Journey To Liberia

2009-05-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

This "Journey to Liberia" has been much different than we anticipated. I've come to the point where I'm okay with that, but it's taken awhile. I still have no idea how this journey will end. As for today, we continue to wait to bring Nana home. We have no control over whether or not we will be allowed to continue to wait. If we are allowed, we have no idea how long that wait will be. One day at a time is all I can handle right now.

At least for tonight, I'm okay with that.

I don't know if I'll post here for awhile. I probably will only post here again if I have concrete news on Nana, or on this process ending. In the mean time, feel free to visit our family at my other blog...www.kerristetler.blogspot.com

2009-05-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

I was about twelve weeks pregnant with Riley when I started bleeding. I remember laying in my bed thinking that this could be it, it might all be over. All I could do was wait and see if I would lose my baby that day. I was full of fear. Riley will be eight years old in August, but I still remember every feeling from that day so vividly. All of those feelings returned tonight. I don't know what tomorrow may bring, but it's possible that this may all be over, we may lose our baby.

I only post all of this here because I know so many of you that read this journal pray for our family and for Nana. Please pray for us tonight.

2009-05-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day 2009.
A very good day. I enjoyed spending the day with my mom and grandma. My thoughts drifted to Nana often as I watched my boys play today. My mom gave me my baby bracelet and my first locket to give to Nana. I can't wait to put that bracelet on her little wrist.

We sang this at my parents' church this morning...

Things in the past, things yet unseen
Wishes and dreams that are yet to come true
All of my hopes, all of my plans
My heart and my hands are lifted to you

Lord, I offer my life to you
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life

I guess that's all that really needs to be said.
To those of you waiting today as well, Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

International Adoption Waiting Disorder...

Symptoms may include irritability, moodiness, forgetfulness, absent-mindedness, and sleep problems.

Some days I feel like I'm walking around in a fog. Yesterday I was just plain loopy. I was careless while doing some cleaning around the house and almost seriously injured myself. I'm okay, but quite sore today. I also may have broken my pressure canner in the process, which would really suck. I also managed to somehow send a very emotional and personal email that I had written to a friend who is adopting as well, to my caseworker instead. Excellent, very professional. Luckily, my caseworker is a very kind and understanding individual who has been through this process five times. Five times, are you serious? I really can't imagine doing this again. Of course, I said that the first time I delivered a baby as well.

2009-04-30T06:37:00.000-07:00

I stepped out on the porch this morning to take my boys to school and saw a package sitting by the front door. A gift was inside for Nana, a very special gift. My friend, Sarah, had mailed a quilt she made over the weekend. She lives in Washington and is adopting a little boy from Liberia that is about the same age as Nana. I have absolutely no crafty/creative abilities, so I get really excited when someone gives us something handmade for one of our kids. The quilt is BEAUTIFUL, all pink, purple, and girly!

I'm ready to start working on her room, but something keeps holding me back. My head says it just a lack of time right now, my heart wonders if that is the real reason I haven't started. I think I've been guarding my heart a bit. This gift might be just the motivation I need! Hopefully it will motivate my husband too, because the room needs a lot of heavy duty construction work and I can't do that by myself. Thank you so much, friend. It really is a beautiful gift!

I sure do wish I had more to share with you all today about progress in Liberia. I don't. God has blessed us with His peace during this part of the wait, although some days are harder than others. Of course, we always welcome your prayers. We always need them. If you could pray especially today for Nana to remain in good health while wait for her to come home, we would really appreciate it.

2009-04-21T19:31:00.001-07:00

The two year old said from the back seat of the minivan yesterday...

"Mommy, is God and Jesus with sister bear in Liberia."

I almost had to pull the van over to the side of the road.

2009-04-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

The latest news from Liberia...

The Liberia House has passed the new Children's Bill. This is very good news and protects the children of Liberia in so many ways. However, the adoption guidelines that we have all been waiting for patiently have been removed from the bill. At first, this sounds like a set back. However, I really think this is a step in the right direction. The President has decided that she wants a separate Adoption Bill to come before the House. She has ordered that a Central Adoption Authority be established that will have the responsibility of ensuring that adoptions in Liberia are ethical and legal. So, we have no time line and the suspension has not been lifted yet. But, we are encouraged to hear that the President is giving so much time and attention to the adoption situation and are hopeful that special needs adoptions will be considered in the near future. Keep in mind, we are not really sure what "the near future" means in Africa...certainly not what it means in the United States.

Thank you for your prayers, please keep praying.

2009-03-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

Friends,
I'm posting today to specifically ask for your prayers for our family, our daughter, and the children of Liberia. It seems as though things are beginning to move forward, which direction they are moving is yet to be seen. However, at this point in time we welcome movement in any direction. You see, the unknown is what makes this all so very difficult. The Liberian legislature is in the process of passing the new Children's Bill. My understanding is that this is the bill which will outline the new guidelines for adoption. According to the President's address in January, adoptions were suspended only until these guidelines were put into place. We do not know the details of the bill, which means we do not know yet how this will effect our ability to bring Nana home. I have spoken with Diana at Alliance for Children today and she is in the process of trying to find out these details for us. I am incredibly grateful for Diana. If you ever decide to begin an international adoption, I would strongly recommend working through an agency rather than working independently. Diana works hard to protect our family and we are so thankful for her help.

For the last few weeks we heard nothing from Liberia. This made it much easier to just wait. Now things are moving to some degree and my mind and heart get caught up in all this again. What we need is peace in our home. We need God's peace, to rest in His timing.

Thank you.

2009-03-27T19:02:00.001-07:00

We were at the zoo today and noticed that some strange things were happening with the elephants. They were in different locations than they usually are and the pregnant elephant was lying down alone with another elephant standing guard by her. I kept commenting to Eric about how strange it all was. Now I know why. We left the zoo around 1:30, at 2:35 the baby was born. Elephants are pregnant for about 650 days. In some strange way, I feel like I can relate. In case you are wondering, we started this adoption 17 months ago.

Here's a link to an article about the new baby elephant.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell

2009-03-19T07:22:00.001-07:00

Last night five of us went to see Pray the Devil Back to Hell. It's hard to even know what to say. Inspiring is the first word that comes to mind, although that does not even begin give this film the credit it deserves. Liberia's story simply captures your heart, and this story that follows the incredible Women's Peace movement to end a 14 year civil war is simply amazing.

I wish I had other adoption news to share with you. I don't.

2009-03-06T10:18:00.001-08:00

"Here is your sweetie and she is doing great. She continues on the
medicines. Will send the medical to Diana soon. Trying to walk
holding on to care giver Happy and just beautiful."

This came in an email from Patty Anglin today. Four pictures were also attached!
As you can imagine, this made my day.

2009-02-23T19:36:00.000-08:00

There are 5002 miles between me and my daughter.
It's 3:37am in Liberia right now.
I'm here in Ohio and have remained present with my boys all day today, which is no small accomplishment. But, as I watch them sleeping in bed tonight, my mind can't help but wander to the west coast of Africa and think about a little girl sleeping there.

2009-02-21T15:53:00.001-08:00

I just walked into the laundry room and found a huge bag of baby girl clothing. One of Eric's co-workers gave them to us, but I think they had been in Eric's car for awhile. I didn't know they were there. They are all summer clothes, the size we would need for Nana this summer. My heart hurts right now, that's the only way I know how to describe how I feel. I wish I could dig down deep and find some hope that she might be wearing these this summer, some days I have that kind of optimism and hope...some days I just don't. Eric had a conversation with our case worker on Friday...long conversation, no answers. Tuesday I will be talking for the first time with Patty Anglin, the director of Acres of Hope. She is now in Liberia, which is a very good thing. I'm looking forward to talking with her. I'm hoping for at least a few answers, but even if I just get some reassurance that Nana is doing well I'll be happy.

