i am happy to report that we are making significant progress with the adoption of baby #5, also known as 'our mistry baby.' we have submitted all the necessary paperwork, and saved/raised enough money to pay for the next step. this puts us at the halfway point financially, we still have to come up with approximately $8,000, which is due at the time of placement. if we cannot raise enough money by that time, we will have to take out a low-interest adoption loan in order to bring our child home. we paid off our first adoption loan just this past year, so we are really praying that we can raise the funds necessary to avoid another loan repayment.
the next step is completing our home assessment, which will likely take place in the next 1-2 weeks! this is very exciting because that is are last major step. after that, we just have a few loose ends (physicals, fingerprints, etc.) to finish up while we are considered a "waiting family." the length of time that a family will wait varies significantly. if birthparents choose us right away, and the child has already been born... things can move pretty fast. if it takes a while for us to be chosen, and the child is not yet born... the wait can be several months, or even years. we have zero control over how quickly we are chosen (short of photoshopping us into j.c. penny's catologs so our family profile makes us look like we have perfect lives), so we are simply going to trust the lord to bring our family to completion at the perfect time.
since it could go as fast or as slow as one could imagine, i thought i would re-post a blog i wrote a long time on adoption do's and don'ts, where i address some frequently asked adoption questions. if this doesn't cover it, the best advice i can give is this: google it. or don't. but whatever you do, please do NOT ask me (or any other mother) these heavy, personal questions right in front of my children! i know children are short, but typically they can hear. and my kids, in particular, are brilliant, so they know exactly what you are talking about... even if you don't.
i hope that the re-post serves as a little refresher course on dealing with families who are formed through the beautiful thing that is adoption. we are so thankful to all of are amazing friends and family (and perfect strangers) who have supported our adoption journey... again. tom and i are really bad at asking for and receiving help from others, but we have learned a lot about allowing God to bless us through people. it is amazing and wonderful, and very uncomfortable if i am being honest. but, we couldn't bring home our mistry baby without help... so, we will continue to scrimp, save and hover above the poverty line, while we accept whatever support you all can spare.
i hope to have another update very soon!