Its Hard Not To Be Discouraged.

Its hard not to be discouraged. Because I am. The pieces don't seem to be fitting together.... Does this mean the door is closing? Is it over? I don't know. 

We were approved to adopt from the Country of Macedonia October 2015 (a full year ago). We immediately updated our dossier and sent them our updated/translated dossier which they received early in June 2016. Other than their acknowledgement of having received the dossier, we have not heard from them since in spite of our agency's persistent outreach. 

What does it mean? We have no idea. We have done everything Macedonia has asked. It was December 2013 when we first felt the call to pursue "Xavier" and help open a program in Macedonia. We have been working tirelessly the past three years to do everything in our power to bring our boy home. . . Its been emotionally challenging at every juncture but the past few months have been exceptionally challenging. I have tried to be faithful and to keep trusting .... believing that it would all work out. However, I'm not sure anymore....

"Xavier" has aged out of our home study. What does this mean? Again, I don't really know. Have we lost him forever? Without any communication from Macedonia I feel torn about updating again. It takes months and thousands of dollars to update... and without word from Macedonia, it seems futile. 

Please whisper a prayer for us? Its hard to know what to do. My boy is across the ocean. He's a child of my heart and I don't know how I could let him go... just the thought of "moving on" floods my heart with grief and guilt. Please pray we hear from Macedonia - even if their answer is "no".

I'm not sure my heart and conscience could make the decision alone. How does one decide to just "give up" on a person? A child? A child with special needs? MY child? Would my heart ever forgive me? 

I chose "Xavier" as my own the moment I saw his picture and I will claim him as a child of my heart until the day I die. . . the distance across the ocean, the intricacies of laws, the politics of red tape can never take that away from me. Macedonia may say "no" - but my heart will always say "yes".

Final Documents Arrived!

PHEW! What a roller coaster ride it was to obtain these FBI clearances for our Dossier Update! 

After 4 months and several hundred $$$ later, we have them in hand and are headed off to the Post Office to mail them out to our agency! 

Making Progress!!!! THESE are the final documents we need for the update. Hopefully our other documents are nearly translated and it won't take much time to get these final two complete. 

Knowing that we have already been approved by US Immigration as well as the country of Macedonia, I am so very hopeful that things will begin to fall into place quickly!!!! 

Spring Update

Hello All! 

So many have asked for an update..... its humbling to admit that it doesn't seem like we have made much progress....HOWEVER, things ARE in fact continuing to move forward. Slowly but surely!

Our final document needed for the Dossier update is currently in Albany awaiting its Apostille Seal. Once it is returned to us, we will then overnight it to our Agency who will then submit it to the translator. Once all the documents needed for the update are translated, (Hopefully within the next month or so) our agency can then submit the dossier. During our telephone conversation with our agency several weeks ago, our case worker expressed her optimism that once Macedonia receives the documents, they will then proceed rather quickly. This was encouraging to hear and we are hopeful for a speedy response from the country once they have the documents! 

Please send thoughts and prayers for speedy delivery, translation, and processing from Macedonia. We are beyond READY to go get our boy and bring him HOME!!!!!!

Update!

Our Fundraising Carnival was a BIG success! A HUGE thank-you to everyone who helped, donated, and came out to the event!!!!! We're still waiting on a few $$$ from auction winners, but we're close to $2,500 so far! (We'd love to reach the big 3K!) The Carnival success was just the beginning of more great news this week.....

Tuesday we received our second Immigration Approval! This means they approved our Home Study update and have approved us to bring a child from Macedonia into the USA. This does not expire until April 2017, so we're are good to go on the USA end of things!

 More good news is that we are down to collecting just 2 more documents to complete our dossier update - and then we'll send them off to get their state seals! Compiling a dossier is a BIG job and is a daunting task. So, we are very excited that the end is in sight and that we've just about got everything into place! 

We did have a tiny set back with a notary signature being from NJ instead of NYS, so we are working on that, but its not necessarily bad news....is just means a bit more time as we procure the proper state seal and signature. I was pretty frustrated about it yesterday but a good friend reminded me that "we never know why we might have to wait or make a detour. Maybe something tragic is about to happen and God is telling us to wait to avoid something really bad when we are on our journey somewhere good." I appreciated the reminder that even though I am disappointed in the delay, I know that everything is meant for a reason and everything will work out just as (and when) it should. 

 SO, what's next?! 

1.) The #1 PRIORITY is to get our USCIS (Immigration Approval) and Home Study Update county authenticated and then state Apostilled. Once this is done, we will overnight the documents to our International Agency who will forward them on to our translator. Once the translation is complete, we'll send the documents to Macedonia. We'd love for this to happen as quickly as possible as Macedonia is waiting on these documents to make our referral. 

2.) We will continue to work on our Dossier Documents. We have most of the documents gathered and then we'll need to send these for county authentications and state Apostilles...and again to the agency, translator, and then Macedonia. Our Dossier expires in April so we've got to get these documents to them before that date. 

3.) We wait for our referral (Eeeeekkkkk!!!!! We're getting closer!!!!)

4.) Continue to save our pennies and raise the funds! Our most immediate fee will be the re-translation fee for the Dossier (that's an extra $2K (at least) at 9cents word, it adds up fast!) Looking at our estimates, we think that $4.5K will have us fully funded! That's pretty exciting! 

THANK-YOU so much to everyone for your support and encouragement. This journey has been long and hard. We are so grateful for the love and support we have been shown!!!!

Please keep sending those positive thoughts and prayers our way!

Carnival Fundraiser!!!

I am so excited about the Nintendo-Themed Carnival my Mom is hosting for us as a Fundraiser! It's going to be HUGE!!! She graciously rented out a venue and is hosting a Nintendo themed family carnival!

Carnival Facebook Event Page!

Here are some of the events!!!! We are so excited! Hope to see you there! Bring your friends!

1.) We are excited to announce there will be a LIVE reptile show at the Carnival! (The presenter will also be auctioning off a private birthday party!) You won't want to miss this!

2.) There will be a "Healthy" food table inspired by Zac! He and a dietitian family friend will be offering a nutritious snack option!
 

3.) Esther will be running a "General Store" where items such as homemade scarves, baked goods, books, and other trinkets will be sold!

4.) Joe will be creating balloon animals!

5.) A dear friend of the family will be offering face painting!

6.) There will be auctions and raffles!

7.) You will have an opportunity to "tag the bag?" For a donation, you can write a personal message on "Xavier's" suitcase! Your personal messages will travel overseas to Macedonia!

8.) Abby will be running a cafe where you can purchase coffee and cookies!

9.) Nate and Brenna will be supervising the crafts and temporary Nintendo Tattoos!

10.) There will be a play area for the kids!

11.) My Uncle Jim will be providing LIVE music at the cafe!

12.) There will be vendor tables of those who have graciously donated items to raffle/auction!

13.) There will be homemade, gourmet cupcakes for sale!

14.) PLUS MORE!!!!!!!