Today Marks One Year

Exactly one year ago today (June 30th) we submitted our application for international adoption. Here's a quick look back on this past year.

  2017
May 18 - Participated in our agency's monthly information meeting
June 16 - Called with questions about China's program
June 28 - Called with questions about Hungary's program
June 30 - Submitted application for Hungary adoption
July       - Online training for adoptive parents
July       - Read "The Connected Child" by Karyn Purvis
July 12  - Phone interview with our adoption agency
July 15 - Online "test" for adoptive parents
July 25  - Face-to-face interview with our social worker(s)
Aug 3    - Called local agency about facilitating our Home Study
Aug 16  - Met with local social worker 
Sept 1    - Temperament "Exam" and Marriage "Test"
Sept 8    - Fingerprints
Nov 27  - Doctor Appointments
Nov 28  - Fundraiser at Moe's
Dec 22  - First Home visit for Home Study

 2018
Jan 3     - 2nd Home visit for Home Study
Jan 5     - Applied for 1st adoption grant
Jan 12   - 3rd Home visit for Home Study
Feb 4    - Finished online fundraising auction
Mar 15 - Applied for 2nd adoption grant
Mar 20 - Submitted I-800 form for international adoption
Mar 28 - Received $3,000 from 2nd adoption grant!
Apr 2   - Applied for 3rd adoption grant
Apr 16 - USCIS Biometrics appointment for fingerprinting
Apr 18 - I-800 Approved by US government
Apr 28 - Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser
Apr 28 - Dossier is submitted
June 6  - Received a referral with medical reports, pictures & video
June 6 - Unofficially matched with our son!
June 10 - Applied for 4th adoption grant
June 11 - Applied for 5th adoption grant
June 26 - Finished online training course for adoptive parents
July 12 - Agency called. Time to look for plane tickets!
July 13 - Received $4,000 from an adoption grant!
July 25 - Received official referral
Aug 10 - Official travel call
Aug 20 - WE FLY TO BUDAPEST!
Aug 23 - We met Tomas for the first time☺
Aug 30 - Tomas is officially in our care
Oct 1    - Adoption in finalized
Oct 5    - We fly home!!!
Nov 8   - Doctor appointments at the international adoption clinic
Nov 10 - Tomas received his naturalization certificate in the mail
Nov 13 - We applied for his social security card
Nov 14 - Tomas went to the dentist for the first time
Nov 16 - We applied for his US passport


Last week we received information from our social worker that we may be able to travel sooner than we originally anticipated. This is wonderful news! We may have more details to share in the coming week. Please keep us in your prayers. We greatly appreciate it.

Real quick, before you go. Summer in Fargo means long, beautiful days with lots of sunlight and we have been making the most of it. Here are a few pictures from this past week.

Playing T-Ball

Geese on our way to the park

Biking with friends by the Red River

Weekend Camping Trip

This past weekend we headed to Crow Wing State Park near Brainerd, Minnesota for some camping. This is nothing new for friends in our church group and they were kind enough to let our family tag along. Our kids were SUPER excited (I think mostly for the roasted marshmallows...and Guen - the cute little baby pictured below).

Since Angel and I have not camped in over a decade, we needed a tent. We found one on Craig's  List and did a trial run in our living room the night before we left for the great outdoors.

We drove about 2.5 hours, set up tent, and ate dinner while we waited for the rest of our crew to arrive. The other half of our posse was coming from the cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul).

We hiked, ate amazing food (these camping veterans know how to do it right), played, talked, ate, visited Whipple "Beach" and enjoyed great company in the beautiful outdoors.

We have lived in the Midwest for almost a year now and I don't know how long it will take me to learn. The Florida/southern ways our too ingrained within me I tell you! 

Florida mind: There will be sand spurs everywhere and you never know where poisonous snakes will be!

Reality: Nobody had ever heard of a sand spur before and there are no poisonous snakes. (Kids can go barefoot!)

Florida mind: Let as much air come through the tent at night. It's June! Sheets and tank tops will be fine for sleeping. Nobody likes being hot, muggy, sticky from the humidity while you sleep.

Reality: Ummmm, it gets to the 60s every night. We didn't bring enough warm blankets. When the sun goes down - even in June - it gets cool outside.

Here is our camping site crew.

And the whole group (yes, our pug Josefina also came along)

Fun fact the organizer of this whole adventure shared with me. Every State Park in Minnesota - that has an office - has a special badge you can get, so of course we got our first official camping badge!

Finally, on our drive to the camp site, we received information that a good friend of my sister generously donated to our Adopttogether Webpage. We are so incredibly humbled. How can we possibly thank you enough for you love and support?! Our hearts overflow with gratitude!

Is This the Final Countdown?

Hello all. We may have some exciting events taking place in the next few months and we are grateful you are interested.

Last Wednesday we received some exciting news from our adoption agency. We have been (unofficially) matched with a precious boy in Hungary. We are waiting for more paperwork to be translated, medical reports to be received, and officials in high up positions to give the final go ahead. The estimate we have been given in within 2 weeks to a month.

Knowing that nothing in adoption is ever a guarantee until it is finalized (We're talking paper in hand, we have the birth certificate and passport - finalized), we are cautiously and with growing enthusiasm VERY excited!

After sharing this good news numerous times with faltering recollection of which details I have told to whom (sorry if you have been one of the repeats), we figure a blog is in order! Though we have to be sensitive about many of the details until it is finalized (paper in hand, birth certificate, passport - you remember), we want to share as much as we can. 

Thank you for taking the time to read about our family. Thank you for being excited for us, for praying for us, for financially supporting us. We are so humbled and incredibly grateful.