The Week in Review

We have had a busy week.  Chris had a softball game on Monday night, Tuesday we cleaned our house, Wednesday I attended a student picnic at a local park for work, Thursday we had Deress and Jesse over for a cook-out, Friday we went to Indy for a date since our plans of camping with the Ponsler family did not work out, Saturday we ran errands in the morning and then I attended a baby shower and worked on homework, and today is Sunday and we went to church and worked on homework again.  

Deress (our really good friend from Ethiopia) and Jesse (a high school friend) came over for supper on Thursday.  We had a great time catching up and talking about Ethiopia.  My mom bought us a book of pictures from Ethiopia and Deress went through it with us telling us about the culture.  We really enjoyed it and I think he enjoyed sharing his culture.  All of us shared stories throughout the evening and our next plans are to go to the Greentown fair and introduce Deress to the Demolition Derby.  Boy is he in for a treat!  Even though Jesse works at the same place that I do, we haven't made it a point to get together and catch up.  Jesse is always up for an adventure and he plans to travel to Ethiopia within the next year.

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend the baby shower of one of my dearest friends.  Abbe and I have known each other for nine years and within the past year, we have become really close friends.  Abbe is going to be a mom for the first time!   She is actually having TWINS!  I am so excited for her and she has been such a great blessing to me.  Abbe is so supportive of our adoption and has really gone out of her way for us.  I have always wondered what it would be like to be pregnant and Abbe has shared many details with me so I can better understand what it feels like.  I had lunch with her this past Thursday and she let me rub her belly for at least 10 minutes.  She is amazing!  

For her shower, I decided to create a diaper cake.  This is my third cake so far and I have to say, it turned out different than my first two.  I added the bow to the front and I think it was a nice touch.  Since her babies will be smaller, I decided to use the new baby diapers instead of the typical swaddler diapers.  It took a lot more diapers, but the end product turned out!

Continue to pray for our adoption.  Thanks for your continued support!

Loving Indiana...

This past week (on Wednesday) we were very surprised to receive our I-171H Form from the Indianapolis CIS office. Talk about incredible! Usually this process takes 2-3 months and we received our paperwork in 3 weeks. This is when we LOVE Indiana! We have read several blogs from people who have adopted and this is the paper that most people wait by the mailbox hoping to receive it. God continues to amaze us each and everyday!



This past Friday we went to a Jack Johnson concert at Verizon Wireless. It was a lot of fun! We really enjoyed it. We have had the tickets for a long time and we thought it would be a great opportunity to be together and enjoy some good music. It was a great concert and we created some great memories!

On Saturday, we went to Indianapolis and set up a concession stand at a neighborhood garage sale. We were able to hang out with family and enjoy a beautiful day outside. We met some great people and I found that you can get some good deals at garage sales! We picked up quite a few books and a winter jacket and snow pants for our nephew.

Speaking of our nephew, I was talking to Nathan on the phone today. He is 3 and a half and I think he might be the funniest person I know. He is so inquisitive. He was telling me that he wants to go to China. I also love how he does not have the concept of distance. I told him that we have some new toys for him to play with and he said, “Aunt Sarah, you can just bring them over and I can play with them. That way we don’t have to wait for weeks.” After that, he was done talking to me and requested to talk to Uncle Chris. Chris was actually playing softball so he was unable to enjoy the conversation.

So, we are thinking that our dossier is in Ethiopia right now. Hopefully they (we really have no idea who) are in the process of translating it. It seems weird that nothing is in our hands…there is really nothing that we can do to speed up the process. We will continue to wait patiently.

What do we have left?

Several of you have asked about the status of our adoption. Earlier in the process we received an email from our case manager and so I thought I would share it with you. I have modified it a little bit because we have completed some parts and are waiting on others. I hope that this clears up any questions that you might have.

• We sent a set of our home study documents to CIS, for our I600A. We will receive the response from CIS (most often identified as the I-171H form) after both our fingerprints and our home study have been completed and submitted to CIS. We need the I-171H in order to travel to Ethiopia. It is our approval from the US stating that we can adopt.

