Christmas, LOI, and PA

It's been a wonderful few weeks. The hustle and bustle of Christmas missed us this year! We are blessed to have family close and have been able to relax and enjoy the Christmas season. Being home and spending time together has been special. I've savored the last couple of weeks as I know that things will be busy and hectic after the new year. Waiting on LOA hasn't been on my mind every second. I have listened to Third Day's Merry Christmas song and thought about how special it will be to have Maeli here with us next Christmas. I wondered if they even acknowledged Christmas at the orphanage... I received a wonderful Christmas present on December 26th from an American couple volunteering at the orphanage. They said that the children celebrated Christmas with a special program in which Maeli danced and participated in a magic show. The children received treat bags, warm shoes, and a blanket for Christmas. They ate chicken, french fries, and cake. What a blessing to know she celebrated her first Christmas. I am thankful to the volunteers and those who are loving her while we work to bring her home. Hopefully there will be some photos from the program that I can get soon. Over Christmas break, we told Emma about her new big sister. She is SO excited and talks about Maeli often. We felt that we better fill her in since she was beginning to think Maeli's room was her new room! Emma says that she can't wait for her sister to come. Bless her heart, it's going to be a long several months!

On December 27th, our agency emailed to let us know they have submitted our Letter of Intent (LOI) for Maeli. This is a letter from us requesting that we be allowed to adopt Maeli. Typically pre-approval comes within a week from the Chinese government. We were excited to get pre-approval the following day! :)

Now we wait as the Chinese government processes our file and ultimately grants our letter of acceptance (LOA). This could take several weeks or a few months. We are certainly praying that we are granted LOA quickly! Please pray for a quick LOA wait! In the meantime, we are going to enjoy these last few moments as a family of four and also look forward to becoming a family of five!

Here's a sneak peek of her room. Still a work in progress but hopefully finishing it soon!



- Jessica

Praying by Name and DTC

We are DTC! I am so ecstatic to be one step closer!

It's been a great week! We are officially DTC (Dossier To China). That means our home study, paperwork, and LOI are on its way to China. It will arrive Thursday in Beijing and be delivered in person by our agency rep on Friday. We should get confirmation in 2-3 weeks that we have been logged into the system. There are a few minor steps in between but after that we wait for China to send us official approval to bring our sweet girl home! Travel will come approximately 8 weeks after approval (LOA). There is much to be done as we wait for our LOA. I need to finish her room, prepare our home and family for helping her to be able to communicate and understand her surroundings when she comes home, find an English/Chinese Bible, read as much information as possible about adoption and enjoy the two blessings that are here. Oh, and get up to speed on travel tips for China... I think the list goes on and on!

We have also decided on a name for our sweet girl! Her birth name is important to us. We have thought and prayed hard about what her name will be. We want to honor her birth family, heritage, and preference. Recently we were able to ask through American volunteers at the orphanage about her wishes for an American name. We were willing to keep her full Chinese name if she chose. She responded with a no preference for keeping all or part of her name. Since her birth father has been a significant part of her life, we wanted to honor his family name by keeping it as part of her American name. Her Chinese "last" name is Li. After considering many combinations of incorporating Li we have decided to name her Maeli Claire. Our sweet girl will have an American name with a Chinese meaning. The pronunciation of Maeli sounds like the word beautiful in Chinese and we happen to think she quite a beauty!




- Jessica

Truthlets: Bringing Ya Nan Home

What's better than a cute bracelet? A bracelet with a bit of truth written on it! These unique and stylish bracelets are perfect for accenting an outfit. Truthlets are fabric cuff bracelets with an elastic and button closure that includes a scripture verse.




Stephanie, the creator, loves adoption and offers them as a fundraising option for adoptive families. I ordered 25 in various fabrics and verses to help bring our sweet girl home. I was so excited when they arrived in the mail today!




How amazing to pick the first truthlet out of the pile and realize the scripture is the same verse that I picked to use in Ya Nan's room! Psalm 45:11 "The King is enthralled by your beauty. Honor Him for He is your Lord.". I didn't know which verses would be in the lot but it's neat to know how God works and confirms in our lives! Needless to say that truthlet will be the one I wear until our girl comes home and I give it to her!

