Our I-171H has arrived....finally

Today we received our I-171H in the mail!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHH!! So excited!!! When I opened the envelope my eyes were seraching it all to make sure it was the real thing. On June 5th we received a letter from them saying they needed the orginial letter from DCFS, not the copy that was sent to them in May. I thought it would say I-171H real big across the top, no- its teeny tiny down in the corner. After I realized that this was the paper we have been waiting for since we applied for it back in February, I started to cry. I felt like we were never going to get to this point in the process, so that we finally had all the papers we needed and we are able to send our Dossier in made it all real to me. I don't even know how to describe all the emotions I was feeling this afternoon. I was so overwhelmed with a wonderful feeling and felt like we were moving in the right direction-forward!!!! Something of ours will be in Ethiopia soon!!!!!

So I sat down to make sure all the papers were in order and ready to be mailed off. I realized that we needed a copy of the orginial notarized, so I rushed off to our church to get it notarized- thank you Wilda!! I was crying all the way there and thought I needed to get it together before I get to church, ha!

Here are all the papers we needed to submit our Dossier. We have been collecting these and waiting for different pieces to be approved and come in since the begining of January. We are happy to let them leave our house!!

Brad has come home everyday for the last month checking the mailbox for an envelope from USCIS, but today Brad was coaching volleyball this afternoon, so I checked the mail. I sent him a text message that said , "Hurry home...I have an important job for you to do." He thought I wanted him to clean up a mess from our cat or dog or something...lol. He said once he pulled into the driveway he thought it might be about our I-171H. He came in was so excited that it was here and that he didn't have a mess from an animal to clean up!!! He made the last copies we needed then took the box to UPS while I had to go coach tennis. We sent the Dossier to AWAA overnight for $48.84...wasn't expecting that. Oh well its been submitted and it feels great!!

Finally tonight we celebrated with pizza and a walk and we keep talking about how excited we are to finally get our Dossier all turned in and that we are that much closer to our child!!!

So now we wait to hear from AWAA if it was all approved and then it will be translated and sent to Ethiopia within 1-3 weeks. Then we will get our DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) date and be on the waiting list to be matched with our child(ren). Our request is an infant 0-6 months either gender, or siblings-one an infant 0-6 months and one under 4years old, or infant twins 0-6 months. We will just wait to see who God has planned to be a part of our family!!

Happy 4th Anniversary Babe!

Ok, this is operation surprise Tara! If you don't know, Tara is someone who can find out anything and it is VERY hard to surprise her. So as you are sleeping tonight Tara, I have logged into our blog to surprise you with an anniversary blog. We are not doing anything "big" for our anniversary because we are trying to save money for our adoption, so this is my gift to you this year.
I can't believe it has already been 4 years since we have been married! It seems like yesterday we were getting on the plane for our honeymoon. What a great time we have had together. I could not ask for anything better than the last four years we have spent together as a family. I am excited to see what God has planned for the next 50....if it were up to you, I know that it would include a huge house packed full of at least 10 kids...I say we see what God has planned for us :).
The last 4 years, God has spent building a foundation for our marriage that is unbreakable. He has been preparing us so that we can be the most incredible parents that our children could possibly dream of. Babe, if you are only half the mother than you are a wife, our children are going to be the luckiest kids in the world. I am excited to see you be a mother (even if it is to 10) because I know how good of a wife you have been to me! Thanks for all you do and even yet to do for our family. I thank God for you everyday!
God,
Thank you for putting Tara in my life. Thank you for watching over her and keeping her safe. Thank you for making her beautiful, caring, thoughtful, loving, intelligent, and confident. God, continue to bless her life. Continue to have her grow closer to you and be a woman of Faith. Continue to bless our marriage and family. God you tell us this in 1st John 4:18-19 "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us." God I give you thanks because your love endures forever!

If you are reading this, will you say a quick prayer for continued blessings over our marriage? We know that a solid marriage is the foundation for the rest of our lives and are always thankful for people praying for us.

-Brad

Waiting with a Purpose

I knew starting this process that we were going to eventually become parents and bring a precious baby into our family. I had no idea that this would be such a faith building, heart changing, and eye opening experience. I read on someone elses blog (sorry I don't remember who) that they said, the greatest treasure in this journey is drawing closer to our God. How true!!

I am so glad that God chose us to experience the adoption process. There is this whole other world of support and friendships connected through adoption. God has designed each of our families in the way that HE sees fit. I'm so thankful that HE saw it fit for Brad and I to experience this. Now don't get me wrong, the waiting is driving us CRAZY, but we know it will be worth it in the end!

Here are a few verses that I like for this time in our lives!!

"He told them, 'You don't get to know the time. Timing is the Father's business.'" Acts 1:7 The Message

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21 NIV

I also like the same verse from The Message- "We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God's purpose prevails." Proverbs 19:21

"Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you." Deuteronomy 31:8 NLV