It's been awhile! Sorry for the silence - we've hit that part of the adoption process that really doesn't have much going on. We've done a lot of waiting over the past few months, but are now finally moving forward!
In late November, we were told that we had gotten our approval from the US immigration that was specific to Theo. Before that point, we'd been given permission from the government to adopt from his country, but once we were actually "matched" to our little guy, we had to get approval that was specific to him (his name, his date of birth, etc). We got that, but his country was still waiting for the official documentation from the US Consulate.
That documentation took 5 weeks to get into the hands of the right people, and we just found out last week that it's all where it needs to be now! Yay!
So now we wait....once again....for the final steps to happen.
We know that the government in Theo's country is processing our case: they've asked for additional paperwork and copies of various things. So, we know we're moving forward. This process normally takes about 10-12 weeks before court orders are issued by his country, so we know we're in that last stretch.
We're hoping for a February/March travel date, when we can finally go meet our little guy and bring him home to his forever family! It's been a very long two years, with lots of delays along the way, and lots of costs we were not anticipating (all of our paperwork or government clearances expired at least once along the way, some of them twice, and all of that cost money to renew or have re-done). We're holding strong, though, and are hopeful that winter travel costs will outweigh any of the expenses that we've accrued during the delays. Fingers crossed!
In the meantime, we're working on gathering a team of medical providers who will be ready to help as soon as Theo comes home. We know a bit more about his personal health and abilities at this point, and have been working on creating a team of doctors, therapists, interpreters, and support who are aware of his needs (as far as we know them, obviously) and who are prepared to help us evaluate and decide upon the best treatment for our little man. Our goal is and has always been to love him and help him thrive and develop to his fullest potential, whatever that may be. These providers are right there, at our side already, fully committed to giving Theo all that he needs. We are so lucky and blessed to be living where we are, surrounded by so many compassionate people!
We appreciate any and all prayers you can send our way - that we're officially in the last steps of our adoption process, for smooth travel, and for the ability to bring our little guy home as soon as possible!
