Necklaces:)

The necklaces are back! If for some reason it says sold out feel free to contact seller and order directly.

Also, a great friend of mine wants to make a pie...she makes AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS pies and auction it for Min's adoption fund....any suggestions how to do this?

On the paperwork front...reference requests went out today so if you are expecting one and can get it back quickly we sure appreciate it:)  The fundraiser made...drum roll please....$4130.  When we were going over the adoption expenses we will have in the next 3-4 weeks my husband and I were amazed.  It is within a hundred of this amount.  Amazing.  And thank you.  We really appreciate your help.  We are so extremely grateful and can't wait to see this start rolling!

How it Began

My husband and I have been talking about adopting from China for years and years.  We have tried other options.  We had a birth mom pick us and then abort at 5 months.  That sucked.  We have put in paperwork to adopt through the foster care system but that avenue was not going to work out for our family.  We got paperwork ready for Vietnam, and the program shut down that month!  And we have always come back to China.  It is where my heart has been.  It is where I felt that our daughter would be from.  I wanted to adopt special needs simply because our insurance covers these needs and so many needs are fixable...if you live in the USA.
As we were preparing to start the paperwork phase and I was figuring out which agency to go with and which needs to specify.  I joined the yahoo group for the agency I liked the best.  A mom who had recently returned home with her daughter posted about a 4 year old girl who had been her daughters best friend in the orphanage.  She said this little girl was not shy and REALLY wanted a mommy of her own.  I emailed her, not really thinking that it would be for our family, but I hadn't seen this little girl on the list.  And you have seen the pictures she sent me...the ones of Min in the purple dress.  Look at that smile!  Look at the sparkle in her eyes!  That little face tugged at my heart. I can't wait to hold her in my arms.

Picture Teresa's mom sent me that tugged at my heart

Her friend's name is Teresa.  She has a more severe heart condition than Min.  And there is nothing the doctor's can do.  Her family has exhausted all medical options since she needs a heart lung transplant and due to high mortality rates that is not an option for a child of that age.  This is one of the reasons I want to expedite our adoption and get Min to a cardiologist before the damage extends to her lungs making surgery unavailable to her.  Teresa's mom is the one who led me to Min. She set me up with their cardiologist to review Min's file when no one else would until she was home.  She is the one who saw something special in my daughter and worked to find her a home.  I can honestly say that without her advocating for Min, I probably never would have found her.  And Teresa's mom is asking...no begging...for people to pray for a miracle for Teresa.  It is their only option left.  Please take a minute, or add to your prayer list, to pray for Teresa's heart.  She needs a miracle.

I think I have been pretty upfront that I believe in prayers and miracles.  I have felt the prayers of these who are praying for Min and our family.  We aren't seeing huge things happen right now but there a little things that are paving the way for big steps to go quickly.  For example, we have to have child abuse clearances from every state or country we have lived in since we were 18 years old.  18 YEARS OLD! We were in college back then...and yes, we have to have a clearance from the states where we went to college.  Well, some states are taking up to 2 months and apparently the norm is 3-4 weeks.   I have spoken to people in each state and they are expediting them and turning around the information to our home study agency the DAY they receive the request.  This might seem like a little thing but when it could hold up our adoption for an extra month it is huge that it is all being expedited already!  I am hoping and praying and feeling at peace that Min will be able to get the care she needs when she gets home.  I hope that she has a long, full and healthy life.  And if for some reason that is not the case, then Min will know a family that loves her and cares for her and she will have the memories of being home with us for whatever time she is given on this earth.

A New Week

Today is the start of a new week.  Which is always fun!  It is a time to start fresh and have a new list of things to accomplish...some that are carried over from last week.  This week I hope that our home study visits are scheduled.  Over the weekend I met with our Senator and talked to her about the current wait to process immigrations forms for adoptions...it is 8-9 weeks to get approval to adopt an orphan.  I said that I would need her help to expedite the process.  She asked me a little bit about Min, then gave me the name of the woman in her office that will be able to help us expedited and said that she would help me with whatever we need!!! 

