Lux et umbra vicissum…

It seems like things have changed a bit since our last adoption. I’m guessing part of that is because of the Hague Convention, and part may just be because the process was so young when we did our first adoption. The agency has been working in Ethiopia longer now and has ironed some things out, which is good. There’s more papers to sign, though! I have a whole pile of things here to read through, sign, and send in. And that’s before we even start with gathering clearances and such on our end! Crazy stuff. When people ask me if adoption is difficult, I usually tell them I don’t think of it as difficult so much as being very loaded down in paperwork. Most of the paperwork is fairly straightforward, there’s just a lot of it.

We found another family who finalized an Ethiopian adoption in our area and they’re helping us a bit as we prepare to finalize Desta’s and Eli’s adoptions. It’s so much cheaper than going through a lawyer, and with a second adoption in the works we can use as much cost savings as possible!

Speaking of which, I’ve been working on my jewelry that I’ll be selling. I’m very pleased with how it’s turning out! I got a few tips from the proprietor of a local beading store, too. I should have my first pieces ready to sell within a couple of weeks. Now I need to set up a spreadsheet where I can keep track of my sales, and I need to figure out what software I want to use for a store-front and payment method. (I may end up just using PayPal, but we’ll see.)

I also had a psych appointment today. I’ll probably need a letter from him saying that he thinks I can parent two more children. I don’t think he’ll hesitate to write it since his reaction when I told him the news today was very positive. In the midst of the conversation, he made one of the fairly typical comments that adoptive parents talk about how to respond to… he said, “You and your husband are phenomenal people to be doing this.” That type of comment always makes me (and most adoptive parents) feel awkward. This time I actually liked the response I gave, though. I told him that I didn’t think of it so much as us being phenomenal. Rather, I think we’re all called to care for people who can’t care for themselves (such as widows and orphans as mentioned in the book of James), and for some of us that calling takes the form of adoption while for others it might be helping other people adopt, donating or volunteering at a food pantry or pregnancy care center, etc. It’s not that one calling is better than another, it’s just a matter of following your calling once you get it. I didn’t mention that I do think some people ignore their calling, but that probably went without saying. 🙂 Doesn’t make us any better people, but it means they’ll be missing out on some blessings in their lives.

Off to make some more jewelry! I’ll post pictures of some of the pieces when I’ve gotten a little farther. 🙂