Yay!

Things were stressful in our house this week, but in the end it was a great week. We got our notification of our I800A being received by the NBC, our dossier is on its way for review, and we got unexpected photos back from www.giftstochinawithlove of our son opening the holiday gift we sent him and his friends! How great is that!?

When there is nothing else to do, dress up like a pirate!

Since we have to wait we thought we would have some fun! Nothing like a pirate party to pass the time:) The three little ones on the left are ours, the rest is our crazy extended family:)

This is our oldest son J (also the bday boy for the day) and his beautiful wife T...argh matey!

One of our little buccaroos! J!

The boy most excited to have a twin brother coming home soon. Mr. Toby Mac Wannabe :)

USPS here I come

According to my FEDEX tracking number, our homestudy should be here this morning! Off to make copies then to the USPS to mail it along with our I800a to USCIS and also to the Chinese consulate in SF! Baby steps are better than no steps!

On the home front I have one home sick with mono and one home recovering from a tonsil and adeniod surgery. Life is never dull around here:)

Momentary Pause

Seems like we make one step forward and then wait. Why does it seem harder to wait for paperwork on this adoption? Is it because we have already done this before and know what to expect? Is it because we have seen our young son's face and know he is anticipating our arrival as much as we are anticipating travel? I don't know. All I know is its been almost a week since our homestudy was approved by our agency and we still don't have it in hand to send to immigrations and the consulate for our dossier...rrrgh.

Praying it comes tomorrow so I can jump on it first thing Monday morning.

I seriously don't want to seem like a complainer all the time. Other adoptive moms understand each stage and the feelings that come with it. Sometimes it just seems like I am all alone in this process. My husband is the great file cabinet and worrys/thinks about nothing unless it is an immediate problem that needs solving. Wish I could be that way, but I am not.

I am grateful to God for allowing us the opportunity to have another son; for supportive friends, especially Denise; that God is on my side, and that I can praise His name !

Love it!!

Don't you just love my new blog!!!

Thanks to Christie at Bushel and a Peck Designs@ www.bushelpeckdesigns.blogspot.com

You rock Christie!!!

Finally moving forward

Yay, we finally got our last background check and should hopefully be sending our paperwork to immigrations to wait yet again for a fingerprint appt. Too bad our fingerprints expired a few months ago from our last adoption! It's not like they change, but you know how that goes. As always praying for quick appts etc.

Then sending all the dossier docs to the agency to review while waiting for the I797. Hopefully we can get past this stage by Nov. I would love to be able to go to China by March/April but I also know it could be as late as June/July. Time will tell.

I sent some mooncakes, fruit baskets and a teen basket to our son and the orphanage staff for the upcoming holiday in hopes they all enjoy it and know how much we already love our son.

We continue to be grateful to all our friends and family for their support and prayers while we wait.

Hang in there son, we are coming as soon as we can!!

Praying for Good News

For all of you who follow this blog, I ask for your prayers. It might seem silly, but we are in our eighth week of waiting for one background check. I am in constant contact with the state reminding them we are on a tight timeline (which hopefully isn't making them work slower).....please pray it comes through quick and clear this upcoming week. I don't want to have to ask for outside help in getting it done. I have been told by more than one person that this particular state is always slow.
It's actually silly because if we weren't trying to adopt an older child before he turns 14 I probably wouldn't worry about it as much.
A friend of mine who recently adopted an older child was able to get their dossier in and travel in less than three months thanks to governmental help....we don't want to be in that boat. What started as a quick homestudy has now slowed to a halt -waiting....again your prayers are appreciated. I know God is in charge and I continue to cling to Him and the promise of His work and will in our lives. But I also know that he asks for and listens to our prayers. Thank God for God and faithful prayer warriors:)