Waiting for Chloë

Family Picture

2010-04-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of updates. I've intentions to consolidate my Facebook posts into one long blog post. I'll edit them, add to them, etc.

Until then, here's our first family picture:

Facebook

2010-03-28T05:07:00.001-07:00

I am having a hard time updating this blog here. I have to update via email and that's just not working well for me. So, keep a lookout on Facebook for updates. I think most of you are friends and should be able to see the updates.

I can't upload pictures (files too big and the connection times out), sorry. I promise picture and video will go up as soon as possible when we make it back home.

The Eagle has landed

2010-03-27T12:49:00.001-07:00

I don't actually know if the Ethiopian Airlines 767 we took from DC to Addis Ababa is called the Eagle; in fact, I'm pretty sure it's probably, but the point is that, like the Apollo 11 Eagle, we've landed safely. The suite we are staying at is very nice. A bedroom, living room, kitchen, bath (with really hot shower, yay!) and plenty of room for us to be comfortable. And all for a very reasonable rate.We're just about to leave to go pick up our precious little Chloë and things couldn't be better.

We also received word first thing when we arrived that all the paperwork snafu from last week has been rectified and everything is a go. There should be no problem at all on Monday's Embassy date.

We're exhausted, as you could imagine. First, get Chloë, then out to exchange our USD into Ethiopian Birr, then back to the guest house to get situated, then sleep (if we Chloë will let us). Perhaps dinner in there somewhere.

Keep checking here for updates, pictures and possibly video during out stay.

That's all for know. We've something very important to do soon.

30 hours and counting

2010-03-24T13:46:00.001-07:00

Boy, do things move fast, or what? Wow.
We got both our senators on the issue we spoke about yesterday, and it paid off. They were able to get the addendum expedited (our request for expedition was initially rejected) and we picked it up today and FedEx'd it overnight for delivery in the National Visa Center tomorrow morning. Everything should be fine from here on out. Worst case scenario (or so we were told last night by the executive director/founder of our adoption agency) is that we might have to have a second trip to the embassy on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, not a big deal. And, now, that's likely not needed. Let's give a big "WHOOP WHOOP" for senators acting on the behalf of their constituents. Thank you Senators Hatch and Bennett! :)

Tonight we pack, double-check our lists, have a few celebratory drinks (which will also help calm our nerves and maybe allow a few hours of sleep), and check our lists one last time.
We received our in-country itinerary today. Every day has a travel excursion we can participate in (i.e. to museums, or to the government center, or to the largest open-air market in all of Africa), and dinner at traditional restaurants. We're travelling with 2 other families, who will be staying in the guest house as well.

We've been told the guest house has wireless internet, but we're a little skeptical of that. They also mentioned that there was a computer in the lobby for our use. Either way, keep your eyes on this blog as we intend to post at least one update from Addis Ababa. When we return, we'll change this to a "Living with Chloë" blog and will post our likely-to-be-nearly-infinite number of pictures, and probably some video.

Now is the time where we'd like to extend a big thank you (complete with hugs and kisses) to all of you for your continued support. Often it was a little comment, or an ear you let us bend, or a kind email. Even by reading these updates, you've connected with us and we appreciate it. It's been one helluva journey. 11 months from start to finish. Lots of late nights. Even more tears. Some yelling, our fair share of fear and frustration, lots of hope and anxiety. You've shared it all with us, and we thank you.

We know it will be worth it in the end, and we hope you stop by every now and again to check up on us and Chloë.

We love you,

Justin and Julee

57 hours

2010-03-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

We're just under two and a half days out.

You'd think the drama would be over, but not with this adoption. It's gonna go all the way until zero hour. Our adoption agency has seen to that.

On Monday, our US Embassy appointment in Addis Ababa for Monday the 29th was confirmed. We're set there, a big relief. But, last week we were told we needed to fill out an addendum to our immigration adoption paperwork (allowing us to bring an orphan into the US) saying that we're okay with adopting a 1 year old since we initially requested a baby under 6 months. This was something we were unaware was needed (and are still unsure why it's needed. We requested under 6 months, but didn't say anything about rejecting over 6 months...plus we were matched with Chloë back when she was only a month old). It certainly could've (correction: should've) been filled out anytime in the prior 6 months (hell, we officially accepted her when she was 7 months old, that seems like a perfect time to file such an addendum). But, we weren't informed of it until last week. Someone screwed the pooch. You'd think our files would be reviewed more often, or further out from travelling than a week.

The addendum needed to go to the Salt Lake immigration field office. It was overnight Friday and got there yesterday. It was requested to be expedited, but even that doesn't seem to be fast enough as things haven't progressed at all in a day, and now our adoption agency has contacted one of our senators for help.

We won't know if he'll be able to assist us in any meaningful way until this afternoon at the earliest, and likely not until tomorrow. I suppose we can only prepare as if we're flying out in two days and hope everything can get squared away between now and than. There's a pretty good possibility we'll be travelling to Ethiopia before anything gets resolved, and perhaps even land in Ethiopia before we'll know for sure if we're good to go. Julee's mom arrives tonight (she's staying with our dog so he won't have to be kenneled since he's so old now) and we're hoping it wasn't for naught.

The last time we were overjoyed about this thing was back in May when we were matched with her. It's been nothing but a nightmare since. Seems we still can't catch a break.

My guess is we get on that plane in two days. And will not really know if things are good to go until we land in Ethiopia. We can only hope that everything gets worked out and we're able to proceed, and not told to fly back home. That would be really bad.

Keep your eyes peeled on Saturday for any kind of international incident occurring in Addis Ababa. If you hear of something to do with an American couple misbehaving at the Addis Ababa airport that might just be us being told we need to fly back home.

The last weekend

2010-03-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

Some might be tempted to do as much as possible for their last childless weekend, and that's certainly a valid option. But, we've decided to do as little as possible, instead. Our thoughts are that we'll have the rest of our lives to do the things we like to do, and will eventually be able to even bring Chloë with us for most of that, but we won't have many weekends where we will be able to do nothing at all. And those truly are the best weekends, aren't they? Sleeping in, parking your butt on the couch and watching whatever ridiculousness is on HGTV or Food Network or TBS, and enjoying every wasted minute of it. Weekends of nothing, we will miss you.

T minus 106 hours.

Single Digits?

2010-03-16T18:58:00.001-07:00

Is it possible? Can it really be?

Yes, we are 9 days out. We leave Thursday evening. So, really we can't count Thursday. And the weekend doesn't count. So, it's really 6 days. Scary.

