We Have Been Approved!!!

Our homestudy has been approved!

We are now officially approved as adoptive parents by the State of Virginia. Which means we are finished with Stage One of our adoption process. Hurrah!!!

We are very happy, for this is one step closer to having our child in our arms.

The next step, Stage Two, is to get approval from the US Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) to bring an adopted child into the United States. The form is not too bad... maybe 40 pages - but that includes the instruction packet. We will fill out the pages (I'm already working on parts of Sections 2 and 3 - Section 1 is complete!), attach our approved homestudy and away it will go! (Accompanied by a check for $890 - a bit steep of a processing fee in my opinion, but worth it to be able to bring our little one home!)

I hope to have the forms done in the next two weeks... but with all the Christmas business and people who go out of town just when I need questions answered... well, we will see. Then, I believe, it will take 6-8 weeks to get our approval from USCIS.

Only one thing has checked my celebration... I was surprised by a bill for the second payment to the adoption agency. I had forgotten that it was due when we had finished our homestudy. Quite a sinking feeling, because we don't have all the money yet to pay it. I will have to call the adoption agency and negotiate a new deadline. Blah.

But I put it in God's hands, and tried to go back to celebrating. Yea!!!!! This is a walk of faith, trips and falls are OK as long as you get up again.

Thanks for all your prayers, support, understanding, and love... keep them coming! Much love and thanks to all of you!