Monthly Archives: May 2010

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11 years ago today . . .

May 29, 2010 – 8:30 AM

. . . I was one excited girl!  I woke up on May 29, 1999 giddy and soooo ready to become Mrs. Brad Dunlap!  I had so much fun on our wedding day.  Everyone told me that I wouldn’t remember anything, so I tried extra hard to intentionally take it all in.  And I remember.  We didn’t have a super-fancy wedding, but I felt like a princess that day.  I remember standing at the altar toward the end of the ceremony holding Brad’s hand.  I could feel his wedding band between my fingers, and it felt so surreal!  Looking back, as a twenty-year-old I didn’t know nearly as much as I thought I did.  BUT, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with the one who had captured my heart, and I still know that today – eleven years later.  I’m so thankful to have Brad to walk through life with.  We still find ourselves dreaming about the future and what God has planned for us down the road.  Though life as we knew it has drastically changed since that sunny May day in 1999, it’s so, so good.

I tried on my wedding dress and veil last night for fun!  Here we are on our wedding day – such babies!  {Excuse the lousy image quality.  We were married in the pre-digital days & I think I need to clean the scanner!}

By Katie | Posted in Family | Comments (0)

dossier update

May 28, 2010 – 9:47 PM

We had hoped that our dossier would be approved today . . . but it wasn’t (boo).  We’ll make the necessary revisions over the weekend and resubmit those documents next week.  Once they arrive and are reviewed, it should be officially accepted and we’ll be called with wait list numbers.  I was disappointed that it wasn’t approved because I had worked so hard on getting everything together.  Our agency, however, has to be extremely picky with every little detail because they know all of those things matter when the file is opened in the Ethiopian courts.  So, I had a little pity party and stomped around the house a little bit, and now I’m okay.

In other news, Riley and Cole are out for summer break!  The school year flew by, and we officially have a 4th grader and a 2nd grader . . . crazy!  I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time with them this summer and taking life at a little slower pace.  We’re really looking forward to a much needed vacation soon, too!

Thanks for checking in, and hopefully I’ll be able to post some really good news toward the end of next week!  Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

By Katie | Posted in Adoption, Family | Comments (1)

so thankful

May 24, 2010 – 2:18 PM

If you’ve looked at the blog header recently, you may have noticed that more of those dashes across the ocean from the United States to Africa have turned red!  It’s hard to even believe, but we’ve saved/raised $19,000 so far . . . yes, you read that right . . . NINETEEN. THOUSAND. DOLLARS.  We’re really just in awe.

Raising money can be pretty intimidating.  It’s not always easy to put yourself out there and ask for financial help.  To be honest, it felt kind of weird adding a Paypal “donate” button to our blog.  The things is, though, we knew going into this that we wouldn’t be able to fully cover the expenses associated with adoption.  We knew we’d have to be willing to ask for help.  To say that we’ve been completely humbled and amazed by the response would be an understatement.  To say “thank you” from the bottom of our hearts to each person who has contributed almost seems like a disservice.  I hope each of you know that YOU are helping us to change the world for a child (or a couple of children) on the other side of the globe.  We would not be where we are without you.  I could do all the paperwork for the dossier, but without the $5000 check to accompany it, we would not have been able to submit it.  This is a team effort, and to those of you who have played a part, we cannot express our gratitude appropriately.  It is my hope that one day when you see our Ethiopian child(ren) in person or see pictures here on the blog, you will look into their eyes and know without a doubt that God used YOU to help give them a family.

To see a breakdown of what all the money goes toward, click on “Fees” at the top of the page.  You will notice that the remaining fees are associated with referral and travel expenses as well as post-adoption expenses.  We continue to trust God to provide for the remaining portion, and we will also do our part to save toward those fees as well.

I’ve been asked a lot recently why adoption is so hard and expensive, so stay tuned for a post later this week that will help answer those questions.  I hope you all have a great week!  If you want to see a sweet, sweet video that had me in tears this morning, click HERE.  The mom of this family went to high school with Brad and me, and they passed court today!!!  That means that as of today, they have a new son, Isaac!  I’m thrilled for them and can’t wait to see pictures of their little addition soon!  To read more about their journey, click HERE.

By Katie | Posted in Adoption, Links, You Can Help | Comments (2)

dossi-YAY!

May 21, 2010 – 5:57 PM

It is finished . . . I hope.  Regardless, it’s in the mail and will arrive at our agency’s office in Portland, Oregon on Tuesday.  It will be reviewed on Friday (hopefully) and will either be approved – or – we’ll be asked to make minor revisions.  I’m hoping and praying that it’s approved because I’m honestly so tired of the thing!  I’ve been protecting all of those official, notarized papers with my life, and I’m glad to have them out of my hands!

If the dossier is approved, it will be sent to Washington D.C. for authentication by the U.S. government.  It will then be forwarded to Ethiopia, where it will be translated into Amharic.  At that point, it will be held until our court date when it will be presented to the Ethiopian court with the file for the child(ren) we’re matched with.  A judge will review it and make the decision to grant or not grant the adoption.  So . . . it’s kind of a big deal.

So, what are all those papers about?  Well, here’s a quick run-down of the contents:

- Two Power of Attorney Forms – notarized & county and state certified
- Letter from the family (written to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in Ethiopia) – notarized
- Photocopy of US Passport w/ notary sheet for each parent
- 2 Passport photos for each parent
- Photographs of the family (one of each parent, one of parents together & two of family)
- Photographs of the family’s home
- Home Study (written by social worker – very detailed – ours was 18 pages) – notarized
- Letter of Employment for each parent – notarized
- Financial Statement – notarized
- Certified birth certificate for each parent
- Certified marriage certificate
- Medical letter for each parent – notarized
- Police Clearance for each parent – notarized
- Two Letters of Reference – notarized
- Obligation of Post Placement Reports – notarized

Once all of those things are gathered, three copies are made.  Two sets go with the set of originals to the agency, and one is kept for personal records.  The fees associated with submitting the dossier total $5000 as well, so that check is included in the package.

