How Many Licks Does it Take to Get to the Center of a Tootsie Pop?

Okay, so that might not be what most of you are wondering about, though if you are interested, there was a scientific study conducted here, just make sure to come back here after you read it!

The real question, the question that we have been asked countless times since we began the process is, "what's next?" Well maybe that's second to, "when do you get your kids?" Both very good questions...sometimes I don't know the answer to the first, and we don't really know the answer to the second either, but here is what I do know we have left to do:

1.  Finish gathering up documents for our dossier. This is actually going really well! It's finally good to feel like we are moving forward, after all of our stop and go, putting the home study on hold, etc., I just feel like we have momentum, that, plus the momentum of that amazing gift (if you didn't read about the gift, read my previous post!!) has pushed us so far forward. Besides waiting on birth and marriage certificates, we are just waiting for our approval from the US government to adopt foreign kiddos, otherwise, the dossier is just about done!
   
2.  Raise some more money.So, I'll just be honest, international adoption is expensive! So is giving birth...the difference is that my health insurance doesn't cover adoption expenses. I've been trying to calculate about how much we have left and I think it's about $10,000 plus travel expenses for two trips to Ethiopia. Here's what we're thinking:
   
   a.) Artwork If you know anyone who has adopted from Ethiopia (or Africa in general), or has an affinity for these countries, we have some awesome artwork from Alan and for our friend Andrea Reynolds. Alan also has other artwork that is not related to Ethiopia or adoption that you can purchase prints of. You can check out his work on our Art page
   
   b.) Jewelry I enjoy making jewelry and so I have random pieces available. Pictures are posted on my Jewelry page of some that I have made and sold, but I do take requests.
   
   c.) Sushi Nights If you get a group of people together who like sushi, we'll do our best to find a date where we can come over and make you dinner! Of course, we could also arrange to just do delivery as well!
   
   d.) Start Earning Points As much as it pains me to think about using a credit card (we avoid it at all costs), I think we'll be getting a card that earns us miles, then using that to pay for our normal expenses and paying it off monthly...EEK...good idea?
   
3. Accept a Referral A referral is when the agency gives us info on adoptable kids. We will have a some time to pray about it and then say "yes" or "no." Technically, that can happen at any time now...the catch is, we have to be able to pay the referral fee when we say, "yes!"
   
   
4. Travel to Ethiopia to Meet Future Kiddos
   
5. Travel Again to Bring Said Kiddos Home
   
6. Be Awesome Parents
   
   (I obviously don't know much about these steps yet)
   
7. Just PRAY...This would obviously be the real first step, and really the most important step. We will continue to pray through every step of this process and I ask for you to pray for us and our future kids as well. 

If you have questions or comments that you want to ask privately, email me at electric_chairsty@yahoo.com