On the move!

One of my favorite passages in The Chronicles of Narnia describes the strength and love of the main character, Aslan. As the children are being introduced to Narnia by Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, they express to the the new arrivals the dire circumstances of life under rule of the White Witch, but their sadness is tempered by the hope they have in knowing that Aslan will in the end defeat evil and bring peace back to Narnia.
  

"They say Aslan is on the move

- perhaps has already landed.”

And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning - either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – Chapter 7

In the great works of C.S. Lewis, I find descriptions of God that outweigh mere religious piety. Their is an urgency in his writings and an imagery that displays the Divine's thoughts and actions as though they were happening here and now, upfront, and personal. And that is exactly how God works! Personal relationships are what He longs for and when we give our lives to Him, oh how He moves us! I have felt like each of the children during different times of my life knowing God Himself was on the Move in my own heart and family. What mighty power is conveyed in those five words. "God is on the move."

"He is good, but he is not tame." It reminds me that God is not a God of "wait and sees" but a God of power and miracles and the here and now. In the following chapters, as the story of Narnia unfolds, we see Aslan's power and wisdom and begin to understand the force behind His presence. When the animals of the forest proclaim, "Aslan is on the move!" we can be certain that BIG things are about to happen. Just as in my own life, when God's Word and His Calling alert my spirit to a need He has created and designed me to fulfill, I can be sure BIG things are about to happen. As He pulls my heart ever closer to His, I am overtaken by the power of His will. Though the way may seem unclear and full of questions, my faith in Christ leads me on knowing there is no obstacle He can not conquer!

"But I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder." ~ Aslan

So now the countdown has begun! In just a week, we will be flying and on our way to our new son! And well, there's just a little going on around here... lol! The first days of football practice, and school starting, and Dave's birthday, and oh yah, we are starting to pack for CHIN@!

We are blessed to trust in an unfailing - more than we asked - beyond our ability to imagine - God. Jehovah Jireh! The LORD will see to it - the LORD will provide. And He has! We received news from the Tax Advocate that the IRS would be depositing our adoption credit refund today! God has moved a mighty mountain of paperwork to bring us this miraculous news! We are thankful for the former students now working for US Senators and US Congressmen that we contacted for help. They were able to steer us in the right direction and move are case through the audit. We are beyond thankful for all that the LORD has done for us!

Our hearts are so full as we have felt the love of the Father through our cherished family and friends who have given so generously of their time, their belongings, their finances, and their prayers to get us to this point in our journey. We can't thank you enough for the gifts we have received - so overwhelmed by your love and your JOY in seeing our family grow through the gift of adoption! When we began this journey, only God knew the "hows" and "whens" of it all. We only had His promises to "open every door" for us and to "provide" for all of our needs. Jehovah Jireh - The LORD will see to it. We didn't know how we would pay for each step of the process - but with faith took the first step toward following God's calling and now here we stand ready to embark on the Great Adventure He has prepared for us - every step paid for in full through the miracles of the Father. Praise His Mighty Name! And so we have nothing to fear, knowing God goes before us, beside us, and guards behind us. China here we come!

"They say God is on the move

- perhaps He has already landed."

Destination CHENGDU!

Our agency has confirmed our Consulate Appointment (CA) date to be August 30th, and we've booked our tickets to China!

We will embrace our son for the first time on Monday, August 22nd in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan.

Please be praying even now for this miraculous day. Praying for his heart to be comforted by our love and for God to be even now preparing his little heart to embrace his new family. Prayers for God to fully equip David and I with the wisdom, strength, patience, and the endurance we need to parent our new son as he grieves and braves the changes in his life.

What a journey we've been on! Miracles and confirmations that Jesus has directed every path! We are humbled by His goodness and once again in awe of His timing.

August 22nd. It isn't a date we will ever forget.

Eight years ago, we had only the promise of a future hope to hold onto. We were shattered. Barely able to grasp the hands of the Father who was even then reaching down to us. It felt like we had been standing on a bridge overlooking the rapid torrent of the falls, when suddenly we awoke to find ourselves plunged into the icy waters below. Struggling to survive the current that kept taking us under. No compass to follow. No way of turning back. Completely drowning in the greatest sorrow of our lives, the final goodbye to our little boy - the last time we would see our son, touch his little hands, look upon his beautiful face this side of heaven.

August 22nd. The day before the last goodbye.

As hundreds of friends and family gathered to mourn the death of our son and offer us comfort, I remember feeling completely numb. Was this really happening? Was I at a funeral for my son? My baby boy? How did this happen? Weren't we just celebrating David's birthday? Stopped at a red light, minutes from tucking my little boys in their beds, and from nowhere our lives forever changed by the recklessness of another. Slammed from behind by an SUV going 70mph. He never stopped. His drunken state too intoxicated on alcohol and drugs to know the damage he had caused. And here I was, just days later watching others file into a room to small to hold them all, the love was beautiful, the sorrow too much to hold. Who were they coming for? Who lay in that small casket draped in baby blue? Everything was so surreal - like the set of a movie - I was watching my life unfold before me and I had no control over any of it.

This was my son these people were coming to say goodbye too. Will he awaken soon? Can I never hold him again? Oh please. Please. Please! let me hold my baby again! Just one more time to feel his soft cheek next to mine. To feel the weight of him in my arms. Oh Please no! No! No! Not my son. Not my baby! Somehow, without my knowing it, I had been cast as the grieving mother in my own life, but this was a part I did not want to play. Please someone, anyone, take my place. I don't want to lose my son!

