Never have I been so excited to have a court date....

We were registered in court on March 26th, so the SAA (orphanage) filed a petition to transfer custody of S**** to Brandon and I. We now know the Judge has our paperwork and is reviewing our file, which a massive stack of every document ever attached to Brandon or myself and our girls. She ( yes, we have a female judge #girlboss) will then accept us as S**** parents or schedule an other date. We have been told in our district it is mostly one court date then you are done. So, on April 11th in India we would appreciate your prayers for us to pass court. Then, I will be able to show you his sweet face and post his name. This is called "Verbals" in adoption slang. Which means the judge agreed in court, but has not typed and signed the documents yet.

I. AM. SO. EXCITED.


So, then what?

Well, like all parts of this our next steps are laced with red tape and waiting. After court we will need our SAA and agency in the states to receive the written report from the judge with the official seal on it. Translated into adoption slang "Writtens". This is a big deal, because then the ball can start rolling for us to get our boy in our arms.

Next, Certificate of Conformity of Intercountry Adoption (Article 23) with CARA. This is a document that CARA will issue back to the orphanage stating that the adoption court case conforms to all of the adoption regulations set forth by the CARA guidelines. 

Then, the orphanage can file for the child’s Birth Certificate/Birth Affidavit. Which will be a birth certificate with our names and his new full name on it. 

Which will allow the SAA to file for the child’s passport. This can take a while because the SAA must drive the child to the nearest passport office in person. In a place were people are already stretched thin this can be a trail in it's self. However, we have heard and seen the prompt responses of our SAA and the director so we have faith he will work quickly for us. The documents will be sent to our agency here. 

THEN, at long last we will get the call to book our flights to meet your son that we have loved for almost a year from half the world away. 

Yikes, it feels like we are so close yet so far. However one of the many things I have learned in this process is that you celebrate the small steps, because progress is progress. We continue to ask for your prayers that we are able to be with our son on his birthday at the end of May. It's pushing it but not impossible. God is sovereign and reigns over all things.

We love and adore our tribe that has love us and our son through this process.

Prayer requests:
Court date on 4-11 that we pass and receive writtens quickly that are correctly spelled.
Fast approvals and documents for S****
Us to be with our son on his 4th birthday.

Agency Switch Update

        In the beginning of 2019 we felt like we were finally on the road to wrapping up our adoption that has been two years in the making. Well, we quickly found out our story wasn’t done with the twists and turns just yet. We received and email that our agency was merging with an other agency that lost accreditation with India in 2017. We were informed we needed to find a new agency before April 1st and we would only be recieving a small portion of our fees we had paid. We were overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions. I was not able to understand why this was happening. We were so close!

     So, I started the frantic race of calling every agency I could find to accept us and not charge us an arm and a leg. We were paid completely at our previous agency and now were looking at $5,000 or more in repeat fees. With God’s grace we were able to speak with several very wonderful agencies and picked the one we felt best matched our needs and our non-existent budget. We decided on Children of the World located in Alabama. The first time I spoke with our social worker she just felt like a friend. We are still unsure of how the fees will transfer, but we know that God is sovereign.

     Shortly after we received news that we were in need of a new agency, we received some of the most exciting news in India adoptions; NOC!! These beautiful letters shared that CARA approved us as S**** family. It is equivalent to guardianship in domestic/foster care placement. We could go to India and live with him, but could not leave the state with him. To be able to leave the country with him, we must get a court approval for our adoption and then his birth certificate with our names listed as parents (I am glowing with excitement as I type this). Then we can get his passport for him to travel to the USA with us. This process is so long and full of red tape, but we know that they work to insure that children who are adopted are kept safe by these steps. Our timeline for travel can vary still but we are praying to be there on his birthday in May.
   
    Please pray for us to be registered in court and to receive written approval quickly. This will allow us to be able to share his name and sweet face with you all, as he will be legally our son.
Also, please pray for S***** to be with his family for his fourth birthday and his first birthday party.

    The love we have for our amazing tribe is truly overwhelming. We treasure our church family, friends, and family who allow us to share with them our triumphs and the lows of this process. We treasure each one of you dearly!

In the waiting....

                    Being on hold with government agencies, being lost in the bureaucracy, hearing scary words like shut downs, increased time lines, having more time stolen from us as a family, and powerlessness to create progress. That is how on the bad days I feel while walking through this process. I wanted my son home for Christmas. I wanted to take the picture of all my kiddos in matching PJ's while we watch Home Alone. I wanted him to have sticky fingers at his grandma's house while baking cookies.  I wanted S**** to get to see the lights and the wonder of the season with us.

                 My heart broke to see yet an other document that was required right before the holiday mail slow down. I called to pour my heart out to friends who I know love this little boy as much as I do. I think to myself how can this be part of the plan. Well, to honest it is not! I have shared with many people of the last 2 years in this process but we are not the best match for S****. The best place would have been with his biological mother and father in his home country. This idea took me a much longer than it should have to understand. Children belong in families and the best family is their biological one. Since that is not possible for many reasons we are able to have our son join our family. Sin has allowed the world to be a broken place and has created the need for adoption. 