Here's a sampling of the what Truthlets look like. They are $15 each (local) or $17 shipped. With several fabrics and verses to choose from, send me an email or message if you'd like help picking out a certain color combo or verse. These would make wonderful stocking stuffers or Christmas gifts for tweens, teens, and adults.



- Jessica

Nesting

The wait is HARD. At times it can seem unbearable. To have a child born in your heart and be miles apart is difficult. I worry if she's hungry, happy, if she feels hope, has someone to give her hugs, knows that we are coming, is safe... To be powerless is difficult-unable to comfort, console, encourage, and love on her. So to keep my sanity, I try to find Joy in the two blessings I have here although I still find myself planning around 3. Guess it goes back to the born in my heart feeling. I've also helped get my mind off of the wait, I started about ten new projects! This can be overwhelming because my OCD wants to do them all and check them off the list, ha! So here's a few things I've been up to:
I found this wonderful booth at the Nashville Christmas village this year. You can find her awesome work here.
I loved the fabric lights and decided to make a string for Ya Nan's room.




So I gathered a 1/2 yard of 10 different fabrics and some white Christmas lights.




I cut the fabric into 1.5" by 10" strips. Well let's says that's a lot of strips! So this project is still in progress! Stay tuned for the finished product. :)




Since we don't know when LOA will come and I will be obsessed with travel details at that point, I started working on Ya Nan's bedroom a few weeks ago. Our house has 4 bedrooms so our office that once was in the spare bedroom had to be moved and painted... So we went from a taupe office to a pretty blue green room!







The painting project is finished and furniture has been placed in the room. I debated on whether or not to "decorate" her room or allow her to choose and pick things out. We decided to paint (since blue is her favorite color) and do some decorating as not to overwhelm her with choices when we first get home. I didn't want her room to be completely empty compared to the other kiddos who have rooms that are decorated and full. If she doesn't like the room, we will redecorate after she is settled! More photos to come when that project is finished!




I decided to use restyled vintage furniture for her room. The drawers needed to be lined so I purchased some pretty scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby and some Modge Podge.







I used the paper as lining and created a protective coat and sealer with the Modge Podge. Here's the finished project:




I wanted to use a variety of frames in her room to display photos and prints. I've found some great frames at consignment stores and it's amazing what a can of spray paint can do!
Some of the frames I used to create a magnetic board and dry erase board.




And some of the frames will hold important messages I want Ya Nan to keep in her heart. Like this print from Prints Charming:




Our prayer is that she knows just how much we love her forever and always!
More to come. Off to try to complete work on a project!
Jessica

I800A Approval

We have approval from US Immigration to bring an orphan into the US! It's been a crazy couple of weeks with a computer error at the processing center and a delay with Veteran's day and Thanksgiving. However, we are approved and that's wonderful news!




Our I800A application was approved on November 28th. The approval letter arrived in the mail Friday. Within an hour it was overnighted to our agency so they can seal and authenticate it. Once that is finished, our dossier (home study, I800A, and other documents) will be sent to China for approval. The governing body over Chinese adoptions (CCCWA), can take anywhere from several weeks to 4 months to give approval. This will be the hardest part of the wait because of the lack of information and predictability of this step. So in the next couple of weeks we should be DTC (dossier to China). Please pray that state seals and authentication are processed quickly. I am praying for DTC by December 15th. Our ultimate goal is to travel to China before her 13th birthday in April. It will still take approximately 8 weeks after receiving approval from the CCCWA before we can leave for China. We know all things are possible! We serve a God who works in amazing ways. We are praying for Him to move in a mighty way!
I've tried to stay busy during the I800A wait in order to keep from calling USCIS everyday. We've been focusing on getting her room decorated and ready. Pictures to come! :)
- Jessica

Persistence vs Patience

After a horrible experience at our local USCIS office Friday, I spent the weekend mentally exhausted... Thinking that there would be no way I could wait another 25 days until our fingerprint appointment when other families (in other states) are walking in early for fingerprinting and getting I800A approval before their assigned fingerprint appointment date.  All I could think about was this could mean getting to China before or after her birthday... and it broke this momma's heart to know she is there and I am here for 25 more days...

