International Family Dinner Nights

We decided it would be fun to host a monthly dinner night with a twist.  Each month our family chooses a country to "explore" through a meal.  We all make something delicious, come together for the evening, and just enjoy being together!  Our niece Baylee is in 5th grade created an informative PowerPoint slide show to teach us some fun facts about the country.  Hopefully this is the year we add a little one to the famly through open adoption...Family gatherings will take on a whole new meaning then!  We've only explored 2 countries so far... but can't wait to explore more!  We love that many people in our family are close by - but wish those in New York, Massachusetts, and Florida could join us. 

First Stop - JAPAN!  We did this first because Katie was about to travel to Japan for work.  We thought it might get her in the mood for travelling!
  

Katie & Eleanor demonstrate the art of rolling sushi!

 

Emily & Susan (Eleanor's Mom) give it a try!



Ben and William look like they are dueling sushi masters!





Not too shabby for a bunch of  Newbies!

 Second Stop - GREECE - We had a chance to enjoy some Mediterranean dishes.  Eleanor's mom made Spanikopita, Jane (Eleanor's Stepmother) brought a gigantic Greek Salad, Ben (Eleanor's brother) hooked us up with some Halumi cheese that we could grill and olives, Emily (Eleanor's sister) was the queen of the pita, and we made marinated kabobs and Baklava.  A DELICIOUS visit to Greece!

  


Huey considers sampling some of the kabobs!

Uncle Ben gives Baylee a little help before
she shares her knowledge about Greece.





Solving the problems of the world - it's what they do!

  


Baylee & Nana sport togas to get into the mood of Ancient Greece.



Baylee shared her presentation for a very full yet captive audience!

Next stop - We'll have the luck o' the Irish in March!

Stepping Back & Looking Forward

So often, when people hear of our hopes of adopting, we get THE QUESTION... "You are both young & healthy, why doesn't one of you just get pregnant and have a baby?"

I understand that there is a natural curiosity about how people come to the place where they are. And about 4 years ago, when we started thinking we would like to include more humans in this little family of ours (no more cats, dogs, or horses), that was our starting place. I imagine plans A-D included some form of assistance with fertility treatments. We knew we'd need a little medical help since we lacked one of the key ingredients! As the universe would have it, that wasn't the only problem! We both learned rather quickly that it would be nearly impossible to conceive using our own eggs (GO FIGURE?!). We were definitely disappointed, and knew that we could try many other paths of trying to conceive with fertility treatments for a teeny tiny chance that it would work.

We reflected on the news... and really thought about what it all meant to us. For US it was a quick change of direction - and a realization that our child would come to us through adoption and not through some medical means. Some people ask if we felt like it was a second choice to pursue adoption - I don't think so - NOT AT ALL. For us, becoming parents and loving a child with every ounce of who we are is far more important than trying to get pregnant. That just wasn't the path meant for us.

It was probably the day after hearing from our doctor that we began exploring adoption agencies. After sorting through LOADS of information about all types of adoption, we found the Independent Adoption Center (IAC). We attended an information session in April of 2009, returned to the agency that summer for a weekend training session and began the paperwork part of the journey. Our first homestudy was approved in November of 2009 and we were officially "on the books" with the agency. This meant that expectant moms considering adoption had us as a choice! We made a website, a dear birthmother letter, and listed our profile.
Our Adoption Website Our profile on I Heart Adoption

AND HERE WE ARE NOW... We are still "on the books" with the IAC. We are still hopeful that we are the family for someone out there! We are networking - sharing our story with everyone who will listen, because you just never know who needs to hear about you. So if you're reading this and are wondering "Is it ok if we share their info with friends?" The answer is YES! It's totally ok!

We look forward to where the next chapter of this journey will lead! We wonder if that person looking for us is near or far? We wonder if they know how deeply we will love them (and not just the baby) - and that we want them to be part of this family too? We wonder if they will want to stay in contact with us over the years - we sooooo hope that they do...