Our Adoption Timeline

2006:

This is the first year we really began to talk about adopting from India. I researched organizations and at the time we did not meet the minimum age requirement (we were 5 years too young) so our plans were put on hold.

2011:

November 3rd: God stirred up the burden of adoption again. We began to pray and fast.
November 7th: We felt the Lord calling us to pay off credit card debt so adoption plans were put on hold.

2012:

February 21st: Kristen was hired part time at a children's crisis unit.
March: We put the first check toward eliminating our debt.
November 6th: (Answer to prayer) We are pre-approved to adopt from America World (AWAA).
November 19th: We get word that AWAA is temporarily closing their India program. After prayer we feel that the Lord is calling us to wait. We continue to pray for Him to make his will clear.

2013:

February 15th:(Answer to prayer) Our entire credit card debt has been paid off. Woohoo!!
February 19th-21st: AWAA attends CARA meetings in Delhi. We are praying that the program will re-open shortly.
February 26: (Answer to prayer) We receive an email from AWAA stating that India will re-open to special needs adoptions only. Our initial reaction is that God has opened this door but we decide to pray specifically that the Lord would show us whether or not to move forward.

Our Official Adoption Journey Begins:
February 28: Kristen talks to AWAA in order to ask a few questions. We feel at peace about this possibility. Later that night we formally submit our application, fee, family photo, and letter of intent to AWAA for their India waiting children's program.
March 8: (Answer to Prayer) Our application was accepted. We are now part of the AWAA India Waiting Children's program!!
March 13: We mailed our initial paperwork and 1st installment of the program fee to AWAA.
March 21: We have been assigned a family coordinator with AWAA who will walk us through our entire adoption journey. We also heard from our social worker. They have both sent us emails and paperwork to begin the dossier and homestudy part of our journey. Baby Steps.
April 8: We are scheduled to meet with our social worker the morning of the 8th for our orientation meeting. He will give us more paperwork and walk through the next steps in this process. After this meeting we should have most of what we need to gather all the necessary paperwork for our homestudy.
May 6: We are meeting with our social worker for the interview portion of our homestudy. This visit counts as two of our four required meetings. We will also hand him a stack of paperwork that have been completed and signed. We are slowing chipping away.
June 10: Jon and I had our final meeting with our social worker. He came to our house to do our home visit. Now we only have a few more pieces of paperwork to complete before our homestudy can actually be written. So close!!
August 29: We got word that the final draft of our homestudy was approved.
August 30: Our finalized and notarized homestudy paperwork came in the mail.
September 3: AWAA called and informed us that we had been registered with the CARINGS database in India and that we were officially put on the waiting list!!!
September 4: USCIS paperwork (1-800A form) has been mailed to Texas. It will take a few weeks before we receive confirmation in the mail.
September 16: We received confirmation from Homeland Security stating that our USCIS paperwork is being processed. Jon and I are now awaiting word on when they will schedule our appointment for fingerprinting.
October 3: Drove to Cincinnati for USCIS biometrics appointment. Now we are just waiting on approval from USCIS to adopt a child from a Hague Country.
November 7: (HUGE Answer to prayer) We were awarded a large grant to help with our adoption expenses! We are now 62% funded.
November 18: We received news from USCIS that they needed more documentation before we can be given approval to adopt. Our SW is putting together an addendum to our homestudy. From what USCIS told us there should not be any other hiccups once they receive the rest of the paperwork. Hopefully we will receive USCIS approval by the end of the year.

2014

January 2: We received USCIS approval!
January 9: (Another HUGE answer to prayer) We were awarded another large grant to help with adoption expenses!
January 24: We received our REFERRAL!!
January 28: Medical review by Cincinnati Children's International Adoption Clinic.
February 4: We are matched with our daughter on CARINGS.
February 20: We requested the original paperwork from the orphanage in order to pursue A's adoption.
March 24: Our adoption is now FULLY FUNDED!! Praise God!!
April 3: We received our daughter's official paperwork from the orphanage!
April 8: The original paperwork has been signed, notified, certified and apostilled. All of those documents have been sent back to our agency and will then we sent on to India along with our dossier!   
May 1: I-800 approval was received in the mail!!
May 8: We received our Article 5!
June 19: ARC has been granted!
June 30: NOC has been granted! 
July 26: First Court Hearing
August 23: Our second court hearing was scheduled for this day. No news on whether it actually took place or what happened.
September 23: Third Court Hearing
October 6: 4th hearing. This hearing will be for orders. 
October 7: 5th hearing. Second hearing for orders. We passed court!!
October 21: The orphanage has the written orders from the judge. Now all we are waiting on is our daughter's passport.

2015:
January 5: Our daughter's passport is ready. Travel plans are under way.
January 23: Jon's passport and visa arrived via FedEx twenty minutes before we had to leave for the airport. The Lord provided!!
January 24: Due to a cancelled flight on the 23rd we finally got on a plane to India.
January 26: Gotcha Day!! We finally have Hadassah Amritha Groves in our arms!! 
February 3: Family day! We arrived back in the States officially as a family of four.