Celebrate!

Tonight we celebrated!  We told Nathan and Claire that we know who their brother is.  They are so excited!  It is great to have a face to share with them.  It certainly validates the whole process. 



Cupcakes in the shape of China

 



The heart is supposed to be Shanghai, China

 



First Family Photo

 



Big Brother and Little Sister insisted on a photo shoot!

No doubt they are in love already...we are, too!

Our son!

Last night we received great news!  We were approved to be matched!  We are thrilled!  We can officially (almost) say he is our son.  This week we will work on our LOI (Letter of Intent).  Our agency will upload our LOI to the CCCWA and he will be on hold for us.  Now the countdown begins...and the paper work continues!  We know that God has His hand in this process and we are thankful He clearly revealed our son.  What a blessing he will be to our family!  It is with great joy we present Ji Chun!  (We are still deciding on his American name, but his middle name will most likely be his Chinese name.)

Home Study

Yesterday we had our first home study interview.  The home study consists of five interviews, medical exams and testing, education classes, background checks and paperwork.  Matt and I are committed to getting our paper work done as quickly as possible.  We received great advice...always be waiting on your agency, not them waiting on you.  Our second interview is in two weeks. 
This weekend will be all about adoption!  Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork!

Update

After letting the agency know that we would like to move forward, they informed us of the next steps.  First, there was another family reviewing the file.  They would have the opportunity to be considered as well. Also, they needed us to complete three questionnaires, watch some webinars and read some books.  Once the questionnaires are complete, we will have a phone interview.

This morning I had an e-mail from one of our case workers.  The other family has withdrawn.  Now we can focus on the questionnaires and phone interview.  God is in control!  I know that He has the exact child He chose for our family.  We are eagerly awaiting His confirmation that this child is our son!  Thank you to all that have prayed for us!

Pursue

According to Google, pursue is defined as "follow (someone or something) to catch or attack them." 

We have decided to pursue the little boy whose file we have reviewed.  Now, so much comes along with that statement.  First of all, that doesn't mean anything until we are given to the go ahead to submit an LOI.  An LOI is a Letter of Intent which is sent to the Chinese Government to put the child "on hold" for our family.  Before we can submit the LOI, any other families that are viewing his file will have the opportunity to pursue him.  We are prayerful that God has His hand in all of this.  He will clearly reveal if this is the child for our family. 

It is a bit overwhelming to process this information.  This is a huge leap of faith!  As soon as an LOI is received, we have 6 months to submit our dossier.  That is not a lot of time.  We still have to start our home study which is required for our immigration paper work.  Although it may seem impossible, there is nothing too big for our God.  He is capable of anything!  We are thankful we can trust in Him.

Praying

Our pediatrician called us on Monday night to review her findings.  She has some concerns about his medical condition as well as a couple of test results.  (On a side note: I love our pediatrician!  She was extremely thorough, informative and knowledgeable.  Thank you Dr. O!)  I have contacted our agency and they were not aware of one of the test results.  The report has since been re-translated.  The translation was correct and the result says it was positive.  Our agency has contacted the orphanage to investigate the concern.

Our deadline to accept or decline this child was yesterday.  We have been given an extension due to the investigation.  We are praying for God to clearly reveal if this child is the one He chose for our family.  On Tuesday when I was processing the information, I turned to my Jesus Calling devotional and God's Word.  I was reminded that I can trust in God alone to give me peace with our decisions.  It says, "My peace is not an elusive goal, hidden at the center of some complicated maze.  Actually, you are always enveloped in Peace, which is inherent in My Presence.  As you look to Me, you gain awareness of this precious Peace."  Thank you Sarah Young.  You always know exactly what I need to hear.  If you do not have Jesus Calling, you should!  Get it here.

We are eager to welcome our new addition.  We are praying for their safety and health. 
We have scheduled our first home study appointment for next Friday.  We would love your prayers for our upcoming decisions, appointments and paperwork.

In other exciting news...These came in the mail today! :) :) :) :)  Can't wait to wear it!

Moving quickly!

God is so good!  He is sovereign!  He is full of grace! 

This has been quite a week.  I expected paper work, appointments and decisions to begin once we started the process.  I did not prepare to have a child’s file to view 24 hours after our application.  It is emotional to say the least.  Here is a child that is 4 ½  years old and is the size of a two year old.  He is extremely small…even below the Chinese growth charts.  But his face, his smile, they are something I will not soon forget.  He needs a family.  He needs love.  He needs to know Jesus.  I have been a mess of emotions since the file arrived in my inbox.  We have been talking to so many people to get advice and lobbying to get his medical file reviewed.  We have been praying to have God reveal His plan for our family.  Lord, we know we can trust in you.

It's official...

We are pregnant...on paper!  We are so excited to announce that we are adopting from China!  We have chosen an agency and our application had been processed.  We will begin the home study process very soon.  We are anxiously waiting for God to reveal the little one that will join our family.  We covet your prayers during this process.  The journey to choosing adoption was just that... a journey!  It will be shared in a future post.  For right now, we invite you to join us as we share joys, concerns, triumphs, trials, and ultimately a Chinese child finding their forever family.  Our family!  Welcome!