We appreciate your prayers as we go through this together and we will update later with pics of our little Claire!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Well, here we go!
It's that time in this dad's life where I've got that nervous yet excited look. Tam went into labor in the middle of the night last night. So far everything is going well and we are keeping our fingers crossed it remains that way.
We appreciate your prayers as we go through this together and we will update later with pics of our little Claire!
We appreciate your prayers as we go through this together and we will update later with pics of our little Claire!
Monday, December 24, 2012
All wrapped into one
Well, it has been a while since our last update. Things have been crazy and busy around here with the holidays fast approaching.
As far as the adoption goes, we are officially on the waiting list! Woohoo! We had our USCIS fingerprints done last week and now we are waiting on our Favorable Determination Letter from them. Then we will send that last piece of paperwork on to our agency and after that we wait....and wait...and wait. The picture below wraps up everything that has been happening. It is officially our last picture as a family of four. It shows me at 29 weeks and the numbers hanging from the dog's collars (which they are loving as you can see) tell where we are currently on the waiting list for the adoption. Blue=boy, Pink=girl. We have a two year wait from now. Well, it will give us a chance to focus on our little girl coming in February.
Speaking of our little girl, she is still growing and doing well. We picked out a name a few weeks ago: Claire Hannah. We like Claire because it is a name that you don't hear much these days. Hannah has special meaning. We wanted our daughter to have a middle name from Ethiopia so that she would have something in common with the baby we adopt. Mike found a list of top Ethiopian girl names and Hannah was on the list. Also, the transition home where our adopted child will be before we go meet him/her is called Hannah's Hope. We both thought that was a perfect middle name for little Claire.
In other news, I had my first bump in the road with the pregnancy in the past couple of weeks. Two weeks ago, I took glucose test #1 and did not pass. I was devastated and totally freaked out until my mom reminded me that I am not in control, God is. She also reminded me to pray about it and just trust Him. Wise words indeed. The next morning I was still really worried and upset about the whole thing because I just had a feeling that I probably had gestational diabetes despite the fact that I hadn't taken the second test yet.
While sitting at the table that morning eating breakfast, I opened my Bible app on my phone and read the verse of the day. It is from Jeremiah 31:3 and it says: "The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying, 'I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.'" It's amazing the moments that God sweetly reminds us of his love for us and that He is always with us. I decided in that moment that I would trust Him to take care of us because I know He knows what is best for us.
After taking the second glucose test, I found out that I didn't pass that one either but it wasn't as hard for me to get that news because I had already decided that I am not in control. I will be attending a class at the Women's Hospital to learn about nutrition that will be good for us and I will also have to test my blood sugar levels 4 times a day. In short, it is easy to manage. That is a huge relief for me.
We have also been busy getting Claire's room ready for her...when I say "we" I really mean Mike. He has painted her room and is busy working on the trim that will go on the walls. I plan to order decals in a pink jungle theme to put on the walls. It is really starting to look like a nursery. I can't believe that I am already 30 weeks along today. It has gone by so fast. Pretty soon, we'll be posting pictures of our beautiful baby on our blog. Well, this has been a really long update but thanks for hanging in there until the end to read all of our news. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
As far as the adoption goes, we are officially on the waiting list! Woohoo! We had our USCIS fingerprints done last week and now we are waiting on our Favorable Determination Letter from them. Then we will send that last piece of paperwork on to our agency and after that we wait....and wait...and wait. The picture below wraps up everything that has been happening. It is officially our last picture as a family of four. It shows me at 29 weeks and the numbers hanging from the dog's collars (which they are loving as you can see) tell where we are currently on the waiting list for the adoption. Blue=boy, Pink=girl. We have a two year wait from now. Well, it will give us a chance to focus on our little girl coming in February.
In other news, I had my first bump in the road with the pregnancy in the past couple of weeks. Two weeks ago, I took glucose test #1 and did not pass. I was devastated and totally freaked out until my mom reminded me that I am not in control, God is. She also reminded me to pray about it and just trust Him. Wise words indeed. The next morning I was still really worried and upset about the whole thing because I just had a feeling that I probably had gestational diabetes despite the fact that I hadn't taken the second test yet.
While sitting at the table that morning eating breakfast, I opened my Bible app on my phone and read the verse of the day. It is from Jeremiah 31:3 and it says: "The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying, 'I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.'" It's amazing the moments that God sweetly reminds us of his love for us and that He is always with us. I decided in that moment that I would trust Him to take care of us because I know He knows what is best for us.
After taking the second glucose test, I found out that I didn't pass that one either but it wasn't as hard for me to get that news because I had already decided that I am not in control. I will be attending a class at the Women's Hospital to learn about nutrition that will be good for us and I will also have to test my blood sugar levels 4 times a day. In short, it is easy to manage. That is a huge relief for me.
