Updates

Ok all you facebook fans..we started our group Our Ethiopian blessings..join the group! On the adoption front we are still waiting for our finalized copy of our home study..they are still making final adjustments before they notarize it! Patience is so difficult..one more piece of paper! The past few weeks have been rough as the flu has made it through the whole family. I have all the windows open today trying to air out the germs! October and November are crazy with all the birthdays we are praying our other children will have spring birthdays! I'm adding some pictures from all the party's. Francesca turned 12 this year!! I can't believe my baby has grown into such a beautiful young lady!

Crazy..

Is it crazy that I get excited everytime I get an email from my family coordinator?? I can not wait till we are DTE(dossier to ethiopia) Every small step gets us that much closer to the end of the paperchase!

HomeStudy Finished!!

Yesterday was our last Home study visit!!!! Now we wait for our finalized copies so we can mail off our 600a form. To those of you who don't know this is the last thing we need to finish before we mail our Dossier. After another fee, another set of documents and another set of fingerprints..we will hopefully receive our I 171H form (this form allows of to bring the children back to the US). We are hoping by December everything will be wrapped up! It all depends on how fast the government works...Did I mention I hate to be at the mercy of others!!! I know this whole process is about waiting..and waiting but I just want the waiting to be for our children NOT for paperwork to get finished!

Pretty soon we will be making our official announcement..to those who are unaware of our process..so look out for our Facebook page..coming soon:)

Today is Matteo's 6th birthday! My how time flys....For those of you who know him you know what a character he is! All of my kids have the most distinct personalities! He is such a sweet kid and a mommas boy:) I loved having little girls to dress up when they were little and now we have such interesting relationships. But it is true there is something about a mother and her son! I had the hardest time sending him off to school..he has been my sidekick for years. Don't take this wrong I love my girls and am sad when they are not around..but somehow matteo is the light in our family. Each child brings something different and I could not imagine our family without them. That is why today on his birthday I imagine how our new children will impact our family...Anthony and I always comment how strange it is when one of our children is not home. Each person is a piece to the puzzle that is our family, without one it is not complete. In the distant future that puzzle will grow larger while we fill in the missing pieces. Soon Matteo will no longer be my baby but a big brother! Today we celebrate the wonderful birth and life of Matteo!

Finally!!!!

Finally our last paper for the Home study is in!! Now we can finish the Home Study stage. After that we send out for yet another important document and another round of fingerprints. After that approval letter we can compile all our paperwork and ship it to America World our adoption agency. For those unfamiliar with this process..after that all our paperwork...Our Dossier...gets sent to Ethiopia, then we begin our official wait! So to most of you this piece of paper is not much to but us it makes us once step closer to our children!

Waiting..

Its been a while since I posted anything. Cameron passing away seems to have affected every part of life. Some things just haven't been as much of a priority while other things have become more important. The thought of our adoption process completely slipped our minds for a brief moment. Waiting for paperwork just wasn't important anymore. Not that the thought of our future children has lessened any. We are at a very frustrating point. While others are waiting in line to receive their referrals, we are waiting for our SCR form to be sent back. After we get that back we can finish our Home study and apply for our next approval form. It is taking Forever!!!! All I want to be able to say is our paperwork is done and shipped to AWAA! I had all my paperwork done as fast as I could but it made no difference. If these forms would've been in we could've been alot further ahead. Even after we get done the next approval will probably take another 6 weeks....They say 4-6 month for the "Home study" stage, we are at 4 months. I am praying that this week we get some good news..our form has been received and we can wrap this stage up!