All I really want for Christmas.... is a family.

November is national adoption awareness month, and if we could, we'd fill our home with orpans. With the latest UN estimate of 143 million orphans in the world, we're going to need some friends to fill their homes too. We're praying that the Lord would begin to lay a mother's and father's love on some of your hearts for an orphan like He's laid on ours. Loving and caring for orphans is very close to the heart of God. "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families;" (Psalm 68:5-6)

Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, have adopted three daughters from China. Adoption is huge on their hearts. Click on the following link, and watch his music video featuring children in need of adoption. You just might be tempted to parent one!

http://media.emicmg.com/SPD11231/video/real/AllIReallyWant.ram

(the cinematography is such that the faces blur in and out of focus, so don't worry, that's how it's supposed to look... it's not your computer. Also, if you have a slower computer or internet, you might have to let it play through first, and then watch it so that it doesn't skip)

We Already Miss Her!!

It's hard not to have a face to put with the daughter we have in China. It's really hard not to know if she has been born yet. I didn't anticipate that Han would be the one to miss her the most. She has started to say several times a day, "I wan my baby sistuh." Me: "Me too, Han, but we can't go get her until China says we can." Han: "Buh she naw have MommyDaddy!" (big concern in her voice) Me: "Someone is taking care of her for us. Why don't we pray for her."
Since we are hoping that we get to go get her in June of 2007, it's going to be a really long wait for the Big Sister! The poem below expresses our hearts right now.

Kisses in the Wind

We hold you in our hearts and touch you with our dreams.

You are here each day with us, at least that how it seems.

We know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.

But remember child, we love you so, and God will keep you strong.

Now go outside and feel the breeze, and let it touch your skin...

Because tonight, just as always, we blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in his hand, until we can be with you.

We promise you, our darling, we're doing all that we can do.

Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.

But for tonight, just as always, we blow you kisses in the wind.

May God wrap you in his arms and hold you very tight.

And let the angels bring you kisses we send to you each night.

-author unknown-

(picture is of Jade, a jewel plucked from China by our good friends)

Adoption1

Adoption1
Video sent by ludo

We're praying for our baby girl as she is probably being born any day now. This is a short video of what her days in China will be like. Please pray that she will be cared for, loved, and that she will bond with her caretakers.

Our Dossier is on the way!!

Our dossier (doss ee' aye) is completed, and was mailed to our adoption agency this evening!!! This is a huge milestone, as it represents the completion of most of our paperwork, and the entering of the waiting stage. If you're curious about what exactly a dossier is, I'll give you the lowdown of what just went into that precious envelope:
1) An application letter to China explaining who we are, why we are adopting, and why we want to adopt from China. And, that we will never abandon a child we adopt from there. 2) certified birth certificates for Rusty and I. 3) our certified marriage license 4) A completed physical examination for both of us with letters from the doctor explaining anything out of the ordinary. So, we had to have a letter explaining why Rusty had a tonsillectomy when he was 5... and numerous letters about all my infertility treatments, and other quirks. 5) our financial statement accounting for every penny we have, and every penny we owe 6) letters from both of our employers stating our job, our salary, and the likelihood of our continued employment 7) our home study (which required just as much or more paperchasing) 8) Police reports for both of us confirming that we have a clean record 9) a document from the US immigration allowing us to bring our daughter home 10) passport photos 11) an 8 page scrapbook of our family with specific photos required of us and our home 12) copies of our passports.
Let me also say that almost every one of these documents (except for the photos), after being collected from the appropriate authority, had to be notarized, then sent to the Secretary of State in the state in which it originated (So for Rusty's birth certificate, it went to Texas...) After the Secretary of State verifies that the notary who signed the document was a legitimate notary at the time of notarization, each document has to go to the Chinese consulate that has jurisdiction over that particular state to be validated. So, we have worked with 4 states, and 3 consulates.
We've also been fingerprinted twice, had background checks from the FBI, KBI and child abuse and neglect registry. We've been tested for HIV, and everything else including TB (surprise, Rusty contracted TB somewhere overseas!). We've also had our home inspected, and have written our autobiographies. Now that we've got our paperwork done, we can start reading the 5 books required.
While this has been a whole lot of work, it has been worth it all for the sake of bringing our China doll home! We're so excited to be at this point! We've been told that we have about an 11 month wait before we can go get our girl, and she will be about a year old when we get her. It's possible that she has just recently been born!

It Came!!

We got our last document from the Consulate today! So, this means that as soon as I can get this family portrait developed (it was taken tonight) and add it to our paperwork, we can send off our dossier! This is an exciting milestone! Thank you, Jesus!

A quote from John Piper:

“Adoption is one of the most profound realities in the universe. I say ‘universe’ and not ‘world’ because adoption goes beyond the world. It is greater than the world, it is before the world in the plan of God, and it will outlast the world as we know it. Adoption is rooted in God’s own nature.” Through adoption, God calls us His children and fills our heart with compassion for the orphaned children of the world.

Update on us:
We are getting excited as we are awaiting the last bit of paperwork from the Chinese Consulate in Chicago. Once it is in our hands, we are ready to send off our Dossier to our adoption agency, and then on to China! This will be a huge milestone, and the process will hopefully become a downhill ride rather than uphill treck.

We Got approval from Immigration!

Praise the Lord! Our approval from the US Immigration offices came in yesterday, just under two months, as opposed to the 3 month time wait they quoted us. This paper gives us permission to bring an orphan home and petition for her citizenship. We can't bring her home without it. Today I had to take it to get notarized, then had to go to the post office to overnight it to the Secretary of State of Kansas (once it comes back from the ol' Sec, I have to send it to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago) That's all fine and easy (not really) until I dropped the paperwork in a giant puddle while trying to get the twins, myself and the document out of the van. So, it wasn't one of my brightest moments, but hopefully after a good ironing, they'll be acceptable. Let's pray!!
This now puts us within a few weeks of being able to send our Dossier (paperwork) to China. Once China receives it, we'll be in the waiting stage, which is currently 11-12 months.

America World Adoption Association

After researching several Christian adoption agencies, we were strongly drawn to America World Adoption Association. We love the spirit with which they do ministry. They have been a blessing to us as we've plowed through all the paperwork that is required.
http://www.awaa.org

Join us on the Journey!

Thank you friends, for your joy and excitement as we journey to China to bring home our baby girl! We want this blog to share our story, our struggles, and God's faithfulness.

A verse that has given us encouragement is James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

God cares deeply for the fatherless. Adoption is God's design and He even entrusted His Son, Jesus, into Joseph's care. How marvelous that He would add an adoption story into the sending of our Saviour!

We feel honored and privileged that God would allow us to be the forever family to one of the least of these! We invite you to join us on the journey as we bring home our girl!