As I sit here typing I hear Riley in the other room..."Mom, this stuff is so cute. Awww...mom come look. Trey look at the pj's!" I'm going to dig way, way down and find some hope, for their sake at least. It's time like these where my prayers must start to sound really desperate, almost like I'm begging God for some help with this. I really don't even know how to pray tonight, just hoping the Spirit speaks to the Father on my behalf.

2009-02-13T18:47:00.000-08:00

To be honest, I'm a bit nervous to share too many details on the internet about this process right now. Yes, I'm probably paranoid.

At the same time, I want to keep this blog going because I know many of you check this regularly so you know how to pray. Your prayers mean so much to us right now. We need them!

The concrete good news I have right now is that all children have been returned to Acres of Hope's orphanage. Our Nana was never removed because she is in a different facility. Although we have been so grateful that her care was never disrupted, we have been worried sick about the children who were taken from the only home they know and from their nannies. This is also very good news because Acres of Hope must be in good standing with the Liberian government for our adoption to be processed.

I don't have any more official news at this time, but things are looking more hopeful and we look forward to sharing more good news with you as we receive it.

Again, we rely on your prayer support. It is what sustains us right now. Last week I was numb to all of my emotions regarding this adoption. Maybe that was gift, maybe I needed a week off from all of the feelings. Today it all became real again, which is good too. Allowing myself to feel makes my prayers more consistent and urgent. The trick is to not allow fear to creep in.

2009-02-08T06:56:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday my grandmother reminded me of some very important words a friend had said to us in December. This man is a friend of our family who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Grandma and I saw him in December and we were sharing with him that we had been praying daily for his healing. He appreciated our prayers and then said, "This isn't my battle to fight. It never has been. It's His." My grandma thought it might be best for me to focus on those words from Marvin. I did, and it brought such freedom this week. It's Sunday again and I need to remind myself again that this week will be full of so much joy, peace, and freedom if I can refuse to take back what I've given over to God.

Friends, it's so true. This is not my battle to fight. I love this little girl already, but how much more does her Creator love her. I already want to fight for her, but how much more does He.

2009-01-30T14:19:00.000-08:00

Just when you thought things couldn't get worse...now the US has issued a statement. I didn't post the official Liberian statement earlier this week. Long story short...Liberia has shut down international adoption. I believe they have very legitimate concerns and things need to change, but I can't explain how bad it SUCKS to be stuck in the middle of this. I have a special needs child waiting to come home in a fourth world country. My child needs medical attention and I want her home. I just got off the phone with the head of our adoption agency. He was very kind and doesn't believe that it's time to give up on this. But, he was also very honest and realistic. My baby is worth fighting for, but it would be best if we prepared ourselves for a long fight. While I'm being honest, I'll just throw in that I'm going to need some serious help to get through this. I'm going to be meeting with a counselor to hopefully gain some coping skills, because I am near the edge of losing it right now. To say that we need your prayers would be an understatement, friends.

Anyway, here's the official statement from the US State Department...
Us State Department Issues Statement on Liberia
Government of Liberia Suspends Intercountry Adoptions

The Government of Liberia (GOL) suspended processing of adoptions on January 26, 2009, on the recommendation of the President's Special Committee on Adoption. According to the Liberian President's statement, processing of adoptions was suspended due to mismanagement. The GOL expects to resume adoptions this year after its adoption law, policy, and guidelines have been established.

American citizens are alerted that the Government of Liberia suspended adoption services provided by the agencies West African Children Support Network (WACSN) and Acres of Hope (AOH) on January 22. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare announced that it is investigating WACSN and AOH to ensure that the children in their care are properly cared for and that adoptions are conducted in accordance with Liberian adoption law. American citizens who have pending adoption applications with either agency should contact the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia at monroviaadoptions@state.gov before traveling to Liberia.

2009-01-26T19:12:00.000-08:00

"There is hope in the midst of hopelessness. Death is not where we lose; the onset of hopelessness is the great defeater. So allow hope to rise up within you. And when it seems that hopefulness is the least appropriate response in this situation, let it rise up even more. Whisper your hope when you lie down at night; scream your hope when you wake in the morning.Live your hope as if it is the one and only thing that sustains you in this ravaged world. You will not be disappointed."
Palmer

I thought some of you who read this blog, and are longing to hold your children in Liberia, might need a little extra hope tonight. I know I do. I know I've posted this before on both of my blogs, but it's worth posting in the midst of all these questions. Join with us in prayer tonight. I really do believe it makes a difference.

2009-01-19T10:24:00.000-08:00

Pray for the Acres of Hope children in Liberia today. Pray hard.
We received some very sad news that I quite honestly lack the energy to go in to completely right now. It most likely does not involve our Nana directly, but so many children are hurting right now. So many families are scared and worried.

What man intends for evil, God can use for His purposes and bring good.
HOPE. That's all we have right now.

2009-01-16T18:34:00.000-08:00

Our passports arrived in the mail today. I sure am ready to use them. This baby girl is all I can think about tonight.

I haven't forgotten our New Year's letter, it just might be more like a Happy Valentine's Day letter. We've had quite a week with Eric's accident and I'm a little behind.

Sweet Baby Girl,
Your mommy already loves you and can't wait to hold you. Your big brothers pray for you every night. Tonight the two year old prayed, "Dear Jesus, please be with baby Nana way way way out there." They ask about you all the time. We pray Jesus holds you tight tonight, that your dreams are sweet and peaceful. We pray that you will remain safe and healthy until you are in our arms. We pray for your caretakers, that they give you all the love and attention they possibly can. Some day soon, sweet girl, you will be home. What a party we will have then!
Love,
Mommy

2009-01-06T04:47:00.000-08:00

We have decided it would be best to not post pictures of our new daughter on line at this time. Instead I will be working on a New Year's letter that I'll be sending out which will include a picture of Nana. I'll be using snail mail for this, so if I don't have your home address and you would like a more complete update and picture, leave it in the comments section here or email me at kerristetler@gmail.com

At this point in time, things seem to be moving forward as they should be. We're praying this continues.

Please continue to pray for our daughter and for her caretakers. This past week our family joined the rest of the Stetler gang at Fort Rapids, an indoor water park. Riley and I were standing at the very top looking down at all the water. I asked my son to stop and pray with me, that his sister would have clean drinking water this week. We take so much for granted here. We were literally playing in our extreme abundance, while so many simply need a new well. Join with our family, as we all anticipate the arrival of our daughter from Africa, and educate yourself on life in Africa.

2008-12-24T05:15:00.000-08:00

I've always believed in Christmas magic. Seriously, I was that kid in 6th grade who knew in my head that there was no Santa, but my heart still thought that just maybe he was real. Last night we got a bit of our own Christmas magic. We have now received an official referral for our baby girl, Nana. I'll be posting pictures soon, but I want to make sure it's okay to do that first.

Friends, your prayers and support have meant the world to us through this process and now we need them even more. Now it's time to pray her home!

By the way...we went back and bought the doll.

2008-12-23T13:53:00.001-08:00

I've been trying to track down paperwork for our baby girl all week now. What a good Christmas gift it would have been to have received her paperwork before Christmas. I just made one last ditch effort phone call, only to get a voicemail stating that the office will be closed until after New Years. I felt God clearly tell me it was time to set it aside and enjoy Christmas with the three children I have with me now, and that He will be very near to our fourth child this Christmas.

I almost bought a baby doll today, but I stopped myself. Next year.

