I sent our I-600A form in to Immigration last week, and express-mailed our dossier to AAI yesterday - yay!
We are waiting to receive the DVD of waiting children right now. My friend Deanna, who adopted 3 children from Ethiopia through AAI, put me in contact with another mom who has adopted from there. She has been there more recently and met many of the children, so that will be really helpful as we are trying to decide whom we are to adopt.
The next thing on my to-do list is to apply for some adoption loans. There are Christian organizations that offer no-interest loans to families for adoption; this would be a huge blessing for us. So far, the money we have had to pay has been pretty spread out, and not in huge amounts (the largest being $2400); but when we choose the children we are going to adopt, we will need to pay $4000. Then, when the case is submitted to court, we will need $5000 more. The final big chunks needed will be for traveling to Ethiopia, which we have to do twice, once for court and once to bring the children home. I'm not really sure how much we will need for those trips, but I'm estimating $3000 for the first trip and $6000 for the second.
The great thing is that there is a refundable adoption tax credit now, $13,170 per child in 2010, so if we can get loans for these costs, we can repay them easily with the tax credits. Anyway, please pray that we will be approved for some loans, enough to cover our major costs.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Working on the dossier...
So, our home study was finished a few weeks ago, but then we were waiting for the rest of the money we needed for the agency fee ($2400) so they could send us info on how to put together our dossier. We finally got the rest of it a couple of weeks ago and paid, and they sent us the instructions.
Unfortunately, I was sick when they came (sinus infection that lasted forever!), so I just started working on the dossier this past week. But the good thing is that even though it's a long list of documents, most aren't taking that long to get together. I got the majority of it done this week, and right now I'm just waiting on a few things to come back to us (like a couple of reference letters, a letter from our accountant, and letters from our doctors). We also have to have everything notarized, which we'll do tomorrow. Once I have everything, I will send it to our agency, hopefully this week; and they will send it on to Ethiopia.
The other thing we have to do is send in our I-600A form, "Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition," to the U.S. Immigration Department. It's basically to let them know that you are going to be adopting; once you have identified the children, you file another form called "Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative." After the I-600A is filed, we will be contacted by immigration and will need to go get fingerprinted (any adults living in the home have to do this, so it will be me, Darren and Justin).
With this I-600A form, we have to send in a copy of our home study, which we are waiting for right now. I got an email from the adoption agency saying that whereas in the past, only a synopsis of the home study was translated into Amharic (the language of Ethiopia), now every word has to be translated; so she pointed out a few things that needed to be re-worded in it. For instance, in one place our social worker said, "They have a blast when they're together," and she said a translator might not know what that means. :) Our social worker is working on the changes now, and hopefully will get a copy of the home study to us this week.
So, that's where we are in the process. I hope that we can finish up the dossier this week and get it all in, and then we can actually start looking at the available children and see who God leads us to!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Home study - check!
I just got a call from the adoption agency saying that they received our home study, and that it was approved! Finally we can start moving forward again! I'm still not exactly sure why that all took so long - but I do know that God's timing is perfect.
Next, we will put our dossier together (still not sure exactly what that entails), file an immigration form and get fingerprinted, and get an updated list of available children to see who we'd like to adopt! One thing the lady from the agency did strongly suggest is that we adopt children that are younger than 14 (in other words, younger than our youngest child). She said that it just usually works out best that way in families. Also, she said that a child who is said to be 16 may actually be 18 or 20 - they just don't usually have birth certificates and accurate records.
I asked what the timetable typically is for people adopting older children, and she said in the past it has been about 6 months from when your dossier is submitted to when you travel to Ethiopia. Now, we actually have to travel twice, because the process in Ethiopia recently changed; the first time is for a court date, and the second time would be about 2 months later and is to bring the children home. She did say that the courts pretty much close down in August and September, but we wouldn't be going that soon anyway.
