Tell Me Why I'm Doing this Again?

It's a phrase Anna has said many times, though I'm not sure she realizes it.

When she was training for her first half-marathon and she was about to head out of the house to run 10 miles, she would say to me, "Now tell me why I'm doing this again." And I would remind her of the goals she had set and the feeling of finishing and she would feel better.

Or when we are having some friends over and she's feeling the stress of cleaning the house and cooking the meal, she'll say it. And I'll remind her about how we want to open our home to others and she'll relax and have a great time.

Or when we decided that every Tuesday was going to be daddy night (since I work so hard and provide so much for the family) and she let's me come home and veg out on the couch all night without acknowledging anyone, sometimes she'll get a little frustrated. She'll utter the famous words, I remind her of what a great man I am, and she lets me go back to the couch.

(Maybe I made the last one up, but you get the point)

So when you finally start the home study and dossier collection process, and the amount of information required is so large, they send it to you on a flash drive, it can feel a little overwhelming. Once or twice, I've thought "Tell me why I'm doing this again?"

When you look at it selfishly, you start thinking, "Hey, I'm trying to save an orphan here! Why do they need a copy of my birth certificate notarized and why do I have to answer all these questions from a social worker?" But quickly, you realize that all of these safeguards have been put in place for the child's best interest.

So, yes it's natural to think that sometimes, but we're plugging along. And we know why we're doing it. It also helps us realize this isn't a fairy tale either. We're going to add a real human to our family who'll need love and care for the rest of her life. And sometimes that isn't easy.

We've received so much support and encouragement from family and friends during this process. It's funny, most people just don't know what to say and they'll tell us "I just think what you are doing is so.... neat/great/etc." And it is, but it's so much more to us. It's listening to God's calling for our lives and acting on it. It can be scary/exciting/frustrating/rewarding all at the same time. We continue to solicit your prayers and support.

(I will say this. When you find out your 92 yr old Grandfather is proud of you and has been bragging about you to other folks at the assisted living center, suddenly I had allergies for the first time in my life and my eyes started watering. Can't explain it.)

In fact, we realized we haven't updated you guys in a while, so here are a few things that have happened since we last blogged...

• Since we announced that we plan to adopt, several other families have also made the decision. God is definitely moving in the University Church family and I don't think he's done yet. We've already told you about the Dixon's, but we're also happy for the Thrashers and the Davis'. Also, the Stricklands (no blog that I know of) and the Jenks (same) are involved in the adoption process as well.
• We have been accepted into the America World Ethiopia program...that's the good news
• Unfortunately they just announced that the average waiting time for a referral is 9 - 11 months for an infant girl from Ethiopia. Meaning, once we finish our dossier process (3-6 months) we'll have a little bit of a wait.
• We've also begun our home study with Lifeline Adoption Services out of Birmingham.
• On August 8, we will have a fundraiser for the adoption process by doing some general repair work to two widow's houses. If you'd like to help, please let us know.
• We've decided on a name - Olivia. We plan to keep her given Ethiopian name as her middle name. If, for some crazy reason, her first name is Newton-John, we'll rethink the name Olivia.

In all seriousness, we knew this would be a long journey. We're diligently working on the required paperwork and we're planning on being patient through the process.

To remind me "Why I'm Doing this Again", I have watched several videos on You Tube of other adoptions. I love this one in particular, because I can't wait to see the impact our adoption has on Riley, Walker and Owen. I have no doubt that they'll love their new sister unconditionally.

We'll update again soon with some more info, until then, we'll be sortin' through some paperwork......