Saturday, August 14, 2010

Paperwork and Setbacks

Ok! so here we go. The paper trail has started. We have selected All God's Children as our adoption agency (inspired by this family) and we are thrilled with our decision. We have been officially approved to start the process, had our orientation call and met with our in home study agency, Catholic Charities. We have filled out lots of paperwork and our dossier will be on it's way to us Monday. During our orientation call I asked " how long is the wait?" unable to answer the question exactly they gave a general range of 5-10 months after the dossier has been completed. So of course, knowing that our child is alive and waiting on us in Africa, we are very impatient to get her home. Stuart and I have been working on all of this together but I have been amazed at his speed. (example) We brought home the paperwork from Catholic Charities and I stayed up until midnight working on my part of the paperwork. (and I didn't even finish) and he told me the next day that he had finished already. I was jealous but very excited. He obviously feels the same way about having our daughter join us as quickly as possible. So here I am feeling really good about how fast we are moving and BAM! All God's Children calls and said the paperwork has changed in Ethiopia and the wait will now be 12-18 months from when we finish our dossier. To say that I'm dissappointed and sad is an understatement. So I am venting at 4:10 am ( I've been up since 2:20). I have heard that there will be many setbacks along the road but this one hurts. I want my daughter home with us , now!!! My mind is filled with questions: How old is she now? (She could be anywhere from 6 months-2 1/2 yrs.based on our parameters). Is she still with her family? Does she have enough to eat? Is there anybody to comfort her when she cries? Now, this is where my faith has to be strong. I will trust God and know that he is taking care of her until she is home. I know that her journey is hard but that he will be with her every step of the way. I know that this is "HIS" plan and I have to trust his wisdom. So I pray, pray, pray for my sweet baby!

10 comments:

  1. You have seven prayer warriors in Hong Kong. We are trusting God's word that He will never leave or forsake us ... that includes Marleigh!
    Love & Miss You All,
    Kim

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  2. Oh gracious I am so happy for you and can't wait to follow your journey! Another precious child getting a family, oh how that must make our Lord's heart soar!!

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  3. Congratulations on starting the journey. It is a beautiful one and God will definitely bring you to the child he has always planned for your family. We just returned home from Ethiopia two weeks ago with our beautiful son. We used AGCI and Catholic Charities. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to email me. I am sure we will meet at the Fellowship group some time soon.

    PS ~ Your SIL Kim, was the one that posted the video of LL on her blog last year that was our confirmation from God to move forward. She will always be a precious part of Elijah's story.
    Many blessings,
    Amy

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  4. don't worry..it won't be that long, i promise!! You guys are open to "older" than new born..so it will go slightly faster...They have to give "longest" case scenario so you don't hold it against them IF it goes long...but it really shouldn't take that long :) sooooo excited for you all..and adding you to my side bar :) kj

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  5. How wonderful that you are starting this journey to your daughter. It will be an experience that you will never regret!! God's blessings to you!
    Sarah

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  6. Big fan of your sis-in-love Kim's blog and so excited to be following your journey! We adopted our baby girl through AGCI and brought her home on New Year's Day. Cannot say enough good things about our experience with them. There will be twists and turns and bumps along the way--it's a roller coaster ride for sure--but just hang on and enjoy the ride and rest in knowing that it is all being orchestrated from the heavens. Had one thing moved a little bit faster or any one delay been a little bit longer, someone else would have been matched with our daughter and us with another baby girl. Just try to think of each little delay in terms of "our little girl just needs a bit longer". We've grown close to a number of families that were in the process along with us--when we look around now and see what a perfect fit each child is with the family they became a part of, it was one more confirmation that God was in control all along the way.

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  7. We are in the process of trying to adopt in the USA. We just finished all of our paperwork, background checks, physicals and whatnots and now we have the homestudy and 2-day class. I promise to pray for you, will you pray for us? It is a roller coaster (from what I hear) no matter which route you go. I'm beginning to understand how they say the child grows in your heart (during the wait). You have such strong mama feelings for this child you don't even know yet. Amazing! I cannot wait to see what God does with our families through adoption.

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  8. Ok it's 430 in the morning and I am up thinking about you, your beautiful family and the anazing journey you are on. I will pray every day that Gid watches over your little girl and that he can get her into your arms as fast as possible. We can't wait to meet her too!!! I am so proud if you Leigh Anne. You have an amazing heart and you inspire me. I love you!!!

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  9. Hey Leigh Anne! My friend, Jennifer Shipp gave me your blog address. She met you last weekend at Pickwick I think! :) We also have 3 bio kids and are adopting a baby girl with AGCI! So nice to "meet" ya'll! I am looking foward to following your journey to Marleigh!!

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  10. i love you sooooo much Leigh Leigh! i cant want to see marleigh!

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