three little letters

We received the call from our agency on Friday evening! I had been avoiding taking a shower all day because I feared the call would come at that moment! BUT I figured my husband and kiddos would appreciate me more if I did.

Our FB group had been chatting all day and had a heads up that our agency had received 9, yes, 9 LOAs!!!! One was a family that had just received their call and we had the same timeline.

I also most preface this with the fact that we finally received our update (after 6 long weeks of waiting) on our little girl around lunchtime, so I wasn't too hopeful that our LOA would arrive this week. (I will post more on that later)

Here's how it all went down...

My nieces were here for a visit and we wanted to get one last bike ride in before I took them home. I brought out my cell phone and the house phone and kept them on the cable box outside.

We live on a cul-de-sac and all 5 kids were riding bikes. Wouldn't you know that just when I was out of the circle trying to help my sweet niece learn to ride without her training wheels...that would be the moment the phone rang...mid letting go of A while she wobbled along. I grabbed her and had her jump off so I could run down the street to grab the phone.

I missed the call!

I was so out of breath from running but managed to redial the number in hopes of catching YuPing! Her sweet, soft voice answered and gave me the fabulous news that, indeed, our LOA had arrived!

I thanked her and then began to cry.

I think I may have even told her that we loved her!!!

It has been a long road to get to this point.

If you remember, next month marks one year since we received the phone call from our agency telling us that the little girl, our Khloe, that we had been matched with in Th*il*nd was no longer available for us to adopt.

This adoption has been very emotional for us. So we've guarded our hearts and the hearts of our children. And we continue to do so until we bring our little princess home.

We can't post pictures of her until she is legally ours in Ch*n*.

But we pray that you will continue to follow our journey until we can!

Thank you all for your prayers and your words of encouragement!

Thank you, also to those that have purchased our coffee and also purchased through 147 Million Orphans! Thank you for your donations to our garage sale a few months back and to those who came and bought!

YOU are a part of HER story!

YOU are the hands and feet of Christ and we thank you and love you from the bottom of our hearts!

We are still brainstorming a few more fundraisers to cover the rest of our adoption expenses.

I will try to post more this week specifically about our beautiful girl and our update.

Will you please pray for her and her foster family tonight? Pray that they are keeping warm, that they have plenty of food to eat and that they will find peace with all that will be changing in their lives these next few months!

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light at the end of the tunnel!

I-800, I-864W, DS-230, and a few more. Signed, notarized and getting packaged for FedEx!
We are anticipating our Letter Of
Approval (LOA) within the coming weeks!
What a perfect Christmas gift for our family it will be!!!
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13 Years

13 years ago today, God gave me the desire of my heart! I can't imagine where my life would be today if it weren't for my husband!!

I am so blessed to be married to such a Godly man! Even more blessed to be the mother of his children!

I can't wait to see what else the Lord has planned for our lives together!

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Have You Ever Asked Yourself...

What can I do to help?

I know we have, even while in the midst of adopting ourselves. And we are so excited to be partnered with 147 Million Orphans to raise money to bring our daughter home from China while at the same time helping other orphans across the globe. 

I'm super excited to tell you that 147 has these amazing sweatshirts and hoodies available along with so many cool clothes and other merchandise!  Take a peek, you won't be disappointed!

If you have ever felt a nudge to be a part of helping a child home to their forever families or have asked yourself "What can I do?", or "Can I really make a difference?" ...

The answer is YES!!!!! You can make a difference!  Will you please take a minute and click on our 147 Million Orphan link and check it out? Ordering through our link on our blog will designate 30% of your order to be sent directly to our adoption agency(WACAP).  The ONLY way that it will be credited to our adoption is to go through our blog and our 147 Million Orphans link!

We pray that you will be as richly blessed as our family, our new daughter, and millions of orphans will be with your purchase!

DTC and LID

October 18 we were officially Dossier to China!!! This proved to be just as amazing as it did when we were in the process of adopting Jackson! At this point we know that our family has done all we can on our end to let the Chinese officials know how much we desire Ming Wa to become a member of our family!