• Our dossier was sent to Ethiopia on June 4, 2008. It takes 1-2 weeks to arrive to Addis. When it arrives, it will need to be translated from English to Amharic.

• We are added to the waiting list for a referral upon shipment of your dossier to Ethiopia. At this time your case will also transfer over to the case managers who work with referral, court, and travel processes with all families.

Now, the waiting begins…Habakkuk 2:3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay.”

• Our child will have to be re-adopted in our local/state court after arriving home. It is state specific and the process varies widely by state. Our child will not be a U.S. citizen until the re-adoption process is completed.

The Referral process and timeframe to adoption - Please note, these timeframes are estimates only, and vary by individual case.

• On average, we will wait approximately 2-3 months for a referral. Depending upon the number of families already on the waiting list, the specific gender those families are requesting, and the number of children in the orphanages who need a family, our wait could be less or more than 2-3 months. Typically, more families are requesting a girl referral, so the waiting time for a girl will probably be longer.

• When we receive our referral, the child will be living in an orphanage. We will usually receive photographs, and a report of medical conditions. We will take this info to a pediatrician for an evaluation and consultation.

• If we accept the referral, the child will then be moved out of the orphanage to a care facility in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. This is a CWA care facility. Before the child can be moved to the care facility, we must have received our CIS approval.

• When the child arrives to the care facility in Addis, he/she will be taken to a medical clinic for a complete physical exam. This process can take up to two weeks, depending on our child’s age. The results of the medical exam and tests will be given to us, along with new pictures of the child. If necessary, we will share this info with your pediatrician again for additional consultation.

• If the medical results are acceptable our staff will then submit our case to the court to request a hearing date for our adoption. Typically the court dates are scheduled 3-5 weeks out.

• Sometimes the scheduled court date is postponed due to missing paperwork, or the inability to get a birth relative into the city to attend the court hearing. Hearings are rescheduled for as soon as possible.

• After our adoption has been approved in the Ethiopia court, we will travel approximately 3-6 weeks later to get our child.

We have been busy this past week. The main activity has been staining our pool and deck. This needed to be done last year and we finally got to it this year! It looks so nice. We also opened our pool. I give Chris the majority of the credit. I started staining while he hooked everything up.

My grandpa came over and helped us do some maintenance on lawn mower. Boy, are we thankful for the timing! I guess that we were close to burning up the engine because we hadn’t added any oil to it for a long time.

Our cousins, Greg and Cari, had a baby girl on Friday morning at 12:17a.m. Elliot Rose (Elli) is adorable and we are happy for them! We actually had the opportunity to see Elli this evening. She is adorable. She is so tiny. We are used to our nephews who weighed 8-9 pounds. Elli only weighed 6.

Please continue to pray for our adoption process. We have been so blessed by each of you and we continue to see God opening doors for us.

Weekends - they go by so fast

We have been busy lately. On Friday, my parents came over and we were able to catch up on my father’s trip to Afghanistan. It was fun to hang out with them for a few hours. We had a pretty bad thunderstorm, so we played Uno for a little bit and then we played the Wii. We have a lot of fun competing against each other.








The weather has been so nice and we have been enjoying some time outside. We can now say that we have totally redone all of the landscaping at our house. On Saturday, we finished the west side of our house. When we started, we had to remove 3 huge bushes that had been there since my parents built our house. Of course, my dad’s response was “I paid good money for those bushes.” On Sunday, we started opening our pool. Due to the upcoming weather, we won't be able to finish it until next weekend.



On the adoption front, we received a call on Friday that our documents have been authenticated by the Department of State and the Ethiopian Embassy. We are still waiting for confirmation that the documents have been received in North Carolina. The next step is for our agency to send the dossier to Ethiopia for translation into Amharic. Please pray that everything continues to go smooth for us.

