An Unfortunate But Humbling Update

Well, it seems we have hit our first disappointing situation in this adoption process. I have always heard the stories of how frustrating situations arise quite often in the adoption process, but up until now, everything has been going so smoothly. We were informed yesterday that our homestudy agency sent our homestudy to the wrong place!!! And has been sitting there for a month! Yep, just sitting there! Days have been passing by, as this mommie-in-waiting aches for her baby, and there it just sits...at the wrong facility. This means essentially our adoption has been set back a month! I knew something was wrong, because I had yet to hear anything from the USCIS about our fingerprint appointment. So, after calling and emailing everyone, we finally tracked it down. They said they will be able to send it to them by next week! Next week!?! OVERNIGHT THAT PUPPY TODAY!!!

I am obviously struggling with my emotions right now, because on one hand, I am very disappointed in (almost down right furious at) my home study agency for allowing this to happen. Long story short, they said that in all the confusion of new rules from the USCIS, ours got sent to the wrong place. I do understand that rules change a lot in the adoption process, and I can imagine that is difficult to keep up with, but I just feel that they should be on top of everything. I'm pretty sure this is their job to get this stuff right. We actually pay them a lot of money to get this stuff right!

But then there is the other hand...and thank God there is the other hand, because this is the ONLY thing that keeps me from going insane. The other hand is, GOD IS IN CONTROL! As much as I want to cast blame on people and want to make things right, I have to know that this is all part of His masterful plan! I know it is easy to say that, but if I really think about my child, the specific child God has made for me and my husband, it could be that he/she is just not ready yet! Maybe God needed this delay, so that His timing would happen perfectly when our file is in Korea and we are next on the list and our child is next on the list and they put us together! Oh, how I wish I was there for that "God" moment! How humbling it is to know how much God is a part of all of this! Even in the frustrating times, God is there doing what is best for us! So, I guess I probably should thank Him for all of this! Seems like one step back, but it is really a step in the right direction to "our" baby! :)

Home Study Officially Approved!

One step closer to our baby! I checked the mail today to find a copy of our approved home study! Which means we are approved to adopt! We have finally accomplished a major milestone in this adoption process! I have been coasting through these past few months, waiting, not thinking too much about the adoption because there was nothing I could do to speed up the process. Plus, it seemed so much harder to wait when I was thinking about it all the time. But when I got that in the mail today, my my old feelings of pure joy all came rushing back! This is REALLY happening! :) So, now what? Well, we had to wait for our home study to be approved before we could send in a form called the I-600A to the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services). The I-600A is an “Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition” and it starts the CIS process for our international adoption. They then make an appointment for us to go get our fingerprints done at their office in Charleston. Then we wait again for approval. We were told this process should take about a month. In the meantime, since our home study has been approved, this also means we are now able to apply for financial aid. We have been very anxious to make headway on this. We would really appreciate your prayers regarding this specifically because it is the next major milestone (in Bryan's eyes, it is THE MILESTONE). ;) We will be applying to every available grant that we are eligible for, as well as trying to do a fundraiser or two in the very near future. This will ultimately require a lot of additional time, effort, and organization on my part. And will obviously require much stepping out in faith and trusting in God with our finances. Please pray that I will be diligent in my efforts to obtain financial aid, and that we both rely on God's will throughout this important phase of our adoption. We love you all! Thanks again for your support! :)

P.S. HAPPY 6 YEAR ANNIVERSARY to my hubby! Might be our last until our little one joins us! :) I LOVE YOU BRY!