Of course, there has to be drama. We're scrambling to get last minute things (that we didn't know we needed to have, but which the new liaison in our adoption agency (oh, didn't we tell you that the one we had got fired last week? Of course!) says we should have to avoid any trouble...why didn't she tell us this 8 months ago?). Anyway, I'm trying to get a letter from my work saying I'm employed there still, which sounds easy but isn't when work for a huge pharmaceutical company and the home office is in California, etc. etc. Lots of paperwork to fill out. Plenty of worrying to do.

But, it's single digits. My stomach just cramped. I'm gonna go throw up now.

A Milestone

2010-03-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

We are now closer to having Chloë in our arms than we ever have been. Two weeks ago today we found out that our US Embassy date was incorrect and had been moved back 2 weeks. With that drama over, we are now, today, right now, closer to getting her than at any time before.

Each moment we are closer.

Even closer now.

And closer yet now.

And now.

T-minus 14 days

2010-03-11T11:52:00.000-08:00

Adoptions--especially international adoptions--are like navigating a mine field (one you have to pay for the privilege of traversing, no less). Some adoptions are such that not a single step lands on a mine and everything goes smoothly. These are rare. Others start out with an explosion from the very first step, then bombers start circling overhead, dropping their payload. Next, mortars from places unseen begin landing. It's a perilous journey. Some, and these are the true horror stories, have been nuked along the way; everything lost. Most adoptions fall somewhere in between, a few missteps, but generally mostly fluid.

Our adoption has been more of the what-else-can-go-wrong variety. Each step is difficult. More often than not we've landed on a mine. The mortars are bursting around us, sending blooms of dirt into the air, and we are vigilantly searching the skies for the Enola Gay. We've even had glimpses of her chugging over the horizon on occasion.

If it can happen, no matter how rare, it's happened to us. Yesterday, we dodged a bullet. The Ethiopian government has decided that they are going to require both parents to be present at the court date (instead of a liaison from the orphanage), which means parents will now need to travel twice. This new requirement is effective immediately. We missed this decree by one month. Phew. We feel so bad for those prospective parents who've been affected by this. I can't imagine another $4000 in costs just for flying out there. Plus time off work.

This new requirement is an attempt by the Ethiopian government to stop (or at least slow down) the number of parents who pass adoption court only to never come to pick up their children. I have no idea why people don't pick up their children, especially since the vast majority of the money has already been paid, but it happens, apparently, and often.

Today, we also received copies of the court decree declaring us legal parents of Chloë, as well as Chloë's passport and the contract between us and Ethiopia. The hard copies will come soon. This is all the documentation we've been waiting for. Everything is looking up.

We find out March 22nd if in fact we are 100% confirmed for our embassy date on the 29th. If so, and there should (SHOULD!) be very little reason why we aren't, then we fly out the 25th and finally get the beginning of the end on its way. We'll be keeping our eyes to the sky until the 22nd.

Birth Cerftificate

2010-03-08T12:13:00.000-08:00

We received a scan of Chloë's birth certificate by email today. We should receive the original in the mail sometime soon.
It turns out Chloë's birthday is actually April 6 and not April 7 as we were originally told. Not a big deal except this makes her one day older than we thought.
Also means she'll be visiting the doctor on her birthday. We arrive back home on the night of the 3rd, so we'll have two days back before it's her birthday. That week back will be crazy.

It's nice to finally have the birth certificate with Julee and I named as the parents. A little chilling, even. In 2 1/2 short weeks we'll have her. Finally.

A Child-Proofed House

2010-03-06T12:45:00.000-08:00

We hadn't gotten around to it during the long hold, but we finally child-proofed the house today. Cabinets and drawers secured, which is a serious pain in the ass (to both install and have to live with), electrical outlets plugged, furniture corners bumpered.

We lowered the crib today, too. When we first assembled it, we assumed we would be bringing home an infant (which we would have had all this drama not occurred). Now, she's a toddler and the mattress needed to be lowered.

Not so bad. It's nice to get into doing these things again. We assembled the crib last June. Seems like forever ago.

February Update

2010-03-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

Let's hope this is the last update we receive, but the February update (with two new pictures) just came in. It is the tenth such update we've received from them. Hard to believe it was ten months ago when we got matched with a beautiful, little month-old baby girl.

A little piece of sad news is that Chloë now has four teeth (two upper, two lower). We kinda wanted to be there when her teeth came in. There'll be others, I know, but the first is always the best. Oh well.

She sleeps through the night, eats well, and is crawling. She's looking so old now, too. She's a 4 month old in our minds, since those were the pictures we looked at the most. She'll be one week shy of her first birthday when we pick her up, three weeks from now. We're hoping we no longer have to rewind the countdown clock. T-minus 21 days. One more time.

Pictures:

And the saga continues

2010-02-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

It was two weeks from yesterday we were to fly out. Well, scrap that.

Because things have worked so smoothly from day one, we were due for just a little bump in the road, right?
Well, to add insult to injury, our embassy date was moved back 2 weeks to March 29th. We have no idea why. Not one. Of course, they tell us this less than 2 weeks before we fly out (we just found out). We will now fly out March 25th. I guess they figure if we're willing to wait 10 months, they'll be willing to wait another 2 weeks. The good news is we've been told this is final. It will not change again. YEAH RIGHT! Anyone willing to put even money bets on that one?

They also admonished that this is why we must make sure our plans are flexible. Yeah right. Because THAT'S possible. Yes, we've purchased refundable airline tickets, but refundable tickets still come with a hefty cancellation price. And that is just something we're going to have to absorb. Also, there's arranging things with work (FMLA for Jules, etc.) and the flights of others who are coming to visit. Sometimes, people just need to know when things are, and need time before they change. I suppose next time, we'll wait until the day we fly out to purchase our tickets and just hope nothing changes in the 2 days it takes to get to Ethiopia.

So many plans to change. So much more work to do.
At least we have two more weeks now to get it all done!

3 Weeks

2010-02-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

21 days from today we fly out. It's almost unbelievable.

To say we're excited it to put it mildly.

I got my third and final Hepatitis B vaccination today. Also picked up prescriptions for all sorts of stuff (just in case): a cream for scabies in Chloe has that, antibiotics for Julee and I, antibiotics for Chloe, and those pills that make flying just a little bit less terrifying (for me).

The amount of crap we have to bring just in case is boggling. Nix for lice, just in case. Pedialyte, just in case. The above antibiotics, and the scabies cream, decongestants, Benadryl, cold medicines, all just in case. We'll be a traveling pharmacy for crying out loud.

Anyway, just 3 weeks left. And weekends don't count right?

It's practically nothing.

Latest update

2010-02-14T23:23:00.000-08:00

We received Chloe's latest height and weight measurements. As of February 2, 2010, Chloe is 27.6 inches long and 20.7 pounds. She's not yet teething but has begun imitating sounds and babbles.

T minus 24 days.

