Adoption Update

Well, my original plans to keep everyone regularly updated on our adoption process haven't exactly panned out. Shocking. So the short version of the last several weeks is that I've been scurrying around gathering paperwork and jumping through hoops. The good news is that a lot of that is done now. We still have lots of documents to send off for certification and authentication, but that's just a matter of putting things in a FedEx envelope and waiting to get them back. The hardest part has been getting those documents in the first place. So we're breathing a little more easily on that front. I even got Tony's birth certificate back after a very frustrating mix-up, and my medical document is FINALLY finished, signed, and notarized.

Sidebar: If you ever decide to adopt, and it's been years since you've been to a doctor, and you're, say, 40-ish, and you honestly could do a better job of keeping in shape and taking care of yourself, don't expect to waltz in and out in one or two visits and get that form wrapped up. They might find stuff that needs to be checked out, or have reason to put you on some kind of meds, and it's possible they won't have their own letterhead and you'll find yourself not only drafting the letter that explains the meds you are now taking but also creating the doctor's letterhead to print it on. I've heard of that kind of thing happening.
So now the next big hurdle is our home study, which is scheduled to be finished by August 22nd and notarized by the 27th. Our wonderful social worker met with us once at the beginning of June, then we left for a week of vacation, and then she left for Ecuador to adopt her own children (numbers 5 and 6, all adopted) and ended up being there for over a month. Since then we've communicated mostly through email, and there have been a few times this summer when I've been tempted to get really stressed out about the home study. But the truth is, I've had plenty to do to get our other ducks in a row, and I trust God's timing with this whole thing. It will get done when it gets done. Once it's finished, it has to be reviewed and approved by our actual adoption agency, America World Adoption Associates (AWAA), which is a one- to two-week turnaround. Then we'll send it off to the USCIS (customs and immigration) for our official approval to adopt a child in another country and bring him here. THAT turnaround is more like two months, and it's not until we get that approval letter that we can add it to our official dossier and send it off to China. We're hoping to make that happen by sometime in December, and from that point we'll wait to receive our referral. There's no way to predict how long we'll wait to get it, but we're hoping that if things proceed in the timeline that we've been told to expect, we'll be traveling to get our son sometime late next summer or early next fall (2012).

So there you have it. Let's hope we don't run into any snags, right? Stay tuned, friends and family!