EXPRESS MAILED!

I800A sent by express mail today.  Should arrive by tomorrow at noon!  Processing time for this part is 6-8 weeks.

WAITING

Patience is not my best virtue.  But in the process of adoption, it is a common occurrence.

Right now we are waiting for our adoption agency to review and approve our home study.  Then we can send off our I800A application which is asking for permission to US Immigration to bring a child into the country.  Once this form is received, US Immigration is taking about 4-6 weeks to process.

We also waiting for final approval on our dossier documents so that we get them authenticated in Madison.  After that, our dossier will be ready to go over to Ryan's country for translation, processing, and hopefully approval.  If approved, we will find out our court date.  It seems most families get a court date within 6 months of the dossier being processed.

Lots of steps to be taken- I just wish they would happen in quick succession instead of so much lag time in between!

However, I am aware of my post from the other day where I talked about appreciating TODAY instead of always focusing on TOMORROW.  So I am trying to savor this moment because we will probably never again have the opportunity to adopt internationally.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us.  I have to treat this adoption journey like I how I use to feel as a child the weeks before Christmas.  Anticipation of the big day was almost as enjoyable as the big event itself.

I have the privilege of dreaming about this beautiful little boy being part of our family.  What a blessing to be able to dream so big!

TODAY

When you are in the adoption process, it is easy to become focused on what WILL happen and not always appreciate what IS happening.  

We are so excited for Ryan to be part of our family.  We are so anxious about if this will all work out.

But I need to remember to keep a proper perspective.  Yes I can look forward to Ryan coming home, but I have to remember to enjoy my life right now at this point: 

 

1. The Lord has blessed us with 4 incredible kids, and I am having so much fun having them around this summer.  

2. Our oldest is going to be a senior this coming school year so I really want to treasure the time I have with her before she goes off to college. 

3.  As stressful as the adoption process can be, I have to remember what a privilege it is that we get to do this.  When you have a biological child, you go through 9 months of pregnancy.  With adoption, it is a different experience than pregnancy but filled with just as much wonder and excitement.  If you had told me 10 years ago that we would be adopting, I would have been shocked.  This was never in my life plan.  This is totally God's plan for us.  What a joyful journey to be on.

Thank you Lord that I have great yesterdays to remember, today to enjoy, and tomorrow to look forward to!

APPRECIATE YESTERDAY- good memories, blessings to be thankful for, and lessons learned

AMAZEMENT FOR TODAY- making good memories, experiencing blessings, and learning lessons

AWAIT TOMORROW- future good memories, blessings, and lessons

HOPEFULLY NEXT SUMMER

We had a beautiful and fun time at the beach yesterday with our 2 girls, Abigail and Lydia, and little Jonah (Stephen was up north with friends).  

As I watched Jonah splash in the water and play in the sand, I couldn't help but think that next summer, God-willing, Jonah will have a playmate.  Ryan and Jonah are only 2 months apart in age.    

So in the midst of thanking the Lord for the beautiful time we had at the beach yesterday, I also had the privilege of thanking Him for the opportunity we might have next summer. 

We can't wait little Ryan!
    

A BIG SIGH OF RELIEF!

As of today all of our doctor forms are completed and notarized!  We were then able to start scanning all the documents we have for our dossier to Cathy.  Here was Cathy's email to us at the end of the day:

You have done a great job. Sorry for so many emails back to you today.  I will check the financial statement against the home study when we receive it. I’m waiting for Silva’s input on the application. You have done everything on the dossier checklist that you needed to for now.

What joy those words brought to us!  After months of gathering information (aka bugging people to fill out forms!), we did it!  Thank you Lord!

I am not kidding myself because I am sure something will need to be redone, but for now we are breathing a big sigh of relief!  

Good way to start a weekend!

THE DOSSIER CHECKLIST IS ALMOST COMPLETELY CHECKED OFF!

Could it be?  Yes it could be!  We almost have all our paperwork gathered for the dossier checklist!

The problem is tomorrow is the day that could make or break that statement.  We meet with all 3 of our doctors tomorrow morning to have them complete the forms and have their signatures notarized.

I am busy praying today that the Lord blesses tomorrow and all goes smoothly.  I will be so relieved tomorrow afternoon if all of this goes as planned.  It will make us one step closer to bringing Ryan HOME!

GOD KNOWS OUR NAME

"But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: 'Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine."  Isaiah 43:1a  

When we received information on Ryan from Cathy at Open Door, we had the privilege of finding out Ryan's real name.  Ryan is just a screen name that Reece's Rainbow uses.  However, because of the confidentiality we must respect in this adoption process, we cannot share Ryan's actual name.  Us knowing that real name though was another way God used to connect our hearts to this little boy.  

If we have the privilege of adopting Ryan, we would like to honor him and his heritage by keeping his birth name as his middle name.  We are planning on BENJAMIN as his first name.

What a name means has been important to Andrew and I as we chose all of our children's names.  That is why we are so excited about the name we have chosen for Ryan:

Benjamin means "son of my right hand" and Ryan's birth name means "constant".  I think this is a beautiful combination.  The Lord has kept Ryan safe by his side as he waited for a family, and His love for Ryan is constant.