Adoption Update

Here is the latest in my adoption journey…..drum roll please!!!! I submitted my dossier this week!! Woohoo!! My dossier is now on it's way to Washington DC for authentication!!! This is a MAJOR step in my adoption journey!

For those of you who are not familiar with adoption lingo are probably wondering what a dossier is and what all of this means.....right? First of all, it is pronounced DAH-see-ay (um.....yes, I was mispronouncing it for quite a while!). A dossier is a collection of documents that are necessary to meet the legal requirements for adoption from a foreign country (Ethiopia for me!) as well as the immigration requirements of the U.S. government. A dossier represents you or you and your family (if you are married or single with children) to the foreign adoption authority.

So, what are the documents that are needed for a dossier? Basically, every legal document about you! Seriously! My wonderful adoption agency provided me with a LONG list of documents I needed. Here is an example of some of the required documents:

• Birth certificates for Cameron and me
• Marriage certificate
• Divorce decree
• Homestudy report
• Homestudy agency license
• USCIS approval or Form I-171H (this is an EXTREMELY important form!)
• State criminal background (I'm as clean as it gets! Not even a parking ticket!)
• Medical report
• Power of attorney
• Reference letters
• Financial statements
• Copy of my passport
• Pictures of myself, Cameron, and our home

Whew! Long list right?! Well, that was only SOME of the required documents. YES, even more documents were required! All of the documents have to be authenticated. When you gather all of the required documents, you have to have them notarized....even things that you make a copy of such as my passport. After all of your documents are correctly notarized, the next step is to be apostilled by the Secretary of State. Apostille (pronounced AH-pah-steel) is a state level seal which verifies that the notary's commission has not expired. For me, getting my documents apostilled by my Secretary of State required three trips to Lincoln, Nebraska. I am so thankful to my cousin/sister/best friend Jameca for keeping me company on those trips to and from Lincoln!!! After becoming apostilled, my dossier was sent to my dossier coordinator in Maryland, then to Oregon, then to Washington, D.C., and then to ETHIOPIA!!! Right now my dossier is en route to Washington, D.C.!!! 

One thing I learned while in the Army was to make tons of copies of all paperwork! Two copies accompanied my dossier and the other copies will stay safe with me! As I put all of my documents into the small FedEx box, my heart raced with excitement and nervousness! This is really happening! Praise the Lord! I am one step closer to bringing her home!

Well, there you have it....the latest on my crazy journey to bring my daughter home! 

Thank you to all of you for your continued spiritual and financial support! I am constantly reminded that it takes a village!!!! Thank you for being part of my village!!!! Stay tuned for the next update!!! :)

Pinewood Derby

Cameron and I experienced our first Pinewood Derby last Saturday! This day proved to be one of excitement, disappointment, and life lessons. 

The morning of the derby, Cameron was so excited!! I was too (um...maybe a little bit more than Cameron)!! He was so excited to race his car that he worked so hard to create and to be with his friends! Once we pulled into the parking lot, the adrenaline was PUMPING!!! We quickly prayed, grabbed the car, and the graphite powder! (For those of you who do not know about racing pinewood derby cars...graphite powder looks like powder made from pencil lead and it is applied to the tires before racing). 

We anxiously awaited the results from the scale to make sure the car was under the required weight.....the weight rule is that the car has to be 5.0oz or LESS!!! Not a whole lot of weight to say the least!!!) Cameron and I both took a deep breath and waited for the magic number to appear....4.95oz!!! Whew! We are off to a fantastic start! 

The race consisted of 5 heats for each car. Cameron was so excited to hear his name being called when the line-up of cars was announced (there's something about hearing your name being announced!!!). He loved watching his prized car race down the track and to see his times flash on the screen! To make a long story short....Cameron did not place. The look of disappointment on his face crushed my heart. I had to remind my dear boy that it did not matter if he won or not, what was important is that he was able to create something and see it through to the end. It was important to be a good support and to congratulate the winners. It was important that he tried and never gave up. It was important to know that I was so proud of him regardless of a win or loss. And the most important lesson he learned was to praise God despite the outcome! Most times life lessons can only be learned and appreciated by experiencing them.

Despite not winning the race, Cameron did receive a medal for the "Most Realistic Derby Car"!!!!! Proud Mom Moment: hearing his name called, seeing him accept his medal, high-fiving me, and giving thanks to God!!!! Life lessons: He has learned to give God praise and that hard work does pay off! 

As we left the race, Cameron told me that he was happy that he won a medal but even happier that his good friend won a medal. I told him that it was really great that he was so happy for his friend. Cameron told me that he had been praying to God, asking for his friend to win something so his friend would not be sad. Cameron informed me that he always prays to God for his friends and his family. I asked him why he prays...Cameron proudly answered, "Because God loves me and listens". Of course this melted my heart....to hear my son praying for others. Wow! What a life lesson for me: to pray for others and not just myself....to put away my selfish ways and to put others before myself and to praise God whom all blessings flow regardless of the circumstance....once again the child shall lead them! Reflecting on this, I am reminded of the verse from Psalm 116:2 which says...."Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!" What a wonderful verse and a great way to end an exciting day!