I know that some of you may wonder how, when, and why we decided to adopt. We have not always known that this is something we wanted to do. There was not a moment in time that we decided, “we want to adopt”. This was a gradual process for us. I began thinking about adoption in the summer of 2010. I seemed to run into so many people who had adopted, were in the process of adoption, or worked for an adoption organization. I was finding myself surrounded by adoption.
At first, I did not think much about it. Mark and I would love a large family; we just always assumed our children would be biological. But somewhere along the way God changed our hearts. He gave us love for this child that we do not yet know. God has known our children since before time began. He has plans for us and for our children. He planned for this adopted child to be an Elliott. It does not matter if I gave birth to him or someone else did, he (or she) is ours and has always been ours.
As a side note, I was ready to adopt a few months before Mark, which was really hard for me. I have a “go and get um” type of personality. Once my mind is made up, I am all in. I was ready to start the adoption process and bring this baby home. Mark is much more laid back. He needed more time and I gave it to him. The wonderful advice that I received was this: If adoption was for our family, God would change his heart in HIS time, not my time. I had to give up control (something I do not like to do) and let Mark make this decision without my nagging help.
Our adoption journey will be a long, with lots of bumps and detours along the way. But we know that the end result will be completely worth it: a beautiful baby boy or girl, who is ours.
Our Adoption Timeline
1/2011 - felt the call to adopt, began to research and pray about where and what agency
Our Adoption Timeline
1/2011 - felt the call to adopt, began to research and pray about where and what agency
2/14/2011 - sent application to adoption agency for Ethiopian program
2/18/2011 - application approved
2/18/2011 - application approved
4/5/2011 - first homestudy visit
4/13/2011 - second homestudy visit
4/16/2011 - parent’s night out fundraiser brings in $870!!!
5/11/2011 - homestudy notarized and sent to adoption agency
5/17/2011 - accepted into the Ethiopia program
5/18/2011 - I-600A sent to Immigration for approval
5/31/2011 - sent Dossier to agency
6/1/2011 - sent grant application to Lifesong
6/9/2011 - received fingerprint appointment date from Immigration
7/1/2011 - fingerprinted for Immigration
7/11/2011 - approved by Immigration
7/11/2011 - officially placed on wait list
7/2720/11 - sent grant application to Show Hope
8/2/2011 - Lifesong approved us for a $2500 matching grant!!
9/4/2011 - made the decision to switch countries to Uganda!
9/12/2011 - mailed application to new adoption agency
9/19/2011 - accepted to new agency
9/19/2011 - accepted to new agency
10/15/2011 - One Less Orphan concert and silent auction – raised over $6,000!
10/28/2011 - received updated homestudy for Uganda
11/1/2011 - wait list – Uganda!
11/19/2011 - received updated USCIS approval
11/19/2011 - approved for a $3,000 grant from Show Hope!
2/11/2012 - “Road to Home” dinner and client auction – raised $5,500!!!
5/11/2012 - Surprise! We find out we are pregnant (due January 11th). Read more about it and how it effected our adoption here.
10/2012 - paperwork will expire in January, we begin the paper chase to update our homestudy
10/2012 - decide to make the switch to DRC
11/21/2012 - re-fingerprinting appointment
11/27/2012 - homestudy update appointment
1/04/2013 - received updated homestudy and sent to USCIS
1/14/2013 - Began DRC Dossier, here we go again (seriously, we should be pros at this by now)
5/11/2012 - Surprise! We find out we are pregnant (due January 11th). Read more about it and how it effected our adoption here.
10/2012 - paperwork will expire in January, we begin the paper chase to update our homestudy
10/2012 - decide to make the switch to DRC
11/21/2012 - re-fingerprinting appointment
11/27/2012 - homestudy update appointment
1/04/2013 - received updated homestudy and sent to USCIS
1/14/2013 - Began DRC Dossier, here we go again (seriously, we should be pros at this by now)
3/1/2013
- Dossier complete!
3/19/2013 - Sent Dossier to adoption agency
5/9/2013 - Dossier complete! All documents have been authenticated and are ready to submit to the DRC attorney
And we wait.....
3/19/2013 - Sent Dossier to adoption agency
5/9/2013 - Dossier complete! All documents have been authenticated and are ready to submit to the DRC attorney
And we wait.....
