Friday, February 23, 2007

Starting with a Sprint...

Things are moving quickly! It's very likely that I won't utter those words again. Our agency in North Carolina received the signed contract and has sent off a packet with all the paperwork we need to complete for the dossier. And I think we've decided on a Florida agency to do our homestudy. They want to come out to do the home visit in one week - on March 3rd. I wasn't expecting it to be so soon. And I'm nervous. Our coordinator says that everyone feels a little anxious at this stage, but once it's over, they realize it's not a big deal at all. I'm clinging to those words of enouragement.

In other news, Jim has decided that now would be the perfect time to remove the wall paper in the foyer and along the staircase. The walls are 22 feet high. I'm requesting a stay for one week... until the homestudy is done. The last thing we need is scaffolding and ugly naked walls to greet our case workers. So I think he'll start the job on March 4th. And by the 5th, our favorite handy man will likely be getting a call. :o) I'll post before & after pictures on our family blog.

As always, your prayers are so greatly appreciated!

Thursday, February 15, 2007

What Happens Next...

We've signed our contract, enclosed the check and it gets mailed tomorrow. Many people have asked what will be involved, how long it will take, etc.... While there are no guarantees with international adoption, it should go something like this:

1) The Homestudy. This portion should take two to three months. It requires some paperwork, a home visit with social workers, obtaining four background checks, vital statistics, etc...
2) The Dossier (the huge file that gets sent to the Haitian government). We'll be working on a lot of this while the homestudy process is in gear. All the paperwork has to go through a number of channels before completion an it should take a few months, as well. We also have some US immigration-type things to complete.
3) The Referral. Once our paperwork is in order, our orphanage will match us with a child. We review the information they give us and prayerfully make a decision.
4) The Wait. We have zero control over this part. It's all in the hands of the somewhat unorganized and s-l-o-w departments of the Haitian government.

So we're looking at a long 9-12 month wait... at least. Since Haiti is in turmoil (over 60 US citizens have been kidnapped for ransom in the past year) and the US Department of State has issued a travel advisory, our baby will most likely be escorted into Miami. :o)

Please keep us in your prayers as we begin the homestudy. It's a little intimidating.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Three Weeks = Three Days

Wow. This says it all....

"Yay! We received a preapproval for you to adopt from Haiti....."

From our adoption coordinator.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

A Three Week Wait.....

We're waiting on a piece of information that could alter our adoption plans quite a bit. And we have to wait about three weeks.

Our desire to adopt a Haitian child has been very strong for nearly seven years - since my pregnancy with Chloe. Haiti was the country that had been impressed upon my heart (and Jim, as usual, supported this dream). We hadn't really considered adopting from anywhere else. But there is a possibility that Haiti won't be an option for us - although we are continuing to pray in that direction. Our coordinator said there is an alternative, though: Ethiopia.

Jim could sense my frustration.... since my plans (ha ha - like I could possibly control any of this) have been somewhat altered. He says that our child, the one that God has planned for our family, just might be in Ethiopia. True. Those of you who know Jim can attest that he's not too verbose, but that statement humbled me and also reminded my why I admire my husband so much. God's pencil has no eraser. He's already drawn the blueprint for our family.