Good News on a Rainy Day

Sometimes the best news comes when it's a dreary day, you're feeling sick and are in the middle of the grocery store buying orange juice. And then everything looks beautiful.

We spent nearly three years in the adoption process before getting a much anticipated referral (child match) and these past five months have been slower, more frustrating and challenging than the previous three years. Everyone told us it was a whole new deal once you have your child's information and they were so right. Since we have known about our little guy, we have been waiting for our approval. It sounds like a simple step but it has proven to be the most trying in this process yet. I won't go into detail about the challenges this time has brought, but for any adoptive parents I would strongly suggest reaching out to family, friends and others who can relate. Be open about your fears and struggles because we are not meant to go through those alone.

Last week we got the news we had been waiting for, or so we thought. We were approved, however they also needed to get his birth mother's approval. This was an unexpected step we had not been anticipating, which of course filled us with all sorts of questions and fears. We had no idea how and when that would happen, but were left to continue to wait. That leads us to today. Today we found out that our little guy's birth mother also approved! Not only is this great news because it means we are that much closer to bringing him home, but also because of the unexpected peace that came with having her voice in this process. It was something we were not anticipating, but gives me so much confidence and appreciation that the woman who gave birth to him and his caregivers who have loved him all approve of us as his adoptive parents. From the day we saw him we believed he belonged in our family, and to have many voices of affirmation means the world to us.

The next steps are undoubtedly going to bring their own sets of challenges, but I feel strengthened by today's milestone to stay strong for whatever is ahead. We will be submitting our dossier to Taiwan, and then wait for them to schedule a court date. We may or may not have to be present at the court hearing. After the judges ruling, and a couple of months, final decree will be given when we are able to travel to bring him home. We cannot wait!

Until then, we are so ready to skype with him and send care packages. I hope these small moments help to build a strong foundation for our relationship. We have so many pictures and videos that we love to look at, and thought now is a good time to share them with any readers. So here is the little one who brings us so much joy already.

We are going to name him Calvin (which we later on found out means bald!) 

 

We are so excited to get to know this little guy!