It felt like at any moment I would wake up from this nightmare. Only the days stayed dark, and there would never be another morning without the mourning. Hayden was dead. The funeral was for him, and tomorrow we would bury our son in the dark, cold ground. Oh my heart! I don't want my son in the ground! I want him in my arms. I want to care for him. I want to love him. To dress him and feed him and play and sing and, oh! I want to be his mother again! Please God! Please give me my child!

The numbness that had once distanced me from the truth fled as the rawness of the reality exploded inside my heart. It was too much for any human soul to endure. I crumbled to the ground and heard the screams of a mother desperate for her child and even in the weeping could not recognize that they were my own.

Death creates spaces of loss and missingness. Those never leave us. I've never felt whole again, and the part that is broken, the part that longs to hold my son again, that part is in a constant state of waiting. Waiting for the glorious day when we will see him again. Waiting for the day that He calls us home and the one who loves us beyond any other, the one who gave his life for us, Jesus himself, stretches out his hands to heal us and make us whole again. Yes, August 22nd is a very emotional day. It has always meant separation. The beginning of the missingness and empty places.

On August 23rd, we gathered together with close friends and family to celebrate the life of our sweet son, Hayden Matthew. As we wept over his broken body, we could never have imagined that the God of the Universe was already planning a way to make this day beautiful again. Huddled in the chapel, our tear-filled songs lifted up to heaven echoed the love we felt for Hayden and the deep ache we had to see God's hands work for our good. My cries unrecognizable even to myself pouring out from the depths of a shattered heart joined with the overwhelming fear of not knowing how this will ever be alright, how we will cope, how our lives will ever feel normal again. Packing away his clothes, his memories, I tried to hide the reality of his existence, but try as I might, I couldn't pack away the loss. It stayed like an unwanted house guest. I awoke to it each morning - slapped in the face by the sting of death. Pushing myself to create a life out of pain. Struggling to keep my head above the water. Soon I found myself floating with the current of the hurting. No direction, no purpose, just floating, just existing. Sorrow upon sorrow raged through my heart. There is no comfort for a mother who wants nothing more than to hold her baby boy again. There are no words. There is no acceptance. There are no moments of relief. Just the weight of empty arms, the pierced pain of broken hearts, and the beginning of a lifelong goodbye.

And now here we stand on God's promises and His faithfulness! Eight years of remembering the saddest goodbye and our Mighty God has redeemed even this day! What healing we would have missed had we chosen not to listen to the Father! How could we know He had this planned when our hearts were pulled to adopt back in October? For you see, as an adoptive family, we celebrate our children each year on the day we first held them, a celebration of a new chapter in our family's story - a celebration of life! How wonderful are God's ways! How awesome are His plans!

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in - behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I feel from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! ~ Psalm 139

And this year, on August 22nd, we will celebrate a BRAND NEW DAY when we embrace George Mason for the very first time as our son! God has given us the incredible gift of another son and we will welcome him into his forever family on August 22nd.

And, on August 23rd huddled together in a room in Chengdu China, George Mason Yang will officially be our forever son as David and I sign the adoption papers.

August 23rd, 2003. The beginning of the long goodbye.

August 23rd, 2011. The beginning of a forever family.

Now who among us can deny the overwhelming love of a God who brings about healing in such a GLORIOUS WAY!

Our hearts will always long for our son, Hayden, but oh the JOY, the inexpressible JOY in knowing he is safe in the arms of Jesus! Our hope is secure in the God who brings beauty out of ashes. We will see him again and when we are reunited around the throne of heaven, dancing in the streets of glory, their will be GREAT JOY!

For God has multiplied our family in unimaginable ways!

Bringing into our family a wonderful daughter who shares the same birthday as her brother and whom we embraced at 17 months old, the same age that Hayden was when he first entered heaven's glory and saw the very face of God.

And as we prepare to embrace our adorable new son on the same day, eight years ago, that we said goodbye to his brother, Hayden, we are in awe of God's plans for us. These days that would bring nothing but pain and sorrow have been redeemed by the Father to give us JOY even in the midst of the painful remembering. Oh how He loves us! PRAISE HIM!

To only my Maker my Father my Savior
Redeemer Restorer Rebuilder Rewarder
To only a God like You
Do I give my praise!

Travel Approval!

We received the phone call from AAC Adoption & Family Network this morning! They have received our Travel Approval!!! We are so thankful to have made the August 1st deadline (avoiding 5 years of post-placement visits) and are THRILLED to be planning our trip! The kids and I called David in the cornfields and SCREAMED and JUMPED for JOY with him on the phone! To add to the excitement he is coming home this evening - YAY! While we have to wait until after August 14th to travel in order to be eligible for the Adoption Benefit through Target, it hasn't stolen our excitement at all. We are celebrating and so thankful that we are finally at the end of the paperwork and the next step...is getting on the AIRPLANE!

LOA

 

Yahooooooooooooooo!!!!!!

We are officially approved by China to be George Mason's Mommy & Daddy! David and I are BEYOND excited! God has been so faithful throughout our journey to do exactly as He promised and open every single door for us! Praise His Name! I had a feeling pressed deeply on my heart that we would hear news this week. I can't really explain it - we should have waited 2 to 3 months for our approval, but I know God's ways are so much higher than ours, and there was a peace that this week we would receive our LOA. I have to admit all day today I've been a little sad thinking somehow I had heard Him wrong. It wasn't until this evening that things started to make sense...

you see...
 

