Project "Joshua"

One of my little projects is almost complete...Stephanie is finally on a plane to get this little adorable scruptious little boy that captured my heart many months ago.  Remember this post way back when??  Stephanie saw it and well the rest is history.

I am SO happy that he found his family!!  Stay tuned for her Gotcha Day on Monday.  I can't wait to see little "Joshua" finally become little Parker, and safe in his mommy's arms.  Stephanie has been kind enough to grant me "Aunt Donna" status for this little guy, and I have been able to share in the joy of their upcoming union.  I can't wait...

We Have an Officer

Well at least we are one step closer!  I called today and we have finally been assigned an officer to our case-YEAH.  And yes, I do call or email every single day in case you were wondering ;)

Pulling my hair out as I wait for our I-800A approval...

Just Waiting

Unfortunately, we still have not been assigned an officer to work on our I-800A application-UGH.  We have to have an officer in order for that officer to review our homestudy and fingerprints, and then "hopefully" give us our final APPROVAL to be able to bring in a child from China.  Good ole USA government at work I suppose.  They received our application 32 days ago, and we haven't even been assigned an officer :(  Don't they know this precious little girl is waiting to come home?!?!

ELEVEN

My first born child who started me out on the most AMAZING journey ever...motherhood.  Today we are celebrating my baby's 11th birthday!!  What an amazing kid I have been blessed with.  If you know him, then you know what a kind, compassionate, thoughtful, and heart warming child he is.  Oh and I must also mention what an avid fisherman he is, along with being the world's greatest big brother there ever was!!  Wishing my baby a very happy birthday today on his special day :)

Twins for Real

No, not mine, but my friend Cristy has her new baby girls!  Go on over and take a peek...yes, she is even crazier than me :)

Beautiful blessings for a sweet family!

Sick Again...

My Shelby baby was SO sick earlier this week, so she stayed out of school Monday and Tuesday.  After her tummy ache went away she went back to school.  I think she has actually caught this stupid stomach bug again from her classmates-UGH!  Here is the view in the car and now in my office today-poor thing :(

In Honor of my Dad and Papa

Thank you!

Got Em!

Tracking Something NOW

WOOHOO!!  It looks like we may have found our documents...in Houston.  I was finally able to pull up a positive response from the usps tracking information on our dossier:

Label/Receipt Number: EG43 9097 955U S

Guaranteed Delivery Date/Time: November 12, 2010, 3:00 PM

Class: Express Mail®

Status: Processed through Sort Facility

Your item was processed through and left our HOUSTON, TX 77201 facility on November 09, 2010. The item is currently in transit to the destination.

Not sure why it states it won't be delivered until Friday, considering it is in an overnight Express Mail envelope?  But frankly, I don't care as long as it gets here!!  So holding my breath that it makes it here soon safe and sound.  God really does still answer prayers :)

Crazy?

A must read for you here.  Stephanie has an incredible passion for the orphans in this world.  Her words rang VERY true for me and my own heart for the orphan.  Take a minute to drop over and read her powerful thoughts. http://www.nihaoyall.com/2010/11/crazy.html 

Makes me think of the fact that God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called :)

Oh and if you want to get a chance at some of her free giveaway stuff you can go here to check it out:

Bubble Busted

Unfortunately I did NOT get the news I was hoping for today.  Cindy was told by the Consulate that they mailed out my docs this past Friday.  Normally that would be a good thing, but unfortunately it is not considering the fact that I still don't have them.  Yes, they were supposedly sent out via USPS Express Mail; however, the USPS does not show any record of the item being actually mailed from the Consulate.  We have tried and tried to track it, but nothing shows in the systems.  It just states "No record of this item."

SO, basically all of my hardwork, blood, sweat, and tears (literally) that have gone into these 10 documents are GONE?!?  No where to be found...

Praying for a miracle, but preparing my heart and head to start over...tomorrow.

Really Hoping Today

Well I was able to get Cindy at http://www.mychinadocs.com/ to start the "investigation" yesterday into where my docs are at the Houston Consulate.  Really hoping to hear something today about them!!

Oh and I emailed the NBC to let them know we had our prints done earlier than expected.  So really hoping they push through our I-800A approval soon too.  Really really hoping!!

