Paperwork "take 1" on it's way

We received official confirmation from our social worker that our initial paperwork "the first half of our dossier" was mailed last Friday to Russia. I have no idea how long it takes to make it all the way across the world, but when I looked it up on-line it estimated a week. Of course with all of the crazy weather we have had lately, who knows! When it is received in Moscow, it will be decided which region we are best suited for and thus they will assign us to that region. Once we know which region we have been assigned to then we can begin working on the official dossier.

Dossiers are region specific which just means that some regions are more meticulous about their requirements than others and they require certain additional paperwork.

Prayer requests: Pray that we will be selected for the region that God has picked for us and that the region will be helpful and not over daunting with the paperwork requirements. Also pray for our family and that we can get our dossier completed as quickly as possible so that we can officially be on the waiting list to travel. This last week we received notification that we are being considered for a matching grant. Pray for God's direction in this and if we are to be blessed with this as well as any of the other grants we have applied for.

For those who are following our adoption journey and keeping us in your prayers we are truly greatful! It really does mean a lot to us to have all of your support for our family and we just want to say thank you! We pray for God's blessings for each one of you.

Our latest and greatest

I got confirmation from the Secretary of State that our packet was delivered and that she has apostilled all of our documents (which I hope means they were all ok). They are fowarding it on to our agency today :) Once they make it to our agency, as long as all of the paperwork is correct, it will be forwarded on to Russia. From there our region will be selected, so that we will actually know which part of Russia it is that we will be traveling to. Also, we mailed off our applications for grants to help fund our adoption, but we probably won't find out anything for a few weeks about those.
Brent and I are going back and forth talking about names and have yet to solidify what our daughter will be named. Of course we waited until we were 36 weeks pregnant before we picked out our youngest son't name ;)I am looking forward to my sister coming into town sometime in the next month or two so we can start working on her room. I can't wait to turn it from a storage/office to a little girl's room!
Prayer requests: Please remember to pray for our family and that God will put His hand into deciding which region we will be adopting from. Also pray for our daughter and her birth mother, that they both will be healthy and that she will obstain from drugs, alcohol, etc. You can also pray for a sense of peace for our family and that we will continue to just take everything in stride and not be overwhelmed by all of it. Lastly, pray over these grants that we have applied for. Pray that God would deliver these grants to whatever family needs them the most, whether that be us or someone else. Adoption is such an amazing opportunity and while we could definitely benefit from receiving adoption assistance, I know that our God is faithful and that He will provide the means necessary for us to fullfill his plan for our family. I would hate for another family to forfeit an adoption experience just because they are intimidated by the financial demands.

paper work...take 2

Well, we are having our first "take 2" when it comes to our mound of paperwork. At least these mistakes were made prior to us mailing them off to Austin :) Now, we only have to get them notarized...again. I did a count and we will be mailing 60, yes that is a 6-0 pieces of paper to Austin. I am not lying or exaggerating when it comes to how much paperwork is involved. That is completely ok, though. It will be well worth it in the end! Until then, bring on the paperwork!

My trip into Dallas

Today I got to drive into Dallas to pick up our Home Study. Yea!!!! The Director went over our next steps and we will be mailing a mound of paperwork down to the Secretary of State to be apostilled and filing our I-600A on Monday. None of this probably sounds very interesting or even understandable, but trust me when I say this is very exciting and will open up the door to our actual dossier. Yea again!!!! Once we get our paperwork back from Austin we will forward it onto our actual agency who will then in turn forward it onto Russia. From there we will be assigned our region, which means we will know where in Russia our daughter will be coming from, even though she won't actually be selected for us yet. Prayer requests: that none of our documents will get lost, postponed, or need a do-over, that all of our documents will be moved through the systems as quickly as possible, and that God will open up doors for us financially as we begin to apply for grants to help fund this adoption.

Home Study Update

Well, we made it through our home study. It was very different from what I expected, but having never done this before I did not have much to go off of. I knew going into this that the process would be an emotional rollercoaster, but hearing about some of the cases and living conditions that these kids live in (where we are adopting from) absolutely breaks my heart. It's bitter sweet to pray for protection for our daughter from such experiences, but terrifying to know that it is going on to other children (that we can't bring home).

Our case worker came and talked to me, Brent, me & Brent, and the boys for about 2 hours. She also went and checked out the boys' rooms. I have been talking back and forth with her and she is finalizing the home study and intends to submit it for approval from her director and then to us. Once we have it in our hands we will be forwarding it to our actual adoption agency as well as using it to apply for grants :) I have found out that you can't apply for any grants until you have a home study. This also means that we can start working on our dossier...yea!!! While I know that this is going to be a mountain of paperwork for us to complete, I am excited that we get to start working on it.

Home Study :)

This Saturday is our official home study. We have been busy, busy, busy working on all of the paperwork needed for the home study as well as hosting our first garage sale/adoption fundraiser. It was a huge success and we were able to raise a good amount of money with it. So, thank you to everyone who contributed to it and thank you to all of our shoppers :) Prayer request: our home study this weekend. It is weird having someone come in and assess you, your house, and your family to see if you are "approved" or "qualified" to have another child. This is especially true since we already have had 2! Anyway, it does not matter. It has to be done, so here we go!

next...

Our passports have been applied for and our adoption agreement has been signed and mailed :) Next should be the home study and the beginnings of an insane amount of paperwork. I started looking through our book tonight and found it to be overwhelming. I decided we will just have to take it one step at a time instead of reading all that is expected of us at once. So, we will start with our home study and go from there ;) Prayer requests: that all of our paperwork will be done properly the first time, pray for our soon to be daughter and her birth mother (health pregnancy, healthy baby, etc.). Also, just continue to pray for God's provision with finances, etc. and for wisdom for Brent and I to know what step to take next in this area. Thank you for your love and support of our family!!!