On Friday, we received our Article 5 (Ava's Visa approval) from the US Consulate in China!! Next step is waiting for Travel Approval from China. Holt says this can take anywhere from 1.5 to 4 weeks. Let's pray it comes quickly!!
Steve, from Holt, called me at work yesterday to let me know that they had received our Article 5. When one of my co-workers in the office saw that it was Holt on the caller ID, she started cheering and let us all know. And soon everyone in the office was cheering. By the time the call got transferred to my desk Steve was laughing because of all the cheering he could hear over the phone. He said several times how cool it was to have that kind of support. I couldn't agree more!! My co-workers have been amazing. Crying with me when the journey is hard and cheering with me when good things are happening. I am truly blessed to know each and every one of them and have them in my life.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
So Many Questions
Last Friday 12/14/12, our nation and the nation of China were shocked by news of attacks on children. In Connecticut, a young man first killed his mother at home and then went to an elementary school where he killed 20 children and 5 more adults before taking his own life. On that same day in Chenpeng, China a man entered a primary school stabbing and injuring 22 children. I have shed lots of tears over the last couple days trying to understand "why ?". This can be such a sad world. I have been through a realm of emotions; anger, sadness, but most of all a sense of inadequacy to keep my baby girl safe. It seems as if you can't go anywhere and feel completely safe. Now, it's not like things have changed overnight however there is a different sort of fear now that I have a baby girl to think about with a duty to keep her safe.
It's easy after news like this to think, "I'm never going to let Ava leave the house!!!" I will never understand why these men made the decisions they made. So much of the news has now begun talking about gun control, the effects of violent video games, the lack of mental health care in our society... I have views about all these issues but what I believe is a key issue that seems to be overlooked is the fact that children, ALL children, need parents in their lives who love them up unconditionally, everyday. Children need parents at home, at school functions, at sporting events, who read books to them nightly, play with them daily, hug and kiss them hourly, and say "I love you" at least on a daily basis. Children need to know that they are valued, that they are a blessing, that they are loved.
There are so many beautiful things/places in this world that Matt and I can't wait to share with Ava and explore with her. There's no way "we're never leaving the house". There's a great big world out there with amazing people to meet and God's beautiful artwork to observe. I don't know the answers yet on how we will keep Ava safe in this crazy world. But what I do know is that Matt and I will love Ava wholeheartedly and we don't have keep her safe alone. We have family, friends, and biggest of all a God who is all-knowing on our side. I refuse to walk around scared all the time. I will walk in faith that God will protect us and give us the right instincts to protect Ava when we need it. And if the worst should happen, we'll rest assured that this world is not the end. We will be together forever in Heaven where there is no guns, killers, or violence. I will rest on God's words and trust in His almighty protection.
Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:7
Leave your orphans; I will protect their lives. Your widows too can trust in me. Jeremiah 49:11
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
It's easy after news like this to think, "I'm never going to let Ava leave the house!!!" I will never understand why these men made the decisions they made. So much of the news has now begun talking about gun control, the effects of violent video games, the lack of mental health care in our society... I have views about all these issues but what I believe is a key issue that seems to be overlooked is the fact that children, ALL children, need parents in their lives who love them up unconditionally, everyday. Children need parents at home, at school functions, at sporting events, who read books to them nightly, play with them daily, hug and kiss them hourly, and say "I love you" at least on a daily basis. Children need to know that they are valued, that they are a blessing, that they are loved.
There are so many beautiful things/places in this world that Matt and I can't wait to share with Ava and explore with her. There's no way "we're never leaving the house". There's a great big world out there with amazing people to meet and God's beautiful artwork to observe. I don't know the answers yet on how we will keep Ava safe in this crazy world. But what I do know is that Matt and I will love Ava wholeheartedly and we don't have keep her safe alone. We have family, friends, and biggest of all a God who is all-knowing on our side. I refuse to walk around scared all the time. I will walk in faith that God will protect us and give us the right instincts to protect Ava when we need it. And if the worst should happen, we'll rest assured that this world is not the end. We will be together forever in Heaven where there is no guns, killers, or violence. I will rest on God's words and trust in His almighty protection.
Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:7
Leave your orphans; I will protect their lives. Your widows too can trust in me. Jeremiah 49:11
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
Saturday, December 8, 2012
~More Preparations~
Ava's room is not completely done, but ready enough for Ava to come any time :). We just have a few minor projects to finish up. Matt is making shelves for her closet and I'm working on fun a coat rack. Other than that we just need some things to help fill up her room. I love the way it turned out. Sometimes Matt, Jack, and I will just go and sit in her room and talk about what Ava might be doing and imagine what life will be like once she's home.
My amazing sisters have offered to throw us a shower for Ava. We are so grateful!! Children require a lot of stuff! Matt and I had a blast registering for items at Target. Since Ava is a little older, we were able to register for things that we'll hopefully use for at least a few years (rice cooker, travel DVD player, a buggy for our bikes for Ava to ride along with us). We weren't able to find everything we wanted at Target so a few items are on Amazon.com. It was so fun to see Matt having a blast registering for gifts for Ava :) He is already such a good daddy.
We've also been busy child proofing our house. Trying to notice any breakables that may be within her reach. I'm sure we are missing some!! We've registered for baby gates, outlet plugs, and door knob covers. We are definitely going to be starting out running because our baby girl is already walking!!
We have decided on a daycare center. We visited several, but ultimately felt most comfortable with Children's Heaven. It is a large center with several locations in Omaha, all run by a Spanish family. They do have curriculum that they try to cover during the day including Spanish, colors, sign language, numbers, etc. But they also are not so strict to their schedule that they don't allow kids to be kids. We know that Ava will be somewhat behind, but believe she will catch up quickly in her new environment. What she will really need in the beginning is a sense of security and love in an environment where she can learn to socialize and be with other kids her age. We want her to have time to enjoy being a child, she has already had to "grow up" too fast given her circumstances.
Matt and I met with our pediatrician, Dr. Dawson, a couple of weeks ago. We felt this was so important given her history. We wanted a pediatrician who would be comfortable with an international child and some of the unique medical challenges that may occur. The pediatrician we met with knows and works along with Dr. Kolb- the physician who reviewed Ava's medical records initially and has strong ties to Holt. We felt very comfortable with Dr. Dawson and are very relieved to have that step taken care of.
Just this last week, I finally got in the mail Ava's baby book or life book!! I am so excited about this. I looked for a long time to find one that I liked that also works for adoption. It's crazy how few options there are. But the one that I ended up getting is beautiful with extra pages for international adoption. I'm so excited to get started on this!!
Other than that, I've started putting things aside for our trip to China: gifts for government officials, Ava's first baby doll, small toys. We've also been downloading apps on the ipad and iphone, hoping they will entertain Ava on our long flight home :). It looks like Matt is going to have the opportunity to fly to Shanghai a week early for work. We are so excited for this opportunity for Matt!! He talks with his colleagues in Shanghai on a regular basis, so it will be great for him to be able to meet them and do some training. Just don't know how he is going to be in the same city as Ava for a week and not go search for her!! Then my mom and I will fly out together to meet him. SO EXCITED!!
Ava, we are BEYOND ready for you!! All the preparations matter very little. We just can't wait to have you home!! Love you little girl :)
My amazing sisters have offered to throw us a shower for Ava. We are so grateful!! Children require a lot of stuff! Matt and I had a blast registering for items at Target. Since Ava is a little older, we were able to register for things that we'll hopefully use for at least a few years (rice cooker, travel DVD player, a buggy for our bikes for Ava to ride along with us). We weren't able to find everything we wanted at Target so a few items are on Amazon.com. It was so fun to see Matt having a blast registering for gifts for Ava :) He is already such a good daddy.
We've also been busy child proofing our house. Trying to notice any breakables that may be within her reach. I'm sure we are missing some!! We've registered for baby gates, outlet plugs, and door knob covers. We are definitely going to be starting out running because our baby girl is already walking!!
We have decided on a daycare center. We visited several, but ultimately felt most comfortable with Children's Heaven. It is a large center with several locations in Omaha, all run by a Spanish family. They do have curriculum that they try to cover during the day including Spanish, colors, sign language, numbers, etc. But they also are not so strict to their schedule that they don't allow kids to be kids. We know that Ava will be somewhat behind, but believe she will catch up quickly in her new environment. What she will really need in the beginning is a sense of security and love in an environment where she can learn to socialize and be with other kids her age. We want her to have time to enjoy being a child, she has already had to "grow up" too fast given her circumstances.