Tickets, and two new photos

2010-02-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

We've purchased our plane tickets!

This all seems to final, now. Much more final than we thought it would ever be. It's both nice and scary. Calming and exhilarating. Strange.

I knew Ethiopia was far away from Salt Lake, what with it being 9 hours ahead of us and all, but does it really take THAT long to fly there? Layover in LA, then DC, then Rome, then final leg to Addis Ababa, for a total of about 36 hours travel time. Yikes. The way back is similar (except from DC to Atlanta and then back home) but with the extended layover in DC (for customs) it balloons to a 41 hour travel time. Nearly 2 full days. With a toddler. Who we just picked up. Talk about an adventure.

We just received new photos of Chloe taken last week. She's looking older. It's a little sad. Already sitting up. Hopefully she won't take her first step until we get her. Seems we'll be needing to get her a prom dress before too long.

Anyway, enjoy:

Phew!

2010-02-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

It's been a long 9 months. Long.

But, the hurdles have all been cleared and all the remains is a short sprint to the finish line.

In short, Chloe passed court today. We are now officially parents. It's surreal. It's exciting and wonderful and scary (a little) and we are so very happy.

Last night wasn't too bad. We stayed up as long as we could, then slept pretty soundly. We received an email this morning informing us that the court in Ethiopia ruled in our favor.

Next, we have an embassy date for March 15, where we will apply for a visa for Little Miss C. We will likely fly out of Utah on the 12th. We'll fly back home on the 19th.

Then, we can commence with the rest of our lives.

We don't know how many people read this blog. But, we do appreciate all of your support. It's been an arduous, and sometimes painful, 12 months, especially the last 9. There were times we didn't think this would happen. Times we were certain it wouldn't. Now that it has, we're unsure what to do with ourselves. For now, we're content just being happy and enjoying time with each other without stress and the specter of "the adoption" (dunh dunh dunh) hanging over our heads.

Thank you, all of you, for taking this journey with us.

Three Days

2010-01-30T10:30:00.000-08:00

We're cautiously optimistic that we'll pass court on the 2nd. Is this foolish? Perhaps, considering the way things have gone the last 10 months, but what else can we do? Anything else would just drive us crazy. As it stands, we're anxious and concerned. (Anyone want to put any money on how much--and by much, I mean little--sleep I get on Monday?)

Three days. We've been waiting for so long now, it seems almost comical to be worrying about three days.

We're hopeful.

We'll put up a post on Tuesday either way.

Some Clarification

2010-01-22T13:18:00.000-08:00

We finally found out why we didn't pass court back on the 18th.
And it just further proves the point that these adoptions are fickle (and that being a Barrett is often unfortunate).

It turns out that the family courts in Ethiopia have changed their rules--as courts are wont to do--but neglected to inform anyone of this change. This change required that a certain, specific document that the orphanages keep on premises be presented during their hearing. Since this document was never needed before (including just the week prior) our orphanage didn't bring the document--why would they? Our proxy pleaded for us to be allowed to pass since it would've been fine just last week. The judge said no (compassion and law rarely mix). Ergo, February 2nd.

But, the good news is this paper is all that is needed. Everything else was in order. The mother showed up and gave her testimony (which we worried some about). We should be good to go come the 2nd--fingers crossed.

Of course this happened to us. Nothing tragic, just more annoyance.

We've also heard a rumor that the courts are contemplating requiring the parents to be present during the court date, which would mean two trips for adopting parents, or one very long extended trip. We've dodged this bullet, at least.

Still no December update. We aren't receiving one, I suppose. If we do, we'll post the pictures.

And the saga continues

2010-01-18T08:21:00.000-08:00

You had to know that it wouldn't be that easy, right? It wouldn't be as easy as just scheduling a court date, and everything being in order, and us passing just like that, right?

Well, that's exactly the case. We did not pass court. I get a sense this happens all the time. I get a sense that all initial court dates fail, just on principle. Unfortunately for us, our court date has been rescheduled for 2 weeks. February 2nd. I don't know if this is typical, but it's what we were given. So, we now have two more weeks to wait.

I don't do well with anticipation and anxiousness. I slept just under 2 hours last night. I suppose the same will be true of February 1st. Good to know that I stayed up all night for nothing.

We haven't been given much information on why we didn't pass. Something about documents or whatever. Who knows. If, in fact, all initial court dates are failed, then there isn't any reason necessary. I do know a letter from the Ministry of Womens Affairs (MOWA) is required, and these letters are often not written by the time the court convenes (which really makes no sense, but two separate gov't agencies communicating effectively will never happen), so it's possible this is what the holdup was.

2 more weeks. In geologic time, it's nothing. To us, it'll be a near eternity!

January 18

2010-01-13T08:16:00.000-08:00

Five days. That's all we have left. Five days.

Our court date is set for January 18, and we're coming down the home stretch. It seems unreal, almost, like we're just waiting for some bad news to come down the pike; to have the rug pulled out from underneath us just one more time.

We've been freaking out a little, too, as we're getting close to the one year anniversary for some of our documents (most of which are only good for a year), and we're convinced they'll find something wrong at the court date (or the mother won't show...but don't get us started on that) and we'll have to start all over with the paperwork. So, we're trying to stay calm and positive.

Five days. We can do five days. It's been eight months since we were matched with Little Miss Chloe. Five days is nothing.

We just have to remember to exhale every now and again.

The last two pictures

2010-01-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

Well, we've caught ourselves up to the present time. There are only two more pictures left, from November's update (though the pictures were taken the first week of December). We have yet to received the December update on Chloe, so the two pictures below are the most recent. This is how she looked a little over a month ago.

As you can see, she looks quite a bit older. I'm not gonna lie, it was tough to see. She's a toddler already!

Enjoy.

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T17:19:00.001-08:00

Is 2010 the year? It's looking as if it will be, though we did say 2009 would be the year just this time last year. :)

Happy New Year to everyone out there. Please be safe and imbibe responsibly.

For your new year viewing pleasure, three pictures from October:

Video

2009-12-26T23:30:00.000-08:00

Well, here it is, the long-awaited 1 minute video of Chloe. Notice the adorable dimple. I know I keep mentioning it, but my god man it's so cute.

Watch for the laugh at the end.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Isn't she something?

Don't you just wanna hold her and squeeze her and love her? We can't wait for February to get here!

Thanks to Matt Larsen for taking this video. :)

More pictures soon.

Court Date!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

Merry, Merry Christmas everyone! We finally have our court date. January 18th. If all goes well in court, we will be heading to Africa to pick up Chloe the last weekend of February. This is better than any Christmas present that we could have possibly wished for and its less than 3 weeks away.

Justin was napping when I found out the amazing news so I ran upstairs and exclaimed, "We have a court date, January 18th"! Athough he was very happy, the adrenaline rush from being jerked awake left him a little perturbed.

