Final in home visit

So lots has happened since I last wrote...Or at least we feel like alot has happened :) We completed our final home study (in home)visit. We really enjoyed both of the social workers we have worked with. I can honestly say ASC made us feel so comfortable. Our social workers were very thorough in getting to know us, yet very pleasant. They helped guide us in determining what age group of child(ren) would be best for us and so we made our final decision. Once we determined what age group we are comfortable with, it is written in our home study which is eventually sent to Vietnam to assist in finding our daugther. We decided that if we did not get a sibling pair, we would be open to a child 0-16 months but the younger, the better. So, we will leave this in Gods hands and see where He leads us. Over the past few weeks we've been gathering documents, reference letters and getting our I-600A ready to be sent off. An I-600A is basically your preapproval (government) paperwork to adopt from a specific country...In our case, Vietnam. We have all of our documents in the envelope, addressed and ready to be mailed, we are just waiting on one piece of paperwork we had to send off for, to arrive in the mail. Once that arrives and our reference letters get to ASC, we should be added to the, "waiting list" :)))) That is when we will pretty much sit back and wait until it's time to complete our dossier. Our adoption agency (FTIA) will prompt us to begin our dossier when the time is right. We anticipate that will not be for 6-12 months...Though we will keep you posted.

Now that we are certain we have a pretty long wait ahead of us, Brandon and I have decided that it probably wouldn't hurt for me to go back to work full time. This way, I won't be pacing the house in my spare time, while we wait ;-) I'm looking forward to it b/c it will keep me busy! This time away from sales and working part time at Starbucks has really allowed me to complete all of the necessary paperwork that I wouldn't have had time to complete in our previous situation. I've purchased several book pertaining to adoption and Vietnam, so I will be doing lots of reading as I begin the hunt for a Pharmaceutical sales position. We're excited and we'll keep you posted as we learn more about our wait and the process unfolding.

Hugs to all,
Robin and Brandon

1st Home Study Appointment & additional updates!

So we had our first home study appointment early this week with our home study agency which was recommended to us by our adoption agency, Families Thru International Adoption (FTIA). Did I mention we LOVE our agency!? :)))

Basically our appt consisted of meeting with a social worker for a little over 2 hours. The first hour was spent talking to us about the documents we needed to start gathering, including completing our I-600A, I171 and then compiling our dossier...phewww, is that going to keep us busy! A dossier is a compilation of approx 20-25 notarized and certified documents. After the first hour, we got into our family history. We were asked about our individual family relationships, activities growing up, how we were raised, etc. You name it, we covered it...I think anyone observing would've needed a flow chart to keep up, as we were moving at warp speed! ;-)

As the appt ended we scheduled our next appt when the social worker comes to our home for 3 hours, meets with us again and tours our home to make sure it is safe for a child. At this time she'll be meeting our heard of animals as well (keep her in your prayers ;-) That will be our last meeting with the social worker and then she will write up our home study and send it off to our agency. Once that is completed and our I-600A is sent in, we will be added to the wait list with FTIA for our baby girl!!! Speaking of wait, we have found out that we will be on a very long list...We are looking at somewhere between 2-3 years for our little peanut. That gives us plenty of time to DECORATE the room and shop for baby and kiddo clothes!! :))) Please keep us (and our lil angel who probably hasn't been born yet) in your prayers, I'm about to truly learn patience!

Time for our HOME STUDY to begin!

Well, now that we have chosen to adopt from Vietnam and we have picked an adoption agency, the next big step in the process is the home study! This is several meetings with a LSW (licensed social worker)both in our home and out, where they evaluate our ability to parent, help us determine what is best for our family in the way of children (ages, multiple children, etc). On average this process takes about 2 1/2 months but some agencies complete them faster. The home study agency we have selected (which is different than our adoption agency)...Is typically pretty quick about completing the home study (4-6 wks). We can't wait to get started! Our first appt. is next week and outside of our home. One step closer to building our family....

VIETNAM!!!! :))))

Though we struggled to get here....I am VERY EXCITED to share that Brandon and I have chosen to adopt a girl OR sibling pair(which are RARE) from Vietnam! :)))) We are fairly certain of the agency we are going to work with but I hesitate to post it b/c I am going to "skim" through one last packet before we make our final decision (that's the type A in me ;-) After researching over 25 agencies...We both feel a strong sense of peace with one of them!

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO ONE DAY BRINGING HOME OUR CHILD(REN) FROM VIETNAM!!!!! :)))

(Proverbs 3:5-6) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

Much love,
B & R

Finding peace amidst the wait

Well it's Sunday and we did not receive any mail this week (well we got MAIL, just not THE MAIL ;-) we've been waiting for. The irony is, both Brandon and I are beginning to feel at peace amidst our wait. We are arriving at decisions and a level of comfort with those decisions. We attended two agency events this week and at this time have decided that Guatemala is probably not best for our family. We are feeling a strong tug toward Vietnam the last few days (B is REALLLLLY feeling a tug-tug-tug). Both Brandon and I have a feeling of excitement pertaining to Vietnam. We will still wait to make our final decision until the infamous MAIL arrives but we are getting more and more excited about moving forward soon!!! :))) Stay tuned!

And the wait continues

NO MAIL TODAY. So, I've always said I was a patient person...."UM, NO", I'm not. I called today to see if they received our paperwork and they told me that, "they are currently amidst processing it". Customer Service said it could be as long as another week- week and a half. Looks like I will be learning patience afterall :)

Hugs!

The gangs all here...

So we are still on "MAILBOX WATCH"...No sign of the envelope we are looking for yet. B is being the ever calm and patient one (he balances me). I am "ME", praying for Gods grace for my impatience! Speaking of.....I read this verse two nights ago after my first post, (ROMANS 12:2) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will. I'd say that just about covers it! :)
Also, many of you have written back via email asking me where Xena and Remmie are on the site. I didn't have photos saved to my computer of them, but they are there now, so the family is complete. I've also had people ask how to leave a comment on our blog. If you look right below the last post on this front page, there will be little, tiny link you can click on that says, "click here to respond to post". I believe you click on that and then you are able to respond. Everyone have a great weekend!! :))))

Waiting for our response!!

Hello all! Many of you already know that we are amidst waiting some key paperwork from our government. This paperwork will determine what country we may adopt from! We are running to the mailbox daily, as if it were Christmas time and we were 6 years old once again...Awaiting Santa's arrival. The three countries that we are looking into are, Kazakhstan (choice #1), Vietnam and Guatemala. We have both (Initially, me more reluctantly than B) determined that it is 100% in Gods hands and only time will tell. Stay tuned, our next post will hopefully be telling you all what country we will be adopting from, the adoption agency and last but not least, our home study agency. Lots of things to start doing!!!!

Love, Brandon & Robin