![]() ![]() While things have been improving since he's been on meds, it's still often a question as to how the day will go. ![]() One day at a time, one step at a time.We're comin' for ya soon sweet girl! It's so hard, but in the waiting God continues to give us peace. We dream - of our family together, of the life she'll lead, of the impact she'll make, of the worth and beauty she'll feel. We talk about the beauty of her eyes and love in her heart, despite the red and blue of her skin. We discuss new routines and what it will look like when she's home. Our boys discuss what they will teach her and how pretty she'll look in her dresses. We talk about her everyday and pray for her every night. They weave themselves so deep into your heart, and it's all you can do to keep your emotions and heart in check. Once you say yes to a child they become a part of you. The ache is real, more real than I could ever express in words, and our family won't be whole until she's home. Children should not be in institutions, they should be in families, and it drives me crazy to think that the only thing stopping her from coming home is 100 pieces of paper. The thought of her in a crib most of the day with minimal love or affection breaks our hearts. Over the last few weeks Paul and I have looked at each other and felt the deep sadness for our daughter to be home. But when the paperwork is done that feeling of longing intensifies significantly. At least in the paperwork phase we're distracted we want her home and feel her absence, but the endless amount of checklists keep us feeling like we're moving forward. So having to relinquish those things and wait for someone else to complete them is torture. I have spreadsheets and to-do lists everywhere and I get the job done. For those of you who know me, you know I'm a planner. But when it's done and submitted, that's when the waiting becomes excruciating. There are checklists and signatures and notarizations and copies and fingerprints, and the list goes on. In the paperwork stage, the waiting is hard, but there is something tangible to work towards. ![]() With that said, this is where the emotions really start to get raw. Every time we see her we picture our first meeting, and we get chills thinking about the fact that one more child will be loved and placed into a family. We got some new pictures and videos of her that completely melt our heart. Our agency is anticipating we will travel in November to go get her, but we're hopeful it could be sooner if things progress as they should. Below is a visual which outlines the basic document process. Once that happens we will get a document letting us know that we are officially approved to adopt her, which will then trigger our next set of paperwork (yay!). Once that's complete they will send it to China and it will get logged into their system. We just completed our dossier paperwork (basically our entire lives in 16 documents and a total of $3,000), and have now sent it off to our agency to be reviewed and translated. In regards to our adoption we are moving steadily along. I can't promise to be brief, but hopefully you'll bear with me :) I wanted to give you an update on all parts of our life as well as outline our adoption timeline for Olivia.
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