We are number 16 on the wait list! After officially submitting our dossier to Ethiopia the first week of March, we learned at the close of the month where we sit on the list of waiting families. Our agency will provide us, at the end of every month, with a summary of activity/progress for the prior time frame. The March summary was the first update to include us. Every month now we will be able to read how many families have received referrals, how many have travelled on their first trip (to attend court) and how many have brought children home.
While it is exciting to know where we stand on this list, we can't get too caught up in the statistical side, as the list is open to change at any time. For example, there are many families ahead of us who have specified a gender preference. There are also a lot of families who are adopting two children, families who are adopting older children and there are also families who have set the same parameters that we have "either gender, 0-12 months." The agency allows any family to change these parameters at any time, therefore potentially changing wait time in either direction.
Needless to say we are thrilled to be "just waiting" or "officially expecting" as some of my relatives have put it, and we look forward to updating you on our latest "number" every month. If all goes as planned, which we hope and pray that it will, we should be home with the newest Pillitteri in the late summer or early fall.
In the meantime, we have been spending our free time preparing for Baby Pillitteri's arrival.
We bought a crib (we have yet to assemble it. I think we will wait till we are feeling adventurous) we also purchased a stroller and have even started a small stockpile of diapers (larger sizes, as we have no way of knowing what size to expect initially).
I myself have also spent free time thinking about our little one, who most likely has already made his or her debut in the world. I pray that he or she is kept safe and healthy and I pray for the safety of his or her family. I know that the circumstances that have or will lead to our child's arrival at an orphanage are not easy ones. I just ask for God's hand to bring comfort and peace to those who will be giving us the greatest gift we will ever receive. I know that He has great plans for us and we both are excited to meet the child He's chosen for us.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Dossier Sent!
Great news today! Our agency informed us that they received our dossier and actually sent it to Ethiopia yesterday! When I received that email today at work, I actually let out an excited gasp! That means we are officially done with the great paper chase - now we just sit and wait and pray everything goes smoothly and quickly!
The Starfish Story
One day while walking along the shore,
the wise old man looked down the beach,
and saw a gracefully dancing human figure.
The wise old man wondered out loud,
“Who would be dancing all alone on the beach?”
He began to walk faster to catch up.
Getting closer, the wise man saw that the dancer
was a child, who was not dancing at all.
The child was reaching down to the sand to pick up
something, and was very gently throwing it into the sea.
The man called out to the child,
“Good Morning! What are you doing?”
The child paused, looked up and replied,
“Throwing Starfish into the sea.”
Surprised, the man said,
“Yes, I see that, but WHY are you throwing Starfish into the sea?”
The child smiled brightly, pointed upward and
with perfect simplicity replied,
“The sun is up, and the tide is going out.
If I don’t throw them in, they will die.”
“But, don’t you realize, “asked the man,
“that there are miles and miles of beach and Starfish all along it?
You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The child listened politely.
Then bent down, picked up another Starfish,
threw it gently into the sea, just beyond the breaking waves,
and joyfully declared!
"It made a difference for that one."
This is my favorite adoption poem!
The Starfish Story
One day while walking along the shore,
the wise old man looked down the beach,
and saw a gracefully dancing human figure.
The wise old man wondered out loud,
“Who would be dancing all alone on the beach?”
He began to walk faster to catch up.
Getting closer, the wise man saw that the dancer
was a child, who was not dancing at all.
The child was reaching down to the sand to pick up
something, and was very gently throwing it into the sea.
The man called out to the child,
“Good Morning! What are you doing?”
The child paused, looked up and replied,
“Throwing Starfish into the sea.”
Surprised, the man said,
“Yes, I see that, but WHY are you throwing Starfish into the sea?”
The child smiled brightly, pointed upward and
with perfect simplicity replied,
“The sun is up, and the tide is going out.
If I don’t throw them in, they will die.”
“But, don’t you realize, “asked the man,
“that there are miles and miles of beach and Starfish all along it?
You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The child listened politely.
Then bent down, picked up another Starfish,
threw it gently into the sea, just beyond the breaking waves,
and joyfully declared!
"It made a difference for that one."
This is my favorite adoption poem!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Big News!
In the past month and a half, Michael and I have been very busy gathering the final documents to complete our dossier. Two weeks ago we were THRILLED to receive our I-171H from the USCIS (permission from the U.S. Government to adopt internationally). It came in the mail much earlier than we anticipated, and we still had a few other documents that we needed to have notarized. We spent the following week getting those taken care of, and then sending some of them off to the Pennsylvania State Department for certification. Essentially what that means is that the state verifies the notary.
