I took a little break from all of the adoption websites during this Christmas season - just too busy enjoying our visiting family and then headed out to do some visiting ourselves. I hopped back on tonight to check for any news and was VERY pleasantly surprised and shocked to see a new batch of referrals out! Wow!! China sent out this batch of referrals just 18 days after the most recent batch, which is just unheard of. They got through another 5 LID's, which means February 28th is completed. So....the next batch of referrals will include March 2006 LID's - that's our month!! We are 3/27/06, so that means just 27 LID's until our turn! There have been so many rare pleasant surprises like this in our long wait, that I am just in shock. I don't know what that means for the timing of the next batch of referrals, but many sources think it will be before Chinese New Year, which starts on January 26, 2009. We will keep our fingers crossed! :)
Happy New Year to everyone - we are praying that 2009 will be the year we become a family of 5!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
1000 Days
Did you ever wonder how long 1000 days might be? Well, as of today, December 20, 2008, our paperwork has been logged in in China for 1000 days! That is a very, very long time.
If you are needing something to pray for today, we are praying specifically for an early May referral, to help with some possible timing conflicts later in the summer. We know that God has the timing all under control, but feel free to join us in this prayer for timing - He'd love to hear from all of us anyway. :)
If you are needing something to pray for today, we are praying specifically for an early May referral, to help with some possible timing conflicts later in the summer. We know that God has the timing all under control, but feel free to join us in this prayer for timing - He'd love to hear from all of us anyway. :)
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
6 more down...
...32 to go. This month, the CCAA(Chinese Center for Adoptive Affairs) referred LID's through February 23rd, 2006. That puts us at 32 LID's left before it is our turn. We are still very much hoping for a May referral, but last month's tiny batch put us a little behind the averages.
We feel that Audrey is probably born by now, and we pray that she is safe, healthy, and loved by her nannies at an orphanage or by foster parents in a foster home. We can't wait to meet her, to see God's perfect plan come together, and to welcome her into our family. Won't that be amazing?? :)
We feel that Audrey is probably born by now, and we pray that she is safe, healthy, and loved by her nannies at an orphanage or by foster parents in a foster home. We can't wait to meet her, to see God's perfect plan come together, and to welcome her into our family. Won't that be amazing?? :)
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
First December Rumor
The first info out for the next set of referrals is pointing towards February 23rd, which would be 6 LID's. We'll take that. There are 7 families from our agency, Lifelink, who are logged in on February 24th, so I'm sure they are hoping for one more little day to get included! Because of the slowness of referrals, our agency has not had any NSN (non-special needs) referrals since April 2008. That's a long time!
Stay tuned for official news - probably next week!
Stay tuned for official news - probably next week!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sad, but true...
Well, it is official. November referrals came out last week for 2 LID's. This ties the record low. They got through 2/17/06. I am forcing myself to find a positive in this big downer, so here it is: Our countdown is now into the 30's! Yea! We have moved on out of the 40's and there are 38 LID's until our turn.
One not-so-nice rumor floating around is that the March 2006 LID's are going to take ALL of 2009 to get through, because there are so many people logged in that month. That could mean we still have a year of waiting ahead of us, not just another 6 months or so. Ewww! In slow months like this, I find that I am having to remind myself very often, sometimes hourly, that God is in control, that God's plan is how we came to be here in the first place, and that my job is to trust and wait for His perfect timing to be revealed. So - if you are needing something to pray for today, just add my need to trust God's timing to your list. Thanks! :)
One not-so-nice rumor floating around is that the March 2006 LID's are going to take ALL of 2009 to get through, because there are so many people logged in that month. That could mean we still have a year of waiting ahead of us, not just another 6 months or so. Ewww! In slow months like this, I find that I am having to remind myself very often, sometimes hourly, that God is in control, that God's plan is how we came to be here in the first place, and that my job is to trust and wait for His perfect timing to be revealed. So - if you are needing something to pray for today, just add my need to trust God's timing to your list. Thanks! :)
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Not looking so good
The last batch of referrals seems like a long, long time ago. There are finally some rumors swirling about for the next set, but they point to a small batch. Like 2-4 LID's worth. :( I will hold off on the pity party until we know for sure!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Pretty quiet...
