Moving right along

You remember a few weeks ago I gave a quick update on where we stood with the adoption process. We had received I800 approval and were waiting for a signature on our Article 5. That signature had been taking around 6-8 weeks for families to receive.

But our God is bigger than 6-8 weeks. Way bigger than 6 weeks. We received our signature 1 week and 2 days after our Article 5 was submitted! Praise The Lord for such an amazing miracle!

So where do we stand now? We have been submitted for court and are waiting for a court date. Our case worker said that court must take place 2-4 weeks after being submitted. So we should have a court date by the middle of May. Pickup is 3-6 weeks after court, which means we SHOULD be picking our beautiful Maia up in June and bringing her HOME!

Paise God for His perfect timing and for His continued care for Maia during this wait. It's really happening!

Now that we are no longer praying for a signature, we are praying to pass court. So please join us in that!

What's Next?

Many of you have asked recently what our next steps are as far as Maia's adoption goes.  I'll do my best to explain it for you.  :)

Our I-800 was approved and has been sent to Maia's country.  Sometime (hopefully) within the next couple of days, we will be issued an Article 5.  I don't really know what this is, except that it is a very necessary step in the process and nothing can happen until this Article 5 stuff is finished.  So the Article 5 is issued and is then sent to the MoJ.  The MoJ signs the Article 5 and the paperwork is sent to the courts.  We will be issued a court date when Maia will officially become ours.  Then we will pick her up!  If only it was that simple.  You see, the wait for a signature on the Article 5 can take up to 2 months.  Court does not happen immediately after signature either.  And we won't travel until 3-5 weeks after the court date.  There are so many unknowns with the timing that it's driving me nuts!  :)

As far as timelines go, we could travel in June at the earliest it looks like.  That's if we get a signature pretty quickly and don't have to wait long for a court date.  If the steps take a while we could travel as late as September.  So there you have it.  :)

So, in a nutshell, we need:
Article 5 submitted
Article 5 signature
Court Date

And, of course, to pass court.

We would appreciate all of your prayers that God will work a miracle and allow this process to move very quickly if it's in His will.

General Adoption Information

Cost of international adoption: $25k - $40k

Agencies I can personally recommend:

• Children's House International - www.chiadopt.org (our placing agency)
• Lifeline Child Services - www.lifelinechild.org (our home study agency)

Average International Adoption time frame:

• For a special needs adoption you can expect the process to take 12-24 months depending on the country and if you have pre-identified your child.
• For the adoption of a "healthy child" you can expect the process to take 18 months to 3 years.  
• **Keep in mind that even healthy children who have grown up in an institution or orphanage have baggage they bring with them.  While there may be no medical issues, there will likely still be emotional barriers to overcome.  Be prepared so this does not catch you off guard.  

What does the "average" adoption process look like? (This is for Hague Convention countries. Non-hague country processes can vary greatly.)

• Make the decision to adopt.  Decide on a country and agency.
• Begin homestudy.  Be sure to complete background checks for every state you've lived in since you were 18 (if you are adopting from a Hague country).
• Get your FBI background check complete and apostilled (this must be federally apostilled, not state apostilled.)
• After homestudy is complete file your I800-A.
• Compile your dossier and get everything apostilled by your state.  (Birth certificates must be apostilled in the state they were issued, as well as marriage and divorce licenses.)
• Send your apostilled dossier to your agency who will send it to your adopting country.
• Wait for referral.
• In some countries, take a visit trip after the referral has been issued.
• After the referral is accepted, file your I800.  
• I800 approval is sent to your adopting country and the Article 5 is issued.
• Wait for Article 5 approval and court date.
• Travel to pick up your child!  
• Complete all post adoption requirements.

Referral!

We received word this morning from our agency that our referral is being translated and travel dates are being reviewed. We are hoping to take our trip to Eastern Europe to visit our soon-to-be-daughter at the beginning of March.  We will let you know as we get more details.  :)

Until then, I will be catching up on owl orders, gathering orphanage gifts, prepping the kids, and packing for a week in the COLD.

Also - there is a post coming soon about how we teach our toddler and preschooler about orphan care and adoption.  We've received a lot of questions about that and thought we'd share with you!  Be on the lookout.

What's next?

As you all know, we sent our dossier to Eastern Europe last month. It was then translated and submitted to the governing authorities. So what's next?

We wait.