                 S**** is not saying yes to being adopted. He has not clue. He most likely will not be happy at the idea of losing everything he knows and loves. He will feel lost, stolen, and powerless. We are being given the chance to feel a small piece of the emotions our son will soon face as he joins a family for the first time. God is sovereign. He uses all things to bring us closer to him. I know he is in control and the hard stuff is given to me for my good. I have been a struggling with the stress of everyday life, our girls growing, and facing new trials that have all been perfectly designed to help us grow closer to God. Which is what we want, but that wicked heart of mine falls into selfishness so quickly. I want a record fast adoption, I want my picture prefect Christmas, I want to eat fudge while not gaining weight, and I want it all right now! That is not what God wants for his children. He knows what we need. For we have been seen as worthy to walk this path and for that we cry out in praise that our God is Sovereign and we will praise him in the waiting and thank him for loving us even when we fall so many times. 

Prayer request: i800 and Article 5 which is the last US approval needed to come in quickly. 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

We Found Him!!

      October has just started and it has already brought big things in to the Woolard family. Last week we hit 17 weeks of waiting for CARA to approve us to adopt from India. This process normally task 4-6 weeks, but with Woolard luck, we applied right as CARA had a massive exodus of employees. This caused wait times to skyrocket. I would love to say I was so patient and calm during this but that would be a lie. I emailed my amazing caseworker about every week, or more, begging for progress. She would shoot back an email each time sharing how sorry she was, and that our little man was still on the wait list. Needless to say it was a long 17 weeks. 

      Then on 10/9 Brandon joined several men in a mission trip to Mexico. The first full day he was gone we got the approval!! The we got matched with our little man!!! Glory to God!! The words still seem so foreign. We have a son. This little guy even though he doesn't know it yet is not an orphan any longer, he is a Woolard. He has a Daddy who cannot wait to teach him about Jesus, fishing, and how to throw a baseball. A Mommy who cannot wait to tuck him in at night, to read him bed time stories, and to snuggle him. He has three sister who pray for him everyday and adore him already. He has family and friends that cannot wait to spoil him. He has a church family who has been praying for him since before we knew his face or even what country he was in. He has a community that has rallied behind us and will welcome him in with open arms. He is loved beyond measure and we all cannot wait to show him just how much. 

      

     We are so proud to introduce our little man, Isaiah S*** Allen Woolard.  (India does not allow for children's full photographs or Indian names to be shared online to protect their privacy.) He is 3 years old and just one month younger than our Charlotte. (So any of my friends with twin want to shoot me some pointers I would owe you one for sure!) 

  

     With all the excitement we still have a ways before we are able to travel and nothing in India happens overnight. :( We have written to our agency and confirming that we accept our little Isaiah as our child we wish to adopt. Now we are awaiting information from the orphanage that he is in to send over his original documents in his file. This is always a scary task, because in this step you find out how prompt the orphanage is in returning information and completing things on their end. He is located in India. In an orphanage that we have heard nothing but wonderful things about. There are so many wonderful adoptive momma who have reached out to me and shared what a positive experience they have had with this orphanage. This soothes my mom heart that my little man is being well cared for while he is waiting for us. 

      Now, in a little while we will be able to send a photo book for him to have explaining who we are, and where he will be moving. I have to say I am beyond excited for this step. Lori my amazing bonus momma makes each one of her grand kids a photo book every year for their birthday. These books are treasured so highly in mine and my siblings families. Each year the are completely unique for each kid detailing their adventures throughout the past year. To get to complete Isaiah's first book with Lori will be such a special memory to have in this process. I cannot wait for him to be home and get to read it together with Nana and Papa Allen.  

   

Here is Maddison with her collection of books this past year on her birthday. Each year we read all of them together as we get the new book. She is holding her first book and her newest. 

Praise Report!

         Yesterday came and went with no CARA approval due to offices being closed. We did find out that my birthday is a national holiday in India (this year at least the date moves similar to Easter). The holiday that happened was Eld al-Adha "The Feast of Sacrifice" during which Muslims pay respect to Ibrahim "Abraham" and his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac in the view of Christians, however in Islam Ishmael is believed to be the son that was spared by God. They kill a cow or a ram and eat 1/3 of the meat, 1/3 of the meat goes to neighbors, and 1/3 to the poor.

Praise Report:    

      We shared how we had a friend who had offered a matching grant up to $500. We have been so blessed to have reached this $500 and got 100% of the matching. That is an other $1,000 in our adoption account. Praise to God above!! We have been blessed with so many people coming along side us in prayer and monetary support for this sweet little man that we pray to be matched with. Adoption is hard, expensive, and time consuming. We could not do this with out our tribe! 

 Prayer Requests:

•  Current estimated need to completing adoption is $20,747. 
• CARA approval
• To be matched with our sweet boy
• "Isaiah's" health and wellness while in the orphanage

We have fallen in love.

