Update!

     So, I know there are several people out there who have been waiting for an update...and honestly, I have purposely been waiting to give one. It's been such a stressful past few months  that I decided early on not to give any updates until we had everything turned in (for the adoption application) and I was finished with Corporate Finance...Well, neither of those two things are true yet---but I am SOOO close that I decided to go ahead and break my own vow. So, for those of you interested.....here is your update =)

     Adoption: I have firmly determined that if anyone wanting to procreate had to go through the application process that we have to go through to adopt...our country would NOT have a teenage pregnancy issue! Its been so stressful and the truth is---this process is NOTHING compared to the Dossier...*shudders* I don't even want to THINK about that yet! Just to turn in our second application (not even APPROVED to adopt yet) we had to locate, fill out, and turn in the following: 
.

• 4 page Adoption Application
• Special Care Checklist where we were to mark what conditions (and to what degree) we were okay with in our child...out of a list of over 100 conditions (Shout out to my mom for creating a 28 PAGE description list for some of the more confusing ones)
• Birth Certificates
• Marriage License (If anyone knows the Gutters from Galvin(?) OK--we received theirs first and had to send off again for ours...grr..State of AR Dept of Vitals!!!)
• 5 recommendation letters (thank you-you know who you are)
• Guardianship Affidavit
• Proof of health insurance that covers pre-existing conditions
• Proof of employment- notarized, signed in blue ink, etc. (almost stopped the whole process)
• Health Examination Forms-sent directly from our Dr. complete with blood work (sympathy vote here, please)
• 2 set of photos including 4 posed family photos in Sunday style clothes, pictures of each room of the house excluding bathrooms, and of course front and back of home
• Personal autobiographies (4-5 pages typed)
• Past 3 years taxes
• Past 5 years income/salary statements 
• Certificate of finances and statement of financial condition (including past three bank statements) 

and did I mention that most things had to be notarized and that two copies of everything must be turned in with the originals....


I should post a picture of all this paperwork....all I can think is "What else could they POSSIBLY need for the Dossier?" 


*shudders again*

     BUT-we are FINALLY through! Scheduled to turn everything in on Monday morning and then we wait for approval to start the Home Study process...At which point, I will begin soliciting help from some of you (ahem...you know if you are close enough....) to:

• paint our office (future guest room), 
• clean out current guest room (future Baby Smith's room) 
• paint some shelves that have been patiently waiting for me to finish them! Who's in?!?!?! =) 

Don't worry...I plan to pay a service to come deep-clean my house before the home visits, so I wont make you scrub floors and bathtubs!! 


Wow.....who would have ever thought it was this strenuous! I mean, I understand that they want to make sure we are in the right condition to bring a child into our family...but with 4.5 MILLION orphans in Ethiopia...how can making the process this difficult and long be in the best interest of the children??  I just pray that our process goes quickly and that God protects our child until we can get to him/her and bring them home......... 


In the future (okay-today), I plan to post some of the statistics about Ethiopia.....If you truly believe the Word of God and have ever read James 1:27, then I don't know how any believer could NOT prayerfully consider adoption...there are SO many children all over the world..who need parents who love them...not wealthy aristocrats, or overwhelmingly successful parents...not PERFECT parents, just loving parents...parents who care about their destiny, who will comfort and protect them, and who can show them just a glimpse of Gods love for them....that is the truth of caring for orphans......God never intended for any child to grow up alone and unloved.....

      Okay, I guess you can tell my feelings on that...so I will move on. for now. at least...

     How is school going, you ask?? Well, I haven't failed out yet, I haven't been admitted into the psych ward (although I am sure I am close) and I am JUST ABOUT halfway there....It IS possible that I have put too much on my plate this time...I do still have the normal stresses of goals at work, church, home....BUT I find that I work best under pressure (which is why I am blogging instead of writing my paper on the Return on Investment of Post-secondary Education) and I am confident that I will finish...March 2011...I will present my capstone to the board...and then sleep....unless it's time to get Baby Smith, in which case---I won't be sleeping for a while =/    

     And if all else fails...I plan to use and abuse Nana and Papa with their new grandchild to catch up on rest (and maybe a tan) 

Just kidding..........;-)

     Other than that, life is good. Busy, chaotic, and overwhelming at times...but God is always so good to his children and I have already begun seeing the blessings being poured out in areas of my life that He alone could help in! We are looking forward to the next steps and always appreciate the support and prayers of our friends and family!

Til next time,

 Ashley