For those who might be curious, this is how our adoption has progressed.
- August 2010 - "Awaken" worship series at Woodmen Valley Chapel spurs a call to adopt in our hearts, we start talking and researching and make the decision to go for it (thinking it would take 2-3 years).
- 21 August - We get the list of waiting children in Bulgaria and promptly fall in love with one little girl
- September - Homestudy starts
- November - Partial application to put a hold on our daughter submitted to Bulgaria, tentative "hold" approved
- January 2011 - Home Study done
- 20 January - USCIS Filing sent off
- March- Approved I-800A received
- May - Dossier registered in Bulgaria
- 3 June - Notified of official match with immediate travel dates
- 5 June - 11 June - In Bulgaria, meeting our daughter!!
- 13 June - Applied for I-800, Submitted final paperwork to our agency
- 5 July - Approved I-800 received
- August - Bulgarian court vacation begins... sigh
- 20 Sep - Bulgarian court vacation ends. Yay!
- 17 Oct - We passed court and were officially the parents of Gergana Michelle Wasinger!
- 14 November - "Gotcha Day"
- 19 November - Geri arrived in the US and became a citizen!
I'd like to add here that this is NOT the typical timing for a Bulgarian adoption. Ours was pretty quick because we requested a waiting child. If someone requests a healthy child under 5, they should expect to see a 2-3 year gap between the registered dossier and the match. The wait is less for an older child, or for a child with special needs. If a match is refused by the prospective parent, their dossier goes back to the bottom of the list and that would tack on another 1-2 years. Ours was the fast track... much to our surprise!