Climbing the Mountain

We did it!!  CJ managed to get off early today, so we headed off to the USCIS (Homeland Security) Atlanta office for our official fingerprint appointment crashing.  We were successful and the guards never even checked the official appointment date on our paperwork.  So yes, we managed to save ourselves a full week to hopefully get our I-800A approval a week earlier than normal.

Unfortunately though I have hit a snag with 10 other docs that I sent to the Houston Consulate for final authentication.  It is only supposed to take 5 days for your documents to be returned, but it has now been 3 weeks?!?!  I was trying to save $150 by sending the docs without using a courier, but now that has come back to bite me.  So now I am going to have to pay the courier anyway for her to "investigate" directly at the Consulate on my behalf to find my paperwork...UGH.

Climbing this huge paperwork process, but still remembering the prize at the top...our baby girl!!

Gotcha Day Anniversary

Three years ago today our lives were changed forever!!  As I look back at her pictures now, it is so evident in her face how absolutely terrified Shelby was that day.  She cried and cried and cried.  Her little heart was broken as we stepped in and took her from everyone she had ever loved.  This is the part of adoption some people don't want to see or feel, but it is very real...adoption is traumatic for any child.

Fortunately, today we mostly get all smiles and giggles from our Shelby baby.  However, I am still reminded often of the loss my little girl has endured during her short 5 years.  I am so grateful that I get to be her mommy and get to be there to watch/help her heal from her past.  She is such a blessing to our family! 

We will forever love you Ning FuHong!!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

New Pictures!

Look what I woke up to this morning from Angela at http://www.ladybugsnlove.com/ ! Now how in the world am I supposed to get any work done while I sit and stare at them all day?!?

Oh and my sister-in-law just translated what the cake has written on it, "Hong Xinfang, be well and happy!" 

Fingerprint Date

Finally received our official "next step" in the paperchase.  We received our official notice to be fingerprinted (yes, AGAIN) from the Department of Homeland Security.  Our date is set for next Friday, the 12th!  I am still hoping CJ might actually get a day off before then and we will try to sneak ourselves in for early fingerprinting.  Yes, I will even try to sneak in at Homeland Security if it gets me closer to this adorable little girl!

Tricks and Treats

We had a grand time on Faith's favorite holiday yesterday!  I know you only care about the pics, so in brief...Shelby went as a cat to school on Friday, then changed costumes for Halloween and went as a Rock Star!  Faith hated dressing up, so literally held her down and pinned on her tail to be a cat.  I threatened no candy if she took it off-LOL.  Travis went as Jeff Gordon, and Caleb was a hunter.  Oh and Nana was a scary ghost.  I went as myself, just a hot babe :)  Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

Nanchang Orphanage Visit

Look who was hanging out in Elise's orphanage just days before she was born...Tammy and Tony Nolan!  I have known the Nolan's since the very beginning of Shelby's adoption.  Tammy and I actually paperchased together, and I was able to watch them bring home their bundle of Joy last year.  Little did I know that while I was watching their journey unfold in China, my daughter was being born just miles away from them.

Yes, amazing that the orphanage the Nolan's were allowed to visit was where Elise would be brought to shortly after they left.  Here is a small video clip of Tony in the baby room where Elise probably spent her first year of life.  So incredible to have these little red thread connections all the way on the other side of the world.  Thank you Tammy for sharing!



You see Holt International currently sponsors Nanchang orphanage and helps provide the kids with better care and facilities through the donations that you give to their sponsorship programs.  Go here to read about Tony's visit to the orphanage.  I am SO thankful to everyone who gives money to help sponsor these children.  It appears that my little Elise is hopefully being cared for in the best way possible through the support of people who give montly and of course through the aid of Holt International. 

First Notice

Well I just sent off our first care package to Elise's orphanage today.  I used Lady Bugs N Love to send a translated letter and some pictures of us to her nannies, along with some candies of course.  I also paid to have a cake purchased for all the kids in the orphanage to share and celebrate with Elise.  I am really hoping we get some new pictures of our girl in the next week or so.  You see the deal with using an outside agency is that they send money directly to the orphanage asking them to spend the money on purchasing a cake.  Then they ask the nannies to "prove it" by sending pictures back of the child enjoying the cake.  So let's hope we get some good "proof" back soon!

Hurry Up and Wait

Right now we are just in a "waiting" period with the paperwork.  We are waiting on our govt agency the USCIS to issue us a fingerprinting appointment.  It typically takes about 2 weeks to get just the notice for the appointment, then the actual appointment is usually about 2-3 weeks after the notice is sent.  SO, this just means I did all the paperwork in a hurry, to now just sit a wait as I stare at my precious baby girl...