It's so nice to actually be moving forward with the adoption process. Sometimes when nothing much is happening it doesn't seem very real after a while, that we're actually doing this. :)
Next, we will put our dossier together (still not sure exactly what that entails), file an immigration form and get fingerprinted, and get an updated list of available children to see who we'd like to adopt! One thing the lady from the agency did strongly suggest is that we adopt children that are younger than 14 (in other words, younger than our youngest child). She said that it just usually works out best that way in families. Also, she said that a child who is said to be 16 may actually be 18 or 20 - they just don't usually have birth certificates and accurate records.
I asked what the timetable typically is for people adopting older children, and she said in the past it has been about 6 months from when your dossier is submitted to when you travel to Ethiopia. Now, we actually have to travel twice, because the process in Ethiopia recently changed; the first time is for a court date, and the second time would be about 2 months later and is to bring the children home. She did say that the courts pretty much close down in August and September, but we wouldn't be going that soon anyway.
It's so nice to actually be moving forward with the adoption process. Sometimes when nothing much is happening it doesn't seem very real after a while, that we're actually doing this. :)
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
March Updates
- Home Study - it is finally progressing - we got a new social worker, because our previous one had some pregnancy complications, so we kind of had to start over again. We have met with the new social worker twice so far, and we really like her, which makes it a lot easier when you and your family are being evaluated by someone you don't know. :)
The first meeting she talked to Darren and me kind of in general about us and why we want to adopt, and she interviewed Trevor and Alex, asking them to tell her about themselves, and what they thing about us adopting. The second meeting (yesterday) she talked to us more specifically about our marriage and child-rearing philosophies, and interviewed Lindsay and Justin, who were home for spring break and Campus Harvest. It was really cool to hear the kids all talk about themselves and about how they feel about us adding to our family through adoption; she said she was very impressed by all of our kids. :) We have one more meeting in two weeks, and then we'll be done.
- Application Process - I sent in our second set of documents to AAI. Once the home study is done, as long as everything is okay, we will send that in, and then I think next we will put together our dossier - more copies of documents like birth certificates, medical reports, etc, which I think we already have most of. I'm not entirely clear on the whole process, but we're just taking it one step at a time.
- Finances - When we send in the home study, we need to pay AAI their fee, which is $2400. God has provided $2000 of that already so far!
1) Someone backed into my car in a parking lot, and their insurance paid to have it fixed. The insurance adjuster said the whole passenger door needed to be replaced, and wrote me a check for that - but the body shop said it wasn't necessary, that they only needed to replace the outer panel. We had $760 left over from that!
2) We are keeping a friend's dog for the summer, and they are so generously giving us $1000 for that (they wanted to help us with the adoption).
3) I sold some of the boys' old toys and sports equipment on Craigslist, and have made a little over $200 so far from that.
So we just need $400 more, and we have two more weeks or so for that. I know this is kind of specific, but I want to show how God is so faithful to provide what we need when we need it, and how he can use anything, even something that seems bad like being hit by another car. :) Of course, there are a lot more bigger expenses coming up, but I know that where he leads us, he will provide.
The first meeting she talked to Darren and me kind of in general about us and why we want to adopt, and she interviewed Trevor and Alex, asking them to tell her about themselves, and what they thing about us adopting. The second meeting (yesterday) she talked to us more specifically about our marriage and child-rearing philosophies, and interviewed Lindsay and Justin, who were home for spring break and Campus Harvest. It was really cool to hear the kids all talk about themselves and about how they feel about us adding to our family through adoption; she said she was very impressed by all of our kids. :) We have one more meeting in two weeks, and then we'll be done.
- Application Process - I sent in our second set of documents to AAI. Once the home study is done, as long as everything is okay, we will send that in, and then I think next we will put together our dossier - more copies of documents like birth certificates, medical reports, etc, which I think we already have most of. I'm not entirely clear on the whole process, but we're just taking it one step at a time.
- Finances - When we send in the home study, we need to pay AAI their fee, which is $2400. God has provided $2000 of that already so far!
