It's been an interesting week in my world of waiting.
1. I saw a travel doctor. While at the office, I asked the nurse if she saw a lot of adoptive families. She said that they used to, but there has been a big decline in the past few years. She attributed this to the economy. A recent New York Times article describes other factors (a link to this article is pasted at the end of this entry). I am not sure if this means overall adoptions are down, or just international adoptions. Either way, there are still many children around the world who are in need of families to raise them.
2. I received a small grant from the Fatherless Foundation. This is the second grant I have received. Between these two grants, and the money my friend Jessica has been lovingly (and determinedly) raising, the next phase of payments will be significantly less. While on the topic of Jessica, I got to watch her fundraiser grow significantly this past week. The amount of love aimed at us via her speaks volumes of Jessica. She is generous and well-loved. I cannot wait to send Antonia off to the ballet with her in a few years.
3. Following notice of the grant, I received another email from my adoption agency. It seems that the US Embassy is going to take more time investigating adoptions before granting visas. While this is good overall, hopefully further reducing corrupt adoptions, it means it will take longer for children to enter the US. Part of me thinks I received the grant to cover additional in-country expenses for my child. I think the charge is $700.00 for every month in country. Does this mean I am looking at waiting for several more months? Aaaaagh.
4. School has begun again. Teaching restarted a while ago, now I am now back in class. A new professor joined our program. I am not sure how this will play out with my potentially missing a month of class. My program director and other professor understand my circumstance and are willing to work with me. The verdict is still out with him though. As insane as my timing may seem to be, it kind of works for me. Looking forward to a pay increase in two years makes more sense than ever. Without the baby, I am not sure I would ever be inspired to leave the classroom because I love teaching so much.
5. The baby received her first piece of mail. It is sweet, a Valentine's Day card from my sister's family. It shows my two little nephews holding hands. My favorite part though is Antonia's name on the envelope. And my sister's note to her.
The New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/25/world/us-adoptions-from-abroad-decline-shar...
We have received one grant. This economy puts demand high and resources low. This fall I was put in touch with one woman, Marcy Cole, and her growing organization called CMomA. This was CMomA's first year offering grants to defray the cost of adoption for childless families. Without hypbole, I will say that they were a beacon of hope.
Every application contained so much of me: hope, love, fear, humility. Nevermind the letters of reference, tax statements from the past two years, personal statements... So much was put into each one that rejection felt personal. So when CMomA awarded me a grant for $5,000, I was elated. What I didn't expect was the grant's value beyond the monetary. It injected a bit of faith and hope into my process. It came during the "waiting time" - a period I have not yet left. It gave me a boost and, quite honestly, a feeling of validation.
CMomA gave me money to cover attorney fees as well as a feeling of acceptance by the larger community. $5,000.00 is priceless to me. I will forever be grateful.
Check out CMomA here: www.cmoma.org
Adoption is expensive. Some adoptions cost more than others. There are unexpected increases and fees. But what do you do? Giving up is not an option.
I feel like I have not stopped working on gathering money for the past year+. (But how many of us aren't constantly addressing our finances?) I worked a second job. Then a third. I wrote many grants. Still, there is a long way to go. Now I am trying other things. I have joined Amazon Associates, see posts tagged "books." I have sent an application to 147 Million Orphans. They fundraise for orphan care and allow adopting families to raise some money through them. Friends have created an Indiegogo campaign for me. It's hard.
Someday soon I hope to be on the other side - raising money for other adopting families. In the meantime, if you are interested in supporting my adoption:
This is the Indiegogo campaign friends have created for us:
Again, thank you for reading.
Saving and raising money for my adoption has been a full time job. A job in which my performance rating would be horribly low. Amazon let's you post products on a page, if people purchase them through your page, you get a small percentage. The money will be used for my adoption. Once the adoption is paid for, the money will go to http://www.thefatherlessfoundation.org. Here I go...
My favorite baby book. Beautiful sentiment, a cadence babies love.
Close seconds:
These are recordable books. Easy to use. I recorded myself reading Goodnight Moon and sent a copy to my daughter in Africa so she could get used to my voice. Guess How Much I Love You will be read by Grammie and Grandpa.
Adult books that tell parts of Africa's story: