We get it!

Just to get this out there.... we understand that there are risks in adopting a child from Ethiopia; blood work is not always accurate - including the extremely remote risk of a false negative HIV test, there could be attachment problem concerns (though not as likely with an infant), potential developmental delays from malnutrition, the possibility of post adoption depression for the parent, and the all encompassing idea of adopting someones else's gene pool - which might be jam packed with cognitive delays and/or mental illnesses.

We get it. We have thought about this. A lot. And then after we have thought about it a lot, we think about it some more. We've questioned our capabilities to handle what might come our way, the effect it might have on the Kid, and even the treatment options if... God forbid... our child is Hep C, HIV, Sickle Cell, TB positive, or have psychological trauma.

And how do we feel about this? Scared, anxious, and thrilled! We have concluded that we can take anything that comes our way because she will be family. She already is family. We have let this little stranger into our hearts long ago and feel that there is no going back. If she does come with many challenges, we will never have regrets and love her all the same.

Changing our adoption plan is also not an option at this point. Before we picked ET, we investigated other countries (including our own), and found that there were equal amount of risks across the board, just came about in different ways.

So, this is getting it out to the universe and especially to those who make sure we are always up-to-date on all of adoption horror stories - we hear you. We hear about them. It is scary as hell, but regardless, these stories are not changing our mind and we are going forward. Spending a lot of time dredging up the bad rather than talking about the good is not helpful.

Here is another way to look at it. I am sure most would be very happy and supportive if we were trying to conceive. If that were still possible, I am positive we would still be trying throughout this year, even though conceiving a child at my age comparatively comes with just as many risks (genetic, birth defects, preemie, etc).