New agency

I haven't updated this blog in a while, so I'll give a quick update. We decided to switch agencies since the process had stopped at the other agency. We sent our home study and all of our paperwork to a new home study agency last week. We have some paperwork to fill out for the new agency, and then we'll have to do one home visit. Hopefully this home study process will go much more quickly since we've already gotten background checks done, etc. We should be able to reuse most of what we have from our previous home study. So hopefully after the holidays things will start moving again.

Our First Vietnamese Dinner

We had our first taste of authentic Vietnamese food last night. Our friends Giang, Chau, and their sons Binh and Minh came over, and Giang brought all of the food and we cooked together. Another couple from Champaign who are adopting from Vietnam (who we met through our agency) came over as well. Giang made fried chicken, rice, spring rolls, steamed veggies (including bok choy), and a type of tomato soup. Everything was delicious!! My favorite was the spring rolls (pictured above). Elijah had fun using chopsticks and loved trying all of the new foods.

The Long and Winding Road

Our adoption process came to a complete stop a few weeks ago. It turns out that our agency is under investigation, and Illinois DCFS has decided to not process our paperwork in the meantime. This is just one more slow down to our already slow home study process. I know that everything will work out in the end, but in the meantime it is very frustrating. We anxiously waited for Jason's clearances, but it ended up that it didn't even matter because DCFS isn't processing anything from our agency (in IL). I just want to get moving so we can get on a waiting list! We started this process in June, so it's been 5 months already. Once DCFS gives our agency the go-ahead (assuming that they do allow CHI to keep doing adoptions in IL), it will probably be another three months of waiting to get our I-171. It's just so incredibly different than having biological children. We found out we were pregnant and had 9 months (well actually 8 by the time I found out I was pregnant), and then there will be a baby. But this is a whole new ballgame. We don't have any idea when there will be a baby. Sometimes it feels like it will never happen, but I continue to feel strongly that God's plan for our family is international adoption. There's been a lot going on in the Vietnam adoption world lately that's making us wonder if Vietnam will even be open by the time we get to the top of a waiting list. It's all of the unknowns that has made this process so hard. I feel like my faith is really being stretched, and I'm sure I'll look back on this one day and realize how much I grew from this whole experience. It's an incredibly hard process, but I know it will all be worth it in the end!

Finally some news!

We finally got some good news. Our agency got a hold of someone at DCFS, and they gave a clearance date for Jason. So now our social worker can finish up our home study, send it off to the agency for approval, and then it's on to USCIS. Next we'll be waiting for our I-171. This process will takes around 12 weeks, could be shorter, could be longer. Of course, we're praying for much shorter. The waiting continues before we start the "real" waiting once we're on the list. It's crazy how long this phase is taking.

Still no news

We are still waiting for Jason's clearance from DCFS. Our agency still has not received the clearance and talked to DCFS who claim to not have anything in their system. His fingerprints were done on August 20th, so we don't know why we haven't heard anything yet. We may have to have Jason get his fingerprints redone again. Things were moving so well until this...I know it's all happening for a reason, but it's frustrating nonetheless.

Almost done with Home Study

Our social worker let us know that they've received all of our reference letters and I've been approved by DCFS. Now we're just waiting on Jason's clearance, and our home study will be ready to send to CHI!

Fingerprints

Jason got a letter from DCFS saying that he needs his fingerprints redone. Our social worker told us that's a good sign that they are working on our case right now. So Jason will have to go get his redone. Hopefully it won't take too much longer to give their approval. In Illinois you have to be foster-care licensed to adopt, so that's what we are waiting on right now with DCFS.

My Passport is Here!

We paid the extra money to get my passport expedited, and it paid off! We mailed in on July 10, so it took just over a week. We didn't want to be waiting on it since passport processing is taking so long right now. One more thing checked off! (Jason didn't have to renew his passport. It's good for another year, I think, so we will need to do that eventually).

I-600a Filed

We received a letter from USCIS saying that our filing date was July 18. We'll go get our fingerprints done in Indianapolis on August 8. This will be our 3rd and final set of fingerprints we need done for the home study.

2nd Home Study Visit

We were able to give Delyn (our social worker) a lot of papers at our second meeting tonight! We have a lot checked off our to-do list, which is a great feeling! The meeting went really well. This time we talked a lot about our family history and our marriage. Spending so much time talking about the adoption and doing paperwork makes me so anxious to have our daughter home!

First Home Study Visit

Our first home study visit went really well. Our social worker is such a wonderful lady and is also adopting from Vietnam. We went over the paperwork and talked about what other things to do before our next meeting. She answered many of our questions. Now we have a lot to get busy on!

Contract Mailed!

Today we mailed our home study agreement and contract to CHI. After about a month of prayer and research, we have decided to stay with CHI, despite the long wait. We know without a doubt that it is an ethical agency, and they are doing a lot of humanitarian work in Vietnam. We are not looking forward to the wait, but we know we are going with a reputable agency.

Application

Our application to Children's Hope has been approved! We have just begun the long process towards finding our daughter. We can't wait to get everything together and get on the waiting list.

Adoption Meeting

Today we went to an informational meeting about Children's Hope in Bloomington. We were very impressed with the agency. They brought in two families who had adopted recently, and they went on and on about how great Children's Hope is about helping you in country. I got tears in my eyes hearing their stories, and my heart yearns to start our adoption. We are pretty sure we will go with CHI. Out of the 140 adoptions in Vietnam last year, CHI had 60 of them. They have a great presence in Vietnam and are a Christian, ethical agency.

We're Adopting!

We've known all along we would someday adopt a child, and today Jason and I decided that now is the right time. We know it will be a long road ahead, but having our child home will be worth every step. She has been in our hearts for many years, and we are so excited to formally begin our journey to meet her.