God made us a family

Well the CNY ended yesterday.  This amazing Chinese celebration ends on the day of the full moon with the Lantern festival.  The children and I attended a Chinese New Year presentation at our library this past Saturday.  Children from a local Chinese school preformed this wonderful presentation.  We saw a lion dance (Thomas loved it, Anna was scared), a Chinese yo-yo demonstration (Clare and Jon's favorite), a kung-fu demonstration, zither presentation, and more.  We were all amazed.  I sat there thinking about my sweet baby and our deep connection with this county.  It amazes me that Steve and I have always felt a pull to this part of our world.  Our two countries, on the surface, are so very different.  But if we choose to see the world as our Lord sees this world, we are so much a like.  As parents we have the same hope and love for our children.  As children we have the same needs and longing to be loved.  God does not see us any different.  I pray that we will be able to help our sweet girl know that she is part of this family fully and deeply.  That despite the way our world may see the differences in our family, that our souls are the same, and designed to be together in this family.   Please join me in prayer for all of the children that face this challenge!

 United in our hearts and in our family-

                                                      

Two mothers-

This morning in prayer my heart has been turned toward Ellie's birth mother.  I cannot stop thinking about her and the difficult choice she had to make to leave Ellie on  that road.  That decision was probably so hard, something she thinks about every day.  I have loved our children from the moment they were placed in my womb.  That love grew every day, waiting for their birth.  I would dream about their little faces, what they would be like, what color hair they would have, if they were a boy or a girl.  I would feel them move and grow within me and my heart grew deeper in love.  These amazing children (including Ellie) that God has graced me with are my  most precious gifts.  I would do anything for them.  Ellie's birth mother must have felt this same way.  I'm sure as the days became closer to her birth, Ellie's mom must have been so excited to see her precious baby's face.  Yet once she realized the realty of her situation she had to make the most difficult decision of her life.  She left her, hoping somebody would find her and help her sweet child.

God, you are so good.  You sent your Holy Spirit to guide Ellie's birth mother, you sent your angels to surround her and protect her, you blessed the orphanages she had been placed in, you moved in the hearts of the amazing people of New Hope to care for her, you guided the surgeons hands while performing her surgery, and you called us to seek her and to become her parents.  Lord, today, I ask you to speak words of comfort over Ellie's birth mother; give her the knowledge that her daughter is loved today and always.  Please give her your peace.  Thank you for giving us this opportunity to love this sweet girl! Please continue to guide our path to her and in our lives together as a forever family. Amen

LEGACY OF AN ADOPTED CHILD

Once there were two women who never knew each other

Once you do not remember, the other you call Mother

Two different lives shaped to make you one

One became your guiding star, the other became your sun

The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it

The first gave you a need for love, the second was there to give it

One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name

One gave you a talent, the other gave you aim

One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears

One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears

One made an adoption plan, that was all that she could do

The other prayed for a child, and God led her straight to you.

Now, which of these two women, are you the product of?

Both, my darling, both, just two different types of love.

                                                             ---Unknown

Woo-Hoo...We got an update!

I am so very happy to share with you our newest update on our precious girl.  As you may know I have been (not-so) patiently waiting to receive an update on Ellie.  The amazing people at our adoption agency sent the request December 20th, and we had not received any word.  They kept reassuring me that this was normal, and updates are not expected from the orphanages, but only a wonderful "bonus".  Even though I felt shorted out of my bonus, the Lord was sending me so many reassurances,such as:
     - The amazing book,  The House of Hope, by Elisabeth Gifford
     - The past updates on her through Show Hope
     - A wonderful person who went to Hope Healing Home and emailed me saying he was able to spend time with Ellie, and "she is adorable"
     - And many reassurance from other adoptive moms

God is so good....."all the time" (to quote one of our favorite priests from Fatima in MS)

Here are a few things written from the update... and some adorable pictures:

Her current health is good.

She cannot stand due to her special need, but she can crawl.  She can say mama. (I cannot wait to hear it!)

She is learning Mandarin.

She can hear some English

They call her Xiao Fang.

She is a bit shy with strangers.

