The Waiting Game || Adoption Progress
If you enjoy waiting, raise your hand?
Nobody?
Me either.
I thought I would throw a little adoption update out there to let you know where we are currently at. On June 20th, a big sigh of relief took place when we received notification from our adoption agency that our dossier arrived in China and was logged in to their system to begin the process of getting translated and continue the process of whatever else they do with it. I just do as I'm told: sign here, pay this, finger print here. Just get me to China. Ha! That same day, our Letter of Intent for our little guy was sent to request formal permission to adopt him. Then on July 6th I received word from our agency that our dossier was out of translation, which is another big step closer to receiving our formal letter of acceptance (LOA) from China.
We are approximately 2 weeks away from (hopefully/prayerfully) receiving our LOA. Once we have our LOA we count forward 12 weeks which will give us an approximate travel date. We are getting SO CLOSE! And I just have to remember that in our waiting, God is working. He is preparing us and already knows the perfect day/time/hour/minute/second we will meet, kiss, hug, and snuggle our little guy, if he lets us. Crap, where's the tissue box. Just thinking about that moment brings tears to my eyes.
The waiting has been okay. If I let my brain go "there" it can be hard. The hard is knowing he took his first steps. But joy that I received a surprise video of him walking. The hard is knowing he may cry at night for comfort and not knowing if he is being comforted. The hard is knowing he is at the mercy of someone else's care on the other side of the world, but comfort in hearing he has attached himself to a caregiver. The hard is knowing he will have to leave everything he has even known since he was an infant, yet SO MUCH JOY knowing he is our son, he is a brother, he is loved by so many he has never met yet. And like I said above, there is joy, hope, comfort, and indescribable peace knowing that in our waiting, God is working. And most importantly, God is in control.
The process is different for EVERYONE. There are no two stories that are identical. For us, it has been a crazy amazing faith journey, a journey of miracles, a journey of prayer, and a whole lot of other things. It is a whole lot of "hurry up and wait."
Below is our timeline of significant moments that have taken place within our international adoption from China. I am not one who enjoys a "to do" list. If I have been tasked with something, I want to get it done and out of the way quickly. So when we are given things to accomplish for our adoption, well, crazy Type A "let's get this done" Michelle comes out.
Adoption Timeline (so far...)
10/6/16 - Preliminary Application Completed
10/10/16 - Formal Application Completed
1/17/17 - Final Home Study Appointment
Total of 4 home visits, medical appointments, 10 hours of Hague training for each adult, 10 hours of adoption specific training for education for each adult.
3/20/17 - Home Study Approved by Agency
Started working on Dossier
4/20/17 - Finger Printing w/ Homeland Security
5/8/17 - I-800a Approval Received
5/11/17 - Dossier Documents State Sealed & Completed
5/13/17 - Dossier mailed to Agency
5/17/17 - Dossier documents mailed to Washington D.C. for authentication
6/8/17 - Dossier mailed to China
6/20/17 - Dossier arrives and is logged in to China's database
6/20/17 - Letter of formal intent to adopt our son sent to China
Final 10 hours of adoption training/education for each adult
7/6/17 - Dossier out of translation and currently waiting for our formal letter of acceptance
Once we have our formal letter of acceptance we will begin the paperwork process to bring him home. We are getting so close. SO - SO - CLOSE!
Until then, we focus on preparing ourselves, preparing and decorating his room (pictures coming soon!), preparing our home for a toddler (It's been a while!), and praying!
Soli Deo Gloria!