The next step in this process is referral. As soon as we get an official referral we can begin making travel plans to go visit Miah for the very first time! Will you join us in praying for a quick referral? Please? We are unsure of when our dossier was officially submitted, but we are hoping for a referral by the end of the month. The time from dossier submission to referral can range anywhere from 3 weeks to 2.5 months, it seems. 4 weeks is the average from my little informal poll among friends. So we are shooting for 4 weeks. Which would probably be the end of January.

I course all of this is just wishful thinking and faith. We have no solid numbers to go by, so I'm just guessing here.

I can say that we will probably travel in February or March. That's pretty certain I think. And I can't wait!!!

Everything is in Gods timing. We know that. While I'm praying for a quick referral, we know He is in control. My bigger prayer is that God is using this time to prepare Miah's heart to meet us and to prepare our hearts to know how to interact with her and connect with her during this visit.

I've been on my knees a lot lately. My stomach has been in knots a lot lately. Things are starting to become very real. This isn't a dream - it's really happening! We are getting closer to meeting our girl!

The Major Update

I have so much to update you all on!  It all came at once and quite overwhelmed me and I had no idea how to blog about it all.  So you're just going to get one massive post.  Hope that's okay.  If not, don't read it.

• First things first: "Quinn" found his hope.  He has a family!!!!  
• All profits from Owls for Orphans are going to Quinn's adoption until Christmas.  
• Because of this little announcement I have oodles of owl orders!  We've already raised over $100 for Quinn and it's only been three days.  You guys are awesome.
• We walked in to biometrics a week early and they went ahead and did our scans.  Yay!  We were promised that our homestudy was going out to USCIS yesterday, so hopefully our application will be assigned soon.  
• We mailed our FBI results off for apostille and FedEx got them there a day earlier than promised.
• We mailed the rest of our documents off for state apostille and FedEx also got them there a day earlier than promised.  Y'all.  FedEx is rocking it!
• I received a call from the SC Department of State yesterday saying they received the documents and were already apostilling them to send to our case worker.  This means that the ONLY things still needed for our dossier are our i800a approval and our apostilled background checks.  
• We're getting so close to being able to send everything off to Miah's country!

And there you have it.

It's Growing!

Has it really been this long since I've updated?  I'm so sorry, friends!  It's been quite the week/weekend.  I have a lot to update you on - especially in regards to the Owls for Orphans.  Are you ready?!

First off, I linked up to No Greater Joy mom's Post about businesses that help with adoption fundraisers.  As a result I have three new owl orders!  I've raised more money for Miah through this little project that I ever thought I would!  What a blessing.  I also now have some open doors to raise money for other adopting families after we are fully funded.  Pay if forward, friends.

Second, a new friend found me on Ravelry this past week.  Her family is adopting domestically (they're in Canada!) and she is advocating for a boy on Reece's Rainbow.  She initially contacted me about helping me make owls to send to Eastern Europe but after getting to know her heart, I thought we could do better than that.  And so we did!

Courtenay and I are now teaming up to make Owls for Orphans even better!  She has all of my patterns and she has full permission to sell any and all owls she makes.  She is donating all of her profits to the little boy on Reece's Rainbow!!  She will also be sending owls to an orphanage in Mexico.  I'm also working hard to get the Owls for Orphans name trademarked.  There is talk about making in a non-profit after Miah comes home and we see how my time is managed.  We have a new page on Facebook where we will be posting pictures of the owls and stories that go along with them.  Have you "liked" us on there yet?  www.facebook.com/owlsfororphans

In more exciting Owls for Orphans news, these little boogers went out in the mail this past week:

They have arrived at my friend's house and will begin their journey to Eastern Europe on Thursday!  More orphans will be blessed because of your generosity.  Thanks to everyone who "sponsored" these little guys.  

I also have a new Owls for Orphans product being offered!  Meet the Itty Bitty Owl:

Isn't he cute?  (Sorry for the terrible picture.)  These little guys will work a little differently from the others.  They will not be offered as custom orders because of their size.  They will be sold on an as-is basis as I make them.  You will also have the option of ordering one when you buy a larger owl (since I will already have the extra yarn needed to make them).  They will be $5 will ALL $5 going to our adoption fund.  There is even an option of a crocheted loop at the top so that you can hang them on your Christmas tree.  :)

Wow.  Are you still with me?  I'm kind of all over the place this morning.  If you're still there, you will be excited to know we have more adoption news!