1) Someone backed into my car in a parking lot, and their insurance paid to have it fixed. The insurance adjuster said the whole passenger door needed to be replaced, and wrote me a check for that - but the body shop said it wasn't necessary, that they only needed to replace the outer panel. We had $760 left over from that!
2) We are keeping a friend's dog for the summer, and they are so generously giving us $1000 for that (they wanted to help us with the adoption).
3) I sold some of the boys' old toys and sports equipment on Craigslist, and have made a little over $200 so far from that.
So we just need $400 more, and we have two more weeks or so for that. I know this is kind of specific, but I want to show how God is so faithful to provide what we need when we need it, and how he can use anything, even something that seems bad like being hit by another car. :) Of course, there are a lot more bigger expenses coming up, but I know that where he leads us, he will provide.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Moving forward...
We are finally moving forward with our adoption! Our home study had been on hold until Darren and I finished our training (10 hours each), which we did about a month ago, and until we made a definite decision about which country we want to adopt from.
As you know, we had been trying to decide between Uganda and Ethiopia, and leaning towards Uganda. But in the last few months there have been some issues in the courts there, pretty much putting all international adoptions on hold. Also, I had received an email from Jalia at Royal Orphanage saying that the boys she had recommended to me, Rogers and his brother, are going to be adopted by their sponsor. There are other boys available, of course, and I'm confident that the issues in the courts will be worked out; but because of these things, we had been thinking more about Ethiopia.
As I was thinking about Ethiopia, I first emailed my friend Eileen who had sent me information about the two brothers at Kolfe Boys Orphanage that she really wanted to find a family for. But she said that actually another family is in the process of adopting those brothers - which is a great thing for them! - but a closed door for us.
Then another friend, Deanna, who has adopted three children from Ethiopia, sent me a newsletter from an agency called Adoption Advocates International (AAI) about three siblings, two boys and a girl, who are available for adoption at Layla House, their orphanage in Ethiopia. When Darren and I read over their information, we were really drawn to them. I contacted the agency, and they told me that a couple other families are also interested in these children and are farther along in the process than we are. But, we still felt that we should pursue adopting from Ethiopia, and were impressed by this agency. We had to make sure our home study agency was willing to sign an agreement with AAI, which I found out on Friday that they did; so now we can move forward. I am mailing our application to AAI on Monday, and hopefully we can finish up our home study in the next couple of weeks.
Another interesting thing is that as I looked at the AAI website, I realized I had heard about Layla House before - I read about it in the book There is No Me Without You a year or so ago. This is a book which had a great impact on me in terms of beginning to think about adoption. And it turns out that our book club is reading this book right now as well!
As you know, we had been trying to decide between Uganda and Ethiopia, and leaning towards Uganda. But in the last few months there have been some issues in the courts there, pretty much putting all international adoptions on hold. Also, I had received an email from Jalia at Royal Orphanage saying that the boys she had recommended to me, Rogers and his brother, are going to be adopted by their sponsor. There are other boys available, of course, and I'm confident that the issues in the courts will be worked out; but because of these things, we had been thinking more about Ethiopia.
As I was thinking about Ethiopia, I first emailed my friend Eileen who had sent me information about the two brothers at Kolfe Boys Orphanage that she really wanted to find a family for. But she said that actually another family is in the process of adopting those brothers - which is a great thing for them! - but a closed door for us.
Then another friend, Deanna, who has adopted three children from Ethiopia, sent me a newsletter from an agency called Adoption Advocates International (AAI) about three siblings, two boys and a girl, who are available for adoption at Layla House, their orphanage in Ethiopia. When Darren and I read over their information, we were really drawn to them. I contacted the agency, and they told me that a couple other families are also interested in these children and are farther along in the process than we are. But, we still felt that we should pursue adopting from Ethiopia, and were impressed by this agency. We had to make sure our home study agency was willing to sign an agreement with AAI, which I found out on Friday that they did; so now we can move forward. I am mailing our application to AAI on Monday, and hopefully we can finish up our home study in the next couple of weeks.
