We were a bit frustrated and sad last week, when we heard that our CBI (Colorado Bureau of Investigation) and FBI clearances had not come through yet, as we'd thought. We were told that CBI had just finished July, and that our finger prints had been logged in on August 8, so it would take at least a week longer to be processed; possibly two. Added to that was the fact that we hadn't realized that Taylor also needed this done until four weeks after Jim and I had done ours, and so his wasn't logged in until four weeks later! So this was holding up the whole adoption process, and although we know that God is in control and we have to trust in His timing, it was frustrating.
Over the weekend I started thinking that perhaps I would call CBI to ask if they would consider pulling Taylor's prints from the later log-ins, and processing it with ours. I've never done any of this before and have no idea about their policies, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. Yesterday I got an email from another adoptive mom, suggesting the same thing!
So today I called to ask, got transferred to a supervisor who was extremely kind and supportive, and guess what? He said that not only will they pull Taylor's prints and process them with ours, but he also put things into motion TODAY, instead of waiting another week! Wooooot!! God is good, my friends. :)
kids
Monday, September 24, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Agency Visit Today
We have finally gotten every document together for the dossier! Jim and I drove up to Berthoud this morning to give this big ol' stack of papers/photos/documents directly to our agency rep. I was not about to trust it to the mail or delivery service! We are still waiting to receive our background clearances from our previous states (please pray that these do not sit under a pile of papers on anyone's desk!) and our home study is being written up by our social worker. After all this is finally completed, we can apply for permission to adopt from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration. And then after thaaaat . . . we can FINALLY send the dossier to China! And then comes the reeeeally long wait.
Yes . . . it is a very long process. While it appears that we will not be able to travel to bring our sweet girl home until late spring, I keep going back to the fact that God > Impossible, and how awesome it would be if we could get her before she turns 4 in February! I know He could do that - and WILL do that - if that is His good plan for her and for us. We will wait to see what He has in mind, while continuing to pray that time would not be wasted unnecessarily in any of the steps, and that all involved would do the very best job they can.
And now for the great awesome God news! We found out today that we've been given a $3000 grant for our adoption! This was a great surprise, as we have several large payments due over the next months. We know that He who calls us is faithful (1 Thess. 5:24) and He will make a way for us to follow his call. From the time we first knew God was calling us to international adoption, we have known it would be very expensive, and we knew we did not have to worry about it. Even (and especially!) on the day I lost my teaching job. We knew. He who calls us is faithful!
Another fun thing from our agency visit . . . we saw our little Caylie Jiu Chang's visa photo! We only have a few photos of our sweet girl, so finding another was a treasure.
Yes . . . it is a very long process. While it appears that we will not be able to travel to bring our sweet girl home until late spring, I keep going back to the fact that God > Impossible, and how awesome it would be if we could get her before she turns 4 in February! I know He could do that - and WILL do that - if that is His good plan for her and for us. We will wait to see what He has in mind, while continuing to pray that time would not be wasted unnecessarily in any of the steps, and that all involved would do the very best job they can.
And now for the great awesome God news! We found out today that we've been given a $3000 grant for our adoption! This was a great surprise, as we have several large payments due over the next months. We know that He who calls us is faithful (1 Thess. 5:24) and He will make a way for us to follow his call. From the time we first knew God was calling us to international adoption, we have known it would be very expensive, and we knew we did not have to worry about it. Even (and especially!) on the day I lost my teaching job. We knew. He who calls us is faithful!
Another fun thing from our agency visit . . . we saw our little Caylie Jiu Chang's visa photo! We only have a few photos of our sweet girl, so finding another was a treasure.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Baby Steps!
We have a l-o-n-g way to go in this process, but keep working toward the goal! We had our third and final home study visit last night and are gathering the last of the documents for the dossier. (Pennsylvania finally deemed us worthy of Jim's birth certificate after three weeks!) I just ordered a bunch of prints from Walgreens (need to remember to pick those up this afternoon), as they need pictures of our family doing fun things together, and several pictures of our home. Jim and I have physicals this afternoon, which need to be signed by the doctor and notarized. There are actually many items that need to be notarized, so we're keeping one of Jim's co-workers, who happens to be a notary - very busy!
Please continue to pray with us:
1. That documents would be sent to us and to our agency without delay, and that this entire process would go smoothly, without any unnecessary hold-ups.
