Picture Day a.k.a. Referral Day

Wonderful news!!! We received our referral today. We are proud to announce that we are the parents of 3 little girls.

Our oldest is Vanesa (6) - 3/10/02

Our middle is Manuela (4) - 9/14/04

Our youngest is Angee (2) - 8/29/06

This is the only picture and information that we have at this time. We should know more later this week.

You know, Paul and I were just talking about painting one of the rooms the other day. I had picked out a pretty blue color and thought we could accent with purple if we got a girl, well... I'm thinking blue probably isn't the best choice now.

PRAISE GOD for bringing us together and thank you for all of your prayers for our family.

Learning about Pereira

The last couple of days we have been learning as much as we can about the region we'll traveling to in Colombia. I love the fact that orchids and lots of other flowers are found there. We've also read that there are many natural springs you can visit. The city is in the Andes mountains and has a tropical climate - very exciting! Another CHI family traveled to this area earlier this year, so we have been scouring their site for info. We were able to get pictures of the places they stayed and the places they visited. It's good to know that there is a zoo, parks, lots of pools & springs and a coffee plantation. They also said that the architecture is just as unique and beautiful as the landscape. I'm afraid I won't want to leave once we get down there, I cannot wait to see all of the beautiful flowers that we don't really have here.

I'm much more at ease knowing that we will not have to stay in the hotel the entire time we are in Colombia. We can take our children out and get pictures of their native country. What a relief and blessing. We will probably be staying in Bogata the last few days of trip (while things are finalized in the courts, etc.) We are really hoping that we get to spend some time with our friends from church who traveling to Bogata to meet their children. I'm really hoping and praying that we have a few days for our children to get to know each other a little.

Tonight was a real treat. We got to have a video call with some of our friends who left last week to get their children. We just talked to them last Sunday, but so much has happened since then that it seems like it's been a month. In the last week they have flown to a different country, met their children for the first time and are learning all about their new family. While we here, have learned about a regional assignment (that is a really BIG deal!) They are staying about 100 miles North of where we will be. They said they went 45 miles or so South today to a water park and that the sun was really intense - don't forget sunscreen. I know I need to take some, but think it's funny that I'll be taking it for me, not the children. I'm sure the children will be just fine without it :)

Picture of us and the Bonds, who just traveled earlier this week to meet their children.

Regional Assignment

We got some news today!! Julie (CHI Colombia program director) e-mailed us today to let us know we were assigned to Pereira Colombia! It was kind of weird and unexpected, in a way. She was e-mailing because she thought she had already told us what our regional assignment was, and that it was for a different region. She was actually e-mailing to correct herself and notify us that our region was Pereira instead. The problem was that she had never told us any of that until we received her e-mail today. So to say the least, we were quite confused. Good thing I didn't get the e-mail until the end of the day, because I didn't get much work done after that. So I (Paul) e-mailed Julie right away and Chris called her to try to confirm what the e-mail said. Julie e-mailed back to us quickly and talked to us about our assignment and confirmed that we are assigned to Pereira.
For those who don't understand what a regional assignment is, I will explain.
When you first start the adoption process you have to fill out tons of paperwork including, psychological evaluations, physicals, FBI background checks, child abuse and neglect, social worker interviews.........pokes....prods.......you name it they do it. After you are done filling out the mountain of paperwork, you send it all the Colombia to be approved. All the paperwork that you send to Colombia is referred to as your dossier (dos-eee-ay). Once you are approved by Colombia's social welfare program (ICBF) then you are put on a waiting list (Baby list, sibling list, older child list, etc.) Once you name reaches the top of the list, the next step is to be assigned to a specific region of the country. After you are assigned to a specific region, the only thing left is to be assigned to your children. In the past, rule of thumb has been, once you are assigned to a region, you usually get assigned to your children within a month (remember this is just a rule of thumb). Throw in the mix of the holidays (Not much happens in Colombia in December) and I'm guessing we will be assigned sometime in early January. Although I hope I am wrong, because we would love to have pictures of our children before Christmas. So...... just something to pray about.
I have no doubt that God has picked out a specific set a children for us, so I'm not too worried about it. I do not know their names yet, but Chris and I pray for their safety and comfort every night. God knows their names, God knows where they are, God will give them comfort, safety, and peace. So if anyone who reads this would like to pray for them too, I would encourage you to do so. One of these days, when it's not so late, I will put my testimony on here about how the Lord softened my heart towards adoption. It is a very cool testimony about how God can work in your life if you allow Him to do so. If anyone has questions about anything with our adoption, please feel free to ask. Just type it in the comments and we will respond.

Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser

We are happy to report that we had a very successful fundraiser dinner on November 11th. We are thankful that we have so many friends and family that have been so supportive during this adoption process. We were able to raise $2500 towards our adoption fund. With time getting short before we travel, this was quite a relief. We could not have done this without the help of friends and family who gave at least one night to come greet people, seat people, cook food, serve drinks & spaghetti & dessert, and to stay late to help us get the dishes done and the church cleaned. We had a great time serving everyone spaghetti and listening to the brass band play Christmas music. Again, thank you to evereyone who gave of thier time, talent and financial contributions.

FAQ Regarding Our Adoption

Questions Regarding the Adoption of Baby Sinclair
Why are you adopting?
Chris has Poly-cystic Ovarian Disease (PCOS). The disease does not allow for regular fertility. We want to have a family and adoption provides results - as opposed to fertility treatments, which may or may not work, but still require a significant financial and emotional investment.
Why are you adopting from another country?
Most of the adoption agencies we looked at that handled domestic adoptions did not offer closed adoptions. We want to lessen the possibility of a birth parent trying to remove our child from their home. Also, in Missouri, the birth parents have up to 12 months to contest the removal or relinquishment of their parental rights. Can you imagine what this could do to a child?
We also personally know couples who have tried to adopt domestically and have seen the many difficulties they have had. After seeing this first hand, we feel that international adoption is not any more of a risk than domestic adoptions.
Why are you adopting from Colombia?
The children are healthier; there are few cases of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (unlike Russia and some other countries) and most of the children live with a foster family, not in an institutionalized orphanage.
The children are all orphans. Birth parents no longer have parental rights over the child.
Colombia was about half the cost of other countries and there is no additional charge to adopt more than one child at a time (other than travel, food, hotel, etc.) This is why so many people adopt sibling groups from Colombia.
All of the post-placement visits by the social worker can be completed within 9-12 months of the child’s adoption, instead of 2 or 3 years.
How old will your 3 children be?
Between 0 - 6 years old.
Are you only getting one?
No!! We are getting three children. When we first started this process over 3 1/2 years ago, we were only going to get a baby. As the years have gone by our desire to grow our family increased. So after much prayer and deliberation, we decided to get a sibling group of three.
How much does it cost?
Approximately $25,000. If you are interested in making a tax deductible donation to our fund or if you are considering adopting a child we will be more than happy to send you the financials.
What is your adoption fund?
It is a tax deductible account set up through our church. We can receive donations into this account strictly to cover adoption expenses. You can donate to it any time. Checks should be made out to Devon Park Restoration Branch. Please note in the memo section of the check that it is for our adoption account. The mailing address for this account is:
Devon Park Restoration Branch
C/O: Robert Sinclair- Treasurer
3005 N. Union Street
Independence, MO 64050

