Oh Happy Day!

I am beyond excited to share with you that we have officially completed our dossier and it is in the mail!  I am not going to lie, I felt a little sick to my stomach when I had to hand it over.  It is on its way to our agency for final review before going to Poland.  That’s right – the paper chase has ended (for now)!  Can I get a WooHoo?!?! 

We received our I-797 on Monday.  That was the last document we were waiting for to complete our dossier.  We had it notarized yesterday and apostilled earlier this morning.  I would like to send a shout-out to the wonderful ladies that have been so good to us at the Secretary of State in WI – they are quick!  So, after 6.5 months of this crazy paper chase, our dossier is finally complete.  It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off of our shoulders.  

 So, whats next? Our agency will review the dossier and send it off to Poland.  We were told to expect approximately 2 months for everything to get there, be translated and officially be on the waiting list for our child.  After that, we are just waiting on "the call".  The one that tells us who our child is and will forever change our lives.  I seriously can't believe that is our next step.

It's hard to articulate exactly what finishing our dossier means.  You see, it isn't just a pile of paperwork to us.  Its made up of so much more - countless hours, unending prayers, some tears of frustration and sometimes a bit of heartache, outburst of excitement at the mailbox when documents arrive, our dreams of becoming parents and bringing our little home - all wrapped up in unexplainable super duper big heart crazy kind of LOVE!

It has been a crazy journey so far, and we are so grateful we have the opportunity to share it with you.  We seriously could not do this without the love, support and prayers from all of you.  Please keep them coming!

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true, there is life and joy.” – Proverbs 13: 12

Many Thanks

We wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone.  We had so much help from so many people that it's hard to know where to begin.  We want to thank all of you who took the time to share our online auction site.  Whether it was sharing it on Facebook, sending out an email, or simply telling someone about it; we couldn't have made it happen without you.  We also want to thank all of the individuals and businesses that were kind enough to make donations:

• Flip Dog Designs
• Becky Hergenrother
• Michelle Ponti
• Groovy Grammas Creations
• Cedric Johnson
• Tastefully Simple
• Thirty One Gifts Representative Casey Davis
• Claudine's Pet Grooming
• Reflections Hair Salon & Spa
• Vintage Brewing Company
• Ellen Traum, The Pampered Chef Representative
• Dr. William Johnson - Winnebago, IL
• BPI Printing

Finally, we want to send a big thank you to everyone who bid on the items.  We most certainly could not have done it without you!

At this point, we are going to take a little hiatus from fundraising.  Keep checking in with us for more updates on our journey.  In the meantime, don't forget about our Amazon link on the right side of this blog.  It's an easy way to help us out if you are doing any Christmas shopping on Amazon.  Also, if anyone is interested, we do still have some puzzle pieces left.  If you are interested in buying and decorating a piece, contact us at afrancis1024@gmail.com and we will be happy to get them to you.

Merry Christmas to everyone!!!  Hopefully you will be hearing new and exciting updates from us very soon.

Auction Sneak Peek

As promised, our online auction site is up and ready to be previewed.  For your sneak peek, please visit www.expectingfrompolandauction.blogspot.com. 

We only have about 20 items up right now, but we have about 50 more to add this week.  Be sure to keep checking back to see what's new.  Also if you would like to donate an item or service, please let us know by Wednesday, November 27th.

Start your Black Friday holiday shopping at home and online!  Bidding starts Friday, November 29th  at 12AM CT and will end Friday, December 6th at 6PM CT. 

Please share our auction link with your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers!  Help us spread the word.  We appreciate all of your support. Happy Bidding!

One Step Closer

As discussed in an earlier blog, Wally and I sent in our 1-800a and were waiting for our appointment receipt to go to Homeland security in Milwaukee for our biometrics appointment.  We received that on our anniversary - best anniversary present ever!  It was exactly 2 weeks after sending in our I-800a.  Our appointment was set for 11/6.  I had read on other adoption blogs and forums that as long as you have your appointment receipt, they will usually take you early if you stop in.  We decided to take a chance. 
We both took personal days the very next day, said a prayer, and headed to Milwaukee. I was a bit nervous, but I kept reminding myself that God can move mountains, He most certainly can move someone at Homeland Security...right?  We had to wait a bit, but they let us in and we were able to get our biometrics done. Praise God!!  So, where does that leave us now?  Well, we are now waiting on our I-797s.  That is it!  That's right, only 1 piece of paper left, and our dossier is complete.  One. Piece.Of. Paper.  How crazy is that?!?!  After all of the paperchasing, its hard to believe that there is only 1 document left. The not so so great news is that it could be another 60 days before we see it.  I am going to remain hopeful that we will have it before the end of the year.  We are further along in the process than we thought we would be at this point, so I will just continue to celebrate that!

We should have our online auction site up this week, so keep your eye out for that.  Also, as you begin your holiday shopping, don't forget our Amazon link on the right side of the blog.  Amazon pays us marketing fees for every purchase!  Every little bit helps!

God is moving in our adoption - we feel it, and we can see it. Thank you so much for your prayers, and we ask that you continue to pray for us and our little as we continue on our journey.  Your love, prayers and support mean the world to us!

