A Long Time Coming

Hi all. I know it's been a while since I've updated our blog. Things have been going along steadily, and here's a summary of what's been going on.

Our home study was completed at the beginning of August. The report was very positive, and on paper, we look like a fantastic family! :)

For several months now, we've been receiving information about special needs children in Bulgaria. Many of them have been older or have been too severe for us to handle. However, one of them caught our eye.

We received information about a little girl named Radostina Penkova. She was listed as having a ptosis of the eye (droopy eyelid), a hemangioma that was removed from her belly, and her mother was a diagnosed epileptic.

I couldn't get her picture out of my mind. Jason and I read over her information several times, we looked at her picture constantly and couldn't come up with a reason for saying no to adopting her.

At that point, we contacted our consultant who was thrilled that we had chosen Radostina. The 2 documents that Bulgaria needed to put her on "hold" for us were sent within 2 days, the council met and matched us with Radostina. We were beside ourselves with excitement.

We told our family, friends and children. Everyone was so happy but wanted to have a name to call her. Everyone came up with different names for her (Betty, Anna, Baby Girl, etc). After a week or so, Jason had a name for her.

We are going to name her Olivia Sofia. Olivia is a name that we love, and Sofia is the capital city of Bulgaria. That is how we are going to incorporate her Bulgarian heritage into her name.

Our I-800A form was sent off this week. This is a form that goes to the United States Immigration SErvices. Once we receive that documentation back, our dossier will go to the state of north Carolina to be apostilled. Once that is complete, our dossier will go to Bulgaria to be translated and reviewed.

I can't stand not seeing Olivia everyday. We wanted her home for Christmas, but it looks like that won't be possible. What a way to start the new year, though!

As things progress, we'll keep you updated!