Adoption Tax Credit

Today I learned that the federal tax credit available to adoptive parents, will sunset at the end of this year. While it will not deter us, it was a disappointment as we hoped to use the tax credit to help offset some of the expenses. The average cost to adopt is any where from $25k-$35k or more, currently for 2011 families are eligible for a maximum of $13,170 as a tax credit, which is still sometimes less than half!!! So, what does all this mean and how can you help? Today I signed a petition to extend the tax credit for 2012 and 2013 which will directly affect our adoption...add your name to mine at www.change.org/petitions/make-adoption-costs-fully-refundable-in-the-2012-2013-tax-years  also there is more info about a bill being presented to make the tax credit permanent, and who to contact if you live in one of the states currently supporting the writing of the bill.  I can't tell you what a blessing this can be to us and so many other adoptive parents out there.

Worried???

Life is so crazy busy for us right now. I keep telling myself all this craziness is making the time go by for us faster, but it doesn't make it any less exhausting! I recently allowed myself to start worrying over the funds we need. We are a week or so away from moving into our new home, and while it is a blessing as many know moving/building is always full of last minute expenses you don't anticipate. It seems like its been hard to put extra back and very soon we will need to file with immigration. This week I found out we are to receive a bonus at work, the amount is based on the hours worked during a certain time period...wouldn't you know that added to what we have put back will cover our immigration fees! It was God saying once again, Don't worry I've got it all taken care of!!! So yesterday when our ten year old Peyton broke his wrist at school, and they had to anesthesize him to set and cast it, I just said okay God I'm not going to worry about this you have it all figured out. Thankfully, the doctor was able to skillfully line it all back up and doesn't anticipate it will cause any problems...except for our sanity over the next few weeks poor guy it was his left hand, yes he is left handed. Our lives are so short here on earth, I hope I'm able to continually keep in perspective that worrying is not going to add a day to my life and as long as I keep doing my part, well God is perfectly capable of handling the rest!!

21 on the Waiting List



Finally. After weeks of waiting our paperwork came back from D.C.. Today we added the necassary copies and mailed it, Express, to the Holt office in Oregon. We called our social worker to let her know the Dossier was complete and in the mail. She told us that we are now 21 on the waiting list and should expect to be matched with our daughter by December of this year. She reminded us that it was an estimate only, and we of course are hoping it is sooner than that. We are just relieved to be (almost) done with this portion of the paperwork. The rest is in God's hands and in his timing. Naturally we have quite a bit to keep us busy, including hopefully moving into our new home in a few weeks. They painted today. Cherish's room is soft yellow! Her brothers' room is burnt Orange:)

Off to Washington DC

After checking, and double checking and triple checking our documents, we Express Mailed our precious Dossier to a courier service in Washington DC today. They will hand deliver it to the US State Dept to authenticate our State Seal and then hand deliver it to The Royal Thai Embassy for their authentication, after which it will be mailed back to us. We were told the whole process should take about 7 days. Then we will mail to Holt and they will place us on the Thailand Waiting List. One step closer. Tonight we prayed for God to continue guiding our process, continue to give us patience to wait on him, and to keep his protecting hand on our daughter. We just can't wait to meet her, and bring her home.

Christmas Blessings

A lot has taken place the last few weeks...which explains why I haven't added anything to the blog lately! We had a wonderful Christmas with our families and so enjoyed watching the faces of our sons and all our nieces and nephews. As adults, Christmas holds a special place in our lives as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour and share in gift giving, but the magic it holds for our children is so special. Cherish was mentioned in our conversations, and patience again tested as we wished we could to have her with us now. We have been gently reminded in the past weeks that it is all in God's hands and in his timing. We had a couple bumps waiting for the Missouri State Dept to approve our notary but on Christmas Eve we finally recieved the State Seal, what a blessing! It seems that God was telling us no matter how quickly we try to push to get things done, just like with the long awaited birth of the Messiah, everything is in his hands and we just need to slow down as he opens the doors. We are so thankful to announce that we have raised and saved enough for the dossier. Thank You to everyone for your prayers and support with our wreath fundraiser, it was a success!

Thailand Homestudy approved

It's official the Thailand Holt team has approved our homestudy!!!!! We are waiting for them to send us the necassary documents to complete our dossier then off to Washington DC it will go. The whole certification process should take about a week and a half, then we will mail our completed dossier to Holt and they will send it to Thailand. Then we apply to immigration and start waiting...ugh! We are so thankful for all the love, support, and prayers we have been getting, keep it coming! Our goal is to have the dossier done by Christmas.

Thankfulness

Sitting around the table today with family, sharing stories, laughing, talking,and eating way too much, I just wanted to give them all a huge hug! We realized again how important of a role family plays in our lives. The bond we share is truly amazing, being able to come together on Thanksgiving and all through out the year knowing that we love and support one another through the good and the bad. It's one of the things that defines family. We spoke briefly of Cherish and how we can't wait until she is with us, she is part of our family already and we missed her today. We are so blessed with family there just aren't adequate words to express, but one thing is certain, we are THANKFUL.