5 Years ago...

What were you doing five years ago?
I was on our honeymoon! We were in Santa Barbara, CA. We had a great time; however, no one told us it was June gloom. The sun was not out very often and it was chilly. I’m glad we were married because I wore the same outfit everyday because I couldn’t wear what I brought because of the weather.

What are five things on your to-do list for today?
Homework
Laundry
Open our Pool
Dishes
Blog

What are five snacks you enjoy?
Ice Cream
Pizza
Gummy Worms/Bears
Sparkling Grape Juice
Anything Sweet – cookies, brownies, sugar cream pie, cheesecake

What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire? (in no particular order)
Adopt a lot of kids
Be a stay at home mother
Give to the poor – something in Ethiopia and something local
Pay off our mortgage
Help family, save and invest some of it

What are five of your bad habits?
Gagging – mainly when I brush my teeth
Washing the dishes right away
Cracking my toes
Leaving the lights on when I am not in the room
Repeatedly saying “you know what I mean”

What are five places you have lived?
Kokomo, IN
North Manchester, IN
Cheltenham, England
Peru, IN
Kokomo, IN

What are five jobs you’ve had?
Babysitter
Swim Instructor
Resident Assistant
Operations Supervisor
International HR Rep

What five people do you want to tag?
Don
Brandon & Natalie
Jess
Kevin
Ehrin

Manchester Admission's Reunion at Maria's Wedding

I wanted to share some pictures with you that my friend Jolane took at Maria's wedding. Maria and Chris were co-workers when he worked at Manchester. It was a lot of fun seeing all of the Manchester people again!

We went to the wedding with Adam and when we went to drive to the reception, Adam's car did not start. Chris asked some people that attended the wedding to jump us. They tried. Nothing happened. So, I hitched a ride to the reception with the people that tried jumping us. I am glad that the the random people that I rode with didn't mind. They were really nice. Once I arrived, I asked Jolane if she could take me back and pick up Adam and Chris. On the way, we stopped and picked up a battery. Luckily, that is all it needed!

When we arrived to the reception, they were doing the toasts. Since we were about an hour late, the MC group took care of us and filled our plates! The food was great, but my favorite part was the favors...DeBrands chocolates. YUM!

Jill & Chris


Jolane & Sarah


Maria - the beautiful bride

The Manchester Group.

A really close picture of us.

Lauren & Sarah

Today Chris and I went to church and then decided to take out the bushes on the side of our house. We are tired and sore. Tomorrow we are going to Terre Haute to a graduation open house. We are excited to be with Chris's side of the family.

The UPS Man!!!

Sometimes I really enjoy chilly, overcast days. Today was one of those days and due to the Memorial holiday, I was able to stay home from work and enjoy the comfort of my own home in my pajamas until noon. I worked on my master’s class in the morning. I actually talked to my professor using Skype (an Internet phone); however, I couldn’t find out how to hook up a microphone to our computer so he talked and I typed. Anyways, the point of the story is that we might be able to use Skype while we are in Ethiopia. You can talk via computers for free. If that doesn’t work, you can call using Skype to a land line for only 2 cents per minute. Not bad!

Chris worked half a day and I thought we would have twice baked potatoes. I think I got a little potato happy. I ended up wrapping 12 potatoes. What was I thinking? I guess I was thinking that we were hungry. Needless to say, I am trying to think of how I can use our excess potatoes.

This afternoon I went to get my hair cut. For the last 8 years I have been jumping to all different kids of places, but I was able to go back to the place that I went growing up. I love it when people do my hair. I was able to get a stylish trend. I think she cut 7 inches off. It was a much needed change.

Around 4:15 this afternoon our doorbell rang. It was the UPS man!!! I’ve haven’t been that excited about seeing the brown truck in our driveway for a long time. He dropped off the documents we were waiting on for our dossier. At 4:20 we were in the car headed to the bank to get a money order for the Ethiopian Embassy and on our way to the post office. We went to the Greentown Post Office and it closed at 4:30. That didn’t stop us! We headed straight to Kokomo and we sent our dossier to the courier in Washington DC. From Washington, it will go to North Carolina and then to Ethiopia. What a great start to a long weekend!




