Homestudy approved!!

I am so excited to report that our homestudy was officially approved today!  When we first began this process, we were so overwhelmed with all there was to do so it's so nice to check off these big steps.  Now we will file an application with US Immigration.  This process can take anywhere from 30-90 days, so we most likely are going to need to ask China for a 3 month extension on the date they gave us to have our dossier to them.  We feel so blessed to have the $720 for filing and the $170 for fingerprinting.  We also already have the $450 we need to get all our paperwork authenticated by the right departments.  This leaves us with an immediate need for our 2nd agency fee of $2350 and our CCCWA (China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption) fee of $775.  When we have the money for those two fees, we will be able to send all our paperwork to China.  We are SO close! 

I have just begun to jump into the crazy waters of adoption grant applications.  I can definitely say that after this adoption is complete, I will never want to fill out another piece of paperwork again! :)  We will apply to as many grants as we can, but there is no guarantee that we will receive anything.  We are completely relying on the Lord's provision and the generosity of those He calls to bless us with funds.

I just want to say thank you so much to you all for continuing to share in this incredible journey God has called us to!  I will leave you with a recent picture we received of our sweet Asher.  His smile melts my heart and I can't wait to see it in person.

Bracelets and updates

Hello everyone!  I just wanted to update you all and also share the bracelet fundraiser we are doing right now.  First, the bracelets :)  We are doing a fundraiser through Apparent Project, selling beautiful bracelets made by men and women in Haiti who are working to support their families.  These bracelets have hand made paper beads and are so colorful.  I love that we can do a fundraiser that not only will help us with our adoption costs, but will also benefit these families in Haiti.  Each bracelet is $8 + $2 shipping (if you aren't local for me to drop them off).  Half of the proceeds from each bracelet go to the families in Haiti, and half go toward our adoption.  If you are interested in supporting this fundraiser online, you can just donate your $8 + $2 shipping through our Paypal Donate button on the top left side of our blog.  Please make sure to email me at carlyduvall1628@hotmail.com to let me know how many bracelets you bought and where I can ship them.  If you are local and would like to support this fundraiser, please email me and we will find a time to get the bracelets to you!

We are still in a waiting stage of the process right now, but while I've been waiting, I've been able to compile our entire dossier, which is really exciting.  The next step in the dossier process, is to get it notarized at the bank here in town.  Then Jon will be taking a day off work in the next week or two so we can drive to Indy to get the dossier certified, and then we will continue on to Chicago to get the dossier authenticated.

We are also waiting for our homestudy to get approved by our agency.  Our social worker should have his report to our agency this week, or early next week and we will just wait to hear that it's been approved.  Once it has been approved, we will finally be able to apply for grants!

We could definitely use prayer for God's provision as we approach some large financial deadlines.  Before our dossier will be able to be sent to China, we need to pay our second agency fee of $2,350, our first CCCWA fee to China of $725,  and our USCIS (Immigration) fee of $720.

We know God has a plan of provision and we are trusting in Him to lead us.  We are getting so close to Asher and I'm so anxious to bring our son home!  We love you all!

~Carly