Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Monday, September 28, 2009

Gotta Love Those Little Faces

I took a moment this evening when I was practicing with my camera to interrupt a tea party hosted by Trenton and Tessa. They had invited some of their animal friends and were having a wonderful time. I was able to get a couple of quick pictures.



Thursday, September 24, 2009

Why We Are Doing This

I was having a pity party today. I think I have refined them to an art form. I should just hold off wearing mascara for a little while, because it was smeared all over my face. This is not a pretty site.

Anyway, at the height of my lament, I received an email from our local FCC group. They had attached a new video from Holt International. The song was by New Song and is entitled Every Child Deserves a Home. Well, I cried a lot more. Definitely no mascara left today!!!

But after my pity party was over I woke up to the realization that this is not about me. I have forgotten why we went into all of this. God called us to adopt a child. This is not about how it makes me feel or my time lines and agendas. It is about a little girl who needs a mom and a dad. This is part of HIS plan, not mine.

I hope you enjoy this video as much as I did.

Till later...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQjObgmNbmE

Saturday, September 19, 2009

New Friends

I have found that some of my closest friends are those that I have met in our adoption process. Some are fellow adoptive moms, others just love us and support the direction God has taken us. I had the chance this week to "meet" the mom that I believe will be our travel partner to China. I won't give too much detail, because I like to protect other people's privacy. But I will tell you that I know God crafted all of this by His plan. She has quickly become a special friend and prayer partner.

I would like to ask that you join us this weekend in prayer for our adoptions. We are praying for a "Miracle TA". We know that no matter when we travel to bring our children home, God had it all worked out before we even entered this process. So, my bloggy friends, I ask that you pray with us over the next few days. And as you know from my previous posts, I believe in praying very specifically. We are praying first of all for safety for our children. That they will know their parents are anxiously preparing to bring them home. Secondly, please pray that our Travel Approval arrives this next week. Let me tell you, that would be a miracle - but we know that our God is very much in the business of performing miracles in our lives. And last but not least, please continue to pray for our adoption fund raising efforts. We both have grant applications pending right now and every little bit will help.

Thank you my friends,

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

ARTICLE 5


HURRAY - it is signed!!!! I just got an email from our agency that our Article 5 has been signed by the US Cons*late. So, now our documents are on their way to the C*AA for the last step.


Thank you all again for your prayers!


Friday, September 11, 2009

An Update


O.K. - so this is where we are today. I spoke with our agency this morning and our documents have been corrected and are now able to be viewed by the Consul*te. They said they have given us "priority" status. I am not really sure what that means - but I hope it means they will approve our documents quickly and send them off to the C*AA. After that, we wait for our travel approval. Our agency still believes we will travel in October - they are just not sure when.


Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

PLEASE Start Praying

Hello my friends - I am really needing your prayers right now. For the past few weeks, I have had an uneasy feeling about our paperwork. Maybe it was mother's intuition - who knows. Anyway, I received a call from our agency a little while ago. They spoke with the U*S Consula*e last night. There is an error with our file and they cannot process it. It seems that when it was uploaded from the National V*sa Center, there was an error. We were told that this was fixed on August 28, but apparently it was not. So, our documents have been sitting there this entire time, not going anywhere. So, what do we need to happen now???

1) Someone at the NVC needs to fix the file ASAP
2) The Consulat* needs to be notified that it has been fixed
3) The Consulat* needs to process our documents and get them to the CC*A.

I am so frustrated and tired right now. Please pray that someone in our government takes pity on us and gets to work on this today.

Thanks!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Passing the Time

I decided that I needed a diversion to keep my mind off of the wait. So, I began to sew. For those of you who may not know, I own a children's clothing company called My Red Thread. Cool name - huh...

Anyway, I have finally started making clothes for my two little China girls. I tried to get Taylor in on a act, but at 15 she adamantly refused to wear anything I make.


So, without further delay - here are some of our latest designs.....



This is Tia's first backpack. We do a lot of these bags throughout the year.






I love this one because of the message - she is soooo worth the wait.



The Consulate wardrobe - all decked out in Red, White and Blue. This is a three piece gingham set that features the jumper, pantaloons and bloomers.




Yep - that is Tia's name in Chinese. We have approximately 900 girls names in our database. We can embroider the names on any of our items. This one piece romper is available in 4 colors and up to size 18 month.



And finally, my favorite. I have been waiting for quite a while to make matching "sister" clothes for my little girls. I love this set! it features a long sleeve t-shirt with coordinating leggings. This set is available up to size 5/6. I love the embroidery design. The two little girls faces are adorable. We have a variety of designs to choose from.



So, that is it for now. You can plan to see a few more designs over the next few weeks.
Till later....

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Where was I five years ago today....


The answer - St Luke's Hospital with my beautiful baby boy - Trenton. That's right, my baby BOY is now five years old.


Wow - where did that time go????


We started the day today with 5 powered sugar donuts with candles in each. He loved this!!! We also brought treats for his Pre-Kindergarten class. The final decisions have not been made as to his birthday dinner - I think we are leaning towards Chinese food. He did however make sure that I knew the "plan" for today.


Step 1 - Get up and go to school


Step 2 - Come home from school and eat dinner


Step 3 - PRESENTS!!!!


It was so cute to watch him hold up each finger and describe the "plan".


I feel so blessed to be his mother. Happy Birthday Buddy....


Till later...

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The Words I Want To Hear

I keep chanting this to myself - "The paperwork will be done soon...." I know all of you adoptive parents can empathize - this waiting is terrible. I am trying to enjoy the wait, but that is just not happening. I check my email daily to see if I have any updates from our agency. They have been wonderful, but this process is out of their control as well.

Please continue to pray that we receive some good news soon. Right now, we are waiting on our approval of the Article 5 by the US Cons*late in Ch*na. After that is received, our paperwork will go to the CC*A for our travel approval. After we receive this approval, we will be able to bring our baby home.

Till later...