USCIS Application

Steph and I spent the evening today preparing our Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. This is the branch of the US government that used to be called the INS. We downloaded form I-600A and completed the form.

A side note: We are accually applying to obtain approval to adopt 2 children from Ukraine. Yes, 2! It is necessary to do this in the event that we find a sibling pair. It just wouldn't be right to split a brother and sister. It is very important that we obtain approval for two as the US government would not aloow us to bring an additional child if one is all we get approval for. However, we can bring back just one even with the approval for two.

Tomorrow I will go to the bank to get a cashier's check for the application fee.
With this application we have to send State Certified Birth Certificates and Marriage Certificate.
We will soon receive an appointment to have another set of fingerpronts taken; this one is for the FBI. Its a good thing we have sqeeky clean records.

Thank you for those great letters

Our home study required 6 letters of reference. The ones required were my parents, Stephs parents and our Pastor. We asked three other couples to write a letter for us. This is really a big request, to ask someone to take time out of their busy schedules and think about writting a letter on behalf of another couple.

Steph and I want to thank those of you for writing such excellent letters. It is amazing to read your true (hopefully true!) thoughts about how you think we will make good parents. These are the people who wrote letters for us:

Steve and Liz Hendrickson (Steph's parents)
Jolly and Alice Baldwin (Joe's parents)
Max Edwards (Our pastor)
Gary and Kim Crist (Friends from Indiana but living in Nebraska)
Brent and Adrienne Essink (Friends from Nebraska)
Justin and Kari Baldwin (Joe's brother and sister-in-law)

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
It means so much to us that you all would do this for us and our child!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Git Er Done!

During December and January we completed our surveys that were needed for the home study. We applied for our state certified birth certificates. We completed other forms required for the home study. We went to obtain physicals from our doctor.

On January 10, 2005 we finished up some loose ends and felt like we made great progress. We applied for our passports and went to the County Sherriff Department to get finger-printed. Steph sent the finger prints to the Indiana State Police for our background check.

As documents arrived properly certified and noterized we sent them to our Social Worker one-by-one. Only thing left to do is send our INS application.

Christmas 2004

It was 12/23/04, Steph was wrapping presents on the floor in the living room. I suddenly became very emotional. It was then that I realized that we are parents to a young child right now. However, we will be unable to spend Christmas with our child. This was very difficult. We did the only thing that we can do; we prayed that our child will feeled loved this Christams, that our child will be warm and healthy. We prayed that by this time next year we will be together.

The Home Study

On December 6, 2004 Steph e-mailed Marilyn Cline of Compassionate Care; she is the one who will complete our home study. We assumed that it would be several weeks before we could get this accomplished and were anxious to get on the list. Much to our surprise Marilyn had time in her schedule to come before Christmas!!!! We planned for her to come to our home from Evansville, IN on the 15th at 4:00 PM.

Steph stayed home from work on the 15th to get the house ready for the home visit. There really wasn't much to do, but the being in her office and thinking about the fact that someone we did not know was going to come to our house and ask us personal questions did not set well with Steph (or with me either, I worked from home as well). Marylin arrived at about 4:30 and what we thought would be the inquisition of all inquisitions was to begin. After introductions she toured the house. We let her know where the babies room would be. She took some notes. I offered some coffee and she got to know Dixie, our Chocolate Lab. Funny story--I was concerned that Dixie would be a bother while Maryln was here so I tried everything I could to keep the dog from napping during the day. I don't think that was necessary, Dixie was very well behaved.

The questions that the Social Worker asked were much easier than we expected. She asked things about our childhood, our families, how well we get along with our siblings in the past and today. She asked about our high school activities and our church involvement. I really enjoyed the time, its not very often you get to talk about yourself and someone is truely interested in listening.

Our families knew that our home study was occuring and I know they were as anxious as we were. I know this because even before the interview was over, my mother called to see how it went (That's OK MOM!) Immediately after Marilyn left we called our parents to let them know that it was complete and the Home Visit had gone well.

Marilyn seemed to be very impressed with how well Steph keeps the house. It was cozy in the house that evening with the Christmas tree lights on. I guess since there are no little ones living here yet it is a lot easier to keep a tidy house than it will be in the future.

