Here We Go!

The roller coaster has taken off shakily indeed. Because of our ages and the needs of the three children we already parent, doubts plague us at the most unexpected times. But the needs of this one little boy keep us focused on helping him. What better Purpose can God have for us than to show Jesus’ love to an orphan, and teach one more about Him? :-)

Today little Yan turns 4. We cannot yet send him photos of us, let alone a care package. That’s hard! And so we plod ever onward through unbelievable amounts of paperwork and steps.

With few other goalposts, we will be measuring progress on this adoption roller coaster mostly by papers and forms done and filed! To date, Phil or I have filled out or typed out 85 (!) papers! It’s been awhile, but I’m thinking we’ve already done more paperwork for this one international adoption than all 3 of our previous domestic adoptions combined! I have a whole new admiration for all who survive this process ;-D.




To Date for those interested in the process:

11/12/08: filled out Waiting Child Application.
11/20/08: typed out detailed answers to 10 pages of interview questions and emailed them back to the adoption agency. We then participated in a telephone interview 11/21/08. We were officially matched with our future son on 11/25/08.
11/26/08: filled out a homestudy preapplication and mailed.
12/3/08: typed up and emailed the LOI (Letter of Intent)
12/5/08: filled out a formal Adoption Application and mailed.
12/9/08: Met with our homestudy social worker and received a stack of papers and forms that we need to work on ASAP. Filling out the paperwork is complicated by the fact that I (Cindy) had surgery the very next day!
12/23/08: Received a book from the adoption agency today on China that is at least 500 pages thick! Besides reading and following the directions within it, more forms were included as well as directions to go get 12 hours of training pre-adoption. This is starting to feel like going for a PhD ! Filled out the receipt page and mailed that out.
12/24/08: Filled out 13 pages, and both of us made it to the bank before closing time to get 8 of those pages notarized. These are for criminal background checks, motor vehicle/driving violations, and abuse/neglect allegations. We’ll surely have to do more of these later since we’ve lived in multiple states.
12/26/08: Made appointments for adoption physicals for all 3 kids and both adults. Mom and Dad need HIV, Hep B, Hep C, and TB testing as well.
12/28 to 1/13/09: Gave out referral forms for 5 friends to fill out about us.
1/14/09: Proofing the 146 (!) autobiographical questions Cindy has answered for the homestudy. Phil is still finishing up his 46 questions. Whew! Hoping to turn in all our homestudy paperwork yet this week!