Apparently, Nicole from AAC called earlier this morning...and well, the girls both decided that to TODAY of ALL DAYS they would be "helpful" and they both ANSWERED the phone call! And NO they are not supposed to answer the phone! And YES this is the VERY FIRST time they've ever done that. lol! I was in the bathroom of all places!

So our director at our agency told them "Go tell your Mommy that "Nicole" is on the phone and needs to talk to her." They both said "Mommy is in the bathroom." (nice! oy vey!) So she told them again to tell me and they said "Okay" and then she heard "click" as they promptly hung up the phone. lol! Now to their credit they did knock on the bathroom door and tell me that "somebody is on the phone" but of course I didn't IMAGINE that they had answered the phone. I thought they were just letting me know someone was leaving a voice mail - because we have a really, really, did I say REALLY, old answering machine and you can actually hear the person leaving the message. So I went on with my chores, bathed the girls, put them down for naps, jumped in the shower and got ready to go to Target to work. The whole time neither one of the girls offered up any IDEA that they had talked to someone on the phone. Nope...they never did deliver that message. Those little munchkins!

So right before I'm headed out the door to my evening part/time job, and I mean RIGHT BEFORE, keys in hand, purse on shoulder, walking out the garage door - Nicole calls back. And tells me the story of what happened earlier this morning..and then she says, "I have some EXCITING NEWS FOR YOU! WE HAVE RECEIVED YOUR LOA from CH*N@!"

And ever since 4:45 pm this evening, I haven't been able to erase the smile from my face. My cheeks actually ache! :) What a GREAT DAY! And to think, somehow, someway, God even worked all that chaos out for good too, because David was home from school when we finally learned the AMAZING news together, so I guess it all worked out in the end just as it should have.

We are so EXCITED! So it is official! We are PARENTS to the CUTEST LITTLE BOY in the WORLD! (not that I'm biased or anything...lol!)

AAC is Fed-Exing the all important documents to us, we sign them and notarize them and send everything back to them ASAP! Then our paperwork goes to USCIS for our I800 approval (processing immigration paperwork for his travel visa to the U.S.). We don't really know how long that will take. Could be weeks or a month or more. Then the wait for our Travel Approval. So we are praying that we can still travel before school starts. Wouldn't it be miraculous to be able to hold him on his 2nd birthday!?!

Praising God for another miraculous milestone completed on this journey to our treasured son!

One more step...

The journey feels more and more real as we complete each step! Our agency emailed us last night to let us know that are dossier is officially logged into the "system" in Ch*na! Which is an answer to prayer as it means everything arrived safely in Beijing and is now accounted for by the C C A A.

Our Log In Date {LID} is 04.14.11! So we have been waiting on our Letter Of Acceptance {LOA} since April 14th {unbeknownst to us}. YaY! I love when you are waiting and progressing on the journey and don't even know you are! ha! ha! :)

The last part of the email said: "That means approximately 2 months until LOA and 5-6 months until TA {Travel Approval}."

I guess we might have to change our expectations about having Mason in our arms before his 2nd birthday, but we know God is in control and our plans are not His plans, although it would have been so nice to hold him sooner! :)  We'll just have to wait and see that the Lord is GOOD! :)

Happy Easter! God bless you and your family as you celebrate God's Love for us! And as we rejoice in the Risen Jesus who through His death and resurrection we have HOPE and NEW LIFE, I can't help but think about my sweet Hayden. The grave that was conquered that beautiful day - that my baby boy might also be risen to new life - it brings my heart such hope knowing I will see him again! And even now, I picture him singing with the angels in heaven around the throne of the King of Kings!

HOSANNA, HOSANNA! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!

HOORAY for TODAY!

After all the paperwork has been processed, and notarized, and state certified, and authenticated by the Ch*nese Consulate, we are so excited to announce that we are DTC! It has been 5 months since we received PA (pre-approval to adopt George Mason) and we are so ready for today! Yes, our dossier is finally in an airplane headed on its way to Ch*na! Praise the Lord! Please pray that it will arrive at its final destination safely and on time! Next step...LID (log in date - entered into the system). Hooray for today!

Life is Good

So I just couldn't wait any longer and I broke down this afternoon and called USCIS to see if our I800A had been processed yet, and not only did she tell me it had been processed, but we were approved YESTERDAY {3.10}! woo hoo! She said we should be receiving the official approval in the mail sometime next week. Which means I will be frantically checking the mailbox each and every day! lol! Life is Good!

Finger Printed

We had a smooth day of completing yet another step in the process to bring George Mason home. Today we were fingerprinted electronically for the USCIS immigration process. Since we've been anticipating this step for sometime, David and I prepped in advance by lathering our hands up with lotion each night. Yes to Carrots! lotion is by far THE best lotion I've tried! It soaks into your skin and doesn't leave a sticky film and it softens and actually healed my badly cracked hands. The problem with cracked hands is that they make cracked fingerprints which can end up jeopardizing USCIS approval. Well all that time spent lathering up worked! We not only did not have to have them redone over and over again, but they took the first time! Hopefully, we will receive our I-800A approval in the mail within the next couple weeks and be that much closer to sending our dossier to Ch*na. For those wondering what the next steps are here is a breakdown of where we've been and where we have left to go. The bullet points in red are the steps we still have left to complete.

