Why are you adopting?
We have both known for a long time that we wanted to adopt. Even before we were married, we knew that we wanted to adopt. Jeremy has always wanted to adopt (maybe because he was adopted himself), and Sarah has wanted to adopt since she saw a Sesame Street episode on adoption when she was 8 years old. Adoption is our first choice in the way that we want to grow our family. We are very excited about it!
Why Ethiopia?
Some of you know that we have explored many different countries for international adoption. We also looked into domestic open adoption and our local county's foster-to-adopt program. After all of our research, Ethiopia's adoption program stood out as the one that fit us best. First, there is a strong Ethiopian cultural community where we live. Second, we have a good friend who has adopted from Ethiopia. In fact, Sarah joined our friend on her trip to Ethiopia as she picked up her daughter! Third, many people in our area are adopting from Ethiopia, so there are lots of cultural resources for adoptive families. And lastly, the people of Ethiopia are sooooo friendly and beautiful!
Will you have a baby?
We might, and we might not. We are actually waiting for siblings or twins from 0-5 years old. (We were waiting for siblings or twins from 0-3 years old, but we increased our age range in February 2009.) We might have two babies, two toddlers or one of each.
Will you have boys or girls?
We are open to gender. That means we might have two boys, two girls, or one of each!
When will they come home?
We don't know yet. We are currently waiting for a "referral". When we receive a "referral", someone from our agency will call us with information and photos of our children. Our agency's current estimate is that we would receive a referral sometime in Summer or Fall 2009. After the referral, we are likely to travel within 4 months or so. We're hoping to travel before February 2010, but we'll see! Timelines in international adoption are ever-changing and very unpredictable.
Will you travel?
Absolutely, yes! We wouldn't miss traveling to Ethiopia for the world! The trip is only about a week for the adoption process, but we hope to travel around Ethiopia to learn more about the culture for at least a week before we meet our children.
Why is this blog called "13 Months of Sunshine in Minnesota"?
Ethiopia has a different calendar than we do here in the United States. In fact, though it is 2008 here, in Ethiopia, it is the year 2001! They also have 13 months in a year, and typical Ethiopian weather includes a lot of sunshine, so Ethiopia is known as the land where there are 13 months of sunshine. Because we live in Minnesota, and because we are bringing our little ones home from Ethiopia, it seemed appropriate to name our blog "13 Months of Sunshine in Minnesota". Everyone who knows Minnesota knows that it is not exactly sunshine-y year-round!
