What We Take For Granted: Screening

So, I currently feel as though I fall somewhere between a Criminal and an Adoptive Applicant. Those of us who apply for adoption (internationally) truly do have to dot all of our "i"s and cross all of our "t"s. Each time we complete another step of this journey called adoption, we are reminded not to take our children for granted. We are reminded that there is no value great enough to be placed on the life of a human. For most of us, having a child is simple in so many ways. It's a one-step process (sorry to get so technical).
We had our fingerprints taken yesterday at our local RCMP office. We now have to mail them off to Ottawa to be scanned. OTTAWA!! I never had to call them when we wanted to have Noah or Tait. I never thought I would create some sort of link between CSI and my life!
Next week, we will go to our notary to have a bunch of papers certified. These will include copies of our Life Insurance. Life Insurance? Surely no one looked in our files to see what kind of policy we had before the birth of Noah in 2005.
We made mention of the red tape involved with international adoption to the officer taking our prints yesterday. I find it interesting how even those who have not directly experienced the miracle of adoption, but have helped those seeking to complete it are aware of it's pricelessness. "Oh, it will all be more than worth it when you hold that child in your arms for the first time" Phil (our RCMPer) reminded us.
Don't get me wrong. Though there are days when I just want to be done with this process, I find comfort in knowing that we (as a country and as parents) are not allowing "just anyone" to adopt. This tells me that in our world of processed and pre-packaged, of here-and-now syndrome, and of consumerism, there are some things that cannot simply be grabbed. There are things we cannot just "charge" and wait to find out the total cost on our next credit card statement. There is a value of inexplicable sorts placed on the life of a child...as there should be.
I wonder what our next "i" will be. I look forward to it.
The experience of parenthood and the journey to adoption, it is not a Right. It is not something we earn through good deeds and through being "nice" people. This experience truly is a Privilege.

Food Costs Strain Efforts To Save Starving Ethiopian Children

Ok, so we have all heard about the food shortages and increase in food costs all over the world. This is a situation which is, or will affect us all sooner or later. And, of course those living in Third World Countries especially, are facing serious crisis. Becoming closer and closer to our heart and our life is obviously Ethiopia. Ranked as the 5th poorest country in the world (it was ranked 164 out of 169 countries worldwide, I believe) it's people (read "children"!!) are understanding devastation in a way we never will.

While reading a CNN article about a small Ethiopian Village, "Egu Village" just a few moments ago, I was left with goose bumps:

"Ethiopia's Health Ministry, along with UNICEF, monitors the health of thousands of children [in Egu Village] but the number of areas they have been able to regularly visit has been cut in half this year...

UNICEF estimates that 6 million Ethiopian children under the age of 5 are at risk and that more than 120,000 have only about a month to live..."

So the question remains: What are we doing about it?

Quick Homestudy Update

I have to apologize for my lack of blogs. It's been a crazy month between going away, everyone getting sick, going away again, and of course the adoption!
So, here we are on May 14 and as of yesterday we have completed the second meeting with our social worker. These meetings happen about every 2 weeks for 3 months. It's exciting to know we're getting further and further into the journey but there is much ahead!
Noah keeps asking about his "baby seester" so we're trying to teach him that she lives very far away and it will take quite some time to get her here. It's very sweet watching him relay this to Tait.

Bedtime Prayers

Ben, "What do you want to pray for tonight, Noah?"

Noah, "I want to pray for my baby seester in Epiopia."