Why Ethiopia?

There are several reasons I have chosen Ethiopia.  

There are over 67 million people living in this third world country.  Approximately 4 million orphans are among them.  Some of these children are unwanted, others can not be cared for due to poverty, HIV and death in their families.  Even when there are living relatives of these children, often they can not afford to feed, clothe or house another person.  In America, we have a system in place, though not perfect, that enables every orphaned child to be cared for.  In Ethiopia the orphanages are less than desirable and not all children are able to be cared for in the orphanage.  Many children are left to fend for themselves, even at a very young age.

(Once a child in Ethiopia has been matched to a waiting family they are taken to live in the capitol city, Addis Ababa, at one of the care facilities the adoption agencies have set up.)   

Many countries in the world have stopped adopting to single woman.  Ethiopia is currently still open to single adoption, but has discussed changing this in the past.  I hope this does not change while I am in the process!  

Some countries will not allow foreigners to adopt infants, only older children.  Ethiopia does.  Some countries have extremely long waiting periods. Ethiopia tends to have a time frame of about 12-18 months for the entire process.  This is not set in stone though and depends on the gender, age and number of children you are willing to adopt.

Ethiopia is one of the least expensive countries to adopt from, though the process is not inexpensive...donations are welcome!  They only require 1 trip to Ethiopia for a total of 1 week or you can have your child escorted back to the US.  Many countries require 2-3 trips with 2-3 weeks (or more) spent "in country".  

Several countries have been experiencing hardships within their adoption regulations, like Guatemala.  There is speculation of unsavory practices in the way the adoption agencies are working within that country, so they have completely shut the country down to any new adoptions.  No one knows when it will open back up.  Ethiopia seems to have a fairly good process in place.  It appears stable and well run. 

Finally, have you seen how cute these children are?  They are precious, special and wonderful.  They are deserving of a life filled with love, compassion, care, education...and me as their mom!

Here is a link to my agency if anyone wants to check it out:  www.cwa.org

My big red binder

I have now printed enough paper to fill an entire 3 ring binder... almost!  I actually ran out of regular paper and had to use some old resume paper.  According to my online adoption planner from Christian World Adoption, there are 8 major steps to the process of international adoption, with about 500 little steps sandwiched in.  Every step requires a ton of paperwork.  I feel bad for the tree I am personally responsible for killing!

Step 1 - Agency Expenses, agreements & forms

Step 2 - The Home Study

Step 3 - Apply to US Citizenship & Immigration Services

Step 4 - The Dossier

Step 5 - Prepare to receive referral and child referred

Step 6 - Prepare for travel

Step 7 - Home with child

Step 8 - Post adoption process

Step 1 is completed... Now on to Step 2!

Naming Magdalena Maclain...

Magdalena - Mormor's twin sister's name is Signey Magdalena Gren.  I have always loved the name Magdalena!  (Origin-  Spanish, Hebrew, Greek; Meaning - Woman of Magdala, from the tower, form of Magadalene)

Maclain - Of course, I need to name a child after Mac, since he said he would pay for college for any niece or nephew named after him.  Mac - I promise not to hold you to that!! (Origin - Scottish/Irish; meaning - Son of, son of the servant John, son of Leander)

The 2 names together make a fabulous monogram...  MWM

I will end up keeping  part of her African name as a 3rd name...and maybe a 4th.  I read of one family merging the 2 African names to create one, which I think is cool.  Some keep the African names, depending on the age of the child.  Most of the African names are beautiful.  I can't wait to see what her name means... 

I think I need to explain the process...

I am not a pro at this, since I just started, but I will try to explain...a little.  The stage I am in is comparable to "trying to get pregnant".  It will be months, if not over a year before I am actually approved for adoption.  All I have done is sign a contract and pay the initial fee.  

My home study will start soon and I will need to compile medical and financial information and my friends will need to write references.  This is where they will look at my life under a microscope to make sure I am a good person that can afford and deal with a child.  They also will make sure I have no crazy illnesses.  

Somewhere along this line, I will be fingerprinted and the FBI will need to sign off that I am not a fugitive...I guess.  There is a mountain of other paperwork that will need to be signed, notarized and then authenticated by the US government.  Then all of this paperwork goes to Ethiopia to be translated and the US authentication will need to be authenticated by them. 

This is when I will actually get the chance to be matched with a child (aka get a referral).  I have chosen an agency that will allow me to choose age (0-12 months) and gender (female).  This referral process can take months or over a year in itself, since I am being so specific in age & gender.  If I wanted a sibling group or an older child I could be matched more quickly.  After the referral is accepted I have 10 days to have the medical report looked at by a doctor before I need to accept or decline the referral.  Once I accept a referral, I have to wait for the court date.  This can be weeks or months, since they take the summer rainy season off (about 2 months), and have other holidays, that we do not.  This is where the Ethiopian government will determine if I am worthy of adopting one of their children.  I will not be present at this court date.  If they accept me, then that day the child will be mine.

Once approved by the court, it will be another 4-12 weeks before I actually travel to Ethiopia.  I will be in Ethiopia for a week... getting custody, US visa for the child, immigration paperwork etc.  

Once I return to the US, I will need to do more paperwork to have the child considered at US Citizen by adoption and get a SS#, be re-adopted in the US by me, and some other things I can't even think about right now.

I must have to have a social worker come to my house at 3, 6, 9 and 12 month times to evaluate my situation and then yearly after that until the child becomes 18.  These reports are translated and sent to the Ethiopian government. 

So as you can see, this is really the very beginning of this process.  I could have chosen not to tell anyone, but I wanted you to share in the joy of the journey I have chosen to take.

Please be happy for me and my future child.

She is growing in my heart!

I sent the signed Christian World Adoption agency contract and the first agency payment today!  I am that much closer to bringing Magdalena Maclain home!  I also emailed Catholic Charities to get my home study started!  

It is amazing how I can love someone I have never met.  I find myself thinking about her all of the time.  Has she been born yet?  What will she look like?  How old will she be when I get to bring her home?  How big will she be?

I wonder how I will survive the next year of waiting...