My previous post sparked an idea. Perhaps it would be good to share the "Rights of an Adopted Child." These are the tenets that have guided our adoption process, and are worthwhile to keep in mind for all adopted children:
1. Children have the right to know who they are and how they joined their families.
2. Children have the right to freely ask questions.
3. Children have the right to positive attitudes about their birthparents.
4. Children have the right to be accepted as individuals with a unique genetic heritage.
5. Children have a right to be recognized by society as full and equal members of their adoptive families.
6. Information about our children's origins is private information that belongs to them.
7. Transracially adopted children have a right to a positive sense of racial or ethnic-identity.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Officially Parents!
As of May 13th, Rob and I are officially parents! Our daughter's paperwork made it through the Ethiopian court system and we are now the proud parents of a 16-month old Ethiopian girl. Her name will be Gianna (Gia) Meretech Schryver.
Our next step is waiting for a travel date, which we expect sometime in July-ish. (Keep in mind "expect" can be very fluid in meaning.)
I know you would love to see a picture.......but.......we're not quite comfortable with sharing it yet. If you are desperate, give us a call or e-mail, and we can discuss "options".
Also, word to the wise, don't ask us how she or her biological mother found themselves in a situation where they had to consider adoption. In the adoption world, that's considered personal information and it belongs to the child. When Gianna is older, she can decide if she would like to share that info. In the meantime, we'll be treating it as confidential. Asking someone why they were placed in adoption or what happened to the "real mom" is akin to asking a couple the intimate details of how they conceived their child. In short, it's tacky.
Our next step is waiting for a travel date, which we expect sometime in July-ish. (Keep in mind "expect" can be very fluid in meaning.)
I know you would love to see a picture.......but.......we're not quite comfortable with sharing it yet. If you are desperate, give us a call or e-mail, and we can discuss "options".
Also, word to the wise, don't ask us how she or her biological mother found themselves in a situation where they had to consider adoption. In the adoption world, that's considered personal information and it belongs to the child. When Gianna is older, she can decide if she would like to share that info. In the meantime, we'll be treating it as confidential. Asking someone why they were placed in adoption or what happened to the "real mom" is akin to asking a couple the intimate details of how they conceived their child. In short, it's tacky.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Finally! A Court Date
Today we were assigned a court date for Meretech---May 13th. Basically what that means is on May 13 the Ethiopian courts review whether or not Rob and I would make good parents for her. We do not need to be at the hearing---that's what the paperwork is for. While we expect that the court will rule in our favor, other roadblocks exist--missing paperwork, judge decides not to review the file, court gets delayed, etc. If this happens, then we have to wait for another court date. So while we are really excited to get a court date--we're crossing our fingers that the stars will align in our favor that day.
The next obvious question...how long do we wait until after the court date to pick her up? We've heard 5-8 weeks, but since this process has gone slow in general, we wouldn't be surprised if it's longer.
In any case, we're one step closer!
The next obvious question...how long do we wait until after the court date to pick her up? We've heard 5-8 weeks, but since this process has gone slow in general, we wouldn't be surprised if it's longer.
In any case, we're one step closer!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Little Girl's Bedroom
We've been receiving a lot of questions regarding the color for our little girl's room. Think pink (totally unavoidable), and green. Here's a little snippet of the design (Pottery Barn for Kids). I'm hoping Pottery Barn won't mind that I stold the images from their Website---actually, this is a plug for their product so they should be okay with it (that's what I'll say when they drag me to court).
We are mixing some of the infant items with some of the big girl's items to come up with a toddler's bedroom. Her bed is a conversion crib...so it has some flexibility in terms of whether we need to set it up as an infant bed, toddler bed, or big girl's bed. The green (not pictured) is a watermelon green, and will be the color of some of her walls and accessories.
Rob is thrilled....that I finally made a decision!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Hilarious Birthday Videos of the Nephews
Addison and Parker had their birthday party on the same day this year. Addison turned 3, and Parker turned 6. Conor, the 7 1/2 year old, video-taped a little of the action. My brother Jeff is Master of Ceremonies. Parker and Brian (another cousin), willingly played co-assistants in opening Addison's gifts. The video is sure to be a classic. Enjoy!
April 1 Update
It's April 1st and we haven't updated our blog in quite some time. The news is...the referral we received in January didn't work out. So we found ourselves back on the list. However, we did just receive another referral....for a 15 month old little girl. She is adorable.
Not much more for details until we pass some paperwork hurdles and feel more comfortable sharing. We will keep you posted as things move forward. In the meantime, there's plenty of links on this website to keep you busy!
Not much more for details until we pass some paperwork hurdles and feel more comfortable sharing. We will keep you posted as things move forward. In the meantime, there's plenty of links on this website to keep you busy!
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