The Wait

The waiting season is upon us,  it is kind of like the winter season I feel. A time of unrest, excess energy, and drury days. There is the occasional spark, a ray of sun breaking through the clouds to make us smile. The waiting season, like winter, is long and I am soooo ready for it to be over.
I recently sent an email asking about any other paperwork that we needed to file or task to be complete at this time. The reply was simply this, "You are in the waiting period right now..."
So here is an update of what we have done while we wait. The last month we have concentrated on working on grants. We have researched all of the grants available to us, we have crossed them off as we apply. We have gathered more paperwork that is required for our grant applications. We have a date scheduled to be finger printed by homeland security. And we pray!

One of the drury days this month has to do with a letter we recieved in the mail from AIAA (the actual child placement agency). This letter had a 2 fold purpose, to let us know that the cost of adoptions from Korea are going up this year and that there may be another 4-6 months of waiting prior to recieving a formal application. The cost of the adoption really didn't bother us much at all, we are counting on God for the money and when you are spending $30, 000 plus, what is another $1000. The real problem was with the second part, the longer wait. We have already been told that our wait from home study completion (Dec.) to our referral will be about 5 months.  I could not bring myself to think that we would have to wait an additional 4-6 months on top of the already loooong wait.

I will have to admit, like waking up to an unexpected 12 inches of snow, I was very upset! My heart longs to bring our child home. To hold our child, to kiss their sweet little cheeks and to rock them good night. In my mind, and in Travis' as well, our child is out there somewhere right now waiting for us. I couldn't grasp the thought of waiting a whole year for this to take place.  Travis, being the voice of reason, told me of God's timing and that maybe "our" child hasn't been born yet. I listened and with my mind agreed but in my heart I prayed.

Since this day, I have spoken with our representative from AIAA, she assured me that the months would definately not continue to "pile up", that the letter was simply to inform us that they were not in control of the length of the wait, but it was up to the number of referrals being recieved from Korea at the time.
Right now, we still wait. We have no idea when we will receive our referral or if we will receive any of the grants we applied for.  All we can do is wait, just as we wait for spring! We are praying that this waiting season along with the winter season are over soon.

Please continue to pray for us in our adoption process, specifically the grant applications.  Pray for our child (the possiblity of more than 1 is very,very slim). Pray that they are warm on these cold nights and that they are in a loving home. Pray for my job situation, recently my hours at work have been cut and I am not working very much this month.

We continue to trust Him for everything. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight."(Proverbs 3:5)

Bethany

Christmas Time!

Christmas time is here! It seems that it comes around faster every year. This year amidst the decorating, party going, cookie making, shopping and present wrapping there were doctors appointments, paper gathering and home study visits.  I will have to admit that the later added a little more stress to an already stressful season, causing a little spike in blood pressure and a little more tension in the Vaughan household. After all in the last few months we have managed to lose 80 pounds total in this house (Travis 50, Bethany 30),  go to 3 doctors appointments, close on an adoption loan, throw a birhday party and make it through 2 home study visits. What a wonderful ride!
Now it is time to sit back and wait. Our home study visits should be finalized at the end of the week and sent off to our internation adoption agency (AIAA), we will soon begin to work on applications for grants, but right now, just wait.
As I wait, I can't help but think of things to come. I think about next Christmas and the hopes of another child with twinkling in their eyes.  The thoughts of hanging the glass ornaments just a little higher so that little fingers won't be able to touch them. The thoughts of a big sister showing him/her (or both or more) how to make cookies and just what happens when Zolly our elf on the shelf leaves every night. The traditions of Christmas will only get better as our family grows, and grow it may as Travis as I approved both twins and a sibling group (2 children) at our home study!
In about 5 months from now we will receive our referral, but now we wait because it's Christmas time again. A time to celebrate the hopes that rest on another child born a long time ago. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Overwhelmed

We are now over a month into the paperwork process. Each day it seems that I find a new form that I need to submit or a looming cost that we didn't know about. We have chosen Adoption Assistance out of Danville to complete our home study and to guide us through this journey, though we have a local agency, with adoption from Korea we ultimately go through a much larger entity called AIAA (Americans for International Aid and Adoption). AIAA has very strict guidelines for adoption including a Body Mass index under 30, age 25-44, no more than 4 children, a good physical and mental health with no history of disease or mental illness, along with the ability to have a plan of how to pay for adoption.  We are currently in the process of obtaining the correct body mass, Travis has lost 33 pounds to date, and I have lost 15.

The anxiety of this whole process does not come from the BMI or strict medical guidlines but the funding required to complete. Also listed on the AIAA website is a list of required funds totaling $22,500, without home study fees, travel fees, various cost to submit forms or agency fees. As we examined the cost last night we were both completely overwhelmed by the task at hand.  This journey is a journey of faith. From the very beginning of the call we have known that we do not have the funds nor any way to require the funds on our own.  To be honest with you it is very easy to say we trust God for the money, but very hard to let go and believe it when we have no plan.  We cannot apply for any loans or grants until after the home study is complete, therefore requiring us to take a huge leap of faith that God will provide.

I told Travis last night that this may be one of the most difficult journeys we ever have to take in our lives. The rollercoaster of emotions from excitement to absolute fear vary by the hour. I hold on to the fact that God has a plan for us, He knows every step, every fear, every worry and He just longs for us to trust Him.  I ask for your prayers as we try to figure out God's absolute timing, as we fumble through the pages of required documents, as we research loans and grants and discuss possibilities.  I pray that God's peace is upon us and that we are no longer overwhelmed by the looming cost but by His amazing Love.

"By Faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."
Hebrews 11:8

Lord give us that kind of Faith!

Our Amazing Race

It started around 15 years ago I guess, more of a spark somewhere deep inside. Like a distant calling as a young girl dreams of her future. You know the time, when you sit down with a journal and plan out what your life will be like five, ten, fifteen years from now. Married by 23, 1st. child by 25 either biological or adopted. Just the dreams of a 15 year old girl, passing dreams but certainly a spark.


I can't remember when it started exactly, the desire to adopt, it has really always been there for me.  I found that life journal with only my life plans written in it just a few weeks ago. Reassurance from God that I am following His lead, his spark.


That is where Our Amazing Race began.  Why "The Amazing Race" you ask? Named from our favorite T.V. show. It has been a dream of Travis' for us to go on the show together since it's beginning. Over time I have convinced him that this show may not be the best idea for us, considering the time away from Anna, the arguments caused by the frantic pace, and the fact that I am not much the dare devil that he says that he is. All of that said, the grand prize of a million dollars would sure be nice.


Travis, in the time since we married, has placed his sites on another dream - the dream of adoption. That is why I am starting this blog, to journal Our Amazing Race to South Korea to adopt a child. We have chosen our destination with much prayer and consideration. Our journey ahead will be one of sacrifice, perseverance and hope. Trusting in God we seek the prize of bringing into our home the child that God chose for us long, long ago. We ask for your prayers as we find ourselves in uncharted waters, up to our necks in paperwork and financial concerns. I will be keeping you posted on the process as best I can with spelling errors, run on sentences and missed punctuation.  My hope is that through this blog I can share my heart with all of you and one day share these entries with our children. On your mark, get set, go...Our Amazing Race has just begun.


Philippians 3:14
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.