Update and A little horsing around...

Our little dude has been advocated for before.  Thought y'all might like to see what others have said about him.

(And, doesn't "Shane" sound like a good cowboy name??  It's how the former agency referred to him since Chin*se names are not shared publicly.  Not a bad moniker during the wait!)

http://www.asiahope.blogspot.com/2011/11/shane-fast-as-lightening.html

http://tenlittleducklings.blogspot.com/2013/03/shane.html

Doesn't he sound fun??  We've heard from other updates very much the same thing - that he is fast, active, full of personality, and a bit of a stinker, but really sweet and engaging.  Looks like we may have our hands full with this one AND his "big" brother Joel.

Seth's limb difference is fairly complicated, and we don't really know what all will be involved once we get home.  He has quite a bit of orthopedic work ahead, but we have an AMAZING ortho team who will help him achieve the best outcome.  Joel has thrived under their care, and we expect even more great progress down the road for him.  We are truly blessed with an incredible community that will welcome, embrace & care for our precious newest cowboy.

WHERE WE ARE NOW:
Our homestudy just completed its final revision stage.  THANK YOU for helping us that piece paid off!  Our homestudy agency filed paperwork with US Immigration (I-800a) on Friday.  I spent Friday in paperwork heaven (or hades, depending on your perspective!)  After 9 stops at various agencies & gov't offices (and 7 1/2 hours running the roads in Nashville area traffic, BLECH...), I was able to get the remainder of our documents ready for the final certification and approval, so basically, our dossier is nearly DONE.  We are moving right along, except....

Now, we wait.

This is a hurry-up-get-your-stuff-signed-quickly-and-FedEx-it-back-then-wait-FOREVER-for-agencies-to-process-it journey.

Sigh...

Soon, we will be fingerprinted, and hopefully be approved with no real fanfare nor delays to bring a new family member into the country.  That 1 page approval document is the last item to complete our dossier for submitting to Ch*na. If I get my birthday wish this week, that won't take more than 6 or 7 weeks.

Then, we can scramble around to get it notarized, certified, sanctified, glorified, and get it to our agency so they can finish our dossier and get it on its merry way to our little man's motherland A.S.A.P!!!!

Then, we will wait.
Again.
Ugh...

In the meantime, we're enjoying learning all we can about his home area and what our trip to a different province of Ch*na will look like.  It's a sweet & fascinating piece of this puzzle that Seth's province is known for horses & grassland, even though he has not experienced that lifestyle.  Yet. :)  What a wonderful connection; we're eager to experience a little of it (albeit in the dead of winter!) when we travel.  And, then bring that lil buckeroo home and introduce him to the "grasslands" of home.

Definitely room in that saddle for lil brother

Big Daddy G is NOT holding on.  Little man is riding ALL BY HIMSELF!!

Tidal Waves and birthdays

This is the blog post that I imagine every adoptive family struggles to write, dreads to post, wishes to not hope so much in...

...asking for help.

It's inevitable for most of us in this situation and common to many adoptive families in process of gathering their children into their nest.  We have room in our hearts and in our home and in our family budget to parent another child.  We are eager to love, nurture and raise another precious son.  But we cannot keep up with the waves of extra costs that keep coming in as regular as the tide.  We need financial help to bring our Seth home.  Many adoption expenses come in BIG chunks that are time-sensitive (along with many, many little costs sprinkled in between!!)  The process comes to a grinding halt at various stages without those big fees paid in full.  We are DESPERATE to keep things moving.  Seth turned 3 years old last week without us; Joel turned 5 a few days later at HOME.

The contrast for us was heartbreaking.

If you are inclined to & ready to help us with the adoption expenses, you probably don't need any reasons why or have questions about how/why it costs so much, etc...feel free to skip the rest of this blog and grab the donation info from the sidebar.  

And THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts.  You have no idea how much encouragement every donation brings.

If you'd like a little more info about where we are in the process, read on...

