I don't know what to tell you.
That's right - I don't really know how to write an update at this point. There is so much at once and yet not much to show for it except a whole lot of mess. Huh...kind of sounds like my spiritual walk sometimes.
Here is a picture of my morning. Thank goodness there is coffee.
As my sweet friend Kristen said recently, "My everything is everywhere." --I am totally going to turn that phrase into an 8x10 print. I'm not kidding.--
See that multi-colored, three-columned list on the right? That is our home-study to do list. Good news - we are only missing the items in yellow.
Below are some disorganized updates. Enjoy.
1. We recently completed two major events in our home study. They were the final two, actually. We met with a psychologist for an evaluation; Colombia, for some reason, does not want to place children with crazy people. Who knew? [More on this informative visit below.] Also, we had our final (FINAL!) home study interview with our social worker. That's why everything feels everywhere. Home study feels finished yet far-from-finished at the same time. The yellow items on the list will take us the whole week to complete. At least, we hope it only takes that long.
Because once they are finished, we apply for immigration.
And while we wait for approval, we will be matched to our kids.
As early as next week, we could be matched to our kids. There is not an adequate adjective for this feeling. I am anxious, excited, terrified, hopeful, worried, grateful, humbled, joyful, and relieved. All at once. I'm nervicited.
2. So, I'm going to lay this out there. Some of you will giggle at it. A few of you might even bring it up jokingly in future conversations, and that's fine. Mostly, I share it for your amusement, as it was quite amusing to me.
For our psych eval, Chad and I both took the MMPI, the MMPI 2, and another psych test. For reference, the MMPI 2 has 568 T/F statements to which the test-taker responds. The psychologist reviewed our responses before meeting with us. One (of many) function of the tests is to diagnose any personality disorders or harmful behaviors. Our psychologist cleared us and shared very encouraging observations. We really enjoyed our counseling session with him, and would actually like to see him more in the future. -- Here is where I plug counseling. It is not reserved for crisis. Counseling, especially from qualified professionals and/or more mature believers is good for relationships or personal growth even during healthy seasons. It is good for the mind and soul to verbalize experiences, assess situations, and be challenged to evaluate relationships. I highly recommend counseling. The stigma around it is unwarranted. It is not a sign of weakness. Fin. --
Here's the funny part. Chad's scores came back more "normal" or in the average range than mine. That's funny because the test is looking for past traumas or lingering issues that need to be dealt with, but I (thankfully and by God's grace) had a trauma-free childhood. It was idyllic, straight from an Ingalls-Wilder story about the prairie. I grew up in a loving, Christian home with both parents on a beautiful 50 acre farm literally surrounded by family members who loved me. I never moved, never had to deal with serious illness in my family, never even broke a bone. It wasn't perfect, but it was close. I enjoyed school, I had good friends, I was safe - all the markers of a "healthy" childhood, even through college.
But the test diagnosed me with a condition usually associated with people who haven't dealt with past issues. People with this condition draw attention to themselves by lying and manipulating others. Um, I don't do that. Our doctor even said it was a false diagnosis that is common when the test, for lack of a better way to put it, doesn't believe you. I had no trauma to report, so the test thought I was hiding something. It turns out this is a common occurrence with this test for people who have not experienced trauma, either physical or emotional, but still have strong personalities. And I definitely qualify as a strong (read: loud) personality! So that was fun. But overall, the psych eval went well. If you would like the name of an excellent counselor, hit me up. I know a guy.
2. Our final home visit went well. And I owe much of that to you all. We have the strongest, most supportive community. From our Sunday school class, family, and friends to my co-workers (special thanks to Pam and Kendall for the recent bake sale!) and students - I honestly feel like you are all adopting alongside us because you have put so much emotional and tangible support into this process. It is overwhelming, and I'm sure I have not thanked you appropriately. Many of our home study questions involved whether or not we had support from our family and friends. Those were easy to answer with many resounding YESSES.
3. I once posted a timeline blog wherein I explained the typical time frame for Colombian adoption. When we started at the end of January, the conservative estimate was 12 to 16 months. I also noted on that blog post that I believed our children would be home before Christmas. You guys, they might be home even earlier.
