Great News!!!

Everything for our dossier is accepted!!!! We are so excited!!!! The only thing left is to get the home study notarized again (small mistake by the notary). I am hoping that we will be on the waiting list by Monday. I am not sure that is even possible. Thank you to all of you prayed. I know it is all in God's timing. It is definitely a weight lifted off my shoulders.

All we can do is PRAY

I am sorry it took me so long to post after we sent in our dossier. As predicted, we had three things that had to be redone. I did not feel this was too bad, except we were at a cottage with my husband's family which meant it was a bit difficult to get papers signed and notarized. I will say up to this point the past month has been the most stressful. Every detail has to match and be correct in order for the dossier to be excepted. My husband and I tend to overlook the details, so it is amazing we only had a few papers to redo. I am going to overnight the papers tomorrow and pray that all is well and we can be put on the waiting list. I am so ready to start the next part of this process, even if it is just waiting. Please say a prayer tomorrow that all is good and we can be one step closer to bringing home our "little man".

What I Have Learned

I am so sorry I have been such a delinquent. I am enjoying the summer, but finding it very busy at the same time. Maia still takes two naps, but Alexa and Gabbie keep me going 24/7. We have spent our summer days relaxing by the pool (except when I am chasing a one year old from the shallow end to the deep end), camping, and hanging out with friends. I am reminded often that hopefully next summer I will be chasing a 2 year old and almost 1 year old around the pool. We talk often of our little guy and pray constantly for him. We realize that he still may not even exist, but we pray for his birthparents and caretakers. Many African parents have to give up their children due to disease, death, or poverty. These children are not taken due to poor parenting skills, abuse, or other emotional problems. This makes it so heart wrenching to think that most likely the birth parents desire to raise him, love him, and provide for him. I thought I would make a list of what I have learned since starting this process.


1. Trusting God is the only thing that will get you through this process.
2. GOD WILL PROVIDE!!!!! We have seen this in more ways than just raising $11,000 at our fundraiser. This has been one of the best years financially for our family since I decided to stay home. Coinsidence?..... No God's plan. THANK YOU GOD!!!
3. There is a great number of families that have, or are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia in Grand Rapids, MI. What an amazing support system we will have.
4. I was so worried about how our girls would react, and they talk constantly about their baby brother from Ethiopia.
5. People love to tell you all of the adoption horror stories. I have learned to add them to my "could happen" list, and then remind myself that God is in control. He will give us what we need when we need it.
6. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I still have fears, and doubts about this process even though I know we are exactly where God wants us. I have fears of attachment, travel, future, and more. I always need encouragment to keeping praying and give my fears and doubts to God.
7. People feel passionate about adoption. Many who have desired to adopt but did not feel that calling have given us great financial support and prayers.
8. Patience and perseverance!!!

There is my list. If you are adopting and would like to add more to the list of what you have learned I would love to hear it.

Sorry is I spelled anything incorrectly, the spell check would not work.

Home Study Review

Our Home Study is in for review! Please pray it gets approved, because if it does not we may have to wait to send it in at the end of July. The person who reviews all of the Home Study packets is getting married and will be out of comission for most of June. I am so thankful for our social workers who have done a rush to get all of this in on time. Our goal is to get the rest of the paperwork finished and be on the wait list in August. From what I am told this is the hard part. The paperwork is still in our control, when we are put on the wait list, we just have to sit back and let it all take place. The only thing that will keep me from thinking about it too often will be that it is all in God's timing. He knows when it is best for us to receive a referral. He knows the child that has been chosen for us. I am so thankful to follow a God that is always in control, especially when we have none.

Quick Update

I think I just finished the last bit of paperwork for our home study. The past few weeks have been spent taking 6 online courses that took about 2 hours each. We also finished our 173 page education workbook. As much as we hated writing out the answers to about 50-75 essay questions we felt we learned so much. I am looking forward to getting our home study approved and sent in. It will be one more thing to cross off the list. We just sent all of our checks from our fundraiser, and it feels amazing to know that we have a large chunk sitting there to cover upcoming costs. This gives us the chance to save up more for later. We continue to meet great people who have or are adopting. It is great to know that there is a large support system right here in Grand Rapids.

