AdOpTiOn UpDaTe - 9 months and holding!

Hello world.

I'm not really sure if Adoption is the "New Pregnant"... but I'm 9 months right now and looking good! :) As someone put it the other day to me, "Adoption is just like pregnancy... you are just in your third trimester longer." I liked it, but I am thankful I don't have stretch marks, strange bodily fluids, or crazier-than-normal hormones to go along with it.

I do know I feel one thing that ALL pregnant women feel in their 9th month - I'M READY FOR THIS KIDDO TO GET HERE!!!! :)

I think I'm ready to give an adoption update. Sometimes I'm just selfish and I don't want to talk about where we are in the process because it feels like it never changes... but it really does.  I am SO thankful that people that people love us and Eric (& Ziggy) and want to know about what's going on... but sometimes it's just hard. I don't know if that makes sense if you haven't ever experienced adoption... but sometimes when you want something SO bad and you don't have the answers and you feel a little lost... it's hard to answer all the questions from people who care.

So FIRST - THANK YOU for loving us! Thank you for asking! Thank you SO much for praying! Thank you for wishing and hoping and waiting with us!!! Thank you for supporting and encouraging us! THANK YOU! And I'm sorry when I don't have the words to say in response... 

So... to recap.
We met Eric almost a year ago, July 16th will be one year since we first saw his beautiful face. He is 13 years old.
We began our adoption journey in September of last year. We were approved for 2 kiddos with our paperwork on the USA side. Now... to answer some questions

How much money do we still need to raise?
GOD IS A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.! He has raised a whole lot of money over the past 9 months for our adoption. It's been incredible... really.  Yes, we worked out booties off, but He is a BIG GOD! The only money we lack now is travel money.  Hallelujah! When we get our travel dates, we will do some big fundraisers to raise the remaining funds.

Since we are approved for 2 kiddos, does that mean we will get 2 kiddos for sure?
We hope so, but that's not always how Belize/international adoptions work. We are approved for UP TO 2 kiddos, so Belize could choose to allow us to adopt 2 or just one.  We will FOR SURE get Eric - that just makes me so happy to say - and may be blessed with a second one... affectionately nicknamed Ziggy (no, it's not the real name... just a nickname so we don't have to call it "the other one"). We are hoping for 2... 2 less orphans... but we trust God and He knows what He is doing either way.

THE BIG QUESTION: WHEN will we get them? What are we waiting for? 
We don't know when we will actually be traveling to get them yet. We are waiting... and living... and planning... but not planning.  It's a weird place - we don't want to plan too far in the future for things because we don't know when the time will be, but we don't want to sit around and do nothing... so it's just a bit awkward.
We are waiting on the paperwork on the Belize side. Here's the run down of the process actually going on over there right now:
Once they get our dossier (the HUGE packet of papers we sent over in February), they review it to see if it meets all laws, regulations, requirements, etc.
Once that is done, they match us with a child that is available for adoption (ERIC... and possibly a Ziggy)
Once they match, they write up a referral (the pictures, the medical info, the education info... basically everything they have on the child) and they send it to our lawyer in Belize (which we have)... and THEN TO US!  HIP HIP HOORAY!
Once we get the referral, we have to do the last bit of paperwork to make sure all the visas are finalized and then... we get travel dates!

We know they have reviewed our dossier. We know they have matched us with at least Eric and we know they are working on our documentation.
NOTE: Everything in Belize is done on Belizean time.
We actually received an email yesterday that let us know that some documents were being sent to our lawyer in Belize... SO... we are hoping and crossing our fingers and toes and eyes and legs... that it means we are getting close!

Can you do anything? 
Yes... PRAY! Pray for...
Eric, Ziggy, and all the other orphans. That they have hope and know they are loved. That God would defend the fatherless as He has promised.  That His Church would rise up and care for them. 

Each person handling our paperwork. That they would be blessed as they work to bless us in making our adoption a reality. That they would work fast and efficiently... without error. I know one name in Belize that has worked on our paperwork - Pauline. Pray! 

Every adoptive family waiting... IT'S HARD. Pray for learning, comfort, joy, and peace. Pray that they see God in every, single step. 

Jacob and I, and our family, as we wait. I can't wait to have a picture, to hold a hand, to get a hug, to tuck him in, to ride bikes together, to decorate rooms, to celebrate the finalization! 

The future - whatever that means. for wisdom in the transition - where to go to school, how to parent, how to love, how to answer hard questions, job, and how to give God the most glory for all of it!