Need Help. Please Apply Within.

We have a little over a week until the BIG HUGE ENORMOUS garage/yard/tent/bake/food sale.  The donations have been AWESOME!  I've been working feverishly to organize what we've received but there is still much more to organize and lots to price.  If you find yourself with a spare moment in the next week and a half and can make yourself available, I will gladly have you!  Also, set up for the sale is on Thursday, June 6.  We have three people firmly committed to helping that day but as you can see, we could use a village of people that day to set up and organize tables.  We could also use extra hands on Friday and Saturday to help organize tables, help customers, bag purchases, lifting help, etc.  Need help; please apply within.  Okay, so a phone call would work or a FB message would be great!  ;)

In case you have any doubts at the volume, here are up to date pictures taken this morning:

LOA!!!!!!!!

It is with much excitement that I can say, that WE can say, that we are official with China.  Our agency called us today to tell us they received the official Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from China which means we have the go ahead to finish Jordy's immigration paperwork.  This means we are on to step 9 and the last steps go really fast in comparison.  It has been our hope and prayer to be in China before September which is Jordy's 4th birthday and Melina's 3rd birthday.  Looks like this is going to be a reality!!!

Words cannot describe just how excited we are for this step.  We are so thankful for God's faithfulness.  Continue to pray for the financial stuff!  We know God has it all figured out and we trust Him.  We have another big fee coming up and are prayerful that our garage sale will get us to the right $.

Time for another picture.  Jordy's foster home took the children out for a swimming outing.  I cannot get over the swim cap.  I love the swim cap!!!!!! 

Garage Sale Time!!!

It's that time of year again.  Warm temps, lots of rain, the color GREEN!!!  I'm a sucker for Spring because for me it is the true beginning of the year, the beginning of life again as animals come out of hibernation or return home, plants that lay dormant wake up and put color back into our landscape.  And all of this is paralleled by Easter and Jesus' resurrection as well as my own birth which took place in April almost 32 years ago.  So needless to say, I'm in my happy time right now!

With the rejuvenation of Spring and the upcoming adoption of our son, I'm feeling very motivated to do something.  In many ways, I know it's nesting but I'm also inspired.  Dustin and I have tossed around all sorts of ideas on how to raise funds to bring our son home.  It has been our intent to do a garage sale in June but it was a fellow adoptive mother that truly inspired and lit a fire inside of us me.  She and her family had a garage sale over Spring break and they did amazing!!!  Not just good but truly A-MAZE-ing!!!  She was so very kind to share all of the details of their success with us and we are going to use every last bit of advise.  Thanks to several of our friends, we already have started collecting items for this sale.  We have faith we can make it BIG!

So, here's the plan.  SAVE THE DATE:  June 7-8!  We are going to have an incredible garage sale.  These dates correspond with the Tri-Lakes/Northland Estates/Karen's Cove yearly garage sales which equals free advertising.  The turn out should be great.  Friday is always very busy.

We are going to need help!  Here's a list of ways you can take part:

1.  Donate-clean out your house, garage, sheds and we will come pick up it up.  Tools, furniture, baby stuff, lawn stuff, pet stuff, clothes, collectibles, kitchenware.  You name it, we'll sell it!  And please share with your friends and neighbors, too.  We'll come pick up their stuff, too!  Items not sold, will NOT be returned.  We will donate all remaining items to local banks and community groups for less fortunate.  Regardless, items will be used for HIS purpose.

2.  Volunteer-here is a list of areas we'll need help.  We've been told we'll need about 15 people/day depending on the amount of items we collect.  We will do shifts.

     -Project Coordinator-This person keeps everyone organized and is in charge.  This person is the only person that will negotiate garage sale prices so that bargain shoppers can't manipulate all the volunteers for better pricing.  This person will thin the money regularly.

     -Pricing/Categorizing Team  (This will happen starting weeks before the sale)

     -Set Up Team  (Thursday all day)

     -Organize the Chaos Team-straighten as the sale goes on.

     -Tear Down Team  (Saturday afternoon after 12:00)

     -Cashiers  (Friday 7:30-5p and Saturday 8-12noon)

     -Baggers  (Friday 7:30-5p and Saturday 8-12noon)

     -Nutrition/Hydration Team (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday)  This team will make sure our team    is fed and watered throughout this project.  We've even tossed around selling food as a separate fundraising idea with the garage sale?!  Theoretically, we could feed our volunteers from this if we decided to do it.  An idea might be sloppy joes, hotdogs, chips and a drink.  This is so not my area of expertise.