This past Saturday, we received those two documents back from the state, and we are VERY excited to report that as of today, all of our dossier documents are now out of our hands!
We had to gather the roughly 30 notarized and certified documents and send them to a courier in Washington D.C. called the Assistant Stork! They will then take our documents to the State Department for authentication. At this point they will bind everything, legally speaking, into two documents. A Power of Attorney (granting our agency the ability to act on our behalf) and our Dossier. Once the State Department is done authenticating them, the Assistant Stork will then take the documents to the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, D.C. When they are done, our dossier will be sent to Ethiopia and we will OFFICIALLY be waiting! We are told the process in D.C. will take about 7-10 days. I pray that the U.S. Postal Service treats our package with care and that it arrives at the Assistant Stork intact!
Now to the part that will have us feeling like kids counting down to Christmas...the waiting! Once our dossier arrives in Ethiopia, we will officially be put on our agency's wait list. At that point we just sit back and wait for a referral. We've heard from a lot of adoptive parents that this is the hardest part. I think for the time being I won't mind it, as it means I am not busy chasing down paperwork, but I know I will get antsy too!
I admit, I have been turning into a bit of a sap the older I get, and there is a song out now by Christina Perri that makes me smile and get a little misty eyed whenever I hear it. It definitely makes me think of the little one we're so close to being blessed with!
"I have died everyday Waiting for you
Darlin' don't be afraid,
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a Thousand years
I'll love you for a Thousand more"
I am sure I will be humming along to the radio as our wait continues! I will also fill our waiting with more updates and information on Ethiopia, adoption and tell you about what we're doing to prepare!
This past Saturday, we received those two documents back from the state, and we are VERY excited to report that as of today, all of our dossier documents are now out of our hands!
We had to gather the roughly 30 notarized and certified documents and send them to a courier in Washington D.C. called the Assistant Stork! They will then take our documents to the State Department for authentication. At this point they will bind everything, legally speaking, into two documents. A Power of Attorney (granting our agency the ability to act on our behalf) and our Dossier. Once the State Department is done authenticating them, the Assistant Stork will then take the documents to the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, D.C. When they are done, our dossier will be sent to Ethiopia and we will OFFICIALLY be waiting! We are told the process in D.C. will take about 7-10 days. I pray that the U.S. Postal Service treats our package with care and that it arrives at the Assistant Stork intact!
Now to the part that will have us feeling like kids counting down to Christmas...the waiting! Once our dossier arrives in Ethiopia, we will officially be put on our agency's wait list. At that point we just sit back and wait for a referral. We've heard from a lot of adoptive parents that this is the hardest part. I think for the time being I won't mind it, as it means I am not busy chasing down paperwork, but I know I will get antsy too!
I admit, I have been turning into a bit of a sap the older I get, and there is a song out now by Christina Perri that makes me smile and get a little misty eyed whenever I hear it. It definitely makes me think of the little one we're so close to being blessed with!
"I have died everyday Waiting for you
Darlin' don't be afraid,
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a Thousand years
I'll love you for a Thousand more"
I am sure I will be humming along to the radio as our wait continues! I will also fill our waiting with more updates and information on Ethiopia, adoption and tell you about what we're doing to prepare!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Home study, check! USCIS hurry up!
Hello all! Happy New Year and we sincerely hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! We certainly did which is why it has been WAY too long since we updated you on our progress- sorry for the delay!
First we want to thank you for your overwhelming support! Our friends and family exceeded all expectations thus far in the process! We are thrilled to be starting our family and are so glad so many of you are thrilled for us- it means a lot!
So since our last post we have completed our home study and submitted it, along with several other documents to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The home study consisted of obtaining a lot of documents (birth certificates, marriage certificate, criminal background checks, personal references, etc.) and four visits with our assigned social worker. We basically met with her and discussed our upbringing, our families, our relationship and our vision for our new family. Most of the meetings were the two of us and her but Mike and I each also had to go one on one with her as well. Only one of the visits was actually in our home. We were lucky enough that our social worker has been in our shoes, she adopted from China, so she insisted that we not freak out about her coming to our home! She said "please don't go nuts cleaning for me- it's not worth it!" The point of the home study is for her to asses our ability to raise a child, but also to get us thinking about a lot of things that we honestly hadn't yet. We had to talk about our ideas of child-rearing, discipline and even appoint caregivers in the event that Mike and I die. It's definitely odd to talk about all of these things when you don't even have a child yet, but I am glad we did, and that we "passed" with flying colors! The classes that we've told you about were also required by the home study, as is some reading. The book we chose to meet this requirement is "Parenting with Love and Logic" which I am partially through, and I have to say it is a VERY interesting read for any parent, caregiver or teacher. I know I will be keeping it nearby for the next 18 years or so!
