Home Study...Approved!

Dear Wyatt,

As always, you never leave my mind. Every where I go, something reminds me of you and our adoption journey.

This week I watched another Thai adoptive mom's adoption story through a video. I sat there with tear-filled eyes dreaming of our very own "gotcha day." I think it is safe to say this week the emotions have been rolling in.

Where are we in this process?
Close. In fact, I feel closer than ever before though we have months and months (...even years) of waiting still to come.

I have been super busy lately finalizing paperwork, notarizing documents, etc. Today was a major milestone in the adoption world. We got notified today from our international agency that they had received our completed home study from our local agency. It has been reviewed, revised, and Wyatt...we have been officially "HOME STUDY APPROVED!" This news was HUGE! Your mommy has definitely shed some tears this week over worrying when and if this would ever happen. Though worrying gets absolutely nothing accomplished, there wasn't anything that could be said this week to make me do otherwise. We knew in the back of our minds there were but just a few on the waiting list. We also knew many families were right where we were trying to get everything finalized to jump ahead on the list. Not that it's a competition, but I couldn't bare the thought of having to wait one day longer than we had to already. Basically, I wanted approval as soon as possible so we could tackle this dossier right on into our mailbox. Our dossier is the final ticket to being on the list.

I'm happy to say our prayers have most certainly been answered after today. Now, we shall simply wait on just a few more papers to get here before sending our dossier via FedEx to Jackson in order to be sealed for state approval. From there, we will receive it back only to then send it out yet again. But this time...to a courier service for hand delivery in Washington and the Thai Embassy for final approval. It will then travel it's way back home for the final time before shipping out to our international agency. Woo! Talk about a lot of hands on months of my notarizing, gathering, printing, and compiling labor. I'm most certain I'll be a nervous wreck by the time it leaves us, but I know it will be in God's hands...God's timing.

With all of this rambling said, I would assume we are about 3 weeks (maybe less) shy of being on the "waiting list" for a match! That means we are one day closer. One prayer closer. And one breath closer to seeing your face in a picture for the very first time.

In love and prayer,
Mommy