Thursday, August 19, 2010
It's going out today!
I loved hearing those words today from our social worker. Our home study is on its way to us. Then we send our dossier to our agency. Wahoo! The wait before the wait is almost over. Then we just wait...
Monday, August 2, 2010
The Wait Before the Wait.
It has been a while since an adoption update. That is mostly because there is not a ton happening. We are currently waiting for our final piece of paper work for our home study to be complete.
All we are lacking is our FBI background check. So, other than that thing Shelley did when her name was not Shelley, when she was hanging with those people at that place when the deal went down and it happened, it is really just a formality. OK, so she has always been Shelley...she's clean.
From what we can tell we have about 4 more weeks to wait until we get a letter in the mail from the FBI saying, "No record found". At that point we will be able to have the home study approved and have our dossier ready.
I feel like this is just the wait before the wait. Once we send in the last bit of paper work then the real wait begins when we will have nothing to do but wait. Maybe this is just meant to be a test run wait?
We have been tossing around some name ideas. Since we do not have a preference between male or female, we are trying to come up with a name for each. James is pulling for Rumpelstiltskin or Pumpkin.
In the mean time we are referring to our new child as "Bean". That was our sister-in-law's, Christy, idea. Since we were drawn to Ethiopia through coffee, she thought "Bean" would be good. So we are going with "Bean", for now.
We do need for you all to continue to pray that God would prepare us for all that is to come. This is about a real life, not a process. So we want to be as ready as we can be to nurture a new life.
We also need you to continue to pray for the finances. We are in a good spot now. We have what we need for the next big chunk but there is still a bigger amount we will need in the future. Pray for our faith and faithfulness with our own money.
Thanks.
The Hunts.
All we are lacking is our FBI background check. So, other than that thing Shelley did when her name was not Shelley, when she was hanging with those people at that place when the deal went down and it happened, it is really just a formality. OK, so she has always been Shelley...she's clean.
From what we can tell we have about 4 more weeks to wait until we get a letter in the mail from the FBI saying, "No record found". At that point we will be able to have the home study approved and have our dossier ready.
I feel like this is just the wait before the wait. Once we send in the last bit of paper work then the real wait begins when we will have nothing to do but wait. Maybe this is just meant to be a test run wait?
We have been tossing around some name ideas. Since we do not have a preference between male or female, we are trying to come up with a name for each. James is pulling for Rumpelstiltskin or Pumpkin.
In the mean time we are referring to our new child as "Bean". That was our sister-in-law's, Christy, idea. Since we were drawn to Ethiopia through coffee, she thought "Bean" would be good. So we are going with "Bean", for now.
We do need for you all to continue to pray that God would prepare us for all that is to come. This is about a real life, not a process. So we want to be as ready as we can be to nurture a new life.
We also need you to continue to pray for the finances. We are in a good spot now. We have what we need for the next big chunk but there is still a bigger amount we will need in the future. Pray for our faith and faithfulness with our own money.
Thanks.
The Hunts.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Moo Moo
Eat More Chicken! Especially when it's free! The Hunts took part in Cow Appreciation Day at Chickfila on Friday. It was a fun time dressing up and getting to eat our favorite fast food FREE!
Our sweet friend Krystal joined us. It was fun to hang out and catch up with her.
Our sweet friend Krystal joined us. It was fun to hang out and catch up with her.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The 4th
We had a great time this past weekend with family. We did a lot of hanging out in Grammy's pool.
Emily loved it!
Playing with cousins
The boys being silly 
And on our way home we stopped at an Ethiopian restaurant. It was so good! Fun times!
Emily loved it!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
pictures of recent activity
This is Doro Wat, an Ethiopian dish Shelley cooked. It was part of an assignment in our workbook. It was really good.
This was when we were getting fingerprinted for our FBI background check.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Catching Up
It has been a while....
Part of the reason that we have not updated lately is because you would probably be bored by what we have been doing: fill out this form, notarize those forms, make that call, etc.
Though it is not the most exciting stuff in the world, we have made huge steps forward in our paper work. Our home study is almost done. The big hold up is that we have to have child protection background checks done on each of us from every state we have lived in. That is 6 for me and 5 for Shelley (did I say "fill out this form , notarize those forms?")
We have also completed our on-line training courses. They were actually really good. We are also working through a self guided workbook that covers all kinds of topics. One of the assignments we have is to cook and try Ethiopian food!
We have been cleared medically. We have been fingerprinted for the FBI.
There is so much to be praying through and preparing for as our family changes.
