The Application....Well....One of Them

On January 12th, 2012 we began the first step of completing our Application #1 phase of adopting from Dillon.  We were required to complete a 6 hour "Pre-Adoption Workshop" which was available online through their website.  I'm not going to lie; I went into this first step very annoyed that on a Saturday I was watching a 6 hour PowerPoint to make sure I wanted to make the decision I had already made.  We just kept telling each other to relax and we would make it through this day.  As annoying as this step was, it was a good reminder of what was to come.....many long, annoying, and frustrating processes laid ahead of us.  By the end of hour 6.....if nothing else....we felt like we had achieved a small victory in the completion of that workshop.

What I didn't tell you in my last blog was that when we received that information packet from Dillon, it laid everything out there for you to see.  You couldn't come back later and act surprised that this took that long or that cost this much.  They do a great job of preparing you the best they can for what's in store.  We were adopting from South Korea so we flipped to that section of the packet and came across the cold hard truth......

KOREA:

Application Process - 2-3 Months

Home Study Process - 2-3 Months

Wait Time for Referral - 3-5 Months *Korean Heritage Family

Wait Time for Travel - 11-16 Months

Total Adoption Process (Approx) - 18-27 months

Wow!  I sit here over 7,000 hours later, and how selfish I must have seemed complaining about that 6 hour workshop.  If this process doesn't break you, it surely will put things into perspective for you!

So we understood the reality of what we were against, and like it or not, that workshop was the first obstacle in our way.  With that checked off the list we were on to completing our official Application #1.  

Surprisingly, this process wasn't too bad.  It contained the typical verifiers; age, education, income, medical, and criminal history type stuff.  We breezed through that in no time.  We had a few other things to collect before the packet was ready to be sent.  It wasn't that anything up to this point was difficult.....it was just time consuming.  There was legwork when it came to contacting our infertility doctor to get a letter for the file, then there was the legwork in obtaining a letter from our employers verifying our current medical and life coverage, along with FMLA leave policies.....then the "Services Contract", the all important verification that we understood the fees and services paper.....and the easiest of all.....a family photo.

So you can imagine why it wasn't until January 25th, 2012 that we actually got the entire packet together, copies made and shipped FEDEX Next Day.

Application #1

I remember the sense of hope that surrounded us that day as we sealed that envelope.  It was a hope we hadn't had for nearly a month.  Things felt right on this day.  This feeling was entirely different from any I had experienced....for once we sent that first piece of mail, we finally understood we were now "in" the process!