Tuesday, July 19, 2016

i800 filed!


It's been a busy day on the adoption front. We received the hard copy of the LOA (letter of acceptance) and signed it indicating that YES we want to adopt Josie.


At the top of this document, is Josie's name and our names. When I saw that, I became emotional because it signified the merging of our stories. She doesn't know about us yet, but soon, she will belong to a family again. We happily signed this document and indicated that we accept this match!

At the same time, our agency sent off our i800 to begin the final leg of the paperwork process. There is a chance that we will be expedited through the last steps, but if not, we are still getting incredibly close to travel. Our agency's estimate is late August or early September.

We have many documents to fill and we will start our travel plans. In order to save money and also to bring Josie here to medical care, we will forego extra touring and unnecessary travel in country. We will also try to get the most condensed schedule in country to bring her home. Eric will travel with a friend who is a nurse and she can help with the daily medical needs that we know Josie has as well as any unexpected needs that may arise. We also have our international adoption doctor available to consult while in country and she will see us day after Josie arrives home.  While most families will get 2-3 weeks notice to travel, our agency is hoping to get us to China in 1 week. That means we must be ready at a moment's notice to go.

We are continuing to raise awareness and funds through the 5/5/5 Families program with Reece's Rainbow. It benefits 5 families in the adoption process and is a great ongoing program to be a part of. We also have our individual Reece's Rainbow grant that we will use for our travel. Our fundraising thermometer has gone up a little bit, but the need is still there. Please pray as we get ready for the final steps in this process.

Friday, July 15, 2016

LOA!

Today, I received a call from our agency that we have our Letter of Acceptance or LOA. This matches us officially with Josie and we are approved to adopt her. We will sign a letter early next week saying we will accept her and then we will begin the final parts of the process with our government for immigration purposes.


It's impossible to know how soon we will travel, but I have been told an estimated 8 weeks if we move at the anticipated pace. There is one part where we can be expedited due to Josie's health and that could help things along even faster. This is where we need you!!!!!

1. Prayer: we would be so honored if you would pray for us during the final weeks of the process. Not only for the adoption to keep moving forward as it has been, but for Josie as well as she is about to experience so many changes in her life. Pray for her health that she would be ok to travel and that we can meet her medical needs in country. Pray for the finances to fall into place as we are still short on travel funds. We want to be able to go as soon as we are allowed to. Pray for two grant applications specifically that we are waiting to hear back from.


2. Support: We will have a fundraiser soon that will benefit family preservation efforts as well as our adoption. Please stay tuned, it will be ready to kick off soon.
We also have our Reece's Rainbow account for donations, if you feel lead to give.
And for the month of July, we are on of the 5/5/5 families on Reece's Rainbow if you would like to help 5 families at a time, monthly.


Sunday, July 10, 2016

5/5/5 Families

I have shared before how dear Reece's Rainbow is to us. They were instrumental in helping Eve home in 2013 and they are also part of Josie's journey into our family. The grant program is 10 years old and has assisted 1600 children into forever families.

A year ago we went to a Reece's Rainbow reunion and it allowed us to meet so many families and advocates in person. I absolutely love that they want to stay in touch after the children come home.



There is a special program within Reece's Rainbow called 5/5/5 for Families that focuses on 5 adoptive families and raises a special grant just for them, $5 at a time. I was glad to find out that we were chosen as a 5/5/5 family for the month of July along with 4 other adoptive families.

I would love to find 10 people who would like to join this program. $5 donation monthly along with other supporters lifts the burden off adoptive families and children come home! I don't know what could be an easier way to be part of adoptions.

If you join the program, could you let me know? I would like to send you a personal thank you note to let you know how much this means to us.