Much Needed Update

I don't even know where to start with this one, so I'm just going to go in order of events.

Last Friday, May 1st, we had our last home study meeting with our social worker. She has been so great to work with. If we ever do another adoption, I doubt the home study could possibly go as smoothly as it did with her.  She was just great!  She had already sent the rough draft to Madison's headquarters to be reviewed and they returned it to her on May 6th.  The very same day, she sent it off to our placing agency to review. We love Shelley with our placing agency. She is so quick to get back to us with any questions or concerns we have. She didn't disappoint here either. Shelley had our home study back to our home study agency the very same day. If things keep going like they are, I'm hoping that Madison, sends our home study to the State of IL for final approval next Monday.  Sometimes this part can take a while.  :( Up to a month, but I'm praying for 2 weeks max!!!!!

While we've been doing all of the home study paperwork, I've also been getting together our dossier paperwork that will need to go to Bulgaria. I am just waiting on our FBI appistile copy of our fingerprints and I will have everything we need for that. I'll then send off the I800a application and we will wait for that approval to come in. The second we get that, our dossier paperwork will shoot off across the ocean to Bulgaria. We hope to travel on trip 1 about 8 weeks later. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Once you travel for trip 1 and come back home, it usually takes 4-5 months to be invited back for trip 2 which is pick up trip. We are hoping, praying, that this all goes as fast as possible because we are running against a time clock here.

We found out this week that we will pcs outta here, (yayyyyy for the end of recruiting duty) on Feb 1st 2016.  We really need to be done with trip 2 before Feb 1st. For so many reasons we need this to happen. Here are a few of those:

1. ticket prices from Hawaii to Bulgaria are over DOUBLE the price
2. Nate doesn't want to check into a new squadron just to have to ask for an extended amount of time off.
3. we will have to find a new home study agency and redo a bunch of paperwork and resend it to Bulgaria to have translated and processed if we have to move before Teddy comes home. What a MESS that will be. Not to even mention the added cost to the adoption.
4. It will be so much easier for Grandparents to come to Chicago, IL or the grandkids and grand-pups to go to Grandparents than it will be if we have to move to Hawaii before trip 2
5. PCS'ing in the middle of an adoption......ummmmm....no, thanks, but no
6. my Sanity, I think it'll be gone if this all plays out how we fear it may.

So, please, please, keep praying with us that things keep going smoothly like they are. We are so excited for him to come home!!!!! 

****As soon as our home study goes to Springfield, IL to be looked over and approved I'll post an updated blog post so you all can be praying with us.