That was a quick 9 months!!

I just told a friend I have a blog all about our adoption story from first thought to current. Well, I was wrong about half of it. It is not current! The last post was over 9 months ago. SHAME ON ME!! My excuse? Life happens, it comes at us strong and fast next thing you know days turn to weeks, weeks into months..9 months later your catching up on your blog :-0 So obviously a lot has happen; i had a baby, our adopted son is still not home, and i have started a project called Sharing Shoes. I will give you the quick run down now then go back tonight and break down the details of whats important to me.

*July 31: we filed our I-600 stateside. I-600 is the application asking the Ghana government for approval of our adoption. I-600 is the last major piece of paperwork in international adoptions. The light at the end of the tunnel if you will.

*August 15: our USCIS officer contacted me telling me she received our paperwork and she was happy to have our case. The same week our POA received our sons passport to only realize his name was misspelled. So he sent the passport back in for correction. We got the corrected passport 2 weeks later.

*August 21: our USCIS officer called me and told me she was sending me a RFE (request for evidence)
This was not a big deal, it was expected, they have to ask for evidence in cases where the child has family living. What I specificlly remember her asking for was a birth certificate, she kept insisting us "get" a birth cerificate. My son was not born in a hospital, he does not have a birth cert, if we "got" one we would of had to do it illegally and that's something we were not willing to do. So we gathered the information we thought would satisfy her wants, explained that birth certificates are very uncommon in international adoption and sent in what we did have.

*September: Our officer called me and told me the evidence that we had sent in is not what she wanted that she was sending us a NOID (notice of intent to deny) our I-600, that we had 30 days to get the specific things she needed or i-600 would be denied and we would be starting over. As you can imagine my heart stopped. I was very pregnant, 3 weeks until due date. It was not possible for me to "get" what she wanted. So i seeked advice from a good friend that works closely with the embassy and previously for an agency that is in Ghana (a very good, trusted source).

*September: 2 weeks after i received the NOID letter i worte my USCIS officer back and told her my situation. It was not possible for me to get what she needed or provide evidence that i couldn't get it in the time frame given with me due the next week to have a baby. So as advised from my good friend we withdrew our adoption from stateside filing and prepared to send in everything to file in Ghana.

*September 24: I had a beautiful baby boy, tiny and perfect in every way. Yet, couldn't keep my mind off of the boy across the world that had our name.

*October: After things got settled and more "normal"<- ha, ha) with the baby. I emailed the embassy in Ghana, requesting to file I-600 in country. We had been told with our unique situation we could file in Ghana without actually having to be there. A few days later they emailed me back. They were very nice and requested proof that we had met our son. WHAT?!?! We hadn't met him. So we argued a few days then it was explained to me that with the new administrator that we had to meet our son before we can file in Ghana. **!!PANIC!!** So I got on Facebook cried my fears and begged for anyone who could help us get over there to let me know. You see until we got in country and actually met him our process comes to an abrupt stop.  Thankfully we had immediate response. One of the pastors from the church we had been attending for over a year (i am now member of) said they would love to take care of the plane tickets. Are you serious?!?! Thank you, God! Always providing, never forsaking. A family member then sent me email saying she would take care of the rest. BAM! JUST LIKE THAT OUR TRIP WAS COVERED. ***LISTEN TO ME PEOPLE!!** THE LORD FUNDS WHAT HE FAVORS!!

*October 29 -November 4 We made a whirlwind trip into Ghana, met our son (NOTHING OF WHAT WE EXPECTED-another blog), filed i-600, stumbled upon a privately ran children home, felt an over whelming calling to serve this home (another blog), on the plane ride home came up with Sharing Shoes.

*November-February
I have been in regular contact with the embassy they have requested more evidence and are conducting interviews with the town my son is from along with any and everyone they may know anything about him to prove his orphan status. Still praying he will be home soon.

*February 26- current
We went to on our first ever Sharing Shoes mission and got to bond with my son! This trip was emotional and amazing on so many levels. That boy across the world with our last name, that hated me the the first time we met, bonded with me, called me mommy, actually snuggled me, that boy across the world became my son (another blog). Yet another trip to Ghana and hes still not home. That's hard to accept.

Ok that was a semi-quick wrap up of what has happen in the past 9 months. I will go back tonight (i promise) and go into detail in a few of the areas that really need to be talked about, such as our first meeting, the start of Sharing Shoes and the unexpected amazing bond we had this trip. There's a lot of heart and emotion involved in all of these areas that i can't wait to pour my heart into for you.