The next big step to keep moving involves final fees for our homestudy, US immigration application & dossier completion.  We've been working like crazy to get the pieces put together.  Once our dossier is sent to Ch!na, we have a bit of a wait for the in-country approvals & connections to happen.  That will also be a time for us to apply for grants, sell what we can, save up more nickels, etc...  

We know for sure that God will provide; He's promised He would, and we've seen His powerful, reassuring work before and are confident that He'll do it again.  We have no doubt that He could drop the rest of the fees into our lap today, if He chose to.  But, He is about relationship - our relationship & dependence on Him, and our relationships & interdependence with others.  We've been on both sides of this process, and in both places we've experienced the joy of giving & receiving, the humility of recognizing that our gifts are small but that each one is significant and represents a sacrifice, and the AMAZEMENT that God has allowed us to be part of each other's journey.  We have a vested interest in each other when we open ourselves and admit our need, and when we offer our support.  SO, I'm sure THAT'S why God doesn't choose to send a money bag down through the clouds to take care of everything ourselves.  Darn it, anyhow. ;)

We need to need help.
  
We need to be needed to help others.

The need for us right now?  

$1,560 ASAP (this week!!) for Homestudy & US Immigration

PLUS

$5,075 in the next few weeks to get that big ol' dossier to Ch1na!!

(See what I mean? Waves...crashing...)

I'm thankful for this promise:

 You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus. Our God and Father abounds in glory that just pours out into eternity. Yes.  Phil. 4:19 (The Message)

Yes!!

Oh yeah, they gone...

It's big.

It's wonderful.

It's ordinary.

It's heavy.

[...so, I have a wee little drama gene that is fun to call up into service, but it can easily take over and scream "NOT ENOUGH! NEED MORE CAPITALS! NEED MORE EXCLAMATION POINTS!!! NEED MORE CONFETTI!!  It's a drama gene, for crying out loud!]

Okay, Okay. Hold your horses.

No, I am NOT pregnant (although I have, at times, felt the urge to eat enough for two...)

But, I am expecting!  Expecting, waiting, preparing, waiting, dreaming, hoping, WAITING, planning, weeping, WAITING...

for this.

This. beautiful. face.  This spunky little man.  This courageous survivor. This child of mine.  Our son.  Munchkin #5.

Number 5!!!  Big Daddy G initially wanted 2 children (that's what he knew & grew up with); I wanted 4 (that's what I grew up with); we thought that we were done with 3.

And, then FOUR...

But, it just keeps getting better.

(Big, overwhelmed, contented sigh...)

Ok, before any of you say, "I knew it! I knew you'd adopt again!", just let me say that might be the equivalent of saying to someone who's pregnant for the 4th, 5th, 6th, etc. time, "You know how that happens, right?" I promise not to sock you in the nose if you do the 'I-told-you-so', but I'm not sure the rest of my family will comply.  You've been warned. ;)  (And, for the record, we sort-a suspected we weren't done adding to our family.  So, there. :p)

But, really, say what you want, we can take it!  God has surprised and blessed us beyond our imaginations.

WE HAVE ANOTHER SON!

We've just received pre-approval from Ch*na to pursue adopting this wee one, so we really do have some waiting to do.  Our "paperchase" is in full swing, but we're still looking at several months before we can fold this one into this family and settle him into our nest here on the homestead.

[Stay tuned for more news and updates.]

Feel free to do the happy dance with us, if you must.  And you MUST.

Happy, happy, happy.

[misc references compliments of Duck Dynasty, Jack.]

Follow us to China

To make life easier for the trip, we will be uploading and blogging over at Shutterfly.  Come along and see what we are up to.

Random Clarity photo blog

See you over there.

Also, I've linked to some of our fellow traveler's blogs to the left.  You never know if we might show up in one of their pictures.  Follow them for another perspective on the trip.

