With February being the month of 'Love' it reminds me of John 13:34 where Jesus said "As I have loved you, so you must love one another." YOU, my sweet friends, sure have shown us some LOVE recently!! We have received the sweetest comments, texts, notes, calls, messages and have had the best conversations.....what an outpouring of love! Oberson has yet to step one little foot into our home yet he has been firmly planted in the hearts of so many people! It is amazing!
As you may know (if you follow us on Facebook), we have finally received our signatures to exit IBESR after waiting 22 months!! One of the best responses was when a friend said she was happy for us even though she had no idea what it meant. So true! I thought I would answer some of the questions we have received the most:
Does this mean he is coming home now?
Unfortunately, no. There are more steps in the adoption process before he can come home.
What needs to happen before he can come home?
Step #12: Parquet (District Attorney approves adoption) 2-4 months
Step #13: Court (Civil court finalizes the adoption and he legally becomes our son and a Shearer!) 1-2 months
Step #14: Attestation Signature (glorified notarizing of a document) 2-4 weeks
Step #15: Legalization of documents (legalized by Minister of Justice) 2-4 weeks
Step #16: Legalization by the Minister of Foreign Affairs (MAE) 2-4 weeks
Step #17: Ministry of the Interior (MOI) (applying for Passport) 3-6 months
Step #18: Review of all paperwork to make sure there are no clerical errors
Step #19: US Medical Visa (including medical exam for Oberson) 1-2 months
Step #20: USCIS (Immigration) & US Visa (visa pack is submitted, visa interview with Oberson) *Basically this is the US reviewing everything before they will issue the visa. It takes anywhere from 1-5 months for this (American) step. As soon as they approve it we travel to bring him home!!
Step #21: Travel to Haiti to bring him HOME!!!
When do you expect him home?
The remaining steps are estimated to take from 10-21 months. We are praying for him home in 2016! We all think Summer would be a great time so the kids can spend all day together but really pray he is home by his birthday October 21st.
Are we ready?
Haha! For the long process that this is I will probably not be ready the day we bring him home! I have bought so much stuff that he outgrew before he even came home that I stopped buying things. We will get an idea of his exact clothing/shoe sizes close to the end and I stock up then with exact items. For now, we add to his toy box, stuff animals, and clothes every month with little things. His room, furniture and bed have been ready for a long time.
How are Ashley & Travis?
They are troopers and often are more positive than I am. Honestly, I have been so frustrated with lack of progress in our case that it is very discouraging sometimes. The kids didn't experience that discouragement and I am ever thankful that God protected their hearts. Travis doesn't have a single memory of not waiting for a sibling. He remembers getting our referral but never a time before the adoption started. They remain excited about seeing him, Ashley wants to hug/touch/cuddle him (not sure if he will like that but we'll see), Travis wants a playmate and they both have a list of things they want to teach him. Hahaha! We'll be crazy for sure!
