When Papers are Worth More than Gold

And the grand finale wrapping up the 13 pages of our home study report...

"It is my pleasure to recommend the Stump family, of Des Moines, Iowa for adoption from The People's Republic of China."

Our homestudy report is being reviewed by our agency currently!

Never have papers and paperwork meant so much. Recently, one of our adoption forms (completed, notarized, you name it) went flying off the car windshield as I was driving, and I shrieked pleading Micah (our son) to catch it in time. If you've been through the process, you probably understand! These pieces of paper are like gold when you're adopting. And one little mistake or error here or there can cause major setbacks.

Now that our homestudy has been written and submitted to our agency, we now wait to get it OK'd by our adoption agency so that we can get that puppy, along with our i800a application sent to USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration) for approval to adopt (in general). We've heard that USCIS has been approving homestudies lightning fast lately (within a month), which is such good news for us! If we get all our lil duckies-in-a-row, we should be able to submit our dossier to China in early February -- which has been the plan since starting this process! (We can't submit our paperwork to China until then, because Billy turns 30 then.) 

So, currently we're tying up our dossier paperwork (which is the paperwork portion that goes to China). We're waiting for our passports to arrive, we've gotten background clearances from our local police dept (yes, more clearances -- ontop of Iowa, Ohio, and FBI!), we've written our application letter, had our medical reports filled out by our doctor, filled out additional forms, more pictures of our house and family, employment letters, newly-issued vital records, and a couple other things. All of these documents have to be without any error, be notarized, certified, and authenticated. 

Are you tired of me talking about paperwork yet? For the first six or so months of your adoption process, it's pretty much what the process looks like. I actually can't believe it will be six months February 4th. It's blown by! 

Okay -- so you're wondering, "When will you see your child?!" I'm wondering the same thing! Actually -- constantly wondering. We're going the "waiting-to-be-matched" route of things. See, you can be matched very early on in your process (even during homestudy paperwork), but usually only with Special Focus children (those designated as Special Focus have more moderate-to-severe medical/special needs or are older children). Since we're open to 0-3 with more minor needs, we have to have at least gotten our homestudy completed (or more likely have our paperwork in China -- which won't be until Feb). We've been told that we *could* potentially be matched after our homestudy is complete (which is exciting to think about seeing it's in review currently!).

More realistically, we'll get a referral after our paperwork is in China (hopefully February). But since we're open to a boy (lots of boys in need of families currently), we could get a match fairly quickly. They're saying it's only taking on average up to two weeks to receive a referral for a boy! That means, by the end of February, we could very well have a referral for our child! If not then, in March. That totally blows my mind, because that's only two months away, people!! Two months and we could be looking at pictures of our child!! You bet it'll be crunch-time at that point. Once having a face to our child, we will be RACING to get him/her. Typically, it takes 4-6 months to travel to get your child after being matched. This lil-mama-face will have her mama-bear-game-face on at that point!

I wrote a post on my other blog about my feelings this Christmas concerning the adoption process if you'd like to read::: http://rstumpblog.blogspot.com/2015/12/all-i-want-for-christmas.html

And so...Merry Christmas to our Little Stump. Wherever in China you may be. Whoever you may be. We're praying for you. We're thinking of you. We'll hold you in our hearts this Christmas -- until we can hold you in our arms. ~

So Why International Adoption?

Why not adopt from foster care?? :: "Just look at all the kids who need homes right in our country!"

Why not domestic adoption?? :: "Isn't it, ya know, a safer "bet" to adopt a newborn?"

Every family is unique. Each family has a unique background. Unique experiences. They're in different stages and phases in life. Unique personalities. Basically -- every family is as unique as our own individual fingerprints. Perhaps even more unique because you have an entire set of different people (with different fingerprints), personalities, backgrounds, and more -- all compiled into one incredibly unique family. Not one is the same. Needless to say, since every family is so unique, their choice for which form of adoption they choose will be unique as well. That choice will be based on which form best suits their family -- which will best match a child to that family -- and ultimately will best suit the interests of a child (which is undeniably at the heart of the matter). 

With that said -- we analyzed all forms of adoption before deciding on international (as all families do). I admit -- I think very early in the process we just knew international was the path we'd take. But believe me when I say this -- adoptive families have thought long and hard about this stuff. Please don't underestimate that. Give these families respect in that. They're not flippantly making decisions regarding adoption. And most families take many days, months, and even years to come to these decisions. They do not come to these decisions lightly.