We had a wonderful holiday. We opened gifts and had a delicious dinner, that Justin prepared of course. It was a beautiful day aside from the exciting news. We were very fortunate to have a day like today be the last time we celebrated the holiday with just the two of us.

We love you all and coudn't have gotten this far without your support. The end is in sight and hopeully there will be no more speed bumps on the way.

new measurables and pictures

2009-12-12T22:50:00.000-08:00

We got another update on Chloe. These are probably more likely the correct numbers on her height and weight. As of December 7:

Height: 24 inches

Weight: 15 pounds

It's encouraging to see that she's still a little girl. The longer this thing gets dragged out, the more it feels like we'll be adopting a teenager. There were two photos attached to this update, but they're embedded in a .pdf this time and I have no idea how to extract them, or if it's even possible to.

No news on the court date, yet. Hopefully, this week.

Until then, more pictures. From September:

Check out that dimple!

Next week, a short video.

Crib Mate Passes Court

2009-12-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

We got exciting news today regarding one of Chloe's crib mates and want to pass this news along to all of our blog followers. We have had the good fortune to meet, get to know and rely upon the adoptive families of Chloe's crib mates through the past difficult months. One of those families, Jenny and Mario, has just recieved the wonderful news that their child has passed court. This means that in Ehiopia's eyes, this child is now theirs. They should be traveling to pick up their daughter by mid January. This also gives us hope for Chloe to pass court as well. Each child's background is unique and it is difficult to say with certainty that if one child passes they all will. But, it does make that light at the end of the tunnel just a little brighter.

Things are moving!

And congratulations Jenny and Mario! We're so happy for you.

Another milestone reached

2009-12-01T17:44:00.000-08:00

Well, today we finally (finally!) received the CPR (Child Profile Report) that we were waiting for. We signed it, had it notarized, and will send it off tomorrow morning. This will set into motion our receiving a court date for early next year. The sooner they ask for (and obtain) the court date, the sooner we fly out. Look as if best-case scenario is for a late February fly out. We hope so.

We learned of the particulars of Chloe's case, which we'll keep private but were interesting nonetheless, and which we were hoping we'd find out about.

We also got the latest vitals (as of October 14):

She is 67 cm long (~26 inches).

She is 6.3 kg (~14 lbs).

She rolls over, elevates her chest when prone, and babbles. All good signs.

Everything in her blood work was normal.

So, good news. Everything seems to be taking longer than normal for us. Oh well. It'll make the acquisition of her that much sweeter.

More pictures later this week.

Pictures from September

2009-11-30T16:52:00.000-08:00

Our friends, Hosho and Gina, have left for home after a wonderful visit for Thanksgiving. Our other friends, Josh and Laura (and their two wonderful sons), who we have known for nearly 10 years, have moved away to Chicago this weekend.

It's melancholy around here. The Christmas lights and tree have been put up to help lighten the mood around here. In that vein, here are some pictures of Chloe from September:

Look at those huge eyes. What a beautiful girl.

More pictures soon. Also, a video.

August photos

2009-11-22T18:30:00.000-08:00

We received the November update for Chloe from the adoption agency a few days ago. This one came with only three photos and no medical information (weight, height, milestones met, etc.). Oh well, we'll just have to assume everything is okay. We'll post these new photos (taken on October 30th) in a few weeks.

But first, the two August photos we have:

Next week we'll put up the September photographs. There are 14 from that month. We'll split it into two posts, and we'll also post the video we got from that same time.

Pictures from July, Part Two

2009-11-12T14:29:00.000-08:00

I promised more pictures from July, so here are the rest:

We'll post the pictures we received in August soon, plus a very special link to a video of our girl where you can hear her giggle.

Oh, and the little yellow duck toy is the very one we bought for her (and had a post about) earlier in the year. Same with the little toy in the first picture.

Hairy

2009-11-10T23:22:00.000-08:00

In July, in the thick of the morass, I decided I needed something to mark the passage of time, like the tick marks in a convict's jail cell or the rings of a tree. We weren't sure at the time what would come of our match with Rodas—would we get to keep her, would we have to move on to another match, would this drag on indefinitely? The only two things we were certain of were that uncertainty was guaranteed, and time would eventually bring about an end to it—whatever that happened to be.

So, I came upon the idea of neither cutting my hair nor shaving. I figured we would then have a visual record of what kind of time had passed. It is now the first week of November and it has been since the first week of July when I last shaved. Four months. My last haircut was probably sometime in late May. I now look like a wild man. (I've actually been told throughout this by various folks that I look like Fidel Castro, Rasputin, Jim Bridger, The Unabomber, Yusuf Islam, and a younger Walt Whitman. Thanks, guys!) The beard hasn't been trimmed (Julee won't let me lest it brings back the bad luck) and my hair has curled up something crazy, but I think it looks okay considering.

The idea was that it would only last until we got her release and then I would shave and get a haircut. Well, we got that, but it turns out I like the beard and so does Julee. And I like the long hair. And, now that we have to sweat out the mother appearing in court, I'm not touching a hair on either to keep the run of luck with us. I have to shave before we fly out because I'm clean shaven in my passport photo (and flying overseas with a crazy beard probably isn't a good idea). I might keep the long hair, though.

In more important news, here are five of the July pictures of Chloe. The first three are the official adoption agency update pictures. The other two were taken by one of the adoption agency's workers on a visit to Ethiopia. You can see Chloe's adorable dimple in some of them.

More July pictures soon.

Funny

2009-11-06T23:55:00.000-08:00

It's funny (not haha funny but unfortunate funny) that whenever anyone finds out that we are adopting they often use the words long, arduous, difficult, emotionally-draining, and torturous when they refer to the process itself followed by words like beautiful, selfless, wonderful, and amazing when referring to the act itself. It's both.

And why is it, exactly, that something described as selfless and wonderful needs to be so damn long and arduous? (not to mention expensive...but, we're not supposed to talk about the money aspect of all this, are we? That's off limits.) Is there no better way of doing this? I suppose not.

Anyway, it happened again today. Another person at my work heard through the grapevine (boy do I hate that grapevine, but that's for another day) that we were adopting and said it was a wonderful thing that we're doing, then wished me luck on the long and arduous process.

Thanks.

But, on a happier note, here's another picture of Chloe. From the June update when she was two and a half months old:

Don't you just want to grab her and squeeze her? You can see why getting these updates are bittersweet. It's great to see her, but painful to not be able to hold her. Soon, baby, soon. We're on our way soon.

More pictures later. July was a rich month for pictures. We'll post them in the next update.

