The orphanage is full...

Not of children who need families to adopt them. But of children who have families waiting for them to come home.

Adoption is relatively new in Liberia and the way the government processes adoptions is continually changing. One disadvantage of adoption from Liberia is the instability of the government and the amount of time it takes for adoptions to be processed.

We just learned that there have been more changes and here is a portion of what Donna, on staff with AOH stateside, wrote, "Both our orphanages are full to the brim. Thus we do not have room to bring in one more child until we have some kids home with their new families."

What this means is:

1. Children and families are waiting to unite sometimes longer than a year while adoptions are being processed in Liberia. This is time when the united family could be bonding and the kids could be receiving better medical care.

2. We are very confident that kids in the orphanage receive the best care possible considering their limitations. As sad as it is that these kids are not receiving care from their dad and momma, they are well fed, have "school" and get the medical attention that is available. With the orphanage full of kids who are just waiting to go home, there is no room for other kids to come in, get these needs met, and also have the opportunity to be adopted.

3. As a result, this also means a longer wait for a referral for Bryan and I.

Please pray that future changes in the way adoptions are being processed in Liberia will make the process move along more steadily rather than slow it down. Pray that the orphanages will become a short stay for the kids as they unite with their new families quickly.

Countdown to...

...football season. Packer Training Camp begins this weekend! We will be making our annual pilgrimage to the Mecca of Packer fans in 6 days.

A bit of history for my friends from the AOH yahoo group: I come from a family who does not bother to watch the Superbowl. I married into a family that plans holidays (and everything else) around the Packers schedule and has attended Packer Training Camp every year for over 20 years! Some families go camping for family vacation...others go site seeing to the Grand Canyon...or to Disney Land. But the Wedan's? We go to Training Camp!

What do we do at training camp? Watch practices and shop for MORE Packer stuff...we might not have every design of every Packer's cap ever made, and therefore must look at every "Packer department" of every store in Green Bay. And then after we have looked at everything we go back to the first store to buy it!

My first trip was 3 months after I married Bryan, and I must say, it was quite a culture shock. Since, I have grown to enjoy and even look forward to the extended weekend. We stay in a nice hotel with a water park, and we have fun just hanging out with the family. Hi Dennis and Julie!

Acres of Hope is having a festival for all adoptive families (waiting and united) to get together. But, even though they are in Wisconsin, they planned it for the same weekend as Packers Training Camp and the very exciting Family Night, where over 60,000 fans PAY to watch the Packers PRACTICE! So, we will not be attending...

This year, we have plans to buy Brett (yes, named after Brett Favre) some Packer "essentials" and maybe some Brewer "necessities" as well. But, Brett's Uncle Adam, who happens to work at the Packer Pro Shop, got a head start...

Favorite pic from last year...

Justice

Whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Proverbs 14:31

What is justice? According to dictionary.com, it is, "the administering of deserved punishment or reward." According to me, it's "what's fair or right." Here is a difficult question: is adoption just? Is is fair or right that a little boy in Liberia will be separated from his first family, placed in an orphanage, and then adopted by a white couple living a world away in a completely different culture? The answer is clearly, "no".

Then how can we participate in this unjust act? Are we really being "kind to the needy"? Would our money be better spent in rebuilding efforts that would keep this little boy with his first family?

In a just world, there would be no need for adoption. Every child would be born to parents who could care for him. There wouldn't be sickness and disease killing millions. There wouldn't be wars leading to complete breakdown of economies. There wouldn't be famines and natural disasters. But we don't live in a just world.

We live in a world where adoption is necessary. While adoption is clearly not the answer to sickness, war, and natural disasters, it means LIFE for our son (see Melissa Greene video at the bottom of this page regarding adoption in Ethiopia). It is completely unjust for our son to to be orphaned. But God knew there would be orphans.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows' in their distress...

James 1:27

Melodie is a missionary who cares for the children in the Acres of Hope orphanage and offers a lot of insight on adopting a child from Liberia. Acres of Hope is a Christian organization that is doing much work to rebuild Liberia including: building wells for rural communities, feeding 8000 children a day, opening schools, and running a medical outreach program.

The current state of the people of Liberia is incredibly unjust. But Bryan and I are not participating in an unjust act. We thank God for the opportunity to participate in His reconciliation work in Liberia.

