We passed court!!!

After four and a half years of working on this adoption and almost a full year of fighting specifically for Miles we are finally creeping up on the finish line.  On Dec. 17, 2103 we were informed we passed court.  This means that Miles officially became a Hawley and we officially has a second son.  Our family is growing and our hearts are over flowing.  We are so blessed.  Now, the question is when do we get to make the journey back to Bulgaria to get our son and welcome him into our family once and for all??

We made our first trip to meet him back in September and the waiting time has been rough.  Most adoptive parents say it is the hardest time of the entire experience.  I would have to agree but fortunately for our family we had a LOT going on to keep us distracted. I work full time for SEL Inc. as a Training Coordinator, I work part time for MyRadio 102.5 as an On-Air Personality, and I work the front desk at Bonkerz (an indoor play area) on Saturdays.  My husband works full time as an Agricultural Engineer for Kyle Hawley Farms as well as having almost 500 acres of his own farm ground where he grows wheat and garbanzo beans. Our son, Kolby, is a go getter. He is involved in Tee-ball, Swim Lessons, Hockey and Soccer.  He is a social butterfly and loves having playdate with all his friends.  Our lives may seem crazy to most people but it is filled with love.

Even though we are busy that doesn’t stop us from thinking about Miles every minute of every day. We are getting really excited to be able to go and pick him up.  Our agency gave us tentative travel dates of Jan. 8^th-18^th.  We should know official travel dates shortly after Christmas.  To say we are excited is an understatement.  We can FINALLY see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Our family will soon be all together.

We started looking at airline tickets to try and get a good idea of our price point.  Expedia and Orbitz are saying $1500 for my ticket, $1500 for Jason ticket, $1500 for Kolby’s ticket and $3000 for Miles’ ticket.  That is $7500 for our family to travel there and back.  On top of that we were not able to find any flights that would match up with our round trip tickets and Miles’ one way ticket.  REALLY!!??  It is always something!!  Until….

I got frustrated and thought, no way is this something ever adoptive family goes through.  I posted on our Facebook adoption page and asked how I should book tickets.  I got a ton of responses.  Contact Adoption Airfare, contact Golden Rule Travel, contact the Airlines directly and ask for special rates for adoption.  We did it all just to see what we could find. 

Best price we could find was $1200 for me and $1200 for Jason, $1000 for Kolby and $500 for Miles! That is less than $4000!!!  That is a huge cost savings from the original $7500 we were going to have to spend.  GOD is so good.  Granted $4000 is a lot to spend but for our family to all be together and experience this journey together- it is totally worth it!! 

It is finally happening!! I cannot wait!! I will keep you updated as to what the official dates of travel are and our journey is traveling over to Bulgaria with a 4 year old and traveling back with 2 kiddos under the age of 5.  It will be crazy but if you couldn’t tell- We operate well under the category of crazy!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  2014 will be year of change and adjustment but most of all HAPPINESS and TOGETHERNESS!!