I could give you the various reasons we ruled out domestic adoption and foster. As a quick disclaimer -- please don't take our reasoning as a way of undermining the need of adopting from foster care or domestically. I'll simply focus attention on stating why we feel our hearts have been softened and geared towards adopting internationally -- and namely, from China.

#1: International adoptions have plummeted by up to 70% in recent years due to Hague Treaty implementations, countries outright closing their programs, and stricter adoption guidelines - which bar many potential parents from adopting. This would be great if it meant that there were simply less children needing families - but the harsh reality is the fact that there are in fact *more* children needing families. So if you do the math, 70% less adoptions, yet more orphans than before --- that is simply tragic. With that said however, I understand the need for stricter guidelines and the Hague Treaty. It's just too bad there couldn't be more of a balance so more children would be placed in loving families. Just in China alone, there are over 567,000 orphans, and some outside sources claim that number is closer to a million. Ethiopia? Are you ready for this? An alarming SIX million orphans. The number of adoptions per number of orphans abroad are *very* few in between. 

According to the last recorded data, in the year 2011, only 2,587 children were adopted from China. Does that number seem large? Far from. That is still only 0.4% of the orphaned children in China.

#2: The grave reality behind waiting children abroad is that these children are among the most vulnerable. Very vulnerable. Many go without basic medical care. And many have life-threatening conditions that will go untreated. Many have more minor to moderate conditions that could be easily corrected or treated with therapy, attention, or with surgery - yet they will go without. And so many will even lose their lives. Many are starving. Others literally have nothing. And the majority are living in overcrowded orphanages with little one-on-one interactions and little stimulation. Some are outright beaten and abused, even in government-ran orphanages and facilities. And many age out -- leading to a life of devastation in poverty-or-war-torn countries or countries that simply lack the numerous resources ours has.

Take a moment and quickly research pictures of inside orphanages around the world. There are videos. Articles. But please be cautious and do so without little ones around. Some of what you will find is absolutely horrifying. Gut-wrenching. 

With all that said -- there are definitely orphanages out there that are doing the best they can. Thanks to non-profit organizations like Half the Sky, conditions of orphanages in China over-all have largely improved in past recent years. With that said, orphanages are still overcrowded, and even the "best" orphanage is no replacement for a loving home with a mother and father. The negative effects of institutionalized children are endless. Institutionalization affects a child's development in many ways; i effects their behavioral, physical, intellectual, and social emotional health. Again, an orphanage is not a way of life for any child.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/09/15/russia-children-disabilities-face-violence-neglect


#3: Most obvious reason -- because every child is precious. Every child deserves a family. Every child deserves to have their basic needs met. And so -- our view of meeting needs of children isn't limited to those inside our own country; just as God's love isn't limited to those in our country. We believe we *all* have a responsibility to *all* children; here and around the world. 

#4: We didn't feel the immense need to have a newborn baby. I definitely know many that do -- and that's perfectly alright. And, it's true, the younger the child you adopt, the more likely they will more easily healthily attach. After-all, the longer a child has spent in institutionalized care (or foster care), the longer it will take for them to heal once placed in their adoptive families. So in some ways, it is "safer" to adopt a newborn, if you choose to use that cringe-worthy choice of word. But I can't tell you how many times I've read or talked with other families who just gleam from the progress they see in their adopted children, whom they adopted as young toddlers and older. They will tell you what a treasure it is to see them blossom -- not just emotionally, but socially, and even physically (many come home, to some degree, malnourished).  And research, although daunting on the effects of institutionalized care like I brought up earlier, is also encouraging. There is hope for even the child who's been institutionalized for many years.

#5: Because China is where our child is. That's the answer most will give when people ask the "why" to choosing a particular country. Quite honestly -- our reasons in the beginning for choosing China were more practical than heart-felt (although it definitely quickly grew into a "our hearts feel led toward China" thing). We were actually originally suggested by our agency to go with the India program -- mostly because we were *just* out of reach age-wise for China. After reviewing the programs, we quickly and mutually decided China fit our family best. China is one of the most dependable/stable programs. You only have to travel once instead of twice. The process to adopt from the Waiting Child program is not only dependable, but fairly "quick" in comparison to other programs. Additionally, the need is there. There are many waiting children in China -- the majority having some sort of special/medical need. 90% of children abandoned in China have a special/medical need of some sort (many are minor and/or correctable). So, more than likely, when you research programs, one will stick out from the others. And that was China with us. And now -- we couldn't imagine choosing another program. Our son or daughter is undoubtedly Chinese, because they're undoubtedly in China.

