–Updates originally located on AdoptTogether–

[2/18/22]

Immigration Pre-Approval

This week we received and sent off our immigration approval letter. What a relief to finalize the last piece of paperwork to send our dossier to the Philippines. We’ve waited several months to get to this point. Another step closer in the process!

In anticipation of this milestone, we revamped our adoption cards to give them a fresh look. We meet the randomest people who are interested in the the adoption process. People have family members and friends who have been adopted, and many are surprised at how long, complicated, and expensive the process is. It is all of those things, but it is also EXCITING! We are overjoyed to move into this next phase.

What’s next? Once our papers arrive in the Philippines, the government adoption agency there will review them and request updates and changes as necessary. After receiving their approval, we can begin the Referral process. This is the review of child profiles, their special needs, and their family or institutional history.

Thank you for your support, whether through encouragement, personal stories, prayer, finances, or Expressions of Sugar. Would you consider contributing to our adoption fund? We will be assembling a Filipino puzzle, and each $20 you give will buy one piece of our puzzle on which we will write your name. In the end, we’ll have a puzzle linking everyone’s names who have given financially to our adoption.

Thanks for reading our latest update!

[3/10/2022]

Moving Papers, Moving Forward

Our international dossier has officially been sent off to and received by the adoption board in the Philippines (woot! woot!). We now await the approval of our papers overseas so that we can move on to referrals. In the meantime, we’ve been able to look through profiles of children on special listings who have been available for adoption longer than others. Some of the backgrounds we read make our hearts sick.

After our papers are approved, we will begin to review profiles of children who have been “matched” with our family information. Whether our adoptive child(ren) come from one of the special listings or from a matched referral, God already knows who we will adopt. We simply pray that God gives us wisdom as we go through the process.

We are excited!! Will you join us on this journey?

[6/25/2022]

Upcoming Dossier Review

We received notice this week that our international dossier will be reviewed by the Philippines child placing agency in July. We expect to hear an update by the end of July to see how that went. Keep us in prayer that the review will go well!

Because our homestudy from last year expires in August, we are also looking at needing to do another homestudy here very soon. We will update our financial numbers here in a new format since we are no longer able to post the bar graph that we’ve posted previously.

It’s been a silent past several months for status on the process, so it’s great to hear that things are moving forward with our dossier in the Philippines!

[8/10/2022]

On the Roster

Recently we received a letter from the Philippines saying that we are on a Waiting Families roster! We could get notified any day that we’ve been matched with one or two children.

This weekend we had an updated home visit with our social worker. Adoption paperwork lasts for about one year, while the adoption process can take several years. For us, it’s been a year since we finished our first home study report. This weekend we met with our social worker to update details from last year’s report. All information needs to stay updated for the adoption agencies both here and internationally.

Along with the official home study, other reference letters and verifications have to be updated to accompany the home study information. This means more background checks, updates on financial information, etc. It’s a little easier the second time around because existing information is just getting updated. But it’s additional paperwork nonetheless, and that means we have to spend more money to get the paperwork done.

Below is an update of our adoption expenses (expected, spent):
• Paperwork & Processing (2,500; 2,358)
• Medical (1,800; 1,155)
• Home Study (2,550; 2,550)
• Adoption Agency (22,000; 12,206)
• Travel (7,000; 0)
• Post-Adoption (4,200; 0)

As always, we are grateful to all who contribute to our adoption, whether through prayer, business with Expressions of Sugar, or direct financial contributions.

The journey continues!

[11/17/2022]

Home Study 2022

This fall we’ve been renewing much of our paperwork as the adoption process continues. This week we received confirmation from our adoption agency that our home study update has been approved! We’re also needing to file an extension for our immigration papers. As we continue into this Referral phase, we’ll also be stepping through “Phase 2” of our adoption education courses.
As we update papers and continue the journey, the bills also continue to arrive in our mailbox. We love this time of year because holiday greeting cards also get mixed in with the handfuls of mail. By the end of the year, we’ll post an update of our expenses. Thank you to everyone for your support! We look forward to 2023 and the new doors (or windows!) that will open.