At our final home study, our case worker told us that, although the typical wait time for immigration approval is three months, lately it has only been taking one month. Here is what that means in our current reality:
This week - finish gathering required documents and complete online training.
Next week - apply for immigration and begin matching process.
By end of July or August - possibly be ready to book flights and travel to Colombia.
Now, this timeline assumes that everything continues to go as smoothly and quickly as it has so far. Which brings me to the conclusion of this update and our current prayer list. I firmly believe you are a people of prayer. Please join us in lifting up the following petitions over the next couple of weeks.
Here is a picture of my morning. Thank goodness there is coffee.
As my sweet friend Kristen said recently, "My everything is everywhere." --I am totally going to turn that phrase into an 8x10 print. I'm not kidding.--
See that multi-colored, three-columned list on the right? That is our home-study to do list. Good news - we are only missing the items in yellow.
Below are some disorganized updates. Enjoy.
1. We recently completed two major events in our home study. They were the final two, actually. We met with a psychologist for an evaluation; Colombia, for some reason, does not want to place children with crazy people. Who knew? [More on this informative visit below.] Also, we had our final (FINAL!) home study interview with our social worker. That's why everything feels everywhere. Home study feels finished yet far-from-finished at the same time. The yellow items on the list will take us the whole week to complete. At least, we hope it only takes that long.
Because once they are finished, we apply for immigration.
And while we wait for approval, we will be matched to our kids.
As early as next week, we could be matched to our kids. There is not an adequate adjective for this feeling. I am anxious, excited, terrified, hopeful, worried, grateful, humbled, joyful, and relieved. All at once. I'm nervicited.
2. So, I'm going to lay this out there. Some of you will giggle at it. A few of you might even bring it up jokingly in future conversations, and that's fine. Mostly, I share it for your amusement, as it was quite amusing to me.
For our psych eval, Chad and I both took the MMPI, the MMPI 2, and another psych test. For reference, the MMPI 2 has 568 T/F statements to which the test-taker responds. The psychologist reviewed our responses before meeting with us. One (of many) function of the tests is to diagnose any personality disorders or harmful behaviors. Our psychologist cleared us and shared very encouraging observations. We really enjoyed our counseling session with him, and would actually like to see him more in the future. -- Here is where I plug counseling. It is not reserved for crisis. Counseling, especially from qualified professionals and/or more mature believers is good for relationships or personal growth even during healthy seasons. It is good for the mind and soul to verbalize experiences, assess situations, and be challenged to evaluate relationships. I highly recommend counseling. The stigma around it is unwarranted. It is not a sign of weakness. Fin. --
Here's the funny part. Chad's scores came back more "normal" or in the average range than mine. That's funny because the test is looking for past traumas or lingering issues that need to be dealt with, but I (thankfully and by God's grace) had a trauma-free childhood. It was idyllic, straight from an Ingalls-Wilder story about the prairie. I grew up in a loving, Christian home with both parents on a beautiful 50 acre farm literally surrounded by family members who loved me. I never moved, never had to deal with serious illness in my family, never even broke a bone. It wasn't perfect, but it was close. I enjoyed school, I had good friends, I was safe - all the markers of a "healthy" childhood, even through college.
But the test diagnosed me with a condition usually associated with people who haven't dealt with past issues. People with this condition draw attention to themselves by lying and manipulating others. Um, I don't do that. Our doctor even said it was a false diagnosis that is common when the test, for lack of a better way to put it, doesn't believe you. I had no trauma to report, so the test thought I was hiding something. It turns out this is a common occurrence with this test for people who have not experienced trauma, either physical or emotional, but still have strong personalities. And I definitely qualify as a strong (read: loud) personality! So that was fun. But overall, the psych eval went well. If you would like the name of an excellent counselor, hit me up. I know a guy.
2. Our final home visit went well. And I owe much of that to you all. We have the strongest, most supportive community. From our Sunday school class, family, and friends to my co-workers (special thanks to Pam and Kendall for the recent bake sale!) and students - I honestly feel like you are all adopting alongside us because you have put so much emotional and tangible support into this process. It is overwhelming, and I'm sure I have not thanked you appropriately. Many of our home study questions involved whether or not we had support from our family and friends. Those were easy to answer with many resounding YESSES.