http://www.lwbcommunity.org/why-international-adoption-still-matters-2

For information on sponsoring a child through Holt:: 
https://holtsponsor.org:4443/sponsor/holt.writepage?page=photolisting5

To give to support family preservation:: 
https://www.holtinternational.org/gifts/

Update

As I begin writing this -- it's about 8:30 pm in China. Most likely our little one is currently either getting ready to go to sleep or already sound asleep. And as we go to bed this evening -- he or she will be waking up to the same morning sun we'll be waking up to tomorrow morning...

I can't begin to tell you how amazing yet incredibly daunting that is to know. In fact, it's absolutely mind-blowing.

While our current two children are about to wake up to begin the day -- I know they're safe, their bellies are full, they know the love of a mama and baba, and they're simply over-all cared for. Our China baby? They're waking up among many others in the same room. Their needs in the morning won't be met immediately. Their belly will be hungry. They may be sitting in a soiled diaper for a few more hours. And they won't get immediate kisses and cuddles from a mama or baba when they open up their beautiful-sleepy-brown eyes.

That pains me to no end. What we would give to just be able to speed through the process and be on a plane tomorrow to swoop them up in our arms. Oh - what we would give. I consistently pray that God cradles them in His warm embrace, giving them the most possible comfort as possible while they wait for us -- and we wait for them.

Every day I see referral approvals (such as these: http://adoptedbydesign.typepad.com/blog/2015/11/3-families-received-referral-approvals-from-china-today.html), gotcha day photos, you name it while scrolling through my FB newsfeed or different blogs. These give an extra smile to my day and an extra beat to my step, but I admit -- it makes me wish we could skip ahead and receive our referral approval for our little one in our hands. Or better yet -- be on a plane to pick them up.

Patience. A. Lot. Of. Patience.

Could you pray for our little one? Pray for protection. Comfort. That their needs will be met until we're able to meet those needs. Perhaps this sounds a bit foreign to others -- after-all, we have no idea who they are. What they look like. Their circumstances. Their special need. Not even their gender. Nor the day or month they were born -- but we know they're most likely out there nonetheless, and we're already crazy about them.

So to our lil' munchkin -- we're coming for you. As quickly as we possibly can, which can't be quick enough.

Different ones will ask us how the adoption process is going. Not a whole lot to say other than "it's goin'!" But we're fairly "on track" as planned. Our biggest goal is to have our dossier sent to China anytime in February. February 4th really is as soon as we can have it in China due to Billy turning 30 then (you and your spouse have to be 30 years old to adopt from China).

So as a quick update:: we had our homestudy paperwork done for some time, and have had one of our homestudy visits with our social worker just recently. She'll be back to conduct the last two visits next week and said she hopes to have our homestudy report written up before the month closes. We love our social worker -- she has adopted herself, has siblings who've adopted, and she's over-all just a lovely, friendly, laid-back social worker.

Back to the homestudy business -- your homestudy report consists of all your homestudy paperwork as well as a written report from the social worker. If you remember from other posts, your homestudy paperwork is 25+ signed and notarized documents ranging from 40+ personal question data forms, financial documents (including a break-down of monthly expenses), medical examination forms, FBI background clearances, adoptive-parent training completion certificates, employment letters, marriage license, birth certificates, family pictures, tax forms, and the list goes on. Your homestudy consists of those forms, as well as the report your social worker writes up on your family (I've heard it's typically 6+ pages) -- this report basically makes the case you'd make good adoptive parents.

With all that said, we're excited to have our home study officially completed here soon! The next step after our home study is officially written and compiled with the other documents, is to have it OK'd through our adoption agency branch office in Omaha, then once they OK it -- they'll send it to our agency's main headquarters in Eugene, OR for final approval -- and once *they* approve it, then it will be sent to USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration) (along with our little one's preliminary visa application) for final approval. Approval from USCIS (which is basically approving our homestudy which approves us to adopt) can happen (for some) in just weeks, or (more likely) two months  -- we then have a fingerprinting appointment set (yes-- more fingerprints!) by USCIS, and once that stuff is done -- we *then* send that with our other completed paperwork (dossier) to China.

