<<Sigh>>

For some reason, these past couple of weeks have been particularly hard.  I can't explain why really.  Each and every leg of this journey, I've been able to remain calm knowing Christ has this whole thing already planned from beginning to end.  Something about being so close to the end, makes the waiting seem unbearable.  I'm really DONE with the waiting.  I DON'T want to wait anymore.  I WANT to throw a temper tantrum.  I want to, I WANT to, I WANT TO!!!!!!  And yet, I know in my heart that it's completely unnecessary.  God has ultimate control even if I'm struggling with the trust factor at this moment.  The whole being human thing sort of stinks sometimes.

Here's a brief update on OUR progress that I literally copied and pasted from some else's blog because word for word, it matches our timeline exactly:

Our NVC Letter and Supporting Documents will be hand delivered to the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China- hopefully today!

1. We will wait 2 weeks for our Article 5 to be issued and then overnighted to the CCCWA (China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption) in Bejing.

2. Then we will wait 2-4 weeks for the CCCWA in Bejing to issue our TA!  Our TA (Travel Approval) is the big date we’re waiting for!

3. After our TA is issued, we have to secure an appointment with the Consulate in Guangzhou (to get Jordy a Visa once we’re in China) and then our trip dates will be finalized!

We were hoping to travel end of July but we have two HUGE hurdles that may hold us back.  First, China "upgraded" their welfare computer program and it's been all but glamorous.  The system isn't really working and our agency said they haven't received any travel approvals (TAs) in 3 weeks.  Yuck!!!  Second, the US Embassy in Guangzhou, China is closing from the 12th to the 24th of July to relocate which means even if we get TA, we cannot schedule travel until the Embassy reopens and gives us an appointment.  

Truth is, we know that all these stupid little hiccups are typical in some way shape or form but we (I) so wanted to be in China before the end of August or September.  Jordy's 4th birthday is September 6 and we'd love to celebrate it at home.

Other things to pray for:  

I'm trying very hard to qualify for FMLA at work which would give me 12 weeks off of work but I have to pick up enough hours in the next month or so.  The stress of picking up hours will wear on us all but it is necessary.  Pray that I'm able to get enough hours and that I can find appropriate child care.  We are launching a new program at work and that is an extra stress for all the Parkview community hospitals.  Pray for the transition mid-July.

Also, pray that I can find enough people to donate PTO hours that I won't have to do any time off without pay.  I have vacation time but not enough to cover 12 weeks.  I've already had a few offers to donate PTO and I'm getting close to having enough.

Travel Expenses.  We will be travelling at a very expensive time of year.  We have no exact numbers on cost but let's just say at best, it's a lot and at worst, it's a lot.  August is an expensive time to travel.  We are so thrilled that to date God has covered all costs up to this point.  All that remains is the travel and legal fees.  Wisdom in knowing how to pay the remainder of this journey is needed!!!

Your prayers are so appreciated and I find when I'm down, I can feel the power of prayer picking me up and carrying me through.

And, I can't resist posting more pictures of our little guy.  His cheeks are going to hurt when this momma finally gets to squeeze them!!!!  :)

Post Yard/Bake/Food Sale

It's 8:30am on Monday morning after our BIG garage sale weekend.  I slept today until almost 8am and I'm still in my pjs.  And, I'm staring outside at the wet landscape of my now empty yard thinking my God is HUGE!

Our sale was BIG.  At least that is what we were told repeatedly over the weekend by garage sale shoppers.  So many friends and family members donated and donated and donated some more.  Our whole entire basement looked like a bad episode of hoarders according to my sister as we collected, sorted, and collected more.

Was it worth it?  Totally!!!!  We were able to raise over $3,000 towards our adoption between our Yard/Bake/Food sales!  That's HUGE.  

There were so many God moments this weekend I will share a few:

First off, the weather.  Set up day was Thursday and we needed every little bit of it.  We started at 7am and I officially quit at 10pm.  Rain was a big possibility Thursday evening but once we started bringing stuff out, there was no turning back because there was no where to hide the sheer volume of stuff we had.  Many people were praying us through Thursday and not a single drop fell upon our efforts.  Not Thursday.  Not Friday.  Not Saturday.  Not Sunday . . . it took us an extra day to get everything tore down.  But Monday, rain!  Thank you!!!!

Second, volunteers.  This was no easy mess to sort and bring out of our basement but we had some incredible people that rearranged their lives to help us put this all together and run it.  Couldn't have survived without a single one of them.  Teresa Hursey & family, Maureen Freeman & family, Kacey Foote & family, Jenny Heffelfinger & family, Heather Ward & family, Dad & Deb Barr, the Scott Household, Chris Woolfington-Cochern & family, Davis Family, Bianca Boles, Trisha Miller, AND the many that donated baked goods, chips, hot dogs, and buns from our church Merriam Christian Chapel.  Thank you!!!!

Third, shoppers.  There was a steady flow of shoppers Friday.  So steady, my husband cancelled soccer practice to stay at home and watch over the sale as people continued to shop even past 5pm.  Saturday was slow to start and we anticipated closing around noon. But as we started packing up a few items here and there, the shoppers kept coming.  I had to head to work at 2:30pm and the shoppers were still coming.  Thank you!!!!!

It amazed me the items that sold.  I would think in my mind, please allow fill in the blank to be sold so we don't have to pack it up or move it.  By the end of the weekend, there were very few items from my list of things that I was hoping would sell.  How incredibly thankful I was for that.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

There were so many people that donated items.  I wish I could name them all personally but truth is, I would forget someone because there were just so many that gave.  We are so grateful.  Grateful doesn't even seem adequate because the response was overwhelming.  We said please donate, and everyone did and in large volume.  UH-Maze-ing!!!!!!!!!  Without those donations, we wouldn't have, we couldn't have raised such a large amount of money.  THANK YOU!!!

And the last blessing was the aftermath.  Of course, we had clothing and shoes left over.  We knew we would.  As a result, the local clothing bank received a very large donation of kids clothing.  I haven't sorted the adult stuff yet.  AND, the shoes?  I'm so excited that these were donated towards another adoption fundraiser for a child from Bulgaria.  We literally filled the back end of Jayme Dee's SUV!!  Even I was shocked by the volume.

I need to also mention what an incredible amazing excellent fantastic super trooper husband I have.  He put up with all the stuff in our house, and garage for two months.  He worked his tail off collecting stuff, setting up stuff, carrying stuff, moving stuff, and tearing down everything.  He made multiple trips all over and with very very very few complaints.  I'm so blessed to have him and I can't wait to travel half way around the world with him!  

Now, our summer officially begins.  Time to sit back and relax as much as we can before our older girls have surgery on the 21st of June.  They are having their adenoids and possibly their tonsils removed to help with sleep apnea.  And then before we know it, we'll be on our way to China.  Time is flying by at record speed.  Whew!

Continued prayers for us are so appreciated as we anticipate the girls' surgery, making travel plans, and funding the remaining balance of the adoption.  God is obviously in control!!!

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.