It has been a difficult 2 months when it comes to the adoption. There have been things that have been quite discouraging. But there have been some ASTOUNDING encouraging things as well. Plus, a whole lot of WAITING.
We have everything done and have been waiting to be matched since June. After we are matched we need to finish everything pertaining to traveling to Ghana……….
Here are a few of the events over the last 2 months.
-We went to renew our passports and they were stolen! THEN they were RETURNED to us a week later by the mailman who found them shoved in a mailbox!!!!
-I have read things about a family being matched with a child and then loosing that child because the agency found siblings. Then being matched again and the same thing happening.
-Then I read someone saying it is hard to adopt a single child from Ghana because they “always have siblings” (why have I never heard this before?!) It was just a comment by one person, but it was disheartening.
-I got the random phone call from a mail man that he has found our passports shoved in a mailbox and wanted to know if I wanted him to mail them to me or he could drop them off. It was a bit nerve racking, but he said he would be in the big mail truck. So the kids and I headed over and he was so nice and just handed them to me. As we were driving home, Elly said, “God must really want us to adopt!” And after all the discouraging things, that really gave me a fresh wind I needed.
-we had a AMAZING donation given to us. I will do a financial update soon!
THINGS TO PRAY FOR:
- We have a conference call this coming Tuesday with our adoption agency and other families adopting from Ghana. The agency is updating us on the situation in Ghana after their travel to a few countries in Africa. Prayer for our hearts during this update.
- Pray for our boy. Pray for his heart, his days, his mind and soul.
-Pray for our family here. Pray for our hearts to have faith. To be patient and to have wisdom with each step.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and every prayer means so much!
The love of a mother. The love of a mother is truly indescribable. The feeling when your child looks at you differently then they look at anyone else because you are “Momma”. The love that comes from you toward your child is an expression, feeling, emotion that you physically feel. To give a love that everyone wants/needs. A love that we crave. To be loved by our mom. To be able to give someone that love is one of the most fulfilling things I have experienced on this earth. The connection and things I have learned about God by being a mother are insurmountable. The fact that His loveis as the love of a mother in it’s PUREST most UNDEFILED form is…….no words. If the Lord wills and we have a new son in our home I pray that he will know he has the love of 2 earthly mother’s AND the amazing perfect love from his creator God.
photo by Photo for Freedom
I-600A approval!
We got our I-600A approval which means we are approved to adopt internationally!!!!!!!! Everything is done on the American end. Next step BEING MATCHED!!!!!!! I can’t believe we have finally arrived at this point. We told the kids last night and they are SO excited! I put together a dresser for him with Lucy 2 days ago. Atticus likes having a dresser for his brother in their room and he is excited to see a picture of his brother. Elly and Lucy were jumping in their seats at the dinner table when we told them. Now just to be patient in waiting for the adoption agency to match us. We appreciate all the prayers we can get for our boy and for the rest of us that are ready and waiting for him:)
Also we applied for one grant and are working on the applications for 2 more. The Lord has been so faithful and I know He will continue to provide! Hope to have more updates SOON!
I was chatting with a friend about the adoption this morning. I told her about a dream I had a few days ago. This reminded me of a few other dreams/day dreams I have had and I thought I should totally share them on here!
First day-dream was before we officially decided to adopt. We were praying about it. I was doing the girls hair in the bathroom and I imagined a little boy about Atticus’ height, with beautiful brown skin saying “Mommy” and asking me for something casually as we were ALL in the bathroom together getting ready. AAAAAND my heart melted and was ready for another baby to call mine!
Second was a dream. This one was interesting and all jumbled as if in the future, but mixed with the present. All the kids were older (middle school and high school age), our new son was in our family. It was like we had been together for a long time, but were still waiting (typical confusing dream). We were all hanging out on the couch together so happy to be hanging out. But it was like he was visiting and wasn’t officially living with us yet. He had to go, but then when he came back he would be able to stay forever. It was really bitter-sweet. The connection we all had as a family was really beautiful and I didn’t want him to leave. But there was still that hope of one day all the waiting being over.
Next day-dream was walking my to boys around 6 years old to drop them off at school and kissing them both on the head before they ran off for their day.
This last was a dream. It was really short, but really VIVID and I felt everything. We (our family) were together as we are currently. Waiting! Everyone was their current age and state of life. And we all found out we get to go pick-up our boy tomorrow!!! I was out of my mind excited, packing, getting the house and boys bedroom ready and Atticus was SO EXCITED to finally go get his brother! It was a good dream.
There are my little visions and dreams that have stirred my heart for our future:)
GOD as Father.
