TA is on the way!!!

We heard today that our Travel Approval (TA) was issued last Friday and is in the mail on its way to our agency now!  They expect to have it tomorrow sometime.  The next step will be to confirm our US Consulate appointment and then book our tickets!

Our sweet girl is turning 2 very soon and so our prayer is to be with her by then!  We're praying that we will have a consulate appointment on Dec. 22nd or 23rd.  If we get one of those dates, we will meet our sweet girl on December 15th!  Please help us pray that all works out for those dates!

We should know our final dates sometime in the next couple of days!

We can hardly wait to hold Emsley in our arms and shower her in hugs and kisses!

Good News!!!

Yesterday morning, we had a conference call with our social worker to discuss the last few steps before we eventually meet Emsley.  She started the conversation by telling us the last information she had received was that our Article 5 documents were still waiting on one piece of information.  Then the conversation went something like this:

Us: "OK, thanks, we'll keep praying it comes in soon."

Her: "Oh, wait, I'm looking at my email right now.  I was in a meeting this morning and haven't had a chance to check email but I have one here from the consulate.  Oh.....oh, good!  The consulate received the necessary document and has processed your Article 5.  It is ready for pick up now!"

Us: unintelligible squeals mixed with relieved sighs....

We are officially back on track to receive Travel Approval sometime in the next couple of weeks!  Thank you for praying with us that this would be resolved quickly.  We continue to pray for two couples we know who are still facing this same delay with their process.  

We look forward to hearing news of our Travel Approval so we can book flights and finally have Emsley in our arms!!

A PRAISE AND A PRAYER REQUEST...

In one of our first blog posts, I talked about a little picture frame I had found with the scripture Philippians 4:6-7 in it.  That verse has been my verse for the adoption process.   And what does it tell us to do?  "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heats and your minds in Christ Jesus."

So I want to start by offering thanks to our Lord for what he has done:

Did you notice anything different on our blog today????

Yep, WE ARE FULLY FUNDED!!!!!!

Yesterday, Jace came in with our mail and announced, "I think someone sent us some money for our adoption!".  I asked why he thought that and he handed me an envelope from an organization which had a nickel and a penny attached to the letter as part of the message they were sharing.  :)  I explained what the letter was about and then Jace handed me the rest of the mail.  As I turned over another envelope, my heart skipped a beat as I saw the name of Show Hope, one of the organizations we had applied to for a grant!   My eyes filled with tears as I read the letter that told us we had been awarded a grant to complete our adoption expenses!!!!  PRAISE GOD!!!  He is ever faithful and has provided all we needed at every step along this adoption journey.  

Show Hope is an organization founded by Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth.  When they first adopted a daughter from China in 2000 they were inspired to do something to help other orphaned children find families and other families afford adoption!  Many families and orphans have been united as a result of this organization and the generous donors who make these adoption grants possible.  You can learn more about this wonderful organization here: http://showhope.org.  

I can't stress enough how overwhelming the financial side of this adoption seemed when we first started out.  We really didn't have anything saved up for an adoption and we had no idea of how God would provide.  But we knew he was calling us to step out in faith and follow him.  Every time we turned to him and asked "How, God?  How will we ever have enough to bring this little girl home?", he always answered with the assurance that he would provide all we needed when we needed it.  We heard his answer through testimonies of countless other adoptive families, through sermons from our pastoral staff, and through scripture he would put before us.  It wasn't always easy to trust that the money would come, but it was always there right when we needed it.  

God works in amazing ways.  Here are just a few of the ways he provided financially of us:

• fundraisers
• yard sales
• financial gifts from friends and family
• unexpected bonuses and overtime
• opportunities for side jobs
• generous friends who held fundraisers for us
• an unexpected job transfer for John

I have been in a Bible study group that is studying I & II Thessalonians and this verse has stuck with me as a reminder of God's promise: "The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it." (I Thess. 5:24)  Boy is He ever!!!

Now for the prayer request....

The same day I learned of the grant we received, we also learned of a delay in our adoption process.  Some of our paperwork has been held up because it is missing an important document.  It is a long and complicated story but it boils down to this: we are on "pause" until this important document can be tracked down in our daughter's province and provided to the appropriate officials.  We had been mistakenly informed that we were waiting for Travel Approval (TA) back on October 30th.  As it turns out, we won't begin the wait for TA until this bit of documentation is provided.  

Can we ask that you would pray with us?  Please pray that the needed documentation would be provided in God's will and timing and that any attempts by the Enemy to slow things down and cause problems would be removed!  Satan hates adoption and the redemption story that it tells.