2. That God would prepare our family for the changes that will take place when our little one joins our us. Pray that God would ready our boys for being big brothers to a new little sister who will already be four years old and does not speak their language. Pray that God would give Jim and I wisdom as we prepare to love, parent, and teach our new daughter, who has never known the dynamics of family life. While it is difficult to wait these many months to have her with us, we know that God's timing is always right, and that He will use this time to prepare and grow us for the task ahead.
3. Pray for our little Caylie Jiu Chang, that God would prepare her heart for the love that we want to give her, and that He would hold her in His arms while we cannot. Pray that her mind, heart, and spirit would be prepared for the day that she will leave all she knows and come to a place that is so very different.
4. Please also continue to pray for the on-going adoption reform in Vietnam and for a new adoption relationship between Vietnam and the United States.
Thank you, friends. We so appreciate your support and prayers.
We are in our fourth week of homeschooling and it's going well. Jim is starting a new season of high school football officiating. And Justin turned ten years old! Happy Birthday to my "baby" boy. :)
Please continue to pray with us:
1. That documents would be sent to us and to our agency without delay, and that this entire process would go smoothly, without any unnecessary hold-ups.
2. That God would prepare our family for the changes that will take place when our little one joins our us. Pray that God would ready our boys for being big brothers to a new little sister who will already be four years old and does not speak their language. Pray that God would give Jim and I wisdom as we prepare to love, parent, and teach our new daughter, who has never known the dynamics of family life. While it is difficult to wait these many months to have her with us, we know that God's timing is always right, and that He will use this time to prepare and grow us for the task ahead.
3. Pray for our little Caylie Jiu Chang, that God would prepare her heart for the love that we want to give her, and that He would hold her in His arms while we cannot. Pray that her mind, heart, and spirit would be prepared for the day that she will leave all she knows and come to a place that is so very different.
4. Please also continue to pray for the on-going adoption reform in Vietnam and for a new adoption relationship between Vietnam and the United States.
Thank you, friends. We so appreciate your support and prayers.
We are in our fourth week of homeschooling and it's going well. Jim is starting a new season of high school football officiating. And Justin turned ten years old! Happy Birthday to my "baby" boy. :)
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
School's In; School's Out
It's been an exciting week at our house. We have started homeschooling, and it is going well so far! I think it's going to be a bit of an adjustment for all three of us, having to be disciplined to do school work at the kitchen table or on the couch, where we're used to doing fun things! But we'll get in a groove soon, I'm sure. We started on Monday the 13th, which is early, but I need to ensure that we are ahead of schedule. When Jim and I go to China, we'll be gone about two weeks, and when we return with our sweet girl, we'll need to have time to acclimate to our new life, and won't want to rush back into tight schedules. So, we got a head start!
On another note, Jim has finished his Executive MBA program at the University of Denver. His graduation was last Friday. He looks much happier than the boys, don't you think?
We are having our first home study visit tomorrow evening. Very excited to get this part of the adoption process going! We will have three visits over the next two weeks. We're also continuing to get documents in order and notarized. Jim's birth certificate from Pennsylvania seems to be taking the long route, but I'm sure it will get here eventually. Finger printing and background checks done last week . . . we're on our way!
* A couple notes about this blog: I have fixed the comments option. Everyone should be able to comment now! Also, if you would like to get blog updates via email, put your email addy in the box at the right.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
She Has a Name!
Hi all,
Thanks for following along on our journey. We are so grateful for the encouraging comments and prayers, and most of all for friends who believe with us that God can do awesome things!
We've finally decided on a name for our sweet little girl. She will be Caylie Jiu Chang. Jiu Chang is her Chinese name, and we will leave it as her middle name. She may want to use it in the future; we will leave that up to her. (Jiu is pronounced "geo", but run the e and the o together quickly. Chang has an "ah" sound, instead of a.) I am a little leary of posting her current surname in a public place, so I think I will wait awhile on that. But it is the name given to all of the children in her orphanage; and is the first part of the city name in which she lives. I think that is so sad, not to have an actual family name. We can't wait to give her a forever family with us!
We have scheduled the dates of our home study visits and continue to gather documents for our dossier. We are excited to see things coming together! Please continue to pray that this process would go smoothly and that papers and documents would be taken care of in a timely manner. Please pray with us, as well, that God would supply the finances for each step of this journey. We know that He is faithful in what He has called us to!