On another note:
My other three munchkins decided they wanted to jump into a 65 degree pool today. Maia obviously did not jump in but would have if I let her. It is going to be a busy summer by the pool with a 1 year old. They still talk often of their baby brother from Ethiopia. I heard Gabbie tell a friend of hers that she might marry her brother. She said she wasn't sure but that it might be who she marries. Alexa prayed for her baby brother tonight. I think of him often. What will he look like? Will he be healthy? Will he be a young infant or coming up into his toddler years? No matter the answers to these questions I know God will be faithful.

Thanks for checking in on us and supporting us.

Great Adoption News!!!!

Recently we had heard that the government was going to remove the tax credit for adoptive families. This would not be a good thing for families who were thinking about adopting and for families who like us are already in the process and planning on that financial help at the end. Here is the latest and greatest news. Again this is taken word for word from another blog. They seem to understand it better than I do, and are able to word it better.

"There is good news for newly adoptive families from the health care bill that was signed into law on the 23rd. The adoption tax credit has been extended until the end of 2011 and increased from $12,170 to $13,170 for adoptions occurring after January 1, 2010 (it's retroactive). Even better, the credit is now refundable.


REFUNDABLE MEANS THAT YOU ACTUALLY GET PAID BACK BY THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE FIRST $13,170 OF YOUR ADOPTION!!!!

USA Today's brief analysis:

"Taxpayers who adopt children: Effective in 2010, the bill makes the adoption credit refundable, increases the credit by $1,000 and extends the increased adoption credit through 2011."http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/2010-03-23-health-care-taxpayers_N.htm"


We praise God for this good news!!! He continues to take care of us and carry us through this process. When we first began this process I had no idea where the money would come from, but God is sooo good. Why am I surprised by this?

We are finally getting back to normal. Maia still is doing her breathing treatments every 4-5 hours, which means I get to have plenty of cuddle time with her. She sits perfectly as long as I have a movie on for her. As I sat and stared at her cute chubby cheeks, and long eyelashes, I realized that our little guy may not get to have cuddle time when he is a baby. Most of the time I am available to my kids when they need to be soothed from a boo boo, hugged for hurt feelings, or just kissed because I can't help it. Children who are born into an orphanage do not have these luxuries at their disposal. It does not mean their caregivers do not desire to give them hugs and kisses, it just means they only have so much time, and so many arms for so many children. I guess I am looking forward to giving him as much cuddle time as he will need. Like any woman who is pregnant and looking forward to meeting her baby, I too am looking forward to meeting our little man. I have the excitement of wondering what he will look like, but the anxiety of hoping he will love us and bond to us. I know all of these details are in God's hands, but sometimes I just can't help but wonder and even worry sometimes.

The News is In

We were unable to listen in to the conference call on both days. It was driving me crazy to not know what this "big" change was. I decided to look on someone elses blog and this is what I found. I am taking these words directly from another person's blog.

"We now must travel to Ethiopia twice. Yes. Two trips. There have been families that traveled to Ethiopia to pick up their child and then basically revoked their contract and wound up not adopting the kiddo. Can you believe that?! I don't see how anyone could do that... Anyway, this new policy is to help that to not happen.

How it worked before: You get a referral. You have a Power of Attorney who signs your adoption contract for you in Ethiopia when you accept your referral. Your case goes to court. After you pass court, travel arrangements are made and you go to Ethiopia and finally meet your child and bring him home.

How it will work now (or so we think so far): You get a referral. 2-3 weeks later you travel to Ethiopia and meet your child. You sign your adoption contract in person while in Ethiopia. You come home for about 8-12 weeks. During this time your case goes to court. After you pass court you travel just as you did before. "

This definitely adds to the amount of time from referral to homecoming. This also adds to the cost of adoption. Jason and I have begun to think about the best way to handle this. We are trusting God, and wil continue to keep this in His hands. There is nothing we can do to change this, so why worry. My only fear that I need to give to God is "How will I meet our peanut, and leave him in Africa?"

Conference Call today

We received an email on Monday inviting us to participate in a conference call for all Ethiopian families. There have been an few changes in the process due to some poor media on Ethiopian Adoptions. Please pray this does not affect our process too much. I am not allowed to give too much information. The email sent to us said that some of this should remain confidential until further notice.

