Some Updates

A few weeks ago, after we heard the wonderful news that we were being licensed for up to five additional children, we then had to turn in extensive information to our adoption agency as we inquired as to the possibility of adopting more than our original plan (and approval) of three children. So, we had to supply a justification of sorts that detailed our reasoning for the change and documentation as to how we planned to accommodate and provide for this number of children.

To make a long story short, after these weeks of waiting to hear about the decision, here it is: requesting to adopt a sibling group of five will not be possible as we would have to extend our age range far more than we were comfortable extending at this point.

So, as of Tuesday, we officially have the green light to pursue the adoption of up to 4 children! So, we will see what the Lord has in store for our family! We know that He is in control and the He had all this planned from ages past! We will have the opportunity to witness His sovereign plan unfold. Exciting!

Other updates include several requested documents arriving that we need for our dossier. The children's passports arrived! One arrived with a typo that we had to go through a bunch of rigmarole to fill out a form and send in for a correction - we mailed that out today. We are moving forward on the psychological evaluation to get that process started soon as well as the few other remaining items on our dossier to-do list.

In the meantime, in preparation, this is some of what we've been up to: Karl has been researching larger vehicles to seat 9 - those are harder to find but they do exist! That search will continue. We also visited an IKEA in Ohio and looked at larger table/seating options and bunk beds to purchase in the near future - a great resource (new 2011 catalog just came out!!!) if you are trying to accommodate a growing family on a reasonable budget. After some research, we found out that we are able to expand our kid bathroom to become a double vanity by purchasing a second cabinet and replacing the countertop/single sink and doing some plumbing. We also have plans to redo the closets to help with future storage needs for the new family members! The Rosetta Stone Spanish is going well too. We both have been working on it and are enjoying it and learning a lot and making fast progress! Our hope is still to submit our dossier by the end of December, Lord willing.

Oh, BTW, I know that we need some new pictures very badly and will be working on that (soon I hope!)