Blown Away

I sang "Shackles" last night at our Puckett's event because it has become my theme song for our adoption.  Not an inch of ground has been given willingly by the enemy, but our great God has once again overwhelmed us with His provision.  I came off of an incredible weekend surrounded by a group of people who I know will be in the trenches with us no matter how long or hard this road may be.  I went straight into another night that completely blew us away with the community, love, and generosity that we saw.  We came home last night feeling like we had a whole army with us!

I can't even begin to list all of the people we are grateful to for last night.  In all honesty, we don't even know all of their names.  We had some folks walk into Puckett's off the street, and once they heard what we were doing, they not only paid the cover to come in and eat, but they gave over and above.  Our church family packed the place out, and we all had a blast listening to great music, and our very own George and Diane rockin' it out as our professional auctioneers!  Our fellowship group has been so faithful to come around us and support us for the long haul, and they put in incredible amounts of time and effort planning and making sure the evening ran smoothly.  Gary, Steve, Lori, Steve D., Chad, and George were awesome about planning out all the little details.  It's hard to believe that Gary ran his idea for this by my only a few weeks ago.  What a difference community makes.  We could never, NEVER have done this alone.

So the moment everyone has been waiting for... I am still waiting to receive a final count as some last minute donations from those who could not attend are still coming in, and we're waiting to find out what the credit card fees will be.  However, from the initial count last night, it looks like the evening brought in...

<drum roll please>

$6,500!!!

Honestly, that is about one and a half times of what we have raised over the past four months, all in one night!  What an incredible blessing, and what an encouragement to us to see not only the financial provision for this adoption, but the spiritual and emotional support of such loving people.  Words cannot describe how grateful we are.  To those who were a part of this evening in any way, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Puckett's Benefit Show and Auction

Friends in the Nashville/Franklin area:

Please join us Monday, January 30, at Puckett's in downtown Franklin for an Adoption Benefit Show and Auction.  The doors will open at 6, and we will have some great music, as well as some rockin' items to auction off, from photo shoots to Titans tickets!  We will be playing, as well as two fantastic friends and talented musicians: Chad Jarnagin and the Randy McLellan Band.  Puckett's will be donating the full $10 cover charge for every guest directly to our adoption!  Come on out and join the party!

Dossier is DONE

Would you like to know what a completed dossier looks like?  I can show you!!! <insert applause>

95 documents

30 notarizations

33 certifications

30 apostilles

1 completed dossier, ready to mail as soon as I find a large enough envelope.  And all God's people said...

AMEN!

If at first you don't succeed

Our social worker did a great job getting our home study redone last week.  The content has not changed, but we now have the information re-sized to fit on nine pages instead of thirteen.  I've finished all of our county notarizations and certifications today, and I'm hoping to have our last two documents notarized tomorrow and ready to go downtown for certification.  We can then get all of it apostilled and mail it out to our agency.

Unfortunately, with India's new regulations, our agency will not be able to register us with India until we have our USCIS approval.  It has been mailed (and we won't need to send a new home study since the content is the same... thank you, Lord!), but it will probably take 2-3 months to get that approval.  So we thought we would be in line for a referral last week, but it now looks like it will take a few more weeks.  Thankfully, we can just fax that in as soon as it comes and then we'll be good to go.  

India will only allow agencies to register a certain number of dossiers each month, but special needs and "older child" adoptions will not count toward that quota.  I am hoping that requesting a child between the ages of 2-5 will be considered an older child, and therefore will not cause a delay even with that new regulation in place.  We shall see.  For now, I am just continuing to trust the Lord's timing as I wade through all the red tape and finish up the last leg of this paper chase.  S's big January deadlines are finally over, so feeling like I have a husband again will be a big stress relief!  It's been a long month, and this soldier is feeling a little weary today.  Please keep those prayers coming, dear friends.

Momentary Setback

Well, I have good news, and I have bad news.  Let's get the bad news out of the way.  You know how very excited I was to finally get everything finished up with our home study and get it to our agency.  It should have arrived yesterday or today... just in time for an update from India saying that home studies must be nine pages or less.  Our home study is thirteen pages.  Sigh.  I have emails out to everyone involved in our home study and placement agencies and am waiting to hear back on what we need to change to make it an acceptable length.

If our world of communication does not implode as it did the week before Christmas, I am hoping that will be a fairly quick fix.  So we'll just set aside all the feeling that busting my tail to get that home study finalized, certified, apostilled and mailed out just in time for it to be obsolete is rather cosmically ironic, and focus on what needs to be done to complete this step (again).  Unfortunately, that is out of our hands until our social worker and placement agency are able to discuss this issue.  From what I understand, we now need to have our home study, dossier, and USCIS approval to be registered with India and eligible for a referral.  The first two have potential to be ready next week.  We already mailed out our USCIS application and will need to send an updated home study, which will hopefully not confuse them or delay our approval.  Even without delay, approval usually takes 2-3 months.

