I saw this journal last week and just had to pick it up. However, my mom was with me too and and said she would like to present it as our first gift on our adoption journey! It's a cute little journal that says "Give thanks for the unknown blessings already on their way". Then in the corner it says "dream". How fitting. I was teary eyed on the spot. My plan is to chronicle little events that happen, and hopefully keep dates and notes in there to show our child.
It was nice to get something tangible as a reminder that someday this WILL really happen. The process has been moving so slow that sometimes I wonder if we will ever meet our little girl (?) and it's hard. Our homestudy review was completed over a week ago so I was hoping to hear some feedback from the agency that we could move forward. I DID hear from the agency, but only to say that it could take up to 4 weeks for the draft to be reviewed and approved. I also heard that lately, the FBI prints (stating that we have "no records" for our dossier) has been taking up to 12 weeks. That puts us all the way into September. I'm not complaining because we were prepared for this, but it's still hard on a mommy's heart to wait for a child they have been dreaming about and praying for! Right now it still seems like we are on mile 1 of a marathon. There are still lots of uphill miles and unexpected turns to come, but I know that anything worth having always takes work, and it's always worth it. :)
What a nice journal, scrapbook to use during the journey! Yes, it's hard, but so worth the wait!!
ReplyDeleteAmazing how impactful the right words can be!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful journal. I love the quotes. We too were told 4 weeks for the homestudy draft to be reviewed. It took 3 weeks for the first review (so a week less than they said.) But after that it took another 2 weeks or so for the corrections to be made. Then another 2 weeks after that to get the certified copies of the homestudy. That part of the process felt so long especially since there was nothing we could be working on. As for the FBI prints, we were told 12 weeks as well but it actually took about 7 1/2 weeks. We sent our FBI clearance request in at the beginning of April and had the clearance near the end of May. I hope yours is also quicker than the 12 weeks.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to start putting words down for you little girl. I know it is hard to wait....we have been where you are and we are still waiting. I will stay that now I know the importance of making sure everything is done correctly the first time. It is much better to have to wait to get things right this time, rather than have to wait to change things after you meet your little girl. You will be there before you know it!
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely a long process, especially when ready for that baby NOW. Reaching each milestone definitely helps. Though it seems finalizing the homestudy and fingerprinting are taking a bit longer than you would have liked, you can mark "first gift" off of you checklist and take some days to begin filling that beautiful book.
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