What a change!

OUTside FUN

Support Foreign Adoptions

It has come to our attention that there have been two bills introduced that would streamline part of the adoption process as it relates to internationally adopted children gaining U.S. citizenship. Under one of the bills being considered, adoptive parents would be able to simply have an application filled out at a U.S. embassy for their child to be considered a U.S. citizen. This would be quite a change from the way the system currently works. You would no longer have to wait to follow USCIS guidelines based on which type of VISA your child enters the U.S. on. Additionally, your child would be considered a U.S. citizen “at birth,” similar to children who are born overseas to U.S. citizens. This legislation is known as the F.A.C.E. Act (Foreign Adopted Children Equality Act) and is H.R. 3110 in the House of Representatives, and S.B. 1359 in the United States Senate. Here are a few links to provide you with more information.

http://equalityforadoptedchildren.org/legislation/face/section.html

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3110/show

http://www.swa.net/news-detail.aspx?cid=2150

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/06/prweb2583454.htm

It is our sincere request that each of you will contact your local U.S. Representative and both of your U.S. Senators asking them to pass the F.A.C.E. Act.

~Please feel free to pass along this information as you see fit to get the message out~

You can contact them in writing or electronically through the links provided below.

For U.S. Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
(Simply choose your state)

For U.S. Representatives: http://www.house.gov/
(At the top left, simply enter your zip code)

An example of the type of letter you can send to your US Rep or US Senator:

XXX Rd.

XXXXX, TX

January 6, 2010

In regards to: F.A.C.E. Act

Congressman Kevin Brady

200 River Pointe, Suite 304

Conroe, Texas 77304

Dear Congressman Kevin Brady,

It has come to our attention that H.R. 3110 (also known as the F.A.C.E. Act) was introduced to the House of Representatives in June of 2009. As parents who have recently adopted a foreign child, we sincerely request your support of this bill as it would improve the process of granting U.S. Citizenship to children such as ours by removing a layer of bureaucracy from the process.

Currently we are required to file paperwork through USCIS to bring our child home, then depending on the VISA issued for their entrance into the U.S., we have to readopt our child in a U.S. Court (at an additional cost), then file another form with the USCIS (at an additional cost) and then wait an additional 6-12 months. The process of adopting a child is already long, tedious, and expensive.

With your support of this bill you will be providing a tremendous service to adoptive families by reducing costs, paperwork, and time while increasing the speed at which our child legally becomes a U.S. Citizen with all of its rights and privileges.

Again, we would greatly appreciate your support of the F.A.C.E. Act (HR 3110) and appreciate your voice in the United States Congress.

Respectfully,

ZXZYXYZ

Fast Approaching - Our First Christmas Together

In three short days we will be celebrating our first Christmas together as a family. It's an amazing thought when we look back at our journey, going from two to three. We had only a fraction of the whole picture when we decided to add to our family (surely this is true for all new parents). There are countless things we never considered, despite how much we tried to prepare. However, now it's pretty entertaining to think back to some of our earliest times with Nataga. We'll likely never forget his guest house clearing, "security installing", first "dirty" diaper change. Nobody from the house would attempt to go to anywhere near our room for the rest of our stay and the owner would come find us everyday asking "Where is the poop?" in her heavy Amharic accent, quickly rushing it outside. Later we were shown a place far away from the house that we could leave his diapers! We won't soon forget the way he struggled with needing food so desperately that his cries would shock us so much they would send our formula mixing and preparations into the air, all over us, and not into his mouth soon enough which yielded more crying; we won't forget the sudden reality of parenthood when he was first placed in our arms; we can't forget the fright and uncertainty of his first food "reversal" where after all of that crying nothing stayed down anyway, his subsequent bath, and our clothing change; we still remember his first night-terror that was unlike anything we had heard before; we'll never forget the pride we felt (and continue to feel) each time he does something new; we'll never forget his cute laughs and giggles he lavishly pours out. The pride we feel having him as our son through the good and the bad (but mostly good of course)! There are undoubtedly several others we have not recounted here, but often enjoy together. We hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas, filled with the enjoyment of the simple joys of life.

A year ago today!

 

 

 

 

It was a year ago today that our lives changed. Exactly one year ago we got THE CALL and saw Nataga's sweet little face for the first time. It was one year ago today that we knew he was ours to love forever, that we accepted a referral for our son, and knew who it was we had been praying and longing for, for so long. It is hard to believe we have known him for a year now. Our sweet, mischievous, and fun loving child. I am so glad we chose to adopt. I am so glad God chose him for us and us for him. We couldn't ask for anything better or more! Happy one year Nataga! Thanks for blessing our lives!

Snow comes to Texas

 

On another note today was Nataga's first time to see snow. Yes, you heard me right. Snow came to Texas today! He LOVED it... and we might have enjoyed it just as much!