Thursday, January 10, 2013

Fear

Ever since adoptions in Russia by US citizens were banned, I have had this overwhelming sense of dread each time I log onto the US adoption website and see our country's name with a bright red alert notice next to it. My fear is that what happened in Russia and to our friends will happen to us as well.

About a year ago, God healed my heart of a lot of fear that had been growing inside me for years and years. It was all gone but suddenly I became very fearful every day and checking that website to make sure that nothing as drastic as Russia's decree was happening in our country.

FEAR IS NOT FROM GOD.

He does not want us to  feel afraid and many times even says in His word, "Do not be afraid." Fear is deadly and destructive. In fact, Luke 21:26 says that "men's hearts will fail them for fear." FAIL!!

I have been meditating on these verses a lot lately and hope that if you are fearful or afraid... of anything, you will hold onto these verses as well and remember that "God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

The Lord is my light and my salvation
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?   Psalm 27:1

say to those with fearful hearts,
    “Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
    he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
    he will come to save you.”   Isaiah 35:4

So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10

For I am the Lord your God
    who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
    I will help you.   Isaiah 41:13

Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
    I will bring your children from the east
    and gather you from the west.   Isaiah 43:5

... sense a pattern?? Looks like I should camp out in Isaiah for a while. :)

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”  Romans 8:15

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

The Adoption Process

Many people that are not familiar with the adoption process have many questions. What exactly do you have to do to adopt a child? This blog post is dedicated to give a general outline of what exactly the adoption process consists of. If you have any questions that I have failed to answer, please leave a comment below in the comment section or e-mail me, and I will answer them in an updated post. Please send me any questions you may have!

Step 1: You have decided to adopt! Some families already know the country that they want to adopt from, and some, like us, choose to adopt first and then decide on the country. Your first step is to decide which country you want to adopt from because the paperwork for each country is very different. To find out each country's adoption requirements, visit this website. It is regularly updated with information from each country and their adoption policies/procedures.

Step 2: Decide on an agency that you would like to use to help you with the process of adopting your child. Every agency has its own policies and procedures REGARDLESS of the country's policies and procedures, so you have to find an agency that works for you. It is probably easier to sign a contract with an agency that is in your local area, but sometimes that is not an option and you have to go with an out-of-state agency like we did. Our agency is actually based out of Portland, Oregon.

Steps 3 & 4: After you have decided on an agency, they will send you lots of paperwork to fill out and a list of documents that you need to gather, complete, send off for, etc. Here is a list of many of the documents that you will need:

- Letter to the orphanage
- Financial information
- State criminal clearance
- Letters of reference
- Letters from employer
- Medical forms
- Marriage certificate
- Birth certificate
- Power of attorney
- Passport photo sets
- Family pictures
- Home study report

A home study report is the report that a social worker completes after visiting your home and speaking with you about why you want to adopt, how you would care for a child, etc. This can be done through your adoption agency or through another agency. Alex and I have to use a local agency since obviously, a social worker isn't going to fly to see us from Oregon. :)

All of the documents above need to be notarized, state certified and then sent to Washington D.C. to be authenticated by the US Department of State and the consulate of whatever country you are adopting from. This can be very expensive, since each document costs about $5 to be state certified and $8 to be authenticated. The list of documents I gave above is not even all the documents required to make up your Dossier. Your Dossier is the complete set of all the documents required by your country.

Step 5: Mail your completed Dossier to the country you are adopting from to be translated into their language. Sometimes it is easy to forget that the people receiving your documents do not speak the same language as you. Translating these documents also comes with a fee.

Step 6: If the courts in your country accept your Dossier and find you qualified to adopt from their country, you will most likely be put on a waiting list for a referral. A referral is when they match you with a specific child that is available to be adopted. They will contact you with a referral once they have matched you with a child and you have a certain amount of time to look at a picture of the child and whatever information they have on that child to decide if your family would be a fit. The wait time for a referral can be anywhere from a few weeks to a few years, depending on the country, the sex of the child, the age of the child, availability of children, etc. There is no guaranteed time frame and many couples that we have talked to say that this waiting period is one of the toughest parts of the adoption process, before that child arrives to their new family.

