Approved

"It is recommended that the international adoption home study for Kyle Dean Kelley and Rebecca Faye Piedra Kelley be approved."

Doesn't that sound FABULOUS?!?  Now don't get too excited.  It isn't official yet.  We still have to finish some paperwork for our placing agency and the home study agency and placing agency have to pass the home study back and forth to make sure everything is perfect.  But I must say, it feels fantastic to be one step closer to our little one!

What next?  Once the home study is officially approved and complete, we will have another mountain of paperwork to complete.  It will involve things such as ordering original copies of our birth certificates and marriage license.  We will also have to fill our immigration paperwork.  Once all of that is complete, we send all of the paperwork, along with our home study (this is called the dossier) and thousands of dollars, to Azerbaijan.

And then we wait.

And wait...

And (you guessed it) wait.

In the meantime, we are keeping busy as usual with work and family.  While coming back from Matthew's birthday fun with Thomas the train last weekend, we stopped at the Azerbaijani Embassy in DC.  They were having an open house as a part of the Tour of Embassies on Saturday.  We were able to taste traditional Azeri food, see and learn about their clothing, and hear music from Azerbaijan.  It was a great experience!

And of course on the financial front:  We are so thankful to people who continue to surprise us with incredibly generous gifts.  Each time we receive a donation for our adoption we are amazed and humbled by God's goodness.  People who have real needs of their own are choosing to help us bring our little one home.  It's amazing.  And when we say thank you, they remind us that it was God's money to do with as He pleases.

Please continue to pray for us as we move day by day through this process.  We will keep you updated as we finish the dossier and begin to plan fundraisers for the second half of this adoption!