        So, this past week we received a file for  a little boy who is 3 years old. He has some delays and medical needs, but the moment I was reading his information I know I needed to be this little man's momma.

         I am not the love at first sight kinda gal. I really am more the over think, stress, and then call 3 friends and have them analyze my every thought kinda gal. However this was something that seemed so right from the start. To remain true to who I am I did need to call my gals and have them help me think it through. Then one text message to a friend who has a child with a similar health concern. She was so kind and helpful in sharing what her family deals with and what the projected needs may be. That sealed the deal. We are all smitten. I wish I could share his picture on here for you all to see his sweet face but I cannot until we are farther along, but rest assured he has the sweetest little face and soon enough you will all be so tired of seeing our posts about our SON!!

       There is one problem.... a big one...... we are have to wait till we become CARA approved before we can ask to make this little guy ours forever. CARA is the Indian agency that states we are able to adopt from India. They are approving us to be Potential Adoptive Parents (PAP's). This agency has had major delays due to many things outside of their control and now they are swamped with paperwork. They have prioritized cases that are closest to completion (Rational me understands this, momma who is at the start of process is crying inside as I type this. ) We should be coming close to the top of the list ti be approved.

      My birthday is Wednesday and all I want is to have CARA say we are approved and we can be matched with our little man. Brandon's birthday is coming in a week or so also and I claiming this is what he wants also, lol.

    God has been so good to us in the process, sometimes we didn't see His grace until the storm had pasted ( cough......lightening hitting house.....cough). We know our family, church family, and friends are our prayer partners in this process and for that we are eternally grateful. So many of you all have rallied behind us in hard times, and partnered with us in prayer. #tribegoals


   While We Wait: 
The big girls started school. Maddison is in 4th grade and moved into middle school. I still have not accepted this completely yet. Jacquelyn is now in 1st grade. They have loved it, minus getting up early.

We recently wrapped up Puxico Homecoming. For my friends who have never experienced this it is a fair in the small town of Puxico,MO where the whole town is centered around coming back to town and visiting friends. There are rides, carnival games, square dancing, class reunions, goat burgers, amazing fair food. It is our girls favorite time of year. Yes they openly admit they like it more than Christmas presents.

Working hard at waiting.

          It is August, this summer has flown by. In our last post we shared that we finally completed our home study! Praise the Lord! With completing our home study we were able to move to the next step in the process. We were officially accepted into the India program with WACAP, which has a very reputable India program. This seemed like a dream. We were finally in the process officially. So we signed our contracts with them and paid the first agency fee. (that one stung the old bank account for sure.)  We then completed our documents needed to get registered with the Central Adoption Resource Authority, CARA. This is a major approval where India states you are eligible to adopt from their country. The normal timeline for CARA approval ranges from 4-6 weeks, however there have been major transitions in CARA and now the timelines have increased. We were registered for CARA on June 13th and now we wait every day to receive notification that we have been approved.  
After the approval we can begin looking at referral files for children, and then when we find the boy God designed our family for we will begin pursuing our son to bring him home. Here is a wonderful infographic one of my fellow adoptive mammas shared. It is the most gratifying feeling, being able to mark off boxes in this chart. 

We've been asked many questions along the way, especially how long till you get to go to bring him home? In short we have no idea. We pray it will be soon. We also know that many amazing prayer warriors are along side us, we know God calls us to help the orphan and for now that is what we rest in. 

An other question we receive quit frequently is the cost of our adoption. We have had some added expenses with having to complete several parts of our home study a second time due to the lightening damage to our home, and the number required to bring each kiddo home is different. Currently, to complete all foreseeable expenses, we need about $22,000. We have been applying for grants, selling assets and saving like crazy to meet this goal. 
This number is the line that many Christians pull out when adoption is raised. The amount needed to bring these kiddos home often seems unattainable. We totally understand. I have cried and worried over this number more times that I'd like to admit in this process. With every step of progress we make there are fees and its scary. Stepping out in faith is scary at times and when we started this process we thought we would be able to cover all expenses. But God has humbled us to show his glory through this process. I share this to encourage others by showing God provides and we will trust him to provide while serving him through the wait. 


On one night, while crying out in prayer for the next phase of funding needed once we are matched, a beautiful friend text randomly and offered a generous match fund for us. I could not believe this. She could not have known the timing of her text to me was an answer to prayer. This is just one example of how blessed we are to be surrounded by brothers and sister in Christ who understand the power of the Gospel and been such a help and encouragement in our journey.  

For our ongoing fundraising efforts, we currently have a GoFundme established for anyone who would be willing to pair with us in fundraising to bring Isaiah home, and are in the planning stages of several fundraisers that we will be holding over the next several months.  We are so grateful for all of you who have stood behind us through this journey so far.  We still have a long way to go, but we wouldn't be near as far as we are if it weren't for your help and support.  We ask that you please continue to pray for us, that God will be glorified through this process and others will be encouraged to reflect the Gospel through adoption.