“Adoption is the highest blessing of the Gospel, higher even than the gift of justification because of the richer relationship with God that it involves…justification is a forensic idea, conceived in terms of law, and viewing God as judge…Adoption is a family idea, conceived in terms of love, and viewing God as father. In adoption, God takes us into His family and fellowship, and establishes us as His children and heirs. Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with God the judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the father is greater” (Knowing God, 186-188).
Home Study APPROVED!
If I could only express how amazing the timing of things has been lately! I have been concerned about the payments due in the next few steps. I had no idea where the $ for these steps was going to come from, but was clinging to how the $ has come in every time we needed it. Knowing that our God is bigger then any situation and everything is His to give and take.
We got an email Friday that our approved home study was in the mail and we should receive it any day. This was such good news! But I was thinking, we don’t have enough money for the next step. Which includes getting MATCHED WITH OUR BOY! So we go thru the weekend excited to FINALLY get our home study and trusting that the next step will be provided for. Sunday night we are walking to the car from Missio Dei’s Dance Party Easter Celebrations and a sweet friend of ours gives us an envelope and tells us to open it when we have a chance. We go home and see that it is the amount that we need to take the next STEP!!!!!! THEN the next day we check the mail and our HOME STUDY IS IN THE MAIL!!!! Talk about right on time.
I told a friend of mine this story and she told me “God gives us our luggage right as we are about to get on the train.”
His timing is perfect:)
can’t wait
We finished our Homestudy!!!!
Yes, we finally finished our homestudy! And we got our Foster home license from Illinois! So excited that we made it past that step. We should get matched with our boy soon!!!!! There were 17 steps and we only have 7 left, i can’t believe it:)
What’s next?
Wait for approval of Homestudy then: 1. Child Referral (get matched with our boy) Placement fee of $3,000.00 is payable upon acceptance of a referral
2. First trip to Ghana, approximately 1 week. Both parents travel to Ghana for court date. (approx $4,500)
3. Submit Form I-600 to USCIS National Visa Center in the US and wait for them to submit to Embassy in Ghana. This may take approximately one month.
-Dossier (approx. $1,974)
4. Once the US Embassy in Ghana receives and processes your application, they will begin the “orphan investigation” to establish our child is eligible for adoption according to US requirements. It will take approximately one month for the orphan investigation.
-Ghana legal, medical, aid, son’s passport, visa fees (approx. $5,330)
5. Second trip to Ghana, approximately 3-5 days. Once the Embassy has concluded the orphan investigation, they will contact us to travel for our visa interview and to receive our visa. (approx. $4,500)
6. Return to the US with our child.
7. Agree to required post-adoption supervision reports. $300.00 (plus mileage) Post-adoption services fee is payable at each time of service.
Our home is approved for an orphan:)
I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time—waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God—it changes me.
there are links here on our tumblr. to Photo for Freedom (almost all of the photos I have posted on our Tumblr. are Photo for Freedom photos)
Update: Homestudy and Finances
Hey All,
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a nice Holiday season. The Taylor family had a very busy holiday season to start, but finished with some much needed relaxing.
Since our last update a descent amount has happened with the adoption, but there is MUCH still to happen. I wanted to give a financial update because we have had some interest from friends on how much we need to raise. So to take care of a bunch of questions with one stone, I thought I would put it on our Tumblr.
First though I will brief you on our homestudy progress:
1. We had our first meeting
2. We finished 11 hours of classes on line. Just about 5 to go- EEEK
3.I have my next meeting this Monday. Josh has his meeting this coming Friday.
Still to do to finish homestudy:
1. Schedule last meeting with case worker as a famiy.
2. Finish our online classes.
3. Make our homestudy payments
4. Send in our finished homestudy paperwork for approval
Now for our FUNDS
FYI: things are guesstimates and may be higher or lower once we hit time to pay….
Let me just tell you that so far we have received everything we have needed for each step we have had to take! God has been so faithful to provide every time. This last payment of $2,850 needed to start our homestudy was a bit of a stress. We didn’t have the total amount needed at the first meeting and our case worker said that was ok as long as we paid it by the time the Homestudy finished. ALSO, we needed about $470 for the online courses we needed to take. We had almost enough to pay for the Homestudy, but were going to use some of our saving for the rest and for the online courses (which was scary). And THEN that week we recieved 2 checks in the mail which covered every cost we had to pay to finish our Homestudy and classes! AMAZING! So please do not take my posting this as a plea for $. We are trusting that just as everything has been provided for so far, it will happen if it is suppose to happen. And we hope to share the amazing way God works in this whole process. We want to share the mountain that we are climbing so that the fullness of His work is shown!
On that note this is the financial mountain:
Homestudy (general fee, classes, approval fee)=$5,820-taken care of BOOM!
USCIS child referral (so we can be matched with a child who is adoptable) = $3000
