Dossier has landed in Virginia

So, last weekend we shared that we had done some running around and that Saturday, I sorted through the several copies that we had made and carefully created four piles of identical paperwork.



Here, you can see one of the piles all laid out.

We then made a pilgrimage to the local post office. I was being semi ridiculous as Randy wanted to walk, but I wanted to drive, because I just didn't want anything to happen to all of these papers. He convinced me to walk and here we are holding and packaging the "baby" upon arrival.







Eventually after several goodbyes, we mailed our dossier to Virginia. I followed that little package online for three days and mid week, we received an email from our family coordinator stating that the package had arrived. Praise the Lord!!!! Our dossier will now be reviewed by two folks within the agency and then it will be reviewed by the United States Embassy and then the Rwandan Embassy in Washington DC. After that, it will fly to Rwanda and I will track it's progress on the Internet once again. We are feeling so incredibly blessed as the adoption has been fully funded so far because of help from the Lord, family, and friends. We are so appreciative of your prayers and funding.

The next few months will be filled with so much activity so the wait shouldn't be to excruciating. We both graduate at the beginning of May. Randy will continue to craft his thesis on puppies...ok, so it's not on puppies, but I know he wishes that it was. About mid May we will be hosting a dessert reception fundraiser at our church. I still don't have the details of this event laid out, but I am really excited that our pastor has granted us access to the church for an evening and that we have already had quite a few friends step up to the plate to help with this event. I have begun to construct a letter for local businesses with the hope of securing a few donated items for a raffle. We hope to share our story through song and narration with all those that attend.

Randy is also applying for a few teaching positions this month throughout New England...mostly Vermont so far and I have found a few in New Hampshire that might be greeted with his resume within the next couple of weeks...so we'll just wait and see. I believe that is all for now. I must continue to read for my class on Monday. Only four more class sessions to endure and then I will be done and officially on break from academia for a while. Hope this finds you all well and thanks for reading. It is so nice to share with you all. Have a blustery spring day.

To Augusta and beyond

So we went on a journey south yesterday to the city of Augusta. It is a land that flows with Panera and state buildings. It was a beautiful day for a drive and even a better one for getting our dossier documents certified. We dropped them off at the Secretary of State's office and wandered around for about 20 minutes while they were stamped.

We saw the Maine seal.


We saw the rooms where the Maine House of Representatives and the Senate battle it out.


We saw the inside of the capital dome which I thought was quite beautiful.

After that we headed back to the Secretary of States Office and found our documents sealed. Of course it wouldn't be a true experience without drama. I expected to pay $10 per notarized document and I thought we had 19 in total, so when the secretary behind the double glass windows said that is would be $310, my heart sank. Surely, I am not that bad at math, but I submitted the payment any how. I then sat down and began to look through the prized documents to see where I had gone wrong. AHA...I brought five copies of each of the police reports, for a total of 12 notary signatures that did not need to be certified, but rather kept for the additional copies of our home study that were provided for grant applications. Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know about you, but I always get red in the face when I have done something foolish, so thank goodness Randy was there. He gently shared the news with the lady behind the glass and if you can believe this, we received a refund for $120.00 instantly. Praise the Lord for grace. So we broke bread a Panera and traveled back north to make our 222 photo copies. I will share the tale of sending the dossier on in my next post. For now, I leave you with a thankful heart and a restful spirit.

Spring in Maine

So we're all pretty excited here! Not only is is Spring in Maine, but we received out I-171H form. Funny little form this is. It is a document that is generated from the Department of Homeland Security that you receive after you file your I-600A. Before you receive this document, you receive a receipt, which is posted on beautiful paper, then you receive your fingerprint appointment, which is also on beautiful paper, and then a few weeks after your fingerprinting, you receive the I-171H...a plain looking piece of paper. It exhibits the look of a tax document and I had to look it over a couple of times to verify that it was in fact the document that we had been waiting for. Down on the bottom right hand corner, in smaller than average print, it is posted for the near sighted individual with a hawk like sense of sight, I-171H.

So now what...well a funny little thing happened. I am pretty sure that the wrong expiration date has been posted on this here form and we are currently waiting to hear back from our local office. By the way, trying to get a hold of someone in the Department of Homeland Security is a complicated matter in and of itself. The automated system is circular, but after about fifteen minutes of pushing various numerals on my phone, I finally discovered the correct combination and was put through to a real person who then instructed me to email my local office...not call, because they don't have phone lines that go into the place, only secret lines that dial out. So, the email is in and I have been notified that in three short business days, they will be in touch. What's three days...after all, it was on the third day that Christ rose again and that, my friends, was totally worth the wait.

