Pouting

No I-171H yet. I really was hoping the trend of paperwork coming quickly would continue. I had very strange dreams last night about actually traveling to get Nicholas...maybe it's a good sign the form will be here today.

Drum roll please.....

Ever hear the expression - when God closes a door he always opens a window?

My social worker called and the Judge signed our homestudy!!!

WE ARE CERTIFIED TO ADOPT!!!!!

It only took 2 working days, not the 2-3 weeks predicted.

AND - the agency already sent it to immigration so we may have our I-171H form by Monday! We may get our dossier to our adoption agency by 9/1 after all!!!!!

WOOOOHOOOO!!!!! I could really get no better news today!!!!!

Step by step...

We are getting there! I have reached a new peace with the whole process. As long as I do all I can every day, then I cannot worry about the things that are out of my hands. God brought us this child, and He will bring us together in his own time.

Our homestudy agency has finished the report. It has gone to the judge. The judge only works on Thurdays on adoptions. I hope and pray that ours was the only one he had to read yesterday and that he also signed it already. If not, I hope he gets to it soon. We were told it could take 2-3 weeks.

I think I will take all our Arizona documents to the state office on Monday. Then all I will have to take are the homestudy and I -171H when it arrives. I won't send everything on to the consulate until it is complete, but this small step will let me feel like I am getting SOMETHING done. :-)

I feel very much for the adoptive parents that are seeking newborns here in the states. I have ready many blogs about families that so desperatley want the joy of raising a newborn and are waiting to be picked by a birth mom. That journey would be so tough. At least with Nicholas, we know he has been abandoned. There is no worry about someone coming to reclaim him (ok - I do worry about it a little, but not like these families face). I am not being judged in comparison to other families. They looked at our family, decided we would make good parents, and we were matched with Nicholas. No birthmom contact as she struggles with her choice of parenting or adoption.

We do think about Nicholas's birth parents. I cannot imagine the struggle of making the choice to give up a child, especially in China to give up a boy over a year old. His mom must mourn for him every day. I wish there was some way I could reassure her that he will be loved, he will grow and be happy, he will get an education and have the life that she hoped for him when she placed him on that doorstep.

Nicholas, I'm coming...not too much longer!

I hate waiting

Our homestudy didn't get submitted on time because I missed on part of the questionnaire. I've got that settled now, so it should go to the judge this Thursday. (He only reads them once a week). If I'm very lucky - it will be the only homestudy this week and he'll sign it right away. Wishful thinking, but hey, I can hope! My SW says it should be done within two weeks. That could mean Sept. 1, the day I wanted my papers to go to China. But worst case, on Sept 1 I'll be able to send the homestudy to immigration, and it usually only takes them 1 week to return the oh-so-important I-171H that is government approval to make Nicholas a US citizen and bring him to the states. If we got that back Sept. 8, I can take it to the state capitol for certification on the 9th, then overnight it to the courier in L.A. to take it to the Chinese Embassy. I'd have it back in hand on the 14th, and to the adoption agency on the 15th. (But who's counting). LOL!!! If it doesn't make it in the mail on the 16th, it will be mailed to China on the 23rd. Then the Average 65 day countdown begins...putting us at November 29th. Sigh. But December travel is good!! It just seems so far away!!!

OK - now that that bit of obsessing is over, we are thinking we won't be taking the children to China with us. Rachel has been very ill, and isn't allowed to eat much in the way of food. She is on a mostly liquid diet, and today we introduced small bites of fruit. They are not sure she will be up to rice by November/December - and it seems cruel to take her to a country where that is the primary food. She's lost so much weight, her rib cage completely shows right now. She will be fine, but I don't want her back sliding by being dragged around China.

So - it may just be Justin and I traveling. Which has it's own advantages anyway, and it saves a lot of money. :-(

It's August!!!!

This is the month I will finish my paperwork and put the ball back into China's court!!! Hurray!
Everyone's passports arrived yesterday, so we are one visa shy of being able to travel! Our homestudy will be submitted on Monday. Keep your fingers crossed for a quick reply from the courts!!!!