      -Signage Team-Makes sure that clear signage gets people to the sale and labels tables and cashier's tent for the sale.

      -Loose End Team-covers whatever I haven't already thought of.

3.  Loan-We could use some canopy tents and tables because we are hoping that it won't all fit in our garage.  We have a big yard and we plan to use it!

OUR GOAL:  $5,600!  My friend was able to raise more than that so I'm in full belief, God will help us do this.  Seems like a lot but this is the orphanage fee for Jordy.  It can be done.

Contact us via Facebook if you are interested in helping in any of the mentioned areas.  For those that volunteer in some way, you will have the opportunity to shop on Thursday as we set up.  However, if you choose to buy something that would be considered a big draw, we may ask that you leave it until the sale is over.  We still want to lure people in to shop!!!  ;)

I have to post a cute picture of Jordy that I found this week!  I love bath-time photos.

To be lifted up in prayer!

I'm sitting here checking my e-mail and I'm humbled by one single one of them.  Dustin and I have applied for a few grant opportunities in our quest to bring Jordy home.  One grant application we just placed in the mail last week and we received a simple e-mail about it today:

Dear Grant Applicant,

Thank you for applying for (this) grant. This e-mail serves as confirmation that we have received both the online portion of your application as well as your supporting documents.

Applications completed by the April 30, 2013 deadline (which includes your application)  will be notified via postal mail of our determination a minimum of 90 days from the April 30 deadline date. Please know that we will be upholding your family in prayer throughout this process. 

It's exciting to know that our paperwork reached it's destination.  However, that last simple sentence chokes me up and means so much!  To be lifted up in prayer is such an incredible blessing.  Knowing that people you have never met are making it a priority to pray for our journey regardless of outcome is downright humbling.  My heart is thankful.

And, thank you to all our friends and family whom are praying for us regularly.  We are so grateful.  It is obvious that we are showered in prayer because while grueling, this whole process has gone so well.  We aren't done yet but so far, so GREAT!

As you can see this grant application will take several months to process, and there are a few others that we have applied for.  Please continue to lift us up in prayer as we wait to hear about these grant opportunities.  No matter who these organizations decide to give their funds to, each family is deserving and I can't imagine how difficult it is to narrow down the candidates.  Regardless of outcome, these grants mean less orphans and very blessed families.   

We are already surprised at what God has accomplished regarding the financing part of this process.  While we still have a ways to go, I've managed to remain calm.  I don't usually do calm very well when it comes to money stuff.  However, there is a certain peace that comes when you accept that God already has this all figured out.  We are trying to listen for His cues and direction on what the next step might be for us in terms of raising funds and we can honestly say that when the money has been needed, it's has been available.  No accident there.

O Lord, you are my God, I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.  Isaiah 25:1 NIV

These four beautiful goofy wonderful kids are evidence of God's amazing plan.
Blessed, blessed, blessed we are beyond measure or understanding by the creator of ALL.
I <3 my Caydra, Gerik, Natalie, & Melina.  And just think, this is Jordy's last Easter without us!

Dossier to China

What a fancy word "dossier!"  Sounds so sophisticated and fancy right out of a Fancy Nancy book.  What does it really mean?  Well, I had to look it up, too.  Here's what I found:

dos·si·er

  [dos-ee-ey, -ee-er, daw-see-ey, -see-er; French daw-syey]  Show IPA

noun, plural dos·si·ers  [dos-ee-eyz, -ee-erz, daw-see-eyz, -see-ers; French daw-syey]  Show IPA .

a collection or file of documents on the same subject, especially a complete file containing detailed information about a person or topic.

For us, the dossier is a collection of documents all about us:  Where we live, how we live, how many kids we have, are we convicts, do we have money to support another child, do we have jobs, do other people consider us fit to do this, etc.  