On Saturday the boys and I went to our adoption agency's annual picnic. It was fun to see so many families with their children who had been adopted from China and Korea. I kept thinking of NEXT summer when we will have our Caylie with us, as well! Saturday was the also the day of Jim's very last EMBA class. He will be graduating this week. We are proud of him!
Thanks for following along on our journey. We are so grateful for the encouraging comments and prayers, and most of all for friends who believe with us that God can do awesome things!
We've finally decided on a name for our sweet little girl. She will be Caylie Jiu Chang. Jiu Chang is her Chinese name, and we will leave it as her middle name. She may want to use it in the future; we will leave that up to her. (Jiu is pronounced "geo", but run the e and the o together quickly. Chang has an "ah" sound, instead of a.) I am a little leary of posting her current surname in a public place, so I think I will wait awhile on that. But it is the name given to all of the children in her orphanage; and is the first part of the city name in which she lives. I think that is so sad, not to have an actual family name. We can't wait to give her a forever family with us!
We have scheduled the dates of our home study visits and continue to gather documents for our dossier. We are excited to see things coming together! Please continue to pray that this process would go smoothly and that papers and documents would be taken care of in a timely manner. Please pray with us, as well, that God would supply the finances for each step of this journey. We know that He is faithful in what He has called us to!
On Saturday the boys and I went to our adoption agency's annual picnic. It was fun to see so many families with their children who had been adopted from China and Korea. I kept thinking of NEXT summer when we will have our Caylie with us, as well! Saturday was the also the day of Jim's very last EMBA class. He will be graduating this week. We are proud of him!
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
We GET to Trust God Even More!
Hello friends,
Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words regarding our adoption. We are so excited to see what God is doing and what He will do. Please continue to pray for adoption reform in Vietnam and for our current proceedings to go smoothly and without delay.
Most of you know that I have been a teacher at our church's Christian school for the past few years. Our youngest boys have been students there. MCS has been a huge part of our lives, especially since it is a ministry of our church home. This summer enrollment was way down. Way, way down, compared to previous years. We prayed and talked it up and advertised as best we could. But in the end, there was no change in the situation and it was decided that MCS would be closed.
Since that day, many have expressed concerns for us, in terms of my job, my boys' education, and the financial requirements of our adoption. We so appreciate your prayers through this time of change for all of us, including the other school staff and families. I am going to home school the boys this year, and then see what next year brings. We know that God is faithful and will meet every need, and that what He calls us to He will enable us to do.
The very day that we said YES to God and committed to our little girl in China was the very day we were told I would not have a job. I don't think that is by accident, but by the Providence of a living and loving God. He has a plan that is different from what we had thought, both for my time and for our finances. I can now be home with time to work on the many steps of our adoption, and will be able to be an at-home mom when we bring our little one home.
However, the biggest thing is that we will now have the chance to trust God more for the finances of this adoption. It seemed pretty easy when I had a salary, and suddenly that is just not there. I don't ever want to lament, "Oh man . . . now we HAVE to trust God more." I want to say "Wow. Now we GET to trust Him more!" It's never a bad thing to learn to trust Him more! We now have no idea how God's going to do this, but that's OK. He does. We will hold firm to the promises of His Word: "The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:24
Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words regarding our adoption. We are so excited to see what God is doing and what He will do. Please continue to pray for adoption reform in Vietnam and for our current proceedings to go smoothly and without delay.
Most of you know that I have been a teacher at our church's Christian school for the past few years. Our youngest boys have been students there. MCS has been a huge part of our lives, especially since it is a ministry of our church home. This summer enrollment was way down. Way, way down, compared to previous years. We prayed and talked it up and advertised as best we could. But in the end, there was no change in the situation and it was decided that MCS would be closed.
Since that day, many have expressed concerns for us, in terms of my job, my boys' education, and the financial requirements of our adoption. We so appreciate your prayers through this time of change for all of us, including the other school staff and families. I am going to home school the boys this year, and then see what next year brings. We know that God is faithful and will meet every need, and that what He calls us to He will enable us to do.
The very day that we said YES to God and committed to our little girl in China was the very day we were told I would not have a job. I don't think that is by accident, but by the Providence of a living and loving God. He has a plan that is different from what we had thought, both for my time and for our finances. I can now be home with time to work on the many steps of our adoption, and will be able to be an at-home mom when we bring our little one home.
