Homestudy Approved and sent to USCIS

Our home study was just approved by DCFS!  Praise God!

So, along with the approved home study, we sent a few other documents and the I800A form to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.   We will need to wait 6-8 weeks before we get the USCIS approval.  In the meantime, we will be invited to Chicago to get fingerprinted for immigration.

We are also now in the "system", with our international adoption agency.  Which means that they will start to search for a match for us in China. We are excited to know that God's hand is at work right now as we wait for a match!  This process could take awhile, but knowing that the search has started makes the process less painful.

On a side note, I just need to brag on my kiddos!  They are so eager and excited to open their home and lives for a new sibling and are all brainstorming on ways to fundraise.  Some of their ideas are to earn money by selling artwork, lemonade, cookies, and old toys and books or doing yard work or babysitting for others.  I love that God is working in their hearts to think of and help others.  They are each such a huge part of this adoption and at times are more excited than we are!  We are so thankful for the spirit of the Lord to shine in their lives!

Home Study Approved

There is a two step approval process for our home study.  The first step is for the home study to be approved from our adoption agency, and that has happened!  We are excited to now have our home study sent to DCFS for their approval.  It does seem that with each step, we are moving closer to bringing our little one home.  However, we are realizing that these steps seem so much longer when there is nothing for us to do but wait upon others.  So, we pray...

We pray for our little one to be safe and securely loved by his/her caregivers. We pray for him/her to be prepared for the transition to their forever family.  We pray for them to know us and quickly recognize that we are going to love them and give them security. We pray for their hearts to find peace through all that will happen during the transition to our family as their little world is rocked beyond anything we can comprehend.

We pray as God prepares our hearts and home for this new addition, that we will have an open mind as to who God has chosen for us.  We pray that we love unconditionally, just as the Lord loves us. We pray that we cherish and welcome this child into our home with the same tenderness that the Lord has welcomed us into His arms.  We pray for our kids to sacrifice of themselves for the life of their new
brother/sister.

We know that God is using this time to prepare us for this precious child and we are opening our hearts to what needs to be prepared inside.

You are the helper of the fatherless. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

Psalms 10:14,17-18