We have finally sent in our adoption application package. It's crazy to think we're at the very beginning of the actual process, even though we've been thinking, praying, and talking about it nonstop for the past nine months. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this process, we attended an information meeting, then filled out a registration form and sent it to CHS. They sent us our application about 3 weeks ago.
We answered a lot of questions about ourselves, including our background information, employment history, previous residence history, and information about our current home. We were also asked to explain the child we are hoping to adopt. We had to list three unrelated references and ask those people to write letters about our character and how we relate to one another. We also had to visit our doctors and have them fill out a medical report, include copies of our birth certificates and marriage license, and finally we got fingerprinted. Oh, and don't forget the $500 application fee. It was a lot...but it's only the tip of the iceberg, really.
Many thanks to the following people for writing letters for us: my boss, Josh - our dear friend, Chrissy - and our neighbors, Floyd & Iris. We very much look forward to sharing this journey with all of you...you have all been amazing friends to Ryley and me!
So, what next? We send in our application, and God willing, we will get invited to a 2-day adoption workshop. To the best of our understanding, a $2,400 fee will be due before we attend this class. We are hoping that our application will be processed in time for us to attend the December class, which according to their website is the 3rd Thursday & Friday of each month. We have vacation plans (that we planned 8 months ago) in January that will make us unavailable for the class that month...so we are definitely hoping we don't delay the process by having to wait until February. After the class is completed, we will begin our home study with a social worker, which takes a couple of months. Another $5,400 will be due by the end of our home study. So as you can see, we have a lot of upcoming fees! There will be many smaller fees along the way. But after our home study is complete, they will send it to the country we are hoping to adopt from and hopefully we will be accepted and placed on the waiting list. God willing, we will receive a referral under a year after that. If we do, we would travel to bring our baby home...and there would be a substantial fee due to that country when the process is completed.
Some of you know which country we have decided on. I'm choosing to keep that information off the blog for now, just in case things change. In the past, we had gotten very attached to the idea of adopting from Peru...and then we found out they were no longer taking applicants for children under age 5, and we were heartbroken.
If all goes as planned, we will hopefully have our firstborn by next Christmas! But the adoption process can always change, so we are trying to keep that in mind. We are praying fervently, because if things move along according to the timeline for the country we're interested in adopting from, our baby has likely been conceived. That just blows my mind. We are praying that God will prepare our little one's heart now, while in the womb, for the challenges he or she will face. We are aware that when the day comes to bring our precious child home, there were likely be attachment issues, as he or she will probably be around 9 months old. May God give him or her peace through the transition...and give us strength to stay the course through our adoption journey. I am getting ahead of myself here...so all of this is God willing. It's in your hands, Lord, and we are trusting that You have a perfect plan for our family.
No comments:
Post a Comment