We are fully trusting in God's timing.  We can't see beyond our limited understanding and perspective but God sees all and, PRAISE GOD, HE IS BIGGER!!!!!!  

TA any day...

We have finally reached the last step in the adoption paperwork/approval process!  Any day now, we should be receiving a phone call to tell us that we have travel approval and are free to book our flights to China!  It has already been one whole year since we submitted our first application to Lifeline Children's Services to begin the adoption.  It's been ten months since we first saw Emsley's picture and knew she would eventually be our daughter.  

We are so close (in various ways) to meeting our daughter and bringing her home to be a family all under one roof!  The government agency in China that will issue our Travel Approval is closed for an energy conference occurring in Beijing right now.  They will open again on the 12th and we expect that we will hear about our approval very soon after that.  Then it will be time to schedule and purchase our flights and pack our bags!  We are praying right now that we will receive approval in time to be in China before Emsley turns 2 in mid-December.  It is our prayer that she will not have another birthday without her family there to celebrate her.

We are still just a bit shy of the full amount needed to purchase our tickets.  Less than $2,000 is still needed to complete the final bit of this adoption process. We are so thankful for the friends, family, and church family who have given so generously to help us fund this adoption!  It is truly something amazing to see people pull together and do all they can to help a little girl across the world come to know the love of a family!

We still have our puzzle fundraiser going and there are still quite a few pieces left if anyone would like to help us raise the final amount we need for purchasing our plane tickets.  We have 387 pieces left.  Every $5 donated will "purchase" a piece.  Once the puzzle is complete, we'll put it all together and frame it to hang in Emsley's room and remind us of all the wonderful people who helped bring her home!  To purchase a piece of Emsley's puzzle, just click on the PayPal "donate" button on the right-hand side of this blog and it will go directly to our adoption account.  (note: you have to be on a PC to see the button.  Or, you can scroll to the bottom of the page on a mobile device and click on "view web version".)

We believe what God has promised from the beginning, that He will provide all we need when we need it.  He has been faithful and done just that all along the way!  We know we will have all we need before time to get on that plane.

We recently received our final update from the orphanage.  They sent us Emsley's measurements and some sweet pictures!

We are looking forward to sharing our Travel Approval update soon!!!

New pictures!

A couple of weeks ago we received our LOA (Letter of Approval) from China and at that time we were able to request an update on Emsley.  The first time we were able to request an update, we waited about two months to receive it.  This time we were trying to prepare ourselves for another long wait but just six days later we were looking at pictures of our beautiful little girl!

Here she is outside her orphanage.  She is wearing the pink shoes we sent her back in May!

When we asked her caregivers what her favorite toys were, they said she loves toys that make music! I can already see her and Khilyn dancing and singing together.  They both love music!

The boys were excited to see her choice of toy for this picture!  She's about to enter a world of superheroes, legos, and ninjas.  I hope she is ready!

It is so good seeing her sweet face and noticing all the tiny little changes since May.  Her hair has grown a little bit longer and fuller.  She seems taller already too.  We asked for more information about Emsley's personality and were told that she is "extremely obedient and quiet".  We wondered how much of that is due to the circumstances of her life so far and how much is really her "personality".  This a very rare description of an almost two-year-old!  We pray that once she is part of our family, she will feel more free to explore, make noise, and express her desires. 

One thing that has remained constant in every picture we have received, though, is the very serious and almost worried look on her face.  Her almost two years of life have been so difficult and she has spent far too long without the love of a family!  Our hearts long for the day that her face will show a genuine smile, when she will finally know how deeply she is loved and cherished.  

We are at the end of the paperwork process and have approximately 6-8 weeks before we will meet our daughter!  We've started the packing list, freezer meal preparations, and "nesting" house cleaning!  We still have the last of our expenses to pay (i.e. - flights, last agency fees) and need to raise about $5,000 more to cover that.  We are praying continually that we will have all we need when the time comes.  God has provided for our needs so far through friends, family, fundraisers, work bonuses, overtime pay, tax refunds, Craigslist sales, side jobs and finding creative ways to save more each month!  Our God is faithful and we give him the praise!

Signed, sealed, and delivered!

I spent most of Tuesday checking and re-checking out the front window to see if there was a FedEx truck in front of our house yet.  Our LOA (letter of Approval) was sent overnight from our agency on Monday.  Each time I heard a loud engine outside, I ran for the window!  Finally, around 2:30 p.m., that beautiful white truck pulled up to the curb and I grabbed the camera and ran for the door.

