Adoption updates and some Fall + Trick or Treating photos

No one was joking when they said that the adoption process is a marathon and not a sprint. And they also weren't lying when they said to prepare for many changes along the way. When we started this journey (over a year ago! It's crazy for me to even think about that!) I *knew* this, but didn't really *know* it until now. And I am sure families who are on their second or third year of waiting would say we still don't really know what waiting looks like!

We always knew there could be a chance that we would move during the adoption process and need to update the home study, we just didn't realize until we actually moved what that would all entail. My goal was to update the home study before the baby was born, but we quickly realized that we would need to update it again after the baby was born so it just made sense to wait. However, as we reached out to agencies to assess pricing, we have realized that most agency's won't let you update until 3 to 6 months after your baby is born. Dan and I spent a lot of time discussing which agency to go with, and while we wanted to go with the agencies that allow us to update within 3 months, they were more expensive (almost $5,000 to update - insert wide eyed emoji face here). This has been another thing we have run into- the cost. As I said before, we knew there was a possibility that we could move so we asked many different agencies how this could affect our home study when we started this process a year ago. Most said we would just need to update it, costing most likely under $2,000, however, we are realizing that unfortunately with Illinois you cannot just update your home study, you need to complete a whole new study so it is costing more money than anticipating.

We totally 100% trust in the Lord to provide, it's just a bummer to spend $3,500 to update something you've already completed. With that being said, we have chosen an agency to complete our home study within 6 months because they are the most cost effective. Our goal is to have most of the paperwork done so when we hit the 6 month mark we can move quickly through the home study process and then start to finish the dossier which is the international paperwork being sent to Ethiopia.

Another reason we felt that waiting 6 months wouldn't affect our adoption process too much is that unfortunately, as I've mentioned before, the adoption process has slowed down quite a bit in Ethiopia - which is so sad to hear because there are so many sweet kids waiting to be adopted but there's nothing that can be done about it. Right now families are seeing a long wait time and also seeing an extended period of time between when they receive the referral and when they actually go to meet their kiddo for the first time.

So, if anyone is wondering why it's been quiet on the adoption front for us it's because we are just in an extended waiting period! It's unfortunate, and we wish that we could always be sharing fun, exciting news about our adoption, however we are learning more and more that this is the reality of adoption. And we have learned a lot about waiting in the past, but even though it's not new to us, it's still hard to have to wait when you are so excited about something and know that there is a child out there waiting to join your family.

So if you could continue to pray for our future child and our family during this waiting season we would so appreciate it! We know that God has a plan and is still in control even when we can't see the future. Even though it's hard, we are growing in what it looks like to trust in Him and His timing.

"For still the vision awaits its appointed time;

it hastens to the end- it will not lie.

If it seems slow, wait for it;

it will surely come; it will not delay."

Habakkuk 2:3

"When I wait, you strengthen my heart."

Psalm 27:14

"I am sure that God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wait." C.S. Lewis