Last week we received our biometrics appointment for USCIS.  This is huge because it means that they have begun processing our application even thought they have still not received our home study.  We will walk in on Wednesdays and see if our prints can be taken early so that we can get this sucker done.  

In home study news, DSS finally looked it over this past week.  (This is after we were told it would be looked over ASAP.  My timing and other people's timing are totally different.)  Anyway.  They called our social worker and told her they needed an addendum.  But they wouldn't tell her what needed to be in it.  And of course they're closed today.  So first thing tomorrow morning we will know what needs to be in the addendum.  Hopefully that addendum will be completed Tuesday night and we can mail it off Wednesday.  Which *should* mean that our home study will be on it's way to USCIS on Friday.  But, you know, nobody seems to work on my timeline (or even the suggested timeline) so I'm not counting on it.  It'll happen one of these days.

We're just really hoping for an I800A approval before the end of December.  If not, we have to file an extension with Miah's country.  :(  

With that, I'm flat out of updates.  I'll write again when we have more news!

Mini-Update

It's been a while since I've blogged about adoption-related things.  There's just not much going on right now.

Our home study has been approved by both agencies.  YAY!  It should be with SC DSS now.  Once they check it over it will be sent to USCIS (U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services) where it will meet up with our I-800A paperwork.  The I-800A is for use in Hague countries.  Basically, it is our government approving us to bring an orphan into the U.S.  The I-800A takes an average of 3 months to be processed.  In rare cases it can happen in as little as a month, but that is very rare.  It can also take longer than 3 months if they find issues with our paperwork or our home study.  Once we know our home study is on it's way there, we'll start the count.  Praying for a quick processing time!

In the meantime we are re-checking all of our dossier paperwork and making sure it's all complete and correct.  Then it will all be notarized and mailed (or driven) to Columbia for state apostilles.  Our FBI checks will be mailed to DC for a federal apostille.

A look ahead:
- Wait for I-800A approval (1-3 months)
- Send dossier to ****** for translation (takes anywhere from 1-6 weeks)
- Dossier submitted to the MOJ.
- Wait for a referral (2-4 weeks after submission)
- File I800 (usually takes around a week)
- Take first trip to see Miah
- Wait for I800 approval and to receive our Article 5 (around a month)
- Wait for a signature on our Article 5 by Miah's government (2 months?)
- Court Date (a month?)
- Travel 2 (ish) weeks after we pass court.

There's a lot more waiting in there.  And from what I've seen with other families, more delays than we can really plan for.  But there's a least a little taste of what the rest of this process will look like.

Based on my very rough, naive, uneducated assessments, we could pick her up in May.  But it will most likely be June or July.  And, if we meet a lot of delays, possibly even in August or September.

For all of you who have asked "when will you be able to bring her home" to which I reply "we don't know": that's the HONEST truth.  We're not lying to you.  We just really don't have a clue.  It's dependent on many outside forces that we cannot control, so we have no idea how long it will take.  We're doing our part and that's all we can control.

And there you have it.  :)

An Update of No Update

Craig called our senator yesterday and was told they would call him back today.  Nothing.  He also emailed an old family friend who has connections in high places.  Still nothing.  Our clearance paperwork was sent to Georgia AGAIN today.  Still nothing.

When we realized a month ago that things were moving slower than we expected in this part of the home study I was okay with it.  I was at peace with whatever would happen knowing that we were doing all we could do.  I was irritated, but only for a few minutes.  It really didn't bother me.

Out of nowhere I felt this incredible need to talk to our social worker and see where things stood.  Upon finding out that we are no closer to getting our state clearances than we were a month ago, I lost it.  I was close to tears all day.  The more I prayed for peace over the timing of the situation, the more and more I felt unrest.  The more I prayed for patience the more urgency I felt.  For some reason I can't place my finger on I keep having this nagging feeling that we need to GET THIS DONE.  It's just an instinct inside me that wasn't there three days ago.  It came out of the blue and it came strong.  I don't have any idea what's going on.  I have fleeting thoughts that there are new or worse problems with Miah's health.  I have fleeting thoughts that the court system in her country might change and we need to beat the system.  I have fleeting thoughts that something is going to strike our family and that for some reason this stage needs to be done before that happens.  It's strange.  I CANNOT get the situation out of my mind.  The last 24+ hours I've been praying for the safety of Miah and our family and the speediness of the people running our clearances.  I've been praying that God's will be done and that He be glorified in every stage of our lives.