We have also been busy getting Claire's room ready for her...when I say "we" I really mean Mike. He has painted her room and is busy working on the trim that will go on the walls. I plan to order decals in a pink jungle theme to put on the walls. It is really starting to look like a nursery. I can't believe that I am already 30 weeks along today. It has gone by so fast. Pretty soon, we'll be posting pictures of our beautiful baby on our blog. Well, this has been a really long update but thanks for hanging in there until the end to read all of our news. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
No spoilers in the title. You must read to find out the BIG NEWS!!
Friday was a HUGE day for Tam and I to say the least. As you may already know, we have spent the past several months writing and gathering a ton of information about ourselves and our lives from birth to present. All of this information eventually comes together to create our official dossier. This is the set of documents that will eventually be sent to Ethiopia as an initial representation of ourselves to the Ethiopian government. To give you an idea of what this entails, here is a high level list of the requirements.
- Notarized and State Certified Power of Attorney Form
- Notarized Power of Attorney Form
- Statement of Reason to Adopt (Application Letter)
- Photocopy of US Passport w/Notary Sheet for father
- Photocopy of US Passport w/Notary Sheet for mother
- Official passport photos (2 photos per parent)
- Photographs of the family
- Photographs of the family’s home
- Home Study of family with Copies of Social Worker & Agency License
- Letter(s) of Employment for father
- Letter(s) of Employment for mother
- Financial Statement
- Birth Certificate for father
- Birth Certificate for mother
- Certificate of Marriage
- Medical Letter for father
- Medical Letter for mother
- Police Clearance for father
- Police Clearance for mother
- Two Letters of Reference
- Obligation of Post Placement Reports
- 2 Complete Copies of Dossier
Well, Tam and I are glad to say that our dossier is now COMPLETE!
On Friday we finally received the official notarized originals of our completed Home Study in the mail! For those that missed this, our home study was when our social worker (Jennifer O'Leary of Family to Family Adoptions --- we highly recommend her) came to our house to interview us and make sure that we could provide a loving home to a child from Ethiopia. Well, this was the final piece we had been waiting on. With this in our hands, we were able to package it up with the rest of our information and forms in order to create our dossier.
What's the next step? Right now our dossier is on its way to All God's Children in Portland, Oregon. They will review the information we have submitted and if they find any corrections that need to be made, we will have to fix those. Once our dossier is deemed correct and complete by All God's Children, we will then be in a position to be put on the waiting list. As we did not specify a preference for a boy or girl, we will be placed on both lists. At this point, the wait is likely to be around 18 months or a little longer.
While the process of getting to this point has required a lot of prayer and at times been very frustrating, it is a process that has helped us grow as Christ followers, as husband and wife, and as future parents. We are so very glad that we decided to follow the path God has set before us and with this huge step behind us we are now expectantly looking forward to seeing the beautiful face of the child God has already selected for us, even though that child has not yet been born.
- Notarized and State Certified Power of Attorney Form
- Notarized Power of Attorney Form
- Statement of Reason to Adopt (Application Letter)
- Photocopy of US Passport w/Notary Sheet for father
- Photocopy of US Passport w/Notary Sheet for mother
- Official passport photos (2 photos per parent)
- Photographs of the family
- Photographs of the family’s home
- Home Study of family with Copies of Social Worker & Agency License
- Letter(s) of Employment for father
- Letter(s) of Employment for mother
- Financial Statement
- Birth Certificate for father
- Birth Certificate for mother
- Certificate of Marriage
- Medical Letter for father
- Medical Letter for mother
- Police Clearance for father
- Police Clearance for mother
- Two Letters of Reference
- Obligation of Post Placement Reports
- 2 Complete Copies of Dossier
Well, Tam and I are glad to say that our dossier is now COMPLETE!
On Friday we finally received the official notarized originals of our completed Home Study in the mail! For those that missed this, our home study was when our social worker (Jennifer O'Leary of Family to Family Adoptions --- we highly recommend her) came to our house to interview us and make sure that we could provide a loving home to a child from Ethiopia. Well, this was the final piece we had been waiting on. With this in our hands, we were able to package it up with the rest of our information and forms in order to create our dossier.
What's the next step? Right now our dossier is on its way to All God's Children in Portland, Oregon. They will review the information we have submitted and if they find any corrections that need to be made, we will have to fix those. Once our dossier is deemed correct and complete by All God's Children, we will then be in a position to be put on the waiting list. As we did not specify a preference for a boy or girl, we will be placed on both lists. At this point, the wait is likely to be around 18 months or a little longer.
While the process of getting to this point has required a lot of prayer and at times been very frustrating, it is a process that has helped us grow as Christ followers, as husband and wife, and as future parents. We are so very glad that we decided to follow the path God has set before us and with this huge step behind us we are now expectantly looking forward to seeing the beautiful face of the child God has already selected for us, even though that child has not yet been born.
 |
| At FedEx mailing our dossier |
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice...
