Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
What About Them?
Most everyone has been outraged by the verdict in the Casey Anthony murder. I too wonder how a mother could party, get a tattoo and act like nothing happened while she knew her daughter was dead. Yes, the defense admitted she knew Caylee was dead. The verdict is sickening, yes. But I wonder why we got upset about this one case, when there are millions of other injustices going on all over the world and even in America.
We think a mother should pay with her life for murdering her two year old. How is a two year old any different than an unborn baby? How is Casey Anthony any different than a woman choosing to abort her child? Our government allows the killing of millions of babies every year and it is said to be ok because that fetus has yet to use his lungs to breathe.
Why is it that we got so upset with the death of that one little girl when in Russia, children are abandoned everyday. So many Russian orphans are known to have fetal alcohol syndrome. Their mothers deserve time in jail for child neglect just the same as Casey Anthony.
What about the tens of thousands of Chinese babies that are abandoned each year just because they are female? What about the children in Bulgaria that are taken to orphanages because they have a cleft lip, cerebral palsy, or hepatitis? What about the kids in Russia who are sent to rural orphanages, far away from society because they have Down's Syndrome? What about the babies in Africa who are drowned because their village sees them as imperfect?
What about them?
We think a mother should pay with her life for murdering her two year old. How is a two year old any different than an unborn baby? How is Casey Anthony any different than a woman choosing to abort her child? Our government allows the killing of millions of babies every year and it is said to be ok because that fetus has yet to use his lungs to breathe.
Why is it that we got so upset with the death of that one little girl when in Russia, children are abandoned everyday. So many Russian orphans are known to have fetal alcohol syndrome. Their mothers deserve time in jail for child neglect just the same as Casey Anthony.
What about the tens of thousands of Chinese babies that are abandoned each year just because they are female? What about the children in Bulgaria that are taken to orphanages because they have a cleft lip, cerebral palsy, or hepatitis? What about the kids in Russia who are sent to rural orphanages, far away from society because they have Down's Syndrome? What about the babies in Africa who are drowned because their village sees them as imperfect?
What about them?
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Got Junk?
If any of you in the Tuscaloosa area have junk you would like to get ride of, Jonathan and I will gladly take it off of your hands. We will be having a yard sale August 20 in front of North River Christian Academy (just east of the Northridge Shopping Center). All monies will go to our adoption fund. Leave a comment or send me a message if you can donate items (aprilhwth@gmail.com). Thanks!
Monday, June 27, 2011
New T-Shirts
I'm adding two new shirts to our fundraising. The cost of each is $20. We will receive $10 in profits to go to our adoption fund! The first order is set to go out in two weeks. I am not able to purchase one at a time, so tell everyone you know to order one. The pink tees are precious for little girls. They fit sizes 6-14.
In case you didn't know, there are currently 147,000,000 orphans in the world.
In case you didn't know, there are currently 147,000,000 orphans in the world.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Conflicting Information
We have been receiving conflicting information about Bulgaria. Right now, the wait for a young child with minor or correctable special needs is THREE YEARS! Some agencies have been telling us things are speeding up in Bulgaria. Well our Lifeline representative specifically asked their Bulgarian representative how long our wait would be based on the needs we are willing to accept (we sent her a list). He informed her that our wait time would be 2-3 years or longer! Do not get me wrong. We are not in a rush to adopt. What is important to us is we go where there is a need. In my opinion, if the wait time for a referral is 3 or more years, the need isn't great. There are many children all over Europe with special needs. We don't feel equipped to handle those.
Our "decision" yesterday was to go ahead with our home study through Lifeline. We would choose a placing agency that works in Russia and Uganda. Once the home study is complete, we would apply for grants. If enough funds were provided for Russia, then AWESOME! That's where our hearts have been and still are. If the funds weren't provided, we'd go with Uganda.
I emailed an agency to let her know our plans. I then receive an email from her stating that the judges in Uganda are having parents stay in country longer for more bonding time and more time to soak in the culture. I truly respect that as adoptions can and have become corrupt and like a baby market. However, we aren't in a place in our lives where we can spend 6 weeks in Africa. So there's another blow to our plans.
But I'm ok. I just wish God would come down and tell us what all this is about and what He wants us to do. But He's not going to and I know that. We just have to walk by faith, not by sight. So right now I am trusting that if He has put our hearts in Russia because that's where our child is, then He will provide the funds. Of course, we aren't committing to that just yet. We are waiting until the last minute to choose a placing agency and a country.
