The Long's

The Long's
Wind River Ranch - where our journey to Chazz began!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

It's really happening

We submitted our formal application on Monday and paid our first fee.  Today we spoke with the branch manager of our adoption agency and she approved our application and will send it on to headquarters.  Then we pay our homestudy fee, sign a contract, and begin the process. 
We think we know the child already, but we're waiting on God to let us know His plan - and China too.  You never know in international adoption.  Be prepared for anything and everything.  We know that we'll adopt a waiting child, so we're hoping the adoption can be finalized in about a year!  As soon as we can, we'll post a picture of our child.  The kids are already saying that the van will be crowded our next trip to Florida!  But Brooks is excited, because he'll get to drive some.
Our plan is to keep everyone informed of the process - where we are - and our timelines here.  
The two main issues for us with adoption are not being in control of the timeline and finances.  Unfortunately it is expensive to adopt.  We've worked hard the last several years to try to be in a financial situation to adopt again, we're saving money each month, but it looks like we might come up a little short.  We don't like the idea of going into debt, but if we have to, we will.  We may try to do some fundraising in the future if we see it is needed.  We'll keep track of our adoption experience right here.  It is our hope people will follow us and spark interest in adoption.