Where are we now??

Sorry for the delay in posting.  We have been crazy busy these last few weeks.  Here is what is happening now.  We had our final home study visit on 4/1/11, so now we are just waiting on the final word that we are approved.  Many of you have asked, "What is involved in a home study?"  Firstly they get a very detailed history from each of us.  They also want to find out about our parenting styles and how we have/are preparing for this baby.  They do background checks and speak to references.  Then they do both individual and couple interviews, before moving on to the physical home inspection.  Baxter tried to help us out here by trying to lick our poor social worker to death.  Thankfully she likes dogs or we could have been in trouble : )  As far as the in home part they just want to make sure you have enough physical space for baby.  You also have to show basic safety measures (ex: fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, meds and cleaning supplies our of reach, etc...). Overall we feel like things went pretty well and are just waiting on the final report to be done. 

Secondly we are in full swing planning our HUGE Garage/Bake sale for next weekend.  The sale is going to be at our house (sorry I just am not ready to put address' on the internet just yet, but feel free to email or call if you want the address).  At last count we have had donations from at least 17 different families and I lovingly refer to our home as the "Hendricks Family Thrift Store" right now.  Seriously though we are so grateful to all the people who have donated and helped us organize all of this. The sale will be Friday May 6, from 1-7 pm and Sat. May 7 from 8-12.  

We have also started selling t-shirts on Adoption Bug.  A portion of each t-shirt sold will go straight to our adoption fund.  Fell free to check out the link below if you are interesting in buying a t-shirt.  Hoping to have more good news to pass along soon.  If you hang in with us I promise we will get the hang of this whole blogging thing : )
 http://www.adoptionbug.com/hendricksfamilyadoption/index.htm

Generous Hearts

Today I find myself humbled by the generousity of strangers.  As many of you know, we are planning a huge garage sale and bake sale in May to help pay for our next set of fees for the adoption.  For months our truly amazing family and friends have been donating to our cause.  We have been diligently sorting and pricing as things come in, and trying to keep things a little bit organized.  Today we stopped by the garage sale of a co-worker to pick up her leftover things and found ourselves with alot more than we could ever have imagined.  Keep in mind that this was a mulit-family sale and I was only anticipating picking up the few things my co-worker had left.  After we arrived other family's realized what we were taking things for and eagerly started adding things to our pile.  These are strangers to us, but they were willing to donate their things (which they could have potentially made money on at another date) to us for our garage sale next month. By the end we filled up 1 truck and 2 SUV's, and I mean we could not fit one more piece of paper in them kind of full.  I feel so blessed to have come into contact with so many amazing people.  For everyone who has helped us during this journey, whether thru donation, time or prayers, we Thank You. 

Mark and Ashley

WE ARE PAPER PREGNANT!!!!!

Welcome and Thank You for visiting!!  For those of you who may not know Mark and I have decided to expand our family thru adoption.  We have always considered adoption as an option for us, and after many months of discussion and research the decision has been made.  On January 22, 2011 we mailed off our initial application to Madison Adoption Associates.  On February 2, 2011 we officially started the adoption process by mailing off our signed contract.  We have applied to adopt a Waiting Child from China.  By adopting a Waiting Child that means that the child will have some form of special need.  These needs can vary from minor to severe including such things as cleft lip/palate, deformity of limbs, developmental delays, etc....  We have researched the needs we feel comfortable with and will discuss these with our caseworker as things progress.  Rest assured that this is a decision we did not come to lightly.  We have spent a great deal of time considering all of our options and feel that this is the path that is best for our family. 

Some of you may ask where the name of our blog came from.  "Gotcha Day" is the phrase used to describe the day you actually have your child in your arms.  So, we are now counting down to Gotcha Day, and praying it will be a short wait. 

Just to give everyone an idea of time frame you should know that adoption is a paper chase.  That is why we are "paper pregnant."  Much like a normal Mother/Father would come to their child thru Dr.'s appointments and ultrasounds, we too are on a journey to our child, only our journey is with paper work and home visits.  Each step is exciting and brings us one step closer to bringing our child home.  We are hoping to have all of our paperwork together and ready to turn in on my 30th birthday in July (both parents have to be 30 to adopt from China). 

We will post frequently to keep everyone updated on where we are on this journey, so check back often.

Ashley