Decisions, decisions

Well, I haven't decided what I'm doing yet but have narrowed it down a bit. I am now between continuing my journey to Ethiopia or going with an adoption in the United States. I had mostly decided on the states today until I called the agency in the states to get a few questions answered and was told they were not accepting single applicants any longer. I kind of was dumbfounded, since here in BC you can't be turned down on the base of 'singleness'. So I re-talked to the social worker at The adoption Centre. She said she would check with a co-worker on if any other agencies in the US are working with Canada. So until that happens, I'm still into the air. The only reason the States looks interesting (still need a few questions asked) is I was told the wait would likely be less than Ethiopia, the cost the same and I would be getting an infant (pretty precious). I was also told that CAFAC was going to stop taking applicants as of Sept 1 and start a wait list since their program is at capacity. HO HUM . . . what to do?

Dreams Dashed

Humm, how to address this post. I received a call from The Adoption Centre on Wednesday. I was told by the social worker that as a single woman Ethiopia would not allow me to adopt more than one child at a time. :( I'll admit to being quite mad about this. I think if this is the case it should have been spelled out on clearly in the documents pertaining to adoption from Ethiopia. But it is a bit of a moot point anyways as I was also told that the ages that I was requesting were unrealistic and that they get very few sibling groups as close in age as I have requested and have only had one set of twins in the last year that would fall in that age range, most siblings they say fall into 0-5 years range. So I have until Monday to decide what my new options are and am re-evaluating. I'll post after I've decided what I'm going to do now.

Waffling

I suppose now is a good time to post why I chose Ethiopia. Because I am a single woman, I am a little restricted as to the countries that would accept me. I did the research and decided Ethiopia was for me. I have planned on adopting since I was very little and have discussed this with my immediate family since I was ~6 years old (according to my mom) and a lot since then. Way back when I was little I was always drawn to Africa. I always imagined adopting little black girls from there. Ethiopia is also a relatively stable program and the children relatively healthy. Since I want to adopt siblings as a single woman this means that the children I can accept have to be relatively healthy, as I probably do not have the resources to handle significant mental or physical problems. So why the title waffling? Well the increasing timelines have me questioning this. With wait times approaching 3 years, after the paper work reaches Ethiopia, I'm starting to wonder. But I still am not ready to give up on my dream.

Home again at last!

Wow, I hope things settle back to normal now. I have been in Edmonton shopping with my sister and mom for the last bit. And had a friend visit me prior to our leaving, so things have been a bit hectic. Since i live quite rurally, once a year my mom and I travel to Edmonton to go shopping due to better variety and no PST. This year we included my sister since she is now 20 and has the money to go shopping with us. I had a great time. The only challenge was getting all of us back and our purchases, since we had taken my Kia Rio since it's easy to park and fuel efficient. I bought a 6 foot long rug to put down on my hardwood floors in the living room and we bought a baby swing, since my other sister is expecting her first child Sept 16. So it was swishy to say the least. But now that I'm back I'll try ot post a bit more regularly as I fall back into my old routine.

Fifth Social Worker Visit!

So yesterday the social worker did make it to my house and loved it. She thinks it will be perfect for raising children. We also wrapped up all the questions, so I'm basically finished the home study. From here she has to finish typing up the draft and then sent the draft off to the director at The Adoption Centre in Kelowna and to me to see if we need to further clarify anything. I am requesting sibling girls under the age of 18 months. Which I know is going to be quite restrictive and may lengthen my wait time. I have received the checklist for the dossier and will be starting to compile the needed documents shortly. So that when I receive official approval to adopt, I have everything ready to go when I sign up with CAFAC. It feels great to be a bit further into the process :)

Fourth Social Worker Visit

On Aug 6th I saw the social worker for the fourth time. We mostly covered family relationships and parenting styles. I also had another appointment scheduled for today, but the social worker decided that we don't need it she just needs to do the home visit and a few last questions. So we switched today's visit from her office to my house! So I have been busy cleaning and tidying like mad. Today I was going to mow the back lawn before she gets her but I have come down with a horrible summer cold, so I think I'll settle for just pooper scooping instead so if we do go out and look at the backyard I don't have to ask her to watch her step! I have been wondering how the process has been going and whether I will get approved to adopt. She reassured me that if an issue came up that would hinder the adoption process we would deal with it right then, she wouldn't wait to the end to talk about it. I also think things are going well since I only have 1 visit left and she ended our last visit on Thursday with "I can't wait to meet your children" But I will be very relieved when totally approved.

What a great trip!

Well, I'm back and mostly back on home time. I arrived back home at 10:30pm on Monday, having been up for ~28 hours :) so yesterday was a bit shot, but today I feel much better. The trip was amazing, Paris is beautiful and has a great metro system to get around with it, but the driving is crazy! I certainly wouldn't drive as things like traffic circles do not have road lines even when their is 4 lanes of traffic. They seem to know what they are doing, but I certainly wouldn't. Here are a few pictures. Notre Dame, the Louve, me at the Effiel Tower, and the Arc de Triumph. The food was great and I certainly see why they are so slim, I could eat the entire serving of food at every meal. Here I eat about half a serving of food at restaurants. Well I have to go as I have to see my grandparents to give them their souveiners.