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Posted by on Dec 31, 2013 in Adoption | 0 comments

i800a approved!

i800-what you say? i800a…It’s adoption-speak for one of the longest phases of the international adoption process. The i800a is a form sent to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Since I haven’t been the most timely blogger, let’s take a brief stroll through our adoption memory lane. Our i800a was received (via a lockbox in Texas) back in October. On November 14, the three of us hit the mean streets of downtown Cincinnati to get our fingerprints done at our local immigration office. It was scheduled to be a school day for Hannah but she ended up joining us due to a self-described “porcupine in the throat”. On December 23, Adam and I were excited to see an envelope from immigration. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a request for more evidence. Our agency caseworker contacted immigration on our behalf and our application must have been approved later that day. We received the hard copy today! So what does this mean? It means that we are (tentatively) approved...

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Posted by on Dec 30, 2013 in Adoption | 0 comments

Updates on Eli

Updates on Eli

Our family just wrapped up an epic Christmas-celebrated no less than SEVEN times with family members and friends near and far. We are thankful, happy, full, and a little exhausted! While we had an amazing holiday, Eli was never far from our minds. I cannot wait to have even more turtles, ponies, or whatever he loves circling our tree and our fireplace really needs that fourth stocking. Even Hannah thought of Eli often this month. Her most memorable time being a false identification after swim lessons. She thought another child might be Eli and was suddenly extremely excited! In trying to head off what could be a pretty embarrassing/confusing situation, I tried to tell her quickly that A) That wasn’t Eli and B) We should not go embrace the child without asking! Hannah somewhat got the message and said, “Oh-are we not allowed to take kids?” She keeps us laughing…and alert! A little before Christmas, an amazing surprise popped up in my inbox-an update on Eli. The adoption world...

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Posted by on Nov 2, 2013 in Adoption, Fundraiser | 0 comments

It takes an OI Village

As both parents and community members, we’re firm believers in the phrase, “It takes a village.” We see the positive impact that our friends and family have on Hannah’s growth and we’re so eager for Eli to join our circles. We submitted our immigration paperwork (known as the i800a in adoption lingo) exactly 2 weeks ago. The immigration process takes 70 days on average but we’re hoping to be on the faster end of that average! In the meantime, we’re hard at work with grant writing and fund raising. Just this week, our friend Joe Hall kicked off an amazing matching grant campaign with THIS post. Our AdoptTogether profile is now live and we can accept tax-deductible donations. If we can raise $2500, Joe has offered to match that amount! It’s an incredibly generous offer that has really excited me-and so many donors-to meet our goal. Each and every gift, share, or positive thought helps and we are so thankful. When people blog and talk about adoption from China,...

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Posted by on Sep 21, 2013 in Adoption | 1 comment

1 in a billion

It’s easy to feel very small in this world. Eli is one of 1.3 BILLION people who live in China. He’s also 1 of of 1 BILLION people with disabilities that live around the world. As I try to imagine what his life has been like and piece together a history that I know one day, he’ll need and want, it can feel daunting. I can’t really be sure the picture of the orphanage I’ve found is his or the province where he lives is at all what he will remember it to be. I can’t google sounds, smells, and sights that a child grows to know as home. What I can do, though, is try. In addition to our adoption process, we’ve been learning what we can about China and reaching out to other families who have already completed this journey or are along with us for the ride! Just like our rich disability community, there’s an enormous and well-connected online adoption community. It’s made up of listserves,...

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Posted by on Sep 9, 2013 in Adoption | 0 comments

Home Studies for Parents with Disabilities

One of our many goals for this blog has been to share a bit more about our perspective as parents with disabilities navigating the adoption process. Admittedly, we’ve been nervous. We know to expect adversity and there are moments that we wait with anticipation that someone along the way will question or doubt. So far though, we’ve encountered a long line of helpful, supportive, and even enthusiastic professional partners in our journey. On Friday, we completed the third of four home study meetings and we’re getting closer and closer to that finish line. A few people have asked so we thought we’d answer: What’s in a home study? The first step in the home study process is a gigantic set of paperwork. We’ve worked on this from several weeks prior to our first meeting and then each week we check off more items and discuss any revisions, changes, or additions. The paperwork has included a fire inspection (conducted by our local fire station), physicals for everyone in the family,...

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