There haven't been many rumors circulating yet about the next batch of referrals from China. I have seen rumors for everything from 2 LID's to 15 LID's. I certainly hope it is not 2! 15 would be unbelievable - it will probably be somewhere in between. If you really want to be in the know about adoption from China, and have lots of spare reading time, check out Rumor Queen's website. This is where prospective adoptive parents (for China) from all over the world go to check out the latest. It is a very interesting clearinghouse for information. Maybe the next couple of weeks will bring great referral rumors and news!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Dreams
In our family, I am known as the person who has really weird dreams at night and can remember many of them in great detail. With a process as monumental as international adoption, I knew there were bound to be some wild dreams to go along with it all. I have certainly not disappointed myself! :)
I have dreamt about actually traveling in China (landed in western China and had to drive ourselves to the southeast region), I have dreamt about the moment we meet Audrey (we were camping in China, she was two years old, and had red hair), I have dreamt twice about getting our referral (we were referred a boy - both dreams!). The troubling part about all of this is that none of the dreams have been all that reassuring - they have been downright stressful. I know our minds dream to help us work through the stress in our lives, but I didn't think they were supposed to create more stress!
In my daydreams, I have envisioned lots about our trip, our moment of welcoming Audrey into our family, and what life will be like when we bring her home. I can't wait for all of that! As we move closer to our referral, I can only imagine what is in store for me in my dreams at night. :)
I have dreamt about actually traveling in China (landed in western China and had to drive ourselves to the southeast region), I have dreamt about the moment we meet Audrey (we were camping in China, she was two years old, and had red hair), I have dreamt twice about getting our referral (we were referred a boy - both dreams!). The troubling part about all of this is that none of the dreams have been all that reassuring - they have been downright stressful. I know our minds dream to help us work through the stress in our lives, but I didn't think they were supposed to create more stress!
In my daydreams, I have envisioned lots about our trip, our moment of welcoming Audrey into our family, and what life will be like when we bring her home. I can't wait for all of that! As we move closer to our referral, I can only imagine what is in store for me in my dreams at night. :)
Friday, October 3, 2008
A Little History....(Part 2)
Back to our story...
It's January 2005. I called Mark at work, and he assured me he was not having the same great revelations about adopting a baby girl from China that I was. He also asked if we could please talk about this at home. I said sure, and really thought of nothing else the rest of the afternoon. When we did get a chance to discuss it that evening, it was a pretty short conversation:
Beth: So - this is what happened at Bible study today - (told this whole story again)
Mark: Ummmm - no.
Beth: But here are all my reasons (deep and not so deep) why you should say yes: 1.I really feel like God is calling us to do this. 2.We have an extra bedroom that only gets used a few times a year. 3.We still have lots of great baby stuff, for some unknown reason, because we never planned on more than 2 kids! 4. What a great way to share our faith with the kids, family, and friends! 5.We do a pretty ok job of parenting - what about opening our family to a child who might never have a family? 6. A good friend's comforting words from a few months before that God has great things planned for us.
Mark: Ummmm - no.
Mark obviously didn't get the same message I did. So now what? I just kept praying, and would check back in with Mark every few weeks.
Beth: So - about the adoption stuff? What do you think now?
Mark: Ummmm - no. Don't think so.
I felt a real sense of peace about it all, knowing that God's timing was right. I would just wait for either both of us to say yes, or for me to understand that this was not right, and we would both eventually say no. I didn't pester him, but would just bring it up for discussion every now and then. This was miraculous in itself - my being relatively patient - so I knew God was right there with me. I just kept praying, and after about 5 months, I sensed a tiny little change of heart beginning for Mark. He wasn't saying no so quickly, and he was asking a few more questions. We would talk about adoption a little more frequently, and around this time I was asked if I was interested in teaching full time. I told Mark that I didn't feel like I could commit to full time teaching if we were even considering bringing a new baby into our family. We talked about the possibility that maybe God was throwing the teaching opportunity in there to close the discussion on adoption - that teaching was the real opportunity here. We had a weekend to decide about the teaching job, and I felt so strongly in my heart that the adoption was still part of God's plan for us, and that this decision was put before us to help strengthen that idea in Mark's heart, too. He agreed that he was starting to feel led in this direction, too, and that I should not pursue the teaching job.