After mentioning this feeling of urgency and unrest to our friends who are adopting, our case worker with CHI emailed our agency in Miah's country and has asked them to go check on Miah and give us an update.  Praise God!  Knowledge is power and we're about to know how Miah's doing NOW.  And then I will either know to pray like crazy for her health or to relax and pray like crazy for our home study.  :)

Time for a Miracle

The following is a letter I sent out to our church family this afternoon:

As some of you know, Craig and I are adopting a child from Eastern Europe.  Her name is Miah and she is 7 years old.  What most of you probably don’t know is that at 7 years old she weighs 20 pounds and is severely malnourished and neglected.  Because of her extreme neglect her life and health are at risk.  We have a letter from a doctor at MUSC asking for an expedited adoption process in order to get her to the US where she can receive food and adequate medical care.  It is imperative for her to leave her orphanage as fast as humanly possible.  

Up until this point that letter has been honored.  Our home study is almost finished and our social worker has approved our adoption of a special needs child.  All we need to complete the home study are our state child abuse and neglect clearances.  These should have been finished 3 weeks ago, but have still not been received.

The state of Georgia is proving to be exceedingly difficult throughout this process.  They are not returning phone calls or emails and it is next to impossible to get a supervisor on the phone.  We’ve sent our paperwork to them three times now.  We've sent our paperwork to South Carolina twice and we’ve now been told that they are processing our request, but are being very slow about it.  

I come to you as our church family with a heavy heart.  The longer our daughter waits in that orphanage, the harder it becomes for her to adjust to life outside it’s walls.  The longer she waits the harder it will be to begin feeding her and getting her therapies.  The longer she waits, the more her caretakers tell her through their actions that she is not loved or valued.  

All we need to move on to the next step are three sheets of paper.  We can do nothing else until we receive those.  

We know there is power in prayer and that where two or more are gathered God will meet us.  Please join us in spirit as we pray for this paperwork to be processed.  Pray that the hearts of these workers will be opened and that our clearances will be sent with no further delays.  Pray that God will continue to have His hand on Miah and that she will be protected.  

God can work miracles.  He’s kept her alive for 7 years when nobody thought she would survive.  I have no doubt he can get this paperwork to us this week.  

Thanks for listening and for your continual support of us through this process.  We love you all!

Will you join us in praying?  While I don't believe God is the one slowing down this process, I do know He can use these delays for good.  Please join us in praying that He will work a miracle and that we will have these clearances by the end of the week.  He can do it.  He can do it easily.  And it's only through His power that it can happen.  

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

Still Glitching

It's proving to be quite the chore to get child abuse and neglect clearances from Georgia.  Our social worker was given the runaround today by someone who clearly had no idea what she was talking about and didn't care to spend even a second helping us figure things out.  We did get Craig's apostilled birth certificate back today, so that's a plus.

And that's the only update I have adoption wise.  We can't do anything else until we have the CANs and can finish the home study.

So there you go.  An update for those who've been looking for one.  Hopefully we'll know more tomorrow.  Until then I'm crocheting away.  :)

A Glitch

After hearing so many stories this past weekend about hiccups in adoption processes I told Craig we had it coming.  Things have gone so smoothly that we KNEW something was going to happen soon.

I just didn't realize it would be this soon.

I got a call from our social worker on Tuesday.  The first call that hasn't been upbeat and happy.  She contacted the state of SC to find out where they were in processing our clearances and the call didn't go so well. They didn't have our info anywhere.  It was either lost in the mail or lost in their office somewhere.  So when they received the letter from our doctor asking for an expedited process, they ignored it.  Lovely.  Well, that's all squared away now and they should have our paperwork.  We've been told we'll have our SC clearances back by the end of next week.  That's not too bad.

Here's where I get frustrated.  Our social worker has been trying to contact Georgia for several days now to see where they are in processing Craig's GA clearance.  She's left voice mails and sent emails.  She's even left a voice mail for the supervisor.  All to no avail.  They will not return her calls or emails.  So we have NO IDEA if they even got the info we faxed them.  We have no idea how long it's going to take to process that clearance.  And that's all we need.  A clearance.  And then our home study will be finished and we can file for immigration.

It's so frustrating!  Not that the clearance isn't done because we knew that could take awhile.  I have no problem with the fact that our SC clearance paperwork was lost and had to be resent.  I'm okay with that.  It's getting fixed and while it IS holding things up, I know God's timing is perfect.  My frustration is with the lack of communication going on with Georgia right now.  How hard is it to return a phone call?!  Just call our social worker already so we know what's going on.  Or send an email.  That's okay too.  Just let us know!

