paperwork. paperwork. paperwork.
We are in the stage of grabbing all the paperwork that is needed for our dossier. During the lights out vacation after Mr. Ike we had our home study. It was good. I should have that in hand soon. Next on the things to do is the psychological evaluation. Then we will have the blood work and HIV testing done. After that I think the only thing “to do” will be to get what seems like one thousand copies of passport photos for each of us. Once all that is done we send everything off to be authenticated.
Each step of the way there is money to be paid. That is the biggest issue in my mind. It looms. I have no idea why it does. God provides the exact amount EVERY time we have needed it.
Once our dossier is complete (hopefully sooner than later) we will send it with half of our adoption cost to Haiti. That is where my mind stands still. I really can’t wait to see how God provides the funding for this. I also somewhat feel guilty that I cannot afford on my own to do this. False guilt.
This boy is already part of our family. If he never comes to live with us physically we will still love and care for him. He is with us forever. The conversations of and about him are endless. I hear little voices request to bring him home for “my” birthday. Yes, Honey, I wish I could.
I have a question for all of you adoptive parents of older children. Did you change your child’s name to an American name? I have a lot of thoughts about this but I am curious to hear what some other thoughts are. Feel free to email me if you would rather keep it private.
7 Comments
Congrats on being so close to sending off the dossier!
The name question is one we go around and around with. As he’s getting older, it seems more awkward to change his name. But at the same time, I worry about how it will translate in the states. His name is Kembert, but it’s pronounced “Kim-Bear”. Kinda girly. Also sounds like Kimber (a girl’s name). I worry it would be mispronounced or that kids would say he has a girl’s name. We planned to change it to Keanan, but now my hubby wants to keep Kembert. I don’t know what we’ll do!
I am NO expert on this and there are plenty of families out there that have been this route and can have valid opinions on this matter ….. but since you asked i’ll give you my little opinion. i think that you should ask R about this and see what he thinks. He may want to or he may not. he is old enough to understand this name change game. i know of two girls that went out this year that were a bit younger and a bit older than R - one family did a name change and one didn’t.
i can’t wait to see what you all plan on doing.
I clearly don’t have an answer to your questions, but I just needed to tell you how absolutely precious and adorable those pictures are. You can tell how much your kids love him already. Amazing!
Kristen.
The ONE reason we were thinking of changing his name is because of the pronunciation of his name. Here in the states we (or people here) will say it in a way that is completely different than what it sounds like in Haiti. I don’t know how much of a big deal this would be.
Jamie.
That is a great idea. When we visit with him maybe this should be talked about. The wisdom is good. Very good.
Debra - good to hear from you! How awesome that you are adopting! That’s wonderful. It sounds like a huge process. We’ll be praying for you. About the workshop - it was the Soulographer Workshop taught by Skye Hardwick. You have probably seen her work - it’s amazing. Her photography website is workofheartphoto.com I have a LONG way to go, but I’m enjoying the road.
Hi Debra,
Our adoptions on Hunter and Nicole were finalized two weeks ago!!
Our children already were American, but we did change their last name to match ours. Also, Nicole’s full name was Ariadna Nicole Walley. Terrible, I know. She went by Ariadna until she came into foster care and her first foster mom started calling her Nicole because it was easier at school. So, when we adopted her we changed it to Nicole Marie Stevenson. We talked to her about it and made sure it didn’t really upset her. Since Ronel is older, I’d ask him about it. If it’s important to him to stay as Ronel, then leave it. But he may want a fresh start with his new family. All three of ours were eager to change their names to match their family name and Canyon wants to change his middle name too when he gets adopted. He actually asked if he could change Canyon too……
Everything will fall into place and you’ll know what to do!! I am glad our journey is finally over and yours will be soon too!!
I kept/ am keeping both of their names as first names and giving them a middle name. Being older, it just seems such a part of their identities and I didn’t want to take them from them. And where we lived/ are living, there are all kinds of kids’ names, so they aren’t so unusual as you might think. But as you know, there are many opinions on this!