I'd say we're getting a lot of bang for our buck! We will get to be parents of Brett, and, in our small way, invest in rebuilding Liberia at the same time!

"Paper Pregnant"

We mailed all our documents for our dossier to Acres of Hope! The dossier is a large packet of information about us that will eventually end up in Liberia so that our son's adoption can be completed. It includes our homestudy, taxes from the past 3 years, physician's reports, pictures of us and our home, letters of reference, letters from our employers, and a letter we wrote to the Liberian government explaining why we want to adopt an orphan from Liberia. And lots of other stuff.


In the world of adoption, many waiting mommas affectionately refer to themselves as being "paper pregnant". So, here are some not-so-ordinary "pregnant" shots.

For the curious, I have gained 5 pounds (of paper) so far. I am experiencing frequent mood swings (just ask Bryan). I am also craving nachos, bacon, and cotton candy.

Okay...that's not new.

We are expecting my gestation period to be somewhere between that of a camel (13.6 months) and an elephant (21.5 months). Unfortunately, I am not getting out of any cleaning or house projects due to my condition.

Just for fun, we're keeping track of how many pieces of paper it will take to complete our adoption. Take a guess on the poll located in the right column!

Enlightened by a care package

This week it was posted on the Acres of Hope discussion board that the orphanage was in need of several supplies. Always eager to give to underprivileged children, I quickly made the arrangements to mail a shoebox sized care package to an adoptive family who will be traveling to the orphanage in August. Off to Target I went with my list in hand, cheerful to have the opportunity to give to these needy children.

Somewhere between the summer closeout onesies and the medicine aisle, it hit me. I was filling a care package for my son. My son is the needy, underprivileged child that will benefit from our charity. Of course, we know this, but it resonated on a deeper level. I checked my cart. Suddenly it became very personal. Are these supplies "good enough" for our child? What if our child is teething - will the orphanage have pain reliever for him? What if he gets a cut - will they have ointment for it? A cough - cough medicine?

Clearly, I could not fit everything my son would need in a shoebox. I would have to rely on the charity of others. So, when I really think about it, our family, separated by an ocean, is both privileged and underprivileged. We are giving to charity and accepting charity at the same time. As a recipient, I have a new gratitude for people who give, and specifically for Acres of Hope, who is faithfully providing love and care for orphans, including our son.


Disclaimer: Brett probably is not at the orphanage yet, but when he gets there, he will probably be there for 6-12 months while his adoption is completed. Note that we cannot send things specifically for Brett, other than a small photo album, as everything is considered community property. We also hope that Brett will not be wearing the pink sandals pictured above!

Finally Finalized!

Our homestudy was finally finalized on Friday! We got it in the mail today, and it has already been sent to USCIS! So, now we are officially waiting for approval of our I600A petition through US immigration! We are praying for a quick approval, but it can take up to 4 months.

Playing "Orphanage"

We had a fun filled family reunion at Lake Okoboji last weekend (22nd annual!) At the reunion, we learned that people actually read our blog! And my cousin told me I need to update it more often.

So, this post is dedicated to Ann, since the adoption is moving very slooooooooooowly right now, and we have nothing to report. (There will definitely be a lot more "nothing to report" posts coming...)


My niece (7) and nephew (4) came to stay with us for a few days after the reunion, and we had a blast! We hit the playground, the library, the pet store, the pool, the zoo, and the history center all in 2 days!

During the times when the kids weren't completely overstimulated, I would catch them playing "orphanage" which was absolutely adorable! One time, they even invited me in the fun to "play the mom", who was coming to "dopt" them. In my counselor way, I must confess, I did attempt to change some of their language..."How much does this one cost?" and "I'd like to buy this one", I molded to "How much does the paperwork cost?" and "I'd like to adopt a baby who needs parents".

After reading "I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla", a book about the developmental stages of race awareness, it was also interesting to see how the kids responded to our diverse city. They live in a small predominately white community. When we were at the pool, there were many different races represented. I told the kids, "Let's go over and play by the basketball hoop" and my niece commented, "All the kids over there are brown." Not in a judgemental way...she was just stating the facts!

Later, I asked her if she knew the baby we were adopting was going to be "brown".

"Yes," she said, "but why don't you adopt a white baby?"

I love how kids are so honest! I'm sure there are a few adults in our "circle" who are thinking the same thing!