Confessions.....and the process of adoption

I have a confession to make......I sleep with this cute teddy bear and pink blanket. Yep, it's true! Why you ask??? Well, one of the hard things for children who are being adopted from overseas is that they are brought to a new country with different- sights, smells, sounds, new people, in this case they travel in car seats now, they fly on an airplane, and the list could seriously go on for a long time.

So one thing you can do through All God's Children is send your child a few mementos to help ease the transition. For very young children you send them a picture book of people in your family, pets, maybe a pic of their room. We are sending one that is if you like- chewable since our Naomi is teething and under the age of 1.

Along with that we are sending a small teddy bear and blanket.....with our "smell" on it. May seem crazy to anyone who hasn't gone through the process, but it helps them transition once they meet these crazy new people who want to be their mommy and daddy!

Of course with older children a more in depth picture book is a great help- so they can see the new things before hopping on a plane with strangers. You can send them different things that can mean something to them personally- a necklace, or bracelet, etc.

So there you have it.....I have been sleeping with this teddy bear and blanket for a few weeks - and to be honest it reminds me that soon I will get to hold my baby girl! A reminder of a privilege......of one whom is in my heart day and night! Soon we will send it off with our picture book- probably within this next week. And she will be shone pictures of her new family as she gums away at them, and smell a new smell....one that she will maybe recognize when we go to pick her up for the first time :)
So.......is this boy cute or what??? His name is Asher, and we met him and his mommy Nell Ann in Houston mall yesterday. They adopted him through All God's Children International too- from Ethiopia! We follow their blog and love seeing their pics on it, but it was soo great to meet them in person.
Look at that smile!
and that one.....
Aww.......
Should these girls be driving a rescue vehicle?????? hmmmm.....
Here is Nell Ann & Asher together as we ate.....
The crowd of children trying to get closer to the cute baby of course....
This is his look of impression over all the fuss my kids are giving him.......
Hmmm....poor little fellow was probably overwhelmed by all of us, but he did really well with it. Our kids couldn't wait to give him his cheerios/puffs. They wanted to touch his hair, hold his hand, help him do things, etc. So hopefully we can visit them again sometime. Although they live a few hours away...it is great to get together with others who have adopted! Very strong bond there. It was great exchanging testimonies of how God brought us our children and they whys and wheres of it all. So if you want to visit Nell Ann's web- gogogalindo.blogspot.com

Now onto the process of adoption. It has really sunk in after doing so many adoptions that there is something that happens every time- hurry up and wait. Hurry and find an agency that is the best.......wait to see what their requirements are and what information they send you
Hurry to fill out your application......wait to see if you get approved
Hurry to start your homestudy.......wait to get if finally done
Hurry to send in your homestudy.......wait until your agency approves it or if you have to do corrections....
Hurry to get your dossier done.......wait to see if it gets approved
Hurry to call and bug your agency about everything......wait for the phone calls and e-mails to come back to you
Hurry to finally get your dossier off to the agency.....wait to get on the waiting list- or in our case accept a waiting child- and you get to skip that part :)
Hurry to get all of your referral paperwork in......wait to get approval for it all
Wait to get a court date........wait some more to see if you actually passed or not
Wait to hear when you may get to travel to see and pick up your child......wait some more for confirmation of those travel dates........wait some more very very very impatiently to finally step through the gates of Hannah's Hope (in our case).....those famous gates that mean you are finally steps away from your precious child.......

This is the moment your breath is stolen away......and all of your hurrying up and waiting is worth every single tear, laughter, excitement, depression, hours spent on that paperwork and training, roller coaster of emotions ride is WORTH IT ALL!!!! When you finally see your child for real....hold them even if they are screaming or if they aren't.......and pray over them as you experience the miracle that no one can really put into words, but the name of it is ADOPTION!

That is the hurry up and wait game that ends up with a gift no one can fathom.....except everyone that has been taken into the family of God and has experienced adoption into His Kingdom as His Child. It is that moment that you say - God I want to be yours and he reaches down after all of HIS sweat, blood, and tears over you.......and holds you in HIS LOVING ARMS!