And We're Off...

Since our last post, we have been ankle deep in paperwork and tasks.  Starting next week, we will be knee deep! 

Our agency sent us a list to get started on while we were selecting our home study agency and waiting on our dossier instructions.  We have started gathering our references, ordered copies of our birth certificates and marriage certificate, and had our fingerprints done and sent in to the FBI.  Selecting our home study agency wasn’t quite as easy as we had hoped.  Our agency recommended a person/agency for our area to conduct the home study.  After communicating with them, Wally and I didn’t feel that they were the right fit for us.  This person is going to be spending a lot of time dissecting our lives – I think getting off on the right foot is pretty important.  We ended up reconnecting with an agency that we had originally considered as our primary agency, and has worked with our primary agency in the past.  After some very honest conversation with the director, we knew it was the agency for us.  Our home study packet is on its way and we will be getting started with that next week!  On top of that, our primary agency let us know that they will be sending out our dossier packet next week as well!  The paper chase has officially begun!

Wally and I are also required to do 18 hours each of adoption education courses.  We are doing 11 hours online through a program that our primary agency requested we use.  We will be working with our home study agency on the last seven.  Wally and I just started our classes and are really enjoying them.  Right now we are learning about bonding, attachment, and issues that can be expected from a child having been institutionalized. The courses offer lots of tips on overcoming and dealing with any issues that may occur.  We are actually looking forward to more classes!

 

Wally and I went to Polish Fest in Milwaukee last weekend!  We had so much fun exploring the cultural village, watching the dancing and taking in the music.  The food and beer were great too!  Of course I had to do some shopping while we were there.  We found a bilingual (english/polish) numbers book and a cute t-shirt (pictured below) for our little.  We can't wait until we can take them with us!

 

We can’t believe how quickly everything seems to be going.  I know at some point I will be complaining about nothing happening as fast as I would like, so right now I will enjoy the rapid pace!  Thank you all for the continued support and prayers.  We are so lucky to have so many people celebrating our adoption with us!

FAQs

Why did we decide to adopt?
I will do my best to make a long story short here.  At the age of 16 I was told that I would never be able to have children.  Of course at that age, my response was “fine, I don’t want kids anyways”.  About 6 months before Wally & I were married I went to a new doctor that told me that I would probably be able to have babies.  After hearing that I realized that the “fine, I don’t want kids anyways” thing was just a defense mechanism.  By the time we were married Wally and I were both excited to start a family, with some occasional hesitation on my part.  After trying for a couple of years without success we were referred to a fertility clinic. We had a treatment plan, but were both a little uneasy about it, and still weren’t convinced that was our path.  I managed to push off the treatments for a full year.  Even before starting treatments, we started talking about adoption – a little more and more each month.  Once we started treatments, which I HATED, God kept putting adoption on our hearts.  Everything went pretty good for the first couple of months, but didn’t result in a baby. The night before I went in for my 3^rd treatment, we just sat down and prayed really hard.  We told God that we really felt he was putting adoption on our hearts, but we wish he would make it clearer.  Ask and you shall receive!  I went in for my appointment and they couldn’t even finish the treatment – the drugs were doing the complete opposite of what they were supposed to do.  That was a very bittersweet moment.  We mourned the fact that we wouldn’t have a biological child, but we knew that our prayers had been answered and that we were being called to adopt. 

Why international/Poland?

When we first started this process we thought that we would be adopting an infant domestically.  After several months of research and lots of praying, we decided to go international.  A lot of factors were considered when choosing Poland.  We looked at program stability, healthcare of the orphans, requirements, and the process.  Ultimately we feel that God was telling us our child was in Poland.

What is the process?

We have just sent in our commitment contract to our agency.  Once they receive it, they will help us find an agency in WI to complete our home study, and will get us started on our dossier.  Our understanding is that the home study consists of adoption classes, meetings with a social worker, a home visit, and some paper chasing. I am certain there is more to it - we just won’t know until we get our packet.  The dossier is a more intense paper chase, fingerprinting, immigration clearance, and will include our home study report.  Once again, there is more to it than that, but we are still learning too!  Once our dossier is accepted by Poland, we will be officially on a waiting list for our little!  Waiting time varies, but on average will takes about 4-12 months after the dossier is accepted.  Once we receive a referral, we have 2 weeks to decide if we accept it.  After we accept it and Poland approves our acceptance, we will receive travel dates to go to Poland and meet our little.  On our first trip, we will only be there for about a week.  The reason for this visit is to meet the little, confirm our acceptance, and begin the adoption proceedings.  Then comes the part that I am dreading most – leaving without my little.  There will be about 2-4 months between our 1st and 2^nd trip.  Our 2^nd trip will be 4-6 weeks long.  This is for the bonding process, court dates, and the waiting period. Finally, after all of that, we will come home as a family!

