Yeh For Holt International!

Brando and I had our appointments on Friday and they went so well! I paced all morning, my stomach was in knots prior to the meetings...He of course, was calm and collected.

Our first appointment was with Holt International, and they were amazing! They answered all of our questions candidly and dove into the tough issues right away. They have an amazing outreach program in which they have maternal clinics, family counselling, job counselling, etc. They truly are a humanitarian organization aimed at keeping families together first. We discussed ethics, and our concerns and we all felt so comfortable. Brando and I both walked away smiling and feeling that this agency was the one! The meeting lasted almost an hour and a half! We even discussed travelling over to volunteer prior to starting the process. I'll look into that soon!

We didn't have the same warm feeling with Children's Hope. It may have been that we were so excited about Holt, or it may have just been the staff we met with, but they didn't seem to have the same ethical concerns and motivations that Holt had. It was a tough meeting, and I could tell from his body language within 5 minutes that Brando had given up on them. The meeting lasted less than 30 minutes.

So, the bottom line is that we LOVED Holt and have decided that if we decide to proceed with Ethiopia, they will be our agency! We spent the entire drive up to Seattle talking non-stop about it and Brando seemed so excited. I am truly freaking out I am so happy! Also, my mom was up in Seattle (visiting my Aunt Connie), so i had a chance to pull her aside and tell her all about it in person.

A pit in my stomach...

Why am I so nervous about our appointments tomorrow?

I think it is because I really feel like these meetings finally shape Brando's decision to adopt from Ethiopia. I want to know and I would like a decision soon, one way or another, but am I really ready for this?

I asked him the other night, "if we don't adopt, can we start building a baby in January?" It completely floored him...he didn't have a response and the idea seemed weird to him. He'd never thought of it....To be honest, me neither, I think we have both just pictured building our family in a certain way. In order to keep my sanity, I have decided to take his response as a good sign.

Both appointments are finalized!

We meet with Holt International at 1:30 and Children's Hope International at 3:30.

Wish us luck!

A step forward

I convinced Brando to sit down with a few agencies to discuss Ethiopian programs and I am sending out the e-mails just now to set something up! Also, we've created a list of questions and concerns to ask them during the meeting. Definitely a step ahead.