She was found on the road of Nan Yuan, TangYin County of An Yang City (This line, I read at least one hundred times.... please pray for her birth parents...pray our gracious Lord will give them peace and the reassurance that their daughter will be so loved for the rest of her life)

She eats noodle, congee, eggs, dumpling, rice, eggs  (She must really like eggs.  And what exactlly is "congee"?)

She is 9.3kg (20.5 lbs),  73cm (28.7 in),  has 18 teeth, and her foot length is 11cm (4.3 in)---my sweet baby!

Gongxi

Gongxi is a wish for a Happy New Year in Mandarin.  Yesterday was the first day of the Ch*nese New Year celebration.  This is a huge holiday in Ch*na! This year is the year of the dragon. Ch*nese New Year begins on the day of the first new moon of the year and lasts until the first full moon (about 15days).  They have many wonderful traditions to celebrate this holiday.  Yesterday the children and I read about the Ch*nese New Year, made our own laterns and dragons, and had a delicious Ch*nese food meal together.  We prayed for Ellie and thought of the wonderful year ahead of us!

Well today we started our Ch*nese new year off with a bang!!  (No, it wasn't a firecracker)... We FINALLY received our finalized homestudy report!!!  Thomas and I took a road trip to pick up our notorized copy and send it right off to USCIS (Immigration).  Then I promptly did a happy dance... and Thomas looked at me like I was crazy!  He said, "Now can we go get Ellie, already?"  I had to explain that we could not go get her today but took a huge step closer to her... this was not a good way to explain it to a 4 year old!

So what now?

Well we have to wait for our immigration approval (our I-797).  Right now the average wait time for this is 50-70 days!  Once we receive this approval form, we have to "seal" this document for our dossier.  EVERY document needs to be sealed before it is sent to Ch*na.  If  you want to hear more about these steps to authenticating documents read my previous post titled "trust".  I have already taken the first 3 of 5 steps to have our homestudy sealed.  Sooooo... once I recieve our 1-797 and take it along with our homestudy through the final steps of the authenication, our dossier paperwork will finallly be complete, and we will be "dossier to Ch*na" (DTC)!!!
        Today I also sent all of our other sealed documents (11 so far) and our pictures (Thanks to my wonderful friend, Kelly--an amazing photographer  http://kelphoto.com/blog/) to our placing agency.  Everything will be reviewed and all we have to do is..... you guessed it...... WAIT!!!  The most loathed word in the adoption community!  We wait for our immigration approval.  Then our dossier is sent to Ch*na and we....wait again for our next step.  Once our dossier is "logged into" Ch*na's Children Welfare Center the wait is approximately 4-6 months for TA (travel approval).  So.... I am still praying for September...maybe sooner?
 Thank you for the prayers.... some may call it New Year's luck..... I call it the power of the Holy Spirit!!  They both share the same color--red!!

Peace be with you.... and "Gongxi"

Amiee

A gift of hope from Show Hope and New Hope Foundation-

One night as I was praying for Ellie I was voicing my frustration with our Lord about not being able to "do anything" for her right now.  When I was pregnant with our other children there was so much I could do for them while I was waiting for their arrival.  I took care of myself, took vitamins, kept doctors appointments, had ultrasounds, etc.  I could watch my belly grow and feel them move, knowing they were growing stronger every day.  Now, with Ellie, all I can do is wait and pray and wait!  There is nothing more I can do with paperwork right now, but wait!  When I finally took a break in my ranting of frustrations, I actually began to listen to the Lord's promptings.  He reminded me of the wonderful sponsorship program for New Hope http://www.hopefosterhome.com/ through the Show Hope http://www.showhope.org/ ministries.  Both of these ministries are amazing! And I'm sure I will write about them more and their impact in our family in a later entry.

So in the morning I hoped on the website and signed up to be one of Ellie's sponsors.  On their website http://www.hopefosterhome.com/babies/index.htm  Ellie is listed as Bribecca.  On a side note--  when  a family is the first to sponsor a baby at Hope Healing Home they are given the opportunity to give the child an English name.  I am very curious why Ellie's first sponsor choose the name "Bribecca".  This person is added to our "Thanksgiving" list (people we are so thankful to God for sending to our little girl).
As soon as became one of Ellie's sponsors I felt a warm contentment.  Right now I am unable to feed her, change her diaper, care for her when she is sick, but we can help, in a small way, right now through sponsorship.

