like the quilt below. It's so sweet! Believe me! For each ticket purchased your name will be entered into the raffle that many times. So if you purchase 6 tickets, your name will be entered 6 times. The drawing will be held the week we are matched with our child(ren).
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