We are the World

I remember very clearly 25 years ago when this song/video came out. I was a HUGE Michael Jackson fan at the time and the message that was being sent out to call attention to the difficulties in Africa was deeply impacting. I remember the emotions it invoked in me. It was amazing. My heart was drawn to Africa. Who would've guessed 25 years later I would be in the process of adopting 2 kids from Africa? Crazy.

I remember thinking how cool it was that a whole bunch of celebrities go together, pt aside their egos and gave their time to raise money and awareness to a part of the world that was going through a difficult time. I wanted to do something. I needed to do something. I didn't know what that would be. It was similar to Hands Across America. Similar in that it was hitting a cause that was important to me. I actually went to New York City with a bunch of people from my high school to participate in that one.

Now, 25 years later, they have updated the song. A new batch of celebrities (some returners); a new twist to the song (some rap in the end); a new cause (helping people who are suffering from the earthquake in Haiti). Check out the 2 videos below. How many celebs can you identify?

I remember very clearly 25 years ago when this song/video came out. I was a HUGE Michael Jackson fan at the time and the message that was being sent out to call attention to the difficulties in Africa was deeply impacting. I remember the emotions it invoked in me. It was amazing. My heart was drawn to Africa. Who would've guessed 25 years later I would be in the process of adopting 2 kids from Africa? Crazy.

I remember thinking how cool it was that a whole bunch of celebrities got together, put aside their egos and gave their time to raise money and awareness to a part of the world that was going through a difficult time. I wanted to do something. I needed to do something. I didn't know what that would be. It was similar to Hands Across America. Similar in that it was hitting a cause that was important to me. I actually went to New York City with a bunch of people from my high school to participate in that one.

Now, 25 years later, they have updated the song. A new batch of celebrities (some returners); a new twist to the song (some rap in the end); a new cause (helping people who are suffering from the earthquake in Haiti). Check out the 2 videos below. How many celebs can you identify?

Isn't Adoption Expensive?

YES! Yes it is. Very! How can we afford it you ask? We can't. To be honest with you it was one of my hang ups before God opened up my heart. I had a list of reasons why we shouldn't adopt. Money was a big one. When God opened up my heart and I said yes I also said that the finance part of it was in His hands. I am not saying that it means I won't put money into this or do anything about it, I will. We will. As a matter of fact, one of the things I started up to help make some money for this was customizedsong.com. Basically you send me info on the person you want to give this gift for and I write and record a song for them.

The latest thing is these new hats. My mom was born and raised in Norway (home of the most Winter Olympics ever) and there they all learn how to knit in school. As a matter of fact I went to Kindergarten there and learned to knit that year. I am pretty rusty now though. Anyhow, my mom has started knitting these hats and we are selling them. Yes, hand-knit! You can get the one of your choice for $25. The 2 on the left of the first pic are for babies, the others are "one size fits all." We can even talk about some customization (that will be extra) but we for sure can talk about it. Just let me know. Leave me a message here or find me at erikwithak.com

60 minutes of Major Stress

I typically don't stress a lot. I am a fairly easy going guy. Laid back. All that stuff. When we were talking about adoption there were all sorts of things I stressed about. Money being a big thing. When I said yes to adopting, it was as if I completely let go of the stress. God took it. It has been amazing. I have not once worried about the finance piece of it, or any other piece of it for that matter.

As you may have read in my last entry, we have been getting all sorts of papers notarized. Well the other day I wanted to get copies of my birth certificate taken care of. Because I was born into a military family overseas it's not as easy as t is for you USA born citizens. I guess the government is real thankful for the service my dad and my family gave it. haha.

