Dossier in Route!

This was the picture we took before we sent off our dossier forms.  In total with all of the state seals, notarized documents and all other paperwork, it was 73 pages long!  We not only had to send the originals, but two additional copies with it. In total, we sent off  219 pages to our adoption agency!

As you can imagine, we are relieved that we finally completed our dossier.  It only took traveling 2 hours to have our finger prints taken (for the third time), traveling another 2 hours to have documents State sealed, getting physicals for the second time, going to the police department to have background checks done, getting updated births certificates, an updated marriage license, asking three more friends for reference letters, getting employment verification letters, having a passport photo taken, and notarizing numerous documents. Whew. I think that was it. :)

Our paperwork will be reviewed by our agency, and then sent off for the final approval  Once we get the final approval, we will be set up with our travel arrangements to go and bring our little girl home!  Woohoo!!! Although it has taken a lot of time and effort, in the end it will all be worth it when we have her here! :)

Thank you to everyone who has been praying and supporting us through this process. We are thrilled to be one step closer. We hope you have a blessed weekend. Happy Easter!

Reece's Rainbow- A Heart for Special Needs Adoptions

Thanks to the generosity of Reece's Rainbow, any donations that we receive for the remainder of our adoption fees are now tax deductible! Reece's Rainbow holds a special place in our hearts, as they too have a passion to help special needs children get adopted. You can check out our link on Reece's Rainbow at the following site: Sponsor Site

To learn more about the great work that Reece's Rainbow is doing, please visit: www.reecesrainbow.org, or click the following link to watch Reece's Rainbow on ABC World News. Video

Show Hope

We have been amazed recently at how actively God is working in our adoption. We are excited to say that we received another adoption grant! God's timing is truly incredible.  As our dossier paperwork is completed, that brings with it additional fees. Because of the two grants we recently received, all of our dossier and program 2 fees will be paid for! God is truly working financial miracles to help us bring our little girl home!

We are deeply grateful for the wonderful people at Show Hope who have blessed us with an adoption grant. If you are unfamiliar with Show Hope, this organization was started by singer Steven Curtis Chapman, and his wife Mary Beth. Steven and Mary Beth have adopted multiple times from China, and they have incredible hearts to help orphans. God has used Show Hope over and over again to help families bring home children. We are blessed and humbled to have been chosen to receive a grant from this wonderful organization. Thank you Show Hope for your love for God, and your heart for the orphan! You can learn more about Show Hope at the following website, and also in the video below: www.showhope.org

Moving Forward...Slowly

Who knew two tiny feet could hold such a huge place in our hearts!







The picture above is of our little girl's first pair of shoes. We can't wait to finally see her in them! We never imagined that someone we have never met could truly hold such a deep place in our hearts. 

We have a few updates that we wanted to share with everyone:

1. We are excited and grateful to announce that we received a scholarship from Families Outreach. Families Outreach's vision is to "make a difference in the worldwide orphan epidemic, one orphan at a time." We are so humbled by their beautiful hearts for God's children, and we are blessed that their vision is helping us get one step closer to making one less orphan in the world. You can learn more about this wonderful organization by visiting their site at: http://familiesoutreach.org

2. We recently went to the immigration office and had our biometrics done. Although we had to get up at 5am and travel two hours, we are glad to say that they approved our biometrics, and sent us the immigration paperwork! Yipee! This now allows us to travel another two hours on Monday to get everything state sealed. We are getting pretty use to being in the car!

3. Once we get everything state sealed on Monday, we will mail our dossier out on Tuesday. We are told it usually takes about 3 months for all of this to get approved, and then another 1-2 months for travel arrangements. These time frames are only estimates, and could be longer or shorter, so we are trusting in God's perfect timing.

We wanted to say a BIG thank you to everyone who is continuing to pray for us and encourage us. You will never know how much this means to us.