It's been 8 months since we were in Africa...
8 months since we fell in love with Sanyu & knew we were to adopt from there..
It's been 6 months since we moved from LA & got a two bedroom place to rent, dreaming of our baby..
5 months ago I started emailing people who had adopted from Uganda recently
& started checking out agencies...
& our parents and families were told they were getting a niece/nephew/grand baby/great grand baby 4 months ago..
3 months ago we finished the applications & started all the paper work...
A month ago we finished meeting with our social worker...
& less then a month ago we found out we're #3 on the waiting list at Sanyu....
...but now there's a hiccup in the road and we're waiting on wording to make sure our home study is perfect...
....and I'm sad. I know technically we only started four months ago, {and goodness knows my friend James has been there four months so really I have nothing to complain about} but it feels like we've been doing this for 8 months. and it just feels long.
I think of my baby every day and hope they are being loved. That someone is tucking them into bed and night and giving their little checks kisses whenever they can...
...and I write new to do lists and buy more things for baby/traveling.
....So, today I searched on peoples blogs and added up how many months it normally takes from beginning to end, paperwork included.
The majority of people's adoptions, from the time they started the paperwork until they're babies were home was eight or nine months. {But there are exceptions.}
One families baby was home in two months. TWO MONTHS...
....but if I am realistic with myself the truth is we probably won't have baby home until around August. And August is so very far away.
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About Me
- Abi Q
- My husband man and I currently live in a snug little apartment in the east bay with our pup, Lexi Louanne and little man, Finley. We like coffee, we like pie, we like desert at three in the morning and for breakfast too... that is why we're perfect together. ..enjoy our story..
More me {the photography blog}
Who we are:
My husband man and I currently live in a snug little apartment in the east bay with our two pups, Lexi Louanne and Mr Mogley Winchester. We like coffee, we like pie, we like desert at three in the morning and for breakfast too... that is why we're perfect together... {be warned: I ramble sometimes } ...during the summer last June husband man and I embarked on a journey to Kampala, Uganda and worked at an orphanage while there. We held the babies, bathed the babies, played with the babies...and promptly fell in love..... since then we have been preparing to become parents to a little one, and just this past week we submitted our application to adopt a baby! {or shall I say toddler?} We have no idea if it'll be a boy or a girl, or what age our baby will be... but as frustrating as it is, it is half the fun as well... we're figuring out names for both, I'm decorating two kinds of baby rooms in my head, and pretty much obsessing over all things baby...that is why I have this blog. An open journal for me to write down all my thoughts, pretty ramblings, letters to our lovely baby as we wait, and document all the things I will dress baby in and buy baby when I finally hold him/her in my arms.. ..enjoy our story..
Timeline to baby
10.25.09 We tell our parents we're adopting
10.31.09 We send off our home study application & I contact Sanyu to be put on the waiting list
11.01.09 Even though we were going to wait to tell the rest the family, I can't help it and we announce it to everyone.
11.16.09 I drive to agency to pick up our home study paperwork because I can't wait even an extra day
12.15.09 We finish all our paperwork and mail it off
01.05.10 Our first meeting with our social worker
01.14.10 Our second meeting with our social worker
01.22.10 Find out from Sanyu we're #3 on the waiting list!
03.19.10 We getting a letter from Sanyu saying that American's aren't being matched with children until issue with US and Uganda is cleared up.
04.05.10 We send off I600a form to government, believing God that we are supposed to adopt from Uganda still
04.15.10 Tax day! We get good news in the mail, our home study is done. Now.. just waiting on our final fingerprinting appointment!
04.16.10 Email from our agency with a link to a US government website & it looks like things may finally be clearing up...
05.18.10 We hear of other orphanages in Uganda that have children available for adoption! Grandpa goes to go check them out.
05.20.10 We find out about a new lawyer who we haven't heard of before. I contact people who have worked closely with her. They all rave about how amazing she is. I email her.
