10/26/12 - Officially on the Waiting for a Referral List!

We scanned and emailed a copy of our I-171H form to our agency today and are now happily on the wait list for a referral!!!!  We are requesting a child of either gender, aged 0-2 years old and are anxiously awaiting learning who he or she is!!

Then tonight I went and mailed our dossier documents to our agency.  Mike was taking a little video and Ryan heard us.  He came to join in the closing segments of the video which Mike than took a picture of!

Don't you love Ryan's excited pose?

Before leaving, Mike, John, Ryan, and I all prayed for the paperwork and for new brother of sister.  And we know there are SO MANY praying with us - and we are SO grateful for your prayers!!

10/25 - It's here!

I wasn't going to begin stalking the mailbox until tomorrow ... but then I had this feeling - wouldn't it be great if our I171-H form arrived today, but there's no way, it's so early after fingerprinting, not even two weeks, but wouldn't it be great! but totally unrealistic to think but still, where it the mail truck!!?  (And yes, that huge run on sentence did run through my head this afternoon.)

So when the mail finally came, what should be there - our federal approval form, the I171-H!!   This is the piece of paper we need in order to receive a referral from our agency!!  WOW!!!

So even though our adoption agency's office was closed, I called and left a message ... now we'll see.  The African stork could be landing at our house again very soon!!!

50/50 Referral Guess Raffle

We are beginning our 50/50 Referral Guess Raffle with just $5 to enter!! (If this idea in any way bothers you – please feel free to stop reading this post!) 

We are requesting a child of either gender, aged 0-2 years old.  If you’d like to enter the raffle, we need to know: boy or girl and how old you think he/she will be at time of referral.  Then as a tie breaker, please list the date on which you think we’ll receive our referral call.  FOR EXAMPLE: Amy thinks it’s going to be a boy, 18 months old, referral date on November 1^st. 

You can enter as many times as you’d like with different guesses.  Just email us your guess(es) and pay us when you see us or send the money in the mail! (The Vagnoni Family, 408 South Slusser Street, Grayslake, IL 60030)

Winner will be announced right after we receive our referral.  We’ll keep half of all money collected and the winner will get the other half!

Please feel free to share this fundraiser with others!!

Three Years Ago Today

"This is your referral call."

Oh, how lovely those words sounded three years ago today!!  I got the call at work and because Mike was working third shift at the time and didn't hear the phone ring, I came home from work to wake him up so we could call our agency back and hear who our children were!! It was the longest drive home ever - and all i kept thinking was I need to not speed and get a speeding ticket because that will just get me home later.

Three years ago today we saw the first pictures of our boys:

John was so sick at the time and look at that smile on Ryan's face - doesn't it just say, "Look out! Here I come!"

And our world changed, so much for the better.

Last Pieces of Dossier Paperwork!

The second to last piece of paper needed for our dossier (the official bundle of paperwork that will be sent by our agency overseas) arrived in the mailbox yesterday!  We needed two power of attorney papers authenticated by our state - not even going to explain what that means, just know it was relatively painless - and they are sitting in the pile with the other papers waiting.

Now we wait for that last piece - the I-171H form.  This will come in the mail from USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) and is approval by the federal government for us to adopt an orphan internationally.  Next Friday will be two weeks since our finger print appointment and I will officially begin stalking the mailbox daily after that.  Once that lovely piece of paper arrives, we call our international agency in Indianapolis and tell them it is here!!  And after that ... they can match us with a child, which because the need is so great, we are expecting to happen shortly after!!

And so that means, our third child has been born and already needs or will shortly need a forever family.  My heart has begun to cry out for him (or her).  I ask God to watch over this precious child - to keep him safe, to shower him with a comfort and knowledge that he is loved by a heavenly Father.  And I lift up his/her first family, for it is their sorrow that will be our joy.  And I try to process all this as we wait and watch God's plan for our lives unfold.  And I am thankful that in all things He works good for those who love Him.

America World Adoption Seminar coming to Gurnee!

An America World Adoption “Adopted by Design” seminar is coming to Lakeland Evangelical Free Church on Saturday, October 27, 2012 from 10am to noon.  The “Adopted by Design” seminar is a free two-hour seminar that helps families to understand the blessings and the process of international adoption.

For more information about America World or to register, please visit their website: www.awaa.org and click the “Events” link at the top of the page.

Please share this information with those you think might be interested!  And if you live in the Lake County area and your church might be interested in hosting its own seminar next spring, please let me know!!