SURVEY SAYS!!! LOA/LSC!!!

THANKS BE TO GOD!!! IT'S HERE!!! YIPPEE SKIPPY!!! IT'S HERE!!!

 The long awaited Letter of Acceptance/Letter Seeking Confirmation is here!!! I spent the first few days of spring break in Ft. Walton Beach with my 3 sisters. I received a call about an hour and a half upon my return!!! I had been concerned that the document would come while I was out of town and would have to figure out how to get it printed, signed, scanned, Matt to sign, scan and then get back to our case worker in Seattle so our I-800 application could be sent...that wasn't to be since there was another Chinese Festival going on so some of the offices were closed, according to my case worker, therefore I could RELAX with my sissies!! That is a funny word (RELAX) because it is not something that I normally do much of, although there are some days when I have no idea what I did (and my house and husband don't know either!), but it seems to disappear nonetheless.
What is totally HYSTERICAL about the date on this document of April 1, 2012, is that Matt and I met on April 1st, 29 years ago!!! In our eyes, it is another Godwink, since it has already been established that there are no coincidences in life!!

So now the next wait begins, which hopefully will be less than 2 weeks (I-800 approval), then another 2 or 3 waits, with a week to 3 week time frame for each...Our agency says travel is 3-4 months, but of course I am going with 2-3 months, although no one knows but GOD!! Our POA (Power of Attorney) expires on July 14th, so I need to travel and have the adoption finalized by then, or I have to redo it, which would require yet another drive to Tallahassee!!  I would rather not make that drive again and would like to get him at the end of May or beginning of June!! Seriously, I would like to get him TODAY, but that is not an option...I have lots to do to keep myself busy though..Again, I have to remind myself that this is His time...The LOA wait was 58 days from LID (February 3rd).  I know these dates don't mean much to many people but I like to keep track, watch and be thankful for all the amazing things God has done, is doing and will do...
Psalm 118:1 - Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

March 24th - garage sale!

We had another garage sale! My sweet friend, Dana, came over the day before and helped me organize and price items for several hours!!  I was very thankful for the help and the company, and also her donated items.  My friend, Lauren donated some items as well, and that helped us reach our final total of $259.46.  I had a poster stating that all the proceeds were going towards adoption expenses of our son, and had his picture on it.  Most people were very kind, some could have cared less, which makes me sad for those people.  One of my neighbors’ parents were caring for their grandchildren for the weekend.  They gathered about $4 worth of things. The grandfather gave me a $20 and I was counting his change and he told me to keep it. He expressed joy and wanted to help.  He was blessed by giving and I again was humbled that a stranger would be so kind. There were some very nice people that came to my house that day. God is good!  I had several people that did not want their small change, which made me happy for them. They could see past $1 or $5 or $16 to see that there is a child that will benefit by their generosity.   It is so nice to see kindness in our world!!  One more garage sale to go on April 21st!!
Thank you to each and every one of you for continued prayers for our journey!!

March 21st - My birthday!

March 21st was my birthday. It was really just another day, but another day I got to celebrate life!! I am grateful for all the blessings I have…I have been blessed with wonderful God-loving parents, 3 incredible sisters, the most amazing husband and 3 precious sons with another one on the away…I have a roof over my head, food in my refrigerators and pantry, a job for my husband so he is able to provide for us, cars that allow us to go where we need to go, great schools so our children can be the best they can be, the list goes on and on…The older I get, the more appreciative I am becoming…Just a few years ago, I really didn’t "enjoy" doing laundry, but now I embrace it! I am thankful because it means we have clothes on our backs! (to brighten up “MY ROOM”, I painted it “VALENTINE’S DAY PINK”, with accents of black and white zebra stripes.) My room was done in memory of a young mom of 3, Stephanie Vest, whom I never met, but reading about her through my friend Dina, showed me that she was an incredible wife, mother, sister, daughter, aunt, friend and loved Jesus with all her heart. I strive to be those things!! Happy Birthday to me! My life just keeps getting better! Thank you God for my life!!

March 20th...

I was chatting with Matt on the phone while he was at work, and my phone beeped and it was our minister.  I tried to click over, but was too late.  A few minutes later, my cell phone rang, and it was our minister again…I answered and he asked if he could come over that evening. YIKES!! What is going on?? He knows Matt is at work. This is not normal! What does he want? It being Tuesday, it is one of the busy days in the week (they are all busy, who am I kidding??) Morgan has chorus after school, then after I pick him up he has about 45 minutes to try to get homework finished then we have to leave for his soccer practice. We don’t get home until 7 then it is showers, dinner and bed.  Sometimes he has to finish homework after practice, so when will we do that??? I told him we would be home around 7 so he said he’d be there at 7:15. YIKES AGAIN!!  How will all those things happen in 15 minutes?? I don’t know but he is coming over, so I better get it together!!  I did ask him if we were in trouble or is everything okay since he sounded a little “different” on the phone.  He assured me everything was fine and it was a happy visit.  I called Matt to be sure he would be home.