Oh and I seem to get the questions alot these days of, "Well isn't it alot easier since you have already done all the paperwork before?" Unfortunately ALL of our paperwork had to be started over again from the very beginning.  Every piece of paper for each adoption has to have been issued and printed within 6 months of the time you submit it to China.  So even though our birth certificates/marriage certificate and such have never changed, we had to order NEW copies for everything, so that they show a print date less than 6 months old.  Crazy I know, just the way it works unfortunately.

Parents Wanted

for even more new cuties like this one... click here to see if one belongs to you!

More Who Wait...

Go here to see just a few of the faces who are currently available for adoption from China.  Is one of them yours??!

Haircuts

Well little Miss Shelby decided that she needed a haircut and took it upon herself (under her daddy's watch of course) to do a "little bang trim".  Needless to say, I had to take her to the professionals to salvage what little bangs she had left, so we cut her hair shorter to kinda even it out.  Oh well, it was bound to happen with one of my kiddos.  I still think she is as adorable as ever though :)

Block of Adorableness

A little more about our precious girl:

She was born on August 3, 2009

She is currently in Nanchang City SWI in Jiangxi Province

She currently weighs about 15 pounds

She had her open heart surgery when she was 2 months old for VSD and PFO

Description from her nannies:

When she hears soft and kind words she will open her small mouth and giggle aloud, putting her hands together in front of chest and clapping hands; facing favorite people she will express in her own way, for example: when you hold her she will touch your face with hands and smile at you happily. She is very lovely and all people like her very much.

She appears to be an angel and we can't wait to meet her :)

BIG Paperchase Process

Whew, finally received our agency's approval on our homestuday yesterday.  So I was able to drive out to our social worker's office and pick up our completed homestudy originals.  Then I waited for BAAS (our agency) Fedex to arrive with the final piece of paper that I needed to file the coveted I-800A application. 

I was then off to the Post Office to mail in our I-800A application, and I also sent off 10 docs to Houston for Authentication, and also I sent 1 doc up to Chicago Consulate.  SO needless to say we are well on our way to completing our dossier. 

Next step now is to wait on our I-800A to be processed, then we have to get fingerprinted (yes again), then we wait for final I-800A approval.  Once I have that last approval, my dossier will be complete!  Well of course after I notarize, county certify, state certify, and then have Houston authenticate it.

Yes, I know tiring just to write it, you should actually try DOING it all.  Okay I know enough whining.  Anyhow, I am excited to be clicking right along and getting closer to my baby each and every day :)

New Province for Us

Our little Elise is from Jiangxi Province.  Shelby is from Guangxi, and Faith is from Guangdong.  So we will be visiting a whole different part of China on this trip.  I am excited to get to see more of the country that has become so much a part of our lives :)

Twins?!?!

HA!  Just kiddin', but Faith INSIST that she is getting 2 babies :)  More pics of our beautiful daughter...

Introducing our Adorable Addition

We received our Pre-Approval from China last night.  So we are thrilled to finally introduce you to the adorable little girl that we have fallen in love with.  Here she is, drum roll please.......

Little Miss Elise Delores Xinfang Straight!

Heavenly Celebration

I was completely blessed a few weeks ago getting to watch my baby boy be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!!!  I thought my heart would burst with the JOY I felt knowing that my son has accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.  My Travis is one special child and I know the Lord has great things in store for him.  How blessed I am to get to be his mommy.

And to top off the celebration, CJ stepped into the baptism pool last minute as a BIG surprise to Travis.  CJ wanted to be able to be baptized with his son.  (CJ had only been only baptized as an infant)  Getting to witness them both publically professing their trust in Jesus Christ was one INCREDIBLE day!

Exceptions To the Rules

I have "heard" that lately China is starting to make some exceptions to their strict requirements of adoptive parents.  I have even been told that one particular agency has even been able to get one of their clients a BMI waiver!!  China has already been giving out income waivers and some of the total asset waivers in the past, but this was the first time I have ever heard of a BMI waiver.  This is great news for all the waiting children.  So if you think you can't qualify to adopt from China, think again and drop me an email to find out about this great agency :)

Here are the standard requirements:

According to the Adoption Law of the People’s Republic of China (published 11/4/1998 ), current Chinese government policies and practices, and U.S. immigration laws, you must meet the following guidelines to qualify for a China adoption:

Applicants must be a legally married heterosexual couple. At least one applicant must be a U.S. citizen.

