We're On Amazon!

ADOPTION UPDATE: For those of you who missed the news on Facebook earlier this week, last Friday afternoon we were informed that we had been "Dossier Approved" by Costa Rica. This came as a surprise to our agency, as well as to us, as none of us thought that would happen until our revised U.S. immigration paperwork was completed and sent down there (we're still waiting on that). 

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? It basically means that the Costa Rican social worker and psychologist looked at our home study, application, and psychological evaluation and approved us to adopt children from Costa Rica. 

SO WHAT'S THE HOLD UP? They have sent two letters to tell us that we are approved, but that if we want to move forward with the five children that we sent the letter of intent for earlier this year, we need to be approved by USCIS for 5 in the correct age range, rather than the 4 we are currently approved for. This is the paperwork that we had the hiccup with last week, but it's in process. It was pretty exciting to see our kid's names in our official acceptance letter from the country, however! :) 

WHAT'S NEXT? Once we have the revised paperwork back from the U.S. Immigration Department, we'll send it down to our adoption agency to have it apostilled (basically, notarized for a Hague Adoption Country) and then sent on to Costa Rica. Once they have that, we'll get approval to adopt 5 - boys and girls - and moved into the official "matching" phase. Our understanding is that once we reach that stage, they'll officially ask us if we want our 5 kids, we'll say "YES!" and they will then let the kids know that we exist and that we want to keep them together. The kids will go through some counseling to help with this transition, and we should start communicating with them after that.

WHEN DO YOU TRAVEL? Isn't THAT the million dollar question?! :) Depending on how quickly everything falls into place, we could be traveling in late June or early July - or later this summer if we hit another unforeseen delay.

FUNDING UPDATE: We're currently $419 away from the $11,000 mark, and $9,419 away from our total goal.

**IT'S A RACE!!**Well, not really a race, but with the help of some friends, we're working to put together an "Adoption Walk" on a local trail to help raise funds for our travels and final adoption costs. It's currently "penciled in" by the trail coordinators for June 11th from 8-10 am. We're hoping to get some local businesses involved as well, so if we're connected on Facebook (and you live in our area), stay tuned for more details. :)

WHAT DO YOU NEED? Besides prayer and funds? ;) We've heard this question a lot, so we finally publicized our adoption registry this week from Amazon. Some of the items (like toothpaste or hairbrushes) don't have to come from Amazon, but it's the easiest way to let people know what we're lacking. We want to keep it simple - at least as we start out. Coming from an orphanage to America is going to be a little overwhelming, to say the least, so a limited number of simple clothes and simple toys (and lots of books!) is our goal. :) PLEASE NOTE: we were very specific in our choice of toys due to what we know about the kid's backgrounds, and what skills we want to work on once they are home (fine motor skills being one of them, English being another), so if you're inclined to purchase/give a toy, please stick to this list. THANKS!
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/registry/baby/3FMEV8P5KVDOS