"O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done marvelous things, things planned long ago."
Isaiah 25:1
Welcome home!! We are so excited for your sweet family and have enjoyed getting caught up on your last couple of weeks and all the miracles that God has performed bringing your family together! What little cuties you have!!! Praying we are joining you soon as an "adoption completed" family! For now, we continue to wait! Your story gives us hope. :)
How are you? I have been dying to talk to you, but I have forced myself to give you at least two weeks at home before I bug you! I bet "wonderful" doesn't even begin to describe how it felt to collapse into your own bed with all six of your babies under the same roof!
I am a child of God. I have been redeemed. I am loved with an everlasting love. I was bought with a price. I am married to the kindest man I have ever known. I am Mom to Marie, Caleb, Kate, Elizabeth, Ezra, and Malachi.
9/25/09 Dossier Sent to Rwanda 9/25/09 Received Non-Objection Letter from Rwandan Embassy 9/3/09 Dossier at US State Dept., then Rwandan Embassy 9/3/09 All documents at AWAA 8/31/09 Send dossier to AWAA (with 2 documents missing) 8/25-8/31/09 Work like crazy to get these 3 documents certified 8/25/09 Find out I don't have 3 documents certified 8/25/09 Receive I-171h!!!!!! Record time!!! 8/19/09 USCIS Fingerprint Appointment 8/13/09 USCIS received my home study 8/12/09 Home study approved by DSS! 7/9/09 Home study arrived at DSS...wait for approval 7/7/09 Submitted I-600a application to USCIS 7/6/09 Home study approved by AWAA! 6/11/09 Home study sent to AWAA for review 6/4/09 Received rough draft of home study 5/19/2009 Third and final home study appointment 5/18/09 Second home study appointment 5/15/09 First home study appointment! 5/9/2009 Received Criminal Clearance Letters 5/8/2009 Physicals 5/7/2009 my first visit to the bank to get something notarized! It was free! What a relief. I told her I'd be seeing a lot of her. 4/25/2009 Sent in home study agency application and fee 4/22/2009 Sent in initial agreement and fee 4/21/2009 Accepted to the Rwanda program! 4/15/2009 Applied to AWAA
1st Month: Application fee $250 First Installment of payment $1500 Home Study $2675 (four pre-placements meetings and 3 post placements) 1st Month Total: $4425
2nd Month: Joel's Birth Certificate $8.00 Regan's Birth Certificate $18.00 Marriage License $2.50 Hague Training $175 State Criminal Clearance $50.00 Postage $2.39 2nd Month Total: $255.89 Sum Total: $4680.89
3rd Month: Birth Certificate $38.95 (I tried to do the "just apply through Vital Records in Washington DC" where I was born, but that was an exercise in futility. So, then after waiting with absolutely no results, I used VitalChek for this, which is definitely more expensive, but they get the job done, and quickly! I did not choose their expedited service, and literally received this 4 days later, using regular mail!) 3rd Month: $38.95 Sum Total: $4719.84
4th Month: USCIS application and fingerprints $830 4th Month Total: $830 Sum Total: $5549.84
Sending out two documents that didn't get certified, and of course a return envelope 4x $5.65 (USPS flat rate envelope and delivery confirmation)
VitalChek comes through again for marriage license $32.75
Cost of document certification: Joel's birth certificate $2.00 Marriage license $10.00 Regan's birth certificate $10.00 Dossier documents from my own state $38.00
Copies of dossier documents $19.57 5th month total: $170.97 Sum total: $5720.81
6th month: FedEx #3 $17.20 FedEx #4 $23.38 Program mid-payment for my agency $1500 Courier Service, Translation, and Authentication $1200 First half of International Program Fee $1700 Post-Placement Deposit $1,000 6th month total: $5440.58 Sum total: $11, 161.39
That is just beautiful. Praying for your rest!
ReplyDeleteYay! Congratulations! So happy for you :)
ReplyDeletewe LOVE this picture!!!! can't wait to talk with you soon.
ReplyDeleteWelcome home!! We are so excited for your sweet family and have enjoyed getting caught up on your last couple of weeks and all the miracles that God has performed bringing your family together! What little cuties you have!!! Praying we are joining you soon as an "adoption completed" family! For now, we continue to wait! Your story gives us hope. :)
ReplyDeleteLove,
Mark and Chelsea Jacobs
How are you? I have been dying to talk to you, but I have forced myself to give you at least two weeks at home before I bug you! I bet "wonderful" doesn't even begin to describe how it felt to collapse into your own bed with all six of your babies under the same roof!
ReplyDeleteSo excited for you! Everyone looks wonderful and your family is so beautiful. Praying for you!! Can't wait to see you in person !!
ReplyDelete