3. I once posted a timeline blog wherein I explained the typical time frame for Colombian adoption. When we started at the end of January, the conservative estimate was 12 to 16 months. I also noted on that blog post that I believed our children would be home before Christmas. You guys, they might be home even earlier.
At our final home study, our case worker told us that, although the typical wait time for immigration approval is three months, lately it has only been taking one month. Here is what that means in our current reality:
This week - finish gathering required documents and complete online training.
Next week - apply for immigration and begin matching process.
By end of July or August - possibly be ready to book flights and travel to Colombia.
(!!!)
Now, this timeline assumes that everything continues to go as smoothly and quickly as it has so far. Which brings me to the conclusion of this update and our current prayer list. I firmly believe you are a people of prayer. Please join us in lifting up the following petitions over the next couple of weeks.
- Colombia just held its first peaceful presidential election since the treaty that ended the guerrilla (civil) war with the FARC. They will have a run-off election to determine the winner since no candidate won with a majority, even though one candidate won 30% of the votes. This candidate wants to rewrite the treaty to be tougher on FARC militants. Please pray that Colombia remains stable as a nation throughout this process and that the people of Colombia would not suffer for the sake of politics. Also, pray that adoption laws and travel safety would not be impacted.
- Our biggest obstacle as we proceed on the *new* timeline will probably be finances, followed closely by our Spanish language acquisition. Please pray that God will bless our remaining fundraising endeavors. We will need about $20,000 more in order to travel. God will provide. Amen. I am listing some fundraisers below. We are practicing our Spanish daily. Please pray that God will keep us focused and diligent as we try to learn a language to the point of fluency.
- Pray for Lolo and Lala's caretakers, that they would be kind and patient and loving.
- Pray that God would, as only He can, prepare our family to be one. That includes Lolo, Lala, me, Chad, Brent, Eirinn, and our extended family.
- Pray for our immigration approval.
The rest is about $$$, and is only meant to be informative, not a request for money. In case you haven't noticed, I hate asking for money. 😕
First, I want to let you know that in a couple of weeks, you may see pictures of us living it up at the beach on Instagram. Some folks very dear to us (who wish to remain anonymous) donated to our adoption in the form of a week's stay at a beach condo. We are indescribably grateful. We have not taken a family vacation in eight years. That's right - eight years. Brent has never been to the beach or seen the ocean. What a gift to us before we become a family of six that we get to invest some serious quality time with our biological children. We plan to be very intentional with our time there in a way that builds them up as part of this adoption process in a special way. We also plan to swim. :)
Secondly, we might have the amazing privilege to benefit from a fundraising night at Wasabi Juan's Avondale in the near future! This opportunity arose a couple of days ago. Wasabi Juan's is one of our favorite places to eat, though we don't get over there very often. They occasionally take one night to donate a percentage of proceeds to a ministry or charity. They are considering us as a possible recipient! I'll keep you posted on date and time if it works out. Maybe keep a little room in the ol' dining budget this month?
Thirdly, my friend who also happens to be a savvy businesswoman and the mom of a former student is working on a t-shirt sale that is a little different from your typical t-shirt sale. I'll post all about this on social media when it is finalized.
Lastly, I will be selling my art prints throughout June on Friday nights at Brookwood Village. Bham Art Crawl is setting up there on Fridays this summer. I will be there this Friday as well as June 8 and June 22. Come by and see me and some other local creators!
I have not forgotten those of you who have expressed interest in helping, either with auction donations or otherwise! I still don't have all the pieces together, but I will contact you and take you up on your offers some time!
Everything everywhere means we are completing training, turning in paperwork, finishing projects, deciding what furniture needs to be purchased for the new kids, while still loving our children, blessing others, studying God's word and asking for his guidance, planning budgets, prepping for the beach, meeting and teaching over the summer (me), learning Spanish - all while trying to keep our focus on Jesus and live in faith, not fear. Whew!
As always, you can click HERE to view my Etsy site (all proceeds go toward adoption) or HERE to donate to our online adoption fund.
Thank you for your love, for your encouragement, for your kindness, and for sharing our journey.
Hugs,
Christa
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