Nowhere in Sight

I spoke with sister yesterday.  I had to send her some money.  She is having difficult time getting the birth certificates and death certificate. She had to travel to Accra to get things moving but she didn't say at the end of it whether she had them or not.  I think we are at about 8 weeks of waiting for these documents.  Unfortunately,  the officials haven't been overly helpful even with the money she gave them.  She was quite upset about it all.  On top of that, the phone went dead and the line kept making a clicking sound.  With the bad connection and the accent, I couldn't understand the half of what she was saying.  I think my husband was snickering in the next room as I was yelling into the phone and saying, "Hello?  Hello?"  After the "conversation" my husband says, "Well, that went well."

I realize, through all this, it may well be into next year before we ever meet the girls.  And we still have to sit down with DH and discuss exactly what our plans are.  I just couldn't let sister travel all over for us and not have some funds to do so.   My mom is coming tomorrow  for a night and I am hoping that DH and I can go out for a date night and discuss some things.

Discerning

I am very excited because I found a bunch of Ghana adoption blogs.  I can't believe it has been a year since we started the whole adoption process.  There really isn't anything to update in our adoption process just that I am pregnant.  So, now we begin discerning.  We decided not to go ahead with it a few days ago but I had no peace with that decision.  So now I am praying and hoping and praying.  My husband needs a new job for his sanity.  One job he has found would actually come with a raise which would help ease the financial burden of doubling the size of our family. With three children added to our family, we will  need a new house and a new car. So we basically have to raise 7000 dollars to go ahead with the adoption financially.  How does one do that?  Of course, the easier choice is to say no to the adoption.  My husband is worried about me and rightfully so.  It is nice that he is considering my burden. Will I be able to handle going from one child to four with very little support network?  He works long hours.  The truth is we do have friends who have been super generous with their offers of support.  And I would have to call upon them.  I will have to be a little more resourceful and a little less concerned about how my house looks and what I cook for dinner.  I really believe that yes it will be hard but God will provide the grace as He has for so many other families.  Sister M said, "What you get will be your reward"  meaning L and T.  There are so many things that will have to happen to make this adoption possible, SO MANY.  There are SO MANY  obstacles. But I believe God would like us to go forward until the obstacle is insurmountable.  Then His Holy Will will be made crystal clear.

White Mother

Apparently, the dress I sent T. was "borrowed" by someone.  T. went after the person and earnestly asked her, "Give me back my dress.  Don't you know that my nasara mother sent that to me?"  So cute from a three year old.  Nasara means white.

Garage Sale #2

On the weekend, we had another garage sale to raise money for our adoption.  We raised $225.  We were pretty happy with that.  And plan to do another one when/if we get or court order.

We Got It

L. and T.'s father signed paperwork today without any problems or delays.  Apparently, he was very grateful that his daughters would be looked after. My contact told me that there is no need to panic about impending court order.  We still have a lot of time.  Still, it is pretty exciting to have that crucial piece of paperwork taken care of.

Exciting News

Today the authorities will travel to meet L and T's father and get the relinquishment papers.  I wonder what a father like that may think when he knows that someone wants his children. The money my SIL sent will be used for gas for travel and for their birth certificates. I am not sure where we are in the paper trail process but I am hoping we are coming to the end and we will have our court order soon.

A Great Post

If you have ever thought about adoption or wondered what motivates people to adopt or you just want to read one woman's christian perspective, then this is a must read. She is adopting her 5th child.  The child is 14 years old and weighs 14 pounds.                                                         http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2012/04/whatever-god.html