Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! We pray that everyone is staying safe and healthy in these uncertain times. What a time we are living in right now. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to each of you and your families. In the Lee's Summit Seidel home, we've continued to be blessed by our gracious Father throughout the pandemic. We've stayed quite busy...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! Well…COVID-19 has hit our family…indirectly (for now at least.) Two weeks ago, we received the expected (but not wanted) notice that the Philippines had temporarily closed the Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB) offices – which effectively meant all adoption-related activity was now on hold. This is due to the travel restri...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! Can you believe it's February already? For us, January just flew by! And, for so many reasons, February always seems to fly by as well. During February each year, along with it already being a short month, we celebrate my birthday, attend our church's annual marriage retreat, and, who can forget, celebrate Valentine's day. ...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! This week we received some exciting news…we made the list! We have officially been approved by the Philippines and are on their waiting families list. This means we can now be considered for any children that become legally open for international adoption. If I'm being honest, we ended 2019 a bit discouraged. Our personal g...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! What a crazy past month it has been! We were blessed to spend time with both of our families near the Thanksgiving holiday. Ben and I were even blessed to have our nephew (Keith's son Saxon) and my sister Destinee spend a few days with us after Thanksgiving. Being an aunt and uncle is such fun! We love spoiling all of our n...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! With Thanksgiving just around the corner, each of us is, of course, reminded of all the things we can be thankful for in our lives. This past year has brought great change, big decisions, and abundant hope for Ben and me. Our family is growing! Albeit maybe at a slow pace, but a steady one nonetheless. We are encourage...
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 receivin...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! As I mentioned a few posts ago, we recently submitted our application to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Essentially, we're applying for the right to bring children into the country with the intent to adopt them. As a part of this application, we had to have our fingerprints taken so they can perform a ...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! After sending our Dossier package off, we headed on over to a picnic at the park! Our adoption agency, Holt International, hosts summer picnics across the nation to bring together those interested in adoption. Most families are either in the process of adopting or already have adopted kiddos. At the summer picnic in the Kan...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! For those of you just joining us, thanks for taking interest in our adoption journey! We're making progress and we're so excited to share it with you! Our "dossier" is the packet of information about our family that we submit to the Philippines to be considered for adoption in their country. We're so excited to say we've fi...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! As the summer comes to a close, we're excited to see quite a bit of progress made on the adoption front! In early August, we officially completed our Home Study for Missouri. In a nutshell, through our home study, we have indicated to the State of Missouri that we comply by all necessary regulations to have a child in our h...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! Ben and I are extremely blessed to have friends and family that have so strongly supported and encouraged us already in our adoption journey. That said, everyone has questions…so below are some of the common ones we've been asked and the thought process behind those answers. Why do we want to adopt? First and fo...
