Justin and I submitted our application to AWAA on Tuesday, August 24th. The wait time to see if we are accepted is 10 business days. It's been 5 and it feels like it's been 5 months. How am I going to wait so long for our referral?? Ugh!! Praying for the health and safety of our developing child and his birth mother and a little patience for us :)
By the way- we requested a boy!
Here's how the process goes:
Step #1: Submit Application
Step #2: Receive acceptance for organization
Step #3-30: Homestudy (this includes physicals, discipline beliefs, description of home, inspection by fire marshall and DHEC of home, proof that our pups are vaccinated, and so much more!) It is referred to as the "paperwork pregnancy"
Step #31: Approval of home study
Step #32: Wait for referral (that's when they find a child for us!)
Step #33: Receive phone call that will change our lives forever telling us they have found a child for us
Step #34: Go to Ethiopia & meet our son, go to court to apply for adoption (7-10 days)
Step #35: Go home (leaving our son in the orphanage of Ethiopia), will be the hardest 2-3 months of our lives
Step #36: Get phone call saying we can go back and get our son after all paperwork has processed
Step #37: Go to Ethiopia and bring home our baby! :)
Love you all!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Exciting News!
After weeks of going back and forth on pros and cons of all the different countries we've decided on Ethiopia!! The timeline is 12-16 months from the time we get approved and the baby (probably a boy) will be 8-10 months old when he comes home with us. Do the math... someone in Ethiopia is pregnant with our child right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Justin was just laughing and shaking his head at me when I told him it took everything in me not to start buying baby room stuff when I was out running errands yesterday. We are both so excited to finally get the ball rolling on this process. Our goal to submit the online application to the agency is by Friday. We will hear within 10 business days whether they have accepted us or not and then we will begin what they call the "paperwork pregnancy." This includes our home study which can be overwhelming. We have to do everything from have physicals to have our home inspected to writing out our beliefs about raising children. We are praying to remember that these requirements are in place for the children's protection. It can be frustrating to feel so "picked over" when we know we are good people and then see some of the people that have children and they way they treat them...
I will do my best to keep updating on everything as we go through this process although being back to work makes it a little trickier :)
Here is the website with the information in case you want to see: http://www.awaa.org/programs/ethiopia/
Thank you all so much for your love and support! We couldn't do this without you!
Justin was just laughing and shaking his head at me when I told him it took everything in me not to start buying baby room stuff when I was out running errands yesterday. We are both so excited to finally get the ball rolling on this process. Our goal to submit the online application to the agency is by Friday. We will hear within 10 business days whether they have accepted us or not and then we will begin what they call the "paperwork pregnancy." This includes our home study which can be overwhelming. We have to do everything from have physicals to have our home inspected to writing out our beliefs about raising children. We are praying to remember that these requirements are in place for the children's protection. It can be frustrating to feel so "picked over" when we know we are good people and then see some of the people that have children and they way they treat them...
I will do my best to keep updating on everything as we go through this process although being back to work makes it a little trickier :)
Here is the website with the information in case you want to see: http://www.awaa.org/programs/ethiopia/
Thank you all so much for your love and support! We couldn't do this without you!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
One decision down... 400 to go...
Sorry it has been so long since I have updated. Getting ready for school to start has kept me very busy!
We did finally decide on international adoption. I am completely psyched about this decision and I am trying to come to terms with missing the first 6-8 months and being okay with that. This requires focusing on the "big picture" which I usually can do fairly well, but when my emotions are involved it's a little more difficult.
The next big decision- an agency and/or country.
