WACAP Weekend!

It's official! With the submission of our homestudy paperwork and attendance of WACAP Weekend, we are in our homestudy! What does that mean? Thank you so much for asking! It means that a very lovely lady by the name of Denise is going to come hang out with us this Thursday and determine whether our home is suited for children. HAHAHA Of course it isn't!! We have children here, thus by logical reasoning, it is absolutely not suited for them.  Why? Because it is messy, a big thank you to Madelyn in particular.  Things get broken...Hazel, that one's for you.  And, I'm not smart enough to use one of the toilet lid locks (Gotta admit, all me).  But if "suited" means full of love, acceptance, and JESUS, then I guess we would probably make the cut.  I was a lot more nervous about our home visit prior to WACAP Weekend.  We met with a social worker named Karen, who very graciously put all of our minds at ease.  The home visit is not a white glove test.  It is a safety test.  For example: Do you have a gaping hole in your second story flooring that you, as an intelligent adult, avoid stepping through, and by extension, avoid a painful and untimely death? If so, let's slap some Pergo on it before baby comes home, m'kay?  We actually received a lot of fabulous information at WACAP Weekend.  I should back up, though.  You are probably wondering what this mysterious WACAP Weekend is.  Once again, thanks for asking. You're a great active listener, which is awesome, because I'm an active talker!!  WACAP Weekend is the orientation to adoption training that our adoption agency, World Association for Children And Parents (WACAP by any other name, doth it smell as sweet?) provides.  Which I love.  For a few reasons.  Numero uno, I am an idiot.  Unprepared, untrained, uninformed.  Sure I've spent HOURS researching every facet of adoption.  Mainly what can go wrong, but that's another post.  The point is, investigating the adoption process is like learning how to drive.  You can read the little manual all you want, but until someone sticks you behind a wheel, you really have no idea what the frick n' frack you're doing.  We had classes on attachment, ways to facilitate said attachment, and how to recognize the warning signs if little baby doesn't seem to be adjusting well.  (Or is doing too well, actually, that is a warning sign!) Also, and my crazy brain had already processed this, we learned how, essentially, we are kidnapping these kiddos as far as they are concerned.  Just follow me on this.  We are a nice little white couple from WA.  We travel umpteen hours to Africa and say, "Dear baby, come with us! We are your new mommy and daddy."  Baby says: "I'm gonna pass, you need a TAN.  I don't recognize you, where is my mommy/caregiver/etc.? And P.S. Why does your hair look like straw?? I'm scared, you're scary, and I sure would appreciate it if you would get back on that very large bird and go away forever."  While I've already ran this scenario in my aforementioned crazy brain, it really hit me when I was told this by someone who has been placing children in homes for 22+ years. What else did I learn? Hmmm...I learned that we are the fourth best situation for this little baby girl we are bringing into our home.  Number one best: Stay with momma.  Number two best: Stay with family in country.  Number three best: Adopted by family in country.  Number four best (A.K.A. The worst): Adopted by family out of country.  Which makes sense to me.  I am gonna lay it out there: I am not black.  Nor am I African American.  Nor am I Ethiopian.  I know very little about the culture in comparison to someone who lives there, and what I do know, I've learned online.  SUPER lame.  But, what is not lame is the fact that GOD ALMIGHTY doesn't care that I am white.  And Norwegian (Although, I'm only Norwegian by marriage...my marriage!). And the God of the Universe has asked me to parent not only my two beautiful white half-Norwegian baby girls, but also this beautiful black Ethiopian African American baby girl.  And what He asks of us, He prepares us for.  And may He be praised for that, and so much more!!  After that, though, Mary Ann, the vice president of social work, looked at as all with an expression that only an adoptive parent could have and said, "Honestly, though, when you hold that child in your arms, your heart will tell you that you are the best situation for her.  And you'll be right."  Ahhh.  I love me a happy ending!!  And I can't wait to be able to have that expression on my face, too.  On a different note, something else amazing came of WACAP Weekend that I never thought would happen there: Jeremy became more aware of how he parents our girls right now! Which is sheer and utter insanity to me, because my hubby is an incredible, conscientious father as it is.  He is, as he will tell you in a heartbeat, very relaxed, however.  So he has committed to make a more concerted effort to make memories and traditions for our girls in the here and now.  I'm excited to see what he comes up with, and frankly, a little scared.  I'm an adventure girl, but my idea of adventure and his are sometimes miles apart.  I'll go with it, though ;)

Ethiopia Dramatically Reduces Adoptions

It's taken me awhile to wrap my mind around sitting down and writing this post.  I decided when I started this blog that it would be a cathartic escape for the crazy that lives in my head, and thus, totally and utterly open and honest.  If you haven't seen my begging for prayers plastered all over my Facebook page, I'll fill you in.  Ethiopia has reduced the amount of international adoptions from 32-50 down to 5 processed per day.  In the whole country.  Five adoptions.  Five kiddos who will receive a new home.  Five families who will receive a new child.  Five.  That number never held special meaning to me before.  Two is Jeremy's favorite number; three is mine.  Seven is the number that rings throughout the Bible, and how many points are on the stars in my tattoo.  11:11...make a wish.  But five was never given a second thought.  Now, I hear five and shiver.  Here is the reality of the situation (please bear in mind I am NOT an expert in international politics, but feel qualified to take an educated guess!): If five adoptions are processed per day, between 27 and 45 adoptions are NOT.  That means that between 27 and 45 spaces per day are not opening up in orphanages, and 27 to 45 children are not given a home who desperately need one.  To me, and I'm sure all of you, that is devastating.  Ethiopia is a country who loves her children. My intention is not to criticize, in fact, it was the unethical adoption practices of an American agency that was the proverbial cog in the adoption gears. But this can't be the best solution, so I'm praying that it is simply a band aid, keeping the system from hemorrhaging until surgery can be performed.  Pardon all the medical references, I spent the day with my sister-in-law, who is a nursing student.  On a totally selfish note, I can't help wondering if my dream of bringing home our baby girl is now morphing into a dream of bringing home our toddler girl.  I just don't know for sure.  However, here is what I do know: GOD IS SOVEREIGN.  What does that mean? It means He knew this situation would develop in Ethiopia before Ethiopia existed.  He knew before the creation of the Earth that this would become a reality.  He also knows the solution.  And He will work it out for the good of His followers, and for His Glory!!   I am trusting God to bring home those precious children to the families He knows will love them, and am urging Him to remedy this situation quickly and how he sees fit.  Please join me in praying for a healing of the Ethiopian adoption system.  God is the only one who can fix it, and I know that's just what He'll do.