A toast on this day

2009-11-03T17:05:00.001-08:00

We're sitting here sharing a bottle of wine, toasting to nothing, to everything. It's a good night, cool outside, the leaves not quite yellow not quite brown. It is the best night since we were matched with a little girl back in May because we received word today that that beautiful baby girl has received her release papers. This is the (almost) final major hurdle for us in our quest to bring her home.

So, what was going on? Some of you know, some don't, but here's the deal. Ethiopia is still not releasing abandoned babies for adoption (babies are classified as either abandoned or relinquished, the difference being whether or not a signature officially giving the baby up for adoption exists). Not very many people were in the position we were in, which was having been matched with an abandoned baby shortly before or during the investigation/ban that started back in June--the country is no longer matching abandoned babies with prospective parents. Since we were matched and unable to move forward we were stuck in limbo. The orphanage our little girl is at worked their asses off to find our baby's mother, and succeeded, despite the cultural taboos and odds. Not only did they find her, but they convinced her to sign a paper officially relinquishing her. This happened a few weeks ago. But, we still weren't in the clear. All the paperwork needed to be compiled and sent to the municipal authorities in order for the release to be given. Today, we received that release.

One of the previous posts mentioned a big decision was to be made by us. This decision was, assuming they couldn't find the mother, whether or not we continue on the same path with the same baby, or get a new match and "abandon" this one. It would've been impossible for us to do the latter. It would've been painful having to wait if we chose the former. Luckily, no decision was needed. We were lucky. Even more amazing is the fact that the 3 other babies who are cribmates of our daughter were in the same boat and all 3 mothers were found and signed the relinquishment paper. Amazing.

What next? We need to obtain the actual clearance form (called a CPR form, the irony not being lost on us), which we will sign and send back, where we officially accept her. After that, a court date (hopefully in late December, early January) will be set up for the Ethiopian courts to review all documentation, and when the gavel comes down she is ours for good. We will fly to Ethiopia about a month later to pick her up (hopefully February).
UPDATE: We just heard that one final hurdle remains. The mother of the baby MUST appear before the court to officially relinquish the baby during the above-mentioned court date. Seeing as how this is such a taboo in Ethiopia, this is definitely something to be concerned about. Here's to hoping she's willing to appear.

So, you might be asking yourself, "Who is this little girl you speak of?" Her name is Rodas, which we'll keep as her middle name. She is also a beautiful girl with dimples and a great giggly laugh (we know because we've been lucky to receive video of her from one of her cribmates' mother (thanks Jenny!) and from another person who traveled to pick up their own baby).

We promised pictures. So, without further ado, we present to you our precious Chloe Rodas Barrett:

These are the first pictures we were given of Rodas when we were matched with her, when she was only a month old. We will post more pictures in the future, and we promise to post more often now that we know she is ours and we finally have something to post about.

Thank you to all of you for your support throughout this. It's been trying, but we always knew it could be. Thanks for your patience in our lack of blogging. As you can imagine, we were drained and didn't always feel like talking about it. It was too emotional for us at times. We're happy to finally be on the last lap. Our legs are tired and our arms are tired, and we can see the finish line.

news soon

2009-10-19T19:52:00.001-07:00

It's been a while, we know.

We said we had a week before we had to make a decision. Things have changed. They always do in these things. We will hopefully have some news very soon. We are waiting on a few formalities to be cleared up.

Soon. We promise.

What's going on, you ask?

2009-09-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

Well, a whole lot of nothing good...and a whole lot of potentially bad.

Without going into too many specifics--because we're really not in the mood to get specific here--there might be a big decision we will have to make next week. This decision is in regards to whether we continue along the track we are on (with the beautiful little girl we've been "matched" with) or switch tracks and accept another match. This is not a decision that will be made lightly, as one will require the abandonment of a baby that has already been abandoned (and who can do that, really?) and the other will require resolve and the potential for waiting many months for things to clear up, if they ever do (and if they end up not resolving, that would put us right back here except a bunch of months having been wasted).

The reasons this decision has to be made are many, and it's not the proper time to discuss this, though it will be discussed (believe you me). Let's just say we have found ourselves in the morass that is international adoption. It's a common story.

But, who suffers most in this chess match played by the adults? The babies; the beautiful little girls and boys in orphanages around the world suffer, and are neglected, and die without love because adults feel the need to use them as pawns in their political and nationalistic machinations and power struggles. It's a lose-lose situation, except for those who receive the considerable monies that change hands; for them it's pure W-I-N!

This is where we are at. The same place we've been since May, when we were first matched with that beautiful one-month old. She's 5 and a half months old now, and there's no end in sight. We are in adoption purgatory and there isn't even the courtesy of a few magazines to read while we wait.........................

Christmas looms

2009-09-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

For the first time in our lives we are not looking forward to the holidays.

Will our little girl ever come home?

2009-09-01T19:21:00.001-07:00

Inoculated for Yellow fever, Polio, Hep A, Hep B and Typhus.......$800.00

Finding out that you don't have a criminal background with the FBI......$120.00

Having a social worker come into your home and ask invasive questions about your marriage....$1500.00

Having your adoption agency get off of their ass and find out where the hell our police clearance papers are, which would lead to a letter from the Ministry of Women's Affairs which would lead to a court date which would lead to bringing our baby girl home.......Apparently there's no bribe big enough!

It's so painful

2009-08-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

We finally received the photo that belonged with July's update (which we spoke about in the last post), and it's the best photo of Chloe we've received. In all the other photos we have of her she looks scared or angry (as you'll see when we post them...which will be soon, hopefully), but in this new one she's happy and smiling (with her tongue sticking out) and it turns out she has the most adorable little dimple in her left cheek. It's good to see her happy.

But, it's so painful to see these, knowing it's at least 2 months before we can be there to pick her up (and likely 3). It's harder and harder each day. It feels as if the day we travel out there keep retreating a day with each day's passing; like we're standing still. One step forward, one step back.

July Update

2009-08-13T19:41:00.000-07:00

It's August, already, moron.

I know, I know; but we never received the July update from our agency. We got it today, finally, and as of July 24, our beautiful, little Chloe was 3 months and 22 days old; she was 57cm long (approx. 22 inches) and 6kg (just over 13 pounds). Her head circumference was 35cm, too, (approx. 14 inches) though I have no idea if this is normal or not. She appears to be normal.

One thing I find worth mentioning is that I was nearly the same size she is now when I was born. Granted, I was a humongous baby.

On the update, we read that she sleeps through the night without waking up unless she wants a bottle or has "diaper discomfort". :) She also naps after every meal, so she's already starting to resemble her future father!

"She drinks milk whenever she wants to drink" was written under EATING HABITS, but I'm not sure what this means, really. I take it as being good. Nothing has changed medically, and she's not on any medications. Both good.