The agency I like the best is AWAA (America World Adoption Agency) which works with 7 countries. Our baby's nationality is not important to us, we are open to anything, so we are looking more at the financial side of that decision. Here are our choices if we go with this agency:
China- $24,690-$36,720- one trip required by at least one parent for 12-15 days- wait time I've heard can be up to 4 years (youngest 6 months)
Kazakhstan-$44,540-$58,440- both parents must go for 3-4 weeks and then at least one parent for 7-10 days -wait time 18-24 months (youngest 12 months)
Rwanda-$19,685-$27,990- at least one parent for 10-14 days- wait time 12-16 months (youngest children 3 months)
Ethiopia-$22,080-$32,580- both parents for 7-10 days and then at least on parent for 5-7 days-wait time 10-24 months (young children 1 month)
Brazil-$25,695-$37,395-both parents for 6 weeks- wait time 11-14 months (youngest children 5 years)
Ukraine-$32,710-$49,470- both parents for 5-7 weeks- wait time 12-15 months (youngest 14 months)
Russia- $46,485-$63,410- both parents on two trips, the first for 1 week, the second is 2-4 weeks- wait time 12-18 months (as young as 10 months)
Wait time= from the time the application is processed until a referral (you get matched with a child) is made
Youngest= that does not mean that is the age of the child when we bring him/her home. That is the youngest in the orphanages available for adoption. You have to add on time after that for them to be referred and then court, visas, etc.
So, based on this Russia (too expensive), Ukraine (trips are impossible), Brazil (we want an infant & trip is too long), Kazakhstan (too expensive), and China (four years!!) are out. That leaves us with Rwanda and Ethiopia. Rwanda is new to international adoption, i.e. their laws are constantly changing, but it is a little less expensive. Ethiopia requires two trips. We would meet and spend time with our child on the first trip and then have to LEAVE him/her there for TWO TO THREE MONTHS. I think that would be torture... Rwanda isn't exactly known for its safety and does not currently recognize or license foreign agencies but does not prohibit agencies from assisting families with the complicated paperwork and process.
Praying for guidance on this decision...
We did finally decide on international adoption. I am completely psyched about this decision and I am trying to come to terms with missing the first 6-8 months and being okay with that. This requires focusing on the "big picture" which I usually can do fairly well, but when my emotions are involved it's a little more difficult.
The next big decision- an agency and/or country.
The agency I like the best is AWAA (America World Adoption Agency) which works with 7 countries. Our baby's nationality is not important to us, we are open to anything, so we are looking more at the financial side of that decision. Here are our choices if we go with this agency:
China- $24,690-$36,720- one trip required by at least one parent for 12-15 days- wait time I've heard can be up to 4 years (youngest 6 months)
Kazakhstan-$44,540-$58,440- both parents must go for 3-4 weeks and then at least one parent for 7-10 days -wait time 18-24 months (youngest 12 months)
Rwanda-$19,685-$27,990- at least one parent for 10-14 days- wait time 12-16 months (youngest children 3 months)
Ethiopia-$22,080-$32,580- both parents for 7-10 days and then at least on parent for 5-7 days-wait time 10-24 months (young children 1 month)
Brazil-$25,695-$37,395-both parents for 6 weeks- wait time 11-14 months (youngest children 5 years)
Ukraine-$32,710-$49,470- both parents for 5-7 weeks- wait time 12-15 months (youngest 14 months)
Russia- $46,485-$63,410- both parents on two trips, the first for 1 week, the second is 2-4 weeks- wait time 12-18 months (as young as 10 months)
Wait time= from the time the application is processed until a referral (you get matched with a child) is made
Youngest= that does not mean that is the age of the child when we bring him/her home. That is the youngest in the orphanages available for adoption. You have to add on time after that for them to be referred and then court, visas, etc.
So, based on this Russia (too expensive), Ukraine (trips are impossible), Brazil (we want an infant & trip is too long), Kazakhstan (too expensive), and China (four years!!) are out. That leaves us with Rwanda and Ethiopia. Rwanda is new to international adoption, i.e. their laws are constantly changing, but it is a little less expensive. Ethiopia requires two trips. We would meet and spend time with our child on the first trip and then have to LEAVE him/her there for TWO TO THREE MONTHS. I think that would be torture... Rwanda isn't exactly known for its safety and does not currently recognize or license foreign agencies but does not prohibit agencies from assisting families with the complicated paperwork and process.
Praying for guidance on this decision...
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