In good news, our dossier should be complete and ready to file some time next week.  We found out in the above mentioned update that India will be accepting new families and dossiers starting this Friday.  They are only accepting a certain total number from all adoption agencies per month, so that could slow things down, but at least the doors are open again.

So we've run into another momentary setback, and are holding on to the belief that what may seem like harm can be used for good by our great God.  I was due for a good cry today after a tough few weeks, and I let myself take a few minutes to indulge in that sweet release.  But now it's time to get back up, roll that burden onto mightier shoulders than mine, and keep on marching.

Prayer request: CARA and new dossiers

After mailing out our home study on Wednesday, I contacted our placement agency to find out what steps remained between their receiving our home study and our eligibility for a referral.  Surprisingly, they told me that as soon as they receive our home study, we are officially "in line" for a referral!  That is exciting news, because they should have our documents by Tuesday!  

Unfortunately, CARA (India's adoption authority) is not currently accepting new dossiers.  From what I understand, they closed things down for a while last summer while altering some regulations, and are trying to catch up on the backlog now that the wheels are turning again.  That was supposed to be finished in December, but now the word is that they will possibly be starting to accept new dossiers some time this month.  

I'm not certain, but I believe that we could get a referral without that changing, but may not be able to secure said referral until they are ready to accept our dossier.  India's priority is always to adopt their children out to Indian families.  So while losing a referral is not necessarily common, it can happen.  

So, all of that to say that we need you to join us in praying that that waiting cases in India are resolved quickly (I know my friends waiting for word that they can travel to get their daughters are already on their knees), and that CARA will officially begin accepting new dossiers THIS MONTH.  Let's be bold and specific in our prayers.  Thank you for your support!  

USCIS application on the way!

I've been a little nervous about my OCD tendencies lately when it comes to double and triple checking all of our adoption paperwork before mailing it.  Ok, ok, it's more like a couple dozen times.  BUT, in good news, it paid off this morning.  

I've been simultaneously working on organizing our dossier with my handy color coded page tabs, and putting our USCIS application and supporting documents together.  As I rushed out the door to the post office on my way to work out this morning, I realized that I had everything needed with our application... except S's signature.  Brilliant.  I admit, the realization of what I was about to do made my stomach lurch.  I'm so thankful the Lord brought it to the forefront of my mind at the last minute, because there was a whole slew of other distractions racing around up in there at that moment.  I'm sure the other folks at the post office were giving me dubious looks as, in my renewed paranoia, I triple checked my list, envelope contents, and USCIS address before sealing everything up and dropping it down the chute, past the point of no return.

I believe it takes a couple of months to process our USCIS application, but we're one step (and one more hefty check) closer to the goal!  I think I'll go flip through our dossier again... <eye twitches> 

Home study on its way

If you read my last post, you may recall that I was hoping to make a "quick" trip to get our home study certified, apostilled, and off to our placement agency today.  Once again, let's all pause to chuckle to ourselves.  

My travels took me on quite an adventure to an abandoned building, which was definitely NOT the County Clerk's office, to the real County Clerk's office where I tried to politely (and briefly) answer the small talk of a somewhat creepy old lech during my 30 minute wait.  I then took a quick jaunt over to another part of the city and a not-so-quick jaunt around the adjacent blocks looking for parking.  Thankfully, the apostille was obtained very quickly, and I even discovered that there was a post office in that very building, which was, of course, closed.  Since I was hesitant dead set against going on another parking hunt, I just decided to leg it up a few blocks to the nearest post office.  It's a pretty day, right?  Might as well get some exercise!  I finally found the post office and mailed that home study to the west coast.  

Three hours after leaving the house, I've just arrived home, and I'm looking at the stack of dossier papers that will require the exact same process (with a few other notary and County Clerk visits in between) as soon as we get our last bits of information.  Perhaps I'll just block out a whole day for that little adventure when the time comes.  Oh, and I'll pack snacks.  Food is good.  

Thank you, loyal reader, for allowing me to briefly indulge my sense of humor on yet another hoop that we managed to jump through.  And on a more serious note, thank, you faithful prayer warriors for your continued intercession.  It is very obvious that in this war, our enemy is not going to give up even the tiniest bit of ground easily.  So be it.  I can still laugh, because he is beaten before he begins.  Today, 24 years after the day I turned my life over to Christ, all I can do is laugh for sheer joy, because my Savior moves mountains and breathes stars into place, and He will bring us to our Lotus Bud no matter how many obstacles are thrown in our path.      

Paperwork, paperwork, and oh yeah, more paperwork

I knew there was quite a bit of duplicate paperwork in the home study and dossier, so I wasn't really expecting the dossier completion to be quite as intense as the home study process.  Please take a moment to join me in a peal of laughter at my silliness.

 In good news, there is a lot of duplicate documentation, so as far as hunting down a bunch of information, we've only got four things left.  The part that makes it a little squirrelly is that our lovely state requires that each notarized document be certified by the county in which the notary has his commission before we can have it apostilled.  So the notary verifies that we personally sign our documents, then the county clerks certify that the notary could, in fact, verify said documents, and then the Secretary of State can apostille the documents to certify all of the previous certifications for international purposes.  At this point, either your head is spinning, or you are laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of it all.  I am experiencing a combination of the two.

