[bardsanddog]

I would love to hear about why you all have chosen Ethiopia, or Ethiopia has chosen you!
I always enjoy this type of thing and it helps to learn a litlte about each other!
bardsanddog

Why us, hopefully???
Ethiopia and the sweet faces, oh boy! While listening to music I recieved from an agency that was Ethiopian, it was very moving. The need is so great.

[meimaemomma]

Okay, this is a bit complicated and long.
We knew, if this makes any sense, that we wanted to adopt a child who needed _us_ specifically - we didn't want to be competing with families who were all equally great choices for firstfamilies. We first thought China, though we weren't yet 30. But then we heard that there was a need for families open to aa babies where we are - and of course, we were open (and prepared - we live in a diverse neighborhood, switched churches to one with an aa pastor, ds goes to a preschool with diverse children and teaching staff). So we started down that road. But we had a hard fall, and when I called several agencies they said that they were most in need of aa families for aa and biracial cc/aa children, and that their placement rates for cc families were equal for cc and aa infants. (Which is a very good thing). We also knew we weren't up to a revocation (ds was already stressed by the ups and downs, maybe/maybe nots of the fall).
This led to a random look at Ethiopia, which led to a phone call to an agency with a ton of programs. When dh said "someone who needs us as much as we need them" as the child we wished for, they said "then your choices are Ethiopia and China." As we looked at the pictures of families formed through adoption from Ethiopia, we fell in love. And it seemed like the natural progression of the reasons that would have brought us to China and those that would have brought us an aa child. We couldn't be happier with our decision so far. It just seems so right. The health of the children, high caregiver child ratio, and truthfully (if I may be frank) their absolute beauty!, solidified it. And so we are all in love with our children yet to be.

[bluedaisy]

I had thought about international adoption in the past, but no program ever seemed right. Then, this past fall, I learned about the Ethiopia program, and it seemed just perfect, for some of these reasons:

• Relatively quick process
• The excellent care the children receive at our agency's care center
• Ethiopia is an incredible country with an amazing culture and beautiful people
• The cost seemed within what we could afford
• The need is so great

[gb_ftmtn]

I would love to hear everyone's replies also. I am still trying to decide which country (and trying to get my dh totally on board), but am drawn to Ethiopia. I am still considering China and Vietnam also. I am considering adopting a toddler and I have heard that the toddlers that need families in Ethiopia normally have not been raised in the orphanges, but were raised at home until they were not able to care for them anymore or something happened to the parents.

Aileen
dd 4.5
dd 2.5

[DaniWestRN]

Why Ethiopia? DH and I have long had many connections to Ethiopia from missionary friends in Ethiopia to church friends who are Ethiopian-Americans. I was even able to spend two months in Ethiopia in the summer of 1997. Despite its poverty and struggles, Ethiopia and its people are beautiful and gracious with a long and proud history. Ethiopia also has one of the easiest adoption processes internationally, and presently offer the youngest children on home coming. Since we met all the requirements for Ethiopia and had so many connections to Ethiopia it was an easy choice for our first adoption.

[snvanvl]

My Dh and I had a very hard time choosing a country. We only had a handful of countries to choose from due to our family size and our ages (we are 29). We chose Ethiopia due to the fast process and the cost factor. Also the fact that the children are loved and cared for and most children come home very young. Since I was a teenager I always had a heart for the African children and I always wanted to have one of my own. I am so thankful for a husband that had the same heart that I did and knew he would always adopt some day. We have such an awesome God and His way is always perfect.

We brought home 2 unrelated children ages 7 months and 16 months and we have no doubt that our children were very well taken care of.

Our son was 16 months old when we picked him up and had only been in the orphanage for 3 1/2 months by the time we picked him up.

We have a family website if anyone is interested:
www.vanvleetfamily.com


Our children have truly blossomed since we got them home it is amazing what a good ole American diet can do for you.

Christy

[Learning2wait]

We were ready to adopt in 2003, we'd been married 4 years w/ no bios. We looked international first b/c we didn't want to deal w/ bps. But I hadn't turned 25 yet - there aren't int'l programs for young people. So we took a long process and rec'd our son through the foster system.
It'll be 2 years since he first came to our house on Fri, and we're planning on an April 7th court date to finalize (finally!). We're burnt out working w/ the domestic system - although there's so many kids waiting to be adopted in the US we sent so many homestudies and never got anywhere.
We want more kids, and we decided int'l again (yay! I'm over 25!). We looked at agencies that friends had used, but it didn't seem to fit quite right. Then I found a link from a transracial adoption board (we're Caucasian, DS is AA) for Ethiopia (the other agencies we looked at only had programs in South America, Eastern Europe, Asia). I said - if we're going to adopt, why adopt caucasian kids, there's already enough caucasians in the family, many sources say that it often helps transracially adopted kids to have siblings of the same "race".
Ethiopia also has a relatively quick program compared to other int'l programs and only requires one trip (my husband can't do the 2 trips a month apart or 1 trip 4 weeks long that some countries require).

[meimaemomma]

Congratulations on your upcoming finalization, and on your decision to adopt from Ethiopia!

[bardsanddog]

It has been neat seeing folks web sites and following the stories! Thanks for sharing the great journey of adoption and your beautiful kiddos!
bardsanddog

[Learning2wait]

Thanks! After thinking it would be November, then January, February and March, we think that April will be definite! (All the papers are signed, the lawyer is available) And our agency will allow us to apply right away after his court date (some agencies make you wait a year after finalization... but we've already adjusted to being his parent in this case) so he doesn't have to be an only child until he's 5 or 6.