Still Plugging Away

Well...it has been a month since my last post. We have been extremely busy these past few weeks. We have nearly completed our dossier!!!! We had our home study visit on Friday and it went very smoothly. Our social worker said she will have our first draft to us within a couple of weeks. YAY! Andy had his biometrics done on Friday as well. I get mine done on June 8. Once the homestudy report is done I can send a copy to CIS. Then we wait for the I-171H to arrive. If it were me, I would have it all done now. I believe the Lord is teaching me patience. He is also teaching me to rest in Him and not get so uptight about it all. I finished my Hague training today. I just have to wait for the test results. Andy just needs to take his last test to be done. He also has to complete his workbook on Africa for the adoption agency. As of now, I have done all I can do. I just have to wait. I will take to more papers to the bank tomorrow for notarization, but then I am done. I can start the vaccination process, but I will probably wait until our dossier is in Ethiopia. I am getting really excited about the adoption though. My greatest concern is the financial burden it places on our family. We don't have $25,000 sitting in the bank. Andy and I have talked about ways to raise money. I think we are going to have a benefit this fall to help offset the costs. Some ideas I have had include a comedian, a band, a dinner, silent auction, etc. Our church has already offered their facilities for it. If you have any ideas, send them our way. I know the Lord will provide. He keeps opening doors and giving us confirmation that we are doing the right thing and pursuing His will for our family. Keep us in your prayers as we continue on this difficult journey to our daughter.

Andrea, Noah, and Nathan are doing well. Andrea keeps using the name Olivia in her story problems for school. Her sister is on her heart! Noah calls her "our little girl" which I think is precious. Nathan doesn't say much about it yet. I want to get some books on being a big brother. He just turned 3 on the 11th, so he is busy with all of his new toys. Andrea and Noah are finishing up soccer...finally. Most of the games have had to be postponed due to rain and storms. Noah is sooo funny. He graduated pre-k and since then he insists that he is already in kindergarten. He thinks he should go to school with Andrea now. Andrea constantly reminds him that it is after summer break. She is such a mother hen. God has been so good to me! I have such precious children with such tender hearts. Thank you Jesus!

Next Step in Process

To let you all know we are quickly on the road to finishing our part of the adoption journey. Yesterday we got all of our paperwork notarized for the dossier. YAY!!!! That was a huge relief. Now we are patiently waiting for our references to arrive. I am praying that will come quickly. I got my physical today for our homestudy. The kids get their TB tests on Friday and Monday. Andy gets his physical on Monday...then we are finished with the medical aspect for the dossier and home study. Medically, Andy and I will then have to get our vaccinations to travel. YUCK! The process is actually going smoothly. Andy and I began our Hague training last night. We completed the first video in the series of 4. Now we have to take the test on that segment. Andy was having trouble staying awake. The lady talking talked with her hands and was somewhat annoying at times. But, we are plugging away and getting it done. Pray that the Lord continues to give us direction in our paper collecting. We still have to get our police clearance checks. We might have trouble getting a notary to go with us, but we will get r done. I am ready to be done NOW...but it will happen in God's timing.

First Time Bloggers...Adoption Journey Begins

Yes...we are first time bloggers. We have decided to create this blog to chronicle our family adventures and to allow our friends and family follow our adoption journey. We have many hurdles to cross on this road, but the Lord has been faithful to us along the way.

We are the Cottongim Family. Andy is 34 and has just begun working for Renesas. It has been an adjustment since his office is now in the home. However, it does allow us to see him a little more. He enjoys camping, boating, hiking, hunting, and being with the family. Laura is 33 and a stay at home mom. She also teaches preschool to 3 and 4 year olds two mornings a week. She enjoys reading, camping, hiking, gardening, and being a homemaker. Andrea is 7 and in the first grade. She is a wonderful child who enjoys camping, playing outside, school, and much more. Noah is 5 and is a blast. He stays busy playing with his toys and outside. Nathan is almost 3 and is a fun loving kid. He LOVES to play outside and loves cars.

WHY ARE WE ADOPTING FROM ETHIOPIA?

Here are some statistics to really think about:
132 million children in the entire world have lost either one or both parents.
43.4 million of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa.
The poverty level in Ethiopia is 44 percent.
An average yearly income for a family is commonly $282-$1,440.
Only 36 percent of children attend a primary or secondary school.
Only 18 percent of all children reach grade 5.
77 out of every 1,000 neonatal births end in a fatality.
1 in 4 women will die in childbirth due to lack of medical care.
20 percent of Ethiopian children receive basic childhood immunizations.
80 percent do not.
One out of ten Ethiopian children will die before their first birthday.
One out of six Ethiopian children will die before their fifth birthday.

We are thrilled to begin this process. We sent our application in on March 22, 2009 to Families Thru International Adoption (FTIA). They are based in Evansville, IN. We have our first homestudy visit this weekend. So far, the process has been going very smoothly and relatively quickly. Even though we wish it were all done, we know it will be worth the effort when we have our little girl home.