When I see her face, my heart longs to just jump on a plane and go to China until she can come home with me. I want nothing more than to let her know that she has a family and that we are working SO hard to bring her home as quickly as possible. At this point she has only recently been told that a family is working to bring her home, but she doesn't know who. I can't imagine how she must feel. What questions she must be asking and wondering about us? We had family pictures made last weekend to send to her and I can't wait to put them in the mail-However, we need this approval first...

So after spending the weekend thinking about what 25 days could mean, I decided to do some research to try to locate a "live" person at a different office in our state.  The numbers of the individual offices are not published so I knew it was a long shot.  I simply prayed, "God if you are asking for persistence, you have asked the right person, but God, if you are asking for patience, please Lord, just put a wall up and lock the door tight because you know I am crazy enough to try and run through it!"  

After calling the "number" I found online about 5 times throughout the morning (persistence), a live person finally answered!  I struggled to compose myself and explained that I was attempting to get permission to walk in at the office rather than drive 3 hours (with the time change) to be turned away.  He instructed that I had contacted the wrong department...and gave me the direct number to the biometric office!!!  I called the office and the receptionist transferred me to the supervisor.  After explaining my situation for the third time, he said he would be happy to accommodate us although we may have to wait to be worked in with others who have an appointment.  I thanked him about five times and before we hung up he asked, "Just out of curiosity, how did you get this number?  It's not released to the public."  I told how I stumbled upon it all the while thanking God for the blessing.  

We left for the office immediately and were able to get fingerprinted!  When we got there, I told him who I was and he remembered our phone conversation.  The supervisor just so happened to be the same gentleman that fingerprinted us when we adopted Emma.  We talked about UK basketball and our sweet Ya Nan in China.  They were very courteous and we were in and out in about 10 minutes.  

So that is great news and helped put some positive energy back into my sails... On the way home this afternoon, I called the NBC who processes our application to let them know we were fingerprinted early.  She said they would notate the account and assign an officer to our case.  Please pray that our approval comes by the end of next week.  This would give us a great possibility to get our dossier to China by the end of the month.  At that point we will wait for China to formal approve us.  This could take anywhere between 2 weeks and 4 months.  Upon approval, we could meet our daughter in as little as 8 weeks!  And believe me, this momma is ready!

Orphan Sunday

Orphan Sunday has always been dear to my heart. This year it is extra special. I'm thankful for birthparents who love their children enough to give them life and opportunity for a prosperous future. I'm thankful for adoption and how it defines the very nature of God's love for us. But there are orphans waiting. Some who will never know what it feels like to be tucked in at night. Some who will never experience the love of a family. And as I sit in comfort and warmth, I can't help but think of one orphan in particular.
This orphan is waiting in China. Her wish is to have a family that loves her. I long to tell her that her wish has come true... That her mom and dad love her beyond words... That we are working so hard to bring her home, for good, forever... That she will never have to worry about living in an orphanage again... And most of all there is a God that loves her and will never forsake her. But for now she waits... And I will pray and plead that God will move mountains to get her home soon. I will advocate for her and be her voice because I long be to her mom without an ocean separating us...




Adoption Process:
On October 15th our agency sent our I-800A application and supporting documents to Texas where they review the application and documents. If all of the pages and documents are there, they forward the application to the NBC. We've been waiting for a certain piece of paper to arrive...




It came on Friday, October 26. We will try to walk in and get fingerprinted early which should speed up the approval process.
Monster Dash-October 27: We are so blessed to be one of the families receiving part of the proceeds from a 5K that supports orphans and adoptive families. The second annual 5K Monster Dash was a huge success. Friends and family came to support the cause.








UPDATE: We walked in on Friday (11-2) at the Nashville office and were not able to be printed. The office was empty and to say the experience was negative is an understatement. This mother is not finished trying to get our fingerprints processed as soon as possible. Several families receive I800A approval before their original fingerprint date when they walk-in to get fingerprinted early. So we have hope that we may be able to go to a different office to get fingerprinted.
We have sold over 60 adoption t-shirts! Thanks so much to all who ordered. Your generosity has blessed us beyond words! Our sweet girl has such an amazing group of friends and family go help bring her home!
Blessings,
- Jessica

A Few of Her Favorite Things...

