We have BIG news - we are adopting a child!
We are beyond excited and are doing everything we can to be prepared to welcome a beautiful new life into our home. As part of our adoption process, we have started a crowdfunding campaign. It may surprise you that adoption related costs can easily total up to $35,000 or more. This is why we have set a goal of $25,000 to help ease the financial burden that often overwhelms adoptive parents.
We hope that by inviting you into this process, you will see yourself as part of the community we hope to build around our child as he/she grows up.
This summer we caught up on paying for our last home study update. This has now started to push us over our anticipated home study expenses. The next thing to expire is our immigration paperwork this coming spring. We will have to do a full home study update (again) before then to renew the immigration paperwork. Below is a link to our latest chart of expenses, estimated versus actual.
https://www.mcdivittlife.net/img_0258/
We have been told (and are experiencing) that the waiting is the hardest part. What exactly are we waiting for? The Philippines has all our papers, and we are simply waiting to be notified that we are matched with a child or two. Our assurance today is that someday we will look back and see that the waiting was worth it. Please keep praying for us as we wait to step farther into the adoption process.
When people ask about how the adoption process is going, they usually get our response of "still waiting." Three people asked me about it this week, but I was able to give them a little more. We were notified that the Philippines received and approved our updated paperwork, which included our renewed home study and other "current" information that needs to be updated on an annual basis. While it doesn’t seem like progression in the process, it is reassurance that all that paperwork made it overseas and didn't get lost on an island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.
When we send our stacks of paper through the mail, it really does feel like watching our efforts disappear into a black hole. It’s always a relief to here that it all got to where it needed to go. We hope and pray that this year the process goes farther. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to bring our next child home by Christmas?
Thanks for all the questions about how it’s going! Slow, yes, but we know it’ll be worthwhile in the end.
Today we received our official pre-immigration paperwork approval from US Immigration (again). I say "again" because we received our first approval around this time last year. Approval expires after a year, and we get one free renewal before we have to entirely reapply. We have high hopes that things will move along further for us this year!
In the meantime, we continue to wait being matched with our child(ren). We have the next level of our adoption education to get through as we wait. The truth is that patience can be difficult! However excitement remains high as we eagerly await notification of referral.
Financially, we have not had large expenses recently. But we know more are coming! We will need to pay for this next round of education, and, whenever we get through the referral stage, we'll have more paperwork and travel expenses.
Thank you to our waiting partners!
This fall we’ve been renewing much of our paperwork as the adoption process continues. This week we received confirmation from our adoption agency that our home study update has been approved! We’re also needing to file an extension for our immigration papers. As we continue into this Referral phase, we’ll also be stepping through “Phase 2” of our adoption education courses.
As we update papers and continue the journey, the bills also continue to arrive in our mailbox. We love this time of year because holiday greeting cards also get mixed in with the handfuls of mail. By the end of the year, we’ll post an update of our expenses. Thank you to everyone for your support! We look forward to 2023 and the new doors (or windows!) that will open.
Recently we received a letter from the Philippines saying that we are on a Waiting Families roster! We could get notified any day that we’ve been matched with one or two children.
This weekend we had an updated home visit with our social worker. Adoption paperwork lasts for about one year, while the adoption process can take several years. For us, it’s been a year since we finished our first home study report. This weekend we met with our social worker to update details from last year’s report. All information needs to stay updated for the adoption agencies both here and internationally.
Along with the official home study, other reference letters and verifications have to be updated to accompany the home study information. This means more background checks, updates on financial information, etc. It’s a little easier the second time around because existing information is just getting updated. But it’s additional paperwork nonetheless, and that means we have to spend more money to get the paperwork done.
Below is an update of our adoption expenses (expected, spent):
• Paperwork & Processing (2,500; 2,358)
• Medical (1,800; 1,155)
• Home Study (2,550; 2,550)
• Adoption Agency (22,000; 12,206)
• Travel (7,000; 0)
• Post-Adoption (4,200; 0)
As always, we are grateful to all who contribute to our adoption, whether through prayer, business with Expressions of Sugar, or direct financial contributions.
The journey continues!