Ephesians 4:1-2
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love,

Y'all Put the Fun in Fundraising!

As you know, Wally & I had two bowling fundraisers in October - one in Rockford & one in Madison. We were absolutely blown away by the generosity and support from our friends, family, and even some people we just met at the events.  Thank you so much for helping us get one step closer!  We would also like to say a special thank you to all of our volunteers - we would not have been able to do it without you!  We had so much fun, and hope you all did too! It is so awesome to watch so many people come together to help us bring the little home. I can't wait to show them the pictures someday!

We would also like to recognize and thank the organizations that provided donations for our silent auctions.

• Anna's Pizza & Pasta
• BPI Printing
• Cheryl Anne's Closet
• Claudine's Pet Grooming
• Color Exhibition
• Ebonite
• Edible Arrangements
• Eickman's
• Flip Dog Designs
• Groovy Grammas Creations
• Rockford IceHogs
• Tyranena
• Vintage Brewing Co.

Our next fundraiser will be an online auction.  It will begin Friday, November 29th at 12am and end Friday, December 6th at 9pm.  Just in time for Christmas shopping! As a quick teaser, I will mention that we have lots of great items including Coach, Vera Bradley, Apple Accessories, Skullcandy, Rachel Ray, Pampered Chef, and Tastefully Simple. We will be posting a preview in the next couple of weeks.

We simply can't thank you enough!  Your prayers are working, so please keep them coming!

2 Corinthians 9:8And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work 

Back on Track

Wow.  Where to begin?  So much has happened since my last post. 

 Let’s start with a little hiccup we encountered in mid-September.  We received an email from our social worker about a paperwork problem she had encountered with other families.  We found out that the WI Secretary of State would not apostille the child abuse clearance forms as they were not originals.  The procedure for those documents, as laid out by our primary agency, was to add an affidavit to the back of the documents and have it notarized.  Just to be clear – EVERY document in our dossier must be apostilled.  No exceptions!  Apostilled is just a fancy word for authenticating – basically saying the document is legit. Anyways, we got in touch with our primary agency and they suggested we get our documents in to be apostilled ASAP.  Wally and I had almost all of our documents anyways, so we decided to give it whirl.  Since we live near Madison, I was able to go drop off our documents in person.  My friend Becky had to drive me because I was so nervous, and I seriously thought I was going to get sick when I handed all of those documents over.  So much so, that I had to inform the person in the office.  She laughed and guessed that I was adopting.  I must not be the only one to have those feelings!  She reviewed my documents right in front of me and said everything looked good and that I would get a call when they were done.  I felt pretty good about it, but knew I wouldn’t be able to rest easy until I had them back.  She called the next morning to inform me they were done.  What?  I thought that was going to take a week!  Feeling confident, I picked up our documents, and everything, including our child abuse clearances (the forms in question), were apostilled.  Praise the Lord!  With all of the ups and downs of adoption, it sure is nice when something just works out.

Meanwhile, Wally and I were still waiting to receive our final home study.  There were a couple of documents that got missed, so there was a lot of back and forth with our primary agency and social worker.  It seems like it took forever, but we FINALLY got it!  What does that mean?  Well, it means more “hurry up and wait”.  Along with our home study, we received our instructions for our I-800A.  This document will begin our process with USCIS (immigration).  We got that filled out and sent in the next day.  Now we wait to get an appointment at the Homeland Security Office in Milwaukee for our biometrics.  After that we will receive our I -797 – the final piece of our dossier.  Once we have that, we will get it apostilled and our dossier will be complete!  It feels like we are getting close!  Our hope is to have our dossier in Poland before the end of the year.  Please pray this process goes smoothly.  I will be sure to keep you posted.

The love, support, and prayers that have been coming in from all over are amazing.  Thank you all so much for being a part of our journey.

“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” -Psalm 126:3

Polskie Doświadczenia

In the beginning of August, Wally and I  had the opportunity to go to Pulaski, WI to attend a Polish workshop.  We learned about some of the history, traditions, geography, current political and economic climate, and we got to try a sampling of Polish treats.  Poland has such a rich history, and Wally especially enjoyed that.  I liked learning more about the traditions that we can bring home and incorporate into our family.  As most of you know, it is very important to Wally and I to share our little's Polish heritage with them.  This workshop provided Wally and I with a great overview and jumping off point.

We couldn't leave Pulaski without stopping at the Polish bakery - Smurawa's Country Bakery.  There we bought traditional Polish pastries called punchki (picture 1) and some homemade pierogies.  They were delish! After the workshop and the bakery, Wally and I were inspired to try our hand at some Polish baking.  We decided to make kolaczki (picture 2 & 3).  We made one batch with raspberry filling and another with a pecan filling.  They were pretty darn good if I do say so myself. They quickly disappeared when I took some to work, so I think my co-workers would agree. 

Wally and I will begin learning Polish this month.  We know that we probably won't be fluent, but we at least want to be conversational.  It is important to us that we can continue speaking Polish to our little once they are home.

Once again, we want to thank all of you for your continued support and prayers.  We will be updating you on the progress of our home study soon.

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord.” – Psalm 127