Praise Report! RA arrived!!!

Oh My! We are just bursting with JOY to finally be able to announce that TODAY we received our official approval (RA- Referral Approval) from China to adopt the precious little boy that we said "YES!" to adopting 2 month ago.

It's official! We have a new son!!!!!! His file is "locked" for our family!

Introducing...........Our precious little China treasure, "Shao Bo"  This is the referral photo we first saw of him. A sad little boy with a huge yellow teddy. We were giddy with excitement and a little nervous when we got the email and first opened the attached file. But as soon as we saw his darling little face, our heartsd melted! We felt nothing but pure love and compassion. 

It's hard to explain the feeling. I just wanted to scoop him right up and comfort him with the love of a mommy. The kind of mommy nurturing he has never known.

Our hearts all said "He's the one!" The kids pleaded "Lets get him!!" We couldn't stop gazing at his photo. Trying to imagine the story of his little life.
That night I could hardly sleep. Rain pounded on the window.... all I could think about was poor tiny babies, abandoned and alone. What did he feel as an infant when he was found all alone? Who rocked this sweet treasure when he was teething, comforted him through his cleft lip surgeries. Did he have a caring nanny or was he alone and afraid.
Suddenly having a face to the one we had been praying and waiting for made the pain of his losses and hurts so much more real.

How we wished we could rush and bring him home!

Only a few days after we accepted his file, we were delighted to receive a few updated photos, along with weight and measurements.

We have decided to name him.......

Javonn Tyler 

Sweet Treasure! You dont know it yet, but you have a family coming for you! You are CHOSEN!!
You are WANTED!! You have a daddy and a mommy who cant wait to protect you, fight for you and shower you with love!
You have a big brother who is beyond excited to have a brother to play with. He is already saving up treasures he is sure you will want to play with.
You have two sisters who will love you.

God destined you to be part of our family. And we are so excited to get to know you! 

(Love the little PINK shoes!!!)
It looks like his orphanage is a colorful cheerful place. But no matter how nice the facility, every child needs, and deserves to be part of a family!

We are praising God that the the RA arrived sooner than we had been told to expect it. We are praying for God's continued favor on the immigration paperwork that we send off tomorrow. The day we send it off is when the ticker starts till when we can expect to get travel approval. They say to expect 10 wks for the I800 but I'm praying for a shorter process.

It feels unreal that we are being sent travel information. It really hit me today that this is FOR REAL!!! We are going to China!!!
Still not 100% decided whether to take the entire family or not. We need to get the kids passports expedited   because they need to start the process of getting visas for all who will be flying.

Our agency is AMAZING!! They take care of every little detail. And walk us through every single process we are unsure about. We have nothing but Good to say about them for the 2 yrs we have been working with them!! 

I found this note written by Karilee . As you can tell, even they are dreaming about our big upcoming trip!

So much to start preparing for! 

We pray daily that God will tenderly prepare "Javonn" for the drastic events that are about to rock his little world. I am praying that God even gives him dreams of us so that when he see's us we wont be terrifying strangers but instead he will have a subconscious (supernatural) feeling of "I've seen these people before.. I know them!!" God is so tender... I know he will tenderly carry him and us, through this process.

Disappointing news

So we have been waiting...and waiting, hoping and praying that every day we will hear that China issued our RA (Referral Acceptance) for the little guy we are hoping to adopt.
Our immigration packet has long been ready and waiting...  to stick in the mail the day we get the RA. We "thought" that the I800 (immigration) would be our last biggest wait time...that is, until today...

Perplexed why its taking so long we call our agency. What we were told was a bit of information we did NOT want to hear! How we missed this tidbit of additional facts, I dont know, But neither Steve or I recalled hearing about it so it came as quite a shock when we were told that oh actually, we are still waiting for our dossier to be translated, and by the way, that takes THREE to FOUR MONTHS!!

You have got to be kidding!!! I tried hard to hold back the tears! This is such a disappointing news.  I seriously felt like having a hissy fit like my 2 yr old does when things dont go the way she planned.