Our "decision" yesterday was to go ahead with our home study through Lifeline. We would choose a placing agency that works in Russia and Uganda. Once the home study is complete, we would apply for grants. If enough funds were provided for Russia, then AWESOME! That's where our hearts have been and still are. If the funds weren't provided, we'd go with Uganda.
I emailed an agency to let her know our plans. I then receive an email from her stating that the judges in Uganda are having parents stay in country longer for more bonding time and more time to soak in the culture. I truly respect that as adoptions can and have become corrupt and like a baby market. However, we aren't in a place in our lives where we can spend 6 weeks in Africa. So there's another blow to our plans.
But I'm ok. I just wish God would come down and tell us what all this is about and what He wants us to do. But He's not going to and I know that. We just have to walk by faith, not by sight. So right now I am trusting that if He has put our hearts in Russia because that's where our child is, then He will provide the funds. Of course, we aren't committing to that just yet. We are waiting until the last minute to choose a placing agency and a country.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
It's Official
Jonathan wants to keep a journal of our adoption process. So right now I have a reason to be on the computer at 10:00 p.m.
Today we printed the paperwork that goes along with our fingerprints and criminal history report. This is the first step in the home study process. Jonathan was taken aback when we had to pay $51.25 EACH to have this done. I said, "That's just one of the many expenses that make up the $28,000."
For now we will be using Lifeline Children's Services as our agency for Bulgaria. We can change our minds up until the end of our home study. It has been so difficult for us to decide on a country. There are so many factors such as, age of children referred, time in country, quantity of trips, oh and don't forget COST! Jonathan really wants to adopt from Uganda. And I did too at one point. We were all ready to adopt 1 boy and 1 girl, then I started having doubts. See, we weren't comfortable with having 1 African child. Years down the road, they are probably going to realize they are different and they will possible feel alone. We would hope that's not the case, but it's possible. We thought it would be in the best interest of the child to have an African sibling. It's much easier (in theory) to adopt 2 children at once rather than go through the whole process again later. Besides, it only adds a couple thousand dollars to the cost. However, we aren't sure it is in the best interest of the mom (me) to bring 2 children into our home at once! And who knows if we'll be able to come up with another $25K to adopt a second child in a few more years? So I want to take the "easy" road and adopt one lighter skinned child and be done.
I feel weird for even saying all this. I hate referring to my possible future children as "African" and "lighter skinned", but I do want to be candid on this blog and hopefully talk about things that others may be feeling. These are real thoughts and concerns and I hope this will help others open up and talk about their adoption concerns.
So anyway... hopefully tomorrow we will make it to the police station to have our fingerprints done.
Today we printed the paperwork that goes along with our fingerprints and criminal history report. This is the first step in the home study process. Jonathan was taken aback when we had to pay $51.25 EACH to have this done. I said, "That's just one of the many expenses that make up the $28,000."
For now we will be using Lifeline Children's Services as our agency for Bulgaria. We can change our minds up until the end of our home study. It has been so difficult for us to decide on a country. There are so many factors such as, age of children referred, time in country, quantity of trips, oh and don't forget COST! Jonathan really wants to adopt from Uganda. And I did too at one point. We were all ready to adopt 1 boy and 1 girl, then I started having doubts. See, we weren't comfortable with having 1 African child. Years down the road, they are probably going to realize they are different and they will possible feel alone. We would hope that's not the case, but it's possible. We thought it would be in the best interest of the child to have an African sibling. It's much easier (in theory) to adopt 2 children at once rather than go through the whole process again later. Besides, it only adds a couple thousand dollars to the cost. However, we aren't sure it is in the best interest of the mom (me) to bring 2 children into our home at once! And who knows if we'll be able to come up with another $25K to adopt a second child in a few more years? So I want to take the "easy" road and adopt one lighter skinned child and be done.
I feel weird for even saying all this. I hate referring to my possible future children as "African" and "lighter skinned", but I do want to be candid on this blog and hopefully talk about things that others may be feeling. These are real thoughts and concerns and I hope this will help others open up and talk about their adoption concerns.
So anyway... hopefully tomorrow we will make it to the police station to have our fingerprints done.
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