There haven’t been many posts directly regarding our adoption as of late. Mainly because most of the work we are doing is behind the scenes and not too exciting for the by-stander. Even though my blog life doesn’t reflect the amount of work we are putting into our adoption, it’s there! I thought I’d give you a little glimpse into what we are up to over here on the adoption front.
Education, Education, Education! In the past four weeks, Jason and I have taken five on-line classes regarding different aspects of adoption and orphans. We are on information overload at the moment trying to fit in all of our required classes before May hits and Jason gets bombarded with work for TMC’s go-live in the new surgery tower (techy stuff). Along with the classes we have taken quizzes and in the process of writing a cultural exploration of our children’s home country. What a doozy! But my nerdy, history-buff self loves the research and exploration that we are doing! As my high school English teacher said on my Facebook page, who would have thought that as an adult you research, read, and write! 🙂 Thanks Mrs. Matt & Dad for teaching me how to write a research paper!
We have one more required class tomorrow and then I can focus the rest of my attention on other education requirements. We have learned so much through the classes regarding preparing ourselves for children who have had many challenges in their short little lives. Our favorite class has been the vulnerable children class. It broke down stereotypes that I didn’t even know I had regarding what it would be like to parent a child who lived part of their short life as an orphan and how that completely changes their worldview. All in all, we love our adoption education and feel more intellectually prepared than we were before (not prepared in other ways…but who’s really prepared for parenthood).
Today we walked into the sub office for the USCIS (immigration office) and were able to get our fingerprints two weeks before our scheduled date! I left the office in tears. The reality of what we are doing hits during the most mundane tasks. The stress that I carry during each step was very prevalent in my response and another reminder that I need to daily surrender my burdens to my Heavenly Father.
When we receive our next document from the government we will officially be able to accept a referral! It’s so close! My prayer is that we can make an announcement in late May or early June letting y’all know whom God may be bringing to our home, making us parents! We would greatly appreciate your prayers!
Lastly, we are always brainstorming ways to fundraise and save for our adoption. When we accept our referral we will be expected to make a significant payment to pay for their interim care and foreign fees (thankfully we have about 1/3 of that already!). We have a few fun events and parties in the works for the next few months. One is a Thirty-One party that an adoptive parent is graciously throwing for us in June! Stay tuned…
There’s a little look into what life looks like as we pursue adoption! Thank you for following us on this journey!
In Truth and Grace 