We are BLESSED!

Every Thursday night the football team gets together at a local church for the pre-game meal.  This past Thursday a few of the parents asked Tommy and I both to attend because they had an announcement.  I was a little suprised to see the local paper there with a camera!

The announcement was that the football team has graciously decided to host a fundraiser for us...and get this...it's "Mr. Football 2011" womanless beauty pagaent! HA HA

The event is being held on Friday, November 11th at 5pm at the Warren County High School in McMinnville, TN.  A dinner consisting of soups, salads and desserts will be a cost of $5 per person followed by a "talent show" at 7pm in the school auditorium.  Each boy is require to get a $25 sponsorship from someone in the community and each boy is required to also have a talent which can be individual or group.  Each boy will decorate a bucket and whichever boy raises the most money will be crowned "Mr. Football 2011" with their very own crown!

The booster club is helping with the event and will be getting $100 sponsors from local businesses to help with the cost of food and other expenses.  All the money raised will go towards our adoption!

How lucky are we that we have such a great community to support us!!  Tommy and I were actually on the radio this week talking about adoption as a topic for a segment.  It was great to be able to inform some people in the community about a topic that a lot of people don't know a lot about.

I PROMISE this is going to be an amazingly fun event and I can't wait to share pictures after the event! :)

Home Study Interviews

Today was our second round of home study interviews.  Our caseworker, Kelly, came to our house last Thursday for our first interview.  She asked us each a series of questions about our family, how we were raised, what morals we were taught growing up, our favorite childhoood memories and questions about our siblings.  She also asked us about our relationship, how we discipline our children and what we felt our best and worst traits were in ourselves and in each other.  She also walked around our house to make sure we had fire extinguishers in place and that we had medicine and chemicals out of the reach of little hands.

So today was our follow up interviews at her home in Smyrna.  She talked to us both about some books that we should read and what to expect when we get the little one home.  I had been doing some reading that talked about the same things she talked about.  For whatever year your child is that is how many months you should stay home and bond with the child.  So if she's two years old we should plan to stay at the house as much as possible for 2 months.  This will give her an opportunity to bond with us, learn her surroundings and rely on us for her needs.  If we have visitors they recommend only letting them hold her for 5-10 minutes and to not let visitors feed her or change her clothes or diaper.  Her basic needs should be met by either Tommy or I so that she understands that we are who she will turn to when she needs things.

It makes sense that she is going to be going through so many changes that she will need to be introduced to new experiences and people very slowly.  The air is different, the language is different, the food, the culture and everything is different for her and it can be overwhelming for a little one who is much more aware of her surroundings than a newborn.

It will take Kelly around 3 weeks to complete our home study report.  I'm excited to say that she and her family are traveling to Ethiopia to visit her little boy for the first time!!  After our home study report is finished we will file another application where we will receive a fingerprinting appointment and then I think we'll be finished and ready to file our paperwork!!

Medical Visits Complete

We visited our family doctor on Monday afternoon to get our medical forms signed.  We each had two forms that asked basic questions like height, weight (ekk), blood pressure and any other medical question you can think of.

Unfortunately, we both had to have tetanus shots because we couldn't remember the last time we had one and we both had to have a TB skin test where they injected a small amount of something right under the skin with a small needle.  We both have to go back today to show our arms - I guess to make sure we haven't had a reaction to it.

Micah got off with a flu shot and 3 suckers.  We didn't get any suckers...and our arms are killing the both of us from the tetanus shots!

Moving Right Along

Moving right along in search of good times and good news with good friends you can't loose, this could become a habit!  (Isn't that a Sesame Street song!) I spoke with our agency Director today and she told me that if we were able to submit our paperwork today that we would be #3 on the waiting list for a baby girl!

Unfortunately, we aren't ready to submit our paperwork quite yet.  We have doctor's appointments next Monday to get the appropriate forms filled out and then our initial home study appointment is on Thursday.  I imagine it will take a week or two (maybe three?) for her to finalize the report and when that happens we then have to submit a form called an I-600A along with $890.  This form is sent to the United States Citizens and Immigration Services in order to obtain permission to adopt internationally. Once we receive the form back we will be scheduled for a fingerprinting appointment in Nashville. (that's included in the fee paid).

Needless to say, we are moving right along!!

On a very sad note, our Director was telling me about a case in Washington that has absolutely broke my heart.  I can't imagine what was going through little Hana's head or her "parents" for that matter.  It makes me very sick to my stomach.  Please say a prayer for Hana, for she is now safe and in God's hands.

You can read the article here: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/10/01/2011-10-01_washington_couple_held_in_death_of_adopted_daughter_13yearold_hana_williams.html

One down, one to go!

This past weekend I braved the cold weather to have a booth at the Autumn Street Fair in downtown McMinnville, TN. I didn't realize how chilly it would be and how windy. I almost lost my tent more than once to the breeze!

I had the lion pillows for sale along with tshirts, wreaths, coffee, baked goods, bows and oreo and cake pops.

Needless to say, next year I will know to pick a better location. There wasn't much traffic where I was which really hurt my sales. After the registration fee I only made $81 :( That didn't even cover the cost of materials I bought to make the wreaths.

It just so happened that a local newspaper reporter passed by my booth and started talking with my friend, Jesse, who was dressed in Ethiopian dress.  She started talking to him about African orphans and that we are trying to adopt.  So low and behold when I got the paper today there was a mention of our booth and what we are trying to do!  This is monumental considering this reporter over the last year has written a lot negative things about my husband in the paper because he is the local football coach. :)

I've got one more chance to sell the rest of my things at next weekends craft fair at Applefest, which is another craft fair in town at the local private school.  Let's hope for better luck next weekend and maybe some warmer weather!