However, the biggest thing is that we will now have the chance to trust God more for the finances of this adoption. It seemed pretty easy when I had a salary, and suddenly that is just not there. I don't ever want to lament, "Oh man . . . now we HAVE to trust God more." I want to say "Wow. Now we GET to trust Him more!" It's never a bad thing to learn to trust Him more! We now have no idea how God's going to do this, but that's OK. He does. We will hold firm to the promises of His Word: "The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:24
Friday, August 3, 2012
BIG NEWS! Our God is so good!!
Hi Friends! I'm sorry for the delay in updating. We've been waiting for some news, and finally got it today!
PLEASE KEEP PRAYING for the people in Vietnam who are working toward adoption reform to do it well and do it without delay. Please keep praying that the United States will enter into a new adoption relationship with Vietnam as soon as it is possible to do so. We are trusting a great big God, whose heart is for the orphan, to see it through!
In the meantime, as we have been researching international adoption, God has open our eyes to the plight of the orphan even more than ever, and has made us aware of "waiting children". These are children in many countries of the world who will never be referred for ordinary adoption because they are not totally "perfect" in one way or another. We have felt all along that perhaps God had even more for us in this new venture than we were first aware of, and we were right. (Yeah . . . we should really stop putting God in a box!) After praying and talking and praying and researching, and pushing doors to see if they would open, a brand new door HAS been opened, and God has given us the vision of TWO little Asian girls in our home!
God has introduced us to a little three-year-old girl in China and we are in the process of adopting this sweet little one!! She was born in February 2009 and abandoned shortly after birth, as so many are in China. We can't wait to take her out of the institutionalized environment she has been in all her life, and bring her to our home where she will have unconditional love, security, family to hold her and give her attention every day, and the hope of Jesus. We know that she is going to blossom and grow in so many ways!
Please know . . . this is in NO WAY an "instead of" or "in the place of" our adoption from Vietnam. We know without a doubt that God has called us to Vietnam adoption! In no way are we giving up on that! Please keep praying that walls will be knocked down in that arena, so that so many children will find forever families!
Here are a couple pictures of our new daughter. Just today (!) we received our pre-approval from China to adopt her! We are so happy and excited. :0)
PLEASE KEEP PRAYING for the people in Vietnam who are working toward adoption reform to do it well and do it without delay. Please keep praying that the United States will enter into a new adoption relationship with Vietnam as soon as it is possible to do so. We are trusting a great big God, whose heart is for the orphan, to see it through!
In the meantime, as we have been researching international adoption, God has open our eyes to the plight of the orphan even more than ever, and has made us aware of "waiting children". These are children in many countries of the world who will never be referred for ordinary adoption because they are not totally "perfect" in one way or another. We have felt all along that perhaps God had even more for us in this new venture than we were first aware of, and we were right. (Yeah . . . we should really stop putting God in a box!) After praying and talking and praying and researching, and pushing doors to see if they would open, a brand new door HAS been opened, and God has given us the vision of TWO little Asian girls in our home!
God has introduced us to a little three-year-old girl in China and we are in the process of adopting this sweet little one!! She was born in February 2009 and abandoned shortly after birth, as so many are in China. We can't wait to take her out of the institutionalized environment she has been in all her life, and bring her to our home where she will have unconditional love, security, family to hold her and give her attention every day, and the hope of Jesus. We know that she is going to blossom and grow in so many ways!
Please know . . . this is in NO WAY an "instead of" or "in the place of" our adoption from Vietnam. We know without a doubt that God has called us to Vietnam adoption! In no way are we giving up on that! Please keep praying that walls will be knocked down in that arena, so that so many children will find forever families!
Here are a couple pictures of our new daughter. Just today (!) we received our pre-approval from China to adopt her! We are so happy and excited. :0)
Isn't she adorable?? We are so thankful to God for the gift of her in our family! Please pray with us that proceedings would go quickly, and that we would be able to bring her home from China without delay. (No forgotten papers sitting on desks in either country!) We have received our pre-approval and will begin home study soon. We're also gathering documents for our dossier to be sent to China. It will take a few months. Please pray for our little one's heart to be prepared for this transition and journey.
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