We also received word 3 weeks later that we have a LID (Log In Date) of October 23,2012.

It is from this date that our official count down begins! We are waiting for our final approval from China that we can adopt Ming Wa! This typically takes on average 2-4 months. We are almost 1 month into the wait our LOA (Letter of Approval).

Please pray with us as we wait for this final approval!




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the little things

that bring a smile to my boy's face




How could this Mama refuse?!

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in His time

We've finally made it to the last step of our dossier! We have been doing all we can to get our DTC but have been trusting in HIS timing!

Monday we will FedEx our approval and homestudy to the Secretary of State and then on to the Houston Consulate. Then these final documents will make there way to our agency. It will all be photocopied and our dossier will be sent to Ch*na!

Please say a prayer that these documents won't be "mis-sorted" in route to their destinations!

Each day brings us one day closer to our little girl! Would you say a prayer for our little girl today?

Pray that the Lord continues to prepare her heart for all that is to come! As far as we know she does not know about us and probably won't know until we are able to send a care package or ask for an update and pictures. Pray that God will send people in her path that will be able to show her what being adopted and having a forever family is about. Please pray that her heart would begin to soften toward the Gospel and our faith!

And if you would, please pray for us as we continue to raise money for her adoption. God has been faithful and will always provide for the things He has called us to!

Please pray as we continue to prepare our hearts and home for adopting an older child!

We are so in love with our little girl and we are anxious to share more about her when we are able!


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keeping up with blogging

I'm trying to figure out ways to keep up with posting more efficiently.

The easiest way is from our desktop computer because it's familiar territory, but I'm never on that computer and it makes our bedroom feel like a sauna!!!

Unfortunately the computer doesn't always read our SD card for photos.

For Christmas, my amazing husband gave me an iPad so I am learning to upload (or is it download) photos from my camera and iPhone to the iPad so that I can post photos to the blog.

I L.O.V.E my iPad! I love it's convenience and portability!

I never knew that you could check the stats on your blog to see how many views you were getting until recently I noticed that when I sign in to blogger it automatically would show page views.

It's not anything I ever thought of much until I realized that the page views were going up, but my number of posts were not.

I have many posts in my head but need to get them down so that one day my children can go back and read them! Because surely I will not remember them.

So I'm going to take a shot at trying to get some not so (where is the strike through key on blog press) recent pictures of what's been happening in our neck of the woods!!!

Enjoy!



Christmas 2011 at my parents' in Murphy NC




Family picture at the end of the neighborhood my parents live in.



Visit with cousins Thanksgiving 2011



What it was really like!!!!



A favorite photo while in Guangzhou Feb 2010



Chinese New Year 2012



Jadon's baptism!!! March 18, 2012



Easter spent with sweet and silly cousins! 2012



Easter morning! 2012



Surprises in our garden! Promises spoken on the Lord!



Trying out manual photography with my birthday gift (from last year)



Another attempt at shooting manually



Thrilled that we had success with carrots!



Bountiful blessings from above!



Finding a worm!



Sydney's 5th grade graduation...deserving a blog post of its own!



Jadon trying out a new sport....in the AC!!!!!!!



The crew being silly....because we can!! Amazing what a little AC can do for soccer playing families in FL!



All tuckered out!



Excited that Daddy is not coaching and can stand with Daddy!



Waiting for the awards ceremony...in the heat!



Sitting on Mama's feet!



Receiving his trophy!



Championship Playoff Teams!



Undefeated Champions!
July 15,2012

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testing for facebook

just testing to a post to facebook.

will you let me know if it works?

homestudy and dossier.

We are currently working on our homestudy documents and doctor appointments so that we will have everything completed by our homestudy visit. 

This includes sending off for our dossier documents.

Our goal is to have it all completed by the end of the summer before school starts mid-August.