Our agency's office manager went to China a couple of weeks ago and sent new photos and info of our sweet girl. Since Yanan is 12, they interviewed her to get some insight on her likes and dislikes. The interview was dated October 12th. Adoptive moms know that updates, whether detailed or vague, are bits of insight and connections that moms cling to as we wait. Needless to say I've read the interview forms a few times ; ) During her interview the form stated she smiled, was attentive, and made great eye contact.

So here are a few of her Favorite things:
Subject: music
Color: blue (hope that's Wildcat blue : )
Food: chicken legs
Climate: hot and cold (perfect for a Kentucky girl!)
Music: fast
Crafts: drawing and paper cutting
Sports: running long and slow-possibly cross country
Animals: dogs, not afraid of big dogs, Rupp might change that for her : )

A few other things:
She wants to be a musician, plays the drums, wants to learn to play piano (insert smiling Gran), wants to travel overseas, wants a USA family who loves her (check, to the moon and back), wants to learn to sing, isn't afraid to fly, and would like brothers and sisters

These little pieces help to put her personality and disposition into perspective. It also makes me long to be there experiencing her growth and providing opportunities for her.

Please join me in praying for a miracle. I know that God is in control and we want to remain in His will and timing. He asks us to bring our desires and requests before Him. I'm asking that you pray with us for the paperwork process to be quick. Our agency gave us a May target. We serve a mighty God and my prayer is before her 13th birthday in April, specifically the end of February. I know that's a far cry from May but we will pray for the best and accept the blessing of her when God grants it.

Here's a recent photo with her hair down. It's hard to believe God has blessed us to be her forever family.




She seems happy and poised in the photos which gives me peace as waiting is difficult no matter how long the wait...


Blessings,
Jessica

Our Fine Arts Girl

Today marks the beginning of Fall Break and boy it's been a long busy week getting here! Our home study has been drafted and is going through the review process so we are on track to send it to USCIS soon.

I received a wonderful email today. A representative from our agency is in China and spent some time with Yanan. She says Yanan is the band conductor, speaks good English, and is studying Chinese drama. That makes this momma's heart smile. But this made my heart melt...

A new photo of her:



Did I mention I'm ready to go to China?! But first this family is off to Disney for a week filled with fun and family time. This time 4... Next time, a family of 5!


Blessings,
- Jessica

Timelines and Paperwork

The past couple of weeks have been filled with Paperwork Frenzy!  For those new to the adoption process, here's what I've been up to:

In order to adopt from China, families must go through a series of steps.  Sometimes the steps are done in specific order and sometimes they are out of order based on when you receive your referral.  I am keeping a timeline log on the side of the blog for reference on how quickly, or not so quickly things progress.  Here's a list of the steps:

Application for China agency

Application for Home Study agency (if different)

LOI-Letter of Intent, a letter written by our family that expresses our desire to adopt and care for Yanan

Home Study-8 to 14 page document that outlines our family's history, health, finances, family
         interactions, adoption recommendations, and approval to adopt

I800A-Preapproval from the US government to bring an orphan into the US, includes getting
         fingerprinted for a federal background check

DTC-Dossier is sent to China, Dossier is a very important packet of documents that China translates  
         and uses to give us approval to adopt, these documents have to be certified, state sealed, and
         authenticated by the Chinese consulate

LID-Log in Date, the date China receives our dossier

LOA-Letter of Acceptance, letter stating that we have been approved by China to adopt a
         specific child (Yanan)

I800-Approval by the US government to petition a visa for a specific orphan (Yanan)

NVC Cable-National Visa Center will electronically send our approval of the visa petition to the China
         Embassy

NVC Letter-The official letter from the NVC that our petition has been forwarded to the Embassy

Article 5-Embassy verifies that all paperwork is in order to child visa to be issued

TA-Travel Approval, typically leave for China about a week or so later

CA-Consulate Appointment, Yanan's Adoption Day in China!