06.10.10 Our lawyer tells us she has matched two families yesterday, and will do the same for us if we want her to.
06.22.10 I600a fingerprinting. We are so close to being done on the US side I can feel it
06.29.10 I mail our first packet off to Uganda so they can start getting our paperwork ready in Africa. Now, all we need is a baby.
07.19.10 The two babies we thought might be ours fell through, our lawyers start to search for other orphanages that might have available children.
07.22.10 We get word that our lawyer will be traveling 500 km on the 27th to speak to a new children's home in search of our baby!
08.01.10 We hear that they have found us two little boys. We just have to wait on files and then we have to decide which baby we want.
08.11.10 11:25pm We get the letter we have been waiting for. We have a son!
09.14.10 The trip to get our son begins. Tomorrow we shall have pictures finally!
09.15.10 Godfrey brings our baby to live with his family in Kampala until we come for court.
09.17.10 We get a picture of our sweet little man. I cry hysterically in a gas station lot on I5. You are perfect in every way.
09.30.10 We have a court date! Three weeks from today you will be in our arms. Planning. Packing. Crying. Can't believe it's finally happening.
10.17.10 We leave for Africa!
10.19.10 We meet Finley.
10.20.10 We travel to Mbarara for court.
10.21.10 We have our court hearing and are granted guardianship the same day!
11.04.10 Ryan goes back home to work.
11.08.10 Visa appointment.
11.12.10 We get our Visa!
11.14.10 We come home!!!!
10.03.11 Finley is 100%, officially ours.
6 comments:
oh, abi. i know that it is hard on a mama's heart. AND i know that you know this already, but his timing will be PERFECT.
i remember starting to get frustrated w/ how s l o w our social worker was getting stuff done. i wanted to get there!!! and although we didn't find out until later, Clay arrived to Sanyu the VERY same day that i did.
{!!!!!}
God is amazing and is preparing you all in a more perfect way than you can imagine!!
what gender or age are you requesting? i agree...even though its been a short time for us too I get nervous since we are still waiting to hear about Uganda changing the wording of their rulings or not!
yes, August is so faaaaaaaaar far away.
i am praying for the baby to come to his forever home sooner.
You're sad and you will have days like this, unfortunately it's part of the process.
My experience of adoption is much slower than your expectations and I share in the hope that it might help you look at things in a different way.
I live in Wales, the system is different, more complex and much slower. I decided to adopt at the beginning of 2004, I was approved 16 months later, papers got to China 5 months after that and then I was involed in the great slow down. I expected referral in 6-7 months and it took 18 months, a whole year longer than I'd thought. My daughter finally came home 3 and a half years after starting the process. Those 3 and a half years seemed an eternity, especially the last 12 months, the uncertainty was awful and the stress had a huge effect on my life.
My daughter's now been home for over 2 and a half years and I wouldn't change a minute of the waiting - if timings had worked out the way that they should have I wouldn't have THIS child as my daughter. She has brought so much joy and happiness, I wouldn't change her in anyway and now I'm grateful for every moment waiting that meant she was the child I was referred.
17 months ago I started the process for a little sister, I've just chosen to change countries which means starting again and yet more waiting. I'm trying to see this as making the timing right for the right child to join our family but even now my daughter is saying that we've waited too long and it's time for her little sister to come home, she's right in a way but I'm trusting that the timing will be right.
Hope that helps,
Kate
Alice Ming's very proud mama
The wait is SO hard. I can totally empathize. We're in Canada and the wait is very long for our program. (Ethiopia) We've been waiting almost 8 months since our dossier was sent, and it was another 10 months before that when we started our application.
We've been told that referrals may take between 2-3 years now as the program gets busier.
I hope you see your little one's face SOON! It's such an encouragement to see these little ones come HOME to their forever families.
Waiting is soooo hard! God has taken us the long way through this adoption process and we are STILL waiting to get through the process to adopt through foster care. I am curious though... what agency are you using to adopt through Uganda? We've been really interested in Uganda since we began reading about Amizama and Katie's ministry there. Do you know about her?
Okay, I'm glad I found your blog! Praying that your baby comes home quickly. :)
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