It's Official

OK, so there are actually two things that are OFFICIAL. Number one....I'm a terrible blogger. But you all knew that already, right.

Number two....I've officially started adoption number two for a waiting child. My dossier is almost complete. That's right people, it's almost ready. It seems SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO easy the second time around. I feel like I'm missing something. But nope. It's done. Just waiting on my doctor to send my medical form (she was getting it notarized on Friday), and then that's it. I also have to wait on my homestudy update. They can't officially finish the update until I get them the medical form. Then, once that is done, I send it in to INS to get a one time extension on my I-600A and ammend it to say two children instead of one (NOOOOO, I'm not adopting two more, I just need the I-600 to say two TOTAL. Sabah is one, daughter #2 will be two). Once that is done, I have to get re-fingerprinted as my fingerprints expired(whodah thunk a thing like fingerprints could expire). Then I can send my dossier to Ethiopia and officially get my referral. If all works out, I will be referred a 7 year old girl named H (this is all the info I will post for now). I can assure you, she is so sweet and very cute, and I can see her fitting in with Sabah and I and making us a family of three!!!

Anyway, I'm excited to have the dossier almost done and being that much closer to bringing H home, but I'm also very SCARED! I feel it in my heart that this is absolutely the right choice for my little family, but that doesn't keep my mind from being scared and going through all the "what ifs". I mean, what ifs can drive a person INSANE if you let them. I know it will be a challenge. A completely DIFFERENT challenge than bringing Sabah home. H speaks absolutely NO ENGLISH. NONE, NADA, ZIP. This will be one of the biggest challenges we will face together. I plan to start learning as much Amharic as I can, and I'm getting people lined up that I can call in emergencies when I need translators, but it will still be hard, and it DOES scare me. I also don't know H's background yet. I don't know why she is in an orphanage, how long she has been there, or even if she WANTS to be adopted and come to "America".

I have a lot of research and reading to do on older child adoptions. And even with all my fears and worries, I still go to bed at night, thinking of little H and praying to God asking if I'm doing the right thing. And sometimes, I actually want to hear a NO from him. But I don't. Every night, I still feel like this is the right thing for Sabah and I. Every night, I can imagine two little girls sleeping in the next room. Every night, all the what ifs from the day seem to disappear and I'm left with a calmness and a feeling that THIS is the path I should be taking. THIS is what is right for me. For Sabah. And for little H. So forward I go, and hopefully in a few months (maybe April/May) I'll be taking another trip back to Ethiopia to bring daughter number two home.

And with that, I leave you some pictures of Sabah and her cousins at Halloween (like I explained above...I'm a TERRIBLE blogger).
My Little Ladybug






Elijah the Boxer and Superman Ethan

Little Lamb Elizabeth