2008-12-04T19:28:00.000-08:00

The stockings have been hung by the chimney with care. I remember very clearly hanging these last Christmas. I was so hopeful that in a year's time we would need to add a stocking or two. But, there are three again this year. Three beautiful boys live in this house, full of energy and life. Maybe next year we'll be able to add one or two.

A glimmer of hope today. Praying for more information to post here soon.

2008-12-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

It's the first week of Advent. The candle of hope has been lit at our dinner table each night this week. It's almost as though she is home with us, represented by the hope of this flame.
Last November my mom bought a ring for me. I wear it every day. It's a simple silver band with the word HOPE inscribed on it.
We continue to hope and pray. There is nothing else we can do right now.
May His Hope fill you and your family during this season of Advent.

2008-11-17T10:40:00.001-08:00

I have been waiting about a month now to post our latest news. Every time I started to post an update here, I decided to wait because I thought we would have more information soon. But, the information we have been waiting for still has not come, and as our anxiety level builds I decided now would be a good time to post this information because we need some prayer support.

We are in the process of accepting the referral of a baby girl in Liberia. She is now about 9 months old. This is not at all what we expected when we began this process, yet at the same time it is very clear that God has guided us to this place. We are waiting now for more paperwork from Liberia regarding her medical exam and social history. We cannot finalize this referral until we receive this paperwork and we cannot move forward with this adoption until the referral is finalized. So, we wait. I feel completely powerless, because I am. I can do nothing right now to help this child that we have made room for in our hearts.

So, friends, we ask for your prayers. Please pray for our family as we wait, and more importantly, please pray for the baby girl we hope to bring home soon.

The Mind of Christ

2008-10-24T07:09:00.000-07:00

These lyrics seem to run through my head constantly right now.

To receive when others reject, to treat each one with true respect,
To shield when others throw stones, to be with one whos all alone,
To think and choose to see the very best,
To live like this is nothing less than to possess

Chorus
The mind of Christ, my highest goal
The Lords delight, the desire of my soul
The Fathers heart will always guide my life
If I will have in me the mind of Christ

To build up when others tear down, to seek the lost until theyre found,
To give grace where its needed most, rejecting pride when others boast,
To sacrifice my all without regret,
To live like this is nothing less than to possess.

We hope to have more information to share with you all soon.

Some good news

2008-10-13T11:57:00.000-07:00

Eric just called from work with great news. OSU has changed their policies on adoption benefits. We had originally been told that would be receiving $4000 towards this adoption. We were very grateful for any help we would be receiving from Eric's employer, and $4000 is a lot of money. Now they are giving $5000 per CHILD. That means a grand total of $10,000! Eric called to talk with someone to make sure that he understood the policy, and they confirmed that we would be receiving this amount. This brings us much closer to our end goal. It is a reimbursement policy, so we will not receive the $10,000 until the girls are home. We will have to pay for our expenses up front, and then we will be reimbursed when this is all over.

God is good, all the time. He is working, even when I can't see His hand moving. He is with our girls today. He knows them. He created their inmost being. He knit them together in their mother's womb.

HOPE

2008-10-07T11:28:00.001-07:00

I received this email today from Diana regarding adoptions in Liberia. If you have lost track of where we are in the process, we are still waiting for our referral.

I spoke with Patty this morning regarding adoptions in Liberia. The legislature is out on a six-month intermission, during which time no new work will be done on the new law. However, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf issued an Executive Order to the Ministry of Health declaring that pending the new law, the Ministry of Health must continue processing adoptions promptly according to the existing law.

Following the issuance of the order, the Ministry resumed work on the cases of ten special needs children in the care of Acres of Hope, Liberia. Two of those cases are already completed. The Ministry stated that the remainder would be finished today, after which they will resume work on cases not involving special needs. The Deputy Minister of Health has been working very closely with Acres of Hope, Liberia staff as the representatives of the newly formed Liberian adoption providers’ association.

The orphanage has been able to accept four new babies as a few children have gone home, and we anticipate being able to make more new referrals in the coming months. At this time we expect that adoptions in Liberia will shortly resume their normal pace and more children will come home.

2008-10-01T10:11:00.000-07:00

Somewhere on the west coast of Africa, a story has begun to unfold. It began last November when we simply said "yes" to God's call. Actually it began long before that, longer than I'm sure I even know. I know very little about this story, God has not chosen to reveal much to me yet. However, He has begun to make the pieces fit together. I've thought about God's hand moving in this story often today, as though I can almost see His hand resting on my daughters, guiding the steps of their birth families and directing this story as He sees fit.

I have so much more to post, both here and on my other journal. But, it will take time for these thoughts to develop. That's enough for today.

Rock Hill

2008-09-24T04:13:00.000-07:00

I would like for you to take a minute to read here about the community of Rock Hill in Monrovia, Liberia. Acres of Hope just dedicated two new wells for the people in Rock Hill. Many people ask us why we are adopting internationally. These are the conditions in Liberia, I don't think we even like to think that some where in the world people live like this. Once you make your mind and your heart pay attention, I don't know how you could walk away. I can only imagine what our time in Liberia will be like and how it will change us forever.

2008-09-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

Just to keep you up to speed on the progress with adoptions in Liberia...here's another update we received. By the way, the hearing that was supposed to take place on September 8th did not take place.

12 September 2008

Dear Families and Friends of Acres of Hope,

I was able to speak with Patty a bit late last night and she was very positive about recent developments in Liberia , subsequent to the meeting with the President's representatives.

The legislature has reminded the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare that adoptions are to take place under the old law, which remains in effect until the new one is in place. They urged the Ministry to find a way to continue processing adoptions efficiently and without fraud or abuse.

The Ministry responded by attending to the case histories of the special needs children in the Acres of Hope Liberia Adoption Program. These cases are expected to move swiftly and smoothly from this point forward, with other cases following soon.

Please persevere in prayer for all of this. As always, updates will be published here as news is available.

2008-09-06T19:00:00.001-07:00

The garage sale was a HUGE success! Thank you so much to everyone that donated items, we had so much stuff. About 20 families donated... you can only imagine what my parents garage, driveway and yard looked like. It was a lot of work, but worth it. The final count hasn't been made yet, but it looks like we brought in about $1,000! I can't thank my parents enough for hosting this fund raiser. They worked very hard to make this a success, and sacrificed the use of their garage for the last month! My mom has some pictures of the sale and the boy's lemonade stand. My favorite part of the weekend was when Trey found a bell in one of the boxes and took it to driveway with him. He started ringing it and shouting, "Who wants brownies, cookies or lemonade" at the top of his little lungs. No one could resist him.

Also, we have another update regarding the adoption legislation in Liberia...

3 September 2008

Dear Families and Friends of Acres of Hope,

It is with great anticipation that we announce that the final public hearing on the Liberian Child Act (which includes the new international adoption policies) is scheduled to be held this Monday, 8 September. This will be the final opportunity for the Liberian public to make their voices heard regarding the new Act prior to its ratification. It is incumbent on every one of us to pray for this historic meeting as we have already been praying for the Act. Please join in prayer that children will be truly protected by the Act, that Satan and his schemes to hurt them will crumble, that truth and ethics will be the victors, and that God’s will will be done in the final days of this process.

2008-08-22T18:08:00.000-07:00

Another update from Acres of Hope...

21 August 2008

Dear Families,

Like many aspects of this life, awaiting the revisions to the Liberian Child Act is both a trial and a blessing. Throughout every level of this organization, we share with you the burden of waiting and struggling to be patient. We realize this is a very difficult time and deeply appreciate your patience and your continued prayers. While this is trying on a personal level, it is also very exciting on a more global level. Acres of Hope Liberia is thrilled to be able to influence the new Child Act that not only impacts adoptions, but also protects every child who lives in Liberia. We truly are blessed to not only witness this moment in Liberia's history, but to be able to make a difference in the lives of all Liberian children.