I definitely scared the poor delivery man!  He was walking up the driveway when I came flying out of the house and eagerly asked if I could take his picture.  His response was guarded.  I'm pretty sure his thought was, "why is this crazy lady asking for a picture of me?"  He casually turned me down and blamed it on some "trouble" they have been having with that lately.  I thanked him anyway and watched as he started to walk back to his truck.  He suddenly turned back and asked, "what is that anyway?"  I told him (with tears building in my eyes) it was the approval letter for us to adopt our daughter.  He half smiled and said, "Oh, okay, I'll do it!"  Then he posed so sweetly for this picture!

As I came inside and shut the door, the emotions overwhelmed me!  I couldn't hold back the tears as I looked at this official document I was holding.  This one piece of paper represents months (almost 11 months) of paperwork, fingerprinting, waiting, evaluations, home study meetings, prayer, more waiting, emails, and applications.  It's a pretty important piece of paper!  It won't be long now until John and I will board a plane and fly across the Pacific Ocean to meet our new little girl!  We are told to expect to travel in as little as 8 weeks from now!

As I write this update, Emsley is probably deep asleep (it is 2 a.m. in China).  She has no idea the celebration that is taking place in our hearts right now.  She is so deeply loved and I pray that one day she will understand how precious she is and how much she is loved.

LOA is on the way!!!

We have spent the last couple of months waiting....and waiting....and waiting to hear news from China regarding our dossier that was mailed back in July.  This is the longest part of the adoption process and the hardest.  We have filled the time by watching training videos about attachment and bonding, reading books about adoption, planning how to fit one more bed in a small bedroom, and just trying to get ready to bring our daughter home.

Yesterday morning our wait was cut short by a phone call from our agency.  We were told that China has reviewed our documents and approved everything!  Our Letter of Approval (LOA) is on its way from China as I write this!

In just a few days a very unfortunate person in a FedEx truck will pull up to our house holding our LOA!  I will try my hardest not to tackle them on the front lawn but there will definitely be squeals of excitement and a few pictures taken!  Once we calm down, we will sign the LOA and send it on to our agency.  There are a few more items of paperwork and official steps to complete but we have been given the estimate of 8 to 10 weeks until we board the plane and go to meet our daughter!

This week has also been a HUGE week as far as fundraising goes.  We have been receiving donations from many friends and family for Emsley's puzzle.  We are so grateful to all the people who have "purchased" puzzle pieces to help us bring Emsley home.  We have felt such support and love from our family and friends.  It is a beautiful thing to see people coming together to help change the life of a little girl half a world away!  There are still 623 puzzle pieces waiting for names of people who would like to help bring Emsley home.  Information on Emsley's Puzzle Fundraiser is on the previous blog post.

This week we also received a few very generous donations toward our travel expenses.  We are getting close to being fully funded for this adoption!  Praise to our God who called us to this adoption knowing EXACTLY what was (or wasn't) in our bank account!  We have been reminded over and over that when God calls you to do something, he will make a way!  We have a goal of $33,000 to cover all the adoption expenses and travel and as of today, $27,024 has been raised, donated, and saved!  We are getting so close!!

This was the first picture we saw of
Emsley back in January

This is one of the most recent
pics we received in May

It has taken 11 months to get to this point.  The wait has been LONG!  We first saw Emsley's face in January and found out she would be ours in March.  We are finally nearing the day we will meet our little girl whom we have prayed for and prepared for.  There is so much I want to know about her.  What will it feel like to finally have her in my arms and be able to whisper "ngo oi nei" (I love you) in her ear?  What will she think of this crazy family that she is joining?  What makes her laugh?  What does her voice sound like?  Does she still have the sense of humor and playfulness that was mentioned by the orphanage staff?  We look forward to the day when we will be able to start to answer some of these questions!

We have a lot to get done in the coming weeks before we leave for China.  There are numerous details to work out and a room to prepare.  Our prayer during these weeks is that God would do a great work in our hearts and in Emsley's heart.  We pray that God will prepare Emsley's heart for the dramatic change that will soon take place in her life.  We pray for protection for her as her whole world is suddenly turned upside down.  We also pray that God would continue to help us see things from Emsley's perspective so that we are able to give the care, comfort, and understanding she will desperately need.  We pray for wisdom to know what to do to best help all of our children adjust to our new family.  We ask that you would pray these things along with us.

Our God is faithful and he is good!  We are over-the-moon excited to bring Emsley home and we are trusting God to go before us and prepare the way.  "Don't be afraid, because I am with you.  I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west." - Isaiah 43:5