Fingerprint Time

Well....almost.

Let's go back just a little bit. Back on February 13th, we were able to put our I-600A Application in the mail via Express Mail to the Dept of Homeland Security/U.S. CIS (Citizenship & Immigration).  We were so excited to be able to do it so soon because the one thing we were waiting on was our approved home study report.

Then on February 21st, we received our receipt in the mail saying that they received it and were proccesing our application. I thought for sure that we were going to be waiting well into March to receive notice on our fingerprint appointment with U.S. CIS.

So this morning was just a regular day retrieving mail at the mailbox when I see this:

Could it be? A fingerprint notice? No. Maybe something's wrong and we didn't sign something or have everything that was required. Please note that I consider myself to be way organized and very efficient when it comes to paperwork. It's my thing.....it's what I do. So all of this internal dialogue was just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo because this is what was inside our envelopes:

Can you read that?

It says March 20th. Just 3 weeks away!!

This is very significant and very important. Aftern we go to have these fingerprints taken, the results will be sent directly to the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The fingerprint results will be valid for 15 months. This means that internationally our background check will be cleared and we'll be approved to adopt a child from Ethiopia.

It would be ideal if I could say that this paperwork was the only thing we were waiting on before we could send in our dossier. However, this time around, it's just not the case. If you remember from my waiting blog post, I mentioned that we were still waiting on our doctor's office in-house notary to receive her stamp kit. Well, that hasn't changed. So even though there are still pieces of paperwork that have to get notarized, passport photos that have to be taken, and our Power of Attorney form that has to be county & state certified (because we live in Ohio), they are still all things that take no more than an hour or two to complete. We are also waiting on two of the most important documents that are needed for the dossier: our letters of recommendation. I'm so glad that we asked who we asked and that they are diligent in getting those completed and notarized for us.

Now, having said all that, here is how I know that God is in control: Even if all of the paperwork were sitting right in front of me, waiting to be picked up by UPS or FedEx or whatever, the fact remains that we are just a few dollars short of our dossier fee. And in the end, even if the dossier is sent in without the fee, it won't be looked at until the money is in hand. So I know there's no reason for me to get all anxiety-ridden at this point because God is not ready for us to turn in our dossier, even if I am! J

To those of who who prayed for us to have a quick turnaround time with U.S CIS and the paperwork, thank you so much. Your prayers were heard and we are very grateful. Please continue to pray that all of our paperwork continues to move steadily forward and that by the time we have our full dossier fee, our medical forms will be notarized. J Thank you!

Reflection Series - Ethiopia Trip 2

As you have read so far this past year, it's been quite busy in our household now that we are family of 3.

But last year this time, we were only legally a family of 3. Eva was still in Ethiopia at Hannah's Hope (HH) and we were preparing ourselves for the journey back; this time to get Eva and bring her back home with us.

I have to say that when we left for the 2nd trip, I was still anxious, nervous, excited, and restless, but for different reasons; all having to do with Eva and her transition from her special mothers to us. Obviously it all worked out, thank God.

Read all about our 2nd journey here.

I'm so glad that I documented the 2nd trip, because truth be told, I don't remember it as well as the 1st trip. Maybe it has to do with the excitement I was feeling, my (lack of) sleep, the fact that we didn't have as busy an itinerary as the 1st trip, or just that one day seemed to flow into another.

The only other day that I vividly remember is Embassy day. How could I not? That was the day that the U.S recognized our adoption and said that she was officially our daughter!

Read all about our Embassy day here.

I was just telling Eva yesterday how wonderful she did on the flight from Ethiopia to D.C. So mellow. NO crying or fussing......so very patient.  And she actually slept for the first 6-7 hours of the flight (It's a 13 hour flight)!

What a joyous and blessed year this has been with Eva. Every day I strive to be a better mom and learn from my mistakes. I'm so grateful to God that Eva is patient with me. She's teaching me as much as I'm teaching her. I pray that as each day passes, our bond and love to and for each other gets stronger and stronger. She's one of the best people to come into my life. God's design for our family was perfect.....as always!

Waiting......waiting

This 2nd adoption process has proved and is still proving, to be a lesson in patience......waiting.


When we started saving our money for this adoption, we quickly saved up enough for our home study visit. Thinking that we could get a headstart on gathering our documents, as soon as we had the funds, we sent them in. Little did we know that their rules had changed and there were other fees that had to be paid all in a lump sum before we could get our home study completed. So we had to go a few more months, gathering funds for our 1st set of fees.

As soon as we received our home study binder in the mail, we went right to work on it. So many forms have to be filled out and just as many have to be notarized. Reference forms need to be completed and background checks have to be done before any home visits can even be scheduled. Right before we went away for our Christmas vacation, we had our local background checks done and dropped off paperwork for Eva's pediatrician to fill out. When we got home in January, I was sure that those documents would be sitting in our pile of mail. Nothing. It turned out that Eva's pediatrician office misplaced the form, then found it, thought they mailed it, then realized they didn't. In the end, we just drove to the office to pick it up. Then our Sheriff's Dept said that they mailed our notarized letters but we NEVER received them so they had to create new letters, have them notarized again and mailed out again. More waiting.