I am headed to the doctors today to get required medical check ups for Alexa and Maia. It's amazing how every document has to be notarized. I am so thankful to our friend Crys who is willing to meet me at the doctor's office today to notarize our medical documents. Still paperchasing.......

PRAY

A few nights ago I was wide awake in bed from 2:00-4:00. At this time of night when there is nothing else to distract you from your own thoughts, my mind begins to go crazy. I think of so much. My thoughts last night ranged from, "Do I have snack for coffee break tomorrow?, Why am I not tired? Why does Alexa keep yelling my name?, I cannot believe Maia has not made a peep since 7:00. What else should we be doing for our adoption?, Will everything in Ethiopia remain stable so our adoption can continue?, Maybe I should read a book. Why does Alexa keep yelling my name?" After these thoughts raced in my mind for an hour or so, Maia decided to wake up. Instead of dealing with trying to get her back to sleep I just got up with her and sat on the couch for a bit. As my eyes wandered around they became fixed on the word PRAY that is above my kitchen cabinets. I quickly realized that God had a sense of humor. So often I end the day and realize I did not take time out to kneel before Him in prayer. My excuse is almost always that it is not easy to find quiet time to pray when I have three munchkins running around. I think God taught me a lesson last night. If I cannot find time to put Him first during the day, He will make it possible for me during the night. Needless to say I put Maia back to bed and spent some time thanking God for His great idea. I thanked Him for the quiet time He provided for me and asked that He help me put Him first during the day. Why do I insist on trying to make it in life on my own? I am not capable of handling the pressures of life without Him. Thank you Lord for reminding me that you are with me and desire for me to seek you.

Surrender

The devil has been hard at work here at the Boersma home. However, do not worry, he has not distracted us from our calling and our dependence on God. Last week our toilet broke and ruined our bathroom floor in the basement. I am so thankful to my brother who came over and fixed it. He is always helping us out of our plumbing problems. Our next step will be to find cheap flooring to replace the ruined. In addition to the toilet, our van needed a new battery. Not a huge expense, but one that was not exactly welcomed. If this was not enough, yesterday Jason was on the phone with our bank because our credit card number had been stolen and used in Florida. They had successfully charged almost $800.00. I am so thankful to Lake Michigan Credit Union for closing our account when a few of the transactions were declined. The devil may feel that he has stressed us out, but through all of this I felt such a peace. I know that God is incontrol. If this would have happened at the beginning of this process, my reaction may have been one of anxiety. God is definitely working on me. I have always struggled to surrender ALL to Him. Why do I feel the need to hold onto the things that I cannot control. It an odd sort of way I am thankful for the events of the past few weeks. I cannot honestly say that I have given ALL to Him, but I have definitely made great progress.

It is amazing how many people have commented on my blog that I have never met. Other families who adopt must be similar in the fact that they all look for other families who have blogs that are going through the adoption process. I admitted in one of my earlier posts that I am a blog stalker. I love to find blogs of families adopting from Ethiopia. I have learned so much from these families. I also am amazed how many of them are Christian families. Satan seems to use the internet all too often to get his work accomplished. We forget how it also can be such a great tool for our God to overcome the work of Satan. What a testimony this process can be to following God's leading even when it is scary and unknown. Thank you to all of you who follow our blog and continue to pray for us. Your prayers are felt daily.

He Knows My Name

Today in our church service we sang the song "He Knows My Name". These are the lyrics:

I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call

This song carried a different meaning for me than it had before we started the adoption process. I love the fact that even though our child may not exist yet, he is in God's hands. Even though we may not meet him until he is a bit older, God will never leave him. God already knows his name. I love this. What a peace this brings to a mother's heart. I am so thankful to belong to a God that knows our every thought, and sees each tear that falls. I would pray the parents of our child will know our Lord. I pray they too can have the peace that their child is forever in His hands.

We have had an interesting couple days in the Boersma house. It has been very quiet. My mom took Alexa and Maia home with her for a couple days because I was totally out of commission. I went to bed on Tuesday night with some pain in my neck and upper back. During the night I woke up and nudged Jason to let him know he had to put Maia's pacifier in. I was unable to move without extreme pain shooting through those areas. Jason ended up writing lesson plans and dropping them off at school at 4:00 am. I tried to sleep sitting straight up on the couch. Needless to say neither of us slept well. In the morning I was only able move in small increments, or my muscles would spasm. To make a long story short, after two trips to the chiropractor and one more tomorrow I am told my spine is messed up and needs major help. I guess I should have done my back physical therapy when I was told. I am feeling much better today. I had never been to a chiropractor, but they might have become my best friends. This did short stop to anything getting done for the adoption this week. I think we can finally get back on track.
Please pray for those families who have traveled to Haiti to pick up their children. Praise God that the government is trying to make the process go quickly in order to get these orphans a home.