So - what to do now? Mark made it very clear to me that he was not fully ready to sign on, that he still had questions, but that he was at least thinking about it all. I, of course, asked what I could do to help speed that process, and he said, "Nothing." Nothing?? C'mon! Let's get this ball rolling, let's call an agency, let's research, let's start paperwork! Nope. He wanted to talk through things a bit longer, and he just didn't feel sure about the whole process and loving a new baby without even knowing who she is. During this time, I ran into a family from church who, I had heard through the grapevine, was in the process of adopting from China. We knew who they were, but were not close friends at the time. Pam, do you remember talking at that church softball game? That conversation changed our life! Pam told me that they were waiting for their referral from China, and were pretty close - maybe less than a month at that time. She also said Jeff would be happy to talk to Mark any time, to maybe help answer any questions that he had. I wanted Mark to call Jeff the minute we got home that night, but he wanted to wait and think some more. I waited patiently, and he did eventually call. Jeff answered all of Mark's questions, shared some of his own doubts and answers, talked about how excited they were to be going to China fairly soon, and really encouraged Mark that adopting would be a great thing. Yea, Jeff!! These were two life-changing conversations with people who, I feel, God placed in our lives at just the right time. It is weird to think back to that time and how little we knew each other, but what an impact Pam and Jeff had on our lives right then.
Mark and I talked some more, prayed some more, and within the next few days decided that YES, we wanted to add to our family and adopt a little girl from China. It is July 2005 by now. We told the kids, shared how we felt called to do this, and they were pretty excited. We talked about how the process would work, what the time frame might be, and that we'd probably probably be going to China and home in the next fall, in a little over a year. If only I had a nickel now for every time I have said, "Oh, we think we'll be going in about a year!" Anyway, we told family and friends - who were very excited for us - over the coming weeks, contacted our agency, waited for the director to get back from overseas, and got going on our paperwork in September 2005.
We did paperwork for the next 5 months, met with our social worker, got fingerprinted at 3 different places for 3 different government agencies, filled out lots of forms, got passports, and waited. We waited for our final piece of paperwork, the all-important I-171H form, and received it in early March 2006. I raced around like a madwoman after it arrived, getting everything copied, checked, and double checked, before sending our dossier off to a courier who took it to the Secretary of State and Chinese Consulate in Chicago for its final certification and authentication. The dossier then went to our agency's coordinator, who had the final stamp of approval, and it was sent on its way to China on March 13. We received word that China logged in our paperwork on March 27, 2006, and that has been our identifying date ever since.
In the months (and years!) since that time, we have had brief moments of, "What were we thinking??" and "What in the world are we doing??" but we are just thrilled to be on this journey, waiting for Audrey to join our family. We feel privileged to be Erica and Ian's parents, and feel the same way about our new daughter that we haven't even met!
Next time, I'll tell you all about THE WAIT, and how our blissful visions of traveling in the fall of 2006 have turned into hopefully traveling sometime in 2009.
It's January 2005. I called Mark at work, and he assured me he was not having the same great revelations about adopting a baby girl from China that I was. He also asked if we could please talk about this at home. I said sure, and really thought of nothing else the rest of the afternoon. When we did get a chance to discuss it that evening, it was a pretty short conversation:
Beth: So - this is what happened at Bible study today - (told this whole story again)
Mark: Ummmm - no.
Beth: But here are all my reasons (deep and not so deep) why you should say yes: 1.I really feel like God is calling us to do this. 2.We have an extra bedroom that only gets used a few times a year. 3.We still have lots of great baby stuff, for some unknown reason, because we never planned on more than 2 kids! 4. What a great way to share our faith with the kids, family, and friends! 5.We do a pretty ok job of parenting - what about opening our family to a child who might never have a family? 6. A good friend's comforting words from a few months before that God has great things planned for us.
Mark: Ummmm - no.
Mark obviously didn't get the same message I did. So now what? I just kept praying, and would check back in with Mark every few weeks.
Beth: So - about the adoption stuff? What do you think now?
Mark: Ummmm - no. Don't think so.
