Denied!

Well...we got a big fat "no" when it came to getting our fingerprints done early...grrr....was soooo hoping to get in there, but I just keep repeating "all in God's timing...all in God's timing..." Of course, MY timing seems to make so much more sense, but I am atleast wise enough to know that "MY" idea of anything usually never turns out to be the best! So, with that said, I am happy to lay this dissappointment down...and just accept what each day brings. However, I do plan on trying again next week...hey...a girls gotta give it her best shot!! :)

Fingerprint Appointment!

Today I received our fingerprint appointment required for I800A approval...so happy to have the date set. We don't have our appt for another 3 weeks or so, but I have heard we can try to walk in and get them done early. I think we are going to try walking in sometime tomorrow! Please pray we can get our prints done early...this could shave weeks off of our wait time for getting to our little girl! But, overall...we are thrilled to be getting closer!!

Grants!

I finally finished our first grant application and got it sent out today. That was the easy part...the hard part will be actually getting the adoption grant! It's a competitive market out there in the adoption world for grants. So, we will pray and if we get a grant...praise God...if we don't get a grant...well....praise God still! Of course, I'd really love the grant! But, we will see! Tomorrow, kids and I are off to get more paperwork signed...sounds daunting, but I am thrilled to do it...we are making progress! We want our girl home!!

Hope For Elisyn

Isn't this little one just a cutie! Please check out their blog...maybe you can help her family bring her home!!

Notarizing done...check!

Saturday was a productive day for us! We got our adoption papers notarized and now we just need to take them to Nebraska's Secretary of State to be authorized...basically the Sec of State just verifies that the notary is a real notary. Hopefully, we will get this done this week. We could mail it to the Sec. of State, but it's only about an hour drive, so I am thinking George or I will just drive it down and walk in. After we get that finished we can send our documents off to the United States Dept. of State and then once that's done...off to the Chinese Embassy for Authentication. I can not wait to get all this paperchasing done...what a huge relief it will be once our documents are in China!

Our first donation!

Just wanted to give a shout out! Woohoo! We have our first donation to go towards baby clothes at Sophia's orphanage! Thanks so much friend! Looking forward to reaching my goal of $500! The "Chip In" box should show donations soon...something about verifying my acct. But, keep checking back to see if we have reached our goal!

Friday Funny....

This just makes me giggle...thought it might make you too!

Fundraising For Clothes--Sophia's Orphanage

The lady at Love Without Boundaries contacted the orphanage and said they are in much need of clothing, size 18months and younger. They have around 20 babies to care for! So...that's going to be my fundraising goal...I'd love to be able to send an outfit for each of the babies, if not more! Please consider helping out! Thanks!

Fundraising for Sophia's Orphanage!

Hey everyone! I came across a very cool organization that provides in many ways for the Chinese Orphans! The name of the organization is Love Without Boundaries and with their help I want to fundraise for Sophia's orphanage. All I need is monetary donations from anyone who wants to help. When we have raised enough money to make a sizable contribution, I will contact Love Without Boundaries (LWB)and they will purchase the supplies needed for Sophia's orphange and have it delivered! Your donations will go towards the care for the children. LWB will contact the orphange and get a list of items they are in much need of. I am sure the "normal" baby stuff will be needed, like formula, diapers, blankets, etc. But, I have heard larger items have been purchased as well, like heaters. I am thrilled to be able to fundraise for this orphanage. Sophia is coming home to a family, but many, many of the children in her oprhanage will not ever go home to a family. So, this is a great way to show some love to those sweet children! Feel free to donate right here on the blog. Just click on the "Chip In" button. You can also mail us a check (those who know us well and know our address) and just mention that it is for "Sophia's Orphanage Fund". Thanks everyone! Praying we can really bless these babies! Also, please feel free to tell others who may want to contribute!

I-800A Mailed Today!!

We are thrilled to have mailed off our I-800A to USCIS!! Now we wait for the approval notice to come back! This could take about 2 months...which seems FOREVER to me. However, I will not complain...I am just so happy to have made it to this point.

Homestudy Approved!!!

Good News!! We got word today that our homestudy has been approved...and we are thrilled! This means we can finally move on and mail our I800-A application and wait for approval. This is sent to the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS). We will wait until we get approval back before we can send our documents to China (DTC). That will be a great day when we get DTC because we will be done paper chasing! Not sure how this possible US govt shutdown may affect the I800-A approval process...but praying it doesn't mess adoptions up. Lots of people waiting for their babies all over the world. Many who need medical attention as soon as possible. Please keep these families in your prayers!!

Thanks hubby...

Today, as I was cleaning off our very cluttered dining room table...I came across George's notes from his time spent in the Word. It was such a timely piece of Scripture. Ever notice that's how God works? :) Well, as the adoption continues on we have more and more expenses regarding it. This is to be expected. We were not caught off guard with the adoption expenses. What did catch us off guard was all the "other" expenses (like both cars breaking down a week apart!)in life that seem to pop up an the most inopportune time! Which, I suppose is to be expected as well..isn't that called Murphy's Law?? Anyways, I have a way of starting to panic when I think about finances. I am a huge Dave Ramsey fan and follower...so save, save, save, has been my motto. But, seems with all the "other" incidentals happening along with the adoption it's more like spend, spend, spend. Well, today I was reminded that God's got this ALL under control. This is the verse George had written down...Proverbs 28:20&27 "A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished" and "He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses." I think the 2 most powerful words to me were "lack nothing". Just a perfect reminder that God's got this...I don't, but He sure does!

Cute!

FYI
Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were
discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture
had a different hair color than the other members. One of her
students suggested that he was adopted.
A little girl said, 'I know all about
Adoption, I was adopted..'
'What does it mean to be adopted?',
asked another child.
'It means', said the girl, 'that you grew
in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy!'