Thursday, April 24, 2008

Overwhelmed

I am hoping that its true that most 'expecting' parents feel overwhelmed at some point in their pregnancy. Today we got a package from the agency filled with papers to sign, forms that we need to have filled out and have notarized, stuff we need to do and to top it all off a fee schedule. None of this is new - we knew it was coming - but all of a sudden it seems like a mountain of work and a huge dose of reality. I keep telling myself that this is the fun part - this is the part we have control over. In a few months all this info will be in the hands of one government and then another and we will just have to sit back and wait for other people to make decisions that will affect the rest of our lives.

So mostly we just need to take a deep breath and make a list or two (if you know me - you will know that i am queen of the list makers) and get at it. Eyes on the prize -by the time we hold our baby in our arms we will have forgotten all about reference letters and appointments with the lawyer.

One exciting thing that happened this week is that we got signed up for the PRIDE training. It is a mandatory parenting course that all perspective adoptive parents in Ontario must take. This is a new requirement implemented just this year. Part of me thinks that anyone can have a baby - why are we penalized with this expensive course - but the other part is totally excited to learn about what it will be like to parent an adopted child. We have been reading some books that have shed some light on the topic but look forward to hearing 'real live people' talking about their experiences. Our presenter has adopted a child from Ethiopia so that is kind of cool.

So, this week it really feels like things are moving along. This whole adoption thing is happening. Wow. Pretty exciting.

bren

disclaimer: if you haven't noticed yet... i have a feeling that this blog will be a bit of an emotional outlet for me. My cousin Lorie will tell you that my (mostly) daily emails to her are a good therapy for me when i am going through 'stuff'. So... take it or leave it. I won't be offended if you find the emotional rantings of an 'expecting' mom to be a bit much to handle. Just remember poor Mike puts up with it all the time and loves me anyway! :) Oh - the other disclaimer I wanted to make is that i am a terrible speller and even worse when it comes to grammer - deal with it.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Addicted already?!

No - I am not really addicted - but thought i would talk about the adoption since that is the purpose of this whole thing.

Mike and I have been very happily married for 3 1/2 years (time flies) already!! We have been wanting to start a family and have decided adoption is the way for us. It was a huge step - and lots of decisions - international/domestic - what country? Boy/girl? what age? Lots to think about. We have decided to work with Imagine Adoption - an agency based in Cambridge. Their Ethiopian program seemed to fit us so we are going for it. We did not choose a gender - they will do that for us and have asked for an infant. Sheri (my sister) is trying to talk us into twins - but for now we think one baby is plenty to keep us busy!

At this point we are soon starting the home study. So we are at the very beginning of things. We are estimating that it will be 1- 1 1/2 years till we bring our baby home. Although - we have learned of 2 cases now where it only took 10 months from beginning till end.

Even though it will be a long road -we are prepared for that and are still excited!!!! It is sometimes hard to comprehend that we will be parents but we do have some time to let it all sink in.

So, there you have the basics of what is going on. I can let you know more specific details later.

Blog??

Well - here I am - who knew?! I never really payed too much attention to Blogs till we started thinking about adoption. Then I stumbled upon my first one and now I am addicted. It is so cool to read other people's stories. So if you really want to - you can read along. Not promising action packed excitement but you can stay tuned to what is happening during our adoption. You can pretty much expect that I (brenda) will be looking after this thing. I am sure Mike will add his 2 cents when he feels like it.

thx
bren