Excitement and reality

Just over a week ago we got an email we had been waiting 3 months for, but truly had given up on ever coming.  The email said a Skype session had been set up with F and we would be able to talk to her for the first time.  We were all very excited and had about a week to prepare.

So on Sunday night we let the boys stay up later than normal so we could all get to talk to her.  The scheduled time rolled around and we eagerly hit the call button.  Call Failed.  That is ok though people are often late to meeting especially when technology is involved.  So we waited 5 minutes and tried again. Call Failed. Alright they are still getting set up and this seems like it might be their first time using Skype before. Five more minutes. Call Failed.  This is where I realized it probably wasn't going to work.  The person we were calling also had not yet accepted our contact request.  The request had been sent 3 days prior.  We kept trying though, every five minutes. Unfortunately, we kept getting the same result Call Failed.  Eventually after about 40 minutes we decided it was time for bed.   We still hope to be able to chat with F before we have to travel but we have not yet heard back from ICAB about rescheduling the call.

On the positive side the clock keeps ticking.  We now are two months into our three to four month wait.  Travel plans are being put together. Contacts are being made. Clothes are being acquired.  All that is left is to bring a little girl home.

How Long is the Wait? Part 12

To get caught up on the series see part 11 here.

So from a beard growth standpoint I am pretty stagnant again.  That is ok though because there is plenty else happening.

We are rapidly nearing the end, we hope, of this phase in the journey.  It would be my hope that the next post in this series would be the cutting off of the goatee.  For that to happen on June 15 we would either need to be home with F or in the Philippines bonding with her.

We now are just a little over one month into our 3-4 month wait.  Then it becomes all systems go.  Currently we are doing as much prep work as possible.  We have looked at some hotels and possible flight routes.  We have started to reach out to family and friend to gather as much info as possible that could help with our trip.

It is fun to have so many friends excited about what is next.  People regularly ask whether we have heard anything new.  Unfortunately the answer is not yet.  It is another period of quiet.  But hopefully this one will be much shorter than the last one.

Jenn and I both finished up what hopefully is our last set of finger prints.  This marks the 6th time we have been finger printed during the adoption process. We think this marks the last piece of the puzzle we need to contribute before we travel.

Back to the Philippines

This part of the process seems to be a lot of back and forth.  We have moved another step forward and the ball is back with the Philippines.  We just received our provisional approval of our I-800 form. This form gives us permission to bring F back into the country with us.

The Philippines now needs to do medical evaluations of F and apply for her Visa.  This part of the process is supposed to take about three to four months.  After this wait all that is left is to travel.  It is very scary, exciting and crazy that we really have just one more thing to wait on.

Another step forward

photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/129891689@N02/16740449969 

This is not a picture of the little girl we will be adopting 

We have moved one more step forward.  This was the Philippines accepting our acceptance of the referral. This part took the anticipated month, well once I remembered to send the check.  Yes you read that correctly.  With all the excitement, anticipation and holidays I forgot to send the check to our agency in CA for a couple weeks.  Once they had the check things went quickly. I am pleasantly surprised it only took a month to hear back as the check arrived in the Philippines right around Christmas.

At this point I think we are back to a waiting game again. We have finished all the paperwork that I know of.  We have also just had our home study visit.  From here we have two more waiting periods. The first is waiting on USCIS to approve the visa for F to come home which should be about three weeks.  Then we wait on the Philippines to do physicals and other check ups of F, this should be about 3-4 months.

We continue to be excited about this and are reminded about the many challenges it will bring.  We pray continually for God's strength and guidance during this transition.

How long is the wait? Part 11

To read the previous post click here.

How long is the wait. Well we actually have a pretty solid answer to this question now. It is going to be about 6 months at this point. To get you caught up just in case.  This series of posts originated since many people ask how long is the wait for the adoption.  At the time we didn't have a good answer.  There are many factors to the timing some of which are finding the correct match and government paperwork.  So I started to grow my goatee.  This way I could tell you how long the wait had been.  Here we are just shy of three years into the process and the goatee is about 19 cm. The growth has been stagnate over the last few months.

So here we are.  At the start of the month we found out that we had been matched with a little girl. For more info on her you can read our previous post.  With this development we now know that it will take about 6 months. The exact steps to the process we are not sure of yet.

We are all very excited about this surprise development.  It has been exciting to go through the holidays and think about what will be different next year.

You've been matched!!!

You've been matched!!! That was the subject line of an email we received on Tuesday.  The first line of the email summarizes our initial reaction well. "I was completely surprised this morning when I came to work to see a matching packet from ICAB on my desk." This was from Peggy our adoption coordinator in California.  From there the emotions just kept coming.  As I read the background packet, attempted to call Jenn to let her know and just about every time I thought about it I cried with joy.  This was slightly problematic as I was still at work and knew I couldn't tell anybody yet.  The placement is for a single girl, F.  Although the placement is not a sibling pair as we had requested and hoped for we are both very excited and in agreement that this seems like a good fit.

We had just started the process of renewing our I-800A immigration form and our home study.  That process will continue and now there is additional paperwork.  This is all the good kind of paperwork and are very excited to be working on it.

Thank you all for your support in this journey.  It is far from over.  Please continue to pray for us, F, and the rest of our time apart and together.  You can also support us through our AdoptTogether page. 

Thank you

Thank you

We are extremely grateful to all who were able to attend our adoption fundraiser, purchase online or donate to our adopt together fund.  It was wonderful working alongside Courtney Alexander and the beautiful items with Noonday.  If you didn't get a chance to see the jewelry and other items check out the following link.  Above is the bracelet that Courtney generously gave me.  It is the special adoption bracelet that they were selling in which $10 of each purchase went to help another family with their adoption.

http://www.noondaycollection.com/pws/courtneyalexander/tabs/home-ambassador.aspx

I am constantly humbled by people's generosity.  I truly can not believe how many people are excited for us and are willing to share their resources in our endeavor to adopt.  Thank you!

I have shared with JB how receiving a gift is sometimes hard for me.  I love giving gifts but I don't always receive well.  And so I am learning to say Thank You because I am in awe.  I am learning to say Thank You when I don't feel worthy.  I am learning to say Thank You because people are amazing.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.  

Thank you for the support for me and my family.   

Thank you for giving out of your resources.