HOME STUDY IS FINISHED !!!!

On Monday August 3rd, we received an email from An Open Door Adoption Agency. At the very beginning we had been considering adopting from Latvia and Open Door was an agency with a program in that country. However, God had other plans and directed us elsewhere for the time being.

The email stated that there were two special needs boys available for adoption from Eastern Europe. We noticed one of their birthdays was only a few months after our son's. So we took a closer look. The boy was from Bulgaria! We immediately responded asking for more information. Everything we've read on him so far has been exactly what we've been looking and praying for. We called Open Door to request him and found out we weren't the only ones. However, this is not a closed door yet and there are many things that come into play in the decision as to where he is placed.

So for now we are content to trust the Lord and leave everything in his hands. God knows who our son is and will be faithful to bring him to us. In the mean time we are pursuing this child which has meant switching agencies. If he is ours we are working to make sure everything is ready as soon as we hear. If not then we will at least be that much closer to being registered in Bulgaria.

As it turns out we were at the best point to switch agencies and were able to do so with minimal expense or trouble. In fact, without realizing it, our home study was completed on Aug. 14, the exact same day we submitted our official request for this boy. As of the 19th we were officially accepted by An Open Door Adoption Agency.

On the 22nd we received our home study in the mail and immediately applied for four grants. ( I guess we're kind of intense. ) On the 24th we mailed out our I-800A application and had most of our dossier papers notarized.

Lately it had seemed that funds had slowed, but in the middle of discovering this little boy we were overwhelmed with etsy orders ( http://www.wickedgoodeats.etsy.com ), From the Depths of the Earth CD orders, and unexpected donations. All of which totalled well over $1,000 during the week Aug. 12th - 19th. We have now raised 1/3 of the total needed. Thank you everyone! Thank you Father, you are always so faithful!!

During this time we also found out about 2 different children's books about boys adopted from Bulgaria. One we just got off ebay is called Just Waiting For My Family by Terry M. Mandeville and the other we are about to order is called The Mom with the Red Lipstick: An Adoption Memory of a Little Bulgarian Boy by Lydia Kordalewski.

We also have been wanting to order a Bulgarian language study, but couldn't decide which one. We just want to learn enough to help our boy adjust and all the language studies seemed like too much and too complicated. However, we came across a book and CD that is for parents adopting from Bulgaria. It's simple phrases like "We are going on a plane now. I'm your daddy forever. Are you hungry? I love you forever. Do you need to pee?" It's called Phrases For Children by Fred Des Chenes. Here's the link for that http://www.phrasesforchildren.com. We haven't actually received it yet, but it has been shipped and we are looking forward to it.

Looks like we get to rest now and wait.

Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

Psalm 38:15 "I wait for You, O Lord; You will answer, O Lord my God."