One of the things that we are experiencing in the process is a higher sensitivity to racial issues. Adopting from Ethiopia will obviously make us a trans racial family. We know that will come with social challenges and we are preparing for that. But it is also opening our eyes and ears to how much racism there is around us all. Even in a "Christian culture" we are hearing people say things that don't seem very Christian. It is really sad. I am reminded of what Paul wrote to in Galatians,
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are ALL one in Christ Jesus."
We are excited that the oneness in our family is going to look a little different.
Please continue to pray that we would be growing in love for our child.
Pray that God would continue to provide all that we need.
Pray for Emily and James as we try to help them prepare for a new brother/sister.
Pray for the millions and millions of orphans all over the world.
I will leave you with this sobering statistic that should challenge us all to do something about the orphans in the world. Everyday over 30,000 children die because of starvation or curable disease. Lets pray for that number to decrease and all be willing to be part of the answer to that prayer.
Part of the reason that we have not updated lately is because you would probably be bored by what we have been doing: fill out this form, notarize those forms, make that call, etc.
Though it is not the most exciting stuff in the world, we have made huge steps forward in our paper work. Our home study is almost done. The big hold up is that we have to have child protection background checks done on each of us from every state we have lived in. That is 6 for me and 5 for Shelley (did I say "fill out this form , notarize those forms?")
We have also completed our on-line training courses. They were actually really good. We are also working through a self guided workbook that covers all kinds of topics. One of the assignments we have is to cook and try Ethiopian food!
We have been cleared medically. We have been fingerprinted for the FBI.
There is so much to be praying through and preparing for as our family changes.
One of the things that we are experiencing in the process is a higher sensitivity to racial issues. Adopting from Ethiopia will obviously make us a trans racial family. We know that will come with social challenges and we are preparing for that. But it is also opening our eyes and ears to how much racism there is around us all. Even in a "Christian culture" we are hearing people say things that don't seem very Christian. It is really sad. I am reminded of what Paul wrote to in Galatians,
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are ALL one in Christ Jesus."
We are excited that the oneness in our family is going to look a little different.
Please continue to pray that we would be growing in love for our child.
Pray that God would continue to provide all that we need.
Pray for Emily and James as we try to help them prepare for a new brother/sister.
Pray for the millions and millions of orphans all over the world.
I will leave you with this sobering statistic that should challenge us all to do something about the orphans in the world. Everyday over 30,000 children die because of starvation or curable disease. Lets pray for that number to decrease and all be willing to be part of the answer to that prayer.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Home Study is Underway
We had our first home study meeting yesterday.
In my mind I had this built up to be an intimidating/they are out to get us kind of thing. I pictured a cold-hearted Nazi-like person coming into my house to prove that we are terrible people and that they may even take away the children we already have...not really. But, I was anxious.
It was actually really good. The lady who his walking with us through the home study is fantastic. She was extremely helpful and encouraging. We will meet with her a couple more times. As we go she has to gather information about our background (she is a certified investigator). We will fill out a bunch of forms, get our finger prints done, get references etc. It is a lot to do but each part is one step closer to the end or really the beginning...
On the fundraising front, we need to raise about $15,000 more. That sounds like a lot but God has provided so much already that it really doesn't seem like a big deal.
Here are some of the things that the remainder of the money will cover:
International Service Fee $4,500
Medical Tests $450
Document & Translation Fees $600
Airfare for 2 trips to Ethiopia $6,000 ($1,500 per person, per trip)
There are more things but this may help you know where all this money is headed.
We have seen God provide in amazing ways so far and are excited about how He is going to do it from here on.
Please continue to pray for us to love our child and that God would bring him/her home quickly.
In my mind I had this built up to be an intimidating/they are out to get us kind of thing. I pictured a cold-hearted Nazi-like person coming into my house to prove that we are terrible people and that they may even take away the children we already have...not really. But, I was anxious.
It was actually really good. The lady who his walking with us through the home study is fantastic. She was extremely helpful and encouraging. We will meet with her a couple more times. As we go she has to gather information about our background (she is a certified investigator). We will fill out a bunch of forms, get our finger prints done, get references etc. It is a lot to do but each part is one step closer to the end or really the beginning...
On the fundraising front, we need to raise about $15,000 more. That sounds like a lot but God has provided so much already that it really doesn't seem like a big deal.
Here are some of the things that the remainder of the money will cover:
International Service Fee $4,500
Medical Tests $450
Document & Translation Fees $600
Airfare for 2 trips to Ethiopia $6,000 ($1,500 per person, per trip)
There are more things but this may help you know where all this money is headed.
We have seen God provide in amazing ways so far and are excited about how He is going to do it from here on.
Please continue to pray for us to love our child and that God would bring him/her home quickly.
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