The legislature is still in session and hard at work on the new policies contained in the Child Act, which contains the "who, what, and how" of international adoption. They are actively seeking the input of adoption professionals in Liberia, who have formed an association under the leadership of AoHL staff. The new association has been meeting regularly and working hard between meetings to formulate a proposal for the consideration of the House Committee. The proposal is influenced by the professional experience of the members as well as the policies of other nations. The Committee, which remains favorable toward international adoption, is also receiving input from the various Ministries that have an interest in children. They are planning more public hearings for the near future and things are certainly moving forward with the new policies. While the process is slow and laborious, we support what the legislature is doing and share the common goal that the new policies will stand strong for decades to come.

The Minister of Health and Social Welfare made the statement that Acres of Hope is the finest agency in the country the other day over the radio waves. As you can imagine, we were very pleased to hear this. We believe that it is because of this positive reputation and relationship that we have been able to continue our work during this period. Adoptions continue to trickle through the system while we all wait for the new policies. In July, there were 4 new referrals and 7 children have come home since the last update. Several more children will travel home in the next few weeks.

This is certainly a time to remain faithful to prayer. The life of every child in Liberia will be impacted by these policies. And each child who is eligible for adoption is being impacted by the current slow-down. In your prayers, I hope you will take to heart the following familiar words from 1 Peter 5:7-11: "So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you. Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to his eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ. After you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power is his forever and ever. Amen."

In addition to this important work in Liberia, Acres of Hope has been developing prospects for international adoptions from both Ghana and Congo. There is a small handful of families in the pioneering stage of the program in Ghana, which is looking very promising. We are developing new pages for this website regarding the Ghana program, so keep an eye out. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the program or know anyone who might be interested in a pioneering program, I'd be happy to receive an email or phone call. Patty is visiting Congo in the immediate future, so more information about that pioneering program will be forthcoming as well. Please be praying for these new programs, for the children and families and staff who are and will be involved.

Thank you for your prayers and support. Each time we get a note or a call from one of you saying you are praying diligently, it touches our hearts.

We ask for your prayers as well. For our family, for the children who will one day join our family, and for all of the children in Liberia. We continue to trust in God's perfect timing.

**by the way, these posts always say they are posted by Eric, but it's usually Kerri. I just post on his account. Just to clarify for our friend Ryan who started his comment with "Hey Man" Love you and miss you, friend.

Good News for Liberia

2008-08-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

The Peace Corps return to Liberia...read more here.

Yesterday at Meijer a woman commented..."wow, three boys." I hear this a lot. I turned to ask a store associate a question and when I turned back around she said, "Are you pregnant with twins?" I immediately looked at my stomach, wondering if I should keep wearing those empire waist shirts. I told her I wasn't and I'm sure I had a confused look on my face. She explained that while I was asking the store associate my question, Trey had proudly told her that soon there would be five kids in our family. My boys are so excited to meet there sisters! It's really hard for them to understand this wait.

2008-08-12T11:39:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my mom and I started setting up for the garage sale. My brother and his wife were out on a walk and when they came back they told us they saw some furniture on the side of the road in good condition that we should get for the sale. So, we went and found it and loaded a couple of things into the van. In the middle of hauling a somewhat heavy entertainment center into the van my mom said, "I can't wait to tell the girls about how we were out trash picking to raise money to bring them home!" Seriously, we will have so many stories to share with them. So many people are helping us raise the money we need.

I called the Dispatch to place the ad for the garage sale. $48!!!! I think that's a little ridiculous. Now we really need sell a lot of stuff! Thanks for all of your donations. I think by the time we get it all together we're going to have a really huge garage sale.

Garage Sale Date

2008-07-29T06:49:00.000-07:00

I posted the wrong date for the garage sale we are having. It's September 5th and 6th. So, if you have donations we'll need them before that weekend. If you love garage sales, like I do, and want to help...let me know. Thanks to the Snyder's for their great donations they brought this weekend! We really appreciate it!

2008-07-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

September 12th and 13th we will be having a garage sale at my parent's house to raise money for the adoption. We would greatly appreciate any donations. If you have stuff around that you want to get rid of, we'll take it! If you would be able to help set up, that would be great too. My boys are planning a big lemonade sale as well for the 13th. They are really excited about raising money to help bring their sisters home. They both came to me last week and said they had decided that we should start a restaurant to raise money for the adoption. I tried to nicely explain why that might not work, while thanking them for their thoughtfulness at the same time. They've decided that a lemonade sale will be close enough.

Check back soon for details on a spaghetti dinner at our church in September as well. Our family at St. John's Episcopal have given us their full support and we are so thankful for their encouragement!

2008-07-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've updated here. Not much to report, we continue to wait. We've been having a lot of fun this summer and I often what the girls would think if they were with us. Would COSI be incredibly overwhelming? Would they enjoy two weeks at the beach? How crowded will the cottage at the lake seem with five kids running around? What will they think about all of this water we play in and take for granted each day?

It's time to start working seriously again on the financial aspect of all of this. We were really moving along and had relaxed a little about the fundraising. However, we have recently found out the Eric's employer will be giving us half of what we had originally thought we would be receiving. Then we received a letter in the mail from Shaohannah's Hope that we would not be receiving a grant from them. God has still provided an amazing amount of money towards all of this, and we are so grateful. But, it's time to think and pray about how we are going to get the rest of the money we need together. I need to look into more grants, loans, and fundraisers this week. We would ask that you pray with us.

2008-06-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

I'm posting from the beach...it's really nice to be on vacation. I wanted to take a minute to update with some exciting adoption news. We are officially moving forward, FINALLY! What that means is that we get to wait some more. We are now just waiting for something different. Instead of waiting for new adoption legislation in Liberia, we are now waiting for a referral of children. Some of you may have thought we were already waiting for a referral, but we had told the powers that be that we would not be accepting a referral until we, and the incredible staff at Lighthouse, felt comfortable with the direction the legislation process was taking in Liberia. That time has now come. I'm gearing up for a long wait, that way if for some reason this moves quickly I'll be pleasantly surprised!

Back to the beach...

2008-06-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

Another update from Acres...

6 June 2008

Dear Families and Friends,

I know you are all very anxious for the new legislation to be revealed. So are we! The legislators have now agreed to stay in session until the end of June to complete the temporary emergency policy. The staff and lawyers have been working hard on a new proposal that will go before the law-makers next week. Obviously, this proposal is pro-adoption and designed to facilitate the international adoption process. Until the new policy is passed, however, we will not have the details to share. Thank you for your continued prayers. As always, we will keep you informed as things develop.

As the situation begins to settle down in Liberia, Lighthouse thinks that we will be able to request a referral in a couple of weeks. Although having all of our paperwork completed would have made us referral ready awhile ago, we decide to not accept any referrals until the future of adoptions in Liberia became a little more clear. We are so ready to move forward in all of this, but at the same time we have wanted to make wise choices. So for now, we continue to wait and hope that we will hear more positive news soon.

2008-05-31T18:33:00.000-07:00

Please continue to pray. This is the latest on the Acres website...

30 May 2008

Thank you again for all your prayers for the policy-writing process for Liberian intercountry adoptions. Patty has been heard on the radio two days in a row and has appeared in the newpapers twice. The staff have been meeting regularly with the Congress and aiding in the development of an emergency policy to bridge the gap until the next legislative session begins in the fall. The Congress has agreed to stay in session for at least one additional week into their customary break in order to stabilize this matter. A revised proposal (developed in cooperation with adoption professionals and a US lawyer and judge) will be submitted and discussed on Monday, with the hopes of passing it by the end of the week.