To celebrate, we decided to go to Louie’s Coney Island to get Coney dogs and chili cheese fries. Yum! Our last celebration stop was to DQ for some ice cream to finish off the evening.



And the waiting officially begins...

FBI...fingerprints

On Sunday, the Ponsler family got together at PF Changs to celebrate Gerry’s retirement. She thought it was just a get together because we were not able to be together for Mother’s day. Boy was she surprised! She has been a school nurse for 26 years and she is retiring. She currently works at Kokomo High School. I think she will miss the kids, but it will be a lot less stress. She is excited to do her own thing and help us out later on this year! Congratulations, Gerry! We really hope that you enjoy your retirement.

This week has been a great adoption week! We received word on Wednesday from our agency that our dossier is ready to go! We will be sending it to Washington DC either Friday or Saturday. We are waiting on a couple of documents from CWA so we can include them with the rest of our documents.

We can tell we are getting closer - take a look at our paper...notice the right hand side. Almost all of the dates are filled in! YAY!

Today, I was able to work remotely which helped me out a bunch! It also helped us save a bit on gas. Gas is currently $3.99 per gallon. I consider this a bit ridiculous. Also, Chris and I were able to ride together which made it nice. We had to go to the USCIS office in Indianapolis. Our appointment was at 10:00. We arrived around 9:45 and they took us back right away. We both thought we would have to wait awhile because there were a lot of people in the waiting area. We both went back at the same time. I get called first and the lady starts doing my fingerprints... People, I have the worst fingerprints ever. The lady asked me if I was a doctor or nurse because my fingerprints are not normal. They look like a 100 year old hand. They are all cracked and have lines going down instead of a circular pattern. I look over at Chris’s and his are PERFECT. What is up with that? He works outside more than I do. Who knows? She said that the fingerprints will go to the FBI. I have a 50/50 chance that I will have to go back and do it again. If nothing changes, I guess they will let me pass. At least I pray that they do! We should find out in the next couple of weeks…no news is good news.

I have to say, the biometrics was pretty cool. They scanned all four of our fingers at once for each hand and then scanned each one individually. They used a cloth and water to dampen the fingertips before doing the electronic scan. It was interesting. It took about 5 minutes to complete.

We have a long weekend so I am excited! I plan on working on my class and homework tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be so nice. This makes me excited! We have a lot of projects that we can work on...

Patience...

This week, God taught me patience. I now understand that we are at the point in the adoption process that we can no longer control the timing and it is in God’s hands. On Friday afternoon, Chris was able to stop by the Bethany office and pick up our home study! This morning I was able to go to the post office and send our dossier (all our documents for our adoption) to Christian World Adoption for our case manager to review. When we hear back from her and if everything is okay, we will send our documents to a courier in Washington DC. I also sent our home study to the US Citizenship and Immigration Office in Indianapolis. This upcoming Thursday, we will be going to the USCIS office to get our fingerprints. In order to adopt, we will have to receive approval from the government. This is completed after they review our home study, our petition and after we get our fingerprints. We will receive the approval from the government by receiving the I-171H form. Supposedly, it will take 6-8 weeks. All we can do is wait…and the waiting begins.

On Thursday, Chris and I went over to my grandpa’s house and Chris helped him with his Direct TV. I was supposed to watch my parent’s dog, Dillon, because my dad is in Afghanistan and my mother is in Milwaukee. Well, we made plans for Friday, so my grandpa helped us out with dog duty. I think he enjoys the company! Dillon is a pretty good dog.



