God leads and we follow...to China!

Monday, August 22, 2016

LOA!!!

It is with great excitement that we can share that we have received our LOA. This means that China said, "YES!" This is a huge step toward bringing home Maelee. We will travel in about 8 weeks. Praise God!

Summer Highlights

Well, apparently we have had a busy summer! There was no time for blogging, so enjoy this catch-up post of the highlights.

Hiking at Starved Rock with Grandma Tammy

A visit to Omaha to see Grandma and Grandpa Marquette

Celebrating Micah's Gotcha Day

Baseball!

Swimming at Papa's pool

Auntie Nicole and Uncle Kevin's Wedding

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Adoption Update

Where are we in the adoption process?

We are excited to announce that our Dossier (a fancy word for the collection of all of the documents) has been sent to China! Praise God! Cue the happy dance! :)

What does this mean?

Now we wait for China to send our LOA/LSC (Letter of Appoval/Letter of Seeking Confirmation). This typically takes about 60 days. Currently, families have been getting approvals in 20-30 days. Will you join us in praying for a speedy approval? After we receive approval, we will travel about 6-8 weeks after. We are getting close! Lord willing, we will travel early Fall.

Prayer Requests:
-Please pray for Maelee. Pray that she remains healthy and well cared for. Pray that God is preparing her heart to join our family. Pray that she will come to trust and learn love from our family.
-Please pray for all the details of paperwork and travel. Pray for minimal delays and quick approvals.
-Please pray for God's wisdom and provision as we seek to purchase a vehicle to better accomodate our family.
-Pray for the finances of the adoption. We trust that God will provide the necessary funds to complete the adoption. He is faithful!

The journey to Maelee

As promised, a small glimpse into our journey to Maelee.

From Deanna’s perspective:

It was February 2016. Our family life was crazy. Difficult personalities, challenging behaviors, and a lack of connection with a few of our children added stress to every day. I had been told that self-care was important for the caregiver of children with special needs and a trauma history. So with that in mind, I headed to a weekend retreat in Atlanta, GA, for a time to be with fellow adoptive and foster moms to renew and refresh. I had no idea that God would use a ten minute break to speak to my heart in such a profound way.

It had been a busy day of sessions at the retreat. I had ten minutes to unwind in my hotel room and relax before dinner would be served. I pulled out my Kindle and browsed Facebook to pass the time. That is when I saw her face. I see little faces in my newsfeed and email all the time. They are all sweet and needing families, but this face was different. Her plump lips and sad eyes struck me. I paused and without hesitation I knew in my heart that she was our daughter. Tears rolled down my face as the reality set in. I clicked the link and viewed a few other pictures. Her video showed her army crawling across the floor and then she said, “Mama.” My heart melted. She was ours. I knew. I also knew that it sounded crazy! “God, are you sure WE are her family?”

I called Matt to share this with him. He was busy at home taking care of the children while I was in Atlanta. He was busy making dinner and doing dishes. He told me I was crazy. Our life was crazy. NO! I pleaded for him to check his email and take a look. The first thing he noticed was her special need. It was something that I had not even looked at when I saw her face. She has a need that we had previously declined. She has a need greater than we had ever imagined for our family. She is paralyzed from the waist down and will likely be wheelchair bound. That sounded crazy and terrifying, but I knew that God was at work. I told him that God had placed her on my heart and the least we could do was to pray for this sweet one. He agreed.

The week after seeing her face, we were invited to an evening of dinner and encouragement for foster and adoptive parents. The evening was sponsored by two adoption support organizations: Chosen & Dearly Loved and Lifesong for Orphans. A video was shown to introduce the work that is done by Chosen & Dearly loved. It started with an Asian girl rolling her wheelchair joyfully down a ramp. My heart skipped a beat. I turned and smiled at Matt. Later, the organization’s founder shared his testimony of God leading them to his daughter in the video. I, again, turned to Matt smiling. I was pretty sure God had just hit us in the head with a 2x4. Matt still wasn’t so sure, but he did agree that this was a pretty big coincidence. God was certainly using this evening to soften our hearts and guide our way.

Over the next few weeks we spent a lot of time in prayer and doing research. We connected with families of children that are wheelchair bound. We spoke with agency workers. We interviewed families that had experience with the adoption agency holding her file. We had her medical filed reviewed by our trusted neurosurgeon.

Then, while on vacation, our adoption agency gave us an ultimatum: make a decision in the next 48 hrs or this little girl’s profile would be given to someone else. It was decision time. Matt was pleading with God for a sign so he could know “for sure”. But, no sign had been given. That was when we found out that China was willing to waive her orphanage fee. God had just provided the first $5600 toward bringing our daughter home. It was a gift from God and the sign Matt had been looking for.

Despite our concerns and fears, God was opening doors, not closing them. He was making a way. A way through the doubts, obstacles, and trepidation. With God’s direction and confirmation, we said, “yes!” As we have worked on completing our home study and dossier, God has continued to reaffirm that our decision is part of His way. He has shown us to trust Him. He is reminding us that He is in control, not us. We are so thankful for this season of life. We thank God for bringing us on this journey to our daughter.

Celebrating Hannah

Well, we fell behind again! Sorry for not keeping you up to date. In May and June, we celebrated Hannah in two ways. First, Hannah has been in our family for one year. What a year it has been! She is a joy and she says the funniest, cutest things! Second, Hannah turned 4! She had her eyes set on a "Bickey" (Mickey Mouse) party. After all the was planned, she wanted a Rainbow Dash (My Little Pony) party. Figures! We decided to give her both. She loved every minute of the spotlight and lit up when sung to. Her contagious smile gets us all. Thank you God for the gift of Hannah.

One month home

One year home

Celebrating one year as a Marquette

A visit to Chuck E Cheese, per the birthday girl's request

Monday, May 2, 2016

Happy Birthday!

She sits on the other side of the world alone. She does not know that she is being celebrated. She does not know that she is loved. She does not know that she has a family.

Three glowing candles on a cake just for her.

She is prayed for. She is chosen. She is a sister. She is a daughter. Lord willing, we will celebrate with her next year. She will know that she is a gift from God. So very loved. Happy Birthday to our sweet girl. We are working hard to get you home!