Keith, Amy and Maggie's Adoption Story

Dear friends and family,

We decided to start this site to keep you informed about our adoption journey. I thought I'd tell you a bit about the process and where we are to date.

In early September 2007, Keith and I attended our first adoption meeting to learn more about the process. We chose Welcome House, which is part of Pearl S. Buck International. Our good friends Mark and Lisa used Welcome House to bring their Nina and enjoyed working with them. That was good enough for us!

In September and October 2007 we were busy with lots of paperwork: submitting applications, getting various background checks, requesting reference letters, updating passports and completing background checks and clearances, etc. We also participated in pre-adoption training. Next we had our first (of 3, thus far) sets of fingerprints taken. Our homestudy was in late December 2008.

Our complete dossier was submitted to ICAB, the Philippines Inter-Country Adoption Board, in March 2008. On June 18, 2008, we were officially approved by ICAB. And the real wait began.

Since June 2008, we have been reading about raising an adopted child, learning about culture and traditions of the Philippines, connecting with others in the adoption process and attending a few events at Welcome House. I've met a few people who are from the Philippines or who have lived there. We completed a homestudy update, with the 2nd and 3rd sets of fingerprints, this past summer. In August 2009, we finally told Maggie about the future edition to our family. She is very excited to have a little brother or sister.

We are now "in the ballpark". A referral could come before the end of the year, or may not come until much later into spring (or, perhaps, later). After we receive and accept the referral, we hope to travel 4-6 months later. Keith and I will travel, Maggie will stay here under Grandma and Grandpa's guidance (and maybe a few visitors too) for about 7 days.

After we return, we'll then hole up at home for a while to start the attachment process. So, while we may not see you in person after we return home, we'll post updates and photos on this site.

I think that's it for now. Hope this helps to explain where we are and what's next!