All social, movement, vision and hearing milestones she should've had were met. Of course, this is both good and bad news for us. Good, in that she appears to be healthy and is growing as she should; bad, in that we have missed yet more milestones.

I suppose as long as we don't receive an update that says she's learning how to drive, or has taken the SAT, right?

Formula

2009-08-10T18:23:00.000-07:00

We, as almost-parents, are expected to send formula over to our near-daughter. We're happy to do it, of course, but the only way we can actually manage it is to ask someone traveling to Ethiopia to pick up their child(ren) to bring some formula with them, from us, for our quasi-kid.

Julee was given a list of emails of folks traveling over later this month, and the first person she emailed just so happens to live 20 minutes away. Small world. Turns out at least two other couples from Utah are going through the same adoption agency.

We've asked this couple to also take some pictures of our psuedo-baby if they would be so kind. They said they would be happy to. :)

Though we've not looked at the pictures much lately (you know, trying to not get too attached to her just yet in case something unmentionable should happen and we weren't able to....you know...), we still like seeing new pictures of her. Soon, hopefully soon, we'll get this blasted police clearance and we'll be able to officially accept her in court...then, we will post these lovely pictures of our beautiful soon-girl.

still with the waiting

2009-08-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

So what is it exactly that we are waiting for? Why haven't the pictures of this beautiful baby been posted on this blog?

Well, we're waiting for official release papers from the police in Addis Ababa. This release will allow us to officially accept baby Chloe in Family Court in Ethiopia and begin the process to adopt her; however, we still not received this release. It's been since the first week of May, when baby Chloe was 1 month old, and still nothing. To say we are perturbed is mild. But, there's really little we can do but keep calling our adoption agency, and hope they keep calling their liaison, whereupon she will put the screws to her people, etc.

On a positive note, our soon-to-be daughter has three cribmates, the parents of whom we've recently been in contact with. These three families seem very kind and are interested in keeping in contact throughout our children's lives. So, I suppose some kind of cribmate reunion (or several) will be in our future. I think this is a great idea and will help all four cribmates keep in touch with a part of their pasts.

Hopefully, pictures soon. Once we get those papers, she's as good as ours and the pictures will be posted. We can't wait to show her to you!

dead arms

2009-08-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

We got our immunizations today for our travel to Ethiopia. We won't be traveling for months yet (likely November or December) but these need to be obtained ahead of time. So, we're both sitting here with dead arms, especially the right one. We can't lift our right arm above the shoulder, and typing this is harder than I thought it would be.

When we were at the doctor's office getting the shots, and finding out about the risks of each vaccination (especially Yellow Fever, which can cause Yellow Fever in a very small percentage of those who get the vaccination...which means, death, of course), we invariably had to update our doctor on the status of the adoption, going over all the information we have (the investigation, the ban, the lifting of the ban, the waiting on the police release (to come in another post soon), the waiting, the waiting, even more waiting yet). Driving back to work, I thought more about the future and having Chloe and what it will be like (or what I hope it will be like), and the strangest pang above my stomach and below my lungs came to me. It's an eagerness; a yearning; a pining, even. We both want her here so bad; to hold her and have her fall asleep in our arms; to listen to her sleeping (we have been told she's a snorer); to get the rest of our lives as a family started.

But, now, instead, we have the pain of the vaccinations (5 in total for each of us: Hep A and B, Typhoid Fever, Yellow Fever, and Polio...my god, Polio!!!). We take this pain knowing each throb is necessary, and brings us one step closer to having this thing come to an end.

The beginning of the end

2009-07-28T18:25:00.000-07:00

Justin here.

You're probably wondering why this place has been so damn quiet. Good question.

Usually no news is good news, but it can just as likely be bad news. Today we have mostly good news:

The investigation is over. Nothing suspicious was found. The by we have been matched with (who is ridiculously adorable, more on that later) is ours. We are now merely awaiting a court date where we can officially accept her and become her parents in legality.

We have many pictures of her, but are loath just yet to post them. We promise we will release them soon (when we are able to pass the family court and officially accept her). We are hoping (and expecting) this to happen later next month some time. If it doesn't happen by the end of August, we'll have to wait until October, which will put off our trip to Ethiopia to pick her until November at the earliest. {update: we're now hearing that it WILL be October before we can accept her legally, and were given the indefinite date of "by Christmas" for when we'll have our little one home. Things happen fast, and change even faster. That would put her at around seven months old. A few months older than we'd hoped, but still within that critical nine month old window we've heard so much about: apparently, most of the issues of adopting a child (bonding, behavior, etc.) occur in children adopted after nine months old; before that, and it's usually much easier to bond and they have fewer problems.}

So, sorry for the silence. Julee or I will both do our best to update this blog a little more regularly. Things got a little dicey there for a bit, and we were a little scared we might've become a statistic and lost all hope (not to mention the money). But, things are looking up.

On another good note, our beautiful little girl shares a crib with three other beautiful little girls and we've come into contact with one of the families who will adopt one of these cribmates. They live in Italy. We hope to keep in contact with them (and the other families) throughout the years. Maybe a reunion one day. Who knows. It's all so exciting.

We also begin our vaccinations next week. This is the beginning of the end. I have a feeling things will start snowballing where before we know it we'll find ourselves on a plane in the middle of the Atlantic on our way to DC from Paris, with a baby girl in tow, wondering exactly how it is we got where we are.

Until then...

Sorry its been so long

2009-06-26T21:33:00.001-07:00

We've been waiting on the outcome of an investigation regarding abandonment cases in Ethiopia which begain 04 May. The investigation is complete but the results have not been released yet. We will not know for sure for another couple of weeks. The investigation was spurred by an increase in abandonment cases in Ethiopia. The government wanted to be sure that all papework and procedures regarding these cases were being handled appropriately. This investigation was affecting adoptions in America and Europe. The courts are not hearing any adoption cases until the investigation is complete. Needless to say, this has created a huge backlog. We still aren't sure how this will affect our travel time. In addition, we haven't been able to officially accept our match yet but hopefully soon. For awhile, we weren't sure if the little girl we were matched with would in fact stay our match. Until we hear the results of the investigation, we still will not know for sure, but its looking more and more like she will stay with us. Rumors from other blogs state that the investigation found that all cases were handled correctly and no issues or problems were found, but like I said, we will not hear the results until maybe the end of next week.

Our contact from the adoption agency in Atlanta is traveling to Ethiopia next week. We have sent some gifts to her in hopes that she can bring them to our little girl. We also hope that she is able to get pictures of our little girl with her new toys.

This last month and a half have been difficult. But we hope to hear some good news soon. See below for pictures of the toys sent to Chloe.

Its a match!