Big Hugs!
Suzanne

Adoption as a Paper Pregnancy - the unexpected onset of labor (Travel Approval)

Warning:  this will really ramble.  No...., more than usual.

We got the amazing news this morning that our US Consulate Appointment in China has been confirmed. That is basically the last thing we do before we bring our son home as a US citizen.  The rest of our adoption trip is built around that date.  Usually one has a minimum of 2-4 weels before one leaves in order to carefully review COMPETITIVELY PRICED itineraries, plan for departure cities that are appealing, gather travel supplies in an orderly and calm manner, ponder & question options - this hotel or that one; this airlines or the other; Newark, Chicago or Dulles? Hong Kong, Bejing, stop in Tokyo?

Not us.  We leave in 1 week.  Our options are limited and expensive.

We're in a bit of shock.  God's not.  Thank GOD (truly).

I texted my sister in a moment of panic this morning.  She replied:

Be still, my soul, the Lord is on thy side. 

Leave to thy God to order and provide. 

In every change, He faithful will remain 

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

One of our family's favorite hymns.  In case you don't know already, my sister knows what thorny ways looks like. She became a widow & single parent to my beautiful young nephews last summer.  She's the baby of our family.  She knows panic; she knows unexpected.  She knows joy & mercy.  She knows faithfulness of a good & loving Father.  Our Father.  

Joel's Father.

So, He's not wringing His hands.  (and I'm trying not to.)  I love being His child.

We are beyond excited!  This reminds me so much of Anna's (my youngest "Big") birth.  We were on the hospital calendar for a C-section... in ink.... confirmed. She decided to come 2 1/2 weeks early.  I wasn't ready.  The house wasn't ready.  I didn't know if I had prepared Audra & Will enough for their sister.  I didn't know if I was ready to be a parent of 3 children under 4 years old.  But it was time.

It's time.  [I need an epidural.  Somebody please call Dr. Presley. :)]

I'm weepy, scared, hormonal, THRILLED, ready-to-drop-everything-and-go, not ready in the least, THANKFUL, anxious.  And leaning harder into Jesus than ever. Desperate for His parenting skills and grace.

And, in all this, my heart breaks, too.  Joel has NO true idea what's about to happen to him. He's going to be taken from the only place and "mamas" he's ever known and handed to us for good.  I mean, my Hubby is adorable and all, but he's a STRANGER.  We LOVE this little guy, but he has no idea who we are.  We've prayed constantly through this "pregnancy" that God would whisper peace into Joel's heart.  That he would know very quickly that he is safe with us, HIS mom & dad.  We desperately want him to know he can trust us.  (BTW, if you've never heard a daddy pray for his child on the other side of the world, you should.  Few things in life are that sweet.)

The past couple of days have been the perfect example of the strange parallels of life - a microcosm of our family's last year.  Beautiful highs, crashing lows.  Love & sorrow.  Grief & joy.

By leaving early, we get to see our son sooner, but I don't get to travel with a friend who has walked the journey with us & longs to see her little girl.  They must wait a couple weeks. [UPDATE:  they get to travel early, too!!!  Yea!!]  Other friends watch as we pass them up, and they continue to wait for money, paperwork, permission to travel.

Joel gets to come home sooner, but I don't feel quite as prepared here to welcome him to our world.  But, in Papa Bear's words last night, "if Joel walked through the front door right now, we'd be OK.  We'd set up a place for him to sleep and figure it all out."  Comfort, contented sigh....  I love my husband.  This is going to be a great, belated 25th Anniversary Trip!!

AND, as we rejoice, we have 2 sets of friends who grieve great loss & pain.  A young man from our former church in Indiana lost his life on Sunday: family, friends, a church devastated.  Another young son had an accident on Sunday and suffered a serious brain injury.  The family, friends and a community waits and hopes and prays for healing.

Life, in its fullness. How do we live with these extremes?

