Adoption Update

 Our Adoption Assessor visited us this week to update our Home Study.
Our U.S. Immigration approval to adopt internationally is going to expire soon, 
so we will need to file an extension later this month.

Considering the fact that it's been over two years since we began actively pursuing adoption, 
and this summer will mark two years since we were officially signed up with our agency, 
it's understandable that people are starting to wonder what in the world is going on 
with this adoption of ours.

The reason we haven't said much lately is that 
there really hasn't been much to tell.  

We completed all of the necessary steps on our end and our entire dossier 
was delivered to China and logged in to their system about a year ago.  

 At some point our adoption agency will send us a referral (a child's file),
but they can't tell us exactly when that will happen.  

So for the past year we have been waiting.  

And waiting. 

And waiting some more.

 

As time goes on, less and less children are being released for

international adoption from China, which is wonderful.  

It means that less birth parents are in desperate and heartbreaking
situations where they are forced to give up their precious babies.  

It means that more adoptions are occurring within China, 

allowing more children to be raised in their country of origin.  

While these are great changes, they are obviously causing 
our wait to stretch on a bit longer than initially expected.

We've been in contact with our placing agency and the most recent 
indication is that we might receive a referral in the next six months or so.

And honestly, as much as I would love to have our daughter here 
in our arms, I am at peace with the wait.  And Michael is, too.

We both trust that God has a plan for our family.  

We are head over heels in love with our surprise baby, Carter.

We know we'll feel the same way about our daughter 

and that like her brother, she will come to us 

according to God's perfect timing, not ours. 

So for those who have been afraid to ask what's going on or why you 
haven't heard anything in a while, it's just because there hasn't been any news.

And those who ask about our adoption every time we see you, please keep asking!  

We love knowing that others are thinking about our future daughter right along with us. 

And I promise, when we finally get that file telling us about our little girl 

and showing us pictures of her precious face for the first time,

we will tell everyone as soon as we possibly can!

In the meantime, enjoy some pictures of our baby boy and his "baby."

Soon after we started our adoption, 
Michael bought a little doll for our future daughter.
A few months ago Carter "found" her and was completely smitten.
Who could blame him?  She was adorable.

This is how she looked back then:



Since then, Carter's affection for her has only grown stronger.

He loves her a lot, and it shows.

Much to his Michael's dismay, Carter plays with this "baby" more than any other toy.  
She is the first thing he looks for every morning and his face just lights up when he finds her.

 

She gets lots of hugs.  And kisses.

 

She also gets dragged around by her feet.

 

And sometimes by her hair.

 

He is pretty rough on her as he shows his love.



 

 

Here he was not-so-gently "patting" her on the head!

I hope Carter is a little more gentle with his real sister than he is with his "baby," 
but I hope he loves her just as much!

Until then, we'll let him keep "practicing."