Well today is the day we have finally sent in our application (part 1 of 2) to our adoption agency! Since our agency is just 2 hours from us they should receive our application package tomorrow and I am going to be on pins and needles until I get the go-ahead to start part 2, hopefully we find out soon. It's only the beginning but it is so very exciting. I am now on a mission to get every possible thing done ahead of time that I can because I desperately want to bring our baby home in 11-12 mths and miss rainy season in Ethiopia. Anyone that knows me, knows I am a super type A personality, organized to the max and detail oriented would be an understatement. It takes me so long to get everything done because I have to check and re-check and then re-check again to make sure everything is done properly and nothing is overlooked, this of course drives Jason crazy! He has learned to just let me do what I need to though because he knows I cannot rest until it is done "properly".
With all this said we know our lives are going to be filled with many late nights, uneventful weekends and of course MANY sacrifices for not just money but for time. We are both so ready for these sacrifices though because of course the end result is worth more than we could ever sacrifice!
We are both full-time working parents and I feel like we might be a minority when it comes to the adoption world, especially the international adoption world. Getting up at 6am, working from 8-5 and getting home at 6pm to do dinner, play with our son, do laundry and other house stuff and now to add to the list...adoption paperwork, blogging (doing my own and of course reading up on others), making list after list and checking off what has and still needs to be done. Just getting part 1 of our application compiled last night kept us up to almost midnight and that was just finishing up last touches, I am definitely going to need to start getting ahead of the game more. We have already gotten our FBI fingerprints done but in the process of finding our agency we haven't sent them in yet, that is on the list of things to do for this week though. Any advice from you all that are ahead of me in this process would be helpful and much appreciated so please feel free to help guide us!
Ya'll are going to do great!! Especially because you are so organized! My advice would be to enjoy the process...even all this paperwork!! :) We have seen God show and teach us so many things during the past 3 months of paperwork! This will all be so worth it! Don't stress...even now, I have to daily just give this all to God and rest in HIS timing! :)
ReplyDeleteAfter the notary accidently messed up on 2 of our documents I started printing off two and taking them with me just in case. :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats! I know it's a long process....many prayers for y'all!
ReplyDeletePraying for you, and I am so excited for your journey! I know you are already organized but here is my advice for the paperwork.
ReplyDeleteGet a big binder, and put everything in it. Tab your different sections - Home study, Dossier, Education,Communication with your agency etc. Purchase those plastic sleeves and put them behind the dossier and home study section. Every time you collect something for either part or finish something put it in a plastic sleeve. I even went as far as to label the sleeves with letters or numbers to match a check list. Hope that was helpful and not confusing!
Send those fingerprint in! You were so smart to already get them done. Through a fluke in communication, we didn't get ours done until a month into our adoption and found out they are taking an average of 13 WEEKS to come back!! Congratulations on getting it all together! I'll be praying for you as you navigate paperwork while working full time.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! It is a beautiful journey led completely by God. I look forward to following your story...adding you to my adoption blog list on my site.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Amy