So... I haven't blogged in a VERY long time. Here's what has been going on with the adoption process since last summer...
Last summer we had to put the adoption on hold for a little bit while we sold our house in Yukon. It had been a rental property, and when the tenants moved out, we decided to put it on the market and use the proceeds toward the adoption. Well, it didn't sell for several months. And by the time we repaired things for sale, paid the mortgage for several months, and lowered the price we ended up basically breaking even. So that plan failed. Oh well, that's life! But while paying two mortgages, having to do necessary repairs to this house (which we had just bought the prior winter & needed quite a bit more than we thought), we were financially drained. So we put everything on pause.
Then last August I went back to work. I'd say that was a mistake for our family, but it gave us a big boost financially, so I can't. But it was an insane time for us as a family. That, coupled with some issues in the workplace, pushed my resignation even though I loved the job. We made the decision for me to return to being a SAHM at the end of April. I don't particularly love being a SAHM, but it's what is right for my family and I am blessed that we can afford for me to be here with the kids. We feel that when we return from this adoption it will be critical for me to be here with our newly adopted princess.
SO, back to the adoption, which is what you really care about. We picked things up back in February. Things have drug out FOREVER with getting the homestudy done. Because of the delays we have experienced, we chose to make our Reece's Rainbow grant account inactive until our homestudy was finished. We also chose to keep our progress pretty quiet. It's hard to blog about no progress. Also, to be completely honest, there was a lot of pain involved in pausing things. It is hard to know that a child is suffering because you wait. It is hard to know what to say when you are in limbo. It is easy to doubt yourself when nothing seems to go your way. It is hard to lean on God and trust that it will work when you can't see how it will, and we made the mistake of believing that. Honestly, I might never forgive myself for the delay. But all we can do now is move forward.
Here is where we are at now:
The last document required for our homestudy was dropped off a couple of days ago, so there are a few details for the social worker to update and it will be done! We filed with US immigration in March and our application is currently waiting for our homestudy to catch up to it. The bulk of our dossier (the documents we will send to her country) is done. We have a couple more documents to chase, but the bulk of it will head to the country as soon as we get the homestudy. At that point, we are just waiting for approval from USCIS, which we will send to her country, and then we'll need their approval to travel to meet her! We are praying that we will be done by Christmas. But that depends largely on the governments of two different countries, so delays can happen at any point! And since we've experienced so many delays, we're assuming there will be more! So I'm not really sure that's realistic. We will still be short financially, but we have enough in savings to pay all expenses until right before travel, so we have chosen to wait to fundraise actively until our homestudy has been released and we are just waiting on USCIS. We feel like with the delays we have faced, it's only fair to potential donors to not ask for money until we are closer to being done. We won't have long to raise the money, but we are confident that if we do our part, God will see us through! I will post a financial update soon. My brain is a little fried today and I'm not sure I have the mental energy to crunch numbers. Haha
Current prayer requests:
- that things move quickly
- financial provision for the rest of the adoption
- that her heart be prepared for entering our family & she is able to bond with us easily
- for her health and safety while she waits
- for all of the children waiting for a family, both in the US and abroad
- for the body of Christ to be moved to be the hands and feet of Jesus to orphans and families in the US and abroad
Thank you for your support in this long, crazy, exhausting endeavor. So many of our friends and family have encouraged us to not give up, even in the hard times. Some day I will be able to thank you all properly. I do know without a doubt that there is a little girl in an orphanage in Eastern Europe who is very, very loved by a whole crazy slew of people!
Last summer we had to put the adoption on hold for a little bit while we sold our house in Yukon. It had been a rental property, and when the tenants moved out, we decided to put it on the market and use the proceeds toward the adoption. Well, it didn't sell for several months. And by the time we repaired things for sale, paid the mortgage for several months, and lowered the price we ended up basically breaking even. So that plan failed. Oh well, that's life! But while paying two mortgages, having to do necessary repairs to this house (which we had just bought the prior winter & needed quite a bit more than we thought), we were financially drained. So we put everything on pause.
Then last August I went back to work. I'd say that was a mistake for our family, but it gave us a big boost financially, so I can't. But it was an insane time for us as a family. That, coupled with some issues in the workplace, pushed my resignation even though I loved the job. We made the decision for me to return to being a SAHM at the end of April. I don't particularly love being a SAHM, but it's what is right for my family and I am blessed that we can afford for me to be here with the kids. We feel that when we return from this adoption it will be critical for me to be here with our newly adopted princess.
SO, back to the adoption, which is what you really care about. We picked things up back in February. Things have drug out FOREVER with getting the homestudy done. Because of the delays we have experienced, we chose to make our Reece's Rainbow grant account inactive until our homestudy was finished. We also chose to keep our progress pretty quiet. It's hard to blog about no progress. Also, to be completely honest, there was a lot of pain involved in pausing things. It is hard to know that a child is suffering because you wait. It is hard to know what to say when you are in limbo. It is easy to doubt yourself when nothing seems to go your way. It is hard to lean on God and trust that it will work when you can't see how it will, and we made the mistake of believing that. Honestly, I might never forgive myself for the delay. But all we can do now is move forward.
Here is where we are at now:
The last document required for our homestudy was dropped off a couple of days ago, so there are a few details for the social worker to update and it will be done! We filed with US immigration in March and our application is currently waiting for our homestudy to catch up to it. The bulk of our dossier (the documents we will send to her country) is done. We have a couple more documents to chase, but the bulk of it will head to the country as soon as we get the homestudy. At that point, we are just waiting for approval from USCIS, which we will send to her country, and then we'll need their approval to travel to meet her! We are praying that we will be done by Christmas. But that depends largely on the governments of two different countries, so delays can happen at any point! And since we've experienced so many delays, we're assuming there will be more! So I'm not really sure that's realistic. We will still be short financially, but we have enough in savings to pay all expenses until right before travel, so we have chosen to wait to fundraise actively until our homestudy has been released and we are just waiting on USCIS. We feel like with the delays we have faced, it's only fair to potential donors to not ask for money until we are closer to being done. We won't have long to raise the money, but we are confident that if we do our part, God will see us through! I will post a financial update soon. My brain is a little fried today and I'm not sure I have the mental energy to crunch numbers. Haha
Current prayer requests:
- that things move quickly
- financial provision for the rest of the adoption
- that her heart be prepared for entering our family & she is able to bond with us easily
- for her health and safety while she waits
- for all of the children waiting for a family, both in the US and abroad
- for the body of Christ to be moved to be the hands and feet of Jesus to orphans and families in the US and abroad
Thank you for your support in this long, crazy, exhausting endeavor. So many of our friends and family have encouraged us to not give up, even in the hard times. Some day I will be able to thank you all properly. I do know without a doubt that there is a little girl in an orphanage in Eastern Europe who is very, very loved by a whole crazy slew of people!
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