We are excited because in our email this morning is a message from FedEx:  

Our records indicate that the following shipment has been delivered:

Ship (P/U) date:	Mar 20, 2013
Delivery date:	Mar 25, 2013 12:00 PM
Sign for by:	W.ZHANG
Delivery location:	BEIJING,
Delivered to:	Receptionist/Front Desk
Service type:	FedEx International Priority
Packaging type:	FedEx Pak
Number of pieces:	1
Weight:	1.00 lb.
Special handling/Services:	Deliver Weekday

Tracking number:

799326111551

Yay!  Our dossier is officially in China and we now are waiting on LID which is short for Log In Date (step 7).  The LID is just an official notice that they have received the dossier.  Then, it takes usually 4-6 weeks for us to then receive LOA which is a Letter of Acceptance (step 8).  Recently, these have been going through quickly.  However, we know of some that have been waiting longer.  Who knows the rhyme or reason!  But here is another opportunity for prayer.  Pray that our LOA would come quickly and we would be on to step 9 which is sending a copy of our LOA to US immigration and an official form requesting that Jordy be allowed to come into the US as our child.

Last but no means least, here is the latest picture from our agency.  We received an update that includes his growth progress.  Huge bonus!  We can sort of estimate his size in clothing and shoes now.  And, look how well Jordy is standing on his good leg and how quickly he is growing from a baby into a little boy.

Progress

I've debated for a few days whether to post the latest progress of Jordy on my blog mostly because I'm feeling very protective of my little guy already.  He wasn't born "normal" like most kids and faces challenges that most of us can't imagine.  Most of you know that his limbs weren't formed correctly at birth and I've shared with many that we aren't sure that walking will be a possibility.  We are so in love with this boy though and we know that regardless God has brought us to him and he is wonderfully made!  There is a part of me that doesn't want to expose him to ridicule before he even sets foot in the US.  However, I know so many people are praying for him and progress is the very essence of those prayers!

When we were first introduced to Jordy's file, it was dated 2010.  It still has not been updated although we have requested new information.  However, God has been incredibly faithful and has connected us to a network of people that connected us to a Chinese blog from Jordy's foster home.  Through that, we have learned more than we could have ever asked, imagined, or prayed.  This is by far the greatest praise and luxury and I try so hard not to take it for granted because this is not typical of most Chinese adoption situations.  My friend and her husband had a single picture of their son from a young age before going to meet their son for the first time.  They literally had no idea which child was going to turn out to be theirs as the nannies brought children into the room where they waited (which honestly sounds a lot like giving birth).

We know from the foster home blog that Jordy has undergone at least one surgical procedure.  This was to correct his left club foot.  However, for months, no updates have been posted on the post surgery progress.  As I surf the blog, I'm constantly looking for signs that Jordy is moving forward.  Every picture I see, I'm scoping out his legs to see if there is a cast and what sort of stance is he in.  The last several pictures of him have been teasers because while it appears he is standing, you can't actually see his legs.

Well, as I was surfing some videos posted by Jordy's foster home a few days ago, I finally happened upon Jordy and his PROGRESS!  Still lots to pray for but my heart is thankful just to know where he is at!

To gain perspective, here is one of my favorite pre-surgical videos:  Jordy playing before surgery.

And here is the now:  Jordy's steps.

For all of you praying for Jordy, thank you.  I see God's work!

What does I-800A approval mean anyways?

As you all noticed, I'm just a teensy bit excited about getting our I-800A approval from immigration.  However, many of you have asked a very valid question.  What exactly does that mean?  Where are we in the process?  My wonderful friend, Tonya Wike (who by the way got us into this whole mess in the first place =]), offered a chart that she used to explain this process to her friends and family.  If you follow each number, you will be able to see what step happens next.

Getting the I-800A approval means we just finished step 5.  So, we are on to step 6.  Now, we have to send a copy of the approval to the Indiana Secretary of State with a notarized cover sheet saying that it is the real and true response from US Immigration.  The Secretary of State will put their gold seal on it with a piece of paper that says the notary we used is a valid notary with a current license.  This is called authenticating the document.  Sound kind of silly?  It kind of is but I guess this would be an easy part of the process to try to forge.

Once we get that authenticated, we send our whole packet full of paperwork including our home study, medical exams, proof of employment, financial statement, birth certificates, and marriage certificate all to Washington DC where they will visit the US Dept of State and the Chinese Embassy.  Why?  To be honest, I don't really know why.  What I know is we pay them per document to work whatever magic it is that they do and then . . . and THEN, all of our paperwork is ready for step 7.

We are then waiting for LOA which is a Letter of Acceptance from the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs.

Hopefully, this gives all of our family and friends an easier way to pray for us.  I will continue to keep you all posted.  Thank you!  Thank you!  THANK YOU! for your continued love, support and prayers.  When I opened up Facebook and saw how many people were celebrating with me, it gave me a HUGE boost.