We are blessed with a beautiful view of the sunset from the back of our home. Sadly, each day at dusk I am usually so focused on the tasks at hand, that I do not consistently take in the site. Many times I am met by the vibrant colors during an unplanned glance out of our back windows. Each night it is beautiful, but some nights it is absolutely breath-taking. Pinks, oranges, and purples...
My soul longs for nature. When I stand on our back deck watching the day end...I can feel God. The experience is unquenchingly short-lived, but He is there in His creation. We all crave those times. Those brief experiences - standing by an ocean, listening to a river, stumbling upon wildflowers, feeling the crispness of beautiful fall day, beholding snow-covered mountains - those moments when our soul connects with how life was intended to be. The life that we were designed for before sin, decay and death. It is glimpse and then it is gone...even though our greatest yearning is to rest in the awe of God's creation for just a bit longer. I treasure these occasions. They are gifts from God - gifts that ease my fear, my doubt, and rescue me from the battle that life uses to attack my faith. It is fleeting, but for a few precious moments, there is peace in my soul.
We don't have much "big" news regarding our adoptions. We are currently finishing the final pieces of both our China and Ethiopia dossiers...or wrapping up the "paper-chase" as many people call it. Those familiar with adoption know the process well. For those who don't, some examples of required documents are: marriage certificates, birth certificates, income statements, home study, pictures, letters about why we wish to adopt from a particular country, immigration forms/approvals, fingerprints, medical reports, background checks, etc.
The process of compiling the Ethiopia paperwork has been about half of what it was for China. China is part of the Hague Convention which is why the requirements are much more stringent. The U.S. government has just given us pre-approval for adopting a foreign child (for China). We are working on similar requirements for Ethiopia. For China, all approvals must be in-hand before anything can be completed as many pieces are contingent upon one another...step A cannot be completed before step B, etc. The authentication of documents is also much more extensive for China as they require authentication at both the local and state levels. It is a bit mind-boggling. Ethiopia allows several aspects of the process to be going on simultaneously, which is one reason that the process is much easier and less confusing. Ethiopia also has fewer steps overall.
Both timelines can change frequently. Many people are asking us, "When?" This is an extremely difficult question to answer. We are hoping to travel to Ethiopia sometime in the 2009-2010 school year. It could be as late as a year from now...or as early as before Christmas 2009. China could be three years, but that is very likely to change. I am a planner, so this is quite a challenge for me. I used to think pregnancy was an exercise in "letting go, " but international adoption takes this concept to a completely different extreme.
I'll continue to post updates as we go....this is where we are for now.
