The Richardsons

Beth and Dries Coetzee returned home from Ethiopia with their two boys, Alazar , 9 and Endalkachew , 6 two weeks ago. They used the same adoption agency we are using and live right here in Bloomington about 10 minutes away. We were able to go meet them and their precious new sons who are adapting remarkably well. I was absolutely amazed at how well behaved and polite they are. They already look like part of the neighborhood gang riding their bikes. They call Beth and Dries Mommy and Daddy like they've never been apart. Apparently once your children receive your albums, the staff works with them on who Mommy and Daddy are. I feel like I got a wealth of knowledge in just a short time and a peek into what it will be like. Thank you Beth and Dries, we look forward to a long friendship! On a sidenote, Annie liked the boys but really liked their dog.

Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, is one of the rainiest places in the world. But there are also a number of popular beaches and sights. The city has suffered greatly as a result of the heavy fighting that has occurred here during the last few years. But it is not all pain and suffering. Monrovia has some magnificent sights. For example, there is Providence Island, which is a place with a long history. This is where the first liberated African slaves returned to their homeland. It is a site of great historical importance for the people of Liberia. Traditional dances and concerts are also frequently held there. Other attractions include the Waterside Market and the National Museum. You can buy beautiful African batik goods and woodcarvings at the Waterside Market, which is held in an old area near the centre. The National Museum is known mainly for its collection of old Liberian art.

Tentatively we plan to travel from 6/28 returning 7/7, flying through Chicago and Brussels.

You don't hear that everyday, usually it's "my kid is in honor roll, my kid walked at a year.." but we received another DVD from Cheryl's trip and got to see what they looked like when she was there in March. We were totally wrong about who we thought Abigail was before, but in my maternal defense, the other girl did look about the same age and the picture was far away. The video had a great tour of the AFAA house and the kids were having gym class when Cheryl was filming. Emmanuel was of course playing with a toy truck that they had to take away from him so he could do his stretches! Abigail was jumping rope with another girl. Then she said her name very well in this clip and Cheryl said "Are you going to America soon?" And she said, yes. Cheryl said "Are you sure?" teasing her. And she giggled and said, "yes." So they must have gotten our albums at that point. The house is very nice but as we knew and got to see for ourselves...

Cheryl is estimating we will be able travel in about two months, so that means about mid to late June.

Hi Sue, I believe that both of your children DO have passports now so HURRAH HURRAH, HURRAH! You should not schedule flights until we KNOW we have 100% of 100% of the paperwork. Liberia processing is different from Ethiopian processing so you would be able to travel to Liberia about 2 weeks after 100% of everything is finished. Our super travel agent is: Joann - MTS Travel 1-800-642-8315 but it is easiest to reach her by e-mail. Joanne's e-mail address is: JoannH@mtstravel.com How many people will be traveling to Monrovia? Would you be receptive to taking in supplies for the foster home that we send to you? Take care, Cheryl Yes, we are freaking out. It's like we've been trying to get pregnant for a almost two years, we just found out we are pregnant and we are giving birth in two weeks!!! Ok, I have a lot to do, rooms, oh my gosh!! Thank goodness mom organized the clothes. Speaking of mom she fell down the stairs and broke her ankle in 3 places o...

Here's whats ahead for Abigail and Emmanuel before we can bring them home: Their birth certificate photos, passport photos and Liberian government and AFAA file photos will be taken. Their birth certificate processing will begin. After the Liberian government case history is completed, typed, reviewed for accuracy and signed by the proper Liberian government authorities, it will be given to the AFAA rep, then the children's Liberian passports can be started. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the right to ask to have the children brought in to their office. There is NO time estimate for the passports to be completed - the last time passports took 3 months with daily visits to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by an AFAA rep, to push the process along. Cheryl writes "I personally went to the MOF office twice and met with at least 6 people. The 2nd time I refused to leave a high level official's office until I had the remaining passport. The person needed to...

We just got these photos from Cheryl. There is one advantage to having a droopy left eye. You are easy to spot. The kids appear much more like orphans in these photos. They look hot and dusty. I am already feeling unfit because I could not pick out Abigail. I think I have picked her out but will wait to post her photo until I get confirmation. Emmanuel is obviously the little boy with the older boy in the picture. Stay tuned for information on who the older boy is, we are trying to find out.

I know its been a while since we last updated this. My parents came in for a visit Tuesday and we have been busy organizing our house after a year of just trying to survive. We do have one piece of news, I was able to get in touch with Cheryl (adoption agency director) and she says they are working on our case in Liberia and they don't need anything else from us as this point. (We still have no estimate of a timeline ) Also we learned she wasn't able to meet Abigail and Emmanuel's father. I suspect she ran out of time and I'm sure it would have been a job to track him down. My parents drove out to MN (from Washington, DC, 22 hours!!) so they could give us their mini-van. I guess we are really getting ready to be a bigger family. My car did not have long to live and needed a new engine, not worth it for a 98 Ford Escort. We have gotten some clothes already from very generous people for the kids. Mom and I organized all of it into bins by size and season. Hopefully it wil...