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Relaxing in my Maker's grip.

Rain in Maine

Just a quick check in, they seem like they are all quick lately. We are being rained on in Maine. It is lovely weather. Grayson prayed to Jesus this morning asking for the rain to go away so that he could play outside. Someone else must have needed the rain because it is still misting.

We had a wonderful weekend. Last Thursday we headed to Portland for the fingerprinting. It was a wonderful experience. I think I was expecting cranky state workers, but then we were pleasantly surprised with how kind everyone was. The officer that wands you down came down eye to eye with Gray and shook his hand and was just so sweet. It was these people that helped make this visit such a nice one. The fingerprinting itself was fast and then we were off to the beach. It was a beautiful sunny day, mid 40's, and we were able to spend quality time together as a family. We went hiking, climbing, and grocery shopping at the Whole Foods.

We went for our second physical appointment today. We had originally had our physicals in August because they were needed for the home study. Well, the only downside to that was that this document needs to be less than three months of age by the time it heads to Rwanda. So, today was the update day and all went smoothly at the office. Again, pleasant people were abounding.

So now what...well more prayer for sure. We are excited that this leg of the journey is nearly fully funded and feel so blessed as God has provided for each step so generously and graciously. We still have the hope that our paperwork will be complete in the near future...sometime between March and April is the goal. We continue to trudge through this semester, the final semester of our graduate work, and will soon proudly display our diplomas. Randy is looking for secondary math teaching positions in the northeast, with the main focus being in Vermont. So if you know anybody, please let us know.

We'll keep you posted as things progress.

Fingers to be dipped in ink!

Another step to happen very soon. We will be heading to Portland in a little under two weeks to dip our fingers into ink. It will be nice to have an extra long weekend with amenities. I can already taste my cinnamon crunch bagel from Panera. I know this was short and I promise to give a life update later, but we are heading out on a winter bottle walk. Speak soon.

on the other side of the world

It's amazing how I already find myself thinking about her, wondering who she'll become, praying for the choices that she will make, imagining what our routines will be, picturing her face lighting up at new discoveries, and yet I haven't even met her. Who's eyes will she have, what will her laughter sound like, will her crying tear at my heart with each boo boo, will she love butterflies or dust bunnies. These are the thoughts of a mothers heart and yet I haven't met her. Is she safe, is she comfortable, is she cared for...yes because her Father is there even while I cannot be.

Just some thoughts as I sit and wonder. We have made a movement in the land of adoption which is such a blessing. We have sent our I-600A application this past Monday. This document, though I have to admit, I don't fully understand it, is used to approve our family for adoption. So with that said, even though we have prayed about it, prayed over it, we invite you to join us as we continue to pray for it. We should have some more information within the next 6-12 weeks.

Within the next couple of weeks I am planning to take some candid photos of our family and home for our dossier photo pages. I feel like the adoption process is a giant puzzle and I am still working on putting together the edge pieces before digging into the big picture.

Well, Candyland is calling and Princess Frosty awaits.

Midwest journey peppered with family moments

I apologize that it has been so long since my previous post. I have to admit, I didn't even send out Christmas cards this year. It's not that I didn't think deeply about what I would write and what format would be most appropriate, it's just that I ran out of time. So here we are visiting the Midwest, enjoying all of the amenities that Ohio has to offer, from close friends and family, to Panera bagels. (It is 1.5 hours to the nearest Panera from where we live)

We have had some development in the adoption which we are thrilled about. We now hold the final copy of our home study, notarized and all. This took some time because as many of you may remember, we had completed our final meeting back in August. With this home study we are able to apply for adoption grants, apply for immigration, and begin to wrap up some of the loose end of our dossier. It will still be some time before we submit our paperwork to Rwanda, but it is these landmark moments that bring true joy to the experience at hand.

I can't say that the past couple of months have been spent outside of frustration, but what I can promise is we have felt the Lord's presence along the way, whether the day be doused in doubt or primed with hope. I can't remember a time in my life where I have realized more that God's timing isn't necessarily my timing and I think I share that with anyone within ear shot. The more time that is spent on this part of our journey, the clearer the goal becomes...to bring our little girl home to her forever family.

I hope your holiday has been as wonderfully warm as ours and that the His peace which transcends all understanding is with each of you.