Last night we received our own little sparkle of hope from Show Hope.  Through the sponsorship program, we were to receive an update on Ellie in February.  But last night, we received an email from a great man at Show Hope providing us with the past updates on Ellie.  Here are some adorable pictures and insight into our sweet girl's personalty---

Spring 2011

"Bribecca can often be found sitting outside in the comfort of her nanny’s lap. This sweet little girl is content to observe the older kids as they run around and play. Though not old enough to hop up and join them, this does not stop her from being an active participant, as she loves to join in on their laughter! She has one of the cutest little smiles…once you see her smile, it’s impossible not to smile back! 

Another activity Bribecca enjoys is scooting around her nursery in her baby bouncer. She will often scoot over to the other children in her room to see what kind of fun they might be having, and is quick to join in!

Bribecca is simply a little cuddle bug! She loves to have fun and laugh, but is also quite content to simply be held and loved on. This sweet little girl is impossible to not have fun with!"

Summer 2011

"Sweet Bribecca is still as active and curious as ever! She loves playing games with her nannies and the nannies are always delighted and impressed with whatever game she invents. She is quite the fast little crawler and her speed and agility make her quite a hard target to keep in focus!"

"Bribecca has been quick to welcome newcomers this summer, and if you catch her in the hall on her way to lunch, she is quick to smile and wave. This adorable little lady is one of the most delightful little playmates!"

Our sweet baby!!  We love her so much.

FALL 2011

  "

Check out those amazing dimples!

 Bribecca is a huge part of the warmth that radiates from this place.   She eagerly shines her beautiful smile to those that pass by her playroom.  Once she has lured you in with her smile she then captivates you with her sweet tender heart. Every morning when her playmates go to kindergarten Bribecca follows them saying “Shang ke” which means go to class.  She is eager to learn and loves to join us in song time.  Her favorite songs are “The itsy bitsy spider” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”.  

Bribecca is very outgoing and friendly.  When I pass her in the hall I can always count on hugs and kisses from her.  She loves to play outside and go on daily walks with her ayis.  It is such a joy to be a part of Bribecca’s life watching as she grows each day.   She shows me more of her inner beauty every moment that we are together.  She truly is a precious gift."

Isn't she amazing?!?  This little treasure gave me so much hope!  In my heart I already knew how amazing she is, but now I can read it from somebody who cares for her every day!  Now I have a wonderful reassurance that she is being loved, held, played with, sang to, cared for so wonderfully!  Thank you, Lord for my wonderful answer to prayer-- and for the amazing people at Hope Healing Home, New Hope Foundation, and Show Hope ministries!!

Inside out PJs

Yesterday one of the ladies taking a spin class with me at the gym overheard me complaining about the lack of snow.  I was voicing our frustration (the kids and myself) at having NO snow this winter!  This is the only winter in a state with real snow potential, and we feel shorted!   We have only had one good snow (enough to stick on the ground) this winter.... and that was Oct 29th!  Well I guess when I say it that way, I am amazed.... the only day God made it really snow here was on our Ellie's 2nd birthday!!  A reminder of a special day for a very special little girl!
          ANYWAY.... I digressed from my story... so this very nice lady on the bike next to me says,  "If  you want it to snow tell your kids to wear the pajamas inside out tonight."  Really?  We laughed about it and continued to torture ourselves with spin class.
          So later that night I relayed the message to our kids.  Everyone looked at me like I was crazy... except Clare.  I thought for sure my costume wearing, snowboot loving, always wearing crazy clothes kids would LOVE the idea, but nope!! Everyone...except our ever hopeful Clare!  She cannot stand the cold weather here (without snow).  So off to bed she went with jammies inside out.
Later that night Steve and I were amazed when we opened the door to let little Molly out.... and saw the beauty of the snow falling in the moonlight!  It was beautiful.  If I wasn't soooo tired I might have woken all of the kids up to see it!  We waited for the morning, and they were so HAPPY!!  Of course as soon as the sun came up they were geared up with their snow stuff, and out of the door!!  We had a great time...thank you spin friend for the wonderful idea!  Thank you God for our beautiful snow!

