Almost Approved

Today we got finger printed. I always feel silly that I get so excited about something that is such a small step in the process. But every step is a step closer to my baby. SO what does this mean you may be asking. It's the last thing that had to be done before they send our approval letter. So while we wait for our approval we will be focusing on fundraising. I am confident that the Lord will provide.
Aly has been working on our Tshirt design. Hopefully that will be done soon.

Homestudy sent to CIS

Yesterday our homestudy was sent to CIS (immigration services) for their approval. This is our official approval for adoption, if we don't get approval from the state then we can't adopt. SO, pray that we will be approved. :)
It will probably take a few weeks but once we get our official approval we are free to submit our dossier. (of course included with our dossier must be a check so keep praying for those finances!)
Today I received an email from CWA about the court delays they are having in Ethiopia right now. They are having court cases that go on for weeks or months. That means, these families have a picture of their baby and they are having to wait several months before they can go get them. I think that would cause me to lose my mind. So please pray for those families and maybe we can pray that we wont be stuck in those circumstances.
So that pretty much catches everybody up. Thanks for visiting!

Paperwork etc.

Have I told you all lately that I can't wait to get my baby! I wish I could be one of those people that can patiently and peacefully wait for something. Not me, I obsess about it and torture myself with anticipation. Right now I can release my obsessive anticipation by working on documents that we need and trying to think of new ideas. But once we turn in our dossier and we just have to sit around and wait for the referal of our baby. I might completely lose my mind.
Anyhow, last week I got a lot accomplished on my dossier. I only have a couple of documents left to gather. Then we have to get it all notarized. Still no progress on our homestudy. Still waiting for the approval of CWA before it can be sent to the state.
We are going to be doing something new. We stole this idea from someone else :-) We're going to be making Tshirts. We have a design and Aly is turning it into a graphic for us. I'm really excited about this idea. So, when we get the graphic and more of the details I'll post all the info on a blog. Hopefully it will be sometime in the next couple of weeks.
Well, I think that's all for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Starting the Dossier

So today I really started my dossier. I went downtown and took care of several documents. (police clearance letters, birth and marriage certificates and authenticating 2 docs) It took me like an hour to find the secretary of state office but I finally found it and got my documents authenticated. I'm excited to really have the process started. Our 3 reference letters are in process already too. So that makes me happy. I just like the feeling that things are moving. We still haven't received our approval from CWA for our homestudy, but I'm hoping that will come this week, so we can send it to CIS (immigration services) for our official approval.
I feel so blessed that so many people are on board and supporting us in our adoption. Everywhere I go people ask me about it and are genuinely interessted in how the process is going. I REALLY appreciate that. For some reason when I started this journey I was afraid some people wouldn't understand. But people are really excited with us and I'm so grateful.
As always please continue to pray for our baby that she/he will be safe and that God would provide nourishment for her and her birthmother.
That's all for tonight!

Homestudy

I get so excited about every step that we make. This week we received our draft of the homestudy for approval. We read it and sent our approval yesterday. It's now been sent to our placing agency (Christian World Adoption) for their approval. Once they've approved it it will go to immigration services for our official approval for adoption. Yay! Well that's the newest.

Fourth Blog (Mar 22nd)

Nothing too much has happened since the last time I wrote. We are still waiting for our homestudy to be written. Hopefully next week. But we did pass a milestone in our craigslist sales.
I was looking at the fees we have coming up and I started to feel a little overwhelmed today. The next set of fees due before we send our paperwork to Ethiopia are more than I can imagine being able to raise. I looked at the number and prayed, "God, where am I going to get this from?" I did quickly remember that he has provided so much already. But sometimes it’s still overwhelming. I just want to have her now!
I am just so in awe of the way God has opened my heart. Before I started the adoption process I was so fearful. I had a thousand what if’s. But now my fears are no more than any new mom. What if I’m not a good mom? What if I can’t handle the lack of sleep? But I really dont focus on those questions because all I can focus on is getting my baby girl. It’s strange to me how I can long for someone I have never met. I can’t even explain the way my heart aches for her. Right now all I can do is pray for her when I feel that ache inside.

Third Blog (Feb 28th)

A few things have happened since I last updated you all on the adoption process.
We have started our Home Study. We had our first interview with the social worker last night. Everything went great. We'll have another interview March 11th. It will take a couple of weeks to finish the home study and then we will be awaiting the approval from Immigration Services before we can move to the next step.
God is so good. He has been faithfully providing for us to take each step.
Lately I have been so excited about the adoption I can hardly stand it. I think about it constantly. I pray for her everyday. I pray that she would be warm and safe and that God would provide nourishment for her body, even if that means supernaturally. It's so strange that for all I know today could be her birthday and I don't know it. I cannot wait to hold that baby in my arms, look in her eyes and tell her I love her.