Update

Time for an update I suppose...I haven't been the best blogger but man, life has been full and busy and well, by the time I get to sit down to write at night, I am just too tired.  So many happenings ... where to begin...

               
ADOPTION NEWS:  Thank you, thank you to the many friends and family who have so graciously given to us!! We so appreciate you coming alongside us as we embark on this adoption. The costs are high (in many ways!) and we thank you for giving us gifts to help us reach our goal. The "chip-in" to the right (you won't see it if you are viewing this on your phone!), is a bit deceiving as most of our gifts have come through the mail or in person. A few of you have "chipped in" on the website here.

Our puzzle is coming along - over 100 pieces have been sponsored!! (total pieces = 500). We are overwhelmed and thank God for the generosity coming from our friends and family as we move along in this process.

You will find a list at the bottom of the blog of all of our puzzle sponsors. We so APPRECIATE you! For those of you still wanting to help us finish our puzzle, each piece is a $10 donation. You can donate to us in person or through the mail, or by clicking on the "chip-in" button to the right. This will take you to paypal where you can purchase a puzzle piece(s).

So where are we??? Our homestudy is written and about to be finalized with our placement agency (it may even happened today). What is a homestudy, you ask?? It is a long document written by a social worker that details all the many things about us and our family and everything about us. In order for that to be written we had to fill out MANY forms, applications, answer many questions about ourselves, file background checks from every state we have ever lived in as well as the DMV, child protective services, and police. We and the kids all got physicals and TB tests. It involved writing our autobiographies, sending for new copies of birth certificates and marriage license, photocopying insurance cards and passports, submitting photos and putting together a family fire and safety plan. The dog even had to have a letter from the vet saying he is healthy and up to date with his shots (luckily they didn't ask if he smelled - we might have failed there)!!  Six letters of recommendations written by employers, friends, and family and even Drew (because he turns 18 soon - can you imagine writing a letter of recommendation for your parents??). Fingerprints, financial forms, lots of other forms and letters from us, three home visits with the social worker...have I forgotten something...well, probably. You get the picture. Did I mention that everything had to be notarized?? We have been thoroughly searched and investigated and probed...and we made it!!

What is next? Well, Friday I mailed in nearly all the items for the dossier. The dossier is the actual packet of items that goes to China, along with the homestudy, as our family's file - that represents us as a family. It has many items in it - each of which we had to get notarized and then each will get sent to the government of our state and then on to DC for stamps and stickers and signatures and who-knows-what-else.  Luckily in this adoption, our agency will do those steps for us!

So that is where we are. Most of the paperwork is done now. There will be another round of fingerprinting up at a location in DC for the immigration approval and probably some more forms to sign and of course, fees to pay.  We are now all about saving, raising money, praying, and waiting!!

Hope to post some updates on all the family has been busy with over the last two months in my next entry. Life has been so full and we have been having lots of fun...