Matt and I met with our pediatrician, Dr. Dawson, a couple of weeks ago. We felt this was so important given her history. We wanted a pediatrician who would be comfortable with an international child and some of the unique medical challenges that may occur. The pediatrician we met with knows and works along with Dr. Kolb- the physician who reviewed Ava's medical records initially and has strong ties to Holt. We felt very comfortable with Dr. Dawson and are very relieved to have that step taken care of.
Just this last week, I finally got in the mail Ava's baby book or life book!! I am so excited about this. I looked for a long time to find one that I liked that also works for adoption. It's crazy how few options there are. But the one that I ended up getting is beautiful with extra pages for international adoption. I'm so excited to get started on this!!
Other than that, I've started putting things aside for our trip to China: gifts for government officials, Ava's first baby doll, small toys. We've also been downloading apps on the ipad and iphone, hoping they will entertain Ava on our long flight home :). It looks like Matt is going to have the opportunity to fly to Shanghai a week early for work. We are so excited for this opportunity for Matt!! He talks with his colleagues in Shanghai on a regular basis, so it will be great for him to be able to meet them and do some training. Just don't know how he is going to be in the same city as Ava for a week and not go search for her!! Then my mom and I will fly out together to meet him. SO EXCITED!!
Ava, we are BEYOND ready for you!! All the preparations matter very little. We just can't wait to have you home!! Love you little girl :)
Thanksgiving 2012
We had such a fun Thanksgiving with the Fullers!! Our nephews are at such a fun age and the twins are adorable. Just can't wait until Ava is apart of this group!!
Japan Tsunami
Yesterday morning while I was getting ready to go to work, Matt came in to tell me that he had just got a CNN report that there had been a large earthquake off the coast of Japan. We were both automatically concerned about the safety of our daughter. Especially given the tsunami that hit Japan last year causing major destruction and fatalities. The earthquake was a 7.3 magnitude, but thankfully the tsunami that this earthquake caused was no where close to the height of the previous tsunami. Now, we know that our daughter is not in Japan but considering we are half a world away--that is just too close for comfort.
Heavenly Father, thank you for continuing to keep our daughter safe. We know that You love her beyond words and have beautiful plans for her in this life.
Heavenly Father, thank you for continuing to keep our daughter safe. We know that You love her beyond words and have beautiful plans for her in this life.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
I-800 Approval
One more step done!! We received our I-800 approval. This is an approval from US Immigration that is the first step in getting Ava's US entry Visa. Now we are waiting on the National Visa Center to do the final approval. At the same time, Holt is forwarding our Hague Documents to the US Consulate in China. Once the National Visa Center approves Ava for a Visa, they will also forward on the necessary documents to the US Consulate to China. We are being told that the average travel time is 10 weeks from now. That estimate is still on track for our January 25 or February 15th travel date...We are getting close!!!
In the meantime Matt, mom, and I are working on our entry Visas into China. We are working with Lotus Travel (recommended by Holt) to get our Visas done. This process has been somewhat complicated with lots of steps, but I was able to talk directly with someone last night from Lotus Travel and think we are back on track. We should be able to have our Visa applications in the mail in the next week. Luckily, it should only take 2 weeks to get our Visa approvals so we should have our Visas in plenty of time.
We are getting so excited!!! Our darling Ava, we are coming. Can't wait to meet you and hold you.
In the meantime Matt, mom, and I are working on our entry Visas into China. We are working with Lotus Travel (recommended by Holt) to get our Visas done. This process has been somewhat complicated with lots of steps, but I was able to talk directly with someone last night from Lotus Travel and think we are back on track. We should be able to have our Visa applications in the mail in the next week. Luckily, it should only take 2 weeks to get our Visa approvals so we should have our Visas in plenty of time.
