Authentication

Have you ever needed anything authenticated? Most people know of the notary public, and that being good enough for most things. This is not true for adoption paperwork. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, but WOW! to level you have to go to make sure a document is true. Our documents going in our dossier to China have to be authenticated thru the different levels from where the document originated. We went in just thinking all of our papers would go thru the Ohio levels of authentication. For instance, in Ohio, this is path they take - 1. Notary signs. 2. Verified in the county of which the notary is registered. 3. Ohio Secretary of State. 4. Chinese consulate in New York. The delivery to these different location have to be either be hand delivered,Fedex'ed (so it is trackable), or couriered.

Well, this is what we thought ALL of our documents would take this route. We were wrong. Three of our documents originated from MS and SC, and they take a totally different routes. Mississippi documents go thru MS Secretary of State then to the Consulate in Houston. South Carolina documents go thru SC Secretary of State, US State Department in DC (our friend Matt totally helped us out on this one), and then to Consulate in DC. My head spins just trying not to confuse who gets what and did a put in the cover letter or more importantly the check or money order. When our documents are ready to go to New York, I feel I may need to hand deliver them myself.

If you are thinking of adopting, don't let this discourage you. The end result will totally be worth it!!! My hubby preached and awesome sermon this past week on Sanctity of Life with a little of adoption advocacy thrown in - stop by the church and pick one up. I am not sure if they have been posted online yet.

In the "Home" Study Stretch

This week we finished up our paperwork for our home study and turned it into our social worker. Now we wait for one more training session, and for her to finish the home study on her end. That will make one mountain of paper work over, and then on to the China dossier. Once the home study is finished, I can also start applying for adoption grants.

Last month a new set of referrals came in, and we were hoping to get a match. No call came, but it was probably for the best since we were on the road visiting family. We are anxiously awaiting a phone call from the home office.

Thank you to all our friends for encouragement and prayers through this process. We know you will celebrate with us on "Gotcha Day". Please also remember another family in our church adopting - the Pletchers. They are adopting 3 siblings from the Ukraine, and are in the country now trying finish the process.

Bumps in the Road

We have had our last home study visit and everything has gone fine.  We have some paperwork left to do on that.  There have been a few unexpected bumps, but still plugging along. They hope to have all of our home study info and forms finished by Christmas.  After that we start working on getting the China dossier finished.  We already have done things for it, but this when we start getting more forms notarized and talking to State Dept. and Immigration. 

I am doing my best not to get to anxious.  I am trusting God and His timing.  We keep praying for "Allison" and her safety. 

I got this ornament for our future daughter.

Is Adoption Missional?

Quick update-Our Waiting Child application has been approved for us to start looking at referrals on the shared/special focus list. We had tried to inquire about one girl, but she had already been taken off the list. I pray she has found a wonderful home.

It has been tough getting paperwork done because of many other things going on. We hope to get everything done the week of Thanksgiving. As the holidays approach, I think about our daughter who will be here to celebrate next year. She will know the true reason of celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I stumbled across an article on adoption my hubby posted a couple of years ago written by our friend Johnny. Is Adoption Missional? Check is out. Johnny, Beth, James and Xiaoli are headed back to China this week to visit the orphanages they are from. Praying for their safe travels, and looking for to when we get to go as well.

Praying for "Allison" - we do not know who she is , but go does.


Donna

Home Study Visit

Today was the first of a few home study visits made by our social worker, Amy.  We found out she actually lives near us in Granville.  It was very nice meeting her, and also getting to know her adoption stories.  She has 2 bio girls and 2 chosen boys (one from USA and amother from China). She was able to give us some good advice when working on attachment and bonding issues. 

She did several interviews with each member of our family, except Hannah at this time.  Emily couldn't wait till next week.  Hubby was a little nervous about the safety inspection, but we passed with flying colors as well with the fire inspection. He also want to do major cleaning, which we felt went on for days.  We have another meeting next week for more interviews.

We like our social worker, and she is also very encouraging and a good resource for the future.

Mighty To Save

Not much to update on the adoption front, except that we are working on getting everything together for our home study.  It mostly consists of getting forms filled out, blood tests, fingerprinting, notarizing, and what other forms only Ohio requires.  We joked last week that Noel and I had a mini date, and it consisted of getting fingerprinted and our social security card verifications (since we couldn't find our cards).  We had fun getting it done, and making fun of what was going on in the social security office. 
Today during my quiet time the song "Mighty to Save" was running thru my mind.  We had practiced the song last night for Sunday AM service, but part of that song has just a strong meaning to me today.

"So take me as you find me, all my fears and failures."

That is how God will take us into his family, and how we will take our daughter into ours.  We will accept her and love her no matter her background or where she came from.  She will have all the rights and privileges as a member of the Dear family.  We are longing for the day when we will know who she is.



Lucky Ladybug

While surfing on the internet, I ran across something interesting.  I found out in the China adoption community ladybugs are considered lucky. Since we do not believe in luck but the divine providence of God - I found it fascinating.  Why? The girl's bathroom is decorated in ladybugs.  This was just one more confirmation for me that we are following God's will for our family. Here is an excerpt from a website that I found why this is:

Perhaps you've wondered why ladybugs are considered lucky in the China adoption community. We have too, and found out that though ladybugs are red, (the good luck color in China), the root of this belief is not found in Chinese culture.



In the late 1990's in southern China, international adoption programs began growing rapidly as people learned of the many benefits of Chinese adoption. One Fall the ladybug (Chinese beetle) population grew unusually large in Guangzhou, China. Guangzhou is a necessary stop for all Americans, Brits, Australians and Canadians adopting from China. (The city houses many Consulate-General offices.) This large ladybug population explosion was thought to be lucky  for the many adopting families flowing into China.

God is truly amazing how He can further confirm His Will.

Donna