To ask or not to ask?

Whenever I see a child of a different race of the parent(s) I always want to ask if they adopted. Well today I got enough guts to do it. I don't know the etiquette. We all know how blunt and open I am so I couldn't care less if someone asked me, but I know a lot of people are more touchy in general. We were at a craft show and I saw a baby that didn't looked mixed. I started sweating and finally got up the nerve and asked. He was so sweet and his name was Emmett! He was adopted and the lady didn't seem to mind that I asked, but wasn't really excited to talk about it. He was adopted domestically and it was through Indianapolis but the birth mother picked her out.?? I am not sure if it was through a private company or not. I asked if it was through the state and she said yeah, well through Indianapolis. I'm not sure. I wanted to ask more questions, but I could tell she was annoyed. So we moved on.
I just wanted everyone to know that if you see me out, it is ok to approach me. haha

Baby Names

I wanted to have a theme for our kids. And I wanted to start their names with an "E". We have a ton of boy E names but couldn't come up with any girl names we really liked. Until today! So I confirmed with my husband and we think our next baby will be named... Elsie Margo. I know, I know. Cute. I am so excited about this. Now we just need the referral. hahaha

Adoption Seminar

So... tonight my mother-in-law, E, and I went to an adoption seminar (M was at work) for All God's Children. I was glad I went, even though I cried like a goober in front of everyone. And when I cry in public I laugh while I cry, like my wedding. It makes everyone that doesn't know me feel very uncomfortable. hahahahah I am really glad we went. I didn't learn much about the adoption process (I read up on it every day. And I watch You Tube videos all the time. ) But the host really calmed my nerves about the home study. I don't know why I am freaking out about it. Everyone I meet says it's no big deal, but I am so nervous. She seemed to think I had something to hide from my past which is why I was crying. That is not the case. I'm really just afraid of getting denied.
Also, at the seminar she told us that Rwanda was opening their program to infants. Before, the youngest you could adopt was 2 years. So I wrote AGCI about that. I still think Ethiopia, but I want to hear my options. M doesn't care one way or the other.

Also, yesterday I went over to my cousin Andrea's. Aunt T came over and we put together a letter asking people for donations. We are going to make a video so look in your mailbox in the not to distant future.

Here is our rough draft:

Dear ________,

As you may know in June we had our beautiful baby girl, E. She is our everything. Unfortunately, after childbirth and a series of surgeries I had to undergo a hysterectomy. Our plan was to have a large family. I have dreamed about it since I was a young girl. This is still our dream, but we are going to do it the unconventional way.

We are writing you today to ask for your help in bringing home a baby sister for E. We will be adopting a child from Ethiopia

Unfortunately an international adoption is costly. Around the tune of $25,000!! With the help of some family and friends we have raised nearly a 10th of the total cost after a Garage Sale Fundraiser. Now we could either try to piece together 9 more garage sales or ask for your financial help. We thought we would give this a shot. Any amount would be awesome, but to put things into perspective if 23 people donated $1,000 you would be saving a child from a life of destitution, famine, and possible death. Not to mention make our dreams come true.

I have enclosed a video to tell you more about our story, experiences, and dreams.

Thanks in advance for your contributions and prayers,

A, M, and E

To adopt or to Foster

So, adopting through Hamilton County had been something we were seriously pondering. So I called the H.C. adoption phone number and talked with a very nice lady about becoming an adoptive parent. She told us we would only qualify for a girl 0-5 years, since we only have a two bedroom house and we have E. The cost would be FREE!! That was a huge bonus instead of finding $25,000 for Ethiopia. The lady also told us it was practically impossible to adopt without first becoming a foster parent. She said about 50% of the kids placed in foster care go back to either the birth parent or a relative. That is a huge number, while possibly great for the kids, would be a disaster for me. I heard a story last night of a family that had a foster child for 7 years and the birth mother said she wanted her back. She had her for two weeks and "gave" her back to the foster family. Why Hamilton County didn't put the girl up for adoption a long time ago baffles me. I can't handle that. I would be heart broken if my child wasn't available to adopt and had the potential to be taken away from me. Maybe at one point in my life I could do this, but not right now.

So here we come Ethiopia. We need $23,000. I might send out letters asking people for donations. I hate to do that. I feel so rude. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Fundraiser has been Cancelled

Unfortunately our fundraiser has been cancelled. Harvey's is no longer able to hold the event. So this puts us back to square one. Since it is so close to the 20th we are going to try and find a location to host it after the holidays. This is just a minor setback.

Fundraiser!

So we have a couple of bands booked for our silent auction/ concert. I am so excited.
I am so excited for this event. My brother is working on his painting, and hopefully the other donations will start to come in. We are going to have a split the pot instead of the reverse raffle because my cousin (who is the pro at this) said it would be better. Yeah!!!
Here is a picture of E, who this is all for.

NOVEMEBR 20TH

Alright, a date has been set for our silent auction. November 20th!! I am so excited. This is one step closer to bringing home our baby. It is at Harvey's. We need bands and artwork.

On a separate note E is now responding to her name and I love her more and more everyday. I don't understand how I got the best baby in the world.