• Referral Photo 10.07.10
• AAC Grants Permission To Adopt 10.12.10
• LOI 10.26.10 {Letter Of Intent To Adopt Mason}
• PA 10.29.10 {Ch*na Grants Pre-Approval to Adopt}
• Home Study Complete 01.04.11
• Dossier Docs State Sealed 01.06.11
• Fed-Ex Dossier Docs to Agency 01.09.11
• I-800A Received 01.14.11
• I-800A Notice of Action 01.20.11
• Received Finger Print Notices 02.07.11
• Finger Print Appointment 03.01.11
• I-800A Approval
• DTC {Dossier Mailed To China}
• LID {Log In Date}
• LOA {Official Approval  - Letter of Acceptance/Confirmation}
• I-800 Approval
• Cabled to Guangzhou
• NVC {National Visa Center}
• Article 5
• TA {Travel Approval}
• CA {Consulate Appointment Assigned}
• Make Travel Arrangements!

Sealed With Prayer

Finally! After months of completeting paperwork for the adoption, it is ready to be mailed to our agency in Colorado. This afternoon, the girls, David and I went downtown to the Secretary of State's office to get everything state sealed. We walked in and soon learned that typically they will only seal up to 15 documents while you wait; otherwise if you have more, you have to drop them off and come back to pick-up. Bummer. We had 18. I explained to the woman helping us that we were adopting from Chin@ and that we really, really, REALLY had hoped to mail everything to our agency soon! She smiled and said, "okay". :) YaY! God once again opened a door for us that usually would not only be closed but sealed tight. This is after all a government office. lol! So we waited and drove home with HUGE *smiles* remembering the last time we did this was for Jessa Li. She wanted to hear all about that and it was so fun explaining to her how excited Mommy and Daddy were to bring her home. :) We got home and ordered Chinese for dinner {what else is there to eat to celebrate another milestone in the journey!}, and I compiled everything that was needed for our dossier.

• Letter of Petition to Adopt
• Financial Statement
• Physicals for Each of Us
• Letter from Physician
• Birth Cert. for Each of Us
• Marriage Cert.
• Home Study x 4
• USCIS Application I-800A
• Form I-800A, Supplement 1
• Form I-800A, Supplement 2
• Form I-800A, Supplement 3
• State Police Background Check for Each of Us
• County Police Background Check for Each of Us
• Guardianship/Raising Commitment
• Copies of Each Passport
• Employment Letters for Each Employer (3 total)
• AAC Formal Application
• AAC Policy, Procedures & Programs Disclosure
• Disclosure of Criminal History
• Interagency Agreement for Exempt Providers
• Medical Conditions Checklist
• Adoption Training Topic Checklist
• Adoption Training Certificates - for 10 hours
• Health Insurance Carrier Letter Certifying Coverage
• Health Insurance Benefits Print-out Highlighting Coverage
• 8 photos: 1 outside home, 2 inside home, 1 family, 1 of couple, 3 our choice
• 6 Visa/Passport size photos of each of us

AND, for the MIRACULOUS, GOD-MOVING MOUNTAINS MOMENT!

• 2 Cashier Checks - 1 for AAC fees and 1 for USCIS fees!!!! {stay tuned for that post!}

Before going to FED-EX to mail our dossier to our agency, we spread out the sealed state papers in the living room and layed our hands over them and prayed. Even though these important papers had been sealed by the state government, they needed another kind of sealing - a sealing by the Holy Spirit. Again we cried, overwhelmed by the decision to adopt again, overwhelmed by God's big YES! I want you to do this for Mason, but more importantly for me - your Heavenly Father. We wept knowing that God was giving us another son for somehow it now seemed all so real. We cried knowing that God was blessing us in ways so mysterious and beyond our control that surely He had been orchestrating them since the very beginning of time. Just the knowledge that He loves us this much brings us to tears. We prayed for God to multiply blessings unto those who had sacrificially given to His kingdom work in helping us bring Mason home! That our dossier may go to Chin@ and be approved quickly, that our I-800A may go to the processing facility and be approved quickly, that God would protect each paper, making our way smooth as He continues to open every door!

Sealing everything with prayer, and placing every care in His loving hands. For He is FAITHFUL.

Paper Work

Several have asked about our process for this adoption. The biggest question is whether we will have to wait 3 years for our son to come home. Thankfully, the answer is "no" to that one! :) But, many things have changed since we brought home Jessa Li two years ago, and some things are different simply because this is a waiting child adoption versus a non-special needs adoption. In other words, we are not waiting on Ch*na to match us with a child, but this time, we have chosen our child from Ch*na's waiting children list. Their waiting children lists include children that either have special needs {both minor and major} or are older, healthy children all of whom are waiting on a family to bring them home. Right now the C C A A {Ch*na Center for Adoption Affairs} issues two kinds of lists. The first list is a shared list that is sent to all approved adoption agencies. The second type of list is agency specific and includes "special focus" children. This second type of list is given to only certain agencies that the C C A A has hand-picked to advocate for specific children. George Mason was listed on the second type of list. He is a special focus child hand-picked by the C C A A to be advocated for by our Agency {A.A.C. Adoption & Family Network out of Colorado}. This makes the process different than Jessa's adoption because we are not waiting in a line of families to adopt a child that the C C A A matches us with, instead we have chosen a child with special needs from the C C A A's special focus list that has been waiting for a family.

