About Time for an Update

Hmmm, post number two for the blog, but I haven't yet sent out announcements so people can find it. Got to get that done soon!

Okay, so what's happened since the last post? Well, we submitted our application to the adoption agency (New Hope) on the 14th of June, and also sent in our I-600A form to the USCIS (formerly INS). Everything arrived just fine to New Hope, and they are now reviewing our package and preparing everything we'll need to get the dossier together.

Unfortunately it wasn't so smooth with the USCIS. We messed up and sent too much money to them, and since they can't simply process a refund, they sent everything back and told us to try again (by checking the box on the form that said we didn't send enough...go figure!). We checked, double checked, and triple checked the amount and sent it in again. Hopefully we won't go all the way back to the end of the line. Now we wait for them to process the paperwork and send us a date to get our official fingerprints for the federal background check.

On the 19th, we had our first homestudy visit with our social worker (Phil). He's a great guy (I'm not sucking up because our adoption rests in his hands...really!). Anyway, he and his wife have two adopted daughers from China, and since we don't cause any alarms to go off in his mind (murderers, pychos, etc.), he'll be a great advocate and resource for us throughout the process. He got us set up for our first major task: local background check and fingerprints!

We went to the Mobile Police HQ on the 21st to get the background check and fingerprints. Neither of us have a record (are you surprised?) and the fingerprints went well enough. We won't know for sure until we hear that the Alabama Bureau of Investigations scans them and likewise finds no bad info on the two of us. The worst we expect here is that they get picky over the prints and force us to redo them.

After that, we stopped by a floring place we had visited the day before to put a deposit down on new carpet. The carpet in our house was junk (not a good enough four letter word to describe it, but I'm trying to keep it clean here). It was what came with the house and the builders obviously went cheap on it. It gets installed on the 29th and we can't wait (though the house will be in a bit of chaos for all the moving of furniture and such). The next big project will be an addition to the house (three bedrooms doesn't afford me an office with two kids, so we're expanding!). More on that later.

We're in the process now of writing auto-biographies. Nothing like "My Life" at almost 1000 pages! Just a few pages each. I'll post mine here when I'm done, and hopefully convince Heather to do the same.

Monday the 28th we have a meeting with the adoption agency that Phil goes through for the home study. They like to meet their clients and give us a lot of paperwork. Fine by us! If we're not actively doing something for the adoption, we feel like we're wasting time. That'll only be worse during those gaps between dossier completion and referral, and then referral to travel time.

Not sure how often we'll post updates, but I'll try to get at least one in each week.

All our best,

James, Heather and Anna

Welcome to Our Blog!

Dear Friends and Family,

Heather and I have just begun a very exciting adventure! After much prayer and research, we have decided to grow our family through international adoption. On Monday we sent out our initial paperwork, and with God's Will, baby Isabella will be in our arms sometime in early to mid-2005. It may not be the best or traditional term to use, but in a sense, we are "expecting"!

I'm sure you have a lot of questions. I'll try to address some of them here. If you have others, feel free to ask and we'll answer what we can. Just like any other impending arrival, we want you all to be a part of the process. In many ways, this will mirror a traditional pregnancy...lots of waiting and worrying and wondering (but no morning sickness!), and at the end a visit from the stork!

Why are we pursuing adoption?
Heather and I were blessed in July of 2000 with the arrival of our daughter Anna. Of course, she decided to come three months early, so we had our fair share of stress at that time. But Anna is fully caught up, and Heather recovered from the emergency C-section. Still, it was scary, and the thought of having another child was frightening despite the call to grow our family.

In the fall of 2002, we found out we were pregnant again (not planned!). Unfortunately, the pregnancy did not go well. It turned out to be a non-viable tubal pregnancy. Heather had a serious but successful surgery, and the doctors said we should be able to have more children if we want to. We were heartbroken, but it furthered our committment to grow our family.

Heather has a heart of gold, and has always had adoption in her heart. I was reluctant at first. But the risks to Heather's health at this time are just too great for us to pursue another biological child. She won me over with adoption and now we're marching forward together.

What country are we adopting from?
At first we were looking to China. They have a well established and stable program, and there are many children in need (primarily girls). Then we heard about the possiblity of Taiwan. Though a smaller program (duh, it's a smaller country), there's a greater chance of having more history on the child and the travel time is only 5-7 days vs 10-14 with China.

Why not adopt in the US?
Mainly stability. There are wonderful adoption programs here, but fears that the birth mother would change her mind after birth, or the legal challenges that occur even after adoptions are completed made us shy away. Beyond that, we simply feel a pull to go overseas. (Ever had God pull on you?)

Are we crazy?
Yes, probably. Especially because we're volunteering not only to spend a lot of money to get a child and raise her, but another college tuition and a wedding (it's a girl!). But when we get her picture in a few months, then get her home, it'll all be worth it!

How old will she be and when will you pick her up?
We're pursuing an infant, but it will depend on the children available. Most likely, she'll be between 6-12 months when we get her home.

How much does it cost?
Adoptions are not cheap, either domesticly or internationally. Let's face it, even traditional pregnancy isn't cheap (though often health care coverage can help drastically--Anna's bills topped $500,000, we paid almost nothing!).

All in all, the total cost will be between $20-25,000. The federal government provides a $10,000 tax credit, and my company benefits include $2,500. Those will both be granted after the completed adoption.

Fortunatly, because were adopting a girl, we already have clothes and many other baby items!

How can you help?
We believe in the Power of Prayer! We're writing this to share our experience and ask for your prayers. It will make a difference!

We are excited about what God is going to do in our lives through this child. The process is long and not without obstacles, but we are up to the challenge. When our child arrives home to us, we will broadcast our happy news.

We'll continue to post as we go through the entire adoption process.

Many thanks and God Bless!

James, Heather and Anna