Well my friend Tiffani was right. There IS a lot of paperwork.
Ever since I got the official instructions on how to complete the dossier I have been working non-stop to get my dossier pulled together. Just when I thought I had it ALMOST ready... then I had my first homestudy visit and BAM another long list of things to do. I feel like I'm in one of those Rube Goldberg contests where you have to go through so many steps to do the simplest things. From dealing with government agencies to getting copies of paperwork, to taking online training classes, to petitioning several friends to pull reference letters together, to notaries and certifications, to making a guardianship plan in case anything happens to me (I don't even know the child yet and I'm planning for someone else to take her if I pass)... WOW.. I'm getting tired of paperwork! I have a couple more things that I can do until I'm completely waiting on agencies.. doctors.. etc. to give me what I need.
My mom has been helping me a lot. She's been getting many documents pulled together.. writing letters for me and trying to get me necessary appointments. Today we had a good time at Goodwill. I told myself I wasn't going to buy very much.. at least until I know SOMETHING about my daughter.. Her age is an unknown factor, when I will get her, what season it will be.. I've never really looked at baby clothes. Never made a point to stop in a baby section and see what I liked. I figured, well since I know nothing, it wouldn't hurt to look at Goodwill. Babies grow so quickly, the clothes can't be too destroyed.. or too expensive. And it is Carmel, right?? so maybe there are nicer things there? So we went through the first couple of racks at Goodwill. BABY GIRL CLOTHES ARE REALLY CUTE!! Lots of pink.. lots of butterflies.. lots of flowers. My mom kept saying, "it's too early to buy clothes, I can tell you're going to be back here every week".. but then she'd say, "you take that side of the rack and I'll look at this side, isn't this cute?". What the heck. If the sizes are off, I'll donate them to Goodwill! It was fun and we got a lot of really cute clothes at a good price. My mom then offered to take them home and take all the tags off and wash them. I have a great mom!
I'm eager for my trip to Haiti to come. I'm excited to see some of my Haitian friends again. I'm also ready to look at several orphanages and see the conditions. It's an odd feeling though.. after working on all the paperwork and hiring an agency. I could at any point walk into any of those orphanages and pick a child to adopt. Her life would change forever. I already feel bad about the super cute toddlers I'm going to pass up or the multilingual older children who need homes too...They know what you are coming to the orphanage for...they'll do what it takes to get your attention and gain your interest. However, I'll need to look past them and see the babies. I really want to be a part of as much of her life as I can... so I need a newborn.
Been thinking a lot about her name.. such a big decision... Lots of different thoughts are going on in my mind. Use a family name? Use a Haitian name? (still haven't found the book for the 100 most popular Haitian baby names). How about a name that's after a Catholic saint or the Virgin Mary? What about the names I've always liked through the years? I think I'll make my final decision when I learn of my daughter. I'd like to know about the name that her birth parents gave her and possibly incorporate that somehow.
More to come!
Bonne nuit!