Once our social worker finished analyzing us and writing out the home study documents, we received several notarized copies. One of these, along with a few other documents, needed to be sent to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office. Essentially, we need to petition the U.S. government for permission to adopt an orphan internationally. We are pleased to report that the USCIS office has informed us that they are in receipt of our application, now we just need to wait for USCIS approval. We are told this can take 6-8 weeks. In the meantime, we will be obtaining a few more letters of recommendation, yet another criminal background check (we've already received federal and state clearances, oddly enough we now need to get our local township's) and getting a lot of documents notarized. This "paper chase" as it's called in the adoption world is certainly not for the lazy! Once we receive USCIS approval, we will send it, along with all those notarized documents and certifcates and another copy of our home study (this bundle of paperwork and information is called a dossier), to our agency. They will approve it, then we will have it translated and sent to Ethiopia. Once our dossier is accepted in-country we will be officially waiting! We are told to expect to wait between two and four months from that point to be matched with a child (referral).
We did take a few days off of paperwork for the holidays and were so happy to have a wonderful, family-filled Christmas- most likely our last as a family of two and two canines!
My sister and brother-in-law gave us the most thoughtful gift- a stuffed monkey for infants that plays soothing sounds but will also allow Mike and I to record our voices talking to the baby. They thought it would be great for us to take on our first trip and leave with the baby so he can hear us every day until we come back to bring him home- a GREAT idea! Mike's mom and dad gave us some very sweet gifts- Mike's blanket he came home from the hospital in, his favorite childhood bank - a fire truck, and even a new little santa hat for the baby for next year! Both sets of soon-to-be grandparents are getting so excited for the new addition, it really makes us feel so blessed!
We extended our holiday celebrations into this past weekend, marking the day Ethiopians celebrate Christmas (Genna or Ganna, I have seen both), January 7th. It is a day full of family and church services that go on throughout the night. The men and boys also spend the day playing a game similar to hockey called genna. Mike and I actually celebrated with Red Velvet pancakes while watching White Christmas.
I know! Not quite what's done in Ethiopia, but we've got some time to decide how our family will mark the day!
So now as the tree is put away, the lights are down and the house is back to "normal" we are beginning to prepare for a our new "normal' with a little one! We have some ideas of what we want the nursery to look like. We've picked out a crib and a few other items and we just need to get busy putting it all together. We're so excited!
First we want to thank you for your overwhelming support! Our friends and family exceeded all expectations thus far in the process! We are thrilled to be starting our family and are so glad so many of you are thrilled for us- it means a lot!
So since our last post we have completed our home study and submitted it, along with several other documents to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The home study consisted of obtaining a lot of documents (birth certificates, marriage certificate, criminal background checks, personal references, etc.) and four visits with our assigned social worker. We basically met with her and discussed our upbringing, our families, our relationship and our vision for our new family. Most of the meetings were the two of us and her but Mike and I each also had to go one on one with her as well. Only one of the visits was actually in our home. We were lucky enough that our social worker has been in our shoes, she adopted from China, so she insisted that we not freak out about her coming to our home! She said "please don't go nuts cleaning for me- it's not worth it!" The point of the home study is for her to asses our ability to raise a child, but also to get us thinking about a lot of things that we honestly hadn't yet. We had to talk about our ideas of child-rearing, discipline and even appoint caregivers in the event that Mike and I die. It's definitely odd to talk about all of these things when you don't even have a child yet, but I am glad we did, and that we "passed" with flying colors! The classes that we've told you about were also required by the home study, as is some reading. The book we chose to meet this requirement is "Parenting with Love and Logic" which I am partially through, and I have to say it is a VERY interesting read for any parent, caregiver or teacher. I know I will be keeping it nearby for the next 18 years or so!