Craig re faxed the paperwork this morning so maybe that will remind them that they have 50 million voice mails (a slight exaggeration) from our social worker to return.

Friends, if someone's trying to get in touch with you, return the call.  Or send an email.  Or even a text.  Just COMMUNICATE!  Especially if IT'S YOUR JOB to do so.

The end.

Last Home Study Visit

Our very LAST home study visit is this coming Monday!  This is the visit where she will walk through our house, see how we interact with our kids, and get any remaining paperwork she may not have yet.  Once the last visit is complete, our social worker can finish writing our home study.  Once she receives our state clearances she can send the home study off for approval and then we can send it to our placing agency!

The house is pretty much ready for the walk through.  We need to straighten up Craig's office (it's a wreck) and I'll do a vacuum/sweep again before she comes.  Other than that, I'm not stressing over this!

Please join us in praying that our state clearances come back soon.  Our social worker sent them the letter from our doctor asking for an expedited process, so hopefully that will speed things along.

Once the home study is complete we can file with USCIS.  This is the part that will probably take the longest.  I've heard it takes anywhere from 1-3 months, but the norm right now is 3.  Obviously we're hoping for 1.  :)

Once the home study is done we can also apply for some grants to help us with funding.

This is a big milestone in the adoption process that will hopefully be finished shortly!!  Yay!

Mail

Guess what came today?!

Yep!  Our FBI Clearances.  A thank you note will be on it's way to Eddie tomorrow!  Thank you all for the prayers!

Now we just need our state clearances...

Still Waiting

Just in case you wondered, we're still waiting on CJIS to send the results of our background check.  No news yet.  I never heard back from the nice guy I spoke to. We're also still waiting on our SC clearances and Craig's GA clearance.  We cannot move forward anymore until these come through. Will you join us in praying for a speedy processing?

Thanks.

In the meantime I'll show off a few of my favorite people.

Craig likes to steal all of my snuggles.  The kids just LOVE to cuddle up with him.  If I want to cuddle with them I have to take a nap with them.  But the minute Craig wants to cuddle they come right on over.  He has yet to tell me his secret.  At least I can get sweet pictures like this one.  

And here's the fam watching the very first GT football game of the season!  Complete with Tech hats, footballs, and a stuffed Buzz.  Yes, Craig's brainwashing them already.  :)  And loving every minute of it, might I add.  

In case you're curious, the band on Craig's shirt is On A Hill.  They're a local band who donated their time and talent to play for our fundraiser back in April.  They're great.  Go check them out HERE.  

A Teeny Tiny Update

I have a super small update for you all!  One that deserves super large prayers!

I mentioned earlier in the week that in order to finish our home study we need FBI clearances.  We sent these off in late July knowing it would take 6-8 weeks to receive them back.  Well, our social worker is amazing and has everything else done except for our clearances and our final interview (which should happen next week).  So basically we're just waiting on clearances.  I also want to add that we cannot do anything else until our home study is complete.  It's all been done.  The next step after the home study is the I800 (immigration), and we have to send a copy of our home study along with our I800 application.  We're JUST waiting on clearances.

Let's back up a minute.  Soon after I mailed off our prints I received a letter from Miah's doctor at MUSC asking for an expedited adoption process because of her severe neglect.  I was then told this letter can be used with the FBI to help rush the clearance process.  (Sometimes, not always.)  So I called CJIS and explained the situation.  A very helpful guy told me they would work with me, but that they cannot do anything until our prints are registered in the database - and that takes 2-4 weeks.  I thanked him and told him I'd call back.  Well, I called back at 2 weeks - prints not in database.  Called again at 3 weeks (got the same woman I talked to at 2 weeks) - prints not in database.  Pretty sure she recognized either my voice or the area code.  I was "scheduled" to call back again tomorrow, but I check our online banking statement and CJIS had deposited our check!!  So as soon as the kids went down for a nap I called them again.  :)

I talked to the same nice guy I got the first week (he's so sweet!) and told him our story again.  After explaining everything he said "Thank you so much for doing this for her".  Somehow I managed to hold back the tears brought on by this sweet stranger.  He then said: "Now, I can't make any promises, but I'm going to do everything I can to push this through.  I'll give you a call tomorrow and let you know."