And so we're currently working on our dossier paperwork. Yes, more paperwork! This is a laundry list of things -- including new original birth certificates, new marriage license (they need a newly issued one), *another* background check, more data forms to fill out, financial data form, passports, medical exam reports, additional employment letters, family application letter, etc. Our hope and prayer is that our homestudy is sent to USCIS, quickly approved and sent back, and the rest of our dossier paperwork will be completed so that we can compile everything and have it sent to China in February (Billy's 30th birthday -- and if you ask me -- that'd make for an incredible 30th!). Our social worker reminded us that we need to try to get the rest of our dossier compiled because we could receive a referral anytime after our homestudy is officially completed (and that's not that long from now!). That made things a bit more "real." We're open to either gender, and seeing now that not many families are currently in the process open to boys -- we really could see a referral fairly quickly. I won't get my hopes up too much though, and assume it won't come for some time.

And I believe Billy must be getting antsy because I caught him looking at the photolisting just lastnight. :-)

So in the mean-time -- we'll finish up these last visits with the social worker, submit our last key documents for our dossier -- but we'll most importantly, keep praying for our "China baby" (as our daughter calls them) and keep dreaming of the day we'll have them safe and sound in our arms.

One Paper Closer To You

Some of you may be familiar with the paperwork portion of the adoption process. I say "portion" when it feels like it's *most* of the process (at least for now). :-)

When you apply to adopt (at least from China) -- you immediately send copies of tax forms, a notarized service agreement, as well as a picture of your family, a picture of the exterior of your home, and a $250-$400 application fee (depending on agency you're using). After they review your application and send you a letter/e-mail/phone call stating your app has been officially processed, that's when you begin on the homestudy paperwork. You'll immediately get sent 24+ forms plus a laundry list of other things you need to collect and provide.

These forms range from doctor signed (and notarized) medical reports for both parents (stating you don't have medical issues that would prevent you from being an effective adoptive parent), teacher recommendation letters for any kids you currently have, several reference letters, financial form proving you make X amount of money plus X amount of net worth, another financial form breaking down all your monthly expenditures, outlines of fees, medical needs chart, background clearances (FBI and state -- in our case, we need FBI, Iowa, and Ohio clearances), a 60+-essay-type-question personal data form, certificate showing you both completed 12 hours of adoptive parenting, etc.

We got our fingerprints done at our local police station about two weeks ago, and paid the money to go through a channeler to get the results quicker -- so we recently received our FBI clearances. We're also waiting for Iowa and Ohio clearances. I'm proud to let you know we're not crazy ax murderers or whatever horrible thing you can think of. ;-)

We've completed our personal data forms -- which are (what feels like) million essay question forms asking everything from marriage questions (conflict resolve, etc) to basic parenting, to infertility (no problem there), discipline, religious beliefs, medical and mental history (your own and family's), interests, what pediatrician you plan to use, layout of house, how you plan to handle racism aimed at your child, family support, and the list goes on..and..on..and..on. :-) So now, we just have a couple small things to do and we'll be done with the homestudy paperwork. Oh -- and we need to complete our 12 hour adoptive parenting online courses together. Woo! After we finish, we'll be able to begin our official homestudy (which is the process where you'll be interviewed separately from your spouse, then together, get an idea of what needs would best fit our family, home-checks to ensure our house has the space for another child and is safe for them, etc). The social worker then writes up your homestudy report based on everything gathered (I believe 6+ pages in length) -- showing that you're basically over-all good potential adoptive parents.

Basically, you can't have anything to hide during your adoption process. And your social worker, agency, and China's government will know more about you than your own mama and papa (nice to know, right?). So it's serious business because they want to ensure they're placing children in completely safe and loving families (anything to do with children is serious business really). The scrutiny is absolutely necessary -- so we're happily going through it all.  

Most simply put, after the homestudy is finished and sent to USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) for approval --- once approved it can all be compiled with other documents into our dossier to be sent to China! Collecting everything else we need for our dossier is the next thing we'll be doing here soon after completing every bit of the homestudy paperwork. And so our big goal is to have our dossier sent around Will's 30th birthday.