Fairytopia or Ethiopia?

Yesterday Alexa was trying to choose which movie she wanted to watch. One of those was Fairytopia. She said, "I want Fairytopia because that is where my baby brother will come from." I realized that she was getting Fairytopia and Ethiopia mixed up. I will admit Fairytopia sounds like a much more glamorous place to travel to.

There is not much to update you about with our process. We are at a stand still until we receive our paperwork for the homestudy. I am spending most of my time talking with other families about thier adoption process. I am learning so much. I also spend much of my time watching You Tube videos about Ethiopia adoptions. Of course I am usually crying at the end of them.

Please continue to pray for the mother of our child. She may or may not be pregnant at this time. Pray for health, strength, and that she will know the God that is so present and powerful in our life. God is showing himself faithful in this process everyday. I am amazed at the support and encouragement we have already received.

Joys and Sorrows

I was so excited yesterday to find out that someone I had met through this process just received her referral. They had been waiting for a year. It's basically like having a baby but not being able to see, hold, hug, and take care of that baby. You receive a picture and some information about your child. This is their first child. He is only 4 weeks old. She said this is the youngest baby they have ever had. GOD IS SO GOOD! I couldn't stop thinking about their family the rest of the day. I asked her what her next steps were, and it sounded like more paper work (ugh), and then wait until they are given a travel date. Please pray that everything goes smoothly and they are able to bring their precious boy home soon.
Amid this excitement Jason and I were reminded of the devastation in Haiti. On 20/20 last night they were saying some people who have been in the adoption process for 3 years and were about to receive their children will maybe have to wait another two. There were so many documents lost in the rubble. This means there will be thousands more orphans, and the orphans who were going to have a family will need to wait. We need to pray for the orphans of Haiti. We need to pray that lost documents are found and children can be placed in families quickly. I know God is present in that country and he can turn around the corruption and devastation even in the midst of this awful tragedy. Why not pray big. Who are we to put limits on the power of God?

Our Conference Call

We had a 1/2 hour conference call with AGCI today. It's definitely a lot of material all thrown at you at once. Jason and I were a bit overwhelmed but realize this will not be the last time we feel this way. I am so thankful for a Christian organization and for the support and encouragement they have already given us. Our next step is to start some paperwork and then into the homestudy. They told us right now it is about a 12 month wait for a boy from Ethiopia. We thought that meant from the time our paperwork was finished, but she informed us it was from the time you start the process. Obviously there are many things that could cause it to be longer, but that definitely got my heart beating quickly. I am excited for that and a bit nervous at the same time.
Today I was on an African Name website, and started reading a few names to Jason. Alexa gave us her list of names she liked for a baby brother: Julie and Sally. I guess she has been surrounded by too many girls in her life, she can't even come up with boy names.

God's Peace

There are so many people adopting from Ethiopia in Grand Rapids! When people find out we are adopting from Ethiopia they all know someone else who is doing the same thing. This gives me such peace to know that there is such a great support system right here in Grand Rapids. If you know someone who has a similar blog, I would love to get their names and blog address. You can also pass our blog on to anyone who would benefit. I thank God for a peace that is beyond understanding in this process. He continually brings to mind Philippians 4:6-7, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

We have been accepted

I received a call yesterday that our application was accepted and we are able to begin the full process. I am not sure what that means. I do know that Jason and I have to have a 1/2 hour conference call with AGCI next week.
The girls have been very excited about this process. A few weeks ago I heard Gabbie in the monitor praying for God to give her a baby brother. Alexa asked, "Are we going to get a brother?"
Gabbie responds, "Yes mom and dad are going to adopt a baby brother for us." Alexa then asks, " Will we adopt him from church?" Gabbie says, "No he will come from a place far away."
Alexa says, "Oh."
I wish I could have pressed record on the monitor. Who wants to be the one to invent that cool baby gadget?