Our USCIS approval came today! We only mailed it out on 7-30 and just had our biometrics on 8-26. I am so excited and relieved to have this piece of the puzzle completed.
This afternoon I express mailed the True Copy letter to our Secretary of State for apostilling.
Another step closer, Ryan...
Monday, August 31, 2015
Sunday, August 30, 2015
LINES IN THE SAND
I think most of us have done this- draw an imaginary line in the sand and then tell God I will do this and this but not THAT.
When God began to speak to us about adopting the first time back in 2009, I did draw that line in the sand. Because of the immense cost and difficult process, I did not want to do an international adoption. Now I know the Lord didn't direct us down the path of domestic adoption just because that is what I wanted. It is what the Lord wanted at that time in our life. Jonah was meant to be part of our family, and the Lord coordinated all the details to make that happen.
However, in the back of my selfish and sinful mind, I still considered international adoption as something I would never do.
Another thing I said I would never do is adopt another child with Down syndrome. This statement is by no means saying that I think we shouldn't have adopted Jonah. I know we did the right thing. But after getting diagnosed with breast cancer when Jonah was only 4 months, I got scared into ever thinking about adopting again. I realized how full my plate was and how quickly life circumstances can change. In my mind, however incorrect, I associated adoption with getting cancer.
So imagine my total surprise when this past fall 2014, I felt the Lord asking me to consider international adoption of a child with Down syndrome. It blew me away. This is exactly what I told the Lord I couldn't handle!
Although at times during Jonah's adoption we had a few things to stress over, for the most part, his adoption process went very smoothly. The biggest spiritual challenge we faced during that time was in the very begining when we were trying to determine if it was God's will to adopt a child with special needs. After we truly felt like this was what God was calling us to do, it was pretty easy to trust Him because everything fell in place so easily. Very few hiccups. The hiccups that did occur got resolved within hours or a few days.
Then came my above-mentioned cancer diagnosis. I felt like I was on top of this incredible mountain-top experience of faith and then plunged to the bottom of a pit I couldn't get out of. Suddenly all the things I had been so sure of just crumbled at my feet. I truly felt like we had a made a huge mistake. It wasn't that I thought Jonah was wrong for us, I felt like we were wrong for Jonah.
When you adopt, you make all these promises about what good parents you will be for the child. Now here I was with breast cancer. What if Jonah could have had a better healthier mom instead of me? What if Jonah ended up without a mom? Like I said the walls came crashing in on me. It took a lot of prayer and wrestling with the Lord to get me back on track. The Lord showed me that even though I was sick, we were still the right family for Jonah. I learned to trust the Lord in ways I never had to before.
So yes I came out of Jonah's adoption and my breast cancer experience a stronger and more mature Christian. But did that mean I was willing to erase the lines in the sand? No, and it never occurred to me that God might ask me to.
Isn't the Christian faith a funny thing? Even if you can't call it funny, it sure is interesting!
So here we are pursuing the adoption of a 5 year boy in Eastern Europe who has Down syndrome. I am 4 years out from my cancer diagnosis. Ryan's country requires you to be 5 years out. We do not know what the Central Authority will do with our application because of that fact. We had my oncologist write a letter explaining that he believes my prognosis to good. However, we just don't know how our application will be viewed.
Now that we jumped through all the paperwork hoops and are waiting for approval, it is becoming more and more real to me that this may not play out in our favor.
Part of me is anxious and scared the adoption will not go through. This wonderful little boy has captured my mother's heart. When I am comforting our little Jonah because he has bumped himself or is upset about something, I can't help but think of who is there to comfort Ryan for the same little things.
However, I am also scared and anxious if the adoption does go through. We hope my cancer doesn't come back, but what if it does? I do not want to go through that agonizing feeling that we made a mistake by being the wrong family for Ryan. I told myself I would never put myself through the very experience that I could be setting myself up for.
Why would the Lord ask us to do this?
I don't know why the Lord is asking us to do this. I am certain there are more qualified and better families out there. All I know is I truly believe He has asked us to do this- try and adopt Ryan. Because there is so much out of my control, all I can do is trust in Him. I can't make things happen one way or the other- both with the adoption and with my cancer prognosis. This is all God.
Despite my anxieties, part of me is also very excited to see how He will be glorified through this second adoption journey.
And part of me is learning to stop drawing those lines in the sand.