Meanwhile, as I was getting the house picked up, I was also trying to get final numbers for our replacement AC unit for downstairs. After meeting with 4 different companies we finally found a good, Christian company to work with and we were happy with everything...BUT this purchase meant that we had to pull from our "not fully funded emergency fund," which is also our "not fully funded adoption fund" at this time!!!

Matt and I have never lived anywhere long enough to have to start replacing big ticket items (last year range, dishwasher, microwave), we usually ended up moving before that happened, but when we built this house 9 years ago, we said that we did not want to move again for a VERY LONG time...We wanted our children to grow up in the same house, go to the same school and church and be in one place instead of moving every few years, as I did when I was younger...it was difficult, but I did survive, although I don't recommend it...I love that my boys have the stability of home and family. We are so thankful and can't wait to share our hearts and home with Michael Stephen XueFa.

When Michael (our minister) arrived we chatted for a few minutes in the kitchen. We decided to go outside and talk since the evening was beautiful. He said that he had received an email from a parishioner stating that they wanted to donate to an“Asian ministry” specifically to a family of our church. He explained that when he first read it, he did not understand it fully, since our church does not have an “Asian Ministry.”  Further thought on his part, he realized they wanted to donate to OUR FAMILYanonymously through the church…So, he was there to present us with their donation! Let my “gift of tears” be released again!! THANK YOU JESUS!! Slowly but surely God is providing for our financial needs, we are not there yet, but it is through faith we know He will continue…

Thank you "anonymous" for your donation!! We are so blessed that you said " YES" to sharing and being a part of our journey!! Many blessings to you!  We know it is "more blessed to give than to receive" but we can assure you that we are overcome with joy!

Acts 14:17

Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

Grants - March 19th

I am behind in writing, life here has escaped me once again... On March 19th, we received a letter in the mail from "Show Hope-A Movement To Care For Orphans." Show Hope was started by Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth back in 2003.  They have 3 grown biological children (2 sons and 1 daughter) and had 3 little girls they adopted from China. Sadly, one of the girls, Maria, died in a tragic accident in 2008 (her story is here  http://www.showhope.org/AboutUs/RememberingMaria/HerStory.aspx )
Matt never opens the mail, but he wanted to open the envelope, and I was paralyzed and just couldn't...I assumed that it was yet another rejection, there have been several...I WAS WRONG!!!
"Dear Matthew and Mary,
On behalf of ShowHope and the donors who make our grants possible, we rejoice with your family as you step out in faith to experience the miracle of adoption.  Thank you for allowing us to be a small part of your adoption process. We are pleased to inform you that you have been awarded an adoption assistance grant.
I cried tears of joy and humbleness...I was shocked but at the same time in awe of what God is doing through Show Hope. We knew we could not complete this adoption without the assistance of others joining us. It was the beginning of a great week!!

During the past several months I have had many people ask, "is it expensive?",  "how will you pay for everything?" The only answer that I have been able to give is that, "God will provide and we are trusting Him to do just that!"

When I first started this blog back in November, I was concerned about the "Chip In" account.  I wasn't sure how people would respond.  Two people responded to the Chip In. The first, I will not mention names, but she was almost a given...this "momma bear" just wanted to get it started, and for that we are thankful.  The second one that came in was absolutely amazing. When I saw this person one day, he said, "It's the least we could do for what you are doing." WOW! I try really hard to be humble and let people know that this is us working for Him and yes it is a leap of faith, but look at what He did for Us...especially with this being Holy Week.  This family we have known since we moved into our home 9 years ago.  They have watched my children grow and have commented about what they may be later in life (Mason was pegged to be in the X-Games at around 2 years old, although now he may be an Olympic swimmer!!) We have watched their children grow as well, and their oldest left for college last fall. How has this time passed so quickly???  They are truly special people and we are honored to have their friendship (and borrow a few tools from time to time!!) I know you know who you are so AGAIN, THANK YOU!!!

The letter from Show Hope continues and explains how the grant is to be disbursed. They will forward the money to our agency and the funds will go towards our In-China Travel expenses.  Once the adoption is complete, we will forward them a "short write up of our adoption testimony" (HOW DO I WRITE A SHORT WRITE UP???) and pictures, and we grant them permission to use the information how they see fit.  We can't wait to FULLY share everything!!
The final paragraph says, "Our prayer for your family is that God will be glorified throughout the adoption process - as He proves Himself to be faithful, provides the finances from various sources, and as He reveals His great love and care for the child you are adopting."
We have the same prayers!!!
Show Hope is another act of Him providing for our financial needs and Showing us Hope so we can show hope to others!!! Thanks be to God! Amen!! Amen!!