Paperwork was scheduled to be delivered to the USCIS office in Lewisville TX today.  I miraculously made it until after noon before stalking the UPS tracking site.  The package was delivered about 2 hours ago.  I was surprised at the emotions it stirred in me.  As if all the other pieces of the puzzle haven’t made it real, it seems more so now.  I also know that this part of the process is where things can really slow down and the unknowns become more prevalent.  I don’t have a personal e-mail contact I can use to “check in” on things like I have had with the home study and other parts of the process with our agency.  We just sit and wait.....and pray.  

Specific things we are currently praying for:
1.  That Little Man (#4) has food to eat and a safe place to stay.  
2.  That he has someone to take care of him.
3.  That his heart is being prepared for a family and that attachment will be smooth.
4.  That we have him home by Christmas.
5.  That Teagen adjusts well to the changes we will see this year and that being a big brother doesn’t rock his world too much :)
6.  That we have no major financial catastrophes.  We are so very blessed that, while this adoption is expensive, we are able to do this without fundraising or taking out loans.  However, we are on the lookout for attacks on our family that will discourage us.
7.  That we are home with Little Man before Christmas.  This is not an unreasonable goal, but we know that anything can happen in the process.  
8.  That we are matched before our agency heads to Uganda on a missionary trip in June.  This would allow us to send a package to our Little Guy and hopefully have photos and video of him when they return!

Join us, please.
~A

Home Study Finalized

Deep breath...after taking about 2 weeks longer than we anticipated, the home study was finalized this morning and ready for pickup.  I was able to swing by the office and pick up our notarized copies over my lunch today.  I checked a couple of items before breathing a sigh of relief that this phase is over.  On to the next.

After school, I came straight home and made the necessary copies so we could get the documents on their way to the United State Citizenship and Immigration Service.  By 5pm today, our I600A was on its way to USCIS in Texas.  According to UPS, it will be there by close of business on Thursday.

So, in official language, we are requesting the the United States Immigration allow our family to bring a male orphan from Uganda between the ages of 60 and 84 months into the country for purposes of adoption.  What's next?  I will now stalk the UPS tracking information until the package arrives later this week.  Then, I will stalk the mailbox daily until we receive appointments for fingerprinting.  Then, we will shuffle schedules to make that appointment work (we don't get to select time or date).  Then....more waiting and mailbox stalking.  This time, we'll be waiting on the I-171, which is the approval.  Once we have approval, we will go on the waiting list with our agency. 

In addition to movement in the paperwork front, I've also made connections with two local families going through or having completed Ugandan adoptions.  One is just starting the process to adopt from Uganda and is located right here in Columbia!  Such a blessing to finally find someone close by to share the experience with and hopefully eventually share cultural things with our little Ugandan kiddos.  The second is not in the same town, but close enough to meet up with occasionally at least.  Her family has already completed the adoption of two little Ugandan boys.  Facebook can be used for good after all ;-)

About Uganda

For those of you not receiving blog updates in a reader or are not following, I added a new page at the top called "About Uganda".  I tried to add some basic facts about Uganda for those that are curious...

Draft Rec'd!!

The first draft of our Home Study just arrived in my inbox about 10 minutes ago.  Yippee!!!  While I know I've mentioned some impatience, I know the wait could have been much, much longer and our agency could have been much, much slower at getting this out.  Praise God!!

This weekend (or as soon as Nick gets home from work) we review the study for accuracy and give any feedback to our home study agency for correction.  Then, they pass it along to our adoption agency for review.  Once everyone agrees it's good to go and meets all requirements, we can mail in our immigration form (the I-600A) with a copy of the home study.  It may not seem it, but this is BIG, folks!!  Remember, the approval from the I-600A is what will put us on the wait list.

 Now, go out there and enjoy your weekend!

Waiting and Water

A couple of things rolling around in my heart and mind right now, so forgive the odd combination of topics....


Waiting
Such a simple word that brings about so many emotions.  The climax of the end of our interviews has resulted in exactly what I guessed it would....much waiting.  I was hopeful we would have a draft for review by Wednesday.  Now it's Thursday and no draft.  That either means she's still writing it or that it's somewhere in the chop being reviewed by either our home study agency or our adoption agency.  Either way, it's difficult not knowing and waiting.  I'm certain this is just preparation for the vast quantity of waiting that lies ahead of us.  Prayers for patience and graciousness as we wait are appreciated.

Water
Lately, I have found myself so incredibly emotional.....a dear friend was sharing with me recently about her prayers for the newest Rausch and there I was with tears flowing down my cheeks.  I've never seen myself as a sensitive person, but my heart is hangin' out on my sleeve right now.  The funny thing is that I find myself welcoming it.  Welcoming the shaping, the molding, the changing going on inside our little family. 

Photo from Moments With Love blog 

I first saw the picture above while reading the blog of another adoptive family.  She was sharing the picture of one of her visits to Uganda and how she saw people collecting water from streams like the one pictured above. The image is more than I can take at times.  Let's just say I've shed my share of tears over this picture.  It's branded on my heart and mind and is a difficult image for me to shake.  I've not shared it here; only with Nick.  But, tonight we were at a bookstore while Nick was shopping for a new Bible.  They had a display of children available for sponsorship.  In front of the display were two small bottles of water.  One was filtered and pure; the kind of water we as Americans take for granted and don't hesitate to pour on the ground before tossing its container into the recycling bin.  The other bottle was murky (at best), had things floating on the top, and plenty of silt settled on the bottom.  As I stood at the counter thinking about the simple things we take for granted, I shook the bottle.  It was dirty filthy and not something I would ever dream of drinking.  But, millions of people around the world do just that every day - and are thankful for it! 

This is by no means means to be a guilt trip....just some things I need to share.  I swear I must have been living my life under a rock OR I was just really good at ignoring such conditions.  I know in my mind that I've seen the pictures before and heard the stories before, but they are so incredibly real to me now.  For that I am thankful and forever changed.

Children of God

Maybe I'm slow to the game, but before we began the adoption process, I had never made the connection between our relationship as children of God and that of adoptive children. In multiple places, the bible mentions our adoption to sonship. It is a beautiful way to envision our father's love for us...

Just saw this video today and thought it was worth sharing. This is a video of Third Day's Children of God.  I love the way the video brings the message home. 

Interviews - COMPLETE!

I finished my individual interview after school today.  It was pretty painless so I can't complain.  When Nick got home, I was relaying the timeline as I currently see it based on the information our social worker gave us.  Um, wow....we are this close to being on the waiting list for our little guy.  Our home study will be complete by Monday or Tuesday, will be checked by the home study agency first, then us to correct errors, and then on to our adoption agency for final check.  Once it has officially been approved by all parties, we'll get notarized copies that we will use to file our i600A (the immigration paperwork).....another set of fingerprints, immigration approval and then the waiting list.  It's hard to believe we've already been at this almost two months.  God has been good in moving things along!