Once the dossier is approved, we’ll be put on the “boy list” and the “siblings list.”  We’ll be given a number for each list, and as time goes by and other children are adopted, we move up on the list until we get a referral.  We’re really excited to be to this point, and we’ll be REALLY excited when we hear that it’s been accepted!

By Katie | Posted in Adoption | Comments (3)

can’t get enough of these . . .

May 20, 2010 – 2:48 PM

Here’s another adoption video that I came across a couple of weeks ago.  I think I could watch these all day long and never get tired of hearing the stories and seeing the sweet faces.  Check back tomorrow for a post about our dossier!  We’ll be mailing it to our agency tomorrow – very excited!

Evyn’s Gotcha Day + Adoption story from emily Vogeltanz on Vimeo.

By Katie | Posted in Adoption, Africa & Ethiopia, Media | Comments (1)

The Next Five Minutes

May 18, 2010 – 3:33 PM
By Katie | Posted in Links, Media | Comments (0)

moving right along!

May 14, 2010 – 11:24 AM

This will be a quick update because I’m sick and don’t have much energy (I think it’s just a nasty virus – fever and sore throat), but I had to share some good news with all of you!  As you know, we received our FBI fingerprint clearances on Monday, and I got an email this morning saying that our home study is officially approved!  This is great news for a couple of reasons:

1) Our home study is part of our dossier, so it had to be approved before we could submit the dossier.

2) We’ve been wanting to apply for some grants (financial assistance), but our home study had to be approved before we could do so.

We’re almost done with our dossier, so we should be able to submit it to AGCI next week!  Hopefully we’ll be on the wait list SOON!  Stay tuned & I’ll keep you posted! . . .

By Katie | Posted in Adoption, News | Comments (1)

a song for you

May 11, 2010 – 10:40 AM

I’m working from a coffee shop this morning, and this song just came up on my playlist.  I thought I’d share it with you . . .

By Katie | Posted in Media, Music | Comments (1)

WHAT A DAY!

May 11, 2010 – 10:08 AM

If you’ve been following this blog long, you’ve heard me talk about Green Hills Church.  It’s a big part of our lives because it’s why we moved to Nashville.  Brad and our buddy, Mike, are co-pastors there.  BUT . . . you have to understand that I would choose to go there even if that wasn’t the case – even if I was single and on my own.  It’s just the kind of church we prayed about when we were getting ready to move here.  I feel so incredibly blessed for the people that make up Green Hills Church.  God is at work in our hearts, and I’m just glad to be a part of it all.

We had planned to have a big picnic Sunday, May 2nd at Percy Priest Lake to celebrate 10 people being baptized.  Well, in case you haven’t heard, the weather didn’t quite cooperate – we got a flood instead.  So, the picnic was rescheduled for last Sunday, and we had to change venues because the lake was still closed due to flood-related issues.  We met up at Tap Root Farm in Franklin instead. It was a GREAT day with beautiful weather – what a difference a week makes!

These are my girls Jenny & Elissa.  We like to talk and drink coffee together.  And of course, I had to get a picture of my boys . . .

Our friend Charity makes fabulous cakes, and she designed and created this masterpiece for our big day.  Everyone loved it, and it tasted so yummy, too.  If you ever need a cake, give me a call and I’ll put you in touch with Charity.  She does a great job!  (I’m pretty sure you all get the cake, but in case you don’t . . . remember we had a flood the previous week!).

If the day wasn’t special and fun enough already . . . Cole was baptized!  Here he is with his baptism buddy, Chris.

Talk about a memorable Mother’s Day . . . I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Everyone gathered around the pool to watch and celebrate together.  I love these people, and this is a day I will never forget.

It has always been our prayer that our children would come to know and love Jesus personally and that their lives would glorify God.  It is the most important thing to me as a mother.  I care so much about their hearts, and I hope and pray that they will always trust God and follow him without hesitation.  I can’t wait to see what God does in and through them, and I’m so grateful to be their mom!

I’ll leave you with a quote I heard a while back from Bonnie Jensen:

The greatest impression a mother can leave on her children is the message of her living faith, unwavering hope, and steady trust in God that will be engraved on their hearts forever.

By Katie | Posted in Family, Green Hills Church, News | Comments (2)

THEY CAME . . . FINALLY!!!

May 10, 2010 – 6:13 PM

Look what I found in my mailbox today!  Our FBI fingerprint results FINALLY came!  I actually didn’t find them.  In all honestly I watched for the mail carrier all afternoon (ironically enough, the mail arrived about three hours later than usual today).  I ran out, and lo and behold – they were actually in there!  I did a little happy dance right there in the front yard for all the neighbors to see, and then I bounced inside to share the good news with Brad.

You have to understand that these fingerprints aren’t usually this big of a deal.  You have to get them done, and the results are typically back in about two weeks.  The good ole FBI has been just a little backed up lately, so they took TWO MONTHS instead.  Now we can actually have our home study approved and move on to the dossier (which is practically ready).  I’m thinking we’ll have all of that paperwork in by the end of the week.  If it’s approved right away (no revisions needed), we will be on the wait list SOON!

So, here they are in all their glory.  I have no idea why I look so calmed and composed here.  I wasn’t.  I think I was just distracted giving photography lessons to my dear husband . . .

By Katie | Posted in Adoption, News | Comments (3)