It's Official!!

We have been in about a 3 week waiting period to hear back on the preliminary application we sent in to Christian Adoption Services. We knew there were probably many other applications submitted around the same time as ours because they had just held their informational meeting that was packed out with couples. After about 2 weeks of the application being under review I emailed them to see how everything was going and to make sure they didn't need anything else from us. I received an email back stating they would forward the email to Doris as she was the one reviewing the application. Another week went by and still no word. My husband and I both began to think we may or may not get selected just because of how many applications they were probably looking at.
Today when I checked the mail there was a letter from CAS. I was ripping it open as quick as I could while driving down the driveway. Part of me just knew that it was going to be a no, especially since it was a letter and not a phone call. I was so nervous. But as I opened it and read it explained that after reviewing our application, CAS has approved us to work with them for the adoption process!! I was sooo excited, I starting cheering in the car with Maylena and she began to get all excited. She asked to hold the letter and I called Billy to let him know it was official. Maylena said she would read it to Daddy and she began," Once upon a time.." It was very cute. She is so excited just thinking about having a little brother and we can't wait until the time comes to bring our sweet baby boy home.
We have had great results with the jewelry that we are selling to help support our adoption and the Haitians who have made it. So a  HUGE thank you goes out to all who are making that possible!! I know many of you are aware I only have this first batch of product from the Apparent Project for a couple more weeks, but if you wanted to purchase some and now is just not the right time, I will have another shipment of bracelets and handmade Christmas ornaments in just a couple more weeks. I will post pictures on the blog and allow people to tell me what color or item they want and then I will arrange a way to meet you or we could ship it to you. So you can check that out soon.
We really appreciate any help we get in financial support because we have quite a bit of funds to be raised in what could be a short time. CAS gave us a breakdown of the amounts due and when they are due during the process. Our first chunk will be due at the start of the home study $1,500. Then when the home study is completed, somewhere around 3 months, the next chunk is $7,000. After that we become a waiting family and wait to be matched before the final $20,275 is due. (however you may wait a year or so until you have been matched and the baby is born, or it could be just a few months, it depends on the situation). We are placing all of the financial need in God's hands because we know we wouldn't be able to do it on our own. We would appreciate prayers from you as well surrounding our moving forward.
I will continue to post as we hear things and get updates. Right now our next step is to complete our Formal Application so we can start the home study. We have 30 days from now to complete everything needed and get the formal application submitted. It's exciting and we can't wait to get to work. I would always rather be working on a task than just in the waiting phase because it makes the time go by so much faster....