How long?

In case you are wondering how long it takes for the next step, we're not exactly sure. The adoption agency doesn't like giving timelines in case things change. What we do tell us is that once the dossier legalization is done and sent to Haiti, it usually takes around 3 months to get matched with a child. That means, we could be matched with our kid (s) around Christmastime. We were thinking that would be a pretty cool Christmas gift.

The Lord has really been showing me a lot of neat things lately. As some of you know I have been reading through the Bible chronologically this year, something I've never done, but was inspired by my sister-in-law Selena. I have been so impressed through my reading about how important the decisions we make are and the lasting effect they have on our lives and the lives around us. I have also been doing a Bible study on the book of Revelation with my friend Rita. We've had such a good time studying that book and there have been many new things I've learned out of that study. One thing I learned is that our greatest enemy, Satan, has access to Heaven and stands before Jesus accusing His saints. When I learned that, I became even more conscious about my decisions because I don't want my sin to be used by Satan as ammunition. Rita brought up a good point recently out of a message she watched online. The speaker said when you choose to sin, you are really choosing sides. You are choosing the side of your enemy, and I don't want to do that.

Stephen and I live a pretty comfortable life. We are debt free, we have good jobs, a nice home, great friends and family. Our relationship is solid and we aren't tied down to anything. I believe, that if we hadn't made this decision to adopt, it would have been sin in our case. The Holy Spirit was speaking to our hearts and we responded. It was what the Lord wanted us to do. It's not an easy road. We could have easily ignored God's guidance and continued to live our comfortable, uncomplicated lives. But He wants more for us. He wants us to trust Him and take this leap of faith. We know that the hardest job in the world is to be a parent. We also know that it has great rewards. But the greatest thing I can do in this short life I have is be obedient to my Father and honor him. Of course, you know that I'm not saying adoption is everybody's calling, but it is ours. And we boldly say "yes" to Jesus and allow Him to lead us over the next several months.

We're so grateful that you are along in this journey. So many of you reading this blog played a role in getting us to where we are today. We still have our many shortcomings and failures, but I am so grateful for Godly examples all around us who encourage us to keep the faith and not give up. We covet yours prayers, especially during the child match process. We love you all.

Time for a new hobby

Our case worker told us when we met a few months ago that when our dossier was complete, it was time to get a new hobby. The work is out of our hands now. Tomorrow the dossier gets mailed to CCAI, our adoption agency in Colorado. They will read and review it meticulously three times. Then the whole shebang gets translated into French and sent to Haiti. We are completely at the mercy of agencies and governments now. We've been told the waiting can be hard, therefore it is a good idea to take up a new hobby. Luckily Stephen and I start playing volleyball next week. Our regular winter league through the school district starts on Wednesday and we've decided to join another league that starts in October through the YMCA in Cedar Rapids. We can't wait!

Documents faxed for certification today!

You gotta love the State of Iowa. They are the only state that we know of that doesn't require original documents mailed to them. It makes it pretty convenient for us because I was able to fax the packet of stuff to them from work. It was about 28 pages worth. The Secretary of State will look over the notary signatures and certify that they are legit and mail us the certifications. Then we attach those to the original documents. They charge $5 per certification, so that's not too bad. Hopefully they will get them done quick (I am concerned because it's election season). Once we get those back we will send everything to our adoption agency in Colorado.

Dossier is done!

We have completed the paperwork for our Dossier!! We have been so blessed so far. Our agency told us the "paperchase" takes 4-6 months to complete but the Lord made a way to get everything completed in exactly two months. We took all of our paperwok to Veridian on Saturday where we had our documents notarized. The people we have worked with through this whole process have been so kind and helpful and our friend at Veridian was no exception. This week we will go through the documents one more time and then entrust the US Postal Service to get everything to Des Moines to get certified.

Adopting Sofia Part 2 (watch part 1 first)

An inspirational video