We are getting so excited!!! Our darling Ava, we are coming. Can't wait to meet you and hold you.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
~LOA~
We received our Letter Of Acceptance (LOA) on 10/31!!! I couldn't believe it when I got the call. I had just been in a meeting at work and people were asking if we knew anything new. I said something like unfortunately no, we were hoping to have our LOA by the end of October. So now that we haven't received it we probably won't be traveling until March. Well, guess what my friends...Holt says we will either travel on January 25th or February 15th (assuming all goes smoothly)!!!!! I cannot even explain how happy we are~we're far beyond excited and can't believe how close we're getting. We are coming baby girl!!
Since our LOA, we have done another round of paperwork. We immediately signed our LOA and got it back in the mail to Holt. The other paperwork we have been doing is for the I800, this is to start finalizing Ava's adoption. We are really working fast through this paperwork 1. because we can't wait to meet Ava!! 2. we are hoping to get past the US paperwork before the holidays which could slow down the process. The I800 went in the mail today. I refuse to be the holdup in getting to our baby girl faster :)
Since our LOA, we have done another round of paperwork. We immediately signed our LOA and got it back in the mail to Holt. The other paperwork we have been doing is for the I800, this is to start finalizing Ava's adoption. We are really working fast through this paperwork 1. because we can't wait to meet Ava!! 2. we are hoping to get past the US paperwork before the holidays which could slow down the process. The I800 went in the mail today. I refuse to be the holdup in getting to our baby girl faster :)
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Preparations
This week will mark 2 months since we first saw Ava's picture! In many ways the time has gone by fast but in many others the time cannot pass fast enough. We have been busy preparing to meet our little lady. Last week we finally decided and ordered her room decor. Our final choice is perfect, but it makes me laugh when I think about it. I have always said, "I don't need monkeys and animals all over the walls" and guess what we picked...yep animals :) But I love it!! I love that the animals are just on the comforter and the trim is funky animal prints with bright pinks and greens. Now we have to decide what color to paint. I think that will be the goal of this coming week.
We have also started organizing, cleaning out closets, and we have even visited out first daycare option. Both of us have been super concerned about finding a place that we feel comfortable with that doesn't cost a fortune. Our first tour/visit went fantastic! In all honesty it is going to take a lot for any other choice to knock it out of first place. It is a daycare center and they do some school curriculum, field trips, outside play area, and they teach the kids spanish. They seem to be very flexible as well, which has been a huge concern of mine. We are feeling so much more confident that we will be able to make a good decision regarding daycare.
We received updated information and pictures of Ava this last week. She is beautiful and getting so big!! Obviously she is eating really well...good job Ava!! Ava is standing and taking steps. We definitely need to "baby proof" our house before she gets home because she is going to be mobile right away. This mom and dad are going to need to be fast movers from the very beginning. Good thing we're in good shape!! :)
Matt and I find ourselves talking about her all the time. Wondering what she's doing right now, talking about the future, and our nearing trip to China. It's definitely true that this beautiful little girl has already changed our lives.
We have also started organizing, cleaning out closets, and we have even visited out first daycare option. Both of us have been super concerned about finding a place that we feel comfortable with that doesn't cost a fortune. Our first tour/visit went fantastic! In all honesty it is going to take a lot for any other choice to knock it out of first place. It is a daycare center and they do some school curriculum, field trips, outside play area, and they teach the kids spanish. They seem to be very flexible as well, which has been a huge concern of mine. We are feeling so much more confident that we will be able to make a good decision regarding daycare.
We received updated information and pictures of Ava this last week. She is beautiful and getting so big!! Obviously she is eating really well...good job Ava!! Ava is standing and taking steps. We definitely need to "baby proof" our house before she gets home because she is going to be mobile right away. This mom and dad are going to need to be fast movers from the very beginning. Good thing we're in good shape!! :)
Matt and I find ourselves talking about her all the time. Wondering what she's doing right now, talking about the future, and our nearing trip to China. It's definitely true that this beautiful little girl has already changed our lives.
Monday, September 24, 2012
An Ava Sized Hole
We are almost at the month mark since we first saw Ava's picture. In many ways the last month has sped by but on the other hand I wish anything that we could speed up time to get to our baby girl. I CANNOT wait to get my hands on our sweet baby girl!!