Couples with no previous marriages must be married for at least two years at the time the dossier is logged in at the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA). If either spouse has been previously married, the current marriage must be at least five years old at the time the dossier is logged in at the CCAA. No applicant may have had more than two divorces.

Applicants must be at least 30 years old* and no older than 55 years old at the time their dossier is logged in at the CCAA.
*Applicants may submit an application to CCAI once both parents are at least 29.5 years old.

Families must document $10,000 of annual income per member in the household, including the to-be-adopted child. A minimum of $80,000 net worth is required.

Applicants must be in good physical and mental condition necessary to provide responsible care for an adopted child. If an applicant has a history of any cancer, please contact your agency before completing the Application for Adoption.

If any applicant is currently taking any medication for depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder, or schizophrenia, the applicant is not eligible to apply. If the medications were taken in the past, the applicant must have been off the medication for at least two years at the time the dossier is submitted to the CCAA.

Each applicant’s Body Mass Index (BMI) must be under 40. (BMI equals a person's weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. BMI=kg/m 2). Click here to calculate your BMI

Applicants must have a minimum of high school education or equivalent.

Applicants must have no criminal record or alcohol abuse within the past 10 years. Neither applicant may have committed any acts of domestic violence, sexual abuse or child abuse. Applicants must have no history of illegal drug use, including experimentation.

My Calling

The reason I just LOVE doing my "other job", of course I do enjoy all the special hugs I get when the babies finally come home too :)

God Created You to Help Others Posted by Rick Warren

Now you belong to him ... in order that you might be useful in the service of God. (Romans 7:4 TEV)

 "Anytime you use your God-given abilities to help others, you are fulfilling your calling. "

Your call to salvation included your call to service. They are the same. Regardless of your job or career, you are called to full-time Christian service. A "non-serving Christian" is a contradiction in terms.

 The Bible says, "He saved us and called us to be his own people, not because of what we have done, but because of his own purpose." (2 Timothy 1:9 TEV)  Peter adds, "You were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God, who called you." (1 Peter 2:9 GW).

You are called to serve God. Growing up, you may have thought that being "called" by God was something only missionaries, pastors, nuns, and other "full-time" church workers experienced, but the Bible says every Christians is called to service. (Ephesians 4:4 -14; see also Romans 1:6-7; 8:28-30; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 9, 26; 7:17; Philippians 3:14; 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 1:3)

Anytime you use your God-given abilities to help others, you are fulfilling your calling. The Bible says, "Now you belong to him ... in order that you might be useful in the service of God." Romans 7:4 TEV)

How much of the time are you being useful in the service of God? In some churches in China, they welcome new believers by saying "Jesus now has a new pair of eyes to see with, new ears to listen with, new hands to help with, and a new heart to love others with."

Another New Addition

HA!  Got you again ;)  This new addition is the one to the house.  We had to figure out how we could squeeze another member of the family into our small  3 bedroom house.  Solution was to of course just add on another bedroom to the tune of about $35K. 

Yeah well all that is well and good if we were rich, but we aren't (at least not in funds).  So we opted for enclosing the carport instead.  I think it turned out great!  The kids love it of course.  This will be used as a playroom/teenager room in the future.  For now all 3 girls will share a room until they get a little bigger.  The boys will stay in their bedroom, but we will now have another option for when everyone gets bigger.  Yes, I do realize that they all turn into teenagers!

New Addition Pics

Well what were you expecting?!?!?   CJ had to replace the Corvette :)

Baby Teaser

Unfortunately we don't expect to have PA (Pre-Approval) until maybe Friday or Monday next week considering that China is closed this week for their holidays.  Thinking about my baby girl tonight, so thought I would at least share a few interesting tidbits about our new baby girl...

She is now 14 months old...

She had a VSD and PFO in her little heart...

She now has a very mild scar where her heart has been healed...

She was born missing her fingers on her left hand...

She seems to do just fine without them, and looks perfect to us...

She is already pulling up and cruising along and will probaby walk soon...

She is cute as a button...

She has the most infectious smile you have ever seen...

She has 4 brothers and sisters who talk about her daily...

She has already stolen her mommy's heart!