In addition, AOH(L) Executive Director Patty Anglin, AOHL Country Director Eric Sewa, and AOHL Operations Manager Gregory Coleman met with the Chinese Ambassador to Liberia Thursday to donate financial aid to the victims of the May 12 earthquake in China. The donation is earmarked to meet the needs of children orphaned and/or displaced by the tragedy.

2008-05-29T14:56:00.001-07:00

My brother's wife is pregnant, 31 weeks now. We see her at least once a week and it's been so fun to watch her belly get bigger. We are so excited for them. At times, I admit, a touch of jealousy moves in...only because the end is in sight for them, it's predictable. She knows this baby will be here in July. I'm waiting. No answers. I'm getting used to it, but it doesn't mean it's always easy. I have no idea when this will end. I have no idea how long I'll be "paper pregnant."

Yesterday my aunt sent me a beautiful card. She didn't want me to think our girls are ever forgotten, to remind me that she is praying with me while I wait for the girls God has chosen for us.

My belly isn't growing this time around. There's no kicking inside as a constant reminder of the new life that will be joining our home. But, believe me when I say that not a minute goes by that I don't think about our new children and the life they will bring to our home.

So, we continue to wait and pray.

2008-05-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

I received this email today from Lighthouse...

Dear Lighthouse Liberia families,

The following is a report from the Acres of Hope Staff:

Dear Families and Friends of AOH:

We want to thank you abundantly for your fervent prayers for the public hearings on adoption today in Liberia. The meeting lasted almost 7 hours and was filled with testimonies from people of every opinion. One of our missionaries, David Felando, testified as both an adoptee and an adoptive parent whose family of nine, including their two Liberian children, is now living and working in Liberia. Patty also testified as an adoptive mother of many, including two Liberians, and also as an adoption professional. In addition, several of our birth parents gave testimony from their hearts.

Overall, the Liberian staff feels very positive about the hearing. The Congress listened to both sides, but expressed support for international adoption. In fact, one Congressman closed the meeting with remarks that strongly supported the need for adoptions to continue.

No policy was decided today, but the staff will be meeting with Congress more next week to develop the policies. I do not have more details at this time, but as things unfold, we will keep you abreast.

We will share any further reports with you immediately.

Thank you for praying with us this week. Please continue to pray with us.

2008-05-22T18:43:00.001-07:00

Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth are incredible advocates for international adoption. They have adopted three little girls from China and established Shaohannah's Hope, an organization that has provided adoption assistance to so many families. On Wednesday their five year old daughter, Maria, was killed in an accident at their home. Please read more here and pray for their family tonight.

2008-05-19T04:02:00.000-07:00

Public hearings begin on May 23rd in Liberia. Lawmakers will be working on new adoption legislation that will greatly effect our adoption. Until these things are settled, out adoption is essentially on hold. Please see the letter below, posted on the Acres of Hope website.

Editor's Note: On May 14, we were informed that the date of the public hearings has been changed to May 23rd. )

13 May 2008

Dear Families and Friends of AOH:

We now know the date of the public hearings regarding adoptions in Liberia . They will be held on 21 May. Please pray for the legislators and other policy-makers as they prepare for these meetings. Also, please pray for those on the side of adoption to make their points clearly understood, to present the facts with both truth and passion, and to be confident in their role as a voice for those who have no voice. Pray that the new policies will guard the rights of families and children without placing undue strain on participants in the adoption triad (biological families, orphans, and adoptive parents). Pray that God's heart for orphans and for adoption will shine out clearly and that God will be glorified by each word spoken and by each one's attitude. Please also pray that the Father would send his angels to do battle with the forces of Satan that would threaten the very lives of the children of Liberia . Pray that darkness will gain no foothold here, that Christ will be the clear and total victor.

In addition, please continue to pray for families and children who are waiting. Keep the staff of AOHL uplifted during this difficult and stressful time.

Thank you. Without your support, we would crumble. With your prayers, the lives of orphans will be saved.

Please pray with our family. Thank you.

2008-05-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

This morning my boys had waffles, hot off the waffle iron for breakfast. For lunch, vegan mac and cheese from scratch. Dessert options after lunch included daddy's amazing scones, mommy's brownies, or Aldi's strawberry frozen fruit bars. Guess what Riley said when I gave him those dessert options after he had already eaten these two delicious meals today? He said, "That's all?" You can only imagine the lengthy lecture that followed about what children in Liberia have to eat each day. Seriously, it is so important to me that they begin to understand now that the world is so much larger than their own little part of it that they see each day.

However, I was really impressed with a sentence Riley wrote on his own this week. He's in kindergarten and they are learning about sentence structure right now. They had to write a sentence using the word "give." He wrote, "It is good to give the money we don't need to people who need money." Both Riley and Trey received a lecture on greed last week while asking for toys they don't need right now. Maybe my lectures are at least slightly effective!

No adoption news...we're waiting.

2008-04-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned, we have some really great friends who have decided to support our family in this process. The adoption benefit was amazing! The total amount raised was close to 3000. We were humbled by the magnitude of the event. It was very evident that it took many hours of labor to coordinate and create such an evening. Many friends donated artwork, some donated food, and one friend donated a quilt. Some cool t-shirts were sold, and the music was outstanding. Kyle posted some video here and here.
Here are more pictures from the evening...

more photo's here

2008-04-19T12:26:00.000-07:00

We have some pretty great friends.
I can't figure out how to post this so that you can enlarge, but you can on Kristina's blog.
April 26th, 6pm

2008-04-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

Finished up a second batch of paperwork for Shaohannah's Hope grant.

Got an email today from Diana, our dossier is officially complete (finally!) and was mailed out today. That doesn't really mean much given the current situation in Liberia.

They that wait upon the Lord
Shall renew their strength
They shall mount up with wings as eagles
They shall run and not be weary
They shall walk and not faint
Teach me Lord, teach me Lord
to wait.

In the midst of the waiting, God has given us an overwhelming sense of peace. We still don't know exactly where this road will lead us, but we know right now He is telling us to simply wait.

2008-04-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

Last night I emailed a good friend and ask her to pray for me. This was her response. I'm posting it here because maybe someone else needs to hear these words as well. I sure needed to today. Thank you friend for your love and prayers...

kerri-
i have been praying for you guys and will continue throughout today.

it's so hard to remember God and his power sometimes.

in the midst of our daily demands that call our attention all
over the place...our interactions with all of creation and
trying to make sense of it all.

i want to encourage you to take a minute alone.
take as many deep breaths as needed and meditate
that this too--isn't too big for God.

He knows what's going on. He calls us unto Himself and
says not to worry--but to bring everything unto him. this
is where our soul finds rest. this is where he promises his
peace. He doesn't want your soul to be uneasy and anxious.

i honestly don't mean to be preaching at you--it comes from
a sincere hope that peace will be over your soul today.

i love you, kerri.
all will be well,
all will be well,
all will be well.

2008-04-07T19:52:00.001-07:00

Somewhere out there two little girls are waiting for a mommy and a daddy. I don't know where they are, or how I'm going to find them. Honestly, I'm not even sure what country they are in right now.

All I can do tonight is pray and try to sleep. I'm praying that God gives us clarity and wisdom. I'm praying that He tucks my girls in every night until I find them and bring them home.

Lord help us.

Just to clarify...

