Welcome - ยินดีต้อนรับ

Hello all family and friends!

With great excitement, we started our adoption journey in August 2008. We are now first time parents through adoption of an 8-year-old son from Thailand. We have chosen to build our family through the adoption of a son from Thailand because this is where we feel God is leading us right now.

It took 1 year and 9 months to bring Ray home and it was totally worth it!

We appreciate all of your love and support. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Ann & Bryan

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Referral Paperwork for our Smiling Boy

We can’t help but to take a look back and reflect on our Christmas letter from last year and know that one piece is still missing.  We had hoped that this Christmas our prayers would be answered with a trip to Thailand, but we continue to try to be patient and trust that it’s in God’s Hands and His timing.  

Last Friday, we received our "official referral" paperwork from the Thai Red Cross in the mail, minus the To Whom It May Concern letter that we are still waiting on from the Thai government (DSDW).  So now we can get through it all and be ready to go when the DSDW sends the letter. The TRC even sent a few newer photos which made us smile since WACAP did not see him when they were there last month. Even though the photos are just printed on computer paper, our hearts cannot help but glow as we see his smiling face while he holds up photos of us.  Every little glimpse of our son or step in the process helps boost our morale.

Merry Christmas to all!
Ann and Bryan

4 comments:

Kam said...

Merry Christmas! Congrats on your referral!!!

Ellie said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!! It won't be long now... your journey is just beginning! :)

Nichole and Craig said...

Congrats on getting your referral paperwork. Have a great Christmas

Megan said...

Each step forward can and should feel like leaps and bounds! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Can't wait to hear Ray is coming home!!

Blessings~

Why are we adopting internationally and not domestically?
While we think adopting domestically is extremely important, our hearts are drawn to the waiting children in other countries. Some of our closest friends and relatives have adopted, are adopted themselves, or are planning to adopt internationally. This has been a wonderful experience for them, as I am confident our adoption will be for us.

Why are we adopting from Thailand?
The number one reason is simply...that's where our son is living right now. Also, the Thai people are extremely laid back and friendly and the adoption process is very straight forward in Thailand and has been around for decades so there should be no surprises or corruption. After researching our other options, the requirements to adopt from Thailand fit our requirements. If we decide to adopt again, we will reevaluate the different countries and domestic programs.