No news...

Well, we have little to report as far as a referral goes.  The shared list of orphans for August and September have come and gone and we haven't received any news as far as a "match" for our little girl.  The waiting game continues...

We know Our Father has us in His hands.  It will come when it comes and we have to be patient.  Easier said than done--but we're making it.

We did receive more grant news a couple of weeks ago.  Show Hope, which is Steven Curtis Chapman's foundation for orphans, has graciously given us a grant to help with our adoption costs.  Thank you, Jesus!

Funds are coming in, praise the Lord!

When we are matched with our daughter, we will have an $11, 000 fee to pay before we travel.  We received word last month that we were being given a grant from Lifesong for Orphans and we just heard this morning from a grant foundation, Katelyn's Fund, that we received another grant!  Praise the Lord!  This is awesome news for us.  We applied to two others but we will not hear from them until September, so we will see what happens!  It all adds up and the Lord knows exactly what we need.

Waiting...

Well, our completed dossier was sent to China on 07-26-13.  We received our "log in date" the following Friday, 08-02-13.  We were told it could have taken at least 2 weeks to get our dossier logged in but it only took 7 days, God is good!  Now that our dossier is logged into China's system, we are now eligible to receive a referral for a child from the "shared list."  This is great news!  Until now, we have been on a much smaller matching list. Hopefully and prayerfully, we will receive our referral in the next couple of months.  Then, I will have a picture of my Naeleigh to show everyone!  I wonder where she is and what she is doing right now.  I wonder if she's laughing or crying.  I wish I could hold her.  We continue to pray for God's protection over her.  He knows exactly who she is and what she is doing right now and that gives us comfort!  Brett prays for God to send her lots of hugs and kisses from us.

We had a small yard sale this past Saturday.  Brett drew a picture of himself and Naeleigh and stood in the driveway of my parent's house asking for people to stop and help bring his Sissy home!  That picture is most definitely going in the scrapbook that my mom is making for us.  It is so precious.  His little heart is ready to bring her home as much as we are.



Thank you for your prayers, love, and support!!

797 Approval

We received our 797 approval from USCIS this afternoon!!!  This is a huge praise!  The 797 is our approval from the United States to adopt.  We could not receive a referral for a child without this piece of paper.  I haven't done much paperwork in the last two months except for grant applications.  Now, I am back to putting my nose to the grind but I'm so happy to do it!  Getting it notarized tomorrow and sent off for state certification.  Then, it will be sent to the Chinese Consulate in Houston.  When all of that is complete (will most likely take 2 weeks) the dossier will be sent to our agency and then off to China to be logged in!
Everything is falling into place!  And, I turn 30 years old in exactly 6 days.  I have to be 30 to be considered eligible by China to adopt from their country.  I am in awe of God's timing.  I just asked God to forgive me yesterday for having an impatient spirit.  Then, the form came in the mail today!  It took almost 2 months for this 797 form to process so maybe some out there can understand my impatience.

We have also decided on a name for our daughter.  Her name will be Naeleigh (pronounced "Nay-lee").  It means "beautiful girl."  We love it.

Waiting to turn 30...

This is my first post in our adoption blog.  My husband Michael and I are in the process of adopting a little girl from China.  We have not been matched with a child yet though.  Believe it or not, we are waiting on me to turn 30 years old!  China has eligibility requirements and one of them is that the youngest of the two parents be at least 30 years old.  

Therefore, we are counting down the days until I turn 30.  My birthday is July 7th.  I have never been so ready to be a little older.  Truthfully, the aging process can stop after that!  :)

We are so ready to see what God has in store for our family.  He called us to adoption about 18 months ago.  We spent many months researching adoption, adoption agencies, and talking with those who have adopted.  God has called us to China.  We are certain that our daughter is there.  We pray for her every night.  This may sound strange to some, but there are times when I can "feel" her.  I know that she is waiting for us.  I pray that she knows that we are waiting for her too.

We cannot wait to tell her about God's Son and of His perfect love and perfect plan for her life.  Our son has talked of nothing but his "Sissy" for months now.  He is ready to welcome her into our home and tell her about Jesus.

Our dossier for China is almost complete.  We are waiting for our 1800A to process so that we can receive our 797 approval.

Please pray for our family as we continue to wait to see our precious daughter.  :)