Dossier is on the Way!!!!!!!!!

Well at last I caught a break. I was able to send the dossier in after all. I'm so excited I can hardly sit still. They are going to send the forms from the Sec. of State straight to my agency instead of back to me. Everything will arrive on the desk Monday. Prayerfully, everything will be in order and we'll be officially waiting! This was the last paper step in the process. It feels so good to finally have something accomplished.

In other breaking news, we leave for Hawaii in less than 12 hours and my hair is a HOT MESS! I don't know what the heck I'm going to do with it. Oh well, no one in Hawaii knows me. Aloha!

So Close but No Cigar

I was soooo excited thinking we would be able to send in our dossier tomorrow before we go off to Hawaii. Well of course nothing is ever smooth in this journey. I mailed papers to Austin to have them certified. I overnighted them and they are supposed to overnight them back with the enclosed envelope I provided. I called today because I didn't receive it. I was told that they are behind and probably won't get to mine until tomorrow, which means it will probably get back to me on Saturday. We will be on plane to Hawaii on Sat. morning so that won't work. The lady I spoke with acted like "Oh well sucks to be you" This throws us back at least a week because I won't be able to send the dossier in until we get back. Not a big deal in the whole scheme of things but I had my heart sat on having everything done before we left. Oh well I guess the rude lady in Austin had a point, right now it does suck to be me!

Homestudy Approved - THANK GOD!

I can hardly believe it but this evening we got an email that our homestudy was FINALLY approved. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry it's been such an emotional rollercoaster. Hubby and I were out to dinner discussing what we were going to do. We'd just about decided to switch agencies when I checked my email and there it was. Hubby thinks we should just proceed on with our current agency as opposed to starting over with someone else. Perhaps he's right. Hold on Gracie we're making progress, slowwwww but steady.

Hey All

Hello blog family,

Well believe it or not we never received any word on our homestudy. Someone from the agency contacted me via email last Friday. They assured me they would have a definitive answer over the weekend or Monday the latest. It's Thurs. night, I never heard anything. I emailed the agency Monday evening and I received no response. Hubby and I were talking last night and he said we have so much already. We're madly in love with each other, love the Lord and we're financially secure. Maybe that's all we get, maybe we don't have the right to ask for more. I don't know. What I do know is that I am so tired of crying about this, so tired of feeling sad. We are considering other agencies but this has been so traumatic for us it's hard to continue the quest. I realize that nothing in life is easy and because Gracie would be our greatest gift perhaps it should be difficult. Prayers please.

Not Meant - What Now?

Well, it doesn't seem that our homestudy will be approved. It's been a month and the nomal time frame is a week. On our adoption agency's forum, there have been many to submit there's after ours and it's already approved. I spoke with someone at the agency yet again last week. They stated they were checking on something with the Ethiopian team in Ethiopia and they would know something in a couple of days. Of course that's been a week ago. They are just yanking my chain. Honestly folks, it is unbelievable to me that there are children DYING daily over there and hubby and I are two Christian, well adjusted, financially secure people and we are getting the run around. I can't tell you the despair I feel. Maybe it's not meant for us to be parents. My God, how can that be?! Hubby and I have talked and we are considering trying another route. Perhaps a domestic adoption will bring us our Gracie. I sure felt connected to Ethiopia and felt so sure that she was there. Tomorrow, I'm going to call our local agency and speak with the owner. Perhaps she has some advice or can at least steer us toward some agencies here. Pray for us and our Gracie.

Hawaii

Hello again, I thought I'd post some good news for a change. Hubby & I are going to Hawaii for our summer vacation. We will fly to Hawaii then take a 7 day cruise down all of the islands. It should be great & I can't wait. This is a big deal for us because we both HATE to fly. We haven't flown since our honeymoon 9 years ago. But it's time for us to step out on faith. Weeeeee, Yaaaaay for The Banks

Still No News

Well, we still haven't received any news on the homestudy. I am completely beside myself. I've called & left messages but no one will even call me back. Not a good sign. I'm watching another person's posts to see if her homestudy is approved. She sent hers' in after me. I'm so bummed. Hubby thinks I'm over reacting but I think he's worried too. Everyone please say a little prayer that all will go well and this is not an ominous sign.