When God began to speak to us about adopting the first time back in 2009, I did draw that line in the sand. Because of the immense cost and difficult process, I did not want to do an international adoption. Now I know the Lord didn't direct us down the path of domestic adoption just because that is what I wanted. It is what the Lord wanted at that time in our life. Jonah was meant to be part of our family, and the Lord coordinated all the details to make that happen.
However, in the back of my selfish and sinful mind, I still considered international adoption as something I would never do.
Another thing I said I would never do is adopt another child with Down syndrome. This statement is by no means saying that I think we shouldn't have adopted Jonah. I know we did the right thing. But after getting diagnosed with breast cancer when Jonah was only 4 months, I got scared into ever thinking about adopting again. I realized how full my plate was and how quickly life circumstances can change. In my mind, however incorrect, I associated adoption with getting cancer.
So imagine my total surprise when this past fall 2014, I felt the Lord asking me to consider international adoption of a child with Down syndrome. It blew me away. This is exactly what I told the Lord I couldn't handle!
Although at times during Jonah's adoption we had a few things to stress over, for the most part, his adoption process went very smoothly. The biggest spiritual challenge we faced during that time was in the very begining when we were trying to determine if it was God's will to adopt a child with special needs. After we truly felt like this was what God was calling us to do, it was pretty easy to trust Him because everything fell in place so easily. Very few hiccups. The hiccups that did occur got resolved within hours or a few days.
Then came my above-mentioned cancer diagnosis. I felt like I was on top of this incredible mountain-top experience of faith and then plunged to the bottom of a pit I couldn't get out of. Suddenly all the things I had been so sure of just crumbled at my feet. I truly felt like we had a made a huge mistake. It wasn't that I thought Jonah was wrong for us, I felt like we were wrong for Jonah.
When you adopt, you make all these promises about what good parents you will be for the child. Now here I was with breast cancer. What if Jonah could have had a better healthier mom instead of me? What if Jonah ended up without a mom? Like I said the walls came crashing in on me. It took a lot of prayer and wrestling with the Lord to get me back on track. The Lord showed me that even though I was sick, we were still the right family for Jonah. I learned to trust the Lord in ways I never had to before.
So yes I came out of Jonah's adoption and my breast cancer experience a stronger and more mature Christian. But did that mean I was willing to erase the lines in the sand? No, and it never occurred to me that God might ask me to.
Isn't the Christian faith a funny thing? Even if you can't call it funny, it sure is interesting!
So here we are pursuing the adoption of a 5 year boy in Eastern Europe who has Down syndrome. I am 4 years out from my cancer diagnosis. Ryan's country requires you to be 5 years out. We do not know what the Central Authority will do with our application because of that fact. We had my oncologist write a letter explaining that he believes my prognosis to good. However, we just don't know how our application will be viewed.
Now that we jumped through all the paperwork hoops and are waiting for approval, it is becoming more and more real to me that this may not play out in our favor.
Part of me is anxious and scared the adoption will not go through. This wonderful little boy has captured my mother's heart. When I am comforting our little Jonah because he has bumped himself or is upset about something, I can't help but think of who is there to comfort Ryan for the same little things.
However, I am also scared and anxious if the adoption does go through. We hope my cancer doesn't come back, but what if it does? I do not want to go through that agonizing feeling that we made a mistake by being the wrong family for Ryan. I told myself I would never put myself through the very experience that I could be setting myself up for.
Why would the Lord ask us to do this?
I don't know why the Lord is asking us to do this. I am certain there are more qualified and better families out there. All I know is I truly believe He has asked us to do this- try and adopt Ryan. Because there is so much out of my control, all I can do is trust in Him. I can't make things happen one way or the other- both with the adoption and with my cancer prognosis. This is all God.
Despite my anxieties, part of me is also very excited to see how He will be glorified through this second adoption journey.
And part of me is learning to stop drawing those lines in the sand.
IT IS ALL IN SILVA'S HANDS NOW...
Cathy emailed me on Friday, 8-28 that our dossier made it overseas. Silva has already started translating our home study because Cathy emailed that to her over a week ago. She will start working on the rest of our documents on Mon, 8-31.
We are figuring about a month for this phase...???
We are figuring about a month for this phase...???
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
BIOMETRICS APPOINTMENT DONE!
