I was looking back in our documents to figure out exactly when we started our adoption process. It looks like we signed all of our contract documents at the end of July of last year. It has been quite a process of paperwork, notaries, authenticating, home studies, online education and just plain being stretched farther than we ever imagined. It has been trying and wonderful all at the same time.
In February, our dossier (giant portfolio of paperwork that pretty much contains our entire lives!) was sent to Bulgaria by our agency to be translated. Shad and I made the trip to the big city to immigration to get fingerprinted. And then we waited for the US Government to say that we are approved to adopt internationally. That process took about 8 weeks and included us having to obtain some additional paperwork. Needless to say, I got the call today, that we are, officially, registered to adopt and on the list in Bulgaria!!!!
This means that, for now, we are done with paperwork. We don’t have any required education left, either. However, we continue to learn all that we can about Bulgaria, adoption and parenting a child from a hard place through reading, conversations, online support groups and friends that have gone before us in the adoption world. We have already learned a great deal in the last 10 months, but I know that our learning curve is only beginning.
Some questions you may have:
1) When do you bring home a kiddo?
We don’t expect a referral for about 2 years. Our agency says 1-2 years, so we go with 2 to stay on the sane side. Waiting for a referral can be a long process for most adoptive families. Shad and I are both pretty relaxed about the wait because we have been aware of it since the get go. I know I say this now, ask me how I feel when we get closer to the 2 year mark.
2) Do you have a wait list number that you can keep track of?
Bulgaria does not do wait list numbers. Adoptive families are all in a general pool together. This includes all families, from around the world, that are going the traditional route to adopt from Bulgaria. The Ministry of Justice (Bulgarian government) does the referrals, not our agency. Our caseworker says we basically get put on the list with the MOJ with everyone else, pretty much hear nothing and then one day get a call for a referral. Like I said, ask me how I feel about the waiting when we get close to 2 years.
3) What happens after you get a referral?
When we get a referral, we will jump for joy and thank God! Then we will do a mountain more of paperwork to accept the referral. Next, we will get approved travel dates and actually go to Bulgaria to meet our kiddo. We spend about a week there learning about our kiddo and getting to know her/him. We will also begin the adoption process while there. Then we come back home and wait for our adoption to go through in Bulgaria. Next, we get new travel dates and we go back to get our kiddo and bring them home forever! This whole process, by my understanding, seems to take about 6 months.
4) Are you adopting a boy? A girl? How old will they be?
We are approved to adopt a boy or girl between the ages of 0-2 at the time of the referral. That means that he/she could be as old as 2.9 years old when we get their referral. So the oldest our kiddo would be when they come home is about 3 1/2. I would estimate that they will be between 2 and 3 when we bring them home.
So that is the latest adoption news! We are excited but also trying to remain realistic about the timeline. Right now, we pray for our kiddo, for safety and God’s provision. That our kiddo is being loved on where ever they are (most likely an orphanage). But, if you think about it, they may not even be born yet. We also pray for his/her first mom, for her heart to be protected from the unimaginably difficult decision she has or will make to allow someone else to raise her baby. We also pray that God would prepare our family for a new member to be added to the family.
When we were mattress shopping last weekend, the kids were be-bopping around and talking about how we were going to rearrange all the beds at the house. Suddenly, Josh said, “Hey Mom, when we bring home our next kid, they could have Bethany’s crib to sleep in.” To which Hannah replied, “Ya!” It brought tears to my eyes to hear how excited they are about a new sibling and how accepting they are of adopting. It was also funny because the salesman heard it and I could tell he was quite confused by the comment. Ha!
Please keep our kiddo and his/her first mom and family in your prayers. It is exciting to imagine that we will have a new member in our family, but there cannot be adoption without major heartache and tragedy. Thank you!
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