Anyhow, I went to the bank to get my request notarized and I knew I needed to have it in the mail by 5PM to get out that day. I got there, waited 10 minutes for the notary lady to be ready. When I walked up she said that there was someone else there before me. They were sitting in some chairs that had some magic invisible sign no one could see that was the waiting area for her. Well I sat down and there was another family that come in after I had been standing and waiting. She took them next. I was getting so frustrated and anxious because it was getting really close to 5PM. When she was done with that family she got up, went to the restroom and then somewhere else. She came back and saw me and said, "You haven't been waiting here the whole time have you? Did you leave and come back?" I said, "I have been sitting here the whole time." She felt so bad, because somehow she didn't see me. I must have been sitting behind that magical invisible sign.

She took my papers (it was not 5:05PM) and took a look at it. Then told me she could not notarize it because it wasn't an official document. I said it was exactly what the GOVERNMENT asked for. How do you get more official than the government? She suggested the UPS store. I was soooo angry and irritated and stressed. It was weird. I could feel all this heat in my body and my blood pressure rising so fast. I got over to the UPS store and he said he wasn't a lawyer, but he didn't know if he could notarize it...FOR TEN BUCKS! The bank is free. Ugh!

My drive home consisted of slow breathing and prayer to Jesus. I couldn't explain why that got my so wound up. It really bothered me that I hit that point actually. I hope it's the last time during this waiting period, but I imagine it won't be. I need to keep repeating the verse from the Bible that my son and I have memorized together: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry - James 1:19. That's some good stuff right there.

Breathing...breathing...breathing...

UPDATE:
Sorry friends. I realized I didn't finish the story. A good friends told me that night that he had a notary who worked for him and I could come in and get it taken care of. It went in the mail the very next day. And now we wait.

Home Study Classes

This past weekend we took a 3 hour class for our adoption home study. It was very informative, but also very basic. It is a great class to take if you are considering adoption. They give you tons of stuff to think about. Lead by 3 people from the Dove headquarters, we sat in with 6 other couples. Out of those 6 only 1 had actually turned in an application while the rest were all considering it. I love that these people came just to hear more and have their questions answered and fears talked about.

We have also taken 2 classes online. They have been very good. Conspicuous families was a good one. Basically it was all about multiracial families and how do we integrate our lives more to help our kids feel less like an outsider. I imagine there is some level of that feeling that will one day come to any adopted child just because they are adopted. Add to that the fact that they are black in a white family. Add to that the fact that they are from another country. We have a lot of work to do in order to be in a place where we have more "color" in our lives.

The exciting thing is that more and more people are popping up around us that are either in the process of adoption or considering it. That's exciting! I liken it to this: Ever buy a car and all of a sudden it seems like tons of other people around you have purchased the same exact car? It's kind of like that. All of a sudden we are connecting with people that are somewhere in the process. Even people who are asking, "What agency are you using? We are considering adoption, but feel like we have no idea where to start." It's fun! I would love to be part of a local "revolution" of people who suddenly begin to adopt and have some part in influencing that. I know that having conversations with people about adoption brings awareness to so many things. I love that.

Here's something crazy. A little over a year ago I started up a podcast called chickchat with 2 dear friends Becca and Bex. We host this podcast that is"an open and honest discussion all things girl." I know you may wonder what in the world am I doing as one of the hosts. Well, I am the token guy voice in all of this and I absolutely love it. You can read more about it at www.chickchatpodcast.com You may have to wait just a little bit because we got hacked in a major way and even one of our hosts got a virus as a result. Ugh! We are working on getting it up though. OK, back to the crazy part of all of this. When we started this, adoption was not really even an open topic. At this point now though ALL THREE OF US ARE IN THE ADOPTION PROCESS!!! Can you believe that? How crazy is that?

A few other updates for those who know the ins and outs of the adoption process and want more details of where we are at: We have mailed in our requests for copies of birth certificates (mine is more expensive and takes longer because I was born into a military family and out of the country...way to thank your military personnel, government...good job); I am getting the required physical (cough, cough) on Thursday so I can get a doctor's note saying I am ready to be a parent; We have gotten a ton of papers notarized; We are working on a bunch of questions, some of which I can type and many of which need to be hand written. It's a lot of work, but so well worth it.