Psalm 136:1-9
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of Gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of Lords.
His love endures forever.
To Him alone who does great wonders.
His love endures forever.
Who by His understanding made the heavens
His love endures forever.
Who spread out the earth upon the waters
His love endures forever.
Who made the great lights -
His love endures forever.
The sun to govern the day
His love endures forever.
The moon and stars to govern the night
His love endures forever.
Thanksgiving this year was particularly special as we anticipate our time in China in less than a week. As I look at the words of Psalm 136, it still amazes me that the GREAT God we serve cares enough about our family to orchestrate every detail of our adoption halfway across the world. The One who hung the stars in place knew that at this time, Jack would join our family. The One who designed the Sun to provide light, warmth and sustenance to the planet also has provided a loving foster family to provide warmth and sustenance to Jack as he waits for his forever family. It doesn't seem reasonable that our all-powerful, majestic God would care about the small details of our insignificant lives. Yet.....not only does He care.....He cares deeply. God has been with Jack every minute of his short life. He was there when Jack's mother must've made the most difficult decision of her entire existence in deciding to give up her baby. He was there when the orphanage brought him in and provided desperately needed medical care. He was there when a social worker in Portland, Oregon reviewed files on children needing homes and decided Jack should belong to us....and He is still there. Taking care of every minute detail and pouring blessing after blessing upon us. We can't imagine doing this without a strong faith to sustain us. The fears and anxieties of travel and the unknown are completely manageable because we have the thorough confidence that God will provide and protect. The One who designed and created the majesty of the universe cares about me.....and he cares about you.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Hallelujah!! We're coming Buddy!!!
We got our TRAVEL APPROVAL TODAY!!!!! I can't adequately put into words how excited and elated and overwhelmed and terrified and ecstatic and anxious and curious and ......actually, I guess I can try to put it into words!! I will admit that I haven't thoroughly wrapped my head around this yet....I don't think either of us have. On Sunday, December 6th I will have Jack in my arms. Wow. 14 months of paperwork and worry and it will all dissolve when I see his beautiful black eyes...Cole and Elise are so excited. Emerson is hesitant because she knows she is being left, but Grandma Shickley will keep her entertained and content, I have no doubt. As we get more details, I will post them. I'll try to get the tentative itinerary up here as well. Keep praying....we can feel God's presence!!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Waiting....Waiting....Waiting
We have had so many friends ask if we have heard any news on travel dates for Jack. Unfortunately, we are still....waiting. It is something I have NEVER been good at. Relinquishing control of my schedule and my timetable has been extremely difficult. Paul has been my rock through this time, but even now he is finding it difficult to watch the days go by without any updates. Today is the 8 week mark from when our final set of paperwork went to Beijing. We had been told travel approvals were routinely issued between 7 and 9 weeks...so of course, we had hoped to hear already. I recently reconnected with a friend from high school who is adopting a beautiful 2 year old girl from Shaanxi province in China with our agency. They waited 11 weeks for travel approval, so Paul and I are slowly acknowledging that we will need to, once again, adjust our timeline for travel. Thanks to all for your words of encouragement and your prayers. We covet them daily.
Blessings Beyond Measure
a.k.a. Things we never knew to ask for...that the Lord gave us anyway!!
1. The orphanage report at 3 months of age says Jack loves music!
2. Jack is born in the same city where Linda's brother & his family live
3. We receive multiple updated medical / health reports even though the orphanage typically does not release additional information.
4. Jack is moved to foster care at a very young age.
5. The foster family update describes Jack as "long and skinny" compared to other Chinese babies. (He'll fit right in with our kids!!)
6. Jack's birthday is a perfect match for the rest of the family. Emerson's birthday is July 23. Cole's birthday is exactly one week after Emerson's. Jack's birthday is exactly one week after Cole's.
1. The orphanage report at 3 months of age says Jack loves music!
2. Jack is born in the same city where Linda's brother & his family live
3. We receive multiple updated medical / health reports even though the orphanage typically does not release additional information.
4. Jack is moved to foster care at a very young age.
5. The foster family update describes Jack as "long and skinny" compared to other Chinese babies. (He'll fit right in with our kids!!)
6. Jack's birthday is a perfect match for the rest of the family. Emerson's birthday is July 23. Cole's birthday is exactly one week after Emerson's. Jack's birthday is exactly one week after Cole's.
How We Got This Far!
Here is how our timeline has gone....
October 2008 - we applied to our agency with our first paper application and our $200 application fee
October through December 2008 - paperwork for our dossier, including medical appointments, gathering birth certificates, marriage licenses, employment verification letters, local police clearances, etc. Our agency sent us a HUGE checklist of things to gather and we just started doing that. We hadn't even been contacted by a social worker yet.
January 2009 - HomeStudy application....this was a huge packet of questions (everything from finances to child-rearing practices to marriage strengths and weaknesses to personality surveys, etc, etc, etc)....plus four references had to complete a large packet on us as well. Plus we had to do fingerprints (again) with Oregon State Police.
February 2009 - Home Study visits.....we were assigned our social worker and she did two office visits and two home visits. We worked through this process very quickly because we happened to have President's Day off school so we scheduled one visit then and we were able to schedule our later visits in rapid succession.