That is all the update I have for today...but at church yesterday...my children were all sitting quietly and nicely and it was really nice to be able to sit and listen and contemplate, then I thought we will be adding a little one who has probably never gone to church and I will get to spend time out in the hall and teaching how we behave in church and instead of dreading the days that I spent taking crying children to the mother's lounge or spending a large portion of the meetings in the hallway so that everyone else who attended could hear and not be disrupted, I was kind of excited.  Hopefully it will be late spring early summer when we get to go get Min.  And then she will hopefully have her surgery and have to stay away from crowds for a little bit as she recovers...of course people are welcome to call and drop by:)  But then if it is summer or nicer weather we could walk around the church grounds, there is grass.  She has probably never seen or felt grass before.  Won't that be fun?  And we can go the the beach, another probable first for Min. 

My husband and I were looking back through pictures from the past year and how much our sons have grown and changed since last year, and I thought Min must look different.  They grow so much at that age and the pictures I have of her are from last March and July.  But next year we will have our own pictures to document her growth and the experiences she has.  Next year she will have pictures of herself with her family.  It's going to be a great year!

An Amazing Two Weeks!

Wow!  Our 10-10-10 fundraiser is 'officially' over.  I know that there are still people who want to donate and the paypal button is staying on the blog.  The necklace fundraiser is still going for another few weeks.  Click the contact button on the necklace link to request one if the listing shows sold out!  I saw one in person yesterday...they are really great!  But you do not have to live in fear that I will track you down and hound you for $10;)  Just kidding, you all have been so amazingly supportive and generous and have made such a difference to us and to the way that we are able to proceed with Min's adoption.  My sons keep asking me if I am crying happy tears...I can not tell you how completely overwhelmed, in a great way, I have been by the support and well wishes that you have shared with us.

I won't know the 'official' total raised until sometime next week when everyone who said they were going to help fund raise gets back with me.  But rough estimates are around $4000 not including the necklace fundraiser.  That is amazing!  THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I will admit to being a bit nervous about this next step, the homestudy.  But I have the name of our homestudy writer.  I have googled her.  And I have asked around and so far what I have heard is that she is really down to earth and easy going!  I can't wait for her to call and to get the homestudy done.  I will be contacting Lisa Murkowski to help expedite immigrations since it is taking 8 weeks currently.  Our agency can expedite the rest!  WOOHOOO!  I will keep you updated on the process and on any new information...or pictures...that we get.

Thank you so much for sharing this journey with us.

LAST DAY OF 10-10-10!!!

Today is the last day of our fundraiser!  Thank you so much for donating and for helping us out.  I can not fully appreciate how grateful we are!  We have felt your prayers and thank you for them.  We are at $2006 and I believe my sister in Anchorage is pretty close to her goal of $1000.  The necklace fundraiser is through Valentine's Day!

For today, would you take ten minutes and donate $10 if you have not.  Would you pass the link to the blog to ten friends or ask them at work or wherever you might go?  Would you post this in your status on Facebook?

There are over 140 million orphans in the world.  The population of the USA is 306 million.  That means that the equivalent of close to half of the United States.  That is unfathomable to me.  I can't quite wrap my thoughts around the magnitude of the orphan problem that we as a world society have.  It seems like a huge task, caring and providing a future for these children throughout the world.  And it is one that no one could possibly take care of by themselves.  "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of theses...ye have done it unto ME." Matthew 25:40

It is different when there is a face to the need...

Last 2 Days!

Wow...two days left of our 10-10-10 fundraiser.  We have asked for a $10 donation and if you wish to do more to ask ten people for $10 donations.  We have been so very blessed by the amount of support and love we have felt as we go through this process.  We are at $2005!!!   Thank you!  Thank you for your donations.  Thank you for passing the word along to ask others to donate.  Thank you for your prayers.

