Finalized!

Yesterday, we went to court to have the judge formally declare "Baby Boy (birthmother's last name)" as "Brett Theodore Wedan"!

Five-hundred and five days after we submitted our application for a home study, our adoption is FINAL!!! So, it took just under 8 months from the time we applied to adopt a child until Brett was placed in our arms - only 7 week of that time was our paperwork complete and we were "waiting", and just under nine months from the time Brett was placed in our arms until the adoption was final.

Court was definitely a celebratory occasion. Our county schedules all adoption finalizations for Friday afternoon, so the waiting area was filled with families with their little ones dressed up and smiles all around. Our hearing took about 15 minutes, including time to take pictures with the judge. Brett babbled through the whole thing and charmed the court clerk. We're just glad he didn't "object"!Grandma and Grandpa Ardie were able to come for the hearing and we went out to dinner to celebrate afterward. What a joyous day!

one huge step closer

Today we received this update from An Open Door's paralegal:


"We were able to go to court this morning and the judge signed the Default Judgment terminating the parental rights of the biological father. I have also received all of your post placement visit reports from Summit. Accordingly, I am able to send our agency’s affidavit and consent for you to finalize your adoption..."


Yippee! So, once the affidavit and consent are received by Summit, we can get all our paperwork in order to go to court to finalize Brett's adoption!

Brett Theodore Wedan

Our Little Christmas Gift!

"I have prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.” 1 Samuel 1:27

Brett was born on December 2nd in Georgia! He weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces and was 21 inches long. We got the news at 8 this morning!
He has very long fingers and Debbie at An Open Door tells us Bryan is going to have a tall son!
Alice, Brett's foster mother wrote this about Brett on Wednesday:

"He went to the doctor today. She said he's great. He weighs 7lb-12oz and is 22½ in. long...He is eating 4 oz or more at a feeding and sleeping at least 4 hours between feedings. He has a very sweet nature, is staying awake a little more and is a sound sleeper. He talks in his sleep! He is quite hot natured and doesn't like to be overdressed. He is a back sleeper -- really prefers it. Cord is gone; he has had a good bath and really seemed to enjoy the water. I think he was trying to swim."

Brett, Momma and Daddy are coming...we can't wait to hold you in our arms!

waiting

We're officially waiting to be matched with Brett. All our paperwork (for now!) is turned in and we sent 10 life books to our agency in Georgia. Debbie (the nice lady that directs the African American program) sent out our books to adoption consultants around the state on Thursday. The adoption consultants will show them to the expectant mothers who are making adoption plans for their baby boys.


How does the matching process work? Well, we filled out a five page worksheet that would help the agency determine which expectant mothers to show our book to. It asked tons of questions about what kinds of "situations" we would consider (ie. only boys and a few other limitations). If an expectant mother chooses us from the life books (hopefully she will have a few families to choose from), the agency will call us and give us specific information about her situation. Then Bryan and I can either agree to the situation or tell the agency it's not the situation for us. This will all hopefully happen before the baby is born.


Every state has different laws about what happens after the baby is born. In Georgia, the woman can relinquish her parental rights 24 hours after the birth of the baby. However, she can change her mind for the next 10 days and the baby will be returned to her. During the 10 days, the baby is in private foster care. After the 10 days is when Bryan and I would travel to adopt the baby!


Here is an updated "paper pregnancy" photo:

Eighteen pounds gained!

5 months along

We are "5 months along"-5 months into the adoption process.

When we were at the very beginning of the process, people would tell us..."just wait, you think you're going to adopt in one way, and it will turn out completely different" and "the only thing for sure about adoption is nothing is for sure". Yeah, we listened, but didn't actually think it would happen that way with us!

...5 months later...

We are on a completely different path than we ever expected! In fact, we are about to go down the very path we had quickly eliminated from the start!

Our son is not in Liberia...

...He's in the USA!

(at least, we think he is...you know, "the only thing for sure about adoption is nothing is for sure"!)

More details to come soon! It's Wednesday...SAY Yes day! And I haven't planned the Bible lesson yet...

Brett, where in the world are you?

As it turns out, not in Liberia.

In his heart a man plans his coarse, but the Lord determines his steps. John 14:18

As we learned more facts about the US Embassy in Liberia and the reasons for the change in policies, it became clear that we had a big decision to make. We could stay or we could go. Torn, we sought wise counsel and we prayed for the Lord to determine our steps. Since we had not been matched with a Liberian child yet, and some other information we're not sharing here, we withdrew our request for a child in Liberia.

We are sad. But we can't help but believe God is working to bring Brett home even now.

Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

So, where in the world is Brett? Buckle up! This could be a wild ride!

"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!

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.

We're Adopting!

We discussed. We prayed. We researched. We dreamed. We saved $. We discussed some more...prayed some more...researched some more...dreamed some more and saved some more $. And, on April 25th, we finally officially started the process!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with adoption, here's how the process works: we are currently in the process of getting our homestudy completed. Because we selected an international adoption agency that is based in Wisconsin (Acres of Hope), we also were required to select an agency in our state to do our adoption homestudy (Summit). The homestudy basically includes tons of background checks, family and financial history, interviews, physicals, fingerprinting, letters of reference, and education-all in an effort for our social worker to determine if we are prepared to be parents! On Friday, we submitted our application (I-600A) to USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services). Basically, through this form, we are requesting permission from the US government to bring an immigrant into the US. Once our homestudy is complete and we receive approval from USCIS (estimate about 4 months), we will be ready for a referral, which is done through Acres of Hope, who operates an orphanage in Liberia. A referral can take one day or six months. Since we are requesting an infant boy in relatively good health, it will probably be closer to 6 months. Then, once we accept our referral, the wheels start turning in Liberia for the adoption to take place. We expect this process to take another 6-9 months. And, then, our son comes home!!!




Some questions we get asked:


Why Liberia? Good question. We knew we wanted to adopt internationally and transracially. Still tons of countries to choose from…let’s start eliminating some. There’s the countries where we don’t meet the criteria…not old enough…not married long enough. There’s the countries that you cannot specify a gender preference (hey, let’s adopt a boy since we can!) Let’s look at the practicalities. Cost. Wait time. Travel requirements. Conditions and care orphans are receiving. That eliminates a bunch. Then, there’s the heart of the matter. The heart leads us to Africa. There are only half a dozen countries in Africa who have programs set up for international adoption. Ethiopia is the main country, Liberia is a distant second. And in looking through the orphanage websites, our hearts know Acres of Hope is the one.


Are you going to have any children of your own? We know people who ask this are just being curious and are not intentionally being insensitive. But, our adopted son will be our own. So, yes we are going to have a child of our own...he just isn't going to look (ANYTHING!!!) like us! As for bio children in the future...maybe...we'll see...


Is he going to be a US citizen? Yes. Currently, Liberia does not allow dual citizenship, so he will only be a US citizen. He will be adopted in Liberia, and then, we will readopt when he comes to the US. At that time, he will receive a new birth certificate.


Isn't adoption expensive? Yes, but our son is priceless!


When will he come home? Refer to the "process" paragraph above. There are no guarantees in adoption. Many factors play into this one. But, we are hoping our son will come home by summer 2008.


What about a name? Bryan long ago decided (without my input, by the way!) he would name his first son Brett. Bryan, his daddy's first son, was named after a famous Green Bay Packer player, Bart Starr (his real name is Bryan). In keeping with tradition, Bryan will name his first son Brett after famous Packer player Brett Favre. We will probably use Brett's name given at birth as his middle name.


Come home soon, Brett!