I felt a real sense of peace about it all, knowing that God's timing was right. I would just wait for either both of us to say yes, or for me to understand that this was not right, and we would both eventually say no. I didn't pester him, but would just bring it up for discussion every now and then. This was miraculous in itself - my being relatively patient - so I knew God was right there with me. I just kept praying, and after about 5 months, I sensed a tiny little change of heart beginning for Mark. He wasn't saying no so quickly, and he was asking a few more questions. We would talk about adoption a little more frequently, and around this time I was asked if I was interested in teaching full time. I told Mark that I didn't feel like I could commit to full time teaching if we were even considering bringing a new baby into our family. We talked about the possibility that maybe God was throwing the teaching opportunity in there to close the discussion on adoption - that teaching was the real opportunity here. We had a weekend to decide about the teaching job, and I felt so strongly in my heart that the adoption was still part of God's plan for us, and that this decision was put before us to help strengthen that idea in Mark's heart, too. He agreed that he was starting to feel led in this direction, too, and that I should not pursue the teaching job.
So - what to do now? Mark made it very clear to me that he was not fully ready to sign on, that he still had questions, but that he was at least thinking about it all. I, of course, asked what I could do to help speed that process, and he said, "Nothing." Nothing?? C'mon! Let's get this ball rolling, let's call an agency, let's research, let's start paperwork! Nope. He wanted to talk through things a bit longer, and he just didn't feel sure about the whole process and loving a new baby without even knowing who she is. During this time, I ran into a family from church who, I had heard through the grapevine, was in the process of adopting from China. We knew who they were, but were not close friends at the time. Pam, do you remember talking at that church softball game? That conversation changed our life! Pam told me that they were waiting for their referral from China, and were pretty close - maybe less than a month at that time. She also said Jeff would be happy to talk to Mark any time, to maybe help answer any questions that he had. I wanted Mark to call Jeff the minute we got home that night, but he wanted to wait and think some more. I waited patiently, and he did eventually call. Jeff answered all of Mark's questions, shared some of his own doubts and answers, talked about how excited they were to be going to China fairly soon, and really encouraged Mark that adopting would be a great thing. Yea, Jeff!! These were two life-changing conversations with people who, I feel, God placed in our lives at just the right time. It is weird to think back to that time and how little we knew each other, but what an impact Pam and Jeff had on our lives right then.
Mark and I talked some more, prayed some more, and within the next few days decided that YES, we wanted to add to our family and adopt a little girl from China. It is July 2005 by now. We told the kids, shared how we felt called to do this, and they were pretty excited. We talked about how the process would work, what the time frame might be, and that we'd probably probably be going to China and home in the next fall, in a little over a year. If only I had a nickel now for every time I have said, "Oh, we think we'll be going in about a year!" Anyway, we told family and friends - who were very excited for us - over the coming weeks, contacted our agency, waited for the director to get back from overseas, and got going on our paperwork in September 2005.
We did paperwork for the next 5 months, met with our social worker, got fingerprinted at 3 different places for 3 different government agencies, filled out lots of forms, got passports, and waited. We waited for our final piece of paperwork, the all-important I-171H form, and received it in early March 2006. I raced around like a madwoman after it arrived, getting everything copied, checked, and double checked, before sending our dossier off to a courier who took it to the Secretary of State and Chinese Consulate in Chicago for its final certification and authentication. The dossier then went to our agency's coordinator, who had the final stamp of approval, and it was sent on its way to China on March 13. We received word that China logged in our paperwork on March 27, 2006, and that has been our identifying date ever since.
In the months (and years!) since that time, we have had brief moments of, "What were we thinking??" and "What in the world are we doing??" but we are just thrilled to be on this journey, waiting for Audrey to join our family. We feel privileged to be Erica and Ian's parents, and feel the same way about our new daughter that we haven't even met!
Next time, I'll tell you all about THE WAIT, and how our blissful visions of traveling in the fall of 2006 have turned into hopefully traveling sometime in 2009.
Monday, September 29, 2008
6 is good!
China sent referrals today for those families logged in through February 15, 2006. This is 6 more days of LID's, which is what they have been averaging for quite awhile. While 10 or 12 days would have been great, we are hoping they keep up at least a 6 day average, which would mean a referral for us in May, 2009. Yea!
