Our Adoption Timeline

We wanted to share the timeline of our Nicaraguan adoption and the different steps we have taken to get where we are.  We will admit that it has been a lot of work, but step by step, it has not felt too overwhelming.  We know that it will all be worth it in the end!

2005-2012 - Talked and talked about the possibility of adoption “someday.”

August 15, 2012 - Met with Jessica, an adoptive mom living in Nicaragua and she provided us with some wonderful resources.  We began following up with recommended lawyers to see how we could proceed in the process.

August 18, 2012 - Celebrated our five year anniversary at a fancy hotel and wrote our first letters to our future child(ren).

August 27, 2012 - We began our residency process as we were hoping to proceed domestically in Nicaragua due to lower financial costs.

December 13, 2012 - We find out that proceeding as residents may not be the best option due to a law that requires three years after placement in country with the child.  We would love to stay here for three more years, but are not guaranteed that our work will keep us here for that amount of time.

December 14, 2012 - We contact a possible agency in MN to see if they can assist us with a home study during our visit home.  They say yes!

December 2012-January 2013 – While home for three weeks, we complete our home study appointments and paperwork.  It is crazy busy, but very worth it.

February-March 2013 – We spend a couple of months completing grant applications and hope that this hard work will pay off.

April 10, 2013 – Our home study is officially approved.

March-April 2013 – We have several adoption meetings with lawyers and orphanages to further understand the adoption process in Nicaragua.

April 15, 2013 – We send off dossier to the Nicaraguan consulate in Miami.

May 6, 2013 – We receive back authenticated and certified documents from the Nicaraguan Consulate.

June 4, 2013 – We have an appointment with Carolina who we later decide will be our lawyer. She reviews the process with us and provides information for next steps. We hand in our paperwork to the translator, Katherine.

June 5, 2013 – We have an appointment at the Nicaragua Supreme Court to get the official seals on our paperwork for the Nicaraguan side.

July 19, 2013 – We receive back USCIS – I-600A approval from the U.S. Government.

July 23, 2013 - We receive translated documents from Katherine, our translator. 

July 25, 2013 – We have an appointment at Mi Familia to review our documents. We meet for a couple of hours and a Social Worker looks over all of our papers. She informs us of two changes that we need to make, but otherwise lets us know that we are almost done!

August 1, 2013 - We are grateful to be back in the States for weddings as we have two more documents to finalize.

August 27, 2013 - We receive the final notary translations.

September 5, 2013 - We have our final paperwork meeting with Mi Familia to turn in our documents. We have everything in order and receive a “Constancia” document stating that everything has been turned in for final review and acceptance.

November 28, 2013 - We were officially approve by the Mi Family Consejo to adopt two children in Nicaragua. We are thrilled and one step closer to meeting our future kids!

January 30, 2014 - We receive our first call with a proposal of a sibling group of three. It was hard to say no, but we felt like it was best for our family and look forward to another call.

February 7, 2014 - We met with our Social Worker, Marisela to review our desires and hopes in finding our future kids. We had a very positive meeting with her and look forward to future work with her.

April 16, 2014 - Our one-year home study update is completed. This involved conversations with our Social Worker, resubmitting fingerprints and additional education hours.

Currently – We are waiting for a match!