Hope deferred......

is making our hearts sick!

All four of us are feeling the pain of having to continue to wait for our baby girl. Personally the wait for me would be more bearable if I didn't have days like yesterday when I went to my mail box to find another large package of paperwork. Our home study is due to expire, and needs to be updated. This is the second time we've had to update, and not only does it take a lot of work, it also requires money. Yuck!!!

Today Hud came up to me with a handful of pennies, "Mom, look at all my money!!! Is this enough for me to go get my baby sister?" How I wish it had been enough!!

There have been many speculations about why the wait time to adopt from China is continuing to get longer by the month. China says it's because the supply (of babies - an estimated 1.3 million orphans) is not meeting the demand (of adoptive parents). Most of us find that extremely hard to believe.

The likely explanation is that China is making changes to somehow improve their image, or "save face." They've become known as the largest exporter of human life... in an effort to be seen as a world power instead of a third world country who allows it's children to be adopted internationally, they're decreasing the number of adoptions.

Rumor has it (from a believable source) that China might be putting an end to adoptions all together. Instead of doing this outright, and raising human rights eyebrows, they're going to make the wait time so long that people won't adopt from there. It is speculated (again a reliable rumor) that people submitting paperwork to China now will not receive their children until 2015.

Where does that put us? Well... still waiting!! The good news is that we are slowly but surely moving up in line. We're keeping our hopes up, and praying for our referral to come this year. I know that someday I will look at my little Asian beauty and say, "You were worth the wait, you were worth the work, you were worth the money, and thank you Jesus that You rescued her from an orphaned life and a bleak future before China closed it's doors!"

Prayers for our little sweetie.

About every night we pray as a family for the baby sister we're getting. The other night Han prayed this for her...

"GOD.... pwease help ah baby sistuh to not be too fussy when we get huh, and pwease do a muhacle and help us to have pwenty of bweastmilk fo huh when she comes!"

Now that would definately be a miracle!!

Hud usually likes to ask God to change her if she has a poopy diaper.

Steven Curtis Chapman Concert

A couple of weeks ago, our adoption agency contacted us about volunteering at the Steven Curtis Chapman concert. Some of you know that he and his wife have adopted three daughters from China, and have started Shaohannah's Hope an organization that helps defray adoption expenses by granting money to families. If you've read previous posts, we were very blessed to receive a generous grant from them.

We got T-shirts, and basically "manned" the table to answer questions about Shaohannah's Hope, and adoption.

It's so exciting to have someone like SCC have such a strong passion for orphans and adoption!! I really feel like the Lord is starting a movement of awareness, and a growing recognition of His heart for the fatherless.

Much of the concert focused on orphans and what people could do to help. The slogan, "Change your world for orphans," was a theme of the night. There was an intermission to collect peoples' change, bills, checks.... to go toward a grant for a local family.

Here we are counting the money. Most concerts have been collecting $3-5,500. Our concert collected over $7,700!!!

At the end of the concert, SCC introduced a family from Wichita who are in the process of adopting a daughter from S. Korea. He gave them a grant from the money we had raised. It was truly exciting for the people to be a part of changing this little girl's life in such a tangible way.

Our unexpected surprise was that we got to meet Steven after the concert and thank him for blessing our family by helping us bring our daughter home (someday)!!

If you want to know more about this organization, check out their website at www.shaohannahshope.org.

Blessings to Shaohannah's Hope and so many generous friends!

We have been blessed by an enormous outpouring of monetary gifts towards our adoption!! Most of you, if you are reading this blog have probably already invested in our daughter's life by giving toward our expenses. We are sooooo very grateful!
We were also thrilled to receive a letter from Shaohannah's Hope, the foundation started by Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth. Months before, we had filled out their application for a possible grant. As you would expect from any responsible charitable organization, they wanted to know every penny we had in the bank, every penny we owed to anyone, and what we were doing to cover the adoption expenses. We weren't sure if we would receive anything from them, because we felt like our friends and family had already blessed us so much. Well, we were shocked to read that they had awarded us a large grant of $3000.
Shaohannah's Hope recently awarded its 1,000th grant. They have over 150 applications monthly and are able to award grants to only about 40 of those applicants. Their highest grant awarded is $4000. We were truly grateful to receive such a nice gift!
If you would like to read more about this organization, you can visit their web-site at www.shaohannahshope.org.

I didn't think fingerprints had an expiration date!

One of our frustrations with this extended wait period is having some of our important documents expire. Our home study will expire next month, and will not have to be re-done, only "updated." We're not sure what "updated" means, only that it will cost us about $400. Ugh! We'll also have to have new FBI and KS background checks done, as well as be "re-fingerprinted." These processes all have price tags too and are time consuming, but will be worth it when we get to bring our little sweetie home!

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

Many people ask us regularly, "Have you heard anything about your baby?" Unfortunately, the answer is, "no," and will probably be, "no" until next fall. When we started the adoption process in October 2005, the wait time for China to process our paperwork was about 6-8 months. As China has been making decisions and changes, their wait time has increased, and is now about 15 months. Our paperwork was logged into China's system mid-June of 2006, so we're hoping that we hear back sometime this fall. Our prayer is that we get to go get her no later than November. This long wait time is definitely difficult, but the Lord recently reminded us that even though it appears that China is in control, He is still Lord, and ultimately the timing is in His hands!

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!