Our Journey to get Abby

Our journey began in August, 2005 unbeknownst to us. We attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert in New Orleans. Steven Curtis Chapman has adopted 3 girls from China and was promoting adoptions through an agency he started called Shannoah's Hope. His plea touched Mark and my heart although a month went by and we didn't say anything to each other. One day Mark asked me about adopting and the rest is history.

In October, 2005 we began the process of meeting with Catholic Community Services and exploring our options. After meeting several couples and the children that they adopted from Russia and China, we decided to adopt from China. We had decided that we wanted a little girl since we already have 2 boys. We then decided on an agency and the journey began.

During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it was difficult to ascertain certified copies of birth certificates and other documents that we needed. With the help of family and friends, we were able to complete our paperwork and by February 5, 2006 sent our paperwork to the St. Louis office and they were off to China. CCAA is China's government agency which handles adoptions. They logged our paperwork in on March 17, 2006. We were initially told that our wait would be 6 months.

Due to problems going on with other programs, the requests to China grew and grew and so did the wait. Our wait went from 6 months, to 9 months, to 18 months almost overnight. There were many nights of prayers asking for guidance for the good Lord.

The process begins when you enter the Review Room where the CCAA reviews your documentation and agrees that you meet their requirements to adopt a child from China. We got out of the Review Room in March, 2007 (almost 12 months to the day). Then our next wait was in the Matching Room (Department 2). This is where they match you to a child.

So we wait!