The simple breakdown of the process looks like this:

• Identify Child to Adopt on Waiting Child List
• LOI {Letter of Intent sent to Ch*na by our family requesting permission to adopt Mason}
• PA {Pre-Approval received from Ch*na approving our family to adopt Mason pending dossier}
• Home Study Completed
• 3 Meetings with Social Worker including 1 home visit
• FBI Clearances
• Documents Collected - birth cert., marriage cert., employment letters, taxes, autobiographies, cps clearances, county clearances, state clearances, etc., medical physicals
• 10 Hours of On-line Hague Classes
• Notarize Documents
• Mail Home Study and Dossier Documents to AAC
• AAC Authenticates and Certifies & Translates All Documents
• I-800 USCIS Form Completed Mailed to AAC
• I-800 USCIS Fingerprinting Appointment
• I-800 USCIS Approval Letter Received & Mailed to AAC
• DTC {Dossier Mailed To Ch*na by our AAC}
• LID {Log In Date - Date dossier logged into the C C A A's}
• LOA {Letter of Acceptance} Sent to AAC from C C A A officially approving us for adoption
• Signed LOA mailed back to AAC
• LOA mailed back to C C A A
• Apply to Obtain Visas to travel to Ch*na
• I-800 Apply to Obtain George Mason's Visa to Immigrate to US
• NVC Letter
• Article 5 Issued to GZ
• TA {Travel Approval} Sent to AAC approving us for travel to Ch*na
• CA {Consulate Appointment} Appointment to obtain Mason's US Visa from our Consulate in GZ.
• TRAVEL to adopt George Mason!

And here are all the details, the long, and winding road back to Ch*na:

Once are home study is complete we can mail everything to our agency and they can begin the process of authenticating and certifying everything. While they are busy doing that, we will be waiting on the US to process our request to adopt an orphan internationally. We have to fill out forms and wait on that process to unfold before we can officially submit our dossier to Ch*na. We must be fingerprinted again, this time digitally, and those prints go to the USCIS. After our prints are taken, we wait until we have received the US approval/clearance letter. The day we receive that letter in the mail, we will priority send it to our agency {AAC} in Colorado. That will be the last document for our dossier.


After that they will translate documents, and finally they will mail our dossier {huge packet of all the documents we collected and signed} to Ch*na. The date our dossier is mailed is known as DTC {Dossier to Ch*na}. Once they have our dossier it goes in a pile to be processed. When it is logged into the C C A A's system, we will receive a LID {Log In Date}.


The next phase will be waiting for our LOA {Letter of Acceptance} to be mailed to us. The LOA means that the C C A A has reviewed our dossier and everything is approved. The LOA is Ch*na's official way of offering us the right to adopt George Mason as our son. We have PA now {which is Pre-Approval pending the review of our dossier}. The LOA is sent to our agency and they will call us when they receive it. They will priority mail it to our home for us to sign, then we will priority mail it back to them for them to send it back to Ch*na. :) We will then wait for Ch*na to receive the LOA and wait for them to issue our TA {Travel Approval}.

However, this is where the Hague Treaty has added a few more steps of waiting. 

It has to do with making sure that the child we are adopting, in this case, our son, is truly eligible for adoption and is an orphan, and then gaining clearance from the USCIS for him to immigrate to the US on a US Visa as our adopted child.

So, after we sign the LOA, we will apply to the U.S Government, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for provisional approval to adopt that particular child (that's the I-800 form that our Agency sends in for us). The USCIS will determine whether the child is eligible under U.S. law to be adopted and enter the United States. 

After this, our Agency will submit a visa application to a Consular Officer at the U.S. Embassy. The U.S. Consulate Guangzhou Adoption Unit requires that a copy of the NVC notification letter to parents stating the I-800 has been sent to the consulate be included with documents submitted by facilitators for Hague case Article 5 issuances. 

The Consular Officer will review the child’s information and evaluate the child for possible visa ineligibilities. If the Consular Office determines that the child appears eligible to immigrate to the United States, he/she will notify Ch*na's adoption authority (Article 5 letter). Because we are adopting from a Hague Convention country, we may not proceed with the adoption or obtain custody for the purpose of adoption until this takes place.

After the we have signed the LOA and the U.S. Consulate has submitted an Article 5 letter (from what I'm reading on it looks like this Article 5 is cabled to GZ), our Agency will then receive an approval notice from the C C A A ("Notice of Coming to Ch*na for Adoption") otherwise know as our TA and will forward this information on to us. This document will bear the "chops," or red-inked seals of the C C A A. We must have this approval notice in hand before departing for Ch*na to finalize the adoption.

While we wait for TA, we will begin the process of obtaining our Visas to travel to Ch*na - the process above was to obtain our son's US Visa in Ch*na. David and I have to have a Ch*nese Visa in our passport to travel into their country as well. As you can see from the process above, TA's can come quickly or take weeks. Once we have been given approval to travel {TA}, we will wait for our CA {Consulate Appointment}.


The CA is obtained by our agency who approaches the US Consulate with our adoption time-line for traveling in Ch*na. The CA will determine when we will travel to Ch*na. Some families receive their CA right after receiving their TA and must travel immediately! Some families have to wait to receive their CA and do not travel for 2 to 3 weeks. The CA is based on the paperwork that needs to be processed in country. Typically, families spend about a week in their child's province gathering documents to adopt their child and obtain their child's Ch*nese Passport so they can travel in-country to Guangzhou {GZ} where the US Consulate is located. Every US family adopting in Ch*na must end their journey in Guangzhou at the US Consulate. That is where we are sworn in and given our child's US Visa to travel into America with our family as our adopted child.

