Hi Family and Friends. I just wanted to check in and give everyone a quick update as to where we are in the adoption process. We recently received our United States Customs and Immigration I-800 Approval, so that is another big check mark checked off on our to do list! Now we are in the process of working on our visa application for Kenny. It is a fairly complicated process as the original has to be hand delivered to the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. We have to fill out some paperwork which we will get done today and then mail it off to our agency, who mails it to a Kenyan lawyer. After that happens, we will receive our Article 5 which pretty much means he can enter into the US....so that is a big step! Once we get the article 5, we are also then assigned a court date in Burundi. We do not have to appear for the court date, but the Burundian lawyer that works with our agency will go to that. After the court date, there is a 30 date waiting period, some more paperwork, and then hopefully we will be able to travel. It is hard to put an exact timeline on everything, but things are progressing. We are hopeful that we can travel in April or May...obviously the earlier the better.
We have not had any direct communication with Kenny. To be honest, I don't even know if he knows about us yet! I've heard they wait until travel dates are more imminent to tell the kids. We do know he is going to Bujumbura International Montessori School in the capital of Burundi. They teach in English, so we are hopeful he is learning some English to make the transition home a bit easier. There are multiple other families that have been travelling and picking up their kiddos which is neat to see. We are a part of a Burundi Adoption Facebook group and recently learned there is a family just a little bit ahead of us in the process that is also bringing home a 5 year old boy from the same orphanage and they live about ten minutes from us! So that will be really neat for Kenny to have a familiar face so close by.
Skylar, Colton, and Emory are very excited to bring Kenny home. They talk about it a lot, and they often pray for his safety, health, and his quick arrival! I know these last few months will fly by in many ways....but it is definitely harder to wait when you have a sweet little face and name to put with your little one. Before we were matched with Kenny, it was more just an idea on the back burner as we stayed busy with the everyday activities that come along with have three kids. Now that we're matched, we are ready to bring Kenny home!! We do have a few pictures of him, but we are not supposed to post of social media. If you'd like to see one, feel free to shoot me a message.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support!
Love,
The Bauchers
www.adopttogether.org/baucherfamily
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Finally, some BIG NEWS!
Hi Family and Friends. Thanks so much to all of you who have continued to keep us in your thoughts and prayers on our adoption journey. We've finally had some progress in the last month and we are so excited to share.
The adoption committee met several months ago to match families with kids. We were not matched and were bummed, but were told we are next on the list for a boy within our agency. Then in mid-August we got a call from Jackie, who is the head of our agency (International Child Foundation in Phoenix), saying that another family who had been waiting for a very long time had been matched with a 5 year old boy but had decided to pursue a different path. She asked if we wanted to be matched with him, and we of course said yes! I wasn't exactly sure what all it would entail to have him officially "re-matched" with our family, but Jackie ensured us this happens and lot and it wouldn't be a problem, it would just take time....and she wasn't kidding when she said it'd take time!
So today, just a month after we got that call from her, we have an official referral letter from Burundi matching us with a 5 year old boy named Kenny. We are so excited, nervous, overjoyed, and everything in between :) We are planning on telling the kids tonight...as we wanted to make sure the match was really going to happen before sharing the news with them. I think in their heads they always thought we'd have a "baby brother" and the age will be a bit of a surprise, but we're hoping he fits right in to the delightful circus we already have.
The next step will be completing paperwork with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office. Then we will have everything mailed over to Burundi for it to process through their court system. This will mean more waiting, probably 6-9 months...I think it would be realistic for us to plan to travel to pick him up towards the end of this school year.
We also learned of an Montessori school in Burundi that we are enrolling Kenny in for this school year. They teach the kids English which we think will be a big benefit while we wait to bring him home. It is called Bujumbura International Montessori. So we are hoping this will be a good experience for him!
Also, we wanted to thank all of you who have supported us financially through this process. It has been a huge blessing for a family. Our fundraising site can be found at:
www.adopttogether.org/baucherfamily
We so appreciate all of your thoughts, prayers, and support. Keep them coming!
We'll hopefully have more frequent updates now as we feel like we are finally getting the ball rolling almost 2 years into the process!
We love you all and God Bless!
Kristen and Brian
The adoption committee met several months ago to match families with kids. We were not matched and were bummed, but were told we are next on the list for a boy within our agency. Then in mid-August we got a call from Jackie, who is the head of our agency (International Child Foundation in Phoenix), saying that another family who had been waiting for a very long time had been matched with a 5 year old boy but had decided to pursue a different path. She asked if we wanted to be matched with him, and we of course said yes! I wasn't exactly sure what all it would entail to have him officially "re-matched" with our family, but Jackie ensured us this happens and lot and it wouldn't be a problem, it would just take time....and she wasn't kidding when she said it'd take time!
So today, just a month after we got that call from her, we have an official referral letter from Burundi matching us with a 5 year old boy named Kenny. We are so excited, nervous, overjoyed, and everything in between :) We are planning on telling the kids tonight...as we wanted to make sure the match was really going to happen before sharing the news with them. I think in their heads they always thought we'd have a "baby brother" and the age will be a bit of a surprise, but we're hoping he fits right in to the delightful circus we already have.
The next step will be completing paperwork with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office. Then we will have everything mailed over to Burundi for it to process through their court system. This will mean more waiting, probably 6-9 months...I think it would be realistic for us to plan to travel to pick him up towards the end of this school year.
We also learned of an Montessori school in Burundi that we are enrolling Kenny in for this school year. They teach the kids English which we think will be a big benefit while we wait to bring him home. It is called Bujumbura International Montessori. So we are hoping this will be a good experience for him!
Also, we wanted to thank all of you who have supported us financially through this process. It has been a huge blessing for a family. Our fundraising site can be found at:
www.adopttogether.org/baucherfamily
We so appreciate all of your thoughts, prayers, and support. Keep them coming!
We'll hopefully have more frequent updates now as we feel like we are finally getting the ball rolling almost 2 years into the process!
We love you all and God Bless!
Kristen and Brian
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