It’s official! We’re adopting a baby! Charles and I are so excited to share this news with you all. We have been involved in the lengthy process of completing all of the necessary requirements and paperwork since early this year. We knew that we always wanted children, and Mother Nature determined that we would go the adoption route to achieve our goal. I knew all along that we would make an announcement on our blog, but the timing had to be right. And it feels right to tell you now and to share the timeline that we have followed since January.
January 2014
After a couple years of trying to have a baby the old fashioned way, things just weren’t happening. In January we officially decided adoption was the way we were going to start our family. We were drawn to international adoption since we have spent a lot of time in different countries volunteering with school-aged children and working in orphanages. After we knew for sure that we would adopt internationally, the next step was to pick a country. We researched and learned that many countries we volunteered in or had been to didn’t allow adoption to people from the United States. If they did allow U.S. adoptions, it was for older children. Since we are going to be first time parents, we want a child that is as young as possible. We also decided we wanted a Hague country. This means we will have more paperwork, but the Hague countries do everything they can to prevent child trafficking. After many hours of research, we selected Thailand as our country and selected an agency that has been working with them for decades.
(Playing with some of the orphans in Burma)
February 2014
Right before I left for an annual volunteer trip (this year to India), Charles and I hurriedly filled out paperwork to send to the agency. They needed to see if we would be good candidates for their Thailand program. I was up in the middle of the night in India due to jet lag and checked my email. That’s how I found out we were accepted into the Thailand adoption program. It was a relief to know we are good candidates. The moment I arrived home from that trip, I sat down with Charles, and we started figuring out which paperwork we needed for our dossier. A dossier is a collection of documents.
March 2014
We selected a local social work agency to do our home study. The home study was not hard. It consisted of a few interviews in their office and then an actual visit to our home. Marty, our social worker, went through our home to make sure it is a safe environment. She made sure we had fire detectors and that our house is suitable for a child. She also interviewed us separately to talk about our childhoods and how we would raise a child.
April 2014
During this time there was a lot of other documentation we had to collect for our dossier, and there was more paperwork to fill out. Some of the things we needed were letters of recommendation, letters from doctors declaring we are healthy, blood work to prove we are healthy, and letters from our bank and accountant. We had to meet with a psychologist and get cleared that we are mentally stable and can mentally care for a child. Plus, we had to get finger prints to prove we were never arrested and are not criminals.
May- July
The next step was that we each had to get a clearance from each state that we have lived in since we were 18. This was another way of checking to see if we have ever been arrested. This step is Hague specific. Between Charles’s time in the Navy and my moving around after college to live in different places in our country, we had lived in 10 different states. This took a lot longer than anyone expected. The states’ requirements differed. In some states we had forms to fill out, some needed the forms notarized, and some required payment. Some of the states returned their response in a day, and others took months. We were so frustrated with the wait.
July
We officially received all of the state clearances which gave us an official home study. We finally had everything for our dossier. We just needed to get a seal from the county, a seal from the New York secretary of state, and authentication from the Thai consulate. We received the rest of our paperwork from the agency two days before heading out of town for the Haven blog conference. I was able to get everything notarized and get the county seal in one day.
( I was in a hurry so I grabbed a quick picture of Grand Central Station on the iPhone).
The day before flying to my mom’s to go to the conference, I went to Albany (the New York state capital which is two hours away) to get the secretary of state’s seal. Then I drove another hour to a train station to take the train into New York City. I arrived at Grand Central Station and took a cab to the Thai consulate to give them the packet. I rushed back to the train in less than an hour. It was my fastest trip ever to the Big Apple. However, it was long enough for me to get a street vendor pretzel which I LOVE.
July 15th
All of our paperwork for the dossier arrived back from the Thai consulate. We had a few more forms to add to the completed dossier, which weighed two pounds, and then we dropped it in the mail to the agency. Finally, we are on the waiting list. So it’s official. We are paper pregnant!!!! Sorry, this post is so word-heavy, but we are just so excited to be on the waiting list, and we thought you might like to see our process. Each origin of adoption country, each agency, and each state can have different requirements. Although it is tempting, I am not decorating our child’s room just yet. I might do some painting, though! We still have a long journey ahead of us.
It can always change, but we are thinking right now that it will be about two years before we can go to Thailand and pick up our little one. Plus, our little one won’t be so little. Since it is a long process, the child will most likely be between two and three years old when he/she comes home. So, most likely our little one has already been born. We won’t know if the child is in a foster home or an orphanage until we are matched with a child. There are advantage and disadvantages to both.
Any tips dealing with a toddler will be appreciated. Thank you all for reading our adoption story. This is such a special time, and I wanted to share with you all. We will post updates with you as time goes on and things happen.