Friends, will you join us in praying that this goes through quickly?  IF it's God's will.  Pray for His timing in the situation and that if He wants it going through now that there will be nothing to keep that from happening.

The Big To-Do List

Here's a list of everything that must be done for our adoption.  As well as the dates completed when applicable.  I thought it might be helpful for those of you thinking about adoption to see a timeline.  Keep in mind that because we are adopting a waiting child and that we chose her before beginning the process, our adoption process will be a lot faster than most.  Also keep in mind that our home study is happening WAY faster than most, and that we have a letter from Miah's doctor asking for an expedited process.  ***As of October 7, 2012 we are 3 months into the adoption process.  Based on averages, it's looking like we will have Miah home in June/July.

Hold papers faxed to our agency.  done July 9, 2012
Application to CHI - our adoption agency.  done July 14, 2012
Application to Lifeline - our home study agency.  done July 16, 2012
First home study interview done July 21, 2012
Order copies of marriage license done July 22, 2012
Order copies of birth certificates done July 25, 2012
Write autobiographies and answer discussion questions for home study  done August 8, 2012
Get fingerprints taken for background check done July 30, 2012
Mail fingerprints to FBI for background check done July 30, 2012
Mail off Amy's passport for name change done July 30, 2012
Amy's individual interview for home study done July 31, 2012
Craig's individual interview for home study  done August 13, 2012
Background check received and one copy sent to our social worker done September 6, 2012
Complete 10 hours of adoption education done August 29, 2012
Read two additional articles for adoption education done August 29, 2012
Read The Connected Child for adoption education Amy done July 30, 2012
Last interview for the home study, which includes the home tour done September 10, 2012
Photos of inside and outside of house for home study done September 8, 2012
Various copies or financial, tax, and misc stuff for home study  done August 13, 2012
Home study paperwork  done August 13, 2012
Home study completed, notarized, and apostilled done October 28, 2012
Marriage license apostilled
Birth Certificates apostilled Amy's done Aug 22, 2012, Craig's done September 20, 2012
Background checks apostilled
USCIS I800A paperwork complete done October 24, 2012
USCIS I800A approval  December 11, 2012
USCIS I800A letter apostilled  December 12, 2012
Medical Certificates complete done Aug 22, 2012
Medical Certificates notarized and apostilled  December 12, 2012
Power of Attorney notarized and apostilled  December 12, 2012
Employment letter notarized and apostilled  December 12, 2012
Copies of passports notarized and apostilled  December 12, 2012
Photos of our home and family notarized and apostilled   December 12, 2012
Misc dossier paperwork notarized and apostilled December 12, 2012
Send off dossier to Agency December 12, 2012
Agency translates and sends dossier to Miah's birth country  December 14, 2012
FBI background check update
Medical update
Verbal referral from Miah's country to adopt her  February 28, 2013
Written referral from Miah's country to adopt her
Send off I800
Travel to visit Miah!  END OF STAGE ONE  March 2, 2013
Article 5 Sent - march 18
Article 5 signature - may 29, 2013
Submission for court - hopefully may 31, 2013
Receive court date
Court approves adoption - Maia is OURS!
Receive travel date
Travel to pick up Maia!  
Post adoption visits

Our Adoption Timeline

On this page we will keep a timeline of the adoption process from start to finish, as well as links to specific articles relating to the event.

Feb 17,2012 – Through a series of circumstances, God places adoption on our hearts.

Feb 24, 2012 – We make the decision to adopt and start researching options.

Feb - April - Waffled between several agencies, countries, and programs.  Could never really come to a decision on where we were supposed to be.

July 3, 2012 - Saw our potential daughter's picture for the first time.  Asked for her file and began praying over her.

July 8, 2012 - Made the leap and starting pursuing the adoption of this sweet girl.

July 9, 2012 - Signed and faxed "hold" papers to our agency to be sent to her country.

July 14, 2012 - Sent a formal application and check to our agency.  Also sent an application and check to our home study agency.

July 18, 2012 - Officially matched with "Bianca"

July 21, 2012 - Begin home study

September 23, 2012 - Home study finished with the exception of state clearances

October 29, 2012 - Home study FINISHED!!!

December 14, 2012 - Dossier sent to Miah's country.

February 18, 2013 - Verbal Referral

March 2, 2013 - Traveled for our first visit

March 18, 2013 - I 800 approval

May 29, 2013 - MOJ signature!!!

June 6, 2013 - receive court date of June 25!