P.S. For those of you keeping track, 6 LID's checked off this month means 40 is now our magic number! :)
P.S. For those of you keeping track, 6 LID's checked off this month means 40 is now our magic number! :)
Friday, September 26, 2008
Paperwork progress
After being fingerprinted in Indy a couple of weeks ago, we waited for our newest copy of the all-important I-171H document. Families adopting internationally can't complete their adoption without this form, and it is the 'big' piece of paperwork that families wait for as they finish up paperwork the first time around. Well, we have had the distinct honor of having been fingerprinted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security 3 times now, so we are on our third I-171H. We are very approved and very official - 3 times over! Our new fingerprint expiration date is December 12, 2009, so my hope and prayer is that we are good to go!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
A Little History.... (Part 1)
Some of you lovely readers may have heard this story a hundred times by now, and to others it might be brand new. Either way, it is part of our story that we hope Audrey will want to hear (or read) over and over some day. This is how we came to be where we are on our adoption journey....
Mark and I have loved being parents for the past 13 years, and we have loved being the parents of two great kids. We always planned on two, we were content with our two, and had no plans to add to our family. God had different plans in mind for us. Mark and I attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert on December 2, 2004. In addition to sharing his great music, Steven spent time talking about his family's foundation, Shaohannah's Hope, which provides financial assistance to adoptive families. There was also a video with lots of information, and it ended with this scripture:
There was no reference given, and I left the concert that night thinking about that verse. I knew I had heard it before, but I did not know where in the Bible it was located. I was struck by the simplicity of it and the directness of it. I did not go home and dig in my Bible to find this verse, but I thought about it off and on over the next month or so, wondering why my mind kept coming back to it.
Our pastor started a Bible study on the book of James in January 2005. I had participated in some of his other studies and thought this sounded interesting. We spent the first day of the class talking about some of the broad themes of the book, and he invited us to open our Bibles to just look through the chapters together. We started in James Chapter 1. I skimmed through the first few verses, turned the page, and there it was. There it was.
I felt the strangest sensation come over me and really felt God was saying to me, "Here it is. You wanted to know, so here it is. Now - what are you going to do about it?" I sat there not really knowing what to say, or do, or think. I was trying to hold back tears, not really wanting to explain this experience I just had to a room full of people who, I'm pretty sure, had not shared the experience with me! So, I sat there with my mind racing. Are we supposed to adopt? (Surely not us! We already have two kids. We planned on two kids. We are all set with two kids. Mark is going to think I have lost my mind! Nope, don't think we should adopt.) Are we supposed to donate to Shaohannah's Hope? (We could do that - that would be easy! Sign me up for easy! Yes, that is a good plan and a great way to take care of orphans. We should definitely donate to Shaohannah's Hope.) Ok, God - thanks for the heads up. You have my attention and I will talk to Mark about a donation!
Mark and I have loved being parents for the past 13 years, and we have loved being the parents of two great kids. We always planned on two, we were content with our two, and had no plans to add to our family. God had different plans in mind for us. Mark and I attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert on December 2, 2004. In addition to sharing his great music, Steven spent time talking about his family's foundation, Shaohannah's Hope, which provides financial assistance to adoptive families. There was also a video with lots of information, and it ended with this scripture:
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
There was no reference given, and I left the concert that night thinking about that verse. I knew I had heard it before, but I did not know where in the Bible it was located. I was struck by the simplicity of it and the directness of it. I did not go home and dig in my Bible to find this verse, but I thought about it off and on over the next month or so, wondering why my mind kept coming back to it.
Our pastor started a Bible study on the book of James in January 2005. I had participated in some of his other studies and thought this sounded interesting. We spent the first day of the class talking about some of the broad themes of the book, and he invited us to open our Bibles to just look through the chapters together. We started in James Chapter 1. I skimmed through the first few verses, turned the page, and there it was. There it was.
