Our dossier is off to China!!!

We have just completed a big step! As you know, we have been done with our dossier for awhile now. We were just waiting to pay our processing fee. We have had several fundraisers since then to help us with that fee; such as, Scentsy, Origami Owl, Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt, and Lost Pizza Co. Thank you to everyone who supported us with participating in these fundraisers! We were able to make our payment with these fundraisers. We mailed in that payment last week and yesterday our adoption agency sent us a email confirming that FedEx just picked up our Dossier to be mailed to the CCCWA in China. It will take the CCCWA up to four weeks to log in our information. After we are logged in, they will put us on the child referral list. This is where they will start matching us with a little girl. When you are matched, they send you pictures and a profile of a child. They say this process usually takes from one to six months. However, they said they are experiencing low family lists, so this could be on the shorter end for us. It is sad that there is not a lot of people adopting right now, but it is good for us being matched sooner. Once we are matched, we have to send them a LOA (letter of acceptance). Then, we owe them the biggest chunk yet!!! We have to pay them that before we can even go get her. Then, they will send us our travel information. So, we will still continue to have fundraisers to help us pay this fee. We will probably do the Orange Leaf and Lost Pizza Co again when it gets a little warmer outside. I know we will have some fundraisers at the church soon like a Spa Day and/or spaghetti dinner. I will keep you posted about these when we get closer to the time of the fundraiser itself.

Here is the picture that we sent in with our Dossier that the CCCWA people will use with logging us in and matching us with a little girl:

 Three months ago, I was hoping that we would be matched by Christmas that way we would have the best Christmas gift ever, but things didn't work out that way. But, we still have a very handsome boy that we love so much to spend Christmas with. He needs a little sister to love and protect, also. I will take China getting our dossier as a Christmas present. Maybe we will be matched around Valentine's day!?!

Merry Christmas everyone! Somewhere out there, there is a little girl who is not going to have a family to celebrate Christmas with this year, but she will next year. Sophie, we love you where ever you are and can't wait to bring you home to this loving family. 

Sorry it has been awhile...A lot has happened since...

Here is a monthly overview of what has happened since last time I blogged:

April 9, 2012

            We had our first home study appointment with our case worker. It was very informational and successful. Our home study agency is located in Jackson, MS, so we have to drive out there for our home study appointments. Luckily, we know another couple, who works with me, that is going through this adoption process and they are in the same stages of the process. So, we can car pool now. Our home study will take three to four months to complete. The home study part of the process will cost us $1,600. We had to have $700 up front. We had a fundraiser at school selling flip flops and with many kind people and praying to God we did raise the $700.

June 12-13 2012

            We had two more home study appointments. June 13 was a couple interview. Then, on June 14 we had our individual interviews. Another success!

June 26, 2012

            I spent a few days getting ready for this home study appointment with doing some heavy duty cleaning. This is when our case worker came out to our home to inspect it and to make sure it was safe for a child. Everything went fine. David Ryan was on his best behavior, which we had nothing to worry about there; he is a pretty well behaved child. The only thing was our fire extinguisher was too small and we will have to replace it. Our home study will be complete in a few more weeks; next, we will begin to work on our dossier.

 August 2012

A lot has happened in August with our adoption process. First, we passed our home study!!! Our home study agency sent our approval to our adoption agency. A few days later, we received an approval letter from the adoption agency.

We also had to do an I800A, this is where you have to apply to the Homeland Security Office to be fingerprinted with the FBI. This was a pricy process, but with the help of Dustin’s summer job painting the school (a great blessing), we are able to pay for this, especially since we had to come up with the money in two days. A week ago, we received a letter in the mail from the Homeland Security Office in Memphis saying our appointment to be fingerprinted is on September 6. After this process, they will send us an approval letter within two weeks. Then, we have to send this approval letter to our adoption agency to go with our dossier. We are almost finished with our dossier. We are just waiting on the Homeland Security’s approval letter, and we have to compile a collage of pictures of our family’s everyday activities. They are very picky about the pictures; we can’t be in casual dress and we have to wear shoes. After our dossier is completed, our adoption agency will send it to China. However, they won’t send the dossier to China, until we pay them another big chunk. This is our biggest expense so far. So, we have started collecting empty soda cans. After our dossier is sent to China and reviewed by China, we will then be matched with a baby. They will send us a photo and profile of the child, and we will have 48 hours to accept or deny. But, who could deny any child ?!? After we accept our child, we will travel anywhere between 5 and 8 months after that to go get her. We still have a long way to go, but we are one more step closer in bringing Sophie home. Hopefully, soon we will be able to share a real photo of her. 

September 2012

We received our approval letter from the Homeland Security Office! So, now our dossier is complete! That is a big stress relief; the dossier was months of stress and paperwork. Our adoption agency now has our Dossier, but they won't send it to China until we finish paying them their fee. We are at a stand still now until the dossier is sent to China. However, we are doing several fundraisers to help with this fee. We just finished doing Scentsy, which helped a lot. Thanks to all those who purchased from Scentsy! We are still collecting soda cans. Soon, we are having an Origami Owl fundraiser party at my house. So, I believe we can do it; it is just hard knowing that Sophie is out there somewhere waiting for us to come get her and that this fee is the only thing holding us back. We still don't know who she is, but she is out there. That is why we are so anxious about getting this fee paid that way the adoption agency can send China our dossier. Then, China can start matching us with a little girl.

David Ryan is starting to understand a little more about the adoption. But, it is still hard for him to fully understand when you don't have a visual (picture) for him. He can show you Sophie's room, which is still the storage room. We will have to start working at that soon also. For now, we just want her home.

We will keep you posted as we go through this process of bringing home Sophie. Keep us in your prayers as we go through this long, yet exciting process and keep little Sophie in your prayers as well. God has already done so much for us to get us where we are now. We just can’t wait to bring Sophie home!!!

Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight

Someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight

Somewhere out there someone's saying a prayer

That we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there

And even though I know how very far apart we are

It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star

And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby

It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky

Somewhere out there if love can see us through

Then we'll be together somewhere out there

Out where dreams come true

And even though I know how very far apart we are

It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star

And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby

It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky

Somewhere out there if love can see us through

Then we'll be together somewhere out there

Out where dreams come true

One of my friends suggested that I blog (which I have never done) about our journey through international adoption, so here it goes....

THE BEGINNING

A few months ago, we started discussing adoption. We talked, researched, and prayed about it. (We were kind of leaning toward adopting a little girl from China. ) Then, one morning at church after praying about it there was a picture of a little Chinese girl on our church bulletin. A SIGN!!! Then, we meet up with two couples who have already gone through this. Seeing their little girls just made us realize even more that we wanted to do this. So, we then started the process. Dustin filled out the application and sent it to our agency. A few days later we were approved!!! Now, we are about to start our Home Study this Monday. Everyone has been really supportive about our decision. My mom is already wanting to buy some girl clothes. We will keep you updated as we continue this journey and blessing. We know there is a little girl somewhere out there waiting for us to bring her home to a loving mom, dad, and big brother.