The Adoption Paper Chase...

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for all of the kinds words of encouragement and prayers you have given us since we have shared the news of our adoption journey with you. These sweet gestures mean the world to Matt and I!

To update you on a little more of the details, we are currently in what the adoption community refers to as "The Paper Chase".  We have spent about 3 months collecting various birth/marriage certificates, address records of where we have lived since 18 years old, background checks, child abuse clearances, doctors appointments, pet health records (!!!), updated passports and the list goes on!  We are completing our home study and then continue with more paperwork to complete what is called our Dossier. This is basically a group of various documents that is notarized, approved by the county, state, US and finally embassy prior to being mailed to China to give China a picture of who we are.  Let me tell you, it's not for the faint of heart but worth every moment I know!  We don't know for sure but we will likely not be matched with our child until our Dossier is received in China. The Dossier takes about 6 months on average to compile.

One of our fabulous paperwork sessions!

So about our child, we do know a little.  We said we are open to either a boy or girl up to 2 years old. We also filled out information about certain medical conditions we feel comfortable with. A great part of my excitement in this journey is seeing how the Lord reveals His plan to us.  Much like when I was pregnant, I have a picture in my mind of what our child will look like (gender, age, medical needs, etc).  But most of all I am confident in the Lord's plan and know He has our perfect little one already knit together and being prepared for us as we are being prepared for him/her.

We think (very key word...think!) we might travel sometime next Spring or Summer to China to meet and bring our little one home.  The trip is about two weeks long and we will be in various parts of China during the that time.  After that we take the short (ha) flight back home and begin our life as a family of 5!

I have been absolutely overwhelmed by the Lord's provision for us during this time! The ways in which He has showed up are unbelievable to me, truly we serve a mighty, loving, kind, gracious and powerful God!  I have a journal documenting every single thing He has done so I can be reminded.  He has shown me in tangible ways that He truly knows how to meet our every need, and in ways that are better than I hoped for! We pray and know that He is providing peace for our little one like He is providing it for us.

Again, we are so grateful for all of the sweet words. Thank you for praying and loving on our family-it means so much!