The CA is that appointment date where we present ourselves with our child to the US official granting visas. It typically takes a week in Guangzhou to process all the US Visa paperwork which will include a mandatory medical exam for our son in Ch*na. These exams are issued and mandated by the US and right now many families are extremely upset by the number of immunizations that are given during these exams. Some children have been given up to 8 shots at a time! We are praying that law is changed quickly. We did not have to worry about that with Jessa's adoption, at that time they believed the doctor's immunization records in the country and allowed us to bring her home, obtain a lab test to see which immunizations had been given, and then set up a schedule with our pediatrician for the others. Something changed in the 2 years since we adopted, and now they are no longer allowing families to do this at home.

Once we receive our CA, we can REJOICE! because we will be able to travel to adopt George Mason!

Orphan Sunday

One month ago today, I saw my son's adorable face for the very first time. And, I will never forget that moment. The moment of just knowing. Knowing that this little one, who God created, was meant to be in my family.

My son.

Just blessed beyond words! That He would consider us, who have no advantages in this life, to be this little boy's family. We are incredibly blessed.

To say it has been a whirlwind of activity ever since receiving our referral for George Mason is an understatement of gargantuan proportions! lol! We have literally been non-stop with collecting paperwork, completing forms, gathering documents, praying, praying, and more praying, and working! Oh, and did I mention that somewhere in all that we find time to eat and sleep, a little. I've been keeping the midnight, 1am, 2am oil burning just trying to move forward in getting our part completed.

There is something different about this journey for sure. He isn't just some fantasy we've only imagined in our minds, he is real, and he is in an orphanage half a world away from us without our family to love him. I guess that keeps me awake at night if nothing else. Just the idea that it has already been too long without my arms around him. It spurs me on something fierce to want to finish our part as quickly as I can, so that Ch*na can get to gettin' to do their work to help us bring him home. I know it will still end up being months of hurry up and wait, but at least I'll feel better during the waiting knowing I did all that I could, as fast as I could, to bring him home. Now if everyone else would just get on the same page with me, it'd be all good. ha! Seriously though, what is UP with the Dr. offices. Shew doggies! They just don't get that we are attempting the impossible and trying to complete our home study in record time. :)

Not for nothing, but I do believe it would be easier if Christian doctors would offer up the services for these physicals for adoptive moms and dads at a lightning fast speed. Wouldn't it be great, if the people in the Body of Christ would gather together their skill sets to bless orphans by making it easier on the families trying to complete the paperwork?

What if every church had a designated doctor {or 2 or 3 or 4} to help with the physicals, 3 or 4 notaries who would volunteer their services to help families, and some lawyers who at the end of the journey could help with the re-adoption process. And maybe some travel agents to assist with the ticket arrangements.

I know not everyone is ready to adopt, but we are all called to help the orphan, and today on this Orphan Sunday, I was just thinking what a blessing it would be for professionals {who may not be called to adopt themselves} to volunteer their time and services to help families who have been called and in a small yet HUGE way help an orphan come home to their forever family.

Just an idea - something to pray about too. Praying that the Body of Christ would rise up together to make a difference for the children waiting - waiting for families. I can see it now, a wall full of photos in a doctor's office. Photos of children he helped to come home - just by getting those physicals signed and processed quickly. A book of photos laying on the coffee table in the waiting room of a law office, photos of families that answered the call to adopt and families that he helped complete the re-adoption process. And what if that work was done for 1/2 the cost or maybe even pro-bono!

Or what if, WHAT IF!, young people would call families who are going through the paperwork for adoption and offered up their babysitting services to watch the kiddos they have at home. Sitting services for going to get those fingerprints completed, for going to home study meetings with the social worker, for going together to get those passport photos taken, etc. What if a group of young people decided to work together to contribute to an orphan's fund - either a grant program, or a philanthropy, or a families fund! To make a difference for one more - to make one less orphan.

Love this thought from Mother Theresa.

"We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love."

On this Orphan Sunday, what small thing can you do this week for an orphan or for a family who is working and waiting to adopt an orphan into their forever home?

What small thing can we do with great love?

So that an orphan

Can become a beloved daughter!

And a waiting child

can become a cherished SON! :) Never, never, never under-estimate your gift. No matter how small you think that it is in comparison to what others may be doing for His Kingdom, your gift is great to those that need it! What you may think is small is multiplied in the hands of our Almighty God. And when it is offered up to others with great love, your small contribution brings God's heart JOY!

George Mason - God's Gift!

 Now that we have PA (official pre-approval from the C C A A to adopt), we are free to share the photos of our new son! So adorable! Okay, so I'm biased I know. :) We can't wait to travel to Ch*na to embrace him! We received the very first glimpse of him through an email on October 7, 2010 and in less than a month God has chosen us to be his family!

We are beyond blessed! What a gift!