2009-05-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone:

We actually got a match last week and she is adorable. There are still some particulars to sort through so I will not post her pictures just yet. There is a little bit of red tape we are currently having to negotiate through before our family is finalized.

She is adorable though and we can't wait for everyone to see how beautiful she is. We probably will not travel to pick her up until later this fall. In celebration of her referral to us, we registered at Babies R Us. Hopefully she likes the stuff we picked out.

Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

Love, Us

approval

2009-05-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone:

Today we received our I-600A approval. This is the petition we filled out for adopting an orphan and for which we had to get our biometrics taken. We received our approval letter today which stated we are suitable and appropriate parents to adopt and care for an orphan.

Very exciting and a tiny bit of progression.

That's all for now,
Us

2009-04-21T18:54:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone:

Our paperwork was sent to Ethiopia today! Things are getting closer!

2009-04-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

We got our biometrics done. It took all of 10 minutes and it just consists of fingerprinting. They had my name misspelled on my appointment sheet but hopefully the adoption agency we are working with will be able to clear that up with a contact they have at the division of homeland security.

With all of the fingerprinting and background checks we've had performed, there is no way someone wouldn't be able to track us down now.

2009-04-08T16:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some more updates.

The agency in Atlanta, who serves as a liason between the agency in Utah and Ethiopia, is sending our documents to Washington D.C. for authentication. This will take about a week. The documents then get sent back to Atlanta. Atlanta will then send them to Ethiopia.

We're making progress!

2009-04-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

We've received our appointment from The Division of Homeland Security to get our biometrics done. They gave us 17 Apr at 8am. Its kind of annoying that its in the morning during a workday but as long as we can get it done.

That's all for now,
Us

2009-03-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone:

Still nothing new. The form that we sent in to the Division of Homeland Security was returned to us. Looks as though they do not take personal checks and we should have sent in a cashier's check or money order. We got the cashier's check and sent it back in. Hopefully no more hiccups.

We haven't heard anything more about our other paperwork.

We wanted to thank everyone for what they have done for us so far. Kristen and Travis for the crib and rocker, my Mom for the stroller and car seat, Shanty and Jason for the gift card which bought a pak n' play, Laura for help, advice, toys, baby monitor, etc., Gina, Hosho and the dogs for the little tent and the chair that attaches to a dining table. We know there will be others helping in the future but we wanted to let everyone know how much we appreciate what they have given us. We also appreciate all those who give us support daily and are there when we need them. You all have made this process easy.

2009-03-19T18:13:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone:

Just wanted to let you know that as far as we know, our paperwork is still in Atlanta. We did get our other paperwork into the Department of Homeland Security and are waiting to hear back from them about getting our biometrics done.

We've received our stroller in the mail and registered on a website, babyage. We've now entered the long waiting period. Hoepfully we'll know hold old she will be soon and can add clothes to the registry.

That's all for now,
Julee

Getting exciting!

2009-03-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

It seems as though all of our paperwork, so far, looks good. It now has to go to D.C. We will see what they think of our paperwork. If they like it, they send it to Ethiopia, hopefully they'll like it too. Apparently, they put us on a referral list when we sent in our application back in November. This way, once our paperwork is in and finalized they can immediately begin working on a match. Our contact at the adoption agency thinks that once Ethiopia receives our paperwork, this could possibly happen in 60 days. We'll see, there still could be hiccups along the way but if all went smoothly, we could be traveling to Africa at the end of the summer.

Today, we bought a pack n' play. We were pretty excited about it and it will match the stroller we want to get. The stroller was out of stock so we need to check back in a week or so. Justin particularly likes the stroller because the push handle can adjust upward for, what he refers to as, "normal sized people". In other words, people his height, not all of us shorties out there.

That's all for now.

Us

Waiting

2009-02-28T16:22:00.000-08:00

Here we are, waiting. All of our paperwork is in. We still have some misc. forms to fill out, but those will go to the government and not the adoption agency. We are also waiting for our home study to be written.

We are both excited about going to Africa and getting Chloe, but we know we will probably be waiting for awhile. This is the hardest part.

That's all for now.

Update

2009-02-02T19:22:00.000-08:00

Just to update everyone, not much new, but we should be submitting all of our paperwork this month.

We are also beginning to meet other couples around the Salt Lake Valley who have adopted from Ethiopia. At least this way our daughter will know other families like hers.

This weekend in Ikea, I bought a really cute, really long stuffed alligator. This way Chloe will like the gators from the very beginning.

Justin and I also tried an Ethiopian restaurant which was very delicious and we hope to make some recipes like this when Chloe gets older.

Love,
Us

Home study and parent manual

2009-01-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

Yes, we've finished the parenting manual. We now have a reference for when our child suffers from things such as pollution residuals, ADHD, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and speech disorders. If these things come our way, we have an idea of who to consult. It was rough but we got through it. Hopefully, if our child does have one of these issues, we will make it through that as well.

Yesterday, we had our last Home Study visit. It went very well and the lady assigned to us was very nice. She said she should have our evaluation written up by the end of February. We also want to finish gathering our Dossier documents so Wasatch International can give that a preliminary review. Things are going fast right now, but I know they will slow down soon and then we'll play the waiting game.

Will blog again soon,
J and J

Family Education Manual

2009-01-13T19:35:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone:

We have been diligently working on a family education manual. This is a 207 page document we need to digest containing numerous "thought-provoking" questions we need to have answered by this Saturday. Its tiring, but we are learning a lot. Definitely worth reading, just wish we had started sooner.

Just wanted to let you know what we we're up to. We have our second home study visit this Saturday and need to have this completed by then.

Us

Baby Bedding and Home Study

2009-01-12T15:16:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone:

I first want to say how appreciative we are for all of the kind thoughts everyone sent us on the day of and after our home study. We truly feel fortunate to have all of this wonderful support.

Home study went smoothly. She asked a bunch of personal questions which we answered honestly. She was very nice and made us both feel very much at ease. Round two will actually be this Saturday. It seems that right now things will be going very fast but once all of the paperwork is in, it will all come to a screeching stop and the waiting game begins. Typically there are three home study visits but ours mentioned that this second visit should do it and she should have the home study paperwork completed in February. Her purpose is to tell the story of us to the Ethiopian government, this is her main goal. Its also to decipher whether or not we will make fit parents.

Also this week we are going to try and complete our electronic parenting class. Our home study would like us to try and finish it by her next visit this Saturday. This is a huge packet of very personal questions whose intent are to push Justin and I into discussing how we want to be as parents in every aspect of rearing a child. This will be good, hard but good.

We still do not know how old Chloe will be when we get her but we are anxious to get her some University of Florida national championship apparel. Maybe next year when we go back to back.

Below are the long awaited baby bedding pictures. Nothing too exciting but I think its cute.

