MORE REFERRALS!!!

Just notified that there were 3 referrals today! A 4 month old baby girl and 2 boys; 19 mo. and 2 years. Congrats to the lucky families! Can't wait to see who they were.

Why international adoption???

This is a question we have been asked on more than one occasion often to the tune of, "Why not adopt from the United States? There are plenty of children in our own country that need homes." For months we have struggled trying to come up with just the right words to express WHY we are adopting internationally and now, thanks to one of our blog buddies, Brooke, we have found those words. She really hit the nail on the head. The following is an excerpt from her blog. Thanks Brooke!--Kris

-----The fact is, that international adoption is NOT the answer to the world's orphan population. Tackling the problem within each individual nation seems to be the best way to help children living in poverty. I completely believe that the most optimal situation is for children to stay with their biological parents, and within their own country. BUT, when a parent is unable to provide the basic necessities of life, or they are deceased, and at that point no one steps up and says I will care for this child here in their home country.....at that point adoption should be the next best option for the child.

Furthermore, I am more than irritated by the thought that we as Americans should only adopt Americans. "There are so many kids in the U.S. that need homes, why don't you adopt them?"

For one, my love for children doesn't stop at the borders of this country. We believe that children deserve love wherever in the world they are born, what ever skin color they may have. Kids need and deserve love.

Though the foster care system here in the U.S. is not ideal for children, it can and often does work. Though the situations that force these kids into Foster Care are often horrendous, the system is set up to provided the basic necessities to the children. They should be provided food, water, shelter, clothing, and education. I'm not naive enough to say that children in the Foster Care system are always looked after properly. I realize that their are many instances that the system fails these kids.

In countries like Ethiopia, Malawi, Uganda, and on and on, many orphans will not have access to any of the necessities listed above. Children will be forced into unthinkable circumstances, with no one looking after them. If they survive, the chances that they are able to live a healthy life are not likely. They will probably not be afforded the opportunity to attend school or have access to medical care.-----

7 months & more referrals...

Well, another month down and another update. We have officially been waiting SEVEN MONTHS!!! By my calculations we are currently #33 on the overall wait list but we have no clue what our ACTUAL number is on the girls list. The past few months have been rather slow and spotty for referrals but the past 2 weeks are hopefully a sign of things to come. Last week our agency handed out 5 referrals and this week they have already handed out a referral for a 5 month old baby girl. CONGRATS HOAGLANDS!!!

In other news, Kris' little brother, Ryan, is getting married in a few weeks! A couple of weeks ago we went to K.C. for their couples shower and had a blast. The bachelor party is this weekend and the wedding is on the 18th so this will really keep us busy the next few weeks. This past weekend my friend Kim had a 40th b-day party for her husband, Stew. It was an 80's themed party and Kim and Robyn let it all hang out with there 80's gear. Needless to say, fun was had by all. Until next time, here's some pics.--Staci

Kris and his lil' bro Ryan at the couples shower

Robyn in her 80's best

Hangin' with my sister Brenda and Candy

Kim & the b-day boy

The Blog Change Worked!!!

CHI handed out 6 referrals today! Among the referrals was a 3 mo. baby girl, a sibling group of girls aged 3 1/2 and 5 years, two boys of 22 months and 2 1/2 years, and lastly, a 5 year old boy. Congrats to the lucky families! Hoping this is a sign of things to come for CHI's Ethiopia program.

Time for a Change....

In lieu of the recent lull of adoption referrals, we've changed our blog background with hopes that it will somehow magically change the program and referrals will somehow start flying in. We're not normally supersticious people but hey, the last time we did this, I believe there were 10 or 12 that came in that very day. So here it is, our official blog-background change for more referrals! May the referrals start rolling in.

***UPDATE: We thought our new blog background was REALLY lucky when we received a call this afternoon and CHI was on the caller ID. Unfortunately, they were just updating their personal files. Talk about your heart skipping a beat! Don't they know NOT to call waiting families unless it's THE call? hehe

6 months down!/Nursery

Sorry it's been so long since our last post so here's a quick update. In the down time since our last post we officially hit the 6 month period. Hopefully we've only got a few more months (or less) until we see our sweet Marley's face. There were 3 referrals today!!! A sibling set, a baby girl and toddler boy. Congrats to all the lucky families! Besides the waiting there's not too much to report on the adoption front besides the fact that we are currently in the process of having our home study updated.

We finally, FINALLY finished the nursery and bathroom! Needless to say, we're taking a well deserved vacation from housework to get some other things done. Kris' brother Ryan is getting married in April to Krissy, which we are very excited about so that's going to keep us busy the next several weeks with showers and other fun festivities. On that note, I leave you all with pics of our new nursery. The only thing missing [besides a mattress and closet doors:)] is our Baby Marley.

Here's our color scheme:

And the fan, which I love!

New Nephew!

Jarrett Reed was born yesterday at 6pm, he was a whopping 8 lbs and 1 oz and 22 inches long! We are all so very excited he is finally here. Both he and Brenda are doing great and will be home tomorrow. Jenna is also a very proud big sis! Sorry we will be posting no pics, we are keeping him and Jenna all to ourselves! (they are the two cutest kids I know though)

So as of today no referrals this week but will keep everyone up to date as they come in, we are getting very close and very excited. I know we have had several request of pics of the nursery, we will post some as soon as the crib is put together! We finally got our new bath tub in and all we have to do is sheet rock around the tub and paint, then it will be onto the next project.

5 months down!

Wow, I can't believe that it has been five months to the day that our dossier was sent to Ethiopia, hopefully I won't have to many more of these monthly updates. So as of today we are #34(my calculations). Once we receive our referral we are assigned a court date, then if we pass the first time we will travel a few weeks later. This process could take 4 months or longer after referral.
Kris and I have been very busy with the nursery and it is done! Now we are tackling the bathroom. Trying to keep busy so the time will pass quickly! Hope everyone has a great weekend!