Once our social worker finished analyzing us and writing out the home study documents, we received several notarized copies. One of these, along with a few other documents, needed to be sent to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office. Essentially, we need to petition the U.S. government for permission to adopt an orphan internationally. We are pleased to report that the USCIS office has informed us that they are in receipt of our application, now we just need to wait for USCIS approval. We are told this can take 6-8 weeks. In the meantime, we will be obtaining a few more letters of recommendation, yet another criminal background check (we've already received federal and state clearances, oddly enough we now need to get our local township's) and getting a lot of documents notarized. This "paper chase" as it's called in the adoption world is certainly not for the lazy! Once we receive USCIS approval, we will send it, along with all those notarized documents and certifcates and another copy of our home study (this bundle of paperwork and information is called a dossier), to our agency. They will approve it, then we will have it translated and sent to Ethiopia. Once our dossier is accepted in-country we will be officially waiting! We are told to expect to wait between two and four months from that point to be matched with a child (referral).
We did take a few days off of paperwork for the holidays and were so happy to have a wonderful, family-filled Christmas- most likely our last as a family of two and two canines!
We extended our holiday celebrations into this past weekend, marking the day Ethiopians celebrate Christmas (Genna or Ganna, I have seen both), January 7th. It is a day full of family and church services that go on throughout the night. The men and boys also spend the day playing a game similar to hockey called genna. Mike and I actually celebrated with Red Velvet pancakes while watching White Christmas.
So now as the tree is put away, the lights are down and the house is back to "normal" we are beginning to prepare for a our new "normal' with a little one! We have some ideas of what we want the nursery to look like. We've picked out a crib and a few other items and we just need to get busy putting it all together. We're so excited!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
We have a Social Worker!
A lot has happened in our adoption process since my last post. We officially completed all of the preliminary paperwork for the home study and started attending some classes to help educate us on various aspects of adoption and prepare us for any challenges we may face. Classes aren't specifically required, but we are we required to complete a certain number of hours of education and/or required reading. We have been fortunate enough to attend classes held at The Children's Home of Pittsburgh and Lemieux Family Center. If you are not familiar with the amazing work being done there, it's certainly worth checking out. Yet another reminder that Pittsburgh is blessed with unbelievable care for children when needed.
These classes will not only educate us about our growing family and what we can expect in the coming months and years, but they also have allowed us to begin to develop a network with other local couples on our same journey. In fact, in our first class we met three other couples also adopting from Ethiopia. They even get together and maybe eat at some local Ethiopian restaurants, or just let their kids (some of them have already adopted once or have biological kids) get together and play. I think this connection will be very valuable for our family and our child, particularly to be able to know other kids like him in so many ways.
Our first session was titled "Medical and Developmental Issues: It's not as scary as you think." It was led by Sarah Springer, M.D. I can't say enough about her - she will become an invaluable resource for us, as she is right here in our city and has an incredible amount of experience with internationally adopted children. In fact she even just finished chairing the Section on Adoption and Foster Care for the American Academy of Pediatrics. She shared a lot of the challenges our baby may face before and after he or she comes home. Some of it is a little hard to hear, but she was very reassuring that many of these issues aren't specific to adoption and in fact she sees kids really start to take off and develop almost at warp speed once they come home to their families. Mike and I will certainly be using her as our pediatrician. She also will be able to help us when our referral finally comes! A referral is a when our adoption agency matches us with a child and sends a medical background (whatever is known- but we are told these are often somewhat incomplete) and a photo if possible. She has plenty of experience in looking at these backgrounds, suggesting additional information to ask for, and very honestly laying out to prospective parents what it will take to be parents to that child. Obviously, as with a birth, there are no guarantees that good health will always be the case, there can be underlying or unknown conditions that haven't surfaced and plenty of things that doctors here couldn't know about, but from that point Mike and I will be able to fairly confidently accept the referral or decline and wait for one that we are more comfortable with. It sounds almost cruel to me to have that option, but at the same time, as I already said, there is never any way of knowing for sure what you are getting into - and being able to have confidence in our ability to parent the child with as much as we can know about him or her, is reassuring.