Update

We thought we would write and give everyone a quick update on our adoption. There really is not much to say as we are just waiting for our regional assignment, which will probably come sometime next Spring or Summer.
We are fairly close to a few other couples also adopting from Colombia. Two of the couples received their regional assignments and we are anxiously waiting to see what happens from here. This is our first time to see this part of the process in action.
We have been doing a lot to get ready for our new little one. We bought some furniture for the nursery, Chris has been picking up a few things at garage sales and we have been reading through our children’s books to refresh our memories of our favorite stories. We also had a garage sale last weekend as a fundraiser. It was probably the hottest day of the year (at least it seemed like it to us). There were not many people out, nevertheless we had the biggest and best sale in our neighborhood. A couple of people came back for seconds. Paul put up a sign thanking our family and friends who donated items. Not 2 minutes after the signs were up, someone came up to us and began telling us about their daughter they had adopted 20 something years ago. We thought that was neat. He said he might drop by sometime to see how things are progressing.
A few weeks ago we were able to meet Julie, our social worker in Oregon. Children’s Hope sponsored a dinner for all Colombian families to come meet her. She sat at our table (which happened to be full of people still waiting for their children) and she was barely able to eat because we kept asking questions. It was a rare opportunity to meet her face-to-face and get to talk with her. She is so gracious and patient. She never acted putout or disappointed that she had to eat a cold dinner and answer the same questions she has been asked hundreds of times.
There were so many children at the dinner. We had forgotten how many families we have been able to see come together. It was nice to have everyone in one room visiting. The event was an excellent resource for us. Everyone is so tickled when you ask about their children and their trip; they provide a lot of encouragement and advise. (Take a look at the photos)
Children’s Hope has an annual picnic in St. Louis. Julie sent us the link to view the pictures (http://www.childrenshopeint.org/colombiaupdate.html) and a link for a news interview with a mother whose family has adopted 3 children from Colombia. http://wb11tv.trb.com/news/kplr-news-071506-1,0,4067270.story
Colombia news: In the last few months Colombia has elected a new president. He is considered to be a conservative and ally to the U.S.
General adoption news: There is upcoming legislation regarding the form the INS (now a part of the Div. of Homeland Security) requires all adoptive families to complete and have approved before they are allowed to bring their child into the states. The form is the I-171h. The application fee for this is $545, plus $70 per person for fingerprints. The proposal is to allow the approval to last for 2 years instead of 18 months.
Why is this important to us? The approval is required by the country you are adopting from before that country will approve your adoption. Often the wait between the time the form is approved and when you go get your child is more than 18 months. This requires the parents re-apply and, yes, pay those fees again. While the fees listed above are the ones required by the INS to process the application, there are also fees for the paperwork submitted to the INS with their application (ex. homestudy, certified copy of birth certificates, marriage license).
If you are interested in influencing this legislation, please contact your congressperson and encourage them to move forward on it.
The legislation will not help us with this adoption, but it will save us money on the next one.
Thank you for being part of our adoption adventure. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. We will keep you posted every few months.

Colombian Approval Received!!

We received an e-mail on Saturday, April 22nd that our dossier was approved by Colombia. We are now officially allowed to adopt from the country. We prayed for a shorter than estimated approval time and it came in a few weeks early. The original estimate was 4-5 months, which would have put our approval in early June at the latest. We were blessed that we received ours in almost exactly 3 months.
We have been told that the country’s government completely closes down from the middle of December through January. We were also told, by some parents who traveled in January, that this is an election year and that has slowed things down, as the government has to compensate for the turnover in officers/staff.
The next step in the process is being assigned to a region in Colombia. Our child will come from an orphanage in this region. We will receive our regional assignment a couple of months before we travel.
When do we get to meet Baby Sinclair? Our social worker said we can expect a referral in 14-20 months! (A referral is what they call it when they have a baby for us. They will send us a picture and their medical information). This is much longer than when we first began the process, but it gives us more time to prepare.
We have had a name picked out for a baby girl for a long time now, but we are still struggling to come up with a boy’s name. If it is a girl, she will be Isabelle, which means “Consecrated to God.” We are planning to call her Belle for short.
I have a couple of boy’s names that I have asked Paul about at least a dozen times, but nothing seems to “feel right” to us.
Every step and every month we get more excited. We still have a lot to do to get ready for Baby Sinclair. We will keep you all posted on the progress of things. As always, we sincerely appreciate your prayers and sentiments. Please do not hesitate to call or email us; we enjoy hearing from everyone.