On day two of Thanksgiving break, I have made sure to make the most of the day by spending time outside, crafting, working, cooking and cleaning. After a hiatus, my Etsy shop is replenished with new items added! Please feel free to take a minute and visit the shop: NaturalDiscovery
NaturalDiscovery
All of the sales go directly toward our adoption!
While my crafting certainly won't cover the adoption, it feels good to do work with my hands that can help a little. We have reached a point where the costs are looking frightening, with our referral fee and travel expenses not too far on the horizon. At first, we were hopeful that we could independently cover the cost of the expenses. We diligently put aside as much of our paychecks as we could, and cut down our budget significantly. However as the costs added up, employment hiccups and fees were increased, we realized we could not do it entirely on our own. There were humbling and encouraging gifts from family and friends that blessed us at just the right moments. We continue to look into more ways to raise funds, cut back, and plan ahead.
Now that it is the end of November, it is time to submit our I-600a, which is an application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for adoptive parents. The process is pretty straightforward; some paperwork, copies of records, and a check. However we have heard of some glitches in the processing, so we are hopeful for a quick and smooth approval.
This step is exciting because while it absolutely means more waiting, it also means we are in the range of possibility! While we do not expect a referral soon, we are now in what was given to us as the estimated time frame for receiving a referral. This time frame stretches on for many months, but it gives us hope and fills us with excitement.
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Being in a new phase of waiting, we've started to allow ourselves to plan. The other day I saw these adorable painted wooden stacking animals at a toy sale and couldn't resist. It was the first tangible thing I've purchased for our child. It felt like a big deal. It led me to many other 'nesting' desires. Unfortunately there are so many unknowns that there isn't a whole lot of preparing to be done right now. We don't know the age of our child- will they need a crib or toddler bed? We don't know their gender or size, so collecting clothing is out. We don't know how much Mandarin they know, and therefore how much we should learn. With all the unknowns this sweet little block set felt like a pretty safe decision to make.
Even with the questions we have and wait ahead of us, we are feeling SO excited and thankful for where we are. Looking back on this last year, we have so much to be thankful for. We have been shown many times that this is in God's hands and we just need to trust and give thanks.
