Nesting

Our trip to get things notarized was a success!  They were notarized, Fed Ex-ed and are now in the hands of our agency.  Please pray that they get authenticated and prepared soon so that they can be on their way to China within a few weeks.

While we were away, we also spent great time with close friends, got to eat yummy western food (Papa John's, Burger King and Outback), and also shopped.  Top of our buying list: things for the girls!  It was so much fun.  My favorite was the trip to the fabric market. 

The middle fabric is for the curtains and the floral prints will be two sheet/pillow sets.  I really like them.

We also bought bowls, kid silverware, baskets and a couple new frames from Ikea.  And we were given a few gifts:

I can't wait to know who the little people are who will fit into this little dress and this little skirt!

a little trip to the Embassy

In America, if you'd like to get something notarized, you just pop over to a local bank--likely a less than 5 minute trip that costs you nothing but the gas it takes to get there.  When you live in East Asia, however, getting something notarized means you have to plan a trip to the American consulate or Embassy.  This requires a couple hour plane ride.  And documents are not free to notarize; they are $50 a document!  Thankfully, because we have kind friends to put us up, at least we don't have to pay for hotels. 

Most of the time, I love living here.  I'm not trying to complain.  It's just that in our adoption process, when things like this cost us lots of time and lots more money, I get a little annoyed/frustrated (what's the right emotion?) when I compare it to how simple it would be there.

So, on January 20th, we have an Embassy appointment to get the last of our documents notarized for our dossier.  It'll feel like deja vu since we just did this in May.  But that's what happens in this process...unexpected delays, unknown requirements, and all we can do is just go with the flow. 

Welcome 2012!

I have hope, expectation and anticipation for big changes in this year.  I am praying that this will be the year two little ones will be placed in my arms and become ours.  Our lives will never be the same again.  Please pray with us that this dream of ours will come true.

I'm not sure if I've explained the hows of adopting two girls at one time.  One comes from the waiting child list and one comes from the special focus list.  Waiting children are children with special needs or ones that are a little bit older.  CCCWA found out that some children are on this list a long time and still aren't adopted.  In order to better advocate for the adoption of these children, they began the special focus program in September 2010.  Children who have been on the waiting child list for more than 60 days or who are somehow deemed "hard to adopt" are placed on this list.  (More info can be found here.)  If a couple is willing to adopt a child from the special focus list, they can use the same dossier from a previous adoption.  These adoptions can take place simultaneously, which is what we're hoping for, or concurrently.  However, we're beginning to understand that finding a girl under two with minor needs from the special focus list may prove to be more difficult than we realize. 

So, things are getting ironed out for our dossier to be sent to China...hopefully sent by late January, and our match for our first girl from the waiting list will come sometime in February.  However, we are contemplating what may need to happen for a match from the special focus list.  We may need to change our home study to allow us to adopt an older child or a boy.  We're not sure.  For now just pray that we will continue to trust that God knows who these little ones are and that His timing is perfect.