Do not panic

Did you ever hear those words.. do not panic and then instantly panic? I mean why add that if the words following were not reason to panic?

I got an email yesterday. Well not just me but several other families who are adopting from an unnamed EE country. It seems as though changes might be in the future for this country regarding adoptions. Nobody has a clue what changes they may be- and currently NOTHING has changed but again they may be coming as soon as this summer... Do not panic... How does one not panic? Yes, going into this there was a level of uncertainty- there is with any adoption. Change could be a simple paperwork adjustment but change could also mean a hold on all adoptions. It has happened in the past where adoptions were put on hold in other countries. Mind boggling that this occurs and it is the children that suffer. But change could come this summer... do not panic they say... be diligent in paperwork and getting submitted quickly they say...

So yes, the easy thing to do would be to bury myself in a mountain of blankets and sleep the day away. The easy thing to do would be to walk away from the possibility of hurt. The easy thing would be to say I can't raise the funds fast enough so I should cut my losses. OR I could fight...I choose to fight.

What this means is I have to work extra hard..even harder to ensure those people involved in our adoption work in a speedy, efficient manner. I have already contacted my social worker and explained the urgency. She seems to get it but if it seems like she doesn't I have to keep reminding her. I always said I didn't want to be the pain in the butt to people who we depend on during this adoption but the plan has changed. If I must be a thorn in some peoples side then so be it. Joshua depends on us even more than ever and I made a vow when I committed to him to do everything in my power to bring him home. So our homestudy is waiting on criminal clearances from the state. Our social worker is expecting them next week.  We have also sent away for our own copies for our dossier so if they come sooner she will be getting a copy of ours. When she gets them we have one more meeting with her. After that it will take her 7-10 days to write it up and get it approved. So we are looking at end of this month for the crucial homestudy. At that time we send our petition to the USCIS to basically get permission from our government to adopt an orphan. From what I understand the USCIS is aware that some changes might take place and will try to expedite approval to the unnamed country. My back up plan if it appears to take too long is contact my congressman to help speed things a long. So if all goes well I am hoping to submit no later than June. I need to be submitted before changes if any come into play.

This also means that I am now down to approximately TWO months to raise the rest of the funds for travel. It means that I have to raise 9800.00 in two months or 4900.00 for the next two months. It also means that any fund raising I had hoped to do in the summer is off the table. It means that now more then ever your donations of any amount is needed and so very appreciated. We will not give up.. it is not an option.

We still have our puzzle fundraiser going on until this coming Monday. Details can be found at the top of the page. Also if you plan on making a purchase through Amazon and click on the link on the right side a percentage of your purchase will go towards our adoption as well.

Please pray that things move swiftly and pray for all the families that are in the same situation as we are. We are not alone and there are so many families working hard to raise money to bring these children home. We do not have time to really panic... we just have to act!
 **Edited to add that I just got off the phone with our state police and she is doing our clearance right away and should have it mailed on Thursday.. so not late next week!! YAY the squeaky wheel does get the oil in this case. Joshua we are coming!!