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
I felt the strangest sensation come over me and really felt God was saying to me, "Here it is. You wanted to know, so here it is. Now - what are you going to do about it?" I sat there not really knowing what to say, or do, or think. I was trying to hold back tears, not really wanting to explain this experience I just had to a room full of people who, I'm pretty sure, had not shared the experience with me! So, I sat there with my mind racing. Are we supposed to adopt? (Surely not us! We already have two kids. We planned on two kids. We are all set with two kids. Mark is going to think I have lost my mind! Nope, don't think we should adopt.) Are we supposed to donate to Shaohannah's Hope? (We could do that - that would be easy! Sign me up for easy! Yes, that is a good plan and a great way to take care of orphans. We should definitely donate to Shaohannah's Hope.) Ok, God - thanks for the heads up. You have my attention and I will talk to Mark about a donation!
I thought I had it all worked out in my mind in that moment, except my mind wouldn't stop with just a donation and it kept coming back, kept coming back, and kept coming back to adoption - all within the span of about an hour and a half. I raced to call Mark after Bible study ended and I couldn't get my words out fast enough. He did, indeed, think that I had lost my mind, and he was not overly thrilled to hear of my great revelation, especially since he was in the middle of a meeting at work.
I'll share Mark's reaction and more of the story the next time....
Friday, September 12, 2008
Anyone want to race?
Well, we made our way to Indy today to get refingerprinted, after dropping the kids off at a friend's house at 6:30am. We left with plenty of time to spare, until we encountered lots and lots of traffic here. Who knew that the Indy Motor Speedway would be swamped at 9:30 on a Friday morning in September? We had plenty of time to people watch while we were stuck in traffic, and there were a lot of wet motorcycle fan types of people pouring into the speedway. We finally made it to the downtown Indy Citizenship and Immigration office, and we were in and out with no problems. We navigated the pouring rain the whole way home, and were home by noon. It was kind of a dreary day to be traveling, but it was one more necessary baby step forward to bring Audrey home.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Slow and steady....
Referrals for September came out today, covering LID's through February 9th, 2006. Nine more days checked off, which takes our number from 55 LID's down to 46 LID's left. Yea! Nine days is the highest number referred in a year and a half, so that is kind of encouraging. I know it could go back down to something tiny next month, but it is kind of nice while it lasts. We'll take it!
I don't know what I'll feel when we are actually close to receiving our referral - within a month or two. We pray for Audrey and wonder about her, but all we really know how to do is wait and renew paperwork. Speaking of which, we get to go have our USCIS fingerprints done for the third time next week. They are good for 15 months, so surely, surely this will be the last time. Please?
I don't know what I'll feel when we are actually close to receiving our referral - within a month or two. We pray for Audrey and wonder about her, but all we really know how to do is wait and renew paperwork. Speaking of which, we get to go have our USCIS fingerprints done for the third time next week. They are good for 15 months, so surely, surely this will be the last time. Please?
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Patience is a Virtue
Since all things related to adoption from China revolve around one's Log In Date, or LID, this is an important date to know. Our LID was March 27, 2006. As of today, we have officially been waiting for 889 days. I feel like God has give me a sense of patience and peace about this wait that I don't really understand, because I am not an overly patient person in everyday life. If patience really is a virtue, than I should be the most virtuous person around!
We will continue to be patient as China continues to send referrals each month. They have sent referrals for families logged in through January 31, 2006. With our LID of 3/27/06, that leaves 55 more log in dates until they get to us. China has referred an average of 6 LIDs each month for awhile, so that means we have maybe about 9 or 10 months before we might receive our referral. As we have learned over the last couple of years, this average might continue to slow down, and our wait might be even longer. We will just continue to trust in God's plan - we feel that He called us into this journey, and His timing is just right, however slow that may be.
We will continue to be patient as China continues to send referrals each month. They have sent referrals for families logged in through January 31, 2006. With our LID of 3/27/06, that leaves 55 more log in dates until they get to us. China has referred an average of 6 LIDs each month for awhile, so that means we have maybe about 9 or 10 months before we might receive our referral. As we have learned over the last couple of years, this average might continue to slow down, and our wait might be even longer. We will just continue to trust in God's plan - we feel that He called us into this journey, and His timing is just right, however slow that may be.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Welcome!
We have created this blog to share our adoption story, as we wait to bring Audrey home from China.
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