January, February, March 2009 - we attended three weekends of adoptive parenting classes in Portland. This is a new requirement for Hague countries
April 2009 - Our Homestudy written report was completed. We submitted our HomeStudy and our Medical Checklist (the kinds of medical conditions we were willing to accept) to our agency's China Program in Eugene.
May 5, 2009 - we got a call that we had our referral and we got our first pictures of Jack. This program is a little different than the standard China program in that, if you're wanting a healthy regular Chinese baby, then the Chinese government matches the family with a child. If you are taking a child with medical needs, then the agency matches the family with the child. So our social worker selected Jack as a match for our family.
May 14, 2009 - we received word that our USCIS immigration clearance arrived (I-800A)and soon all our paperwork will head to Beijing. (It seems weird that we already have a baby assigned to us....and none of our forms are even in China yet!!!) But, like I said, this process is different than most.
June 5, 2009 – DOSSIER SENT TO CHINA!!! Check for $12,000 sent to Beijing along with travel paperwork and placement agreements. Preliminary forms for U.S. visa….mom and dad select name for sure (Jackson Noah)
June 9, 2009 – email update includes new height / weight for Jack and GREAT news that Jack has been moved to foster care family!!
June 12, 2009 – Marlene emails to say they ran into foreign director for orphanage. He looked up Jack’s file and reported that Jack is very healthy and moved into foster care at about 5 months of age (Jan 2009).
June 16, 2009 – decide to take Cole & Elise to China with us. File for passports.
Aug 1, 2009 – just five days before Jack’s first birthday we get updated height / weight information and a BEAUTIFUL picture of our son. He is absolutely adorable!
Aug 6, 2009 – Jack turns one today. We celebrate as a family by going out to eat Chinese food for dinner and the kids sing Happy Birthday to Jack.
Sept 8, 2009 – First Day of School. We arrive home to find our LOA (Letter of Approval) has arrived from Beijing. We sign, fax and return immediately. We file for our I-800 approval from USCIS. File for visas on our passports for Paul, Linda, Cole and Elise.
Sept 25, 2009 – Agency calls to say all paperwork has now been sent to Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) and now we wait for travel approvals (about 8 weeks).
Nov. 20, 2009 – 8 weeks today. No T.A. yet. Still waiting.
October 2008 - we applied to our agency with our first paper application and our $200 application fee
October through December 2008 - paperwork for our dossier, including medical appointments, gathering birth certificates, marriage licenses, employment verification letters, local police clearances, etc. Our agency sent us a HUGE checklist of things to gather and we just started doing that. We hadn't even been contacted by a social worker yet.
January 2009 - HomeStudy application....this was a huge packet of questions (everything from finances to child-rearing practices to marriage strengths and weaknesses to personality surveys, etc, etc, etc)....plus four references had to complete a large packet on us as well. Plus we had to do fingerprints (again) with Oregon State Police.
February 2009 - Home Study visits.....we were assigned our social worker and she did two office visits and two home visits. We worked through this process very quickly because we happened to have President's Day off school so we scheduled one visit then and we were able to schedule our later visits in rapid succession.
January, February, March 2009 - we attended three weekends of adoptive parenting classes in Portland. This is a new requirement for Hague countries
April 2009 - Our Homestudy written report was completed. We submitted our HomeStudy and our Medical Checklist (the kinds of medical conditions we were willing to accept) to our agency's China Program in Eugene.
May 5, 2009 - we got a call that we had our referral and we got our first pictures of Jack. This program is a little different than the standard China program in that, if you're wanting a healthy regular Chinese baby, then the Chinese government matches the family with a child. If you are taking a child with medical needs, then the agency matches the family with the child. So our social worker selected Jack as a match for our family.
May 14, 2009 - we received word that our USCIS immigration clearance arrived (I-800A)and soon all our paperwork will head to Beijing. (It seems weird that we already have a baby assigned to us....and none of our forms are even in China yet!!!) But, like I said, this process is different than most.
June 5, 2009 – DOSSIER SENT TO CHINA!!! Check for $12,000 sent to Beijing along with travel paperwork and placement agreements. Preliminary forms for U.S. visa….mom and dad select name for sure (Jackson Noah)
June 9, 2009 – email update includes new height / weight for Jack and GREAT news that Jack has been moved to foster care family!!
June 12, 2009 – Marlene emails to say they ran into foreign director for orphanage. He looked up Jack’s file and reported that Jack is very healthy and moved into foster care at about 5 months of age (Jan 2009).
June 16, 2009 – decide to take Cole & Elise to China with us. File for passports.
Aug 1, 2009 – just five days before Jack’s first birthday we get updated height / weight information and a BEAUTIFUL picture of our son. He is absolutely adorable!
Aug 6, 2009 – Jack turns one today. We celebrate as a family by going out to eat Chinese food for dinner and the kids sing Happy Birthday to Jack.
Sept 8, 2009 – First Day of School. We arrive home to find our LOA (Letter of Approval) has arrived from Beijing. We sign, fax and return immediately. We file for our I-800 approval from USCIS. File for visas on our passports for Paul, Linda, Cole and Elise.
Sept 25, 2009 – Agency calls to say all paperwork has now been sent to Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) and now we wait for travel approvals (about 8 weeks).
Nov. 20, 2009 – 8 weeks today. No T.A. yet. Still waiting.
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