one less orphan

The waiting has been hard.  We really want to get the ball rolling to bring our little girl home.  But we know God's timing is best...

 It's amazing to me how much the kids think about her.  The boys talk about "when the baby comes home".  At least one of them prays for her most nights.  They occasionally slip me coins from their piggy banks to put in the "adoption fund."  Their hearts are so soft towards her!

 Caia is the one that surprises me the most.  She's only 2 1/2.  But SHE thinks about the baby too!  Out of the blue, she'll look at me and say, "When baby comes, you hold her and I push her in the stroller, ok?"  Or on several occasions, she's offered suggestions of what we could name the baby.  One night she even prayed on her own "God, you bring our baby home safe.  Men. (short for A-men)"  I am amazed at how much she talks about her.  She's usually not arround much of our conversations or even the boys' prayers about the adoption.  It amazes me.  She is going to be such a nurturing big sister!

 In the mean time, we are...

When we knew we needed to raise money first, we decided to begin again and re-look at all our options for countries and agencies. Again, we were drawn to Vietnam. And that choice was made.

As we continued to look at agencies, we came back to an agency we had been talking with since the beginning. There was one aspect of thier program we weren't totally pleased with, but out of all the agencies we had talked to, they seemed to be the best option.

Then a friend asked if we had looked into an agency here in town. I had talked to them about doing our home study, but had never considered them for the adoption. So we looked into them. Their program matched every single thing that was on our list of hopes and desires - from the way they do business, to having the shortest time line around, to bringing the youngest babies home (Christy is really desiring a baby!), to having wonderful interactions with the staff - including the local social worker we'd be working with, who happens to be the agency's Vietnam rep! Even the couple that you travel with as your guide through the...

Well, the very beginning of our journey...moving from adoption being a "someday" thing to a "now" thing...is explained in our Adoption Announcement letter. Check it out if you don't know the story.

Since that time, we've researched countries to adopt from, placing agencies and what countries they work in, and the process of adoption. The process usually runs as follows: pick a country to adopt from, then an agency to work with. Apply to that agency. If accepted, sign a contract. Begin your home study ( a report by a social worker that includes interviews, a home visit, health statements, financial statements, background checks, autobiographical statements, and references). File proper paperwork for Immigration clearance. Compile and authenticate all paperwork for your dossier (paperwork required by the governement of the country you're adopting from). Wait, and wait some more for a referral (the name and description of an adoptable child). Accept the referral. Wait, and wait some more for the foreign government to process all the necessary paperwork. Travel to the country to pick up your child. Finally, bring your child home!!!

We had it narrowed down to 3 countries between 2 agencies. We decided to move forward with an adoption...