Paperwork isn't necessarily fun, but I have already gotten excited in receiving just a couple things -- including our FBI clearance forms. Every piece we fill out, notarize, and send is one piece of paper closer to our little one. And it really does feel like that. It feels like the main thing standing in our way of them is a mountain load of paperwork (as well as government bureaucracy). It'll be as though we're climbing Mt. Papermore with all types of hurdles (government -- both US and China, fees, etc) -- all of which will be seemingly standing in our way of getting to our precious babe. I know there will be hiccups in this process. Thankfully though -- Billy and I aren't control freaks which, hopefully, will help ease things for us (yea, yea -- I know you APs are laughing right now..). 

So every piece of paper we complete is one paper closer to you, our little one!

Our (Pre-)Adoption Pictures

Recently we had our pictures taken by my lovely sis-in-law, Sarah! If you live in central Ohio and ever want family or maternal/baby pictures done -- check her out!

www.SarahCropperPhotography.com

We're Adopting!; Official Announcement

Dear Family & Friends,

After much prayerful consideration, we have decided to further build our family through adoption! We made the decision months ago, but felt we needed to wait to tell until we had officially started the process.

We know you’ll have plenty of questions. We also know you’ll have plenty of concerns. Despite that, we pray and hope that you’ll provide much needed moral support and prayer through this journey of ours.

After intently weighing our options, we have settled on adopting through the Waiting Child - China program.

We put together a FAQS page for you to answer some of the questions you may have -- you'll find this from our blog home page in the top page bar. These will be the questions you may have after reading this initial announcement. :-) We'd appreciate it if our closest family and friends quickly took a look at the FAQS in order to hopefully help them answer others' concerns or questions when talking to them about our adoption process.

What’s interesting to know is that our child is most likely already here! How exciting (and mind-boggling) is that? Please pray with us for him/her on a daily basis. We pray that God will reveal and get them to us as soon as possible. We pray for protection over their life. We pray for healing in whatever way that’s needed. We pray the orphanage sees and takes care of their every need to their greatest capacity while we're working our way to them. We pray that while we’re worlds apart, they’ll feel every ounce of our love through our Heavenly Father’s warm embrace. We may not know who our child is yet, but our hearts are already nearly filled to the brim with love for them.

We do not take lightly that our precious baby boy/or girl will come with a back story. Adoption, as much as it is a blessing in so many ways, always begins in tragedy and loss. This loss usually occurs with abandonment. With that said, we respect that the details of our child’s story (their birth parents, how they got to the orphanage, etc) will be just that -- their story. It is not ours to tell, but theirs to tell someday if they please, to whom they please. We say this in hopes that you understand when we do not give details when asked.

Adoption is at the heart of God. Numerous scriptures speak very boldly about the need of taking care of the fatherless. In fact, there are numerous people from the Bible who were, indeed, adopted! Jesus was adopted. Moses was adopted. Esther was adopted.  And, those who have received Christ into their hearts are adopted as well! (Ephesians 1:5) Adoption is foundational to the Gospel. And though while we affirm it is spoken of repeatedly throughout scripture in various ways, please don’t misinterpret this as being our sole reasoning to adopt. We’re not adopting because we think we’re “saving a child” or that it’s necessarily a biblical mandate. We’re not adopting out of self-righteousness; in fact, we’ve had to and still are trying to overcome feelings of inadequacy in this process. We simply want to further build our family through adoption; offer our family and home to a child that needs both; and while we know we can bless a child, we also know that child can over-and-abundantly bless *us!* Children are blessings from the Lord -- period. Will this process be emotionally straining? Yes! Will it be physically exhausting? Yes! Will it be financially exhausting? Yes! But our child will be worth every ounce of it all.

We’ve heard others say, “If the same steps that are involved in adopting a child were involved in biologically having one -- hardly anyone would be making babies.” In other words, it’s not for the faint of heart. We’ve read several books already, articles, blogs, talked to others -- and all say the same, but all agree and know it’s been the greatest blessing at the same time.

So we hope you're excited in joining us in this journey. We'll certainly keep you updated through our blog -- so please come again! Thank you in advance for your moral support and your prayers! They mean so much to us.

                                                                                                                                               Grace and blessings,

                                                                                                                                               Billy (Will) & Robin

Two Months Before We Can Begin

So it's June 4th, and today marks the day from which we have two months until "application day" -- the day that we can officially apply to adopt from China. The only thing keeping us from applying now is the minimum age requirement. To adopt from China, you and your spouse must be 30 years old. You can however, begin the process six months before your or your spouse's 30th birthday since it takes approximately six to complete the paperwork and adoption study in order to be sent to China. So basically, by the time our paperwork or "dossier" (daw-see-ae) is sent there, we'll both be 30 years old.