Ok. Take a deep breath ES! (Quite a few in fact!) Somewhere deep inside, underneath all the disappointment, I know the truth that God is in control, and His timing will be perfect.

So how things are looking... Our dossier was Logged in (LID) November 28. That means it arrived safely and is logged into their system. From that date they expect it to take 3-4 months to get it translated.(please dont ask me why it takes that long to translate!!!) After that they will review it and since our EA (Electronic Acceptance) is already there & we already have requested a specific child they should issue our RA within a week of review.

THEN..............when the long awaited RA arrives we send off our I800 and that typically takes 10 wks.
So with this additional waiting they said our projected travel time would likely be June or July, instead of April as we had been gearing towards.
I will continue to pray every day that God's favor will speed the process. I dont want to  run ahead of God's perfect timing, but "IF" increased waiting is just a bunch of politics and man made red tape than I know my God, who parted the red sea, is also able to part the "red seas" of red tape, mountains of paperwork and endless months of waiting that the devil loves to use as a tool to prevent children from entering God loving homes.
Thank you Jesus that you defend the weak, the helpless. And the You, Lord, set the solitary in families.
As I continue to wait, I long for my heart to be broken in deeper measures for the things that break His. To really learn everything He wants me to learn in this season.

Blessed Holidays!

December 27 marked the 3 year anniversary of the day precious Jadrian was welcomed into the arms of Jesus. It was a bittersweet day for us. Oh the dam of memories and emotions that come flooding like a river! I think I felt some emotions stronger yesterday than I did the day he passed when I was numb, and God was so graciously carrying us. God's gift of healing is a beautiful thing. I am forever grateful for the impact this sweet son had on my life! After the torrent of tears were over I could truly rejoice again for him....and the incredible blessing he has to be in the presence of Jesus! Some days I long to be able to join him.

Some day I will!

Until then, it is an HONOR to remember his life, and to strive to live life to the FULLEST until sweet reunion day!

This year we started a new family tradition that the children all loved. We had a Bethlehem Dinner on Christmas Eve.

 Eating what Joseph and Mary may have eaten transports us to a different time and experience, and keeps us more mindful of our Savior's birth. It also makes a meaningful prelude to reading the chapter in Luke.

You can create a very simple supper or a more elaborate experience.
Here's some ideas:
*Play instrumental music.
*Dress up in robes and sandals, pretending you are travelers at an inn in Bethlehem.
*Set the scene with oil lamps, simple pottery or wooden dishes, candles (no electric lights).
*Have guests wash their hands in a large bowl with a pitcher of water before eating. At our house, daddy washes each child's hands in a bowl while praying over them and they then go sit down.
*Sit on the floor on blankets or pillows and use a low table for the food. We spread the tablecloth right on the floor and eat.
* read the Christmas story during this time.

Here are some menu ideas to choose from:
Flatbread~Hummus~Fish~Chicken~Goat cheese (called "feta")~Olives`Raw veggie tray
Cheese and cracker platter~Pomegranates~Braided Jewish bread~Grape juice / wine
Grapes~Tomato and cucumber salad~Soup~Dates and figs~Orange slices

Contented sigh.....we had such a beautiful peaceful Christmas! We couldnt help but wish China treasure were home with us, and different times one of us would comment that "next Christmas little brother should be here with us"

Speaking of China treasure.... AAHHH!! (mini vent!) the waiting is getting soOoOo long and frustrating!!! We havent heard one word about if they have locked his file yet and we are past the approximate time frame they had given.
In HIS time...in HIS time!!!! It feels like we have been forgotten.....but we declare God is working in ways we cannot see yet.

So precious watching Kianna's delight and excitement with her gift this year.