Why do our kids love to eat the snow?

Anna is still eating the snow.... Yuck!

Now if only somebody would give me a great idea about how to speed up our adoption process... I would wear my clothes inside out for a month if I could get my dossier off to Ch*na!!
       Any ideas?


Love,
        Amiee

A lot happens in one month...so why does it feel like forever?

First of all I must apologize for not posting anything in the last several weeks.  I could use the excuse that I have been busy, or that I had other things to do.  Despite the fact that I have been busy, this is NOT the reason I haven't been blogging.  I have just been too sad to not be able to report any news!
        I have nothing to report on our adoption journey!  I have not received any updates on my baby!  I enjoy reading other adoption blogs and celebrating with the families as they take another step in their journey.  But I feel like we are frozen and unable to move forward.  It has been exactly 107 days since I have received any information on my precious baby.  Our agency sent out a request on December 20th, but we have still yet to hear anything.  I just want to know she is okay.  I just want to know she is happy!  I would loved to have known if she received the care packages we sent for her birthday and Christmas.  But most of all, I want to know she is safe and loved.  I have been reassured by some wonderful people that not receiving updates in perfectly normal and okay, but it's still hard.
       God IS good and amazing!! And I feel so silly sometimes to question His care in all matters.  While I have been waiting on our update, I took the time to read the amazing book The House of Hope by Elisabeth Gifford.  It was published just this past Fall.  It was written all about the wonderful couple who started and run New Hope Foundation.  Ellie is currently at Hope Healing home, part of New Hope Foundation.  I read about how much Dr. Joyce Hill and her husband, Robin love each of the children in their care.  I read about their strong faith and dependence on God's providence.  I read about the many times God has poured out His blessings upon them and the children in their care.  This book brought me so much comfort.  I could not stop reading it!  I felt closer to Ellie by learning more about the people caring for her at this very moment.  When I take the time to pray and listen to my wonderful Father.  He reminds me that HE is taking care of Ellie, and that she is wonderful hands.  I know HIS words and my faith in Him should bring me comfort.  But is it too much to ask for a written report that she is okay?  I can feel it in my heart when I push away the sadness, that she is okay ....but I am a weak human and sometimes I want to see it with my eyes.
        To make matters worse our homestudy is still yet to be completed!  All I want to do is to have my baby in  my arms, and this homestudy is the next step to her.  I keep hearing that it is in it's "final review". But I have heard that for the last 2 weeks!  We need our homestudy to be complete so I can apply to immigration.  This is the next step and could take another 45-75 days!! I know in the big picture one or two months will not make a big deal... but right now it feels like forever!!!!!  Please pray for me to accept God's will and His timing!  Please pray for my sweet Ellie!  and please pray for Dr. Hill and all of the staff at Hope Healing Home, especially Ellie's nannies.

I did write in the title that a lot happens in a month....so onto a positive note...
         Over the last month we have had such a wonderful time together!  Steve was on break from school for two weeks in December and we LOVED it!  His parents, "Granny and Paw-Paw", came up from Louisiana for a visit. We all enjoyed being together during this magical time of the year.
   I hope you enjoy these pictures from the last month......

One of Ellie's ornaments---- it speaks of my heart.  I bought this from another adopting family.  He made these to raise money for their adoption!!  

Getting ready to open their gifts from Uncle Scott, Aunt Jennifer, and  cousin Hayden

Trying out their new rides from Santa!

My sweet boy, Thomas

Ice skating at the National Sculpture Garden in Washington DC

This was only their second time on ice skates... and Jon and Clare did wonderfully!  Looks like these southern kids are MADE to play in the snow.

I've always wanted to skate in an outdoor rink... it was amazing!

Anna would not let go of Daddy's hand!  And I think she was helping him too!

We had a wonderful visit to the Natural History Museum in DC

Our very own rock band!!!
 And for all of you wondering... that is a beef jerky hanging out of Anna's mouth.  No, we do not condone smoking... she just wanted a snack while playing lego rock band!

And finally our amazing Clare turned 11 on January 13th.
She is a beautiful and amazing girl!  We are so blessed to be her parents.

That's all for now.... hopefully my next post will have a new adoption update.

Love and peace,
Amiee