Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!!

The day finally came... A day I was beginning to feel would never come.  We received an email Monday, August 27th at 10:12pm with a picture of the most adorable 18 month old little girl.  Tony and I could.not.believe it was finally happening!  She is just precious!  If we could get on a plane today and go get her we would.  But, we will have to wait until probably January to travel to China.  The last seven months have been hard waiting for her, but now that we see her face I know these next 4-5 months will be even harder.  We always trusted the Lord and knew that His timing would be perfect, but the disappointment we felt each month was heartbreaking.  We knew He had called us to do this and He would carry us through, but there were days we wondered if the day would ever come.  He is faithful though and we give Him all the praise!  We are in love with her already!  The kids are also so excited and can't wait for us to bring her home!  So, now we wait for our Pre-Approval notice.  Please pray that these next steps will go quickly.  We feel so blessed that God has allowed us to draw closer to Him through the miracle of adoption.  It has been a HaPpY week.... we will NEVER be the same!!

Almost 7 Months Later

Wow!  So much has happened since the last post.  All I can say is that God has been at work.   Tony and I have been amazed, truly amazed at all He has done, what He has taught us and how we can trust Him with everything!  After many prayers, we have decided to switch from the Non Special Needs Program to the Special Needs Program.  This changes a lot of things.  Most importantly it means that Bella Mei will be here sooner than we had originally planned!  Our plan was to wait 5-7 years through the Non Special Needs Program.  God's plans were different.  Because we know we can trust Him, we have placed this whole process in His hands.  He has a plan and we just feel blessed to be part of His plan.
Each month China releases a list of children with special needs.  Our agency will look through that list for a  child that will match the description Tony and I have given them.  If they find a match, we will be contacted.  The list will be released Monday night.  This means that we could potentially be matched this first month, or it could take several months. We just don't know.  That is where trust comes in.  We know that God is in control and we will wait for His timing.  Please pray for us.  We know that "with God all things are possible" Matthew 19:26.  

OH HAPPY DAY!!

Today we were sent an email from our agency that we have a Log In Date!  It is August 1, 2011.  So, our wait has officially begun... Only the Lord knows exactly how long that will be.  We are excited for what He has planned for our family in the days to come.  We know His timing will be perfect!  

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord," plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

DTC!!! Our paperwork is headed to China!

On Thursday, July 21st our paperwork was sent to China.  It was a big day for Tony and I because we have been working for the past six months on getting all the documents together.  Now we will wait to hear what our Log In Date will be.  This is the date it arrives in China.  Once we get that Log In Date we will officially be in line!  We are thinking it should be the first week of August, but we will probably not know the official LID until the end of August.  Please keep us in your prayers.  We know our patience will be tested throughout this journey, but we are trusting in the Lord's timing.

Our Dossier is DONE!!

Monday, June 27th we sent our dossier to our agency.  We waited a little over two months for our Approval Notice from USCIS.  The Statistics class I took helped the time go by a little quicker.  Now, we will wait about 3-4 weeks for our agency to translate all of our paperwork and get all the seals before it is sent to China.  As soon as our dossier is sent to China we will be given a DTC (Date to China).  Hopefully, soon after that we will have a LID (Log In Date)!!!  That is when it will be official!! We will be in line and the wait will begin!  Tony and I know that it has been in the Lord's hands from the beginning.  We have worked so hard and have really tried to get our dossier completed as soon as we could.  It took 5 months!  Now, we truly have to just wait and pray for patience as the years go by.  Please continue to pray for our family.  We look forward to what the Lord is doing and how He is working in our lives.  Thank you for all the love and support we have received through letters, e-mails and purchasing shirts.  God is good!!

A Sweet Family

This past weekend I was able to meet with Lori and Rick who are shown in this video.  I also got to meet Hannah Ruth, their daughter, who is five now.  They are such a sweet family and were very encouraging to me.  I cry every time I watch this video.  I can't help but imagine what our feelings will be when we hold Bella Mei for the first time.   What a sweet story they have to share.  I am so glad the Lord put them in our path early in this journey!

Why China? I'm so glad you asked!

So far when people would ask me this question I responded with things like, "I really don't know... God has always led us to China".  Some people understood that "call" and others didn't.  Today the Lord used a comment that was posted somewhere to help me understand why He has led us to China. 
Let me begin by saying that, as parents, the most important thing to Tony and I is not how our kids do in school, what college they will go to, who they will marry or what they become someday.  Although these things are very important, it is not the most important thing in life.  The most important thing is that they come to know the Lord and have a relationship with Him.  Thankfully, both of our boys have made that decision.  Having said that, we know that a child born in China may never hear about the Lord.  Why China?  I still say I don't really know.... but I do know this.  Bella Mei will grow up in a Christian home where she will never remember a time that she didn't know about Jesus.  I  am praying already for her and that she will come to know the Lord at an early age. 
The Lord calls some missionaries to share the gospel right where they are.  He calls others to places like Africa, Columbia and China.  Much like missionaries, the Lord calls some to adopt from where they are and others to adopt elsewhere.  Tony and I believe the Lord has called us to China.  In Jeremiah 29:11 it says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". 
So, why China?  My answer still begins with "I really don't know" but I know He is in control and Tony and I trust Him.  He is making things clearer every day!