The hardest wait yet.

So we are just waiting to hear from Colombia about the date set to meet our girl! It has only been a week and a half since we filed our DS260, but this wait has felt like an eternity. Normally we expect to wait a month or more in between paperwork, but this two weeks has felt like the longest two weeks of my life. We are so close to finally meeting our girl, and we are just so ready to finalize our plans! Please pray that we hear something soon, and that God will grant us patience and peace in the meantime.

I know He is using this time to prepare us to be parents. We had a wonderful time at CIY Move two weeks ago. God convicted us, moved us, and prepared our hearts. We went to serve the teens in our youth group, but God taught us so much during the week. I know it was part of His plan that we attend CIY before our trip to Colombia.

After we receive our official date we can book our plane tickets, and get our visas. The visa center is back up and running this morning, so thank you to everyone who prayed for that. And then try to pack for two months....

Last minute nesting...a new pillow for her bed!

DS260 done!

One step closer…next we will get our encuentro (meeting) date with Brielle! 

The official letter

One step closer! The official I800 letter!

The Power of Prayer

On Monday I petitioned everyone to pray that we would hear quickly about our I800 approval. We had been told she had just received our file, and would possibly review it by Thursday. Well God is bigger than men's timelines because we got an email Wednesday saying that our officer had approved the I800, and the letter was on its way to us!! Now we are one step closer. Here are the next couple steps in more detail. I am learning more about each step as we get there.

1. Our I800 approval is sent to the National Visa Center for processing.
2. I can call NVC on Wednesday to get our case number. Then I use the case number to file the DS-260, which is approved immediately.
3. A letter called an Article 5 gets sent to the ICBF in Colombia, and they will schedule our encuentro  date! (The official date that we will meet Brielle).
4. We will book round trip plane tickets because you must have a return ticket to get a visa.
5. Go to Atlanta and apply for our visas.
6. PACK, PACK, PACK!
7. Go to Colombia!

So our timeline is definitely getting shorter, and our agency has said this part moves pretty quickly. At this point weeks are feelings long to us because we are just ready to get our girl! Please be praying that all of these steps are completed quickly. This part that could take longer is the Article 5 getting sent to Colombia, and the meeting date set, so you can pray specifically about step 3. Your prayers are working, so thank you, thank you!

In the mean time it has been so fun for me to get ready for our little girl!

More waiting...

Ahhh...I think this waiting is the worst yet! We are so close, but there is nothing I can do to speed up to process.

So we have filed our I800, the last big paperwork, and I found out today that we have been assigned an officer. They estimate that the officer will begin to review our file on Thursday.

Please pray that everything goes smoothly with the review, and that no additional paperwork is requested. That would just slow down our travel plans. The power of prayer has made our adoption journey so successful, so help us see it to the end!!

Thank you for all your support!

We did get to send her a care package! God definitely sent some reassurance while shopping for items to send her. I was starting to stress over sending the 'right' blanket. The idea is that she will attach to the blanket, and have it as a momento from the orphanage. So I wanted it to be perfect. :) Then at Target I just felt overwhelmed trying to choose just the right one. We happened to be in line behind a sweet lady from Momentum, so we updated her on how things we going. Then while she was checking out she reached over and paid for the blanket for Brielle! What a blessing, and a confirmation from God!