Adoption, where are we this week?

Today was our last homestudy meeting and the very last one will be just us signing a completed homestudy!! yeah,, it feels so good to be almost done with this step. We are still waiting on background checks. Please pray that they will come in soon. We also need 2 of our boys to get a physical which is scheduled for September 13th. Once those things are finished the homestudy can start to go to all the agencies for approval. It has to go to homestudy agency, then placing agency and then our state. THEN, it goes to immigration for their approval. It is amazing how much bureaucracy is involved in this process of adoption.

I hope this helps some of you to see why adoption is so expensive? And the disappointing thing is that after this year there will no longer be a tax credit for adoption as it has been before, unless something changes. The only tax credit available will be up to $6,000 for those adopting special needs children (which tends to be severe special needs) and only from the USA. However, we easily spend $15,000 alone to US agencies and adoption agencies for adopting internationally, so to me it just doesn't make sense. I am afraid it will lower the amount of families who are able to adopt if something doesn't change. Please consider writing your Senator and Congressman about supporting a bill to make adoption tax credit permanent. What better place can we think of to spend our tax dollars on, then giving orphans a forever home?

Last week we sent a care package to Ellie. We sent a family photo, a snuggly little pink bunny, a soft blanket and a USB stick for the orphanage to put photos and files on for us. It makes me so happy to know she will be getting that any day. I hope she loves her little bunny.

I am going to work on another care package that I will send to her around her Christmas time too. 

We are still working on paperwork and all the many personal questions that our agency wants us to write out. I love that our agency is so proactive. It really makes us as potential adoptive parents  think through some hard questions as to why we are adopting and how we plan to deal with different situations as parents. I just love our agency by the way!! 

I find myself dreaming about bringing little Ellie home. I also think a lot about who our second child will be? We likely will not get matched for a few more months, but I have faith that God has the perfect son or daughter out for us.

Every day I get to know Asher more and I am amazed at how well he fits into our family. He truly is so much a part of me, I can't imagine my life without him. 

So, not a lot of news to share, except things are moving along. I still am hopeful we can travel to China June 2013!! That seems so far away right now, but I know it will come so fast.