Another interesting thing is that as I looked at the AAI website, I realized I had heard about Layla House before - I read about it in the book There is No Me Without You a year or so ago. This is a book which had a great impact on me in terms of beginning to think about adoption. And it turns out that our book club is reading this book right now as well!
Friday, February 19, 2010
His Hands and Feet
Christ has no body on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out;
yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good;
and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.
- St. Teresa of Avila
Here is the bottom line: if we are aware of the suffering of our distant neighbors - and we are - if we have access to these neighbors, either personally or through aid organizations and charities - and we do - and if we have the ability to make a difference through programs and technologies that work - which is also the case - then we should no more turn our backs on these neighbors of ours than the priest and the Levite should have walked by the bleeding man.
- Richard Stearns, The Hole in Our Gospel
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out;
yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good;
and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.
- St. Teresa of Avila
Here is the bottom line: if we are aware of the suffering of our distant neighbors - and we are - if we have access to these neighbors, either personally or through aid organizations and charities - and we do - and if we have the ability to make a difference through programs and technologies that work - which is also the case - then we should no more turn our backs on these neighbors of ours than the priest and the Levite should have walked by the bleeding man.
- Richard Stearns, The Hole in Our Gospel
Saturday, December 12, 2009
The Waiting
I haven’t written in a while, mostly because not too much has been happening, but this is the latest.
-- I turned in all our documents over a month ago, but then found out we had to have at least half of our training done before the home study could start (we need to have 10 hours of training – can be books and/or online courses). The agency recommended two online courses at a site called AdoptionLearningPartners.org – one called “With Eyes Wide Open” about international adoption, and one called “Conspicuous Families” about adopting a child of a different ethnicity. You read information online, and then do homework that you send in to the adoption agency & social worker, mostly lots of questions helping you to think through various issues you will or might deal with in adoption. I think they were very helpful, especially since we have no experience with adoption at all. They also gave us a book list, and I got a few of the books, which I’ve started to read – Successful Adoption: A Guide for Christian Families by Natalie Gillespie, Adopting the Older Child by Claudia Jewett, and Adopted for Life by Russell Moore.
-- In the course of going through the training, I read that it’s not usually recommended for families to adopt two children at the same time who are not siblings, unless they are from the same orphanage and are close there. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but it just made me think about Rogers and Fred, from Royal Orphanage, who aren’t brothers. So I emailed Jalia to ask her about them, if they are close to one another, and if she thought they would do well being adopted together. She didn’t really answer my question, but she replied:
Yes,
I asked
This is all she said, and I haven’t heard back since, so I’m waiting to find out more – how old his brother is, if they have any other siblings or if it’s just the two of them, etc. The Tuckers were planning to go to
-- But meanwhile, my friend Eileen sent me information about two brothers in
These two brothers are my #1 recommendation for adoption. My cousin Georgie fell in love with them when we were in
(they are the two on the left)
I think they are like 10 & 12 I forgot but I will ask Solomon. My cousin is praying so hard to get these boys adopted here so he can be a big brother to them. He is single and cannot adopt himself but he is asking me to get them here. The director of
-- We did get a call from the social worker finally, and have our first home study appointment with her this coming Wednesday, so that will be interesting, I’m sure.
Going through all of this, I have to say that it still doesn’t seem really real, that we are planning to actually add two more children to our family. I have been more focused on just following what I believe God is saying to us, with a heart to open our family to orphans who don’t have one, trusting that He will work out the details and provide all we need as we move down this path. But there are so many details to work on in the process, that it’s easy to focus on those instead of the reality of what you’re actually planning to do. Darren and I have been talking through this more recently, really trying to let it all sink in a bit more, to think through it all and make sure we are both on the same page and in full agreement – which is obviously so important - before we move farther ahead. Pray for both of us that God will make his will very clear, and that we will have a peace and confidence in our hearts about it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)