Bittersweet

We have exciting news we would like to share, but first a little of our journey we have been on over the past few weeks!

On Thursday, April 24th our adoption agency called us and said that we were going to matched with a child on Monday, BUT there were some changes taking place they wanted us to be aware of before, so we could then make the decision whether or not we wanted to continue in the process.  We felt like we have come this far, we are going to keep on going until the doors are closed!

On Sunday, April 27th, Chapel and I said 'bye' to Andrew and Trust and we headed down the road to Myrtle Beach for a week long vacation with my family.

On Monday, April 28th, we got THE CALL, and an e-mail of information and a few pictures about a little boy in Uganda that we had been matched with! Chapel and I Skyped Andrew and we opened the information together.  For 3 1/2 years I've day dreamed about the day we get 'the call' and the first time we would see a picture of our soon-to-be son. I never imagined we would be in separate states and that it would be filled with such uncertainty.  Nevertheless, I read every detail to learn more about this little guy and got to show off his picture to my entire family!

On Tuesday, April 29th, I found a Kinko's in Myrtle Beach that was 1.8 miles from our condo. I thought it would be fun to walk there, so my sister, Channing and I walked while Chapel rode her bike...bad idea. It was stressful.  Thankfully, we arrived in one piece, and I happily printed, signed, scanned and e-mailed the paperwork to our agency agreeing to accept the referral!

Since accepting the referral, the agency has learned more information about adoption processes in Uganda...without going into detail, it is VERY unsteady.  So, while Andrew and I try to quickly get paperwork finished, we could GREATLY use your prayers.

We have fallen in love with a picture of a little boy in Uganda who is need of a forever family. We want our family to be able to bring him home, but it is going to take close to a miracle for it to actually happen. Please pray that we will have favor, that our process would move quickly, that we would be able to bring our "Uganda Baby" home.  

We can send a small package to him next week!  We are going to send him a stuffed dog, that Chapel, Trust and I made at Build-a-Bear. Chapel has slept with this stuffed animal since we brought it home, and named him "Uganda". We are also going to send him a plastic book toy that has pictures of us in it.

We really, really, appreciate all prayers you want to lift up for us and for him.

A lot of changes...

We have been in the process of adopting from Uganda now for 3 years and 3+ months.  When we entered the program the average time before you brought your child home was 12-18 months.  The average time you spent in country was 4-6 weeks. Which changed to 6 weeks.  Which changed to 10-12 weeks. The time after being matched with a child before going to Uganda was 3-4 months, but recently families have waited 6 months.  Currently, we have been told that Uganda is very unstable, likely to be closed, but within an unknown time frame.  Families who have traveled recently have said each step is extremely difficult.

Our CSI approval expires the end of March.  This means we have to update everything. Again. We discussed possibly changing countries.  After all, if we had to update everything, now would be the time to do it.  I actually called and spoke to someone about Lifeline's Ethiopia program, but the average wait time for a child under 5 could be up to 3 years!

After praying and considering different options, we've decided to continue on with our adoption from Uganda.  Crazy?  Maybe. But we have been at peace knowing it will happen in God's timing. I will admit for the first time I have found myself questioning. Would He have brought us this far, only to have the country shut down? After 3+ years of waiting? What if we got over there, met our son, and couldn't bring him home? How will we be able to be gone for 12 weeks? One of us or both? What about the kids? How will our finances be if I don't work for 12 weeks?  Then today I read Matthew 6:

vs. 25: 'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear...' vs. 27: 'Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?' vs 34: 'Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.'

So, with all that being said, I spoke to our case worker today.  They have partnered with a new orphanage in Uganda. There are several children there who are in the process of being "adoptable".  We had technically been #4 on the waiting list.  Of the 3 waiting families in front of us, one has dropped out of the program, and the other 2 are on hold. Which makes us #1! I would like to think that we could get a call for a referral in the next month, but nothing has gone as planned, so we will simply wait and see.

There are so many 'unknowns' that we have to completely rely on God. No part of this process is or will be in our control. I have a similar feeling come over me like when I was pregnant with Trust. This feeling of the unknown and no control. Sounds scary, but in those times I experienced so much peace.  It was then that we both learned how to trust God. Not just say we trusted God, but really know how to trust Him.  You only name your son Trust if you really know how to trust! :)  Or maybe it was when we started a church, 6 hours away from home, in a town where we knew no one.  Maybe God started teaching us then what it meant to trust him, preparing us for when Trust would be born.  I'm thankful for these experiences in the past that have taught us something we may not have truly known. I believe they have prepared us for such a time as this.

"You can consider yourselves 2ish."

Exciting news...The beginning of September we moved up to #4!  Our email for this month also stated we were still #4, but after talking to someone from Lifeline she informed me we were more considered to be "2ish" because of some situations with 2 of the families in front of us.  While she doesn't foresee us getting matched with a child before the end of the year, she said there are children in the process of officially becoming available for adoption, which is encouraging.

Hoping that things will move faster than expected in Uganda and we will be matched before the end of the year! What a great Christmas present that would be!

Regardless, still trusting God, knowing his time is perfect!

We have moved up!!!!

We are no longer #7 on the waiting list! We are not even number 6!!

We are #5!!

Yay! While we are very excited we moved up 2 spots on the list we are hoping it won't take 9 more months to move up again...but even still, thankful we are no longer 7!  

Everything expires!

Since we have been in this process so long, nearly all our paperwork expired on March 2nd!  That means we had to get physicals done, schedule a home visit, get updated reference letters, employment verification letters, financial statements, ect...  Since we did not have a current home study we had to request an extension that I overnighted on February 28th.  We now have 45 days to get everything else in order, including an updated home study.  Doing all this has brought the adoption to the forefront of my mind.  I'm thinking about boy names again, thinking about chasing around a toddler, thinking about that day when we finally bring him home!  Someday...one day...it will be true, but for now we remain another month at #7.

4 months at #7

Revised! I mistaked our waiting list time!
We are #7...again.  Our monthly update also said the time frame from being put on the waiting list to being matched with a child is now 15-18 months.  We were put on the waiting list September 2, 2011, so we are already in our 16 month!  This gets me hopeful that we will be matched soon, but at the same time trying not to get to anxious as we are still #7 on the list! Praying for patience while we wait!

"Waiting 2011...and 2012"

On our tree this Christmas hung an ornament that I made last year to hang on our tree.  Africa with a heart over Uganda.  I remember painting it with family and talking about how this time next year we will have our son home with us!  According to the adoption agency's timeline we would most likely have him and be home in Kentucky with him!  However, Uganda's policies have changed since then and they are monitoring adoptions to the U.S. more closely, which has caused there to be less adoptions this year.  We are currently #7 on the waiting list.  Thankfully we have moved up the list, just not very quickly.  Toward the beginning of the month we get an email stating what is going on in Uganda. It is usually quite wordy and long.  I usually bypass it all and scroll to the end where it says,

 

"Understanding this information, we would like to provide you with your current position on the waiting list.  Your families current position is: Number 7".

  

The past 3 months we have been #7, which is a little frustrating!  So we just wait.  We can't do anything to make it happen faster.  So our 12-18 month adoption has now been 25 months and counting.  I find peace knowing that God has the perfect son for us!  Our timing is obviously not His...I just hope we are not still waiting Christmas 2013!