Our second session, "Adoption as a Lifelong Process" was also interesting. It was led by Mary Graber, M.A., she spoke to the psychological aspects of adoption and how children process the idea of adoption very differently throughout their lives as they begin to more fully understand what it means. She is the adoptive mother of two children who are now young adults. It was interesting to hear her experiences. She definitely left Mike and I with a lot of food for thought. What has also been great about these sessions so far is that one of the "students" if you will is a social worker with Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh. She was also adopted from South Korea as an infant and is now 40-years-old. These sessions spur a lot of conversation and it's been wonderful and thought-provoking to hear her perspective as an adult. She talked with us at length last week about preparing ourselves now to be able to handle racism in this country and city. Obviously we are aware it exists and that our new family will draw attention, but when she shared her experience of her first day of kindergarten, my heart broke. She said her classmates threw out several slurs to her and of course she went home very upset. Granted, this was 30-some years ago and in rural Utah, but it still could happen today, right here in Pittsburgh. I have spent a great deal of time thinking about how to react when we are out with our child, but I suddenly realized I can't always be there. This fear for a child when he or she is on their own is one I am sure ALL parents have, regardless of bloodlines, and it is now something I am already thinking about. It is our responsibility to give him the tools to handle himself responsibly and respectfully and to never doubt his value or worth or our love for him. What a challenge!
Our social worker contacted us last week and we are hoping to have our first meeting with her this last week of October. We are required to meet with her four times. Three of which will be at her office, and one at our house. I have been trying to teach our maltepoo and Golden Retriever how to be on their best behavior for that visit, we'll see how that goes!
I can't wait to share more with you as we start this next step. I am really antsy to get the homestudy wrapped up so that we can get our dossier together and get it sent to Ethiopia! Once that happens, we will officially be on a wait list for our baby! For now I thought I'd share this super cute onesie that I can't wait to put on our little one...
These classes will not only educate us about our growing family and what we can expect in the coming months and years, but they also have allowed us to begin to develop a network with other local couples on our same journey. In fact, in our first class we met three other couples also adopting from Ethiopia. They even get together and maybe eat at some local Ethiopian restaurants, or just let their kids (some of them have already adopted once or have biological kids) get together and play. I think this connection will be very valuable for our family and our child, particularly to be able to know other kids like him in so many ways.
Our first session was titled "Medical and Developmental Issues: It's not as scary as you think." It was led by Sarah Springer, M.D. I can't say enough about her - she will become an invaluable resource for us, as she is right here in our city and has an incredible amount of experience with internationally adopted children. In fact she even just finished chairing the Section on Adoption and Foster Care for the American Academy of Pediatrics. She shared a lot of the challenges our baby may face before and after he or she comes home. Some of it is a little hard to hear, but she was very reassuring that many of these issues aren't specific to adoption and in fact she sees kids really start to take off and develop almost at warp speed once they come home to their families. Mike and I will certainly be using her as our pediatrician. She also will be able to help us when our referral finally comes! A referral is a when our adoption agency matches us with a child and sends a medical background (whatever is known- but we are told these are often somewhat incomplete) and a photo if possible. She has plenty of experience in looking at these backgrounds, suggesting additional information to ask for, and very honestly laying out to prospective parents what it will take to be parents to that child. Obviously, as with a birth, there are no guarantees that good health will always be the case, there can be underlying or unknown conditions that haven't surfaced and plenty of things that doctors here couldn't know about, but from that point Mike and I will be able to fairly confidently accept the referral or decline and wait for one that we are more comfortable with. It sounds almost cruel to me to have that option, but at the same time, as I already said, there is never any way of knowing for sure what you are getting into - and being able to have confidence in our ability to parent the child with as much as we can know about him or her, is reassuring.
Our second session, "Adoption as a Lifelong Process" was also interesting. It was led by Mary Graber, M.A., she spoke to the psychological aspects of adoption and how children process the idea of adoption very differently throughout their lives as they begin to more fully understand what it means. She is the adoptive mother of two children who are now young adults. It was interesting to hear her experiences. She definitely left Mike and I with a lot of food for thought. What has also been great about these sessions so far is that one of the "students" if you will is a social worker with Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh. She was also adopted from South Korea as an infant and is now 40-years-old. These sessions spur a lot of conversation and it's been wonderful and thought-provoking to hear her perspective as an adult. She talked with us at length last week about preparing ourselves now to be able to handle racism in this country and city. Obviously we are aware it exists and that our new family will draw attention, but when she shared her experience of her first day of kindergarten, my heart broke. She said her classmates threw out several slurs to her and of course she went home very upset. Granted, this was 30-some years ago and in rural Utah, but it still could happen today, right here in Pittsburgh. I have spent a great deal of time thinking about how to react when we are out with our child, but I suddenly realized I can't always be there. This fear for a child when he or she is on their own is one I am sure ALL parents have, regardless of bloodlines, and it is now something I am already thinking about. It is our responsibility to give him the tools to handle himself responsibly and respectfully and to never doubt his value or worth or our love for him. What a challenge!