2008-04-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

I know I just posted...but to clarify a bit about the current situation our family is dealing with, I'm posting again. Also, this is important for recording our story that we'll look back on later. I just got off the phone with Lighthouse. Yes, our dossier will soon be sent to Acres (after I get this a few missing documents, so frustrating). However, we are officially "on hold" as a Lighthouse family with Acres. My understanding of this is that we will not be receiving a referral until the new legislation is passed in Liberia. This safeguards us in many ways, especially financially. It was a good conversation and I felt like I was given clear, honest communication. Yes, we are optimistic, but we are cautious as well. We're moving forward in a way, but at the same time standing still and waiting. I was able to talk with them about our Plan B if the worst were to happen. After a really long week, I feel like I was just given some of the help I needed to establish boundaries that are wise for our family. Unfortunately, my mouth is full of canker sores and my jaw is killing me because I've been clenching my teeth all week.

That's the adoption update of the hour. My poor mother has literally gotten a phone call every hour this week!

2008-04-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors have two girls and they know that we are trying to adopt two girls. They just brought me over a huge bag of clothes that their girls have out grown. Of course I had to go through the entire bag immediately. So cute! Girls clothes are so much more fun than boys clothes. I could picture our little girls running around our house in every piece I pulled out...trying so hard to be patient and wait.

We gave Diana the go ahead. Our dossier should be on it's way to Acres of Hope. Now we'll just see how the drama in Liberia plays out and hope for the best.

2008-04-01T10:33:00.001-07:00

This fall Eric and I went to Cedar Point by ourselves. While in line for Top Thrill Dragster the roller coaster shut down. We were told we could stay in line, but they didn't know when the ride would start again. It started again a few minutes later, only to shut down three more times. The last time is shut down we were IN THE CAR, ready to ride. We waited three hours and wasted a lot of time. In the end, the ride was worth it. There really isn't anything to compare that ride to.

They've shut down our ride. We have to decide if we're willing to risk the wait. I know if we get to ride, it's going to be worth it. There's nothing in this world better than being a parent, nothing even compares to this kind of joy.

Your prayers would be greatly appreciated.

2008-03-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

The final documents for our Shaohannah's Hope grant applicaton went out today. Please pray along with us as these documents are processed. Trey prayed over them for us before they went to the post office. I should have video taped it.

Trying to get in touch with Diana. She's been out of the country, but should be back in the States now. I can't seem to locate her. I still have my I-171H at my house. I was hoping it would have already found it's way to Acres of Hope.

2008-03-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

It's been a really good day, and it just got even better. I have had an amazing day with my family. Eric and I took the boys to the Franklin Park Conservatory and it was so relaxing and fun. Then we came home and colored our Easter eggs. Then the mail came, and guess what was inside my mailbox? MY I-171H APPROVAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was supposed to take at least 3 weeks, and I have heard of it taking up to 6 months. The Columbus office is on top of things! It's only been 10 days! If you can't tell, I'm extremely excited. This is the very last document needed to make us referral ready with Acres of Hope. Only a tiny bit of that excitement left when I called Diana to share the news and find out where to fax this to, and I received a voicemail that she was out of the country until the 27th. Oh well--at least I have the paper in my hands.

Other adoption news. We have completed the on-line portion of our grant application for Shaohannah's Hope. I have to get busy quickly on the rest of the documents they need mailed to them this week.

Finally, keep your calendars clear for April 26th. Our amazing friends are planning a benefit for the adoption. More details to come.

And it's March Madness time, a day really doesn't get much better than this.

Added later*************Okay, it can get a little better. Cowboy won $150 in the lottery today. That's a lot of money for an old homeless man. He was so excited!

2008-03-12T18:08:00.001-07:00

Eric and I have now been officially fingerprinted by the Department of Homeland Security. So weird.

Please pray that our fingerprints are processed quickly. It is supposed to take 3 to 6 weeks for us to get our approval. I have no idea why it would take that long. It was all done on this extremely high tech computer. It seems to me that it shouldn't take long for the computer to tell them if we are criminals or terrorists. Anyway, we are really at a stand still until we hear back from them.

2008-03-10T05:33:00.000-07:00

Due to the Blizzard of 2008, our fingerprinting will now be on Wednesday at 8:00am.

I talked with Diana from Lighthouse on the phone this weekend. She has not mailed our dossier to Acres yet, and may not be able to until our I-171H approval. We talked about finances as well. We owe a fee right now, again, it is the EXACT amount that we have in our adoption savings account. We will not owe any more money until we receive the referral of our children. At that time we will owe a tremendous amount of money. I told Eric yesterday that I believe that when the time comes for us to pay for the completion of this adoption, the money will be there again.

I continue to prepare myself for a long referral wait. Who knows, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. But, it seems very likely to me that this will be another time to learn more about waiting on God's timing.

That's all the adoption news I have for now...

2008-03-03T17:01:00.000-08:00

Fingerprinting this Saturday at 11:00am. The Columbus CIS office seems to be extremely quick and efficient based on our interaction with them over the last two weeks. That isn't always the case from what I've heard. So, I'm hopeful that we will finish all this up soon and have our I-171H approval quickly. We'll see. I don't know why I'm so anxious to finish up immigration, then we'll have nothing to do but wait some more!

It's 8:00 and I'm going to bed. I've decided I need the sleep.

2008-02-26T17:29:00.000-08:00

Let's try this again...sent the I600-A BACK to immigrations today. Hopefully I won't hear from then again until they contact us about fingerprinting. I'm not writing all of this out for your reading pleasure, I'm aware that this is not the most exciting kind of information to read. I'm writing each step of this out so it is documented here for us to look back at and for our girls to read some day. I wrote often, either on this blog or in my journal, about each step of my pregnancies with the boys. In a completely different way, I'm pregnant again and I want to record each step of this "pregnancy" as well.

A few weeks ago we attended a service at the big Vineyard church with my in laws. During the praise and worship time the band started playing a song that has become very familiar to me over the last five years. I completely lost it. These are the words...

If You say go, we will go
If You say wait, we will wait
If You say step out on the water
And they say it can't be done
We'll fix our eyes on You and we will come

Your ways are higher than our ways
And the plans that You have laid
Are good and true
If You call us to the fire
You will not withdraw Your hand
We'll gaze into the flames and look for You

We first heard this song while we were planning our move to Columbus from Bowling Green. We had no idea what God had in store for us, all we knew was that He had said to leave EVERYTHING that was familiar and secure and to trust Him for all we needed. At times this song was all I had to cling to. I would listen to it repeatedly, sobbing while I was packing up our house. When we decided to move to Franklinton this song was again extremely important to me. God used it to remind me that it was my job to simply obey Him. And now, this adoption. It's crazy, I know that. I know a lot of people think it's crazy. We know it's what God has called us to. It's as simple as that. So, hearing this song again at Vineyard was extremely emotional for me. Tonight I had dinner with my in-laws and while Pop Pop had the boys in the bathroom my mother-in-law told me that she really believed that God used that song that night as another confirmation that we were doing the right thing. I really needed to hear that tonight.

2008-02-23T17:47:00.000-08:00

One step forward, two steps back. That's how it feels right now. The Columbus immigration office seems to think that I did not mail in enough money with my I600-A, even though I followed all the directions given to me very carefully. Lighthouse actually verified that I had done everything correctly and filed the paperwork for me. So frustrating to receive it all back in the mail today. So, there is nothing I can do about it until Monday. As if the wait for all this immigration stuff isn't long enough...we get to add a few weeks to our wait time now.

And yet, here's the most important thing I'm learning...God's timing is perfect. And, it's not always important for me to understand.

Tonight it was a joy to watch my little boys play together and I couldn't help but think what this house will look like with two more little people running around giggling.

Thank you so much to those of you who continue to give to help make this dream a reality. We have received such generous gifts, sometimes from people we don't know well at all. Thank you so much.

2008-02-18T19:30:00.000-08:00

Lighthouse emailed me tonight to let me know that our I600-A was sent out today. Diana is working on getting everything ready for Acres of Hope this week. It feels like we are moving forward a little now, which is a good feeling. Each small step forward makes all of this feel so much more real.