Thank you all again, and I will be sure to update everyone after our second home study visit.

Love,
us

Testing

2008-12-31T15:45:00.000-08:00

Hello:

Thought I would let you all know that Justin and I do not have HIV, hepatitis or syphilis. It appears the stint Justin spent in that Mexican prison had no ill affects on either of us.

All joking aside, I am still awaiting the crib set and accessories, they have not arrived as of yet. Home Study will hopefully begin in one week. We have gathered the majority of our paperwork, not much more to put together.

Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures soon of the decorated nursery.

Nursery Accessories

2008-12-24T14:34:00.000-08:00

Hello All:

I am very excited because I ordered the crib bedding for Chloe's room. We now have a color and theme for the room. The bedding is purple and pale yellow with dragonflies embroidered on it. It seems kind of silly, but for some reason I can't wait to get it all set up in there.

I also wanted to add a special note to Aunt Julee and Uncle Dave. Thank you so much for the Christmas money, you didn't have to do that, but, we did buy a dragonfly lamp and mobile with the money for the nursery. We'll have a picture posted when we get it set up so you can see it.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Love,
Us

Still Plugging Away

2008-12-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

We are still gathering paperwork. By the end of the week, we should have all of our reference letters. We had a little scare in that we thought the reference letters that were already completed and turned in had to be on special paper. Different paper than what they were typed on. Turned out this special paper, termed "bond" paper on the reference letter instructions, is actually just regular printer paper. We looked all over thinking it was resume paper and felt bad that our friends and family might have to buy this special paper. Oh well, all is well that ends well.

Not much else going on but thought I would send out an update.

Snow Day

2008-12-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I cleaned relentlessly last night only to have the home study person cancel on us, although, I do understand why. It is snowing like crazy today and its projected to keep it up for the next three days.

You will all be happy to hear that we are both tuberculosis free! The results of HIV, hepatitis and syphilis are still pending.

Justin got his passport completed today. Luckily it wasn't snowing too bad at the point that we left for that appointment.

One last thing, and this is specifically for Gina, the other night I was looking at crib sets on the internet and they actually have an Our Lady of Guadalupe crib set. Let me know when you have kids because that sunbitch could be all yours.

Dreaming

2008-12-09T19:51:00.000-08:00

Today, Justin told me that he had a dream that we had Chloe. She was one year old and had beautiful hair. He said in his dream, she had bonded to me and became completely attached. This made me smile all day long.

Tomorrow, we get our blood drawn to make sure we are disease free and this Saturday at 2 pm, we will have our first home study visit. Needless to say, I am very nervous and will be cleaning relentlessly Friday night. Luckily this didn't happen last Saturday as I was getting over food poisoning from an Iceberg hotdog which rendered me completely useless.

I want to let all of those know who have left comments on the blog or have even commented to me or Justin about it, that we really appreciate your support and for taking the time to share in this process with us. We love you all.

Home Study

2008-12-02T18:13:00.001-08:00

Well, it looks like home study will begin next Saturday. I'm a little nervous but who wouldn't love the Barretts. Who wouldn't want us to be their parents.

Also next week, we get to undergo testing for T.B., Syphilis, HIV and Hepatitis. All in all it will be a big week. In the midst of it all, we are also refinancing our house in order to put extra money aside for later.

Lots to do, including Christmas cards. We will update you on how our first home study visit went and what will be to come.

Preparation

2008-11-30T18:15:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone:

We are in the midst of preparing every document known to man, in duplicate and notarized, for the country of Ethiopia. Its coming along, slowly but surely.

A couple of nights ago, the t.v. show, 20/20, aired a terrifying piece on foreign adoption that scared me senseless. It showed the dark side of adoption when the kids lash back in such a way that parents end up terminating the adoption for being at their wit's end. Apparently this process is very similar to a divorce. It did seem that these adopted children were older when adopted and most seemed to be from Russia. Justin has researched and purchased several books, not only on adoption, but trans-racial adoption as well. We are going to do the best we can to equip ourselves with the necessary tools to not only be good parents, but good adoption parents. It definitely will not be easy.

We are going to be honest from the very beginning and do our best to create a loving bond as well as a relationship with openness and clear boundries. We also want to help her become successful in life through support and self esteem. We will constantly tell her how smart she is, how beautiful she is and how much we love her. This will not be very hard because it will all be true.

decorating the room

2008-11-18T16:52:00.001-08:00

Justin and I are still arguing on how to decorate the room. I still really want something aquatic and he wants anything but that. We haven't heard yet from the adoption agency what our next step is but it probably takes a little while to process our contracts and make sure our checks clear. Over the weekend we bought Chloe's first doll which also rattles. We also got a contoured changing mat to place on top of the used dresser we plan to buy second hand. I brought all of my childhood books up from the basement as well as some Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs figurines that my mom got from a McDonald's Happy Meal back in the 1980's.

Below are some pictures of Chloe's room before and after. We will continue to update the pictures of her room as we continue to decorate it.

2008-11-13T16:52:00.000-08:00

Hello:

Today we mailed in our contracts and home study agreement. Things are moving right along. We're thinking about painting Chloe's room purple. It seems to be the only color we can agree on. Pretty soon we'll be starting our parenting classes and interviews. This weekend we are going to start looking into accessorizing Chloe's room. Hopefully we'll be able to agree on something.

Will talk soon.

Nervous

2008-11-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone:

We've started to rearrange Chloe's room, which used to be the guest room, as well as start to get rid of things around the house that we don't use anymore and can give those things to charity. To those of you who know Justin pretty well, it should come as no surprise that he has been reluctant to get rid of any clothes, even t-shirts that haven't been worn in years.

We are both beginning to get nervous, not about the process, but about how our lives will change once Chloe arrives. Even more so, we are nervous about how Chloe's life will change when she comes to live with us. Adopting an Ethiopian child, bringing her to Utah and then having her raised by white parents will not be easy. We just need to make sure that we keep her in contact with support groups and ties to her African culture.

That's all for now.

Welcome

2008-11-08T12:41:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone and welcome to our journey as we wait for Chloe. Both Justin and I have come to a point in our life together where we want to start a family and we have decided to move forward with adoption.

Our application has already been approved by the adoption agency, Wasatch International, and we have secured a loan for the process. We decided to adopt from Ethiopia for a couple of reasons. Its a faster process than most of the other countries, including the United States. In addition, Ethiopia is one of the only countries which allows infant adoptions.

In the coming week we will be getting our contracts notarized and sent off, as well as setting up a home study. For those of you who do not know what a home study is, this is a series of interviews and classes that help prepare adopting parents for the journey ahead of them.

If all goes smoothly, we should have our baby by the end of summer 2009.

Please continue to visit our blog as we progress through the process.