Frequently Asked Questions

Why are you adopting?
Scott and I always wanted 3-5 kids. After three high risk pregnancies, we decided that that chapter of our lives was closed. (Being pregnant anyways.) We still wanted to have a girl even though we already had 3 wonderful biological boys and decided that adoption was right for us.

Which agency are you using?
We're using Gladney, which is base out of Fort Worth, TX. So far, we've been very pleased with our decision. They have been very supportive and very quick to answer any of our questions. We feel confidant in them since they have been around for over 100 years.

Why International versus Domestic?
We had never even considered the differences between the two until we started thinking about adoption ourselves. We decided that we didn't want to emotionally deal with being picked by a birth mother, and then for her to change her mind in the end. It would be several months of excitement and then a huge let down. We also didn't want to have an open adoption. Pretty much all domestic adoptions are open in some way or another. It varies widely from one picture to yearly get togethers. We decided to be selfish and keep her all to ourselves.

Why Ethiopia?
We knew that we wanted to have an infant girl. Seeing that we already have 3 boys, that eliminates us from some programs automatically. We also wanted to be able to choose the gender and get an infant, or as close as possible. By narrowing it all down, we decided that Ethiopia would be our best fit. Plus, Ethiopian food has long been our favorite, so it will be a pleasure to have an even better reason to learn to cook it now. Plus, in our heart of hearts, we knew we'd find her there.

How long does it take?
We were able to finish our application and our dossier (all of the paperwork that is sent to our Sec. of State, then the State Department, then on to Ethiopia for translation) in about 3 1/2 months. From there, the referral time is 3-5 months for Ethiopia, then 6-8 weeks till we travel to get her. (The referral means when a child is placed with us and they start sending her med. records and pictures).

Do you worry about raising a child of another race?
Absolutely, but then worrying is just a plain fact about parenting. We're worried that people won't be accepting of her and all of the obstacles that may come her way. Being white, we'll never know what it's like to be black. We just pray that we do the best that we possibly can. We never would have taken on this adoption if we didn't think we could handle it. Plus, I think worrying about her makes us, if not better parents, at least more sensitive.

How have your families and friends reacted?
Fortunately, we have had very positive responses and a lot of excitement. It will be the second granddaughter on my side and the first granddaughter on Scott's side. We have had a few people that were surprised, but I think more surprised over us adopting than from where. Only one couple was so taken aback that we didn't even tell them that we were adopting from Ethiopia. It was an unfortunate reaction, but we don't see them often and will probably become more infrequent if they're not supportive.

What age have you requested?
Seeing that we already have three wonderful boys, we decided to go for the girl! We've requested 0-9 months so that we can start from her earliest stage possible. We hate to miss all of those first firsts that happen in their infancy.

Do you worry about AIDS/HIV?
HIV/AIDS unfortunately is extremely widespread throughout Ethiopia. We didn't want to have to emotionally deal with this, so we've requested a child without HIV. She will be tested three times -one Rapid test and two PCR tests. These tests are done before we even know that we're getting her so that we don't have to make a difficult decision.