I have often been asked, does Annie know she is getting siblings? My answer to that question is yes and no. When we talk about brothers and sisters she definitely knows what that is because all her friends have a brother or sister. But I don't think she can quite comprehend the way she will be getting her siblings. When we got our referral for Abigail and Emmanuel in January, I told her she was going to get an older brother and sister. I told her they were going to come live with us because they didn't have a Mommy and Daddy and little sister and we were going to be their family. She responded, "their Mommy went to news and didn't come home?" I said well, sort of since she knows one of the only times I'm away from her is when I'm "at the news." She helped draw pictures for their albums and watched as I put them together. Then she watched the DVD of the kids we got. I think she just likes being around other children and is more than ready to have ...

I am not a saver, I wouldn't save our tax returns if I didn't have too. I love to throw stuff out and have a house free of clutter and unnecessary receipts. But when you adopt you expand all your horizons. The paperwork we've had to fill out is unbelievable. I have a huge folder full of every copy of everything. We filled out the application for our agency in July of 2005. We did not complete our packet and have everything to Indiana until January of 2006. We now know multiple notaries if you ever need one. Everything must be notarized. You need a home study, which is extremely helpful actually. We met with a social worker twice who had adopted two children from Korea and answered every question you could imagine. She'll work with us again when the children arrive. We had to give two pictures of every main room of our home, a letter from our employers, bank, police department. Then you have to chose a guardian and know their financial information, where they live, how m...

The AFAA house is a foster care home run by our agency, (Americans For African Adoption). The children come to this home when they have met certain health criteria and our agency thinks they have a family they can match them with. Almost every child in this house will end up going to the United States. Every other summer, AFAA organizes reunions for families in the U.S. so all the kids can once again see each other. This house is supported by the families adopting. So right now we are already financially supporting Abigail and Emmanuel. We pay 175 dollars a month for each of them or 350 dollars total. But what we pay does not meet the operating expenses, the rest of the bill is covered by our agency and donations. Most families, including us, do not mind paying for them in foster care because where they are staying now, no matter how hot it is, is much better than many of the orphanages the kids have come from. Also, they are getting some education here from the house mothers, they are...

You've probably heard about the huge orphan crisis in Africa, mostly because of Aids. Worldwide there are 15 million orphans because of AIDS, 12.1 of those are in Africa. While AIDS is a huge problem all over the continent the biggest problem is in South Africa and Western Africa. Nigeria has 1.8 million orphans, South Africa has 1.1 million AIDS orphans . Liberia has 36,000 orphans from AIDS. Many of their 250,000 orphans is the result of poverty and the civil war. By 2010 Sub-Saharan Africa (includes 38 countries) is expected to have 18 million orphans just from AIDS. ADOPTION CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE...but unfortunately; In some African languages there is no word for adoption. It is a new concept. Although there is an increase of adoption by families in some African nations, such as South Africa and Kenya, there are still not enough adoptive families in these countries to take in all the AIDS orphans. It is also not uncommon to see adoptive families in these countries trying to...

With 3.5 million people in a country the size of Tennessee, there are 250-thousand orphans. UNICEF stats show the percent of the population that have either phones or i nternet is 0! The percentage of the population that has access to adequate sanitation services is 27 percent. Half the population, more than 1.7 million people are children under the age of 18. But in 2005 only 12 percent of girls and 22 percent of boys got passed the fifth grade. Access to health care has gotten tougher, in 1989 there were 400 doctors working for Liberia's Public Health Sector. Now there are only 25 in the whole country. The reason: the doctors make about 100 bucks a year. A private doctor can make between 75 and 85 dollars a month. The government does not have enough doctors to staff every hospital or clinic.

Liberia is situated on the West African coast and has borders with Sierra Leone, Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire . With a population of approximately 3.5 million, Liberians have a life expectancy of 42 years and a GDP per capita of just US$131. Liberia has come out of a brutal 23-year period marked by coups, general instability, violence and civil war. This has left the country devastated with its physical infrastructure destroyed and its population traumatised. Thousands of refugees, displaced people and demobilized youths are without education, jobs or hope for the future. Liberia is rich in natural resources and has historically attracted much investment in shipping, mining of minerals, rubber and timber. The fruits of these resources have not been shared with the majority of the population and despite this natural wealth, 80% of the population live below the poverty line. Regional stability Liberia's location on the West African coast, places it at the center of an extremely vola...

Liberia was founded by Americans so that freed slaves could resettle back in Africa. Monrovia was named after U.S. President James Monroe, and was founded during his term by the American Colonization Society. The first town was established in 1822 on Providence Island. The settlers, or the Americo -Liberians, were engaged in a number of disputes with the indigenous population for many years. In recent years, Liberia has been recovering from fierce fighting lasting 14 years. Under severe attacks of the liberation groups Lurd and Model, and after pressure from the International Community Liberian President Charles Taylor resigned as leader on August 11 2003. The day before Taylor delivered a defiant farewell speech in which he blamed the country's problems on the United States. At 6.15 p.m. he left Liberia to exile in Nigeria. Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf was elected President of Liberia at the November 2005 elections and becomes the first ever female president of Liberia and Africa. E...