Where are we?

This question pops into my mind in regards to this adoption quite often.

We are here in Maryland going about our full lives and anticipating the coming of Christmas.

The child we are hoping to adopt is in the same baby home where he has spent his entire life and I wonder if he is anticipating Christmas. Certainly not in the same way Zach and Caleb are. I have seen precious pictures of the children in the baby homes all dressed up for Christmas. I am thankful that he is in a place with loving caregivers who work to make these days special for the children. That is not the case for all children waiting for families. To our precious child, we think about you everyday and you are already a part of our family. Just the other day Zach was giving his friend a tour of our home and he pointed out the bed that is already yours. We look forward to next Christmas when we can hang a stocking with your name on it.

So that is where our hearts are. Waiting for our son that lives on the other side of the world. It feels very surreal! But where are we in the midst of this "paperwork pregnancy?" We are entering the 2nd trimester. The 2nd trimester was the best part of both of my other pregnancies so we are praying that this one will go smoothly as well! If the homestudy is the 1st trimester than putting together the dossier is the 2nd trimester. So we are compiling our dossier. We have seen our first draft of our homestudy and Creative Adoptions Inc. did a beautiful job! We are submitting minor changes and waiting for our final draft. At that point we will submit it to USCIS and wait for their approval. We are also waiting for our marriage licenses to be returned from Colorado where they are currently being apostilled (or authenticated). We are waiting for the final draft of our psych evaluations. Waiting, waiting, waiting...Once we receive these items we can quickly compile our dossier and get it on its way to Eastern Europe by way of our other adoption agency, Hand in Hand.

I feel the anxiety begin to rise when I think of all of the many steps that need to take place before our son can come home. Such a comfort however to know that none of this is in my control and God alone is leading us through this journey. He is doing a much better job than we ever could! We continue to appreciate all of your prayers. We are blessed that we never feel lonely on this journey as we are surrounded by your love and support. Thank you!