Rumors...

There are always lots of rumors in adoption world. I follow the site Rumor Queen regularly....Tim would say that I stalk the website but who listens to him :-)
ANYWAY.... Several posts ago, I mentioned that there has been a speed up in the way CCAA have been doing things. I believed that I mentioned that we might travel sooner than I thought. Hmmmm....maybe not so much!

The latest rumor out there is that the CCAA (chinese center for adoption affairs) is going to stop processing for adoptions for 20-30 days due to the swine flu...and then reassess. This obviously is not a good thing for our adoption! That means no referrals, no TA's ect... Not really what I was planning here!!!

For someone who was just *sure* that she would get her LOA this week, this is not good news! Now, I know I am only on day 69 and shouldnt expect anything until May 20th which is 90 days....it is hard when people who have later LID than us are getting their LOAS!

The problem with all this is really that the whole preceding post is filled with I.

I want our LOA
I want to travel this summer
I planned on LOA coming sooner
I dont want to be delayed....

you get the idea. The funny thing is a lot of the time when I make plans or think I have it all figured out...God says "HA"
and boy do I hear "HA" alot these days! The great thing about when we get the "HA's" it works better than we ever could have imagined in the long run. It isnt the way that we think it should be, or the timing that we feel it should be, but it is so much better than it would have been if it had gone "our" way! Who knows why the delay? Only God knows that answer. I can get mad and stomp my feet and eat all the chocolate in the house or I can trust. From the day He put adoption on our hearts we have been trusting Him...and we will continue to do so...swine flu and all!!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Blessings
Amy

Not Me Monday

Today I certainly did not oversleep and short my time on the treadmill
I didnt get snappy with my coworker in the morning, or with my husband later in the afternoon either....
I definately didnt pick up the phone and dial my adoption agency 8 times on my way home and never hit "send" just to see if my LOA was here.
I certainly didnt whine about not getting our LOA "when everyone else is getting theirs!!"
No way I started to cry when we got yet another rejection letter from a grant agency.
I really havent checked Rumor Queen about a zillion times looking to see who is getting their LOA's today.

I sure didnt feel helpless and discouraged and PMSing and just over all edgy about not bringing my baby home today
I certainly didnt forget the Gods Timing is always perfect and His plan is WAY bigger than mine ever could be....I also didnt forget that our adoption funding is a piece of cake for Him! Nope, Not me....

I most definately didnt slack on house work today and no way did I make the kids do ALL THE DISHES by themselves....

No way I ate 3 one bite brownies and 2 lemonade cookies today when I am on a diet...

I didnt let my kiddos skip over most of their homework so they could enjoy the weather before all the rain...not a responsible mom like me...


Blessings

Amy

I am SOOO weak!!!

I have to admit it...I am a really very weak person! Here we are inching along day by day on our way to our LOA and saving all our pennies since we are still short on cash to bring our little guy home! Good plan right? Well, I also have been feeling rather anxious, and a bit edgy as well...and to top it off I havent gotten any new updates since December!! That is what 5 months ago????
5 months of waiting, wondering and most importantly praying...

Wondering what he is doing, waiting anxiously to bring him home and praying constantly that he is safe......

5 months of no families traveling to bring home pictures

5 months of not hearing ONE word about how he is doing...

I am so weak!!

I went here and Tim and I decided that the cost of an orphanage phone call was worth the peace of mind that I desperately need as not to become one of my clients.....Kelly and Angela are wonderful (we used them in July for our updates too) So for the price of one dinner out (which we all gratefully sacrificed) we are now the great recipients of UPDATES!!!!!

We got to ask 10 questions:

. Did he receive the care package we sent in the mail?

Yes. (I need to learn not to ask close ended questions...)

2. Is he drinking from a cup or a bottle?

Cup. (guess I can take those bottles back)

3. What are his favorite snacks?

He is not picky. He likes to eat dim sum. (UHH...what is Dim Sum??)

4. What are his favorite toys?

Little cars. (Just like Zach at that age!)

5. How does he communicate best ?

He can describe what he’s seen with some short sentences, such as: my doll is crying; I will take my doll to see doctor; Let me deliver dim sum to the children, etc. He communicates with friends on his own. (take doll to see a doctor???)

6. Does he wear diapers?

Yes, he still wears diapers. (we atleast guessed that right!!)

7. What is his personality like? (happy, outgoing, shy ect…)

Happy and shy. (very sweet!!)

8. What are his favorite things to do?

He likes movement activity. (This might scare me???)

9. What makes him happy?

To interact and play with his nannies and teachers makes him happy. ( and hopefully his new parents...)

