Last week we received our I-171H (don't I sound smart) approval from the US govt. Basically we were given permission to bring an orphan into the U.S. It took about 5 weeks for us to get approved, which is why we sent our dossier to Uganda before waiting for the I-171H to come back. This form, which is the very last thing needed to complete our dossier is on it's way to our adoption agency global office here in the states. They will hopefully send it to country on Monday of next week.
So what now? WE WAIT. The next phone call we will hopefully receive from our agency is the good news of a referral, or match to a child! Estimated time frame is 3-12 months. From what I can see of other families adoption from the same country through our agency...average wait time seems closer to 4-5 months. One month down.....how many to go???
While we wait. Travis and I need to get an additional 10 hours of training. Training can include classes by our adoption agency, reading books, attending webinars, etc. I have continued to watch a lot of videos by Karyn Purvis and her team from TCU about kids that come from hard places. Very good stuff. Her website has a ton of free resources and good info found HERE.
We sent our first round of grant applications (second round to be sent after we receive a referral) over the last few months. We have yet to hear back from any of the grant committees but are hopeful they will be able to provide us some (much needed) assistance. Our baby blanket fundraiser is ongoing. Check HERE to see which blankets are available.
This is the blanket I kept to remind me to pray for and think of our little girl. Turquoise is the color of her bedroom and the pink African animals are something I might use to accent her room. It's Jhett's room now, so is currently more boy-themed.
On a personal note I have been having fun (sarcastic) mini van shopping! UGH. We are selling our little Ford Focus to make room for our third child and to make packing the car for a weekend trip actually doable. Last time we packed up the focus to go camping, I ended up sitting squeezed in the back between 2 car seats just so we could use the front seat to fit everything in. :) I think this family is about to (if we haven't already) outgrow our compact sedan.
Today I am keeping busy with this bunch of rascals. My brother and his wife are currently on a family vacation, so we are watching their boys for a few short days.