On Friday, the “Second Six” got together for an evening of fun. We decided to call ourselves the “Second Six” because the “Original Six” included the boys that would hang out in high school (Maple, Foland, Summers, Sydrock, G Funk, & Ponz); however, the group hasn’t been together for quite some time. We played old school Mario (Kdub remembers EVERY trick), had pizza, enjoyed a fire with smores and had a great time catching up. Greg and Cari will soon be parents to Elliot Rose. They seem super excited and will be awesome parents soon!







Today we helped Chris’s mom in the yard. We helped her plant some shrubs and spread lots of mulch. We came home and put mulch all around our trees in the front. I have to say, it looks so much better.

Recently, I have been trying new recipes in the kitchen. It makes cooking so much more fun! I have been a huge fan of the Kraft recipes. They are easy and practical. I also like the fact that it usually serves four so that means leftovers for weekday lunches. The little things that make me happy…

Keeping Up with the Ponslers...

We have been really busy lately! We are actually looking forward to some downtime in the near future. This past weekend we had the opportunity to attend poll day for the Indianapolis 500.



We met up with my college roommate and good friend, Libby. It was great to see her and catch up on what has been going on with her the past few months. She just finished tax season and it sounds like she is enjoying her free time.



Manchester went in with several other Indiana colleges and had a tent for the Alumni on Saturday. Although we didn’t really know many people that attended the event, it was a lot of fun. We were able to talk to the director of alumni relations, Gary Montel aka Clyde and his wife Dee. It has been a long time since we talked with them, so it was fun to catch up. In the morning, we were able to go into the garage area and get several autographs of some of the drivers. The weather was beautiful on Saturday. We had a great time!

Chris getting Rick Mears autograph.

Sarah Fisher catching a ride out to the track.

The lady that says, "Ladies and gentelmen, start your engines..."

The typical picture of us.

We stood on the bleachers and watched the cars go down Gasoline Alley. It was entertaining watching the people in the yellow shirts.

A pimped out golf cart. I want one!

In the afternoon, we left Indy and headed for Michigan to visit my brother and his family. We really enjoy hanging out with them. On Saturday night, we made our own sushi. It was tasty! On Sunday, our nephew Eli was baptized at church. It was a neat moment and I am excited to watch him grow throughout the years. He is such a good baby. We also had a lot of fun with our nephews, Nathan and Aaron. Both of the boys are developing their personalities and it is fun to hang out with them.

On the adoption front, our agency has approved our home study! We are excited to continue forward; however, we are realizing that our timing has been aggressive. I think when we are in charge of things, we tend to get it done real fast; however, when it is in the hands of others, we simply have to wait. Oh the waiting begins. We have been guessing the timing based on the average, but now we are leaving it up to God. His timing is always perfect. He has a plan and all we have to do is wait. So for now, we really don’t know when things will happen, but when they do, it will be perfect!

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Still Waiting...

Unfortunately, I do not have super exciting adoption news yet. We are still waiting on the home study for our dossier. As soon as we receive it, I think it will go fast. Hopefully we will hear from someone tomorrow.

This past weekend, we went to the Ethiopian restaurant in Indianapolis with the Ponsler side of the family. I was a little apprehensive because I wasn't sure if they would enjoy the food. It turned out to be a hit! I think everybody had a great time and enjoyed the new experience. I think I could get used to always eating with my hands. It might look a little awkward at times. Maybe I will try to start a new trend. Maybe not.

On Saturday, Chris and I participated in the 5K which is apart of the mini marathon race in Indianapolis. We also met up with Syd and Katie. Syd ran the mini in one hour and twenty three minutes (AMAZING) and Katie ran the 5K with us (or should I say with Chris). Chris finished it with 10:36 per mile and I finished with 12:05 per mile.

Our nephew, Clayton, was headed to prom on Saturday. I must tell you that when Chris and I met, he was 5 years old! Where has the time gone? He looked adorable and it sounded like he had a great time!

We were exhausted so we came home and went to bed.

On Sunday, several of us threw a baby shower for my cousin Cari. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so as soon as I get the pictures I will be sure to post them. It was fun seeing the family and some high school friends again.