How many children are you adopting?

We will be adopting 1-2 children.  We have told the agency that we are open to adopting a sibling set. 

Boy or Girl?

It will be a surprise!  We have opted to take either.

How old will they be?

They will be 1-3yrs old.  If they are referred to us at 1, they most likely won’t be home until 16-20 months.

Will they be healthy?

Yes, our child will be healthy.  Coming from an orphanage, it is to be expected that they will have some developmental delays.  Based on experiences that others have shared with us, they tend to overcome these delays within the first year of being home.  Wally and I are not concerned about this and look forward to playing with all of the fun developmental/educational toys!  Wally and I have shared with our agency that we are open to taking a child with some minor and/or correctible needs.  We were given the opportunity to indicate what we thought we can handle, and what we could not. We will not know what, if any needs our little will have until we receive our referral.  We know that whatever child God blesses us with will be perfect for our family!

Is it expensive?

Yes.  Wally and I knew that adoption was going to be expensive.  Seeing the agency numbers for the first time was a bit overwhelming, but seemed manageable.  After swallowing that number, we started adding in all of the other expenses such as time off work (I cannot use maternity leave), travel expenses, and the paper chase.  When it is all said and done, the number was much bigger than we had anticipated.  However, knowing this is what God is calling us to do, we know he will provide a way for us.
 
How can you afford it?
The cost is quite large, and as things were when we made the decision to adopt, we would not have been able to afford it.  We have made some changes in our lives such as me working a 2^nd job, budget reductions, going on a cash budget and saving our change.  Even with the changes we have made, it appears we will still fall short. To help cover the shortfall, we are doing a few different fundraisers.

·         Amazon Affiliate – If you order from Amazon, please use the Amazon Widget on the right side of this blog.  The same products at the same prices are available, but if you order using our widget a portion of your purchase will be donated to our adoption fund. Please share this with your friends and family!

·         Puzzle Pieces – We have purchased a large, blank puzzle and are selling the pieces for $10 each.  We can either write your name on it for you, or we are happy to send it to you so you can decorate your piece.  When the puzzle is complete, we will glue it, frame it, and hang it in the little’s room.  This way they can see all of the people that helped to bring them home.  If you are interested in a puzzle piece, please email me at afrancis1024@gmail.com.

·         Fundraising Events – We haven’t decided when, and we haven’t decided what kind of event, but we are planning to do one in Rockford, and one in the Madison area.  We are currently accepting donations for silent auction items for these events. Our hope is to create an event that can be repeated annually.  This first year all proceeds will go towards our adoption cost.  The years to follow, we would like to use the event to raise orphan awareness and the proceeds would go to another local family trying to adopt. We will keep you posted, so keep your eyes and ears open!

·         Fundraising Sale – My mom has been very hard at work collecting donations for a fundraising sale that she is having for us.  Wally & I would like to thank all of those who have donated their items and my mom for doing it.  We will post once she has decided on a date.

·         PayPal Donations – If you wish to make a donation, we have a donate button on the right side of this blog. 

Are you crazy?

Yes, we are indeed crazy!  Crazy in love with our child that we haven’t even met yet.  Yes, we understand that it is quite the process and very expensive.  However, there isn’t anything we wouldn’t do or pay to ensure our little is safe, happy, and HOME!!!

Thank you for your continued payers & support!

It's Official...We Really Are Expecting!

We have some exciting news to share!  Yesterday Wally & I received our acceptance into the Poland International Adoption Program.  We are so thrilled to embark on this adventure!

It couldn't have had come at a better time!  Yesterday was one of those days that we were doubting if this was ever really going to happen.  By the time the afternoon hit, everything had changed.  We received our acceptance packet, I got a call about an interview for a part-time job, and we figured out a few things financially to help us get things started.  What a God day it was!

Wally & I are so thrilled to become parents, and we are looking forward to sharing our adventure with you.  Thank you for the support and prayers as we start the paper chase to bring our little home.

I know a lot of people have some questions regarding our adoption, and my next post will be about FAQs.