Questions being asked...

One of my grad school friends was excited about my adoption and asked several questions about the process. I guess I should detail what I know here in case others are wondering.

1) Why Ethiopia? I spoke in a little detail about this below. I was inspired by the Barr family and their two boys from Ethiopia. I met the boys right when I was beginning to research adoption. People ask why not from the US-- but as a single parent it is very difficult to get an infant. Most agencies ask you to adopt sibling groups of kids to get a younger child. I just am not in a place to do that. I looked at Guatemala and Russia a lot. China has changed their rules and will not let single women adopt right now. I found a website http://www.whfc.org/adoption/ethiopia/default.htm that has photo albums of their orphanage, the workers, and their children waiting. I fell in love with their faces, their eyes, the beauty of all the photos--from the smiles of the caregivers, to the countryside. That's pretty much all I needed. And the cost was a factor-- I found places that would cost upwards of $50,000. I finally found IAN and Ethiopia and my total cost will be somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000. It will be my best loan of all time!

2) What/when/how? I have just started the process which begins with a Homestudy. This means a social worker is assigned to my case and over three or four interviews will ask me all sorts of questions about being a parent and then recommend that I am a good candidate (or not) to the state, Ethiopia, and the agency. Once I complete the homestudy process in Colorado my Dossier (a big word for a bunch of documents --like my birth certificate, proof of insurance, proof of employment, letters of reference) will be sent to Ethiopia and then they will work on placing a child with me. They will then send photos and information about a child to me. Then my case will go to court in Ethiopia and I will be notified that I should come to Ethiopia. When I get to Ethiopia my child will legally be mine (adopted in Ethiopia) before I even see him. Then I have to do more legal work (not sure about this part yet) and stay in Ethiopia for about a week and then return with my baby! :) There is a possibility of trying to visit my child's birth village/city. And even possibly meeting some of his/her birth family. This is all up in the air until referral and I know more about the child.

3) Boy vs. Girl. My social worker actually put on my paperwork that I strongly prefer a boy, but will be open to a girl-- just in case I fall in love with a girl. If the paperwork says that I am only approved for a boy, it could cause lots of problems. I have four beautiful nieces and one nephew. I think it's time for more maleness in family gatherings! :) I just feel good about being a single mom with a son. There is a bond there that I can't define... But in two or four more years I will probably do this all again and get a baby girl then! :)