We just got home from our biometrics appointment. The staff at the Department of Homeland Security couldn't have been more helpful and nice. Appointment went without a hitch. Hopefully the rest of this process with USCIS goes as smoothly.
One thing about this adoption process, it gives Andrew and I a chance to have some dates- today after our appointment, we had a nice lunch at a British pub we found in Shorewood, a suburb of Milwaukee.
One thing about this adoption process, it gives Andrew and I a chance to have some dates- today after our appointment, we had a nice lunch at a British pub we found in Shorewood, a suburb of Milwaukee.
Monday, August 24, 2015
ON ITS WAY!
Cathy just emailed me that our dossier will be picked up today in order to be sent overseas to Silva.
She said now its time to WAIT: wait for USCIS approval, wait for Silva's translation, and then wait for a court date to be issued (hopefully).
The waiting will be hard I am sure, but it is a relief to know we got everything done that was required of us up to this point.
We went into this process knowing there was an obstacle that might not allow us to be approved for adoption, a.k.a. my breast cancer experience 4 years ago. However, we truly believe the Lord asked us to at least try. That is what we are doing. We have taken the initial steps and are now hoping and praying that the Lord will allow Ryan to be in our family.
Even though there are these unknowns, I feel at peace knowing that we did what God asked of us.
She said now its time to WAIT: wait for USCIS approval, wait for Silva's translation, and then wait for a court date to be issued (hopefully).
The waiting will be hard I am sure, but it is a relief to know we got everything done that was required of us up to this point.
We went into this process knowing there was an obstacle that might not allow us to be approved for adoption, a.k.a. my breast cancer experience 4 years ago. However, we truly believe the Lord asked us to at least try. That is what we are doing. We have taken the initial steps and are now hoping and praying that the Lord will allow Ryan to be in our family.
Even though there are these unknowns, I feel at peace knowing that we did what God asked of us.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
WE ARE APOSTILLED!- IS THAT EVEN A WORD?
Our documents arrived from the Secretary of State today! The whole Priority mail tracking thing did not work the way it was suppose to. The package didn't get scanned in until it was 10 minutes from our home. Oh well, the most important thing is it got to us!
One of the neatest parts of today was that at 8:30 this morning I messaged some fellow adoptive moms if they could pray for our paperwork. By 9:30, our package showed up! That is the power of prayer.
Tomorrow we will express mail the documents to Cathy at OD so that she can then send them on to Silva for translation.
We are so grateful to all the people who completed paperwork for us. We are also very grateful to Cathy and Deb at the adoption agencies for helping us get to this point!
Praise the Lord!
In celebration, tonite Andrew and I had a wonderful date night: a Milwaukee River cruise and dinner out. Great food and great fun with the greatest guy in the world.
One of the neatest parts of today was that at 8:30 this morning I messaged some fellow adoptive moms if they could pray for our paperwork. By 9:30, our package showed up! That is the power of prayer.
Tomorrow we will express mail the documents to Cathy at OD so that she can then send them on to Silva for translation.
We are so grateful to all the people who completed paperwork for us. We are also very grateful to Cathy and Deb at the adoption agencies for helping us get to this point!
Praise the Lord!
In celebration, tonite Andrew and I had a wonderful date night: a Milwaukee River cruise and dinner out. Great food and great fun with the greatest guy in the world.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
I called our Secretary of State office today. The good news is our paperwork is done (YEAH!). The bad news is no one knows where it is (ARGGH!)
That isn't a direct quote, but rather the implied meaning of what the woman said. The office completed our paperwork on Fri, 8-14 and put it in the mail. Here we are at Tues, 8-18 and our tracking number for the return package is not being found. This means the package is somewhere between the Secretary's office and a US postal office between here and Madison.
Probably nothing to be concerned about- the package just maybe didn't get scanned like it should have. But my mind always goes to the worst case scenario which is that the package is lost in space!
Time to start looking for more funny cartoons, I guess. And pray!
That isn't a direct quote, but rather the implied meaning of what the woman said. The office completed our paperwork on Fri, 8-14 and put it in the mail. Here we are at Tues, 8-18 and our tracking number for the return package is not being found. This means the package is somewhere between the Secretary's office and a US postal office between here and Madison.
Probably nothing to be concerned about- the package just maybe didn't get scanned like it should have. But my mind always goes to the worst case scenario which is that the package is lost in space!
Time to start looking for more funny cartoons, I guess. And pray!
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