So, we are (and ask you to join us) lifting the Wilson and Daniel families in their time of sorrow.  We pray for healing, peace, comfort, strength and Supernatural relief from the pain for them.  PLEASE pray with us for these hurting families.  We joyfully thank God for His sweet provision and the blessing of a son for us.  We look forward to the Day when all things will finally make sense.

"There are two days in my calendar: This day and that Day."  ~Martin Luther

[Thanks for the reminder, SCC.  That quote has succinctly revolutionized my days.]

Sorry to ramble.  Just wanted to get my thoughts down on paper.  Now, I gotta run and pull together my crazy life and GO. GET. MY. SON!!

((Hugs))

Without words.....well, almost.

Me?  Without words?  Takes a lot to get there for me.  Those of you that know me are not shocked, I know.   But truly, perfect, even adequate words fail me now to express my ..... see, I don't know what to even call it.  Amazement? Joy? Wonder? Gratitude?  Awe.

God has provided for us in a beautiful, all-sufficient way.  Everything we lacked to bring Joel home has now been provided.  We have all the funds we need to travel, get our son, and bring him home.  God knows each one of us so well, and he knows who to bring alongside each of us in our journeys.  Fundraising is one of the most daunting parts to an adoptive family.  It shouldn't be.  God has proven himself as a perfect provider over and over - in our lives, our extended families' lives, in our friends' lives as well.  One man told me at the beginning of our adoption journey that raising the money would be the easy part.

Excuse me?  The Easy Part??

I understand why he said it, and, truth be told, he was right.  Compared to walking through the other difficulties that have come up? Compared to preparing to grow our family and prepare for a beautiful child who has many unknown pieces?  Compared to the crazy paperwork chase?  Compared to WAITING months and months to hold a child we know & so long for?  Compared to raising another child for life?

No, raising the money on the front end of adoption is much easier than that.  Well, it's all relative.  Fundraising is hard; humbling oneself to ask for help is hard; saving and pinching pennies and working extra and selling stuff can be hard.  But it is so worth it.  We HAD to have help; we HAD to invite others into our story.  We are not alone.  God raised up a community around us.  More people than just US are invested in our son.  That's very cool.

And now, we can focus on getting everything ready to travel and ready here to have a toddler living among us again.

So, there, I guess I found some words.  We are praising God for his provision.  We thank YOU for listening to the prompting of God's heart to help us in this way.  We are overwhelmed with joy and peace and amazement at how God loves and cares for His kids and how He allows us to be part of each others' stories.

Together is better.  Thanks for walking the journey with us.

(And, in case you are on the fence about adoption simply because of finances, jump into the arena.  God owns the cattle on a thousand hills; it's no big deal for him to sell off a few to place a child in a forever family.)

Coming in through the FRONT DOOR

Joel has been approved by Immigration!  Wahoo!  Now we don't have to hide him in the suitcase!!  Just kidding.  BUT, this is a wonderful next step in the process.  In the eyes of the US gov't, we have been provisionally approved to classify this beautiful little boy as our IMMEDIATE RELATIVE.  Yep.  Pretty cool to see that on another official document.

What next?  This is the part I referred to in my last post where the 2 governments get cozy, exchange pleansantries and work together sending love notes back and forth until they agree on when we can travel.  Sooooo, about 3 more steps until we get our invitation to the BALL...um, well...airport.  Each step = about 2 weeks, so sometime early June, we should be staring our angel in the face!  Big Daddy G & I can't wait!

[ok, so I should've probably warned you already, that my posts could get progressively more and more mushy and filled with crazy CAPITAL LETTERS and Exclamation Points!!!]

We are truly in awe of all that God has done, is doing and will do in our family through all of this - fostering, advocacy and now adoption.  We're amazed and freaked out that we will have a 3 year old in a couple of months, but we cannot stop grinning from ear to ear.  Life is full, crazy, sometimes very hard, and beautiful.  God is doing exactly what he has promised:

To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.  Isaiah 61:3a

No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.  John 14:18

Hallelujah.