I saw God today....

I saw God today in the beautiful face of a young Chinese lady who has graciously agreed to help us communicate with Mia once she is here. This gives me such comfort to know that we have someone who can translate for us when we need help. I've not been concerned about being able to communicate with Mia about basic needs - but I have been concerned about how she will be able to communicate with us about her feelings. So, establishing this connection today was such an answer to prayer. Thank you Beverly for helping arranging our meeting. Just knowing that there is someone I can call when Mia needs help communicating with us is a huge relief. Today was better than anything I could have planned out myself. I am once again reminded....

"for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

What Takes So Long?

Jillian and Lainie Holding Mia's Picture

This picture will go to Mia in her care package.

Now that we have Mia's referral -why do we have to wait so long TO GO GET HER? The answer is complicated. Unlike Lainie's adoption, we received Mia's referral before we had a completed Home Study and other paperwork. This is because we began Lainie's adoption requesting a Non-Special Needs child and then switched over to special needs when we saw her on a list. With Mia, we started the process looking for a special needs child and THEN began our paperwork. I know it is confusing. All of that to say, we are working on paperwork and it isn't about how fast WE can complete it, it is about how FAST the governments of both countries process it. This week we will receive our completed Home Study. Then, we will mail in our I800A - this is an infamous piece of paperwork in China adoption. Hopefully, with a week of so we will then receive an appointment to go to the Immigration Office in Charlotte for our fingerprint appointment. This appointment will most likely be many weeks from now. That is one hold up. In the meantime, I have collected a mountain of paperwork for China referred to as a dossier. This includes birth certificates, medical forms, financial status reports, etc. Once our fingerprints are done and we are approved by immigration, they will send us an approval letter. This will be the final piece of the dossier. Then, each piece of papework must be authenticated by our state, our national government and the Chinese Consulate. Each piece must be sent to those offices and they put their stamp on it. THEN, we can finally send it to China. At that point, we can expect to wait about 3 months for them to send us our LOA (Letter of Acceptance). We will sign and return it hte same day. Then, we will wait again - hopefully not more than 2 months - but could be longer - to receive our TA (Travel Approval). Then we are ready to go. Are you still with me?

In the meantime, we are putting together a care package for Mia. There are many services that provide help with getting these packages to waiting children. We are using Ann at Red Thread.

Meet our Mia

This is Yang Miao, our little Mia Carol. We decided to call her Mia in order to keep part of her Chinese name. Carol is my mom's middle name. She was born on January 3, 2003 in the Shaanxi Province of China. She is six and a half years old which makes her 1 year younger than Will and 3 years older than Lainie. She was on a waiting child list because she has repaired cleft lip and palate. We hope to travel to bring her home in early 2010.
I have struggled with what to write in this post. I've tried to get it done for several days now. I want to answer the how and why questions that many of you have, I want to tell the story of how this all came to be, I want to share with you that I am excited yet terrified, happy yet sad... So many things that just can't be expressed by mere words.
For now, you'll have to just enjoy the sweetness of Mia's picture. I'll try to figure out how to share my heart another day.
Jen

Here we Grow Again

Since Lainie came home in May of 2007 we have been burdened by the plight of orphans around the world. Latest estimates indicate there are 187 million orphans in the world. As of this week - there will be one less.
We have begun the paperwork to adopt another child from China! Just last week we received our new daughter's file. Yang Miao - we will call her Mia - should be with our family by the end of the year. She is six years old. China has new regulations about revealing too much information about her publically - so you'll have to wait for pics and more info. You can however, begin to pray, pray, pray. Mia's story begins with a huge leap of faith for us. We are already amazed by how God has worked in our lives and we take each new step of this journey holding on to The One who calls us to "walk by faith, not by sight."
Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined myself as the mother of 5 children! Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that two of my children would be brought into our family through adoption. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined how happy and blessed I would be....

Stay tuned......

Family Vacation Photo

I saw this on another blog. It made me smile. So true, so true.

Things I've Learned About Having A Family of Six

1. Dirty floors don't matter.

2. The bath at the end of the day washes off the day's meals.

3. I hear "Wow, you have your hands full at least 100 times a day." It makes me smile.

4. My husband is the most patient man alive.

5. Groceries that would last other families a month are gone in a week.

6. Lots of "letting go".

7. Cherish the tiny handprints on the wall. They don't last forever.

8. Spray and Wash is my best friend.

9. With 4 kids who needs a gym?

10. The more LOVE you give, the MORE LOVE YOU HAVE TO GIVE.

Things I've Learned About Adoption

1. It is a miracle

2. Patience

3. Your kids will find you.

4. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

5. Love is all that really matters.

I could add many more to each of these lists. I learn new things about love in a big family and how adoption changes lives every single day. Maybe more on another post.

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Ahhhh! Summer!

We are LOVIN summer vacation. We've been to the beach, the pool, the movies... lots and lots of fun. We've stayed up too late and slept too late. And, we've loved every single minute.

I've been catching up on summer reading. I highly recommend Crazy Love by Francis Chan. In a very small nutshell it reminds us that God's love for us is Crazy. We can't fathom it. Can't imagine it. We are called to love in that same way...

"If we allow ourselves to live recklessly for Him then we, too, will see His glory. We will see him do the impossible."

Makes me wanna do something crazy. Hhhmmmmmm

Would somebody tell this girl we are on VACATION? She is all about her work. I hope you and yours take some time to enjoy the simple pleasures of summer.

Walking in Marvelous Light.,...

Lilly and Lainie - NOW- May 2009
On Saturday the Bryant Family was coming through town and they stopped to visit with us for a few hours. If you remember, their family traveled to China at the same time we did to adopt their precious Lilly. Lilly and Lainie knew each other before they knew their own families. They heard each others first cries, witnessed each others first smiles and first steps. They were "family" for each other in their own small way. Today as our praise team at church sang these words, "Rescued from darkness, we are walking in marvelous light. For we are children of the king, sing!" I thought about these two girls. Both once living in darkness, now walking in marvelous light because of the grace of our loving God. We are all rescued from the

darkness of sin, but these girls were literally rescued from a life of darkness and

now walk in the marvelous light.

Lilly and Lainie - THEN - May 2007 - Airport in China on the way HOME!