So when you tell people that you adopting they ask all sorts of questions. Thankfuly, Cody and I have not really been asked anything too rude or unnerving, but we know the day will come. People are curious and interested in the whole process. So, here are the answers to a few of the more common questions. If you have more feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer. I'm a very curious person by nature, so I understand the need to ask.
- Will you keep her name Mercy? Yes, we plan to keep her first name as Mercy. We love the name and what it means and represents on so many levels. Plus, one of my favorite people in Uganda is named Mercy, so it reminds me of her too. We will give her a middle name, but that's yet to be determined and we haven't decided when we'll divulge that bit of information. As many of you know, when I was pregnant with Emma and Avery we kept their names secret until they were born. It was so fun to torture all of you with it and it made it extra special when their names were "announced".
- Will you have to travel to Uganda to get her and how long will that take? Yes, Cody and I both plan to travel to Uganda. We plan on it taking between 3-5 weeks. Cody will most likely not stay there that whole time. It's a lot to ask people to watch Emma and Avery for that long, plus he'll need to get back to work.
- Why do you have to be there that long? We will have a court date shortly after we get there. During this time we will hopefully be granted guardianship of Mercy. Then we have to wait for the magistrate (judge) to give his/her ruling, then to give us the paperwork on that ruling. Then we have to get her a Ugandan passport and a birth certificate. Then we have to wait for a meeting with the US Embassy to get her a travel visa to come to the US. All of these things take time. We also plan to do some work at our friend Pastor Wilberforce Okumu's church; and, hopefully, visit our friends the Taylor's who just moved to Northern Uganda to be full-time missionaries.
- What does the process look like? Right now we are completing our home study. This says that we are approved to adopt a child according to the US-guidelines and the state of Kansas. From there, we will submit paperwork to immigration, which is now run by Homeland Security. They will run another background check on us, review our home study and then make a decision. The length of time on this varies greatly, so we aren't sure how long it will take. It can take from a few weeks to a few months. After getting immigration approval, we will mail our dossier (bundle of all papers) to Uganda to the attorney we've hired there. He will review it all and add to it the information about Mercy he has obtained. Then he'll get us a court date. In court, we will petition for guardianship of Mercy.
- How in the world will you do her hair? Ha!! I love this question because this was one of my first thoughts too. It just goes to show how important hair is to a girl. You will be happy to know, that I've found online videos and chat groups that explain in great detail the best way to do African hair. I can't wait to try my hand at corn rows, twists, and other types of braids. And you can all feel free to laugh at me as I figure this out.
- How do Emma and Avery feel about all of this? They are both incredibly excited. They've known about all of this for a couple of months, and we asked them to keep it quiet. They did a great job of that, but were so excited to now be able to talk about it. They've both taken pictures of her to school to show their classes. We've discussed with them how she will look different than us and that some people will ask questions about that. Both of them said that was silly and that the color of your skin doesn't matter at all. Oh, if only we could all be so color blind! Avery often asks what time it is in Africa and wonders what Mercy is doing at that moment. I know they will both be great big sisters to her.
- How do your extended families feel about this adoption? Our families have been incredibly supportive. We know they will love Mercy and support us every step of the way.
- How much is this all going to cost? Honestly, we don't know for sure. It adds up quickly and international adoption is an expensive journey. The US does provide a generous tax-credit for adoptions. In the meantime, we are working on financing and will also do some fundraising. We are trusting God to work out all of these details.