I was so thankful that those family members and friends who we trusted to fill out reference forms did so in such a timely manner. They have no idea how much of a burden that lifted off my shoulders. We had our home study visits in the middle of January, much sooner than we had anticipated. God is merciful :-) And what made us even more grateful was the fact that our social worker came over 1 weekend, for a 2-day visit, and was able to get all the information she needed in order to write up a completely new homestudy.

As I type this, we just received word that our home study was approved. That means that all required signatures were made, notarizations were done and our adoption agency has approved it and made all of their signatures and notarizations complete. Our homestudy is in the mail enroute to our mailbox. 

We are still learning about waiting, however. Since November, I have been trying to get our medical forms (for the dossier) signed by our doctor and (his signature) notarized. The notary that used to be in the office is gone. Then a new girl was brought in, however, she had to go to notary class (training, whatever) and take a test. She did. She passed. And as of this date, she still does not have her stamp kit. What that means is that unless I'm willing to pay a (mobile) notary to come to the office to witness our doctor signing a 5 sentence form (that we already signed), we are still waiting for their in-house notary to obtain all of her equipment. Waiting.

John keeps reminding me that this is God's plan. I realize that. I understand that. I think my frustration comes from what our past experience was. The first time everything flowed so smoothly. I was less efficient in collecting the documents but other documents that we had to rely on others for was completed and returned so quickly.  This time I was way more efficient collecting documents and filling out forms and there have been delays, delays, delays.

We know that when we eventually get on the waitlist, it will be a 2-year wait. And we've accepted that. We could have gone with a different adoption agency and had a considerably less wait time, but we chose not to. Our first experience with our agency was so wonderful and they handled everything so smoothly with all of our documents as well as everything in Ethiopia, that there was never a consideration to use anyone else. We love the peace of mind that using AGCI gives us.

This little girl must be something special. Satan is trying to throw monkey wrenches into the plan from the onset. Documents getting lost in the mail. People not filling out reference forms. But I'm thankful that in the end, God has His master plan for us and we just need to trust that plan. I'm learning, slowly but surely. I need to be quicker on the learning curve though and remind Satan that he can't trip me up and make me frustrated. 

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to move forward and prepare to send in our next batch of paperwork in, our dossier. Please pray that when we send in our application to have our fingerprint appointment for Customs & Immigration, that we hear back from them in a relatively quick turnaround time.

Dedication & 2nd Birthday

Today was such a wonderful and blessed-filled day.  My precious baby girl turned 2 years old.

A few days ago, Eva's Poppi and Gaia flew in from Florida to be with their girl for her special day.

The day started with a Dedication for her. Initially I wanted to have her dedicated when she was home around 6 months. However, that time came upon me quickly and I soon learned that with it being the summer and family's schedules, it wasn't a good time to do it. So I decided to do it on her 2nd birthday.

Our church actually has a Dedication service once a month.  Our church is super huge and their dedication service consists of all the families going up on stage, a prayer is said and then they continue with the church service. I wanted something a lot more personal. Going to Ethiopia, meeting Eva and eventually bringing her home was so significant and special that I wanted her Dedication to be just as significant and special.

We had the Dedication in our home. One of the church's pastors who lives right in our neighborhood, came over and performed the service. Our parents were there and a few of John's siblings. John's adult kids were there also as well as Eva's Godparents. My good friend who also adopted from Ethiopia and is a photographer came to take pictures. J After the Dedication we all ate a catered breakfast and had a wonderful time. 

Eva's grandparents - John's Mom and My Parents

Eva's Godparents - Our best friends

After everyone left, Eva went down for a nap and when she woke up she opened up her birthday gifts and we got her ready for the 2nd half of her special day, her birthday party.

 

We had it at the World of Bounce which is a bounce house right in the area. We brought the drinks, cupcakes, and goodie bags and they did all the rest. We had our own personal party person to help the afternoon flow smoothly. She was awesome! So many kids (and families) showed up! What a blessing it was to see so many people turn out to support Eva's special day. The kids had so much fun. After they all bounced for about an hour and a half, we ate pizza, cupcakes and then opened presents.

These are the goodie bags that we                                            

passed out at the end of the party:                                             



              

                                 And these were the treats that were inside.

As you can see, I was all about the cupcake theme...except the fruit snacks. Those were Dora, Eva's all-time favorite cartoon character right now. The party ended around 6:30. We were exhausted when we got home, but still managed to stay awake for a couple of hours. Eva played with her balloons and watched a couple of her favorite shows.

What an awesome and special day. Thank you to everyone who helped make it a fun day for Eva as well as for John and I. We are truly blessed to have you as family and friends. You carry such a special place in our hearts. We can't help but smile. We love you!

Relfection Series - Ethiopia Trip 1 - Day 5

Court day.  One of the most important reasons why we were in Ethiopia. I was nervous about the court appointment but I wasn't as emotional about the day as I thought I would be. Whenever I get nervous I get quiet. So while we were in the waiting room in the courthouse, I just sat there the whole time scanning the room. John was just the opposite. He's such a people person. He was speaking with the social workers and the HH staff, joking and laughing. He wasn't phased at all. He definitely helped me relax....just a little though.