Our social worker contacted us last week and we are hoping to have our first meeting with her this last week of October. We are required to meet with her four times. Three of which will be at her office, and one at our house. I have been trying to teach our maltepoo and Golden Retriever how to be on their best behavior for that visit, we'll see how that goes!
I can't wait to share more with you as we start this next step. I am really antsy to get the homestudy wrapped up so that we can get our dossier together and get it sent to Ethiopia! Once that happens, we will officially be on a wait list for our baby! For now I thought I'd share this super cute onesie that I can't wait to put on our little one...
Monday, September 26, 2011
An exciting evening in the Pillitteri house!!!
For the past few weeks we have been busy filling out forms, seeing doctors and having blood work done. Those of you that know me well know that blood work is my archenemy. I am proud to say that I actually went all by myself and had seven vials taken! There's even proof!
I guess when you really want something you overcome some stuff you really can't stand!
So as of last week we had completed:
Another exciting piece of our adoption puzzle also arrived in the mail this evening. A small box full of craft supplies that I ordered! We have decided to craft Christmas ornaments to help subsidize the very big price tag that comes along with bringing a little one home from Ethiopia. I can't show you a finished product yet, but stay tuned. And in the meantime- start thinking of all the people you know that might want a handmade ornament on their tree that supports the beautiful gift of adoption!
I've been having a lot of fun immersing myself more in the adoption community. There are a lot of wonderful, popular sentiments, and this one made my heart smile the other day. I don't know our baby yet, but I am sure it's how we will both feel:
So as of last week we had completed:
- Application for the home study
- Medical forms and physicals
- Disclosures
- Discipline Policy
- Fingerprint-based Federal Criminal Record Checks
- Personal References
- And several other forms
Another exciting piece of our adoption puzzle also arrived in the mail this evening. A small box full of craft supplies that I ordered! We have decided to craft Christmas ornaments to help subsidize the very big price tag that comes along with bringing a little one home from Ethiopia. I can't show you a finished product yet, but stay tuned. And in the meantime- start thinking of all the people you know that might want a handmade ornament on their tree that supports the beautiful gift of adoption!
I've been having a lot of fun immersing myself more in the adoption community. There are a lot of wonderful, popular sentiments, and this one made my heart smile the other day. I don't know our baby yet, but I am sure it's how we will both feel:
"We didn't give you the gift of life, rather life gave us the gift of you."
In any case...we're getting excited!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
The Decision to Adopt
Chances are you know by now that Mike and I are starting a family by way of Ethiopia. We couldn't be more excited, and thank all of you for your kind words and well-wishes! We know we will need your support in the coming months as we start the often-times emotional process of adoption.
So let me fill you in on what brought us to this exciting journey. I've known since I was a child that I was meant to adopt. I was probably eight or nine-years-old, and ever-the-journalist, was watching an episode of Dateline or 20/20, some sort of news program, and the topic was the crisis in China due to the country's one child rule and the terrible state their orphanages were in. My heart broke that night and I knew then that God had called me to adopt.
Luckily, many years down the road, I met a wonderful and incredibly supportive man who we can't say shared my dream, but as I told him how I'd always felt, he was very open to the idea. Now that we've been together for nearly six years, we both feel like this is definitely the next chapter of our story.
So you might be thinking, "didn't she just say China?" Well, I did, and Mike and I definitely put a lot of thought into our choice. We met with a couple of adoption agencies and discussed a LOT of options, including domestic adoption (adopting a child in the U.S.). We were drawn to Ethiopia thanks in large part to friends who recently adopted from there. They had a fantastic blog (I can only hope this one is as informative) that really brought us along on the journey with them. Mike and I have learned that there are 5 million orphans in Ethiopia. One in ten children there die before their first birthday and one in six die before their fifth birthday.
Mike's mom has always told him to "Make a difference." We can't think of a better way to do just that.
It's true adoption is VERY expensive, but we understand that the lengthy, expensive legal process is keeping these children safe and ensuring they go to loving homes and are not "sold" on the black market. We do hope to do some fundraising to help cover some of the costs, we will be sure to keep you posted on that.
