Full Steam Ahead and Going To War

This has been such a full week! It's hard to believe it's only been a little over a week since we found out about the girls. We are now in "full steam ahead" mode over here. We have officially accepted the referral of our girls, sent in our last check to Gladney (ouch!) and now just have to wait for the court date. We are hopeful that we will hear soon about a court date. Having the girls home in 2008 would be so wonderful.

This week has been one of many surprise blessings. Our pediatrician, who also does aid work in Africa, said that the girls' health records were amazing. He described them as "children that are thriving" - what a blessing! Also, several dear friends and family are blazing forward with putting together last minute baby showers for us. We are humbled by the kindess and generosity of our community toward our daughters on the other side of the world. I am struck by how being an adoptive parent has some fun perks. It's like being in this cool new club (thanks to all of you sweet bloggers that have welcomed us to this club!). There is also a fun energy to all the hustle and bustle of everyone trying to get everything ready so fast.

I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed by how much has to get done - and soon. I'm hoping to register this week for things for our baby shower. That will probably involve a trip to one of my least favorite store on the planet - Babies-R-Us. I've gotten a headache every time I've tried to buy a baby gift there - way too much gear, way too disorganized, generally speaking - way too confusing. Luckily, a mom friend has offered to go along for moral and technical support! I really have no idea what we'll need. The friends with kiddos the age of ours have been really great about offering tips on kid necessities. That is helping to provide a bit of an anchor in this mad dash.

On the work front, I have been gearing up to go to WAR. Why you might ask? Because I found out this week from the HR department that adoptive mothers at my place of employment DO NOT qualify for the same paid leave benefits for maternity that birthmothers do. Even though I have months of paid leave accrued, I cannot use this time as paid time off because my children are not biological. I am outraged - to say the least - and I am preparing for battle on this one. It's really the principle of the whole thing that I find so offensive. Even if I don't win on this one, I have to try. It appears I may be the first adoptive parent they have had to deal with at my organization. For the sake of those who will follow, I have to fight this.

Thankfully though, as always, God provides. When I shared with my boss what had happened, she too was outraged, as were several of my colleagues. My boss made the decision to allow me to work from home for the next nine months in order to give me time, and paid time at that, with the girls. As a mother herself, she said that the girls would really benefit from me having lots of flexibility and freedom. She also said that she would rather me work from home with paid leave than have me take unpaid leave (which I didn't want to do!) and leave a big hole for my department. I was floored! What she offered was better than I could have imagined and in the end works better for all concerned. What a blessing! It reminded me of a verse that has been on my heart this week from Isaiah. "The Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion" (Is.30:18). I have certainly sensed his compassion and grace this week.

I am still going to WAR on this issue though. They have messed with the wrong adoptive mama. If you (or any other adoptive moms you know) have had experience with this type of blatant workplace discrimination, would you please email me or post a reply here? I'd love to get a sense for what the national state of things is on this issue.


One last thing this week: Please check out this great news story from Good Morning Texas.It features
Belay Tafesse , the Ethiopia Program Director for the Gladney Center for Adoption (our agency). He gives some great information on the current state of the orphan crisis in Ethiopia. The piece also includes a short interview with a little girl who was adopted from Ethiopia. She's now in third grade and is as charming as can be. I am already thinking about how many more kids my house can hold! Baby steps though. Baby steps.