Hurry Up & Wait!

I am sorry that it has been so long since our last post, but we have been super busy!

Our home visit went really well on the 22nd. Most likely we won't see our social worker again until after we are home with the little(s).  We are still waiting for our FBI clearance to come in and my record check from IL.  Other than that, our social worker has everything she needs to complete the write up.  Our primary agency is very detailed (which we love), and very specific regarding the home study requirements.  Our local agency will be working on the write up this month, and it should be  sent to our primary agency for review by the end of this month.  Our primary agency will send back any changes, if necessary, or the approved study.  Our social worker thinks we can expect to have the approved home study in our hands by mid-September.  WooHoo!!  Once we have our approved home study, we can send in our I800A.  That is the final step in completing our dossier.

We have all of our documents ready for our dossier except for the immigration clearance.  The I800A that we have to send in to the USCIS is an application to get approval to bring a child into the US.   Once this is sent in, we will receive an appointment date to go to the Homeland Security building in Milwaukee to have our biometrics done.  Once that is done, we wait to receive our approval.  Unfortunately, we have heard that this can be a long process - possibly up to 6 months.  As soon as we have that we will have all of our documents apostilled, and send our dossier to our primary agency for review.  Once everything is approved, it will be on its way to Poland.  Poland will then review our dossier, and once they approve it, we will officially be "waiting" for our little(s)!  We are praying this will all be done before the end of the year.

We have also fulfilled all of our adoption education requirements, and then some.  So at this point, everything is kind of out of our hands.  The hours at my second job have picked up quite a bit, and we are busy planning for the fundraising events (more to come on that).  Other than that, there isn't much we can do for the adoption.

On a side note, I have to share with you that I had quite the surprise at work on Thursday.  A group of co-workers from my department got a bunch of puzzle pieces, decorated them, and surprised me with them during a meeting. Any of you that know me well, know that it is quite difficult to surprise me, so I was very impressed by that.  You can tell that they put so much time and thought into these pieces.  It was so sweet!

As always, Wally and I want to thank you for your continued prayers and support.  We ask that you keep the prayers coming.  Lord knows we will need strength and patience to get through all of this "waiting"!

I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!

Matthew 25:40

 

Full Speed Ahead

It has been a crazy couple of weeks in the Francis house.  After choosing our home study agency, we have been moving at full speed ahead!  We have all but a few of the documents collected and completed for the home study. We met with the social worker assigned to our home study last Thursday.  The appointment was long, but went well - we definitely chose the right agency!  We will have a home visit on Monday, July 22nd.  Needless to say, we will be spending the next week tidying up the house and ensuring the rest of our paperwork is ready to go.  We did receive our dossier instructions, but haven't had much time to dive into that as we have been so focused on the home study.  We have learned that there is some overlap, so that helps.  We will be digging deeper into that very soon.  We have completed the required coursework for our primary agency.  We have also selected how we will complete our remaining hours for the state of WI and are already working on that.  These courses have been very eye-opening for Wally and I, and we truly appreciate the knowledge we are gaining from them.

We are both super excited and super nervous that everything seems to be moving along so quickly.  We are excited because we cannot wait to get our little(s) home and have them in our arms.  However, we are nervous because we were planning for more time to secure our financing to bring them home.  We trust that God's timing is perfect, and everything will happen as it should.

That being said, we would like to thank my mom, and her friend Brenda for having a fundraising sale for us.  We also want to thank everyone who donated items, and everyone who came out to shop! The puzzle pieces are going well, so thank you to everyone who purchased those.  We still have some left, so please let me know if you are interested.

Wally and I are so blessed to have all of the support and love from our friends and family.  It is easy to see that we are not the only ones anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little(s)!  I can assure  you that Wally and I are working diligently on making this happen as soon as we can.  Please keep the prayers coming!

In you the orphan finds mercy.

Hosea 14:3

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.

Oh My Blog...

I will start off by saying that I am not a blogger, so please forgive me for my lack of talent in this area.  However, we thought it would be best to blog about our adoption adventure for a few reasons.  Most importantly, we want to document this process for our child to be.  We realize that any information we get about our child's life before us will be limited.  When they are older, I want them to see that their story started long before they came home.  Secondly, we found adoption blogs to be one of our best resources when making the decision to adopt.  People were so willing to share their stories and be supportive of ours.  I hope through this blog, we are able to help others that are exploring the possibility of adoption.  Lastly, we know that friends and family are going to have questions along the way.  We will use this blog to keep everyone updated on the progress of our adoption.

We appreciate everyone's support and prayers as we begin this journey to bring our little home!