As of the second week of August we are officially in the process, have sent in the first of what will be many large checks, and are now starting the home study process. Home study refers to all of the criminal background checks, fingerprinting, references and visits with social workers that are required to adopt.
That means that in 12-14 months, we will be bringing Baby Pillitteri home from Ethiopia! We don't know what gender the baby will be. We were able to choose, but decided to leave that up to fate. Chances are though, we will bring home a baby boy, as the current list of parents waiting for a child are mostly requesting girls. The baby will be between 4 and 8 months old when he/she comes home.
We will have to travel Ethiopia twice and stay in Addis Ababa. The first time will be after we have been matched with a baby. This trip will be roughly seven days. We will meet the baby, and if any of his/her family is alive/around and wants to meet us, we will meet them. We will also travel to the baby's birth village or city so we can see where he/she is from. We will then appear in Ethiopian court to testify that we have met the baby and want to proceed with the adoption. We will then come home, leaving the baby behind (this will be very tough, I am sure, although he/she will be in very good care in the great orphanages our agency works with).
While we are back home, the courts in Ethiopia will be busy finalizing the paperwork that we will need to complete the adoption and get Baby Pillitteri's U.S. Visa, Passport, etc. This process will take two to three months, and then we will get to go back to Ethiopia for a quick three day trip to FINALLY bring our baby home!
We are excited to share this journey with you, and can't wait to bring you more updates. For now, it's back to the paperwork that will get our adoption moving!
So let me fill you in on what brought us to this exciting journey. I've known since I was a child that I was meant to adopt. I was probably eight or nine-years-old, and ever-the-journalist, was watching an episode of Dateline or 20/20, some sort of news program, and the topic was the crisis in China due to the country's one child rule and the terrible state their orphanages were in. My heart broke that night and I knew then that God had called me to adopt.
Luckily, many years down the road, I met a wonderful and incredibly supportive man who we can't say shared my dream, but as I told him how I'd always felt, he was very open to the idea. Now that we've been together for nearly six years, we both feel like this is definitely the next chapter of our story.
So you might be thinking, "didn't she just say China?" Well, I did, and Mike and I definitely put a lot of thought into our choice. We met with a couple of adoption agencies and discussed a LOT of options, including domestic adoption (adopting a child in the U.S.). We were drawn to Ethiopia thanks in large part to friends who recently adopted from there. They had a fantastic blog (I can only hope this one is as informative) that really brought us along on the journey with them. Mike and I have learned that there are 5 million orphans in Ethiopia. One in ten children there die before their first birthday and one in six die before their fifth birthday.
Mike's mom has always told him to "Make a difference." We can't think of a better way to do just that.
It's true adoption is VERY expensive, but we understand that the lengthy, expensive legal process is keeping these children safe and ensuring they go to loving homes and are not "sold" on the black market. We do hope to do some fundraising to help cover some of the costs, we will be sure to keep you posted on that.
As of the second week of August we are officially in the process, have sent in the first of what will be many large checks, and are now starting the home study process. Home study refers to all of the criminal background checks, fingerprinting, references and visits with social workers that are required to adopt.
That means that in 12-14 months, we will be bringing Baby Pillitteri home from Ethiopia! We don't know what gender the baby will be. We were able to choose, but decided to leave that up to fate. Chances are though, we will bring home a baby boy, as the current list of parents waiting for a child are mostly requesting girls. The baby will be between 4 and 8 months old when he/she comes home.
We will have to travel Ethiopia twice and stay in Addis Ababa. The first time will be after we have been matched with a baby. This trip will be roughly seven days. We will meet the baby, and if any of his/her family is alive/around and wants to meet us, we will meet them. We will also travel to the baby's birth village or city so we can see where he/she is from. We will then appear in Ethiopian court to testify that we have met the baby and want to proceed with the adoption. We will then come home, leaving the baby behind (this will be very tough, I am sure, although he/she will be in very good care in the great orphanages our agency works with).
While we are back home, the courts in Ethiopia will be busy finalizing the paperwork that we will need to complete the adoption and get Baby Pillitteri's U.S. Visa, Passport, etc. This process will take two to three months, and then we will get to go back to Ethiopia for a quick three day trip to FINALLY bring our baby home!
We are excited to share this journey with you, and can't wait to bring you more updates. For now, it's back to the paperwork that will get our adoption moving!
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