Family Swim Time

Today we went to the local indoor community pool for their family swim hour, which at noon every Sunday. Sabrina will start taking swimming lessons there in June, and we wanted to start getting her used to the pool. At first Sabrina wasn't too thrill (more)...

Welcome To Our Journal

We have always known that we would form our family through adoption. Having both grown up with loving stepparents that treated us like their biological children, we feel that it doesn't take shared DNA to be a family. And we both long for a child to love and nurture. We started researching adoption and attended an informational workshop at our local library in January 2005. And officially began the process a year later. And in May 2007, we brought our sweet Princesa, Sabrina Lucia, home from Guatemala. She has brought so much joy to our lives, we decided to add more childern to our family. In October 2008, we started the process to adopt a baby boy from Nepal. And in January 2009, we started the process to become licenced foster parents and foster-adopt through the state of Washington. We're hoping to be placed with a boy or girl, or a sibling group under the age of three. We invite our friends and family to share in our journey through this online journal.

Our Daughter Sabrina Lucia

Not flesh of my flesh Nor bone of my bone, Yet still miraculously my own. Never forget for a single minute That you weren't born under my heart, But in it.

Personal Information
Laura and Stefan
Washington

First Adoption - International
Home Study Agency: Adoption Connections
Placement Agency: World Child International
Adoption timeline:

01/30/06 - Signed with home study agency
02/10/06 - First home study visit and home inspection
02/15/06 - Second home study visit
02/18/06 - Sent application for I-600A to USCIS
02/20/06 - Third home study visit
03/09/06 - Fingerprinted at USCIS
03/22/06 - Home study completed
03/22/06 - Signed with placement agency
04/07/06 - Received referral of our baby girl
05/04/06 - Dossier/POA delivered to Guatemala
05/23/06 - Received I-171H
06/30/06 - Entered Procuradoria General de la Nacion (PGN)
03/17/07 - Began fostering in Antigua
04/02/07 - Out of PGN!!!
04/09/07 - Final Protocolo signed
04/27/07 - Received notice of visa appointment (PINK)
05/14/07 - Visa appointment at U.S. Embassy
05/16/07 - Home forever
11/06/08 - Readoption post placement visit
01/02/09 - Readoption hearing

Second Adoption - International
Home Study Agency: Children's Home Society of WA
Placement Agency: Holt International
Adoption Timeline:

10/05/08 - Signed with home study agency
10/15/08 - Signed with placement agency
11/06/08 - First home study interview
11/11/08 - Second home study interview
11/19/08 - Third homestudy interview and home inspection
12/04/08 - Home study completed
12/12/08 - Sent application for I-600A to USCIS
01/14/09 - USCIS fingerprint appointment
01/27/09 - I-171 processed by USCIS
Dosier submission on hold until 2010...

Third Adoption - WA State Foster Care
Home Study Agency: Children's Home Society of WA
Placement Agency: Children's Home Society of WA
Adoption Timeline

01/09/09 - Met with social worker
01/13/09 - Sent in application
01/31/09 - PRIDE classes completed
02/07/09 - CPR/First Aid class completed
03/27/09 - Laura fingerprinted
04/01/09 - Stefan fingerprinted
04/03/09 - Home inspection
Working on licencing requirements...