There are lots of steps and paperwork that goes along with each of the steps listed above.  Many China adoptions of our nature take a year or more.  Our agency is hoping for 9 months of less.  We know how big God is and we are praying that God will intercede and bring her home before her 13th birthday.  We've gotten off to a great start.  As of now, we have almost all of our dossier documents ready to go.  The packet will be mailed this week to our China agency for processing and authenticating.  We have completed our home study visits and the plan is to have a home study draft by the end of the week.  Our Letter of Intent was completed and sent last Friday!  We have our I800A application ready to send when our home study is complete.

If things continue as planned, we will leave for Disney this Saturday knowing our I800A and home study will be sent to USCIS while we are on vacation!  It's amazing to see how quickly God has allowed the paperwork and steps to progress.  Please join us in praying for those who review and approve our documents.  We know, as her parents, that no one else is as passionate about bringing her home as we are.  But our prayer is that others will process our paperwork quickly and with care.  It's difficult to see her face and not have the ability bring her home right away.  So I am working on the things I can control and trying to giving the rest to God.  So far, that has worked... But we are only 3 weeks in and her video is getting played several times a day by this momma!

Hearing His Voice

Isn't it intriguing how God speaks to each of us differently?  And sometimes, it's what He doesn't say that is the most important.  As I mentioned in my first post, there were many God moments during the week of deciding whether we were meant to be Yanan's family.  My heart absolutely wanted to jump.  It's a heart that has a special place for the orphaned...  A heart that has felt the disappointment of not having a "real" mother and father.  A heart that has been filled with love a forever mother and father that didn't give birth to me.  A heart that was healed by the ultimate Father.

Yanan just so happens to be the same age I was when I gained an earthly mother and father that provided the love and support I had longed for as a younger child.

Of course I rationalized so many what if scenarios.  For example, what do I know about raising teenagers?  And then I realized that it's not what I know but that I be obedient.   "God does not call the equipped, He equips the called."  I pray that my daily interaction with 850 teenagers will somehow help me be the best mother I can be.  And maybe God will use my own life experiences to provide insight on the loss and hurt she has and will experience.  Most importantly, the absolute unconditional love that I have for her will hopefully radiate and bring glory to her heavenly Father.  Because this is the most important task as a parent.  

As I began to pray that week, I originally prayed that God would speak so loud that I couldn't ignore His words.  By midweek, I learned that what I really needed was to be quiet and listen because He was speaking all along.

Last night, as I was perusing in a store, I came across metal crown.  When I saw it, I thought to myself. Yanan is my daughter, but she is ultimately the daughter of the King.  So that crown came home with me and I hope to use it as a tool to explain to her how loved she is, not only my birth and adoptive family but also by her heavenly Father.  

Sometimes God doesn't show us the entire picture of how He is working in our lives.  But I must say this week, He gave me a glimpse of how one little girl who needed a family made a huge impact.  An adoptive mom contacted me yesterday to say that her family had been praying about whether or not they were meant to be Yanan's family.  Her post is amazing in the way she explains how her voice was saying yes, but that God was speaking differently.  She ends her post with these words:

It wasn't the finances that stopped us for Candice (Yanan's agency given name) or the crazy looks or concerns that our family and friends would give us when we said we were adopting a 12 year old it was the fact that God has asked me quite clearly to be one of His sheep and to listen to His voice, not mine. "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27)

I am going to do my very best to advocate for her and see if she comes back to us or goes to the family that God intended to be hers. Here is her sweet and beautiful face and she is with Living Hope on their individual list. I do not want to ever see her on an aging out list. She has a year and a half before she ages out and Living Hope has promised a fast time frame to her even if you are starting from scratch on a dossier. Are you her forever family? Please strongly consider praying with your spouse about lovely Candice. 

You see this was posted on the same day that God confirmed with Ryan and I that we were meant to be Yanan's parents.  So it's not always what God says, but what He doesn't say.  But God knew we would need support and resources to help bring her home.  It just so happens that this sweet adoptive mom has a gift at fundraising and helps other families bring home their children.  Another God moment...