We were set back a couple of weeks because we had all been sick.  It has taken me 5 weeks to rid myself of the crud that's been going around.  A cough still lingers, but I'll take it!

Hopefully Tropical Storm Debby will do a number on the pollen count in our neck of the woods.

I don't mind a week of constant raining...we so desperately need the rain!

We're not quite sure how the fountain in our retention pond behind the house is able to continue pumping, the pond is so low.

We were able to have 2 garage sales in the past couple of weeks and now we have to box and bag the leftovers to be picked up by Amvets so our garage will finally be empty!

I will post pictures of our garage sale soon!

Please pray for our little girl!

Pray that the Lord will start preparing her heart for her forever family.

We do not know at what point she will be told about us.

We will not be able to send a care package until after we have our LOA.

But I know that God can start a work in her heart!

news to share.

We are thrilled to announce!
We have received PreApproval!
For a beautiful little Girl!
From China!
She is 8 1/2 years old.
She lives with a foster family in Shanghai.
Her given name means A Little Doll that has a bright future!
We're looking forward to sharing more about our newest Treasure and Blessing from Above!!!

Urgent Prayer Needed!

Please storm the gates of heaven for baby Truman...he is the son of Laura and Cameron Mouro at www.themourofamily.blogspot.com This sweet family loves the Lord and is facing a great trial!!! In the past couple of years I have corresponded with Laura by email over some struggles in my life and she and her husband were most helpful! Please pray!!!!

Unexpected Surprise

We had the pleasure of meeting a fellow adoptive family. Their son has bilateral microtia like Jackson. Their daughter has atresia. Jackson was able to meet an older boy that looked like him. Jackson was able to look at his implanted Bahas! It was nice for Kurt and I to talk to another couple that have a family like ours. We were so excited to talk about some common experiences that we forgot to ask them their names!!! We are so embarrassed! So here is a shout out to the family we met! We hope if the family is checking out our crazy family in this blog That you will forgive our rudeness! We'd love to know your names!!

hope for tomorrow

After much prayer and thoughts, late night talks, and then some more prayer, Kurt and I have requested to change adoption programs. We are in the process of changing from the Thailand program to the China program with WACAP. Although I know that it is the right decision for our family, it was very difficult to type the email to our Thailand caseworker. A few tears were shed. Maybe because it was additional closure on not being able to adopt Khloe. She will always be a part of our family. Her picture will continue to be tucked away in my bible and we will continue to pray for the little girl we called our own. We are thankful that God's mercies are new every morning! And it is because of HIM that we have hope for tomorrow! His promises that were spoken to our hearts are still the same! We have a little girl that waits for us across the great blue sea! We are excited to find her and bring her home to her forever family! Thank you to so many of you who have been praying for us! It is your prayers that helped us through the rough terrain of adoption. Thank you for standing in the gap for our family! Your prayers have been felt. During this time new scripture was revealed to me through another adoptive family. "A 423 Family" claimed this verse for their family. Jeremiah 42:3 says" ...that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go and the thing that we should do." Each morning when I woke up I would pray this for our family...it is taped on my bathroom mirror. I am still in awe that we serve an amazing God who has a fresh new word for us no matter what trial we face! Would you still pray for us? Will you consider continuing to stand in the gap for us? Our prayer is that we will ALWAYS be willing to go wherever God calls us! Please pray for us as we continue to fundraise. Please pray for wisdom for us as we review files.

One Nation Under God...a giveaway

There 's a children's book giveaway over at www.ourfullhouse.com

Go check it out!

"are you willing"

Our Lord God has been speaking to my heart these past couple of days:

"Are you willing to give her up for me?"

"Are you willing to give her up for something more perfect for your family?"

"Are you willing to give her up for things you can't see?"

"Are you willing to give her up to keep your family under my umbrella of protection?"

"Are you willing to give her up so she can be someone else's blessing?"

"Are you willing to trust me even though it hurts?"

"Are you willing to trust me at all financial costs?"

"Are you willing to give up control and allow your husband to lead?"