10. Is there anything he doesn’t like?

He doesn’t like to be with strangers. He is afraid of that. He doesn’t like others talk with him sternly. He would cry if someone talks to him with a firm voice. (UHH...we might have a problem here!!! We really will be strangers to the poor little guy!!)

11. His updated measurements:
Height: 95cm; Weight: 15kg; Head: 50cm; Chest: 54cm; Teeth: 16; Foot: 15cm.
(He has grown 8 cm since Dec but not gained any weight...however he has lost 3 teeth LOL!!)

Wow, we are feeling so very blessed to get all this information about our son....It will really help as I try to start packing things and buying necessary items. We are on Day 63 today so the clock is TICKING!!!

Our Raffle is going well...we are at 550.00 TOTAL in donations....BID BID BID!! I got the bags yesterday and they are incredibly GORGEOUS!!! Remember bidding ends MAY 3rd!! you can go here to bid....

Oh, did I forget to mention that along with the update...I might have gotten some new PICTURES?????

Wow this is fun...



Lacing is hard work..



What do YOU want???



I think I have it...



Maybe stickers would be more fun....



WHAT A SMILE!!!!



What more could I possibly say now except WOW!!!! That was so totally worth it!!

We have a few more families traveling soon so I wont have to spend any more money on updates, but I am just absolutely THRILLED today!!!

Blessings
Amy

Our Star!!

Emily had a incredible opportunity today! I am feeling so blessed to be able to attend and be just a tiny part of it! She is in 5th grade choir and her music teacher came up with an awsome service project for the 15 girls to do. There is a local teacher who wrote a song called Flag of Freedom. Well Emily's teacher got permission for the girls to sing it and contacted Sweetwater Sound here to see if they would be interested in assisting the girls in producing a CD of it to send to troops overseas! Her teacher didn't expect much, but Sweetwater Sound came through in a HUGE way! The girls visited the building today, got a tour (who seriously has a free arcade, pool table and hair salon for their employees??) and then proceded to their recording studio to actually produce a professional CD to send to the troops! I was so proud of the girls writing letters to the troops in Iraq, working SO hard on the song and designing their own CD covers for them! It was an incredible opportunity for the girls to see what really goes into making a CD as well as an incredible blessing to all the troops. I am attaching the vidoe I took of their warm up....
It was really amazing all the work that goes into producing one song. The girls must have sang the song 12 times! It was amazing and Sweetwater would be an awsome place to work! They had video lending library, one of those electronic games that you actually hit the golf ball into the screen, a small putt putt course, Skee ball ect...not to mention a top notch food place. They really value their employees there! The girls all got an opportunity to eat and play then and they all thought that they wanted to live there :-) It was an amazing opportunity for the girls and they were so impressed and excited to help the troops! I am so proud of the girls, their school and Sweetwater for making this all possible! BTW, if you get the local paper watch out for an article on it....Yup, the paparazzi were there too!!

Blessings
Amy

BTW...DAY 60!!!

The weekend

I have to say that I LOVE the weekend! We had such a great time this weekend. Friday and Saturday were absolutely gorgeous days and evenings! Cook outs, bonfires and laughter were on board for Friday night with great friends. Saturday brought a moving party to my sis in laws, visiting with my Grandma and a quiet night at home. Sunday was spent in worship and just having family time....Doesnt get much better does it?????? Now it's quiet, all are in bed, the dishes (our dishwasher broke :-( and laundry are complete and we begin another busy week!

\ I am posting this video off my dig camera just to see what it looks like. We have a camcorder (takes the mini DV tapes) but am not tech savvy enough yet to figure out how to get it on the puter. It is much easier if I use a my camera so we will see....

I am starting to get anxious a bit. Today is day 59, will we hear something this week? I am still confident that this will all happen in His timing, but have been preparing more and more lately. I recreated my packing spreadsheet, filled out all the I800, DS230 and I864W paperwork for the most part so it is ready to go. I organized all our paper work and located the passports. I actually found a boys growth chart and have plotted all the measurements so far...Boy they dont really make sense though :-)
We did finish 3 loan applications as well so we are praying for guidance on that as well as our grant applications that we have submitted.

We are doing a lot of waiting. I think that is the hardest part of adoption. Early on a goodfriend had me watch a video that she had on her blog....(turn the music off on the player at the bottom of the blog first)



I love this song and the video because it is so very true. I know especially in the adoption world we all try to remember that Gods timing is perfect, but this is oh so much more...

Blessings
Amy

Is it coming????