 He is 15 months old. He is said to be a happy baby and very easy going from the  reports we've been given. We hope to receive updated information after we have completed our dossier and our DTC (dossier to Ch*na).We are updating our home-study and just have a few more things to check off our list before that is completed. Then our agency is sending us the official packet that outlines everything we need for the dossier. Just as quickly as possible, we hope to get everything completed being realistic though as we have three wonderful blessings at home too. :)  The average process time is about 9 months; although, I do know a couple families who were able to complete their process and travel within 4 months! It all depends on how quickly government agencies return documents. Not just Ch*na, but also the good ol' USA with all of its red tape galore. All in God's time. His timing is perfect. :)

The map above shows where his orphanage is located (Jessa's province, Guizhou, is just below his, Sichuan.). He was born in the Sichuan Province of Ch*na in a city called Chengdu. He is currently living in the orphanage in Chengdu and is in the Half the Sky program where he receives one-on-one care from a personal "ayi" - nanny. Half the Sky is providing him with rehabilitation services and therapy as he is missing (from birth) the lower portion of his right arm. We are blessed to have dear friends who adopted a little boy with a similar special need, and their journey inspired me to look into adopting a waiting child with limb differences. Sarah and Chris are amazing parents and their son is thriving in their home! Through their testimony and amazing work for the orphans of the world, after months and months of running from God's calling, I finally found the courage to place my fears in God's hands, and he replaced them with a deep desire to adopt again. Little did I know that it would take us back to Ch*na for a son with a similar special need. :) Just to witness how he orchestrates our lives so that every detail is made perfect through His hands - what else is there to do but PRAISE HIM!

"Located in the west of Sichuan Basin and in the center of Chengdu Plain, Chengdu covers a total area of 12.3 thousand square kilometres (4,749 square miles) with a population of over 11 million. It has a humid subtropical climate and is largely mild and humid. Chengdu is situated at the western edge of the Sichuan Basin and is therefore sheltered from northwest winds from Siberia in winter by the Qinling Mountains to the north; the short winter is milder than in the Lower Yangtze because of the sheltering effect of the Qinling. Snow is rare but there are a few periods of frost each winter. The summer is hot and humid, but not to the extent of the "Three Furnaces" cities of Wuhan, Nanjing, and Chongqing in the Yangtze basin. July and August average around 25 °C (77 °F), with afternoon highs sometimes reaching 33 °C (91 °F). January averages 5.6 °C (42.1 °F). Rainfall is common year-round but peaks in July and August. Chengdu also has one of the lowest sunshine totals in China (less sunshine annually than London), and most days are cloudy and overcast even if without rain. This is especially so in the winter months, when it is typically interminably grey and dreary, compounding the poor air quality. Spring (March-April) tends to be sunnier and warmer than autumn (October-November).

Chengdu, as the capital, is extremely productive. The Min and Tuo Rivers, two branches of the Yangtze River, connected to forty other rivers, supply an irrigation area of more than 700 square kilometres (270.27 square miles) with 150-180 million kilowatts of water. Consisting of abundant mineral resources, the land is extremely fertile. In 2008, the Sichuan province was shaken by a tremendous earthquake that families are still recovering from today. His orphanage was affected, but he was not yet born. The Half the Sky program was instrumental in bringing the little ones every kind of aid imaginable during those months that followed. Since then, they have recovered and are back in the wonderful new facility.

The history of Chengdu can be traced back 2,400 when the first emperor built his capital here and named the city. Through thousands of years its original name has been kept and its position as the capital and as the significant center of politics, commerce and military of the Sichuan area (once called Shu) has remained unchanged. Since the Han (206B.C.-220) and Tang (618-907) Dynasties when its handicraft industry flourished, Chengdu has been famous for its brocades and embroideries.

Shu embroideries still enjoy a high reputation for their bright colors and delicate designs, ranking among the four main embroideries in Ch*na. Chengdu was the place where the bronze culture, an indispensable part of ancient Chinese culture, originated, the place where the Southern Silk Road started, and the place where the earliest paper currency, Jiaozi (not the dumpling!), was first printed. It is listed among the first 24 state-approved historical and cultural cities and owns 23 state and provincial cultural relic units. In addition to its profound historical and cultural background featuring historic places of interest such as the Thatched Cottage of Du Fu , Wuhou Memorial Temple and Wenshu Monastery , etc, natural beauty abounds in surrounding areas such as in the Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area and Huang Long Valley (Yellow Dragon Valley) .

The natural habitat of giant pandas, Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center , supports the world's only giant panda breeding and research base. Sampling the famous Sichuan cuisine is a must on a trip to Chengdu. Enjoying the food as well as the culture, shopping and having tea at a teahouse afford a deeper understanding of Chengdu.Improved land and airlines extending nationwide provide greater convenience. Chengdu is also the main inland access city to Tibet."

God has filled David and I both with an excitement to go back to Ch*na and explore it with new eyes. Because of Jessa's hard transition, we had such a difficult time embracing the culture and country just because we longed for home so much, but we have a new sense of peace with this calling and we are praying already that God would grant us a peaceful transition and lots of JOY as we travel through our children's birth country. He is faithful!

As we do with all our adoptions, when good news comes from "a distant land" we celebrate with Chinese food for dinner! So yes, I know it isn't the real deal, but still, what better way to REJOICE than to TASTE and SEE that the LORD is GOOD! ♥

PA TODAY!

We just received God's MIRACULOUS answer to our biggest prayer request! We have officially been granted pre-approval (PA) to adopt our sweet little boy! I was praying the answer would come in half the wait time (typically takes 2 to 3 weeks) and we received it in mere DAYS. God MOVED SO QUICKLY He has OPENED EVERY DOOR! Our agency emailed us with CONGRATULATIONS because Ch*na sent them the PA today! PRAISING THE GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE! Thank you Jesus! We are BEYOND ecstatic!