That's what little GIRLS are made of! So, as you know, we went to the doctor and had the ultrasound to tell us whether we are having a girl or boy. We are excited to say it's a girl! (We would have been excited either way). She was rather difficult at the beginning of the ultrasound. She was face down and would not turn over, no matter how much wiggling of my belly was done. But in the end we were finally able to get a good picture that leaves no doubt in our minds that it's a girl. I've posted one of the ultrasound pics below. We haven't picked a name yet though...
We had some of our family over on Saturday for lunch. Funny story, I was talking to my mother-in-law and I said "Next year we'll have to figure out what babysitter to put 'em with" and she thought I said "him". So she thought I had slipped up and said that it was a boy. Mike added to the craziness by saying, "Funny it's usually me who messes up surprises!" So after lunch when we had the cake balls, she was really suprised when the inside was pink! It was great!
My brother-in-law and sister-in-law who live in Dallas couldn't be there, so we face-timed with them on Mike's phone and he bit into the cake ball and then showed them the pink inside on the phone. It really was a neat moment to see everyone's suprised faces. Then, I got my very first baby presents to open from family. I'm already loving all the cute girl stuff!! It was an awesome day!
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| There's no doubt! It's definately a girl! |
My brother-in-law and sister-in-law who live in Dallas couldn't be there, so we face-timed with them on Mike's phone and he bit into the cake ball and then showed them the pink inside on the phone. It really was a neat moment to see everyone's suprised faces. Then, I got my very first baby presents to open from family. I'm already loving all the cute girl stuff!! It was an awesome day!
 |
| Cake Ball Reveal - Mmmm! Yummy!! |
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
We are having a...
I had my 20 week appointment last week and found out that we are having a...
Sorry, I can't reveal the news just yet because we are having a family gathering this weekend at our house for the big reveal. My sister is making cake balls and she will color the cake either pink or blue, depending on what we are having. We are excited to have our family over to share the news!
At the doctor's appointment everything was good. The radiologist came in during the ultrasound and his report said that everything looked great. Baby and Mom are doing well...now if I can just get it to move off of my bladder - LOL!! I am starting to feel more kicks and that is so cool!
On the adoption front, our Home Study is finished except for our online education classes and our workbook. We have reviewed the Home Study and it has been sent to the adoption agency for review now. We have two more online classes to finish (they take about an hour and a half each to complete...ugh!) and the only other thing left to do in the workbook is to write about our experience eating at an Ethiopian restaurant. We are planning to go to Blue Nile this week. I've heard great things!
Another thing we had to do for the workbook was to cook an Ethiopian dish and we chose to make Doro Wat this past Friday. It is considered by some to be the national dish of Ethiopia. It is essentially chicken and spices and I found the recipe online (http://www.whats4eats.com/poultry/doro-wat-recipe). The recipe calls for a special spice called berbere and I was thankfully able to get some from our friends Ben and Lauren Huss. I could have made berbere but there are about 18 different spices in it and the recipes that I found online to make it look difficult and time consuming. I'm going to have to find somewhere here in Houston that I can buy it for future use!
The dish tasted amazing! It was really spicy for me but we served it over rice and that helped to cut some of the spice. I'm sure all of you non-sensitive-to-spicy-foods people (like Mike) would have considered it medium spicy. It is a dish that I look forward to cooking in the future for our family-- even before the baby from Ethiopia is here! I've posted some pictures below that we took while cooking the dish and then there's the final result picture as well.
Sorry, I can't reveal the news just yet because we are having a family gathering this weekend at our house for the big reveal. My sister is making cake balls and she will color the cake either pink or blue, depending on what we are having. We are excited to have our family over to share the news!
At the doctor's appointment everything was good. The radiologist came in during the ultrasound and his report said that everything looked great. Baby and Mom are doing well...now if I can just get it to move off of my bladder - LOL!! I am starting to feel more kicks and that is so cool!
Another thing we had to do for the workbook was to cook an Ethiopian dish and we chose to make Doro Wat this past Friday. It is considered by some to be the national dish of Ethiopia. It is essentially chicken and spices and I found the recipe online (http://www.whats4eats.com/poultry/doro-wat-recipe). The recipe calls for a special spice called berbere and I was thankfully able to get some from our friends Ben and Lauren Huss. I could have made berbere but there are about 18 different spices in it and the recipes that I found online to make it look difficult and time consuming. I'm going to have to find somewhere here in Houston that I can buy it for future use!
The dish tasted amazing! It was really spicy for me but we served it over rice and that helped to cut some of the spice. I'm sure all of you non-sensitive-to-spicy-foods people (like Mike) would have considered it medium spicy. It is a dish that I look forward to cooking in the future for our family-- even before the baby from Ethiopia is here! I've posted some pictures below that we took while cooking the dish and then there's the final result picture as well.
 |
| Cooking berberé paste with other spices |
 |
| Simmering the chicken with the spicy sauce |
YUM!!
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