Now that we have joined a couple of support groups, I find there are plenty of families who are much further down the journey than we are who also have websites or blogs.

This website belongs to Lee & Donna who are meeting their baby daughter Xiao tomorrow. I wish them the very best and looking forward to the day when we are in the same boat.
http://www.ourjourney.bigpondhosting.com/index.htm

Next weekend we have a Chinese student moving in with us. Her name is Holly and she is 17. Holly is here to learn English but we believe we also have a lot to learn from her. Our hope is that over the next couple of years we will acquire a greater understanding of Chinese culture and some basic Mandarin.

My brother has recently become close friends with a delightful Chinese woman, so if he plays his cards right then our Chinese baby might have a Chinese auntie and cousins. That would be wonderful - I don't want to hope too hard in case the Gods notice how well things are going down here.

Now all we need is to be invited to apply...

Today I posted the first paperwork so I guess we are now officially in the process. That was the Expression of Interest form. From here, we will be either given the flick, or invited to apply.

On Sunday at International Day we met lots of people who had their children within 2 years of starting the process so I hope that will be the case for us also.

Yesterday, through work, I met a woman who is adopting from Ethiopia. She and her husband have been going through the process for five years! Her file has been in Ethiopia for two years. Now they are just waiting for the call. They have asked for a sibling group so it's lovely to think that a family will get to stay together because of them.

She tells me that the process is tedious and frustrating and you will be expected to jump through any hoop that the Child Safety department thinks is a good idea at the time. However she also says that it's good to see that not just anyone can adopt.

She also tells me to hang in there and not give up. I think I'll need to remember those words in a couple of years - I'm still all starry eyed at the moment!

I'll see her again on Sunday at International Day - the family fun day for the International Adoption support group.

...drumming fingers impatiently...

Still no sign of the marriage certificate. For the last 12 years I've managed to get by with using the thing I signed at the church on the day but now I need the real deal.

I've found our birth certificates and I've printed out the multi-page Expression of Interest form. I think I can handle the questions... but it feels oddly like an exam.

As at 3rd July, the list is open and we can now put in an Expression of Interest. For further info on what is involved, see here - http://www.childsafety.qld.gov.au/adoption/intercountry/index.html.

I've applied today for a copy of our marriage certificate ($25) and when that arrives I can pretty much go ahead and fill in the forms.

Big news! We got a letter in the mail last week that confirms that the process opens on 3rd July! That's when we can put in an Expression of Interest. There are also information nights to go to, and hopefully we can go on 8th July. Must line up my brother for babysitting...

I also want to keep a record of costs on this blog. So far I have spent $80 to attend the support group info day (in August) and $35 to join the support group. It's called International Adoptive Families of Queensland. They also have a family day out coming up, so we'll try to get to that.

I've sent off a cheque to join an international adoption support group, however finances are seriously bad right now so I am terrified that when the time comes, we simply won't have the money to go ahead. I'd never considered finances as a problem but I guess that's the pleasure and pain of being a small business owner.