The Journey

Two weeks ago, Jeffrey and I had the opportunity to attend an adoption conference. You may wonder what an adoption conference is all about. Well, there may be many different types, but this one was more to equip parents with knowledge and strategies for once your child is home. Though we still have a long wait ahead of us, we want to be proactive in educating ourselves and investing in our children even before they are here. Many people who adopt think that they are going to face the same challenges that everyone faces with their biological children, and although these challenges still exist, many times people who adopt will sometimes face other challenges. This can be a little scary when thinking about some of these challenges, but we want to be wise and prepare for the unexpected. We are of course praying for a healthy baby- body and mind, but when you have lived the first part of your life in extreme poverty, are malnourished, and have been in an institution, there may be some e...

I need to start by apologizing for not posting this sooner! Life has been a bit busy, and we haven't had the chance to stop and post. This picture captures the fun that was had by all! WOW! Once again we have been overwhelmed by the beautiful people who love and support our family. There are not enough words to express our gratitude to all the people who came, helped, and donated. We were able to raise $3,600! This is an awesome amount to add to our adoption fund! The McGovern's Table! Kaitlin and Aunt Janeece THE AWESOME GRADERS! Hartwicks shopping at the silent auction.                  Whether you placed first or last, you are all champions to us! WHAT AN AWESOME TURN OUT! We had such a fun night. It felt more like a family reunion than a fundraiser! WE HAVE TO GIVE A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO AUNT LEAH! SHE ORGANIZED THE WHOLE EVENT, AND DID AN AWESOME JOB! We love these guys! My Best Fr...

Baby, On a day where you are supposed express your love to those you love, we want you to know that there was not a moment that we didn't think about you. When daddy and I went on our date, we talked about you often. Although there are a lot of things keeping us from bringing you home right now, nothing can keep us from loving you the way we do. Love has no boundaries. No oceans, no miles, no time frames, no governments, no waiting list will keep me from loving you. Happy Valentine's, Baby Woodson. You are far more loved than you can imagine right now.

I am not sure if the title to this post is accurate. I do believe that this is great news, but I sometimes feel like when Jeffrey and I post something that sounds like great news for the adoption, people suddenly think that we are getting our baby any day now. This past week, I posted on Facebook about some great news. Through this whole journey, I have tried to be very real and informative about what is happening, so let me take a few minutes of your time to explain. GREAT NEWS: Ethiopia has decided to not close international adoption. Many of you were probably not aware of this, but a few weeks ago, it did not look good for adoptions in Ethiopia. Due to media shining light on bad cases of adoption, the government was considering closing international adoption like many other countries such as Guatemala and Russia. Ethiopia is now working to make sure that adoptions that occur are adoptions for children who are truly orphans and trying to remove some of the terrible things that oc...

We want to give a huge shout out to everyone who participated in our photo shoot fundraiser! We thank you for allowing us capture your beautiful family while supporting our family in progress. Each shoot was unique and it's own. Checkout some of these photos from our shoots. I don't know if favorite is the best word because we had so many, but these are some of the great people who helped make our dream of bringing Baby Woodson home a little closer. Many Blessings to you all!  Rachel's Favorites- Jeffrey's Favorites-

Yesterday, I posted on Facebook that there were some decisions being made in Ethiopia about international adoption. After posting for prayers, we waited to hear from our adoption agency. Today we final received word on what was happening. This is the information we received from our adoption agency. Over the weekend in Ethiopia a multiday meeting was held by the House of Representatives along with MOWCYA ( Ministry of Women Children and Youth Affairs) officials. Around 400 people were present.  A research paper prepared by MOWCYA in conjunction with Parliament was presented regarding issues of sexual harassment, drug abuse and adoption within Ethiopia.  After the presentation, those in attendance were divided into six groups to discuss and respond to 15 questions.  Seven of the 15 questions were directly related to adoption. Our adoption agency is in the process of translating the research paper and questions.  Each group had a mixed representation of parl...