I guess this is our official announcement to those of you who don't already know...we are adopting from Ethiopia. We are waiting for our home study to be approved and then will move on with the rest of our paperwork. Once that is completed, it is about a 12 month wait for a referral so we have a long way to go. We are very excited! We will fill you in with all the details as we go along.
Why are we adopting? Several reasons...and these are in no specific order. I have rheumatoid arthritis and although you can still have children with RA, you can't be on the drugs. We were told this when I was first diagnosed and decided quality of life for me and for Rich and Declan was most important. So, I started taking the drugs and am doing wonderfully. I have always wanted to adopt and have talked with Rich about this long before we had Declan. It was something we had planned on always doing, it just became something we are doing now. We also want to help. There are so many children in this world without parents, we feel we have a loving home to offer. I can't fail to mention that I had a student who was adopted. Their family showed me that adoption could be an amazing experience.
Why Ethiopia? Again, several reasons. Rich has a degree in International Affairs and concentrated in African studies. He has vast knowledge of Africa and an even bigger interest in the continent. He was drawn there immediately. We also were drawn to the immense numbers of orphans in Ethiopia, approximately 4 million due to disease, war, and famine. We felt it was where we were meant to go. And so we will....
This is truly an adventure for us and we are looking forward to all the ups and downs of this journey.
photo from www.flickr.com