Oh, how incredibly long these two months will be -- and this is just the "wait" to begin the process! I'm trying to ignore the Waiting Child List at this time (a list of children available for adoption -- from the program we're adopting from). Trying to ignore it because I feel it just needlessly sends my heart into a frenzy every time - knowing if by chance our child would be presented, we simply can't even consider since we're not able to start the process NOW. And yes, boy do I wish we could start it NOW! I'm learning patience already -- which is so important to have throughout the entire adoption process. Waiting for a referral, then waiting to travel once receiving the referral I can only expect will be a tremendous feat of patience.

We're trying to use these two months as "prep" time. We're praying, reading, reading some more, saving and racking our brains on how to afford the adoption, and getting acquainted with those around us who have adopted. This Thursday we'll be visiting one of our pastors and their wife whom have adopted three children from Korea through the same agency we intend to use. We look forward to getting better acquainted with them, and immersing ourselves in their rich wisdom on the whole process.

So, two months it is. Two more months of constant dreaming, wondering, thinking, praying, and reading. Perhaps this is an over-all good thing. I know God will work mightily on us just within this short time. I know life will get crazy once we're in the process (all while homeschooling) -- so I'll take these first two months of summer, and try to sit back, relax somewhat, and just prepare. I say this all while totally gritting my teeth in anxiousness to begin the process. Writing for me is like medication for the anxiousness. A release. A solace. A sustenance during a time of thirst. So bear with me during these next two months --- oh boy, and especially during the months thereafter! I'm ready for the intense landscape we'll be flying over in the tiny and turbulent airplane we'll be manning. The unforeseen territory. The unexpected mountaintops. The rain. The storms. The beautiful sunshine squeezing through the clouds. Finally reaching the destination. And most importantly, back home again, but this time with our hearts and arms full of love from China.

So, in the meantime, until it's August, we'll stay busy preparing to board our small plane to take us on the journey of our lives -- all in hopes to board a bigger literal plane to take us on a physical journey to get our little one and bring them back home.

The Pre-Beginnings of Lifetime Journey

This blog post was posted in May -- so, you're basically reading our feelings and thoughts in the pre-adoption process. :-)

It started in April. It was as though once the last barrier that had kept us from moving through with adoption was torn down, it came down completely, and it was as clear as day that adoption was in our plan, and in that plan soon. Adoption has always been tucked away in a little cabinet of our minds since marriage. And the seed of adoption was sowed for me as a little girl. Over the past few years that little seed has grown vigorously. Just here and there, little thoughts or happenings would hit me like a ton of bricks. My mom, not knowing it, helped water that seed for instance. A few years ago she bought a book for me to read to my kids about adoption with a little girl in it with my name, Robin. She of course didn't mean anything by it, but by the end of the book my heart was pumping and I was holding back tears. Over this past winter, I couldn't look at little tots without the thought in my head. In fact, I'd almost cry at times. My heart felt as though it was being wrung to the point I could barely stand it. 

Over-time, adoption would overwhelm every ounce of my being. It..just..would...not...leave...my...head. I'd research daily, read blogs, go through waiting child lists, you name it. It consumed me. I had dreamed about adoption in various forms over the past few years, but those dreams and thoughts were increasing. Coincidental happenings would take place as though God was dropping a sign here and there. But once Billy and I tore down that last barrier which had kept us from seriously considering it -- that was it; it was an instant mutual 100% decision between the two of us. While I was worried at first that I was more on board with the decision than he, he'd remind me how much he wanted and needed this too. One night he told me, "I just want them in my arms. As soon as possible."

So, here we are, in our "pre-beginnings" of adoption. Tonight we meet with a social worker that works with the adoption agency we plan to submit our application to. While this isn't an official step in the process, it's a pre-step, and we are so excited.

We know there will be many questions from family and friends. We made a basic FAQS page from our blog homepage in the bar at the top. If you're a family or good friend -- I'd highly appreciate taking the time to quickly read through it. You may be surprised what type of questions or statements you may hear when talking to others about our adoption process.

I'm keeping this blog nice and short. With that said, we're beyond elated to begin this journey, and share it with you.

Zài jiàn for now!