So, we have several documents to take to three different County Clerks.  This afternoon, I was rather dismayed to discover that the notary at our doctor's office is commissioned in a county an hour and a half away!  I had to get on google maps and zoom out half a dozen times before I could figure out where the blazes it was, and was muttering darkly, wondering why in the world our notary here was commissioned all the way out there.  I called their office to find out if I could mail that one lone document in to be certified rather than driving all the way out to the boondocks in person.  The gent I spoke to told me he would take care of it, and even waived the fee.  Bless him. 

So, as soon as I collect our final few documents, we'll travel around to our various County Clerks (I'm sure glad the state is getting its money out of us with as many certifications as possible), and then head over to dump a mountain of paperwork on the Secretary of State to get all those bad boys apostilled.  On a side note, is it strange that no spell check recognizes the word 'apostille'?

I am hoping to make a quick trip - if it is possible to do anything in this process quickly - downtown this week to get our home study certified and apostilled (yes, spell check, it is a word) so that we can go ahead and get that to our agency and India.  Let the paperwork madness continue! 

Home study: Complete!

 It's official!  I am sitting here looking at our completed home study!  Next steps: getting it to USCIS for immigration approval, and even more importantly, to India so that we are eligible for a referral!  Thank you, Lord!

Divine intervention

I suppose it is always much easier to see in hindsight.  I was so frustrated that people and agencies who had gone over and above to clearly communicate every step of the way thus far could suddenly seem so befuddled and confused, like the people building the tower of Babel.  Didn't they know how crucial it was that our home study be complete by the end of the year so it could be ready to send to India at the first of 2012?

Well, it seems that what could not be resolved over the course of a few days before Christmas was taken care of in a few hours yesterday.  Our social worker emailed me yesterday to let me know her questions had been answered, and our home study would be finished in a few hours and in our mailbox by Monday at the latest.  

I felt the steadying hand of my Father on my shoulder at that moment, reassuring me that what had held us back over the past two weeks was not the sudden ineptitude of man, but the hand of God.  He knows.  He sees.  He was gently but firmly keeping us where we were to ensure that our paperwork would be in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.  The thought that His plan is so incredible and precise in this brings an ache to my heart.  I absolutely cannot wait to see what amazing things He has in store, but I will.   

Pressing on

It's January 2nd, and our home study, with all the time sensitive documents that I busted my tail to finish before the end of 2011 is still aging on the wrong side of the ocean.  I'm still not exactly sure what the hold up was, but apparently it was not resolved before everyone scattered for the holidays.  I believe our agencies are supposed to be open again starting tomorrow, so we're hoping that we can get the final corrections done and get the finished product in the hands of someone who can do something with it.  Not that it means a referral will come any time soon, but it will be nice to know that it could.  

We also need our completed home study to apply with USCIS, as well as some other grants and funding sources.  So we truly are at a stand still until this is finished.  Please pray with us that it can be completed this week.  

My even-keeled husband's thought process is, there's nothing we can do but wait, so why think about it?  My goodness, the Lord knew what He was doing when He paired us.  Our strengths are completely different.  The thing about a having a very intense personality is that I live and breathe whatever I am passionate about- all day, all the time.  I have internal conversations constantly reminding myself that what is front and center, 110% for me may not even be on other people's radars.  When it is, and we are surprised or blessed by others coming around us and working hard to help bring this to fruition, it just overwhelms me with gratitude.  It confirms in my heart that people really do want to be a part of this (my internal monologue is going, shyeah! Who wouldn't?! Adoption is incredible!).  The support of my immediate family and a group of sweet friends at church has been an absolute Godsend for us in our journey thus far.

But there are times when I feel utterly discouraged as well: When we work hard on a task alone, because no one is there to help; when I offer opportunities to include others that I think will be simple and doable, and no one even responds.  It's then that the cynical voice in my head says, They don't give a flip about helping.  You're on your own.  But if I listen more closely I hear a whisper. Have I failed you before?  Don't you think I will give you what you need to do what I've asked of you?

Of course He has, and will.  And even if we didn't have a soul in the world standing with us, there is nothing on this earth that will stop me from fighting for my baby, because I know His sovereign hand is at work every moment orchestrating this entire journey, and we are exactly where we are supposed to be.

So, by the Lord's grace, I can choose to be at peace in His perfect timing instead of getting tied up in knots over a temporary setback, even when waiting breaks my heart.  I can resist discouragement over lack of funding at this precise moment, because I know that He will make a way when it's needed.  I can find strength in knowing that our God is mighty to save, and fully capable of moving mountains for his purposes.  And nothing, nothing, will keep me from pressing on for our daughter.

The dreams and visions the Lord has put in my heart leave me speechless.  I can't even begin to ask or imagine them.  But my prayer, my resolution for the new year, is that the vision never diverts my gaze from the One who cast it.