Step 7: The next step is to travel to that country to meet your child and finalize the adoption. Some countries only require that you travel once, others you have to travel to multiple times. Some countries only require you to stay there a few days while others require you to stay a few months. All of that information can be found by clicking the link I posted above.

Obviously this is not everything that goes into adopting a child. There are parenting classes that you have to take, especially ones that teach you how to deal with many of the emotions that children being adopted are feeling and going through. There is trying to attach to your child and bond with them, and letting them know that you are not going to ever leave them. Adoption is a complicated and hard process but I believe that every child deserves a family that loves them. Alex and I aren't even that far into the process, but we ask for you to pray for us as we spend time praying for our future daughter and preparing our hearts and home for her arrival someday. As I spent this evening writing a letter to her orphanage, I couldn't help but be excited that God called us to this and has been working to prepare us for this (and future) moments for the past 23, 24 years. His plans are not our plans but we are willing to let our plans be His plans.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Pray for Russia

Please say a prayer for our friends, Josh and Courtney. They are in the process of adopting a little boy from Russia and as you've probably heard, Russia has stopped all adoptions with the United States for the time being. They met their little man a couple of weeks ago and are praying that they get to bring their son home. You can follow their adoption journey here. Please pray with me for their family and for all of the children in Russia who need loving families. Pray that the Russian government will end this ban so that more Americans can love on these kids.


Happy New Year!!

I hope that you are enjoying this first week of 2013. Boy, did 2012 fly by!! As I get older, time seems to pass by much more quickly than when I was a kid. I guess it's part of growing up! Here is a little recap of what 2012 had in store for my family.

{January}
I celebrated New Years in Jackson, TN with my best friend, Catherine!
Officially left my job at Steak 'n Shake after 4 1/2 years.
I began my first student teaching placement (4th grade) at LaGrange Elementary in Oldham Co!
Alex went to the Orange Bowl in Miami to cheer on the WV mountaineers!!

{February}
I participated in Fryberger with my ZTA sisters, and we came in 2nd PLACE along with best costume!!

{March}
I began my second teaching placement (3rd grade) at LaGrange Elementary!
Alex took a "guy trip" with his dad to ALASKA!!

{April}
Alex was promoted as General Manager of his OWN Finish Line store and moved to Ohio!
I finished student teaching and journeyed to Belize with many other UofL students to teach for 2 weeks!

{May}
I graduated from COLLEGE with my Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education!

{June}
Alex turned 24!
I was in one of my BEST FRIEND'S wedding!! Congratulations to Catherine and Russell Stanford!

{July}
We moved to Cold Spring, KY for Alex's job. No more long distance marriage!
Alex and I took a road trip to WYOMING as the first of our 50 states in 50 years goal!
We added another puppy into our family. Welcome to the family, Brooks!
Met Jana Kramer at her concert in Louisville. SO MUCH FUN!!
Alex and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary.

{August}
Joined The Bridge Community Church, just a mile down the street from where we live!
I got hired as a tutor for the Campbell Co. school district and as a substitute teacher in many other school districts!

{September}
Alex and I had a date night to see one of our American Idol favorites... Colton Dixon!
Went to the Reds vs. Dodgers game in Cincinnati with Alex and my dad.
Joined a small group at our new church and started making lovely friendships.
Alex and I officially decided that we were going to begin the process of adopting a little girl!

{October}
My mom, sister, Alex and I ran in our first 5K in Nashville! We raised over $700 for Mercy Ministries. Praise God!
I started coaching softball at Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, KY!

{November}
I celebrated my 23rd birthday!
Alex began playing indoor soccer at a local sports complex with a coworker.
We began paying back my student loans. :( :( 

{December}
Alex and I celebrated our 6th Christmas together in Louisville with my family.

{New Years Eve}
We celebrated with new friends from The Bridge (our new church in NKY) and had a blast getting to know other couples our age!