"Are you willing to give her up for a child who needs you more?"

"Are you willing...?"

crushed!

Yesterday we received a phone call that we thought would never happen.
At least not at this point in the process.

Another family, somewhere, is also desiring to adopt the little girl we have already called our own.

I think I was in shock yesterday as I sat and listened to our agency tell us about the email they had just received.

Today, as I look at the things we couldn't fit into her care package that we just mailed on Wednesday, I cry.

Our agency has no information other than what I just shared.

They will be traveling to Thailand next Friday and meet with the DSDW Board and all of the social workers in Thailand as they hand deliver our dossier.

Our dossier that requests to adopt this little one.

Our agency is hoping that they will find out more information.

We are praying that we are farther along in the process and that it will be considered, if we are.

We know ultimately that this is all in the Lord's hands.

Until we find out for sure about our little girl ~

We won't know where we go from here.

I asked God to give me a fresh new Word this morning.

So I've waited.

And He spoke.

"Pray for the other family."

So I pray.

Not really sure what I'm to pray for~

Other than for the Lord to comfort them if they've been told the same information from their agency.

Praying for peace for their hearts, as well.

Today as I read my devotional, Jesus Calling, it was EXACTLY the fresh new word that I needed to hear from my God and my Savior.

His Word reminding me that He is ALWAYS with me! And that He is holding me by my right hand. Guiding me with his counsel and taking me into his glory afterward. And although my flesh and my heart may fail, God will always be the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:23-26)


The first scripture after the devotional that took my breath away?


"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

Our sweet little girls' life verse!

alive and kickin'

Has it really been T.H.A.T. long since I last posted?

I thought I should come up for air!

and write a quick post.

We have been waiting to hear back from Jackson's visit with the craniofacial team 2 weeks ago to find out why he is not talking like he should be able to at this point.

We are hoping to have the final report tomorrow.

The first information we received from the Speech Language Clinician was that we needed to be tougher on him.

It broke my heart.

He's stubborn.

Not to mention S.T.R.O.N.G.   W.I.L.L.E.D.!

But oh so loveable and snuggleble  (is that a word?)

The last thing the pediatrician told us before we left was that the SLP was thinking that he might have Neurological Apraxia.  Which I guess is also call Childhood Apraxia of Speech.

This isn't anything that we've been told as a definite thing.

Apraxia, from what we've read, is when someone knows exactly what they want to say, but the neurological processes that must occur to make it happen don't occur.  This could be because of low muscle tone, motor coordination, synapses not firing, etc.

Jackson DEFINITELY knows what he wants to say!

and boy, he has ALOT to say!

but it just.doesn't.come.out (so that we can understand it)

Our SLP at school and his other teachers are thinking that it is more along the lines of Velopharyngeal Insufficiency.  Which is determined through scoping and other methods. (with Apraxia as secondary)

Our purpose in going to see the craniofacial team was so that this could be completed.

It wasn't!

We mentioned it to each doctor that came into the room.

Doctors can be frustrating.

We are hoping to be able to update the blog tomorrow with a definite prognosis and a plan!

But on the brighter side...

These are the words and phrases that we can understand when Jackson says them:

Mama
Daddy
Sydney
Jadon
Jackson (sometimes)
Maggie
eat
please
drink
more
thank you
bye bye
yes
no (sometimes)
water
Sorry Mama
Please Mama
Thank you Mama
I love you Mama (finally spontaneously in the middle of Sam's Club) Melt my heart!!!!!
I see?
What's that?
Where's _______?

Would you be able to understand him?

Probably not!

Everything is a vowel sound, except the occassional "m".

But I guess all of our kids started in this manner!

He does have a larger sign vocabulary and is beginning to string 3 signs together. 

He told Sydney yesterday in response to her telling him to listen...
"NO! YOU LISTEN!"



We were able to get a few good pictures of him on Chinese New Year!  I can't believe how big he's grown!

Will try to get those on soon!