Paperwork!

Well on this day of celebrating MeiLin's 1st birthday we are about to send out a rather fluffy packet to immigration. There was a mishap with our I-600A and it lapsed. Hearts were hardened at immigration and while our paperwork was there 1 day after the expiration date...they would not let us renew. We were not going to be discouraged. We jumped right into the I-800A. So now we have to do the application and fingerprints all over again. Thankfully we have had all of our items together from 3 years ago when we did the I-600A that it was fairly painless.

At this point we are praying for a QUICK approval of the I-800A so that we can turn around and apply for the I-800. Meanwhile we wait patiently for official approval from the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs). This is called the Letter Of Acceptance (LOA).

My prayer is that all of this paperwork gets approved quickly and that the time that we spend getting ready for MeiLin's arrival goes by quickly. We are so ready to hold our daughter.

Happy Birthday

As I type this it is 2:13 AM in China on June 30, 2010. My little girl will wake up today --- her first birthday. I have mixed emotions. I am so sad that I am not there to celebrate with her today. My heart just aches to go to China and hold her and kiss her sweet face. But, I am so excited that we have her! I am so excited to share in her life and enjoy many more birthdays to come. The hubby, the kids and I will celebrate her birthday tonight and tomorrow. She is our blessing!!!

We will post pics of the celebration for you to see!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MeiLin!!!

We will not allow Satan to destory our joy!

While we were enjoying the bliss of our new daughter. We found out that the money that we had just deposited into our checking account to cover some adoption costs was stolen through our itunes account. Yup....our accounts...CLEANED OUT! Needless to say I went into a panic! Thankfully the bank is helping us out. But oh my goodness...what a horrible feeling. BUT...we will not allow Satan to destroy our joy. God has triumphed and we are back on track for bringing MeiLin home. PRAISE GOD!

We have a baby girl!!!

We are so happy to announce that we have accepted a referral for a beautiful baby girl. We will need to wait to give you more details until our intentions are officially accepted by China. Please pray for us as we embark on this life adventure to bring our daughter home.

Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.
~Proverbs 25:25~

MeiLin Joy will soon be home!
Glory Be To God!

Psalm 139:7-9

7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Poem

A Message to Adoptive Parents
by Kathy Sabol

All children are a blessing,
They are precious gifts from Heaven.
They each are special in God's eyes
No matter how they're given.
For though most children have the bond
Of flesh and blood to start,
So many come a different way -
They're born within the heart.
So know, adoptive parents,
That your child was meant for you.
God searched throughout the whole wide world
And no one else would do.
He saw within you both
A strong reflection of His love
So now He gives your child to you,
A gift from heaven above.
Like all children they will need so much
Throughout their growing years,
And many days, you'll find, will have
Both laughter and some tears.
You'll see your life rewarded
With a joy you'll know is true.
Just remember, that the child you have
Is also God's child too.
So teach your child about Him
For He yearns to keep them near.
Like you, He always wants their love.
To Him they're just as dear.
Though years will pass by swiftly
All the happiness they'll bring
Will give your life such meaning
That you wouldn't change a thing.
Yes, dear parents, you were chosen
For your child right from the start.
It was you that they were meant for -
They were born within your heart.

The Road

Many people ask questions about the process. Here is a mini-breakdown of the last 3+ years.

Jan. 24 2007 - Preliminary application to the adoption agency
Feb 2007 - Formal application accepted by the agency
Mar 2007 - Aug 2007 - Paperchasing (this is the process where you need to collect anything and everything "official" about yourself to compile into a dossier that goes to China)
Aug 13, 2007 - Our dossier was sent to China
Aug 17, 2007 - Was our Log In Date (LID) - this is when China logged or dossier into their system
Aug 18 2007 - June 21 2010 - Waiting...Waiting...Waiting
Feb 2010 - Enter into the Special Needs List
June 22, 2010 - We have our Referral!!!! PRAISE GOD!

It All Started Almost 10 years Ago

Yeah...it really did! When we were a newly wed couple we wanted to do what most newlyweds wanted to do...well yeah THAT...which leads to starting a family. Things didn't go as planned. For 3 years we struggled with infertility. We began thinking about adoption while we started infertility treatments. We decided that if we were to adopt that we would look into adopting from China. Well...after some time of infertility treatments we did get pregnant and our son Jacob came along. :) Then we tried for #2 and after a year of treatment and a miscarriage we were blessed with Lana. We thought...there you go 2 kids...done! Well...funny how God has other plans! in November/December of 2006 God started placing desires in our hearts to think about adopting.

In January 2007 we started the process to adopt our 3rd child from China.