Got the email this past week....not THE email, the one with a picture of the cutest baby in Ethiopia attached....but the email with another attachment called 'The Completed HomeStudy.' This is a big deal! The giant first step.
It was a strange feeling to read a boiled down 10 page version of my life. I felt like I was on a ladder peeking into my own windows. If there ever was a "long story short," this is it. Our social worker did a really good job pulling the marrow out of our interviews and leaving the rest alone. At one point, social worker Kim asked Scott what originally attracted him to me. The HomeStudy reads, " Scott was attracted to Loretta’s love for God, her family, and her willingness to pursue fulltime ministry. " I like that, sounds good for Pastor Scott to be attracted to his future wife by such things. The whole story's just un-necessary....I mean really, who in Ethiopia needs to know that the first comment out of his mouth after that question was about the hot-ness of my legs. Probably doesn't factor much into my fitness as an adoptive mother...sounds more like match.com ad copy. So, we're thankful for Kim's insight and keen sifting ability. We sound like a pretty nice American family....I have to admit I was impressed with the "HomeStudy Us."
We are the first of three people who need to proof-read it and send it back to Kim with approval. When that's done....the first big invoice will start making it's way through the postal service to our mailbox. The sand is running through the hourglass on this one. It's pretty important that we pay that bill right away and keep things moving to avoid bumping up against our police clearance expiration date. They want to make sure there hasn't been any time for us to mis-behave between our clean bill of felony health and choosing to let us adopt a child! After the bill's paid we'll be cleared to send our HomeStudy to Immigration and begin assembling our Dossier. The Immigration Clearance will give us a green light to pay the second big bill and send the whole shebang to Ethiopia and get ourselves on the golden waiting list.
We're excited!! So excited!! One big step closer to bringing our baby home! Or as Ginger would say..."My little brother's in Eefiopeeea and he's cryyyyying. I want to take care of him." I can't wait to get him (or her) in my arms either!
In the mean-time, we're still trying to work every fundraising open door God puts in front of us. The day after our HomeStudy came I got an email from Ordinary Hero. We totally knocked out the competition in a grant contest they hosted last month, won the grant and deposited $1,159 into our adoption fund! The email announced another week-long grant contest starting today. I really hesitated....our friends and family came through in such a big way last time, but my first thought was, "How many t-shirts can I ask people to buy??!" After having two friends mention that they were planning another purchase, having others ask me to let them know when the next contest starts, feeling the weight of the pending invoice and getting a pep-talk from a friend about "just putting it out there and letting people do what they're gonna do..." it seemed as if we should do just that.
So, I'm putting it out there. This contest works just like the last....we get 40% of all purchases and the top 3 sellers of the week earn an extra $500. You'll be seeing lots of facebook posts in the next week. Use them as reminders to pray, reminders to buy tees or goats to feed African kids if the Spirit leads, and as reminders to repost and help us spread the word. But please, don't feel any pressure along with the posts....I can't stand that, it would stress me out!
Let's get comfortable on the couch together....grab some popcorn and get ready to watch. God's gonna do what He does best....and that's always a show worth paying attention to! He'll be making something out of nothing....either through the Ordinary Hero contest or something beyond what I could even cook up in my own little brain as something to ask for. The lights are dimming, the previews have started and the feature presentation is just around the corner.....I'm getting goosebumps!!
It was a strange feeling to read a boiled down 10 page version of my life. I felt like I was on a ladder peeking into my own windows. If there ever was a "long story short," this is it. Our social worker did a really good job pulling the marrow out of our interviews and leaving the rest alone. At one point, social worker Kim asked Scott what originally attracted him to me. The HomeStudy reads, " Scott was attracted to Loretta’s love for God, her family, and her willingness to pursue fulltime ministry. " I like that, sounds good for Pastor Scott to be attracted to his future wife by such things. The whole story's just un-necessary....I mean really, who in Ethiopia needs to know that the first comment out of his mouth after that question was about the hot-ness of my legs. Probably doesn't factor much into my fitness as an adoptive mother...sounds more like match.com ad copy. So, we're thankful for Kim's insight and keen sifting ability. We sound like a pretty nice American family....I have to admit I was impressed with the "HomeStudy Us."
We are the first of three people who need to proof-read it and send it back to Kim with approval. When that's done....the first big invoice will start making it's way through the postal service to our mailbox. The sand is running through the hourglass on this one. It's pretty important that we pay that bill right away and keep things moving to avoid bumping up against our police clearance expiration date. They want to make sure there hasn't been any time for us to mis-behave between our clean bill of felony health and choosing to let us adopt a child! After the bill's paid we'll be cleared to send our HomeStudy to Immigration and begin assembling our Dossier. The Immigration Clearance will give us a green light to pay the second big bill and send the whole shebang to Ethiopia and get ourselves on the golden waiting list.
We're excited!! So excited!! One big step closer to bringing our baby home! Or as Ginger would say..."My little brother's in Eefiopeeea and he's cryyyyying. I want to take care of him." I can't wait to get him (or her) in my arms either!
In the mean-time, we're still trying to work every fundraising open door God puts in front of us. The day after our HomeStudy came I got an email from Ordinary Hero. We totally knocked out the competition in a grant contest they hosted last month, won the grant and deposited $1,159 into our adoption fund! The email announced another week-long grant contest starting today. I really hesitated....our friends and family came through in such a big way last time, but my first thought was, "How many t-shirts can I ask people to buy??!" After having two friends mention that they were planning another purchase, having others ask me to let them know when the next contest starts, feeling the weight of the pending invoice and getting a pep-talk from a friend about "just putting it out there and letting people do what they're gonna do..." it seemed as if we should do just that.
So, I'm putting it out there. This contest works just like the last....we get 40% of all purchases and the top 3 sellers of the week earn an extra $500. You'll be seeing lots of facebook posts in the next week. Use them as reminders to pray, reminders to buy tees or goats to feed African kids if the Spirit leads, and as reminders to repost and help us spread the word. But please, don't feel any pressure along with the posts....I can't stand that, it would stress me out!
Let's get comfortable on the couch together....grab some popcorn and get ready to watch. God's gonna do what He does best....and that's always a show worth paying attention to! He'll be making something out of nothing....either through the Ordinary Hero contest or something beyond what I could even cook up in my own little brain as something to ask for. The lights are dimming, the previews have started and the feature presentation is just around the corner.....I'm getting goosebumps!!
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| http://www.ordinaryherostore.org/ Choose "Scott & Lori Florida" from the affiliate pull-down menu when you check out! Thanks! |
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