I have a few more thoughts, but it's too late to write them all out now. Maybe tomorrow...

2008-02-12T13:05:00.000-08:00

A message on my answering machine from Lighthouse today...
"We have found your dossier documents. They are safe and sound..."

You have no idea how nervous I have been. Do you realize how long it would have taken us to redo all of this if it had gotten lost in the mail? Yesterday the entire box was missing.

2008-02-06T08:05:00.000-08:00

The Davis Family

Amber's Family

Here are the links that were on my last post. I wanted to provide them again so you can continue to pray for these families.

So, what happened to the rest of that post? I deleted it. It was full of fear...fear that was based on rumored information and someone else's experience. I've been learning a lot about myself over the past two weeks, and a lot of it hasn't been very pretty. But, it's been good to feel like God is teaching me even if the lessons to be learned aren't easy. Here's the main problem...I have serious control issues. I always have. I like to know what's coming. I like when things are predictable. I do everything in my power to make sure I have things running smoothly. These are things that help me feel safe and secure. So, everything about international adoption, especially international adoption from a third world country, goes against all that I find so comforting. When I was pregnant with my boys I felt somewhat like I was still in the driver's seat. I'm sure that this was a false sense of security, but I did what I could. I took my vitamins, went to all my doctor appointments, tried to eat right and rest as much as possible. I was reassured that things were fine every time I heard the baby's heart beat, felt him kick, or saw his little body on an ultrasound. This is all so different. Here's how I feel while I'm waiting this time around...like I'm standing at the end of a pier and throwing a piece of my heart into the ocean. Then I'll have to run down to the shore and wait to see what the waves bring in. Hopefully this piece of my heart that I've been vulnerable with will return to me. But, I can't control the ocean. It has a mind of it's own. I can only hope. So, I came up with my only little solution to make me feel like maybe I could possibly control this process to some degree. I found the world of Liberian adoption blogs. I have read some beautiful stories of children finding forever homes. I've read many miracles and seen pictures of many smiling faces. At the same time I've read the horror stories. I've heard way too many rumors and read way too much gossip. Often this is not malicious or intentional, but it's still not first hand information from my agency. I felt like I could stay on top of things if I read about the experiences of others. I thought that if I read about a problem another family was experiencing I could avoid that problem for our family. Last week was a somewhat unstable week for adoption in Liberia and I read all about it, all the time. I spent way too much time reading and I was suddenly full of fear.

So, here's what it all boils down to...God has called our family and given us a heart for Liberia. He has asked me to respond with child like obedience and He expects me to trust Him. Our prayer and hope is that at the end of this journey two new children will be a part of our family. In the midst of it all, He has some serious lessons for me to learn about being a mother, a wife, and more importantly about being part of His Kingdom.

I've given up reading adoption blogs for Lent.

99% of our dossier has been mailed in! I have one last thing that I will hopefully get this week to send to Lighthouse. The I600-A has been mailed in with the money orders. We keep moving forward.

One last thing...if you are still reading. Please keep saving your change. It may seem like it doesn't really matter because it's such a small amount of money. It adds up! We have now rolled about $550! Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed. If you need a bottle, please let me know.

2008-01-30T05:49:00.000-08:00

I received a copy of our completed home study this week! It's on the way to Lighthouse. Now that we have a completed home study I can start applying for grants.

I'm SOOOOO ready to be done with this dossier. Some of the requirements have changed so we have to redo some things we thought were already done. My goal is to have it all in the mail next Monday.

Apply for grants, complete dossier, complete our I-600A...all of this should be tricky with one mommy and three little boys who are trying to get over the flu.

We have the PBS video "Liberia: America's Stepchild" at our house right now. I haven't watched it yet, but would love some company for a movie night if anyone is interested.

2008-01-23T18:28:00.000-08:00

We are so close to having a completed home study. All the paper work has been turned in. We were waiting on our child abuse clearances, but those have been completed now as well. Now we will begin working on the immigration phase of all of this, beginning with the filing of our I-600A. I have a lot of questions about this phase, but Diana (from Lighthouse) is at the orphanage in Haiti this week, so most of my questions will have to wait. We have completed about 90% of our dossier paperwork as well. Little by little we keep moving forward on this really long road to our girls in Liberia.

I was able to spend time with my mom on Monday night. She took me out to dinner and we went to a movie. At dinner she listened well as I poured out all of my emotions about the adoption. My time with her was really a gift because she believes in us and in this dream. I don't know how to put all of my thoughts and feelings about the adoption into words right now, except to say that this is all so huge and overwhelming. Some days thinking about these girls and where they are right now is more that I can handle. I worry a lot right now about if I can trust the people that are in control of this process. I have spent a lot of time praying this week, trying to listen to what God has to say to our family. Over and over again He has told me to simply trust Him. Thank you for your prayers for our family.

Acres of Hope

2008-01-21T16:44:00.000-08:00

Conditions in the previous video are the norm in Liberia. The availability of Fresh water is extremely limited. Here is a link to an agency who helped the orphanage we are adopting through build a well to provide safe drinking water.

life water

2008-01-17T18:42:00.000-08:00

I (eric) found this video while studying a bit more about Liberia. I met the songwriter this past fall and the footgage is from somewhere just outside of Monrovia... which is where our future girls live.

2008-01-16T18:37:00.000-08:00

It's been another busy adoption week here.

--Riley and Trey had their adoption physicals. We love Dr. Turek and it's been great to talk with him about this adoption.

--Denise will be here tomorrow night at 6:30 for our final home study interview. I don't know how long it will take her after this interview to complete our home study. Hopefully not long because we need to a copy to Lighthouse quickly so that they can get moving on our immigration paper work.

--Saturday we have CPR training. Not my favorite way to spend a Saturday morning, but it has to be done.

--We had to read two books on adoption and international adoption for our home study. I finished them today. It was really good to spend time learning. When I was pregnant with Riley I read so much. That's the same way I feel now, like I have so much to learn about parenting these children. They will be my children in the same way that Riley, Trey and Evan are my children. But, they will come with their own set of issues as children who have been separated from their birth parents. If you are reading this and you have adopted internationally, please offer your suggestions on books to read. I'm ready to learn more.

In some ways I'm really ready to be done with this paperwork phase. But, in other ways I think it will be so much harder when all there is to do is wait. I don't wait well. I'm sure God has so much to teach me in this process.

2008-01-08T17:52:00.000-08:00

The fire inspection is over. Mr. Inspector was intense, I'm not sure how many times I said "yes sir" in the twenty minutes he was here. I was a little surprised to learn that we are required to have monthly family fire drills until the children we adopt are 18 years old. We have two minutes to get all our kids to the library down the street. We're supposed to time it and record comments each month. I didn't argue with him, I just said "yes sir." He suggested that I do some of them in the middle of the night to practice evacuating the house while everyone is sleeping. I wonder if he has any children.

Our social worker just left. She was here for about two hours. She was extremely nice and gave us a lot of good advice. She talked with the kids first. They were SO well behaved and extremely cute. Riley answered all of her questions like a little man. He gave her direct eye contact the entire time and was very polite. Trey was adorable and did a great job answering her questions. Evan took some kind of super cute pill before she came and just sat by me on the couch saying "yeah" every time she asked one of the boys a question. He would throw his head back and laugh after each "yeah." Then Jen put the boys to bed and we talked with her about our thoughts on adoption, our values, and our parenting philosophy. It went really well. She did a walk through of the house before she left as well. She'll be calling us tomorrow to schedule our next interview and then she will complete our home study!