I am a firm believer in the power of prayer.  I don't proclaim myself to be a perfect person or someone with all of the answers to the injustice in the world.  I am a woman who believes in God.  I strongly believe in a God who is mindful of us and who hears our prayers.  He may not always answer in the way we would like, but He does hear us and He does answer.  I am so thankful for the prayers offered in behalf of our family and for Min.  I know God hears them.

Our home study writer has been assigned!  So it is up to her how quickly she finishes our home study, which I will be honest, is the one part of the adoption paperwork process that freaks me out.  Everything else is impersonal.  You fill out a form and pay a fee and you move on.  Even the medical and background checks.  There is no personal judgment on whether you pass.  You have a clean background or you don't.  You are healthy or you are not.  But the home study...  The writer gets to make a decision on whether we are a fit family or not.  What if she doesn't like homeschoolers?  What if she doesn't like our religion?  What if?  What if?  What if?  It is ridiculous on my part I am sure, but there are those niggling fears that will be put to rest only when the home study is finished and on its way to immigrations and then China! In the meantime, this is the step that gets us to the next part of the process so I can't wait for it to get started:)

On a different note...if Min's necklace is sold out when you go to the link, or you want more than one, you can send a message to the etsy shop or let me know that you want one or wait for it to be relisted.  Melissa lists one at a time so when one sells it will be relisted...that does not actually mean that the necklaces are gone.  And she is donating the profits through Valentine's Day!  Thank you Melissa!!!

The Process

Three more days of our 10-10-10 fundraiser!  We are asking for a $10 donation to Min's adoption fund and if you would pass the word to others.  It is  a simple idea and we are so grateful for the support we have received.

The process to adopt from China can be different depending on whether or not you wish to adopt a 'healthy' young child or a special needs child, one with medical needs or who is older.  The process also is different depending on whether all of your paperwork is in China or not at the time of a match.  We found Min before submitting our paperwork.  She was being advocated  for by a mom who met her and wanted to help Min find a family. Because she is older, and has medical needs, we were able to submit our intent to adopt and then get all of the paperwork to China.  We filled out some paperwork about ourselves along with our plan for Min's medical care in the USA and submitted it China.  They approved us to adopt Min as long as our paperwork, ie home study and US Immigrations, is in order.  We are waiting for our home study to be done, we have submitted all of our information to the home study agency.  Once that is finished we can send in our application to US Immigrations.  Once that is finished a packet of all the paperwork with government seals on it goes to China.  China approves it and we get a specific Immigrations approval for Min as opposed to just any orphan.  Once we have that, China gives us an approval to travel.  Then the US gives us a scheduled Consulate date so that we can get Min's visa to leave China.  Then we fly to China and get to meet and officially adopt Min. 

We are with a great agency who will help things go smoothly and quickly.  We are hoping that the home study is done quickly and that immigrations accepts our request for expedition.  Luckily some of the steps are can be processed through email which takes out the mail time between China and the US.

And at the end of that process is Min.  What a great community she is going to get to come home to!  Last night some friends of our stopped by.  Their family had been talking about Min and their two young sons wanted to help.  Their oldest son lost a tooth, and wanted to donate his tooth fairy money to help bring Min home.  Their younger son had less money to give but wanted Min to know he loved her so he gave us his tool box with his toy tools so that Min would have toys to play with.  How do I say thank you for something like that?  How do I express my appreciation for welcoming our daughter with such amazing love?  How do I say thank you to the many, many people who have taken the time to donate to help us expedite Min's adoption?  How do I show my gratitude for the prayers and support given to our family?  We have had friends, family and people we have never met donate to Min's fund.  People have passed envelopes at work to collect donations.  A friend designed a piece of jewelry and is donating all of the profits for Min.  Family members are fund raising in different parts of the country.  Adoption advocacy blogs have featured Min. 

I can not express the great appreciation I have.  It is a truly humbling thing to ask for help.  We would not be able to expedite her adoption on our own.  With all of my heart I thank you.