Monday, March 28, 2011

Serendipity!

Okay, I know I said I was on limited computer time, but I just don't think  it is fair to not share this with all of you.
 I was watching a recorded segment of video from the live webcam that is on every Sunday night in our son's foster care center, when I realized absentmindedly that Joey looked to be wearing a new shirt...or at least a shirt I had never seen him in before. As I continued to watch him run and play and sit at his little yellow table to draw on the magna doodle, I kept seeing the shirt and it dawned on me that it was like a jersey...with numbers on it. Hmmm. Ok. No biggie, right? Well, then I realized that the words across the chest of my son were that of a university in THE STATE THAT WE LIVE IN!!!!!! Hold on!! Could it really say that? I looked and looked, and there was no doubt about it! Without even knowing it, Joey was advertising his "home" state. How cool is that??!!
A step farther...What are the chances that any orphan in China would be wearing a jersey from a universiy in the United States? What are the chances that the one child that WAS wearing said jersey would be in the process of being adopted by parents in the VERY STATE that  jersey named? What are the chances that this precious child would be wearing this state jersey on the only day of the week that his mommy would be watching, and could see him in it? Just blows the mind doesn't it?!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Hello? Hello? Hello!!!

Yes, yes, I am still here! I have given up most of my computer time for Lent, so I will not post much this season. Funny, but their is not much to post.... that is how it is with adoption. First there is so much to tell, then nothing for weeks. Ah well, life is much the same. We go along for many days of hum drum, beating the pavement, and then BAM! something out of the ordinary happens and we talk about it for days.
The big question is always, "How is the aoption going?"  It is going fine, just not as fast as I would like, but who could blame me for wanting to hold my new son in my arms as soon as heavenly possible??
We have yet to hear if we have been officially logged in with the CCCWA (The CCAA changed their name). We are thinking we have been, because our dossier was sent to China 24 days ago. If we are correct, then we are now waiting on our Letter of Acceptance (LOA). When this gets to us, we will be continuing the downhill ride to picking up our son. I am not looking for our LOA until late April, which means there will be slim pickins of updates until then. Sorry :-(
Accompany me on this journey through Lent and take the time to enjoy this beautiful season. There is much to be thankful for and I, for one, don't want to miss a minute of it!!
Peace be with you.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Timelines

In my last post, I mentioned timelines. Well, I am here now to plot out mine..at least where we are so far. I may elaborate in another post, but for now, I will try to stick to the dates :-)

July 1, 2010- Signed application with our adoption agency.
August 24, 2010- Saw our son for the first time! (Well, at least I saw his picture!!)
September 16, 2010- Our son's file was locked for us! (This is a blog post all it's own!)
September 21,2010- LOI  (Letter on Intent)
October 12, 2010- PA!! (Pre-approval).
November 26, 2010- Received completed homestudy in the mail.
December 1, 2010- Mailed in our I800A application to USCIS.
January 3, 2011- USCIS fingerprint appointment.
January 28, 2011- I800A approved!!
February 15, 2011- Sent dossier to our agency.
March 3, 2011- DTC!!! (Dossier to China).

Well, that is where we are at this point. There is a lot that went on in between the lines of each of those dates, and we cherish every one of them because they have brought us closer to the day that our son will be in our arms!
I want to thank my Beloved Lord for allowing us this opportunity to adopt. For knowing my weaknesses and for lending me His strength to move forward so His plan can unfold as He wills it to.Thank you Lord for loving me and for allowing me another son to mother!!! Amen.

It's a BOY!!!

I was as surprised as anyone!! We have three bio sons and we have one bio daughter. We thought she needed a sister...but as I looked at the pictures of all of the waiting children, I was drawn to the boys! I really wasn't even looking for a referral at the time, just getting familiar with all of the special needs of the children who were waiting. Our agency told us we could start "looking" after our homestudy was complete. That was fine with me...I was the queen of waiting by then!! LOL! So, while I was just passing the time...I joined many groups to make friends with the BTDT folks who would be my support along the journey, as well as the in-process families who would be along side me in the different phases of the adoption process. I learned all I could about the process and the predicted timelines. Timelines, however fickle they can be, are a sustaining entity during the wait. They are analyzed and reanalyzed until you are on a plane!
One particular group that I joined actually had many people advocating for children who were waiting for their family to find them. AND THEY HAD PICTURES!!!!!!
Of course, I perused the photos and one day.................there HE was! HE? (Once again, "Um, God? A boy? Seriously?" ) But I knew..I knew he was our son...I knew because he LOOKED like us...even though he is Chinese and we are not, he LOOKED like us. He smiled out of his picture and I knew. (Not to mention that he had incredibly good hair...just like all of my boys !) He is now waiting on us to come for him.
It's a boy!

The Beginning

When starting a story, it is prudent to start at the beginning...but where exactly is that??? Our adoption story began long, long ago, before I was born. I believe God destined me for adoption. He gave me a mother's heart and a love of babies and children that some (including my husband) have a hard time understanding at times. That's okay with me. As long as I understand :-) My mother once told me that when I grew up I would either have a house full of kids or a house full of cats...or both!!! I loved this! I actually have four kiddos and three cats! She knows me rather well.
Fast forward to a few years ago, ok maybe about eight. My daughter was turning four and the itch to grow our family was back. We prayed and Wubby agreed to adoption. The trials, grief, and blessings that would follow could fill a book, so I will cut to the chase. We started foster care and enjoyed the company of 9 different children in our home. After that, we decided to adopt internationally. That was in 2006. We started paperwork for an adoption with Guatemala that year and after all of the paperwork was done, we settled in for the wait for referral. It came in June of 2007. A beautiful little girl we would come to know as our daughter and then lose to her biological family. Her return to her family occurred in the fall of 2010. Our sweet "Dani" will forever be a part of our lives in our hearts, and we will love her for all of our days. We miss you sweet girl!! Never you doubt it for a minute!
That occurrence brought us face to face with another adoption decision. Would we, could we, do this again? The answer was a resounding YES!  There was a child out there somewhere who was waiting on our family and I knew God would lead us to that child. I felt an overwhelming urgency to get started again on the path to a new family member. But where to begin??? Why, the beginning of course :-) God! SO I prayed....and prayed....and prayed....
God answered me and said...CHINA. The conversation went something like this:
God: Robin, your child is in China.
Me: No, there must be a mistake.
God: I don't make mistakes. China.
Me: But the plane ride over is SOOOOO long.
God: I know. I put China there.
Me: Oh yeah. Right. Hmmmm. China?
God: Yes, China.
Me: Maybe I will need confirmation that I am hearing you right. How about Taiwan? We are already I600A approved...
God: (Very patiently) No Robin. Your child is not there.
Well, after three VERY cool "confirmations" from Him, I laughed and said,"OK,OK! I get it! We will go to China :-)

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Introduction

Welcome to my blog :-) I hope to spend some time here chronicling our journey to our precious son who waits for us in China. We are not new to the adoption world, but we are new to this adoption, and we are praying that God has blessings for us that we cannot contain!
Already we have been blessed with many new friends, and have experienced the deepening of friendships with old ones.
I have often heard it said that adoption is not for the faint of heart, and I must agree. Before beginning, you must discern your level of commitment. If the adoption was breakfast, would you be the chicken (eggs) or the pig (bacon)? Well, I can most certainly say that I am the pig!! I guess that sometimes it is good to be called a pig :-)

Before I go, I wanted to say Happy Birthday to my mother!  Mom, may God richly bless you for all of the sacrifices you have made. I love you very much!!
Happy Birthday Mom!