My prayer is that Yanan will look back at these moments when she arrives home and know that not only do we love her to China and back, but that God loves her more!

Click here to see a video of our precious girl singing about hope in difficult times and when we work hand and hand the problem will be solved...  She's at about 8:20 in the video with a yellow jacket and pink cheeks. :o)

If the Shoe Fits...

We have big news!  News that will create joy, happiness, excitement, and anxiety.  Our family is growing through adoption, again!  The Author of our lives has penned a story of love, selflessness, loss, mercy, obedience, second chances, and wild faith!  We are over the moon excited about what lies ahead for a our family and our new daughter!  Here's the story and God glory behind our decision:

On a typical Tuesday afternoon, I was reading through some adoption friend blogs and stumbled upon a fellow blogger's China advocacy page.  I regularly search and advocate for available Chinese children who are in search of a forever family.  I am particularly drawn to older children and children with special medical needs.  I guess you could say it's my heart for the orphan and trying to make a difference one child at a time.  As Helen Keller said, "I can't do everything, but I can do something."

This particular day I found myself on a F@cebook page I'd never visited before.  My Overthinking (I never do that, lol) is a page created by an adoptive mother who also shares a burden for orphans.  As I scrolled through her page, I saw this photo:

At that moment, my heart began to race and an amazing feeling that I have felt twice before consumed me.  So many emotions and thoughts were flooding my mind as I read her profile paragraph: "... is absolutely beautiful, and she needs a family."  Those words stung as a child should never be without a family.  The caption went on to say "She's a fun and lovely 12-year-old girl."  A 12 year old girl was not what I had in mind when I dreamed of adopting again.  But I'm sure a conversion was the last thing Saul dreamed of when he sat out for Damascus...  I immediately thought to myself, oh no, there is no way Ryan is going to agree to a.) adopt again and b.) adopt a teenage girl!  Turns out God knows my husband better than I do!  After praying together, seeking God's will, and listening for God's voice, He confirmed that she is indeed our daughter.

There are so many God moments that have occurred from the day I first saw her photo and the night we committed to be obedient to God's call for our family.  Here are a few:
-Even before I saw her face, God was preparing us:  our pastor focused specifically on orphans and the plight of children in a sermon just over a month ago.
-Our son, not knowing about a possible sister from China, came home excited to have been selected for Chinese club at school where he will learn about the Chinese culture and basic Chinese dialogue.
-There were numerous scripture references and stories from the Bible that connected back to our obedience, caring for the orphan, and living a life worthy of the call.
-While reading the Hole in the Gospel (a wonderful book), I stumbled upon a chapter that discussed our call and being willing to go and walk a Christ like life.  I remembered a pair of Sperry's that Chase had outgrown.  I had spent the day trying to give them away as little girls and boys wear them and I was looking for someone to get some use out of them.  I didn't have any luck that day and brought them back home.  It was as if God said to me as I read the chapter from the book, If the Shoe Fits...  I immediately gathered up the shoes and checked Yanan's file, only to find they fit Yanan exactly according to her chart.  Just under the size label, the words read: "Made in China."  God revealed our daughter was made in China but I would walk there to bring her home if I had to!

We know she's older and we will have less time with her than our other children.  We know that she has preconceived notions of life and family.  But as a blog friend so elegantly put it:

"Hard days will lie ahead...  Challenges to tackle, Walls to come down

But the Author of her life is the knower of all fear, the Healer of all wounds,

The Redeemer of all brokenness and the Giver of all hope."

And for that... We find peace, excitement, and joy!  

Who knew a pair of shoes would help confirm what God had been confirming for the past two weeks as Ryan and I prayed about our journey to our daughter.

Some will wonder why a 12 year old.  Our response is why not?
"The timing may be unexplainable to the world, but
He called this mother and father to a 12-year-old girl in China
and whispered His promises of hope and peace."

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,  "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

Please pray for us as we work frantically to complete all the necessary paperwork to bring our daughter home.  We are so thankful for the love of family and friends to share in our journey to our daughter.

There's so much more to say and I plan to record it here so that one day in the near future Yanan will be able to see God's ability to create a family in which love is stronger than genetics.