not to us

A couple of you have e-mailed me asking to know more about Zach and Sarah.  I'm thrilled to tell you more, but I thought it would be best if you know more about them in their own words!  :)  Neither one was really all that hip on a full-fledged guest post.  So we're going to do a guest-interview, instead!  :)

Don't forget to go comment and Make Us Pay!!

Zach and Sarah came over last night (along with the ever-hilarious and future-radio-star, Tim) to watch X3: The Final Stand.  While we were watching the movie, I interviewed them.  Here you go:

Hi Zach and Sarah, how are you tonight?

Z: I'm doing very good, hangin' wit my peeps.

S: I'm doing well, enjoying my day off with my friends and family.

What are some of your favorites? (color, book, movie, song, food, friend *wink wink*, etc...)

Z: My favorite color is blue.  My favorite book is The Silmarillion.  My favorite movie is Braveheart.  My favorite songs are Mighty to Save, For The Love of the Game, Dare You to Move, Indestrutible, and 56 and 2.  (Plus, many many more!)  My favorite food would have to be lobster tail, and my best friend is Andrew.

S: My favorite color is green.  I don't really have a favorite book...I like most of them!  I don't usually watch movies more than once (which Zach doesn't understand at all), so I don't really have a favorite.  My current favorite songs are Open Up the Sky, Love Story (I'm not too cool to like Taylor Swift), and a new one that is growing on me is God of this City.  My favorite food is Chicken Parmigiana.  My best friend is...well, I don't really have a best friend ( sticking my tongue out at Sarah ), no I'm just kidding...it's Lindsay!

If you were an animal, what would you be?

Z: (Napolean Dynamite voice) A liger, because they are pretty much my favorite animal.  Haha!  No, I would be a tiger, because they are very strong and intimidating.

S: I would be a gazelle; they can jump super high, and they are even faster than cheetahs.  I used to have a fascination with meerkats, but I got over it.

If you were a superhero, what superhero would you be?  (Zach is a *big* fan of comics and superheroes.  Their Christmas tree is even superhero-themed!)

Z: I would be Batman, because he is very intelligent, and he's a strategist.

S: I would be Wonder Woman, because that is who Zach said he would be most attracted to (and he knows his superheroes!)

If you could say one thing to all these people (aside from Thank You), what would you say?

Z: Thank you so much for all your prayers and support!  You mean more than words can express.

S: Um, thank you! Thank you!  Thank you!  You are doing a wonderful thing for our family, and I know God will bless you for helping us.

They are obviously excellent at following directions, right?  :)

How did you guys decide to adopt?

We had discussed adoption early in our marriage, but I don't think either one of us actually thought we would ever go through with it.  When we found out that we would not be able to have biological children without some serious medical intervention, we both felt adoption was the best option for us.  It was an amazingly easy decision; I believe God showed both of us it was His plan for our family, and we haven't had (many) doubts since.

Do you mind telling us a little bit about intercountry adoption?

It's a pretty complex process.  To simplify it a lot: First, you apply to an adoption agency and decide on a country.  Once your application is accepted, you start your homestudy.  The homestudy is very intimidating at first.  A social worker interviews you several times, and you fill out a lot of biographical information.  Once the homestudy is finished, you begin to prepare all of your paperwork for the legalities (called a dossier.)  You also file with Immigration, so your child can come to the US legally.  (This is really important!)

After your dossier is completed and sent to your child's country, then the country will wait to match your family with a child who needs a new family.  This is called a referral.  We've been told it's only a four-month wait for a referral once we submit our dossier to Rwanda.  This is a very, very short wait in the world of intercountry adoption!

When we accept the referral, a court date will be set in our child's country to approve the adoption.  Once we pass court, we get to travel!!  We will go to Rwanda, where we get to take our children into our care.  We will stay in Rwanda for 7-10 days before we travel to Ethiopia.  In Ethiopia, we will finalize the adoption and get the visas, so we can bring the kids home.  I don't fully understand why we have to go to Ethiopia for this, but all of the travel is required.  Once we're finished in Ethiopia, we all get to fly home...together!

At this point, we just finished our homestudy.  We're waiting for it to be approved, so we can finish our dossier and file with Immigration.

How did you guys decide on Rwanda?  Did you consider any other countries?

Once we decided on adoption, I (Sarah) definitely wanted to adopt from Africa.  I have always loved learning about Africa, and I have really had a burden for the country.  My sister-in-law had been to Rwanda on a mission trip and had told me about all the orphans.  We really wanted to go for Rwanda, but not many agencies have Rwanda programs.  When we originally spoke with our adoption agency (Bethany Christian Services), they said they did not have a program for Rwanda.  Within a week, however, they called us and said they wanted to start a pilot program for Rwanda, if we were interested.  We totally felt that it was God's leading and decided to go for it!

Do you know anyone else who has adopted?

We do know a few other people who have adopted.  Our brother, Keith, and sister-in-law, Mandy, adopted my two beautiful nieces out of the foster care system.  (Hi, Mandy!!)  There is also a family in our church who adopted their son from South Korea.

We spoke with both couples before we applied to adopt to get their feedback and advice.  They were all very encouraging and excited for us, which made our decision even easier.  In fact, one of the biggest reasons that we have applied to adopt a sibling group is our nieces.  I can't imagine if they had been split up, and we wanted to be able to help other chidren in a similar situation.

How are you feeling about the process right now?  Good parts?  Bad parts?

Z: It has been an exciting experience!  A good thing is that, so far, the whole process has gone relatively smoothly.  A bad thing is that our program is a pilot program, so there are a few unknowns that are a little intimidating.  We are pumped to see what God has in store for us!

S: We both enjoyed our homestudy.  Our social worker was awesome, and it was a lot of fun to reminisce about our childhoods.  The bad part is when we are waiting for the next step.  We haven't even had to do a lot of waiting yet, but I am already dreading it!

Do you mind telling us some of the names you are considering for the kids?

We will keep all or part of their African name, but we will also give them an American name.  For a boy, we are really liking Addai.  It is not definite yet, but Zach really loves it!  (And so does Lindsay!)  We haven't decided about a girl yet.  We have talked about Norah or Sunni (my fav, pronounced like the weather condition, Sunny), but Zach hasn't approved any girl names yet, and Lindsay hates Sunni.

For the record, I (Lindsay) have no rights and/or bearing on the naming process.  :)  Sarah is just used to me voicing my opinion, and I said that I hated Sunni WAY back before kids were even on the horizon!!!  (But it still hasn't grown on me much.)  :) LOL!

Have you thought about their bedroom?  Are you going to decorate in a general theme (like the ABC's) or are you going to wait to see what they like when they get here (dear God, please don't let it be the Doodlebops!)?

We haven't decided at all on their bedroom/s!  I'm hoping to get more of an idea once we get the referral, but we're open to suggestions!

Who's going to be the best nanny ever for the kids? (*wink wink*)

You're a dork!  (You, of course.)

Okay, okay.  I think I've bothered you enough.  I'll let you guys get back to watching X3: The Final Stand.  We love you guys!  Thank you so much for being on the blog today!

Blog Readers:  If you would like more information about adoption and/or the cost of adoption, here are some reputable sources on the internet:

Bethany Christian Services

United States of America State Department - Intercountry Adoption