These are the things that we must complete so that the Home Study can be finished.

1. Application for adoption
2. Release of Information, Home Study Contract, Post Placement Visit Contract, Release of Information for Child Abuse and Neglect
3. Spiritual Life Survey, Family and Marriage Survey, and Financial Review
4. Criminal History Check
5. Physician's report
6. Employment Verification
7. Reference letters
8. Birth Certificates
9. Marriage license
10. Proof of medical insurance
11. Income tax forms

We can do it! It seems like a great deal to do, but it will be worth it!

The Next Step

December 4th we attended an informational meeting at Southeast. Kathy and Nacy provided us with a list of things to collect, compile and complete. Also in the meeting was another couple that we met at the "If You Were Mine" seminar; Brad and Tina Bergman. Kathy made it very clear that we are adopting independently; however, she is there to help in every step of the way. We really admire her and Nancy for what they are doing, they receive no compensation, only the joy of helping families help children. Here is the concise list of the process:

1. Contact Home Study Agency
2. Open BCIS file (Form I600A)
3. Complete Home Study Paperwork
4. Schedule Home Study Interview
5. Attend paperwork meeting
6. Complete Ukraine dossier
7. Attend travel meeting
8. Apply for Ukraine visa
9. Travel to Ukraine

With these directions in hand we left Louisville knowing that the next few months will be a difficult time of working and waiting.

How it All Started

It was Thursday September 23, 2004 when Steph heard an advertisement on the radio (WGNR) about an adoption conference to be held in Louisville, KY on Saturday 9/25. This was the spark that Steph needed to get her on the same page that I was. God wanted us to adopt a child! Steph called me and I agreed to go. That Saturday we attended the "If You Were Mine" adoption conference that was put on by Family Life Ministries at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville.

We left our home at 3:30 AM Saturday. The seminar was very informative and thought provoking. The biblical view of adoption was discussed. We were given the opportunity to break out into small groups that interested us. We attended two of these groups. I cannot even remember the first group that we sat in, it was during the second group session that we felt the confirmation that we were in the right place and we were doing the right thing. Our child is in Ukraine!

The presenters in this small group was Kathy and Nancy. Both have been to Ukraine many times and Kathy has adopted from Ukraine and now because of their heart for the Ukraine children they graciously offer their time to assist other families in independent Ukraine adoptions. This ministry that they have is awesome. Since the late '90s they have assisted in the adoption of over 130 children from Ukraine. In addition to this ministry, they along with some other very special people have started an organization called Hopeful Hearts. I strongly suggest you check out their website at www.hopefulheartsfoundation.org. WATCH THE VIDEO, but make sure you have a box of Kleenex near.

The drive home was very quiet. Steph and I both had many things going through our minds. Throughout the month of October and November we did a lot of talking about adoption. We talked with our families and friends about the process. After a great deal of prayer and knowing that everyone we talked to would support us in whatever we decided, we did it. We decided to adopt from Ukraine and accept the assistance of Kathy and Nancy. The next step--attend the Dec. 4th meeting at Southeast in Louisville.

Getting to Know Us

If you are reading this, more than likely you already know us. I am Joe Baldwin, my wife is Stephanie. We have made a decision that will absolutely change our lives. It has long been a desire of ours that we have a family. We both come from large families and we truely enjoy the company of young children. Emma Baldwin, Ella Baldwin, Kate Hendrickson, Riley Hendrickson, Brooke Erwin and Hannah Essink are the reasons that we harbor this desire to be mommy and daddy.

We get many questions about where we are in the process and it is unlikely that we can give everyone the whole story. So that is where this Blog comes in. Steph started keeping a journal and I decided to start recording parts of this journey for all to read. I will use this day to get everyone up-to-date and as things change I will keep you updated.

Most importantly you should know that we are being obedient to the leading the Lord. Steph and I are Christians. Because of our personal relationships with Christ we make every attempt to allow His leading in every decision that we make. We do this through prayer and we would appreciate everyone reading this to pray specifically for us in this adoption process.

Joe and Steph
relaxing in Cancun
(Perhaps the last vacation we will experience before we become mommy and daddy. Thanks for the great time Justin and Kari!)