We are glad to be one step closer in our adoption process! The home study is basically an in-depth writing of our family history that will go to China with a number of other documents. Our next step is to start the immigration process by submitting an application to the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). This can take 45-90 days for approval, so let the waiting begin (or continue, really)! 

Key takeaways during this time: completing paperwork correctly is sometimes out of our control. We have had to fix a few things, and that has been discouraging at times, because it meant a delay in getting our paperwork to China. However, we have been reminded that these inconveniences are worth it when we are talking about a child without a forever home. If we were doing all this for anything else, I'm not sure we would continue. 
In April, both of us (Eric & Candace) were able to attend a 2-day simulcast all about parenting kids from hard places (Empowered to Connect). We learned a lot and felt like it was very timely for us! We also enjoyed some good conversations with other couples in the process of adoption.