Saturday, December 28, 2013

It's official.....

We hope everyone has had a Merry Christmas and enjoyed their holidays.  We received word on Christmas Eve that we have the official referral for the four children we are adopting from P!!  Kim and I could not ask for a better present, but we got one anyway.  We also found out that the kids would receive the picture books we sent as well as learn they are being adopted on Christmas Day!!  Our hearts were jumping for joy and Kim was crying.  My tears were all allergy related ;)

All day on Christmas we kept thinking about what their reaction would be to the news that they are being adopted and being kept together.  Would they be excited, scared or both?  We both smiled knowing next Christmas would be very different, but in a good way.  All of us are looking forward to having them home and beginning this next phase in our lives.

So, we will now start to work on our I-800.  We also still have the last part of our adoption fee to pay off which does not include what our travel and in country expenses will be.  We have applied for seven grants so far, but have not heard back from any of them yet.  With the official referral in hand there are a some more that we can apply for.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we work on clearing this hurdle.

Happy New Year!!!

Sunday, December 1, 2013

I-800A approved!!

We are I-800A approved!!  All we need to do is get it apostilled on Monday morning and then overnight it to our agency.  The foundation in charge of our children meets early next week, so please pray that we get the I-800A letter to them in time to review our dossier and issue the official referral.  We appreciate any prayers, wishes of good luck, etc.  For those keeping score at home, if we get the official referral in a week or so, we should be able to travel sometime in Feb/early March. 

It was in February of last year that we committed to these kids.  It has been a year that has shown us the best of people in so many ways.  Complete strangers who have supported us through kind words, prayers, encouragement and through our fundraisers.  We have come to realize (even more than we did before) that we are part of something so much larger than just our little world.  We are have been introduced to some amazing families who have opened their hearts to adoption and they have shared not only their joys, but their struggles as well.  Kim and I are better for having met you all!!

As we approach the end of the first leg of our adventure, Please consider donating to our adoption through our Just Love Coffee store:

https://justlovecoffee.com/nicelyfamilyadoption

Or by purchasing one of our handmade Kumihimo bracelets.  There are photos in the below posts.  Either of these make great holiday gifts, especially when you factor in every dollar gets us closer to bring the "Fantastic Four" home :)