Congratulations!! That’s wonderful news.
I am grinning from ear to ear! What an awesome surprise! Congrats to the parents to be! I can’t wait to follow along in this journey!!
Congratulations Jordan! What an awesome adventure you are about to have. I love your sonogram photo!
WOW! Congratulations to the mummy and daddy to be! What wonderful news. A little person however they come to be in your family is always a blessing. I am looking forward to reading all your updates as we go along. Thanks for sharing this lovely news with all of us. Traceyxx
AWESOME!! Congrats!!!!
JUST WONDERFUL NEWS SO EXCITING CAN’T WAIT TO READ MORE ON YOUR LITTLE ONE AND LOVE THE ULTRA SOUND.
Whooooo-hooooo!
Congratulations! The toddler years are (mostly) wonderful. You will have so much fun. Best wishes for the rest of your journey.
Mazel tov! That’s wonderful news! Your excitement jumps off the blog page
Congratulations to Charles and Jordan. I’m just as excited as you are.
Wishing you all the best.
Lots of love
Raymond Chew
Grat big congrats to you and hubby! I too read your post grinning ear to ear, but also with goosebumps as we have 2 boys adopted domestically. I can so relate to your journey and know what’s ahead of you with the wait. The wait will be so worth it in the end and you will be matched with your baby! Best of luck!
Such wonderful news, many blessings to you and Charles! I know your mom is dancing on clouds!
Congratulations! How wonderful for you both! 😉
Wow! What a lucky child it will be! God Bless you!
Words can’t express the joy I am feeling for you and Charles. I am so happy for you both and know that your child will be surrounded with so much love!
Tears in my eyes as I type this Jordan!! So beyond thrilled for you guys and from one adoptive mama to another I know how incredibly hard this waiting can be! It’s like being expectant forever. LOL! I will be praying for you guys and for your precious little one!
I am so excited for you! I hope your baby comes home as soon as possible. What an exciting time for your family! I know you have lots of love to share with this precious little one.
I am new to your blog and I love it! You do not know me from Eve (ha ha) but I am so happy for you and your hubby. I hope your wait is not too long to get your little one.
Welcome, Donna, and thank you for your kind words.
Congratulations! What a journey you have had already through paper work. Adoption process does take so much time. However, I couldn’t help but think to myself That a lot of people who are parents should have to go through some of that.
Thank you all for your prayers and kind comments.
Congratulations, Jordan and hubby! What wonderful news!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I have only known you through your blog for the past several years but you and Charles seem like you all would make awesome parents. I know the child you get will be truly blessed! Again so happy for you both.
Jordan, It is very brave of you to share your story on your blog. I am in awe at how big your hearts are and I know that God will bless you with a wonderful baby. You both will be fantastic parents.
Feeling overwhelmed here by the kindness.
How wonderful!! And that you for sharing your journey. Can’t wait to hear more as it progresses.
I’m sure you don’t need any tips from me but you’ll find for yourself that every child is different and you will learn as you go. You already have all the things you need to be wonderful parents which is a loving family, a stable house and open arms. The rest will all fall into place so don’t waste a second even worrying about that.
Nice going. Have a goal. Make a plan. Work together. Believe. Persist. This will happen. Prepare to love the child. He/she will become part of your life together. And, with your love and encouragement you will become a significant part of his/her life. Go forth and do great things as a family and inspire each other to do good in this word. Well done; and God bless you all on this journey.
Oh congrats, congrats!!!…You two would certainly make the most wonderful parents!!!…Cannot imagine how you must feel waiting for your precious one…my thoughts and prayers are with you two as you wait for the arrival of your beautiful baby…
Thanks, Shirley!
Congratulations, Jordan and Charles! You will be wonderful parents. Blessings to both of you throughout this exciting journey
Wow, congratulations! I’m adopted and have just been writing more about it on my blog. I’m so excited for you 😉
Hugs,
Jamie
Jamie,
Thank you we are super excited! I can’t wait to check out your blog!
Cheers!
So happy to hear this announcement, even though I’m a couple months behind. We have adopted a little girl domestically and a sibling group of three from Ukraine recently (in addition to our bio kids). The paperwork is killer, as you’ve experienced, but so worth the outcome. I will be eager to hear more as your story progresses.
Wendy,
Congratulations to you as well for all of your children. We are on round two of paper work as we wait to get matched. We are so looking forward to the outcome. Thanks for following the journey.
Cheers!
What wonderful parents you will be! Parenting is not for the faint of heart. You will find that in giving of yourself with love and tenderness, child rearing will be very rewarding. This will be a great blessing for you and for this little one. God knows who this child will be so start praying for him or her now. You will be bonded before you ever physically see your baby. I will look forward to the rest of the story!