Approval on Our USCIS Application!

It's finally here! This past week we received the official approval letter from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). We have been approved for up to 3 children from the Philippines, ages 10 and under.

I can't quite describe how excited we are to have received our approval finally. From the date of mailing our application to receiving the approval, we waited approximately 9 weeks. Man, what a long wait that was! However, we're preparing ourselves for even more waiting. God's really working on my patience, that's for sure.

Now that we have our I-800a approval, our adoption agency was able to submit our completed Dossier to the Philippines! We received confirmation this past week that our Dossier was in the mail. We've been told the Philippines can take approximately 3 to 6 months to approve our Dossier. All that means, unfortunately, is that it can take 3 to 6 months to get on the waiting list. From there, it can take 2-3 years to get matched with a set of kiddos.

As I've mentioned in past blogs, we know ultimately all timing is in God's hands. If He wants to speed things up or even slow things down, it's under His control. We're just trusting Him for the perfect timing and thankful knowing it truly will be His perfect timing.

Because the next two to three years will come much waiting, our "updates" via the blog will be a bit less progress-oriented. However, I'd still like to keep everyone updated on what's going on in our lives and our hearts as we prepare ourselves for our growing family. So, hang in there with me. I'll be sure to post any tangible progress-oriented updates we receive, but I'll also be sure to post more regular updates about where are hearts are on the adoption front. I'll also be posting prayer request updates…because we always need prayer.

If you think of any questions in the meantime, shoot them to us via a blog comment, our Contact Form, or Facebook! We'd love to answer any questions you have about what's going on in the adoption front and in our lives!

My prayer request today is that we would continue to trust and take comfort in God's timing. I pray that the Lord would work within our children to accept and trust in His timing as well. Thank you, Lord, that your perfect timing creates our perfect family. May we all grow nearer to you in the waiting.

Until next time – all of our love!