And today, TODAY, David had a 1/2 day and the email came right as he was pulling into the garage, so we were both home to celebrate together how God has moved for our family in granting us favor to adopt again from Ch*na! I am so thankful for God's open doors and for dear, sweet friends who support our family and God's calling on our hearts. I was blessed to share my struggle with two wonderful friends who love Jesus and love adoption, and both of them lifted my spirits and caused me to hope again as I was just beginning to loose God's vision for us. Thank you Marci & Gretchen for pausing in your day and investing in our journey, may God bless you both for your words of encouragement and faith. It is so hard to travel down a path of faith with resistance and opposition facing you, but you both reminded me that the Body of Christ is our family and when we are hurting or beyond ourselves to understand, it is then that the Body ministers to us the most through quoting the Word of God and reminding us that He is Able to carry us and He is Able to sustain us so that when we endure hardships and trials of many kinds we can count them all as JOY for we are suffering for His cause, His name. We love our friends who come alongside us and don't let us suffer alone. :)

So, the very last thing the agency email said was, "Have a great weekend!"

PRAISE HIM!

Fingerprints of Love

There are days in my life when I look around me and take the time to really soak in all the little things of this moment. Like the fingerprint smudges all over the fridge from where my sweet girls open and close a hundred times a day to retrieve their sippy cups of milk, and the collage of hand-prints scattered all over the sliding glass door where my kids come in and out from their play in the sandbox just to give me "treasures" they've found - like dandelion flowers, and leaves, and sticks, and just to talk to me about seeing birds, and airplanes, and hot air balloons, and then there are those cute little nose prints on the front door window, where they stop to watch their Daddy leaving to go to work and wave excitedly as he pulls away. I'm sure Martha Stewart would be appalled at my uncleanliness. I'm sure she would have something to say about the need to have things kept and tidy, but these are the little things that I love about being a Mommy! Little reminders of the little people He has entrusted me with to help grow. Occasionally I take out the glass cleaner and wipe away the grime and mess, but there is always a marked heaviness in my heart knowing soon, all too soon, my little ones will be grown and I'll long to see those little reminders of them everywhere.

Today we received an unexpected gift - the fingerprints of our girls. We went to the county jail (a first for all of us) to visit the Sheriff and ask for our County Criminal Clearance Checks to be processed and while there, David and I had to be fingerprinted the old fashioned way (black ink and prints on a card). The prints will be mailed to the FBI to have our Federal Criminal Clearances processed. Anyway, the girls where with us (I know not a place for children, but no one was available to babysit them. Funny story about them asking where we were going! LOL! When I told them to the jail, they of course asked what a jail was. I hesitated. How to explain jail to a 3 yr. old? Hmmm. Then it hit me, "Girls a jail is where grown-ups have to go to sit in time-out because they have not followed the rules." Perfect 3 year old concept that they could grasp. LOL!) So as I was saying, the girls where with us and they were mesmerized by this whole fingerprinting process. The dipping of our fingers in the ink and the way she meticulously rolled each and everyone of them on the paper. They LOVED it! After we were finished, the wonderful lady asked the girls if they would like to get their prints done too! YES!!! So the girls were fingerprinted at the county jail. We were quick to inform them that this will be the ONLY time that this will be happening (unless of course they decide to adopt when they are Mommies, which would bless my heart beyond measure!). She let us take the little cards home for each one of them. "Look Momma! Fingerprints for our baby brother!" they said; fingerprints of LOVE I thought. It really is the little things.

First Step

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." ~ Chinese Proverb

We have taken the first step in our walk of faith today by mailing to our agency in Colorado (AAC) the preliminary documents requesting permission from Ch*na to complete the adoption process to bring our baby boy home. He is listed with their new Special Focus Child program with the AAC Adoption & Family Networks agency! We are excited to be working with them for this next journey! They are amazing! 

This first step required us to submit a Nurture Plan that details our desire to adopt him and the assets that God has blessed us with to care for his special needs. We are praying for God's favor and that He would place individuals to review our file that would grant us the OPEN DOOR that He has promised.

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Revelation 3:7-8

Praising Him for His Provision of Favor and knowing that in the spiritual realm He has already given us the only approval we need to Go! in His mighty name!

Our agency will have our documents translated and mail them to Ch*na within the next couple days. The program director told us that they usually hear from the C C A A in 2 weeks with the answer if we have been approved. We are asking you to stand with us in prayer and offer up our requests to God who knows our future even before we have arrived. We are praying that we will hear the answer in 1/2 the time!

Until we hear the GOOD NEWS of PA received, this cute little ladybug graphic will be hovering over our son's adorable photo up there on the blog header. So it's worth praying for PA to come quickly, just so we can reveal his precious photo. Oh, and by the way, Hollyn and I saw a REAL red ladybug the other day, not just the orange beetle bugs, on a bundle of hay at the apple orchard when she was there for a preschool field trip. For some reason, in the Chinese adoption community, a red ladybug is a sign of "good luck" and that "good news" is coming. Well, I just think that's fun, and I often look for ladybugs outside. And no, I don't really believe in fate or things like that because I believe God's signs are the truest gifts of confirmation, but I have to say, it was surprising to see the ladybug since usually the red ones are so tiny. I think God knew I would smile thinking about all the red threads He is weaving into our story with this new journey. He was right. I did smile up at Him. I smiled because Oh How He Loves Me! Thank you God for the red little ladybug. :)