Ok, my heart is racing here....
Some background first. I keep a huge excel spreadsheet keeping track of the stats on a website here
Rumor Queen as it is otherwise known...
ANYWAY, today a BIG batch of LOA's were recieved. What is making my heart race is that they are all around the same log in date as ours!!! Remember last week they were looking at our dossier... So in theory my LOA should come in the next big batch! WOW...Getting closer and CCAA is having a speed up right now since I am only on day 55!! (someone got theirs today on day 47!) Can I say EXCITING news for sure!! Gods timing is perfect and although I am a bit excited, I am also at peace if we need to wait longer as well!

Our Vera giveaway is going well.....so far not even a week into it and we have raised quite a bit of money! Keep on entering and remember if you advertise it on your blog or F*cebook you get an extra entry to all the bags!!!

Blessings
Amy
B

ITS HERE!!

Check out our new site here for our big fundraiser!!! It has all the info that you need and pictures of the awsome bags we are drawing for!!!

The drawing will happen on May 3rd (my birthday :-)for all the lucky winners!!

Grab our button with your donation and if you put it on your blog, website, or anywhere else and let me know, you will get a free entry! Just leave your blog addy in the comments. Good Luck to all and check back soon!

Blessings

Amy

Hmmm...At least SOMEBODY is looking...

At our DOSSIER!!
I recieved and email today from Hand in Hand. It said that the CCAA had realized that we were missing a certain sentence in our letter that is included in our dossier. Evidently I left out the wording "that we promise never to abuse our abandon our child" UHHH...Not a chance!
Anyway, I fixed the letter and refaxed it to our adoption agency who will then in turn fax it to their contact at CCAA!

Obviously I dont want anything to be wrong with our dossier, but am slightly giddy in knowing that the CCAA is reviewing our dossier!!
We are at day 47 today ...very exciting!
Blessings
Amy

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We all had a great time on our Spring Break this year. Taylor came home safely on Saturday night and had a wonderful time! We are so happy to have her back home safely Praise God! We were happy just to get to spend time together today at home, church and of course out to lunch. She is quite sunburnt and is looking more and more tan every hour :-) Lucky her!!

Tim and I spent the day working on the fundraiser we are going to do as well as the application for The Abba Fund. The Abba Fund is an incredible Christian organization that offers covenant interest free adoption loans. We are thrilled to be able to apply for this kind of loan!

We are at day 45 today!!
The half way mark for our wait for LOA. Like I posted previously we have seen a speed up so who knows? I have peace in may heart since my last posting. God has been so good, has given us such an inner peace and we just rejoice in the knowledge that this WILL happen and He is in control!
Last week the sermon was on Gods Promises...there is a site here that you can sign up for an email daily that will send you one of the many of Gods Promises from the bible. I really enjoy seeing these in my inbox everyday to focus upon.

Blessings

Amy

Perspective

Yesterday was really not a good day. We have seen a speed up in how quickly the LOAs were arriving and I started to panic about how we were going to secure the funding in an even shorter amount of time. We also found out that a very large bonus from Tim's old employer wasnt going to materialize (dont ask..) However we had planned on using that $$.

It was kind of a double whammy for us. I have really been struggling with this. I am faithful, my heart truly believes that Our Awsome Lord is going to provide us with the funds to bring our son home. We started this journey with a little over $500 and He has provided every cent we have needed so far. I know that His timing is perfect and this is His plan after all. HOWEVER, my head still struggles. I am a huge control freak. I really really really try to give Him complete control, I just want to figure out what He will do with it.

I add up the numbers and dispair that it doesnt come out right. I know that He is bigger than any amount of money, and problem and any solution I could possibly come up with, but still I worry.

I went to my wonderful husband about this and my heart. He assured me that I wasnt this horrible person for doubting, but just human. We prayed for guidance and comfort together as well as for peace and we talked. The more my husband talked the more he put this all into perspective for me. However bad things may seem this is Gods plan and it will be fufilled, His way and in His time. There is no doubt in either of us that this is the child that he has led us to. Everything else is just details....

We are so very blessed. In this sinful world our marriage is stronger than ever, our children are our greatest joy and Christ is at the center of our family. In such a horrible economy we both have stable jobs, steady income and everything that we need. We have so much to be grateful for...so many families are out of work, losing their homes and struggling to pay their bills. My job centers around caring for severely mentally ill clients who if not homeless, live in poverty. Our daughter, our own medical miracle is only here by the graciousness of our Lord.

So today I awoke with a brand new perspective. I am going to rejoice in all of our blessings and leave the details to the One who can handle them better than I ever could.

"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay." Habakkuk 2:3

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

He will lead us in the path that we will continue to follow,

Blessings,
Amy