Blessings in Disguise: One Step Closer!

Many people ask me, "How is your adoption going?" or, "Where are you at in your adoption?" I find that as I try to answer, it is difficult to keep it simple. International adoption has many new vocabulary words that many people haven't heard before. I can tell when I have lost them when I see that glazed-over, confused look. I will do my best to update here, but you may or may not be able to follow it all.

Our home study is finalized! That is a HUGE hurdle to get past. What does that mean? It means that we have had just about every aspect of our lives analyzed and approved to be adoptive parents. When I say every aspect, I mean our childhood, marriage, how we parent, finances, medical info, psychological wellness, criminal history, and how others see us as parents. Plus, we had to complete many, many hours of online classes to educate us on what to expect with adopted children. I am sure I am missing something, but it is overwhelming to say the least, and I am VERY thankful that it is finished.

Alongside our home study, we have also been working on our dossier paperwork. Our dossier is all the paperwork that will eventually get sent to China. This includes our home study. Almost everything in our dossier had to be notarized and then I drove to the state capital and got it all authenticated or state certified. Now that the home study is done and everything is state certified, I can send our dossier paperwork to our adoption agency. Another HUGE hurdle.

I just mailed in our I800A form in to USCIS (Customs). Basically this form is to determine our suitability to adopt a child from another country. Once U.S. Customs receives our application they will give us a date to come in and appear to be fingerprinted. Yes, we have already been fingerprinted, but we have to do it again. After fingerprinting they will process that while we wait. All that is supposed to take 2 1/2 to 3 months. Of course we are hoping for the shortest time possible.

It all makes my head swim.

What are we working on now? Waiting. And praying. Praying for the little boy who will come home to us sometime in 2014. Praying that he is getting the best care possible right now. Praying that the rest of our process will go smoothly. Praying that God will heal whatever special needs our little guy has. I could keep going. The best thing is that God already knows what we need and what we will need as we take each step in this process. My son's favorite thing to say as we finish filling out each paper or getting something notarized, or whatever needs to be done is, "One. Step. Closer." Each time he says it, he has a huge smile on his face.

We are also enjoying some family time during our summer vacation.