Yesterday, through work, I met a woman who is adopting from Ethiopia. She and her husband have been going through the process for five years! Her file has been in Ethiopia for two years. Now they are just waiting for the call. They have asked for a sibling group so it's lovely to think that a family will get to stay together because of them.

She tells me that the process is tedious and frustrating and you will be expected to jump through any hoop that the Child Safety department thinks is a good idea at the time. However she also says that it's good to see that not just anyone can adopt.

She also tells me to hang in there and not give up. I think I'll need to remember those words in a couple of years - I'm still all starry eyed at the moment!

I'll see her again on Sunday at International Day - the family fun day for the International Adoption support group.

...drumming fingers impatiently...

Still no sign of the marriage certificate. For the last 12 years I've managed to get by with using the thing I signed at the church on the day but now I need the real deal.

I've found our birth certificates and I've printed out the multi-page Expression of Interest form. I think I can handle the questions... but it feels oddly like an exam.

As at 3rd July, the list is open and we can now put in an Expression of Interest. For further info on what is involved, see here - http://www.childsafety.qld.gov.au/adoption/intercountry/index.html.

I've applied today for a copy of our marriage certificate ($25) and when that arrives I can pretty much go ahead and fill in the forms.

Big news! We got a letter in the mail last week that confirms that the process opens on 3rd July! That's when we can put in an Expression of Interest. There are also information nights to go to, and hopefully we can go on 8th July. Must line up my brother for babysitting...

I also want to keep a record of costs on this blog. So far I have spent $80 to attend the support group info day (in August) and $35 to join the support group. It's called International Adoptive Families of Queensland. They also have a family day out coming up, so we'll try to get to that.

I've sent off a cheque to join an international adoption support group, however finances are seriously bad right now so I am terrified that when the time comes, we simply won't have the money to go ahead. I'd never considered finances as a problem but I guess that's the pleasure and pain of being a small business owner.

The author of "Jesse's World" talks about the reactions you may get from your family members when you tell them you are adopting from overseas. Apparently some people get negative reactions - a kind of suppressed racism is the insinuation.

We don't expect any negative reactions - we are pretty confident that our families will be supportive and happy for us just as they would be if we announced another pregnancy (god forbid!)

We told my parents a couple of weeks ago. This was a tough one. My Mum has Motor Neurone Disease and there is not a snowball's chance in Hell that she will live to see this child. I felt a little insensitive telling her about our plans but decided that it was her right to know she is going (hopefully) to have another grandchild and that she still has the right to good news despite her illness. My Dad's reaction was pretty much as I expected - he said "oh great, I love Chinese food" but later on asked for more information. There's nothing Dad loves better than being a grandfather so he doesn't give a rat's arse where the grandchildren are coming from - just bring 'em on!

I'm in no great rush to tell everyone else - I mean, we haven't even filled in a form yet, so I don't want to tell them now and have them wait through what must seem like the world's longest pregnancy. It could still be 2 years before the baby arrives in our home.

I love the thought that this child is likely to be of a similar age to my sister's children and my cousin's son. I worry a bit that Gemma & Ben will be so much older that the Ashanti Girl will feel like an only child, but so long as we have friends and family with children of similar ages I think it will be fine. My sister is 10 years younger than I am and we are great friends now, but growing up we didn't really know each other. Now she has to do her duty and present my new baby with cousins of around the same age - I think she will be happy to comply :).

Scott and I have finished reading Jesse's World (http://www.capersbookstore.com.au/scripts/shop_item.asp?by=cat&item=1900) by Basia Bonkowski. It's the stories of several international adoptions in New South Wales. Some of them are heart warming, some heart breaking, but most of them a bit of both. We already know that this is what we want to do, but reading the book makes us wonder how could we possibly not?