So God has called you to adopt....now what?

- Continue to pray! This will be your greatest comfort, joy, strength and ally during the long and arduous journey to come.

- Start gathering books. Books on Creole, Haitian cookbooks, books to read to your children, books on haircare and books on attachment and bonding issues. We have compiled a list of suggested reading material for you to browse on our reading list page.

- Research and contact homestudy agencies in your state to find out their requirements, timelines and costs.

- Begin gathering the necessary documents both for your homestudy and for Haiti. By doing this, you will save yourself much stress and duplicate work.

- Get a sturdy file folder and tape a checklist of documents, appointments and other things necessary for your dossier, to the outside. This will allow you to monitor your progress and minimize some of the intimidation of this daunting task . If you have a friend or family member who is gifted administratively, asking them for their assistance with this part of your journey will be both a tremendous weight lifted off of you and a great blessing for them.

- After all documents have been gathered, translated and certified, make a complete copy for yourself.

- Overnight your documents to Haiti via a reputable courier such as FedEx. Your agency may take care of this step for you, so be sure to contact them for their policy.

- Don't forget to pray for your "paper baby."

This is it. Your "paper baby" has left your hands and now NOTHING is in your control. It is both an incredible feeling of relief and a termendous sense of loss. There is now nothing you can do to speed the process along. But there are things you can do to keep your mind and your heart busy as you await that exciting phone call that tells you your child(ren) are ready to come home! If you're at this point and starting to get that nervous twitch, follow me to learn some ways to redirect that nervous energy!