After the ice storm the kids have been having so much fun in the icy shrubs. A lot of them are old thorn trees and this is the only time you could call them beautiful! They begged me to come tour their village..... this is the sign that welcomed us :) 

It was so much fun! I was so glad I went to the work to get Kianna & I all bundled up. It was so icy on the big rock we didnt need any sleds. Just sit and ...WHOOSH!!!! I doubt I sledded in ten years! And yes, I screamed the whole way down!

Oh the joys of winter land! That awesome feeling of coming into a warm house with red stinging cheeks!

The Winter sunsets are so breathtaking. Thankful a thousand times over for our beautiful view!!

Still Waiting!

Winter wonderland!!! The children are having a lot of fun with all this snow. And I'm super thankful for a warm cozy house. 

Decorating for Christmas is a family favorite! The smell of fresh pine and the cozy of twinkly lights...

This year we made cinnamon heart ornaments. Two ingrediants...applesauce & cinnamon! They were a fun project and turned out great.

Morning cup of coffee together. Such a cozy way to start the day!! The minutes always tick WAY too fast, and soon its time for Steve to leave for work. We love our morning time of connecting. Extra cozy these days with snow falling lazily and a fireplace burning. Ah...pleasures of winter!

Peek a BOO Miss KK!!

We are still waiting (Anxiously!) to hear from China that our little boys file has been locked. We expect it any day. Please let it be today God!!

We said YES!

I am thrilled to be able to post that Steve & I have ACCEPTED the referral of a precious 21/2 yr old boy. He has a repaired cleft lip and pallete, and otherwise appears healthy. His biggest need is a loving daddy and mommy and a family to call his OWN! That would be US!

We are SO excited to be adding another boy to our family!

Today our Electronic Acceptance (EA) was sent to China. This was a formal letter we needed to write to China stating our desire to be approved to adopt this specific child, and to notify them of how we plan to care for his needs. We spent a couple hours one evening compiling and signing all the required documents to accept this file. I could hardly believe we were really at this stage!

So now we wait to receive our Referral Approval (RA) from China. This is the official letter that China sends us giving us approval/permission to adopt this child and his file becomes 'locked" for us.
As soon as we receive our RA I can post a picture of our darling treasure on this blog for you all to see!

Oh my! It is so exciting to feel like the end of this journey, as in the paperwork and waiting part, may be winding to an end. I know the real journey is yet to begin, and we walk into it with anticipation knowing God walks before us, and this is HIS doings.

That Anticipated Phone Call!

Yes!!! It really happened! On Wed. night, Nov. 6 we got that long anticipated phone call from our agency wondering if we want to review the file of a special little Chinese treasure! 

We are SO amazed and blessed that two wks after getting our Log in Date we had a referral. 

As much as I would love to share more, I am bound to confidentiality until his file gets locked. His medical files are currently being reviewed by our doctors. This is one of the requirements before we could accept him so we can make a well informed decision on what care or therapies he may need.
I am trying to guard my emotions because until legal paper work is done I really can't claim him as "mine."

Let's just say, a lot of emotions are being stirred :)

Hopfully I can share a more detailed post soon. But until then, know God is working at putting pieces together and we are so blessed to be part of this special journey!

We have a Log in Date!!

 Happy Fall everyone! We are enjoying our cozy warm house while the weather keeps getting colder outside. Bring on the candles, soups and warm drinks! 

I love this time of the year! The children really miss not having a lot of leaves to play in. I would love to have a bunch of big maples on our property! When we drive by leaf strewn lawns the children always notice. Sometimes they even they even think we should move back to Church St so they could still have fall leaves to play in!

Derek had so much fun growing pumpkins this year! In the picture above, he and his best buddies are cleaning out the biggest one. He is planning to plant a lot more next summer.

For an adoption update...... Our dossier is finally in China!! And on October 28 we received our Log in Date (LID). This means our paperwork is logged into their system and we are now eligible to get matched.
So the waiting begins! Praying we get matched soon!

SO many times one of the children will say, "Today would be a good day to get THE call!"

Someone's waiting for the first snow flakes!Her daddy and mommy arnt in any hurry though. They just think about all the snow plowing that it will mean!