Waiting...

Waiting for I-800 Approval ...

Kyrgyzstan was a Non-Hague compliant country for International Adoption -- and Ecuador is a Hague compliant country. This means that the Department of Homeland Security approval we had for Kyrgyzstan will not work in Ecuador. We had to re-apply, filing a different form. Our placement agency sent the application in to INS a little over a week ago, and this Thursday our $720 check was cashed -- could it be? Would they really process it this fast? I'm sure not, but I'm giddy imagining that they actually might. Generally it takes about 8 weeks before you receive official approval. Our fingerprints are current, so we can actually skip that step in the process. Maybe they can see that we actually already have approval on the 'other side' ?? Wishful thinking, I know.

In the meantime, I have begun purging -- or as my dear friend Shannon calls it 'Nesting'. I've done all the adoption paperwork there is to be done, and we only have to wait for INS approval to complete our dossier. I've applied to all the grants we could, except for one. In order to get that one out I just need a couple of recommendation letters, and those should be on the way. I began purging in the kitchen and have worked my way through the entire house. Today I listed 60 items on eBay, several more on Craigslist and have 12 full totes for a garage sale, and then eventually GoodWill.

We also bought ceiling fans for all of the bedrooms, and have begun to install them. Two years ago we put a ceiling fan/light kit in the kitchen and a new chandelier in the dining room. Only took us 12 hours, but I figured since we did that -- we know what we're doing, right? Kind of.

Old ugly light...

Old ugly light off ....

Ceiling fan motor installed ...

Voila!

And it even works!

100 Buenos Deseos

We have started a 100 Good Wishes (Buenos Deseos) fundraiser page!! It is our goal to try and raise $2,000 in order to pay for the niña's plane ticket home. Please prayerfully consider supporting us. To donate through 100 GoodWishes, click here, otherwise you can click on the 100 Good Wishes image along the right side.

¡Muchas gracias!

¡Es una Niña!

It's a Girl!

We are so excited to announce that we are pursuing the adoption of a waiting child in Ecuador. She is 3 1/2 years old, and has spent the majority of her life in an orphanage. We found out about her several months ago, and made the official leap of faith about 6 weeks ago. At this point we are only awaiting USCIS approval. Once we have our approval letter, we can add it to our dossier and submit it to Ecuador. It's almost kind of scary that there's nothing left to do. We have submitted everything we can at this point -- and just have to wait for immigration approval. It's almost too easy ...

Now we wait. And pray.

Kyrgyzstan

So far a handful of kids have made it home on US soil. For this first time, they are able to be in loving, caring homes with their Forever Families. I am so overjoyed that after all these years of fighting; these kids were finally allowed to come home.

For the rest of the families there continues to be struggles. This is especially true for the families that have kiddos at the Bishkek Baby House, which is where Akyl was. Several families have completed their bonding trip, came home, and returned to Kyrgyzstan for their court appointment, only to have the judge turn their cases away. I’m not exactly sure of all of the details -- but I do know that it’s not good. The trips alone are costing anywhere from $1,500 to $2,500 a person. This, in addition to all of the late ‘expediting fees’, is turning out to be way more expensive than any of us ever thought. There are so many of our Kyrgyz family members who continue to suffer through this mess. When will it end? Why does it continue to be so difficult?

I miss him SO MUCH. Every. Single. Day. But lately I find myself thinking – Did we get off easy?