Where are we?

Are we there yet? How much further? Can we stop? If you have ever taken a trip with a kid, you have probably experienced this line of questioning. It is understandable. On long trips, there are so many points where you just want to be at the destination. For our adoption, it definitely feels like that. We have not been on this journey very long, but I am already thinking “Are we there yet? How much longer?” I want to thank all of you who have reached out to Amanda and I as we went public with our exciting news. It is so encouraging to know we are not on this journey alone, and that so many others are with us. The most common question that I have gotten though, has been, “so where are you in the process?” Not only where, but what does the process actually look like. So I figured I would give everyone a quick run down of where we are, where we are heading, and the process it takes to get there.

Our Timeline:

2007- When Amanda and I first started talking about adopting (Yes, seriously). I know it is crazy to think about, but we have been dreaming about this for a long time.

2013- We welcomed Abigail. I know this seems odd to add on our adoption journey, but she was the start of us becoming a family. It is special because it isn’t just Amanda and I who are adopting, but our whole family is involved.

2017- Here comes Kyla. A second perspective, a totally different experience, and one of the most fun and upbeat hearts you will find.

July 2020- Amanda and I apply for a domestic adoption. This was the direction we thought we were going, so we applied with an agency nearby to help us go through domestic adoption.

December 2020- We were informed that the adoption agency that we applied through and were waiting on was closing their adoption program indefinitely. This was a really devastating part of our journey. Here we were, thinking our process was plugging away and we were waiting and being patient. Next thing we know, we are back to square one. Definitely a hard time for us.

January 2021- Engaged All God’s Children International (AGCI) in the adoption process. This great organization aligned a lot with our values and had a program specifically for Haiti, which we were very excited about.

February 3, 2021- Signed Contract/Application with AGCI and made our first program payment to adopt in Haiti. This was really when the rubber met the road, and we were finally committed and had to start getting to work!

February 15, 2021- Engaged with Adoption Center of Illinois (ACI) to start our Home Study. For all adoptions, a Home Study is the process of just making sure all individuals in the family, the home, and the surrounding community is fit to take in a child. Sometimes this is done with the adoption agency, but AGCI is based out of Washington and is not licensed to do home studies in Illinois. ACI was an organization we connected with, liked that they were in the city of Chicago, and has been good to work with.

Currently- Working on our Home Study and working on our Dossier. A Dossier “is a compilation of official documents, much like a portfolio, providing details about an adoptive family.” (From AGCI’s Packet). Our Dossier is basically our whole lives wrapped up in one big package for the Haitian government to review and recommend whether or not a family is a good fit for a child. Gathering all of the information for the Home Study and Dossier has been crazy (from Doctor’s medical exams to financial statements. From our dogs vaccination reports to letters of recommendation), it has been encouraging to know they go through these details to make sure that our child will be loved, cared for, and blessed by being placed with our family. We have made our way through the majority of the documents, are waiting to schedule interviews, and then visits for our home study. Once the home study is complete, we will be able to add it to our Dossier packet.

What is Next:

Apply for an I-800A- This is the US Government application that is essential for international adoption. Once the home study is complete, we can apply for it.

Send in the Dossier- Our Dossier will be reviewed by AGCI. Once approved, it will be translated into Creole to be sent to Haiti’s government and be reviewed by IBESR (the Haitian Central Authority for adoptions).

Wait- 2-3 YEARS!!!

Get a Match- Once we are presented with a match for consideration, we will have a few days to review the information from the agency and accept the child’s placement.

First Trip to Haiti- Our first trip to see our child will be a 2 week trip, where we meet with a social worker and our child and be observed by IBESR.

Adoption Process: 12-15 months- Once approved, it will take time for the process to get through the courts in Haiti. Once we receive our Act of Adoption, the child will need to get final approval by the Ministry of Interior and obtain a passport for the child.

United States Visa Process: 6-8 Weeks- Once everything is cleared on the Haitian side, we can apply for a visa for our child and schedule our second trip.

Second Trip to Haiti: 5 days- This is the trip we go to pick up our child and bring them home.

Post- Adoption Process: 5 years- We will be required to follow up from our adoption with details of the adoption, how the child is progressing, and just how our family is doing for the next 5 years after bringing our child home.

So that is our entire adoption journey. If this was a road trip, we probably made it to our first bathroom break. If you really want more details about adopting in Haiti, you can look at all of the requirements and process from the US Department of State’s Website. If you managed to make it this far in a really informative post, my hats off to you. I promise our posts won’t be this long very often. If you want to make sure to keep up with all of our updates, feel free to subscribe to our newsletter which will update you everytime there is a new post. Thank you!

The Journey of a Thousand Miles

When Amanda and I were dating, we got pretty serious fairly quickly. We met at a wedding, started “dating” within a few weeks, and was daily talking on the phone for hours talking to one another. Our relationship was long distance, so our options other than the few times we got to physically be together was to either talk or talk some more. After hours and hours of conversations, you really get to know someone. During those conversations, we dreamed about the potential of our relationship, and even talked about having a family. From the very beginning, we talked about having a desire to adopt. We were not sure how or when or where, but knew that God was starting something in our hearts.

Look how young we were!

Fast forward to 2020. God has truly blessed us with a lot of those dreams that we had discussed all those years ago. A home, two amazing daughters, a crazy dog, good jobs, and even fulfilling a passion to plant churches here in Chicago. Even with all of that, Amanda and I started down the path of adoption that we long ago dreamt of. We started researching adoption agencies, ones that would be a good fit for us, and would help us bring home the newest member of our family. Although it has already taken some very unexpected turns (saving that story for another time), we are so excited that God has been overseeing this adventure, and enjoying being in the thick of it.

To give you a quick glimpse on where we are: we signed a contract this past February to adopt from Haiti and have sent in the first payment to our Adoption agency. We have since been working to gather a lot of legal documents, have gone through education training on adoption, and are engaging in our Home Study to make sure our family and home is approved for adding another child. This should take about 6 months. I can give a little more clarity on each of these steps with continual posts, but for now, just know we are at the beginning of what will most likely end up being a 2-5 year process.

For us, the crazy thing to consider is that right now, somewhere in Haiti, our child could already be there, waiting for their forever family. And here we are, ready for them to come home - but we have to wait. The thought can make this big guy start to tear up knowing my child does not have their mom or dad there to advocate for them. However, I am grateful for the process, for the red tape, and for all of this work because 1. it protects children from going to families/individuals/homes that should not have children present, and 2. it forces me to trust that God is protecting and looking after it all. So I will take it one step at a time, and today is one more step closer to my kid. The journey of a thousands miles starts with a single step, and we are taking ours.