2008-01-07T19:18:00.000-08:00

The first home study interview was supposed to be today, but it was moved to tomorrow night. Denise will be here around 6:30pm. If you know our family well, you know that this is not our best time of the day. But, it was the only option if we wanted to reschedule quickly, so we took it. We also have our fire inspection tomorrow morning as well. It will be a busy day. Some of the things we had to do to get ready for the fire inspection seem a little silly. Should fire ever happen to strike our home, we will be ready with fire evacuation plans posted on the wall. I guess this is just in case we forget where the nearest door or window is located in a moment of panic. But, we do now have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. As often as I let the kids bake and cook, it's probably a really good thing to have! We've been cleaning and baby proofing all weekend and all day today. Yes, I know this house should already be baby proof. It's not. I'm a completely irresponsible parent. Now all outlets have been covered and all cleaning supplies are behind locked cabinets. Should Denise want a snack, the refridgerator has been scrubbed. The kitchen cabinets have been polished, the bathrooms are shining, and the kids lockers and coat closets are nicely organized. I haven't cleaned the base boards, and probably won't have time! I know, I'm paranoid. I'll be so glad when this is over.

Other adoption updates...we are moving along quickly with our dossier and home study paper work. This would be a good time to thank Jen Leonard for her amazing help in this process. We would be a mess without her. She has our paper work so organized and keeps us right on track. We are on target to have it all done by the time Denise is finished preparing our home study. Eric and I have physicals this week and Riley and Trey have well childs next week. Evan is already done with his. Then Dr. Turek will have signed off on all of us and we'll be done with the medical paper work. I also had a good talk with Diana, our contact at Lighthouse. It was good to talk with her about my questions and concerns. Later this month we'll have infant CPR as well.

Finally, we are planning on rolling more coins. We'll probably work on it Friday night. Thank you all for donating your change. You would be amazed at how quickly it adds up. If you have been saving any for us, drop it off if you get a chance. We could also pick it up if that is easier for you. Then we can roll it and deposit it into our adoption savings account!

It's half time and the Bucks aren't looking very good...good night.

2007-12-19T17:21:00.000-08:00

I have talked with our social worker on the phone and we have scheduled our first home study interview for Monday, January 7th at 12:30.

We sold Eric's computer to my cousin and were able to use the money for the adoption. Thank you Ryan for buying it from us. Thanks to my husband for being willing to sell his favorite toy. Between the computer money, the change we've collected, and contributions from family and friends we have been able to pay all of our fees to both Lighthouse and Gentle Care on time. So far this has come to a grand total of $2300.

Jen spent a ton of time this weekend organizing our paperwork and getting us ready to assemble our home study documents and our dossier. We're moving in the right direction.

2007-12-14T13:43:00.000-08:00

Our home study packet came in the mail today. wow. It's really overwhelming, but it's time to push forward with this as quickly as possible. We have been assigned a social worker, her name is Denise. According to the letter that accompanied the packet, she should be contacting us shortly to set up our home visits. Hopefully "shortly" means Monday. So, we are also going to pay our dossier fee to Lighthouse and then we can begin aggressively working on our dossier while we are working on our home study. Many of the documents we will need to gather for our home study are needed for our dossier as well.

I had a dream about our children in Liberia last night. We went to pick them up, but we were told they weren't ready and we had to come home. It was devastating.

As I have been preparing for Christmas this year, I have thought often about what Christmas might look like next year. Maybe there will be two extra stockings. Maybe Santa will bring something pink. Maybe there will be two extra little people in my bed, all cozy under blankets, reading The Night Before Christmas with me. I sure hope so.

Have you read anything about Liberia yet? Have you seen the pictures? Have you read their stories? You should.

2007-12-05T06:11:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update on where we are in this process. Our application and check for our homestudy were sent in on Monday. Lighthouse and Adoption by Gentle Care were able to work out an agreement and so Gentle Care will begin our home study process shortly. This is really happening. Now this dream of ours, that we believe was given to us by God, is on its way to becoming a reality. The home study makes me nervous and I'm ready to be on the other side of it. I always get nervous trying to explain who we are as a family and why we do what we do. This is probably because I honestly feel like we are criticized often by people who don't understand our choices. Now I have to explain our family to a complete stranger. But, this step is necessary and so we'll begin praying now for the grace we need to complete it. Another reason we need it done is that we can not begin applying for grants until it is completed.

How you can pray for our family...
Pray that the social worker assigned to do our home study is a good match for our family.

Pray for the financing of this adoption. Riley and I have been talking a lot about Jesus feeding the 5,000. He believes with his whole little heart that God will multiply our money in the same way. I want that kind of child like faith.

Pray that we will have wisdom as we continue to work on paper work and begin to gather the documents we need for our dossier.

Most importantly, pray for the children of Liberia. Pray for the care givers at the orphanage. Pray for those who are in leadership at Acres of Hope and Lighthouse Adoptions. We have heard that a large number of children are almost ready to be referred to families. We are not far enough along in this process to be one of those families, but pray for these children and the families they will be matched with.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

2007-11-30T10:18:00.000-08:00

So, what made you decide to adopt from Liberia?

I get asked this question often. I think these pictures explain it better than I ever could with my words. These are of a precious little girl named Ruby that was adopt by a wonderful family. You can check out their journal at www.petersonadoption.blogspot.com

2007-11-28T10:54:00.000-08:00

Good news today...we have been officially accepted by Lighthouse. Now it's time to start the massive amount of paperwork that we will be required to fill out over the next few months. I've already received some of it in my email today.

Hopefully we will be ready to move forward with Adoption by Gentle Care next week. They are the agency here in Columbus that will be completing our home study. I have almost finished the first batch of paperwork they require, but we are still waiting to make sure that they can work out everything that needs worked out legally with Lighthouse before we send in the first of many large, non-refundable checks.

More good news...we have been given a nice head start on all of this financially. My family surprised us on Thanksgiving Day with a very generous commitment. We are extremely grateful. Several friends have stopped by with change they have collected, which we are ready to start counting. Any suggestions on counting large amounts of change? I really don't want to waste money on the machine at Kroger which charges you 8 cents for every dollar. We would like to use this change towards our home study which is going to be more expensive than we initially anticipated.

So, that's where we are right now. Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

2007-11-16T10:54:00.000-08:00

We our beginning our first fundraiser. As a family we have been collecting our change. We are asking you to do the same. We have baby bottles for you to use for collecting your change. After it's full, you can drop it off at our house. We will dump it into the giant pot in our living room and you can fill it again. Inside your bottle you will find the following information:

Every 15 SECONDS another child becomes an AIDS orphan in Africa.
Every DAY 5,760 more children become orphans.
Every YEAR 2,102,400 more children become orphans in Africa alone.
Every 2.2 SECONDS another orphan ages out with no family to belong to and no place to call home.
Many of these children accept job offers that ultimately result in being sold as slaves. Millions of girls are sex slaves today, simply because they were unfortunate enough to grow up as orphans.
Not all are called to adopt, but anyone can love an orphan be helping other families adopt.

So many of you have called, emailed, or stopped by our house to encourage us as we begin this process. Thank you so much! Your prayers and encouragement mean so much to us right now.

I think we have settled on a local agency to do our home study. Our application should have arrived in Colorado at Lighthouse yesterday or today. Things will really start moving now.

Here we go...

2007-11-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow morning we will be sending our application to Lighthouse Adoptions. This is the agency we will be working with to complete our adoption with Acres of Hope. We have already had a short phone interview with them, but this application will officially get things moving. The first step will be to find a local agency or social worker to complete our home study. Lighthouse is in the process of looking for referrals for us. Hopefully we will have more information soon.

2007-11-06T13:57:00.001-08:00

This is the beginning.