We are still so excited and happy and anxious but all with a sense of "something's missing"...Ava. The only way I can explain it is I miss her. Matt's mom said it best, our hearts were instantly filled when we saw her picture and got to know her by reading her information and now that we have to wait to get to see her we are left with an Ava sized whole in our hearts. The great part is though, we now know who is waiting for us at the end of this journey. And we know who will be able to fill that whole...only Ava.
In the meantime, we are busy getting ready for our little girl to come home. We have been cleaning out her room and organizing all the gifts we've received so far. And believe me, I have been shopping ;)
We are still so excited and happy and anxious but all with a sense of "something's missing"...Ava. The only way I can explain it is I miss her. Matt's mom said it best, our hearts were instantly filled when we saw her picture and got to know her by reading her information and now that we have to wait to get to see her we are left with an Ava sized whole in our hearts. The great part is though, we now know who is waiting for us at the end of this journey. And we know who will be able to fill that whole...only Ava.
In the meantime, we are busy getting ready for our little girl to come home. We have been cleaning out her room and organizing all the gifts we've received so far. And believe me, I have been shopping ;)
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Blessed & Humbled
Wow!! I can't even put into words how touched we are with all the outpouring of love and support from our family and friends since learning about Ava. And honestly through this entire process of adoption.
My first shopping trip for Ava...the night we first saw her picture.
My first day back to work after being matched with Ava, I was so overwhelmed by the generosity of my coworkers and friends. I came into work with gifts already waiting for me on my desk, Panera bagels for breakfast, and lots of hugs and excitement. It seemed like every time I came back to my desk there was something new waiting for me or Ava. In the afternoon, we also had a giant Eileen's cookie with the saying "it's a girl" written on it. I felt like the luckiest mama ever!!! I have to be honest, I haven't gotten a lot of actual work done this last week~I've just been simply too busy telling everyone about Ava and showing off her picture. And when I am at my desk I find myself just staring at her picture I have at my desk and wondering what she might be doing in that moment. :)
All our gifts from my co-workers.
This weekend was our first KState football game of the year and that means lots of family time in Manhattan. Matt's side of the family was in Vegas this weekend so luckily we get to see some of them next weekend. We were able to spend all day Saturday with my parents and brother. Ava received some goodies and lots of Wildcat Purple this weekend from her Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle. We HAVE TO make sure she's dressed appropriately when she comes home!! ;) The boys even smoked their celebratory cigars!
Opening gifts from my family. Below was our loot from the day :)
The guys with their celebration cigars!
Ava has no idea how much love she has waiting for her when she gets home. Matt and I are overwhelmed by how much we love her already. She has grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, extended family, and lots of friends who are anxiously awaiting her arrival.
More gifts keep coming all the time. We are so blessed.
The part of this whole experience that has me the most overwhelmed and humbled is how many lives our sweet Ava has touched already...and we haven't even met her yet. So many people who haven't had any personal contact with adoption have learned about adoption by listening to our story and now her story. People have heard her story and are amazed by the strength of our little girl. I've talked with some of my friends who didn't even know where Shanghai is until hearing about Ava. Hoping that conversation opened some eyes to the fact that there is a big world out there beyond our borders. I have a feeling that our sweet Ava has much more to teach us in the coming years.
I can't believe we have known about our daughter for over a week now. Matt and I want to sincerely say "Thank You" to everyone of you for your hugs, phone calls, gifts, prayers, and support. We are truly blessed by your love.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Match Day Has Finally Come
Matt and I have been flying on a cloud since Tuesday around 2pm. It was at that time that we received the call...there is a baby girl in China waiting for us!!!
I happened to have the day off work, so I was home. Bonnie, our social worker, called and told me that we had been matched with a baby girl...that's right, a GIRL!!! I couldn't believe it since we had been thinking since we started the process with China that we were getting a boy. Bonnie told me a little bit about the baby girl and asked if we wanted her to email us on her file. "Heck Yes!!" At that time I called Matt and told him to get home immediately. He was at work that day and I swear that was the longest 25 minutes waiting for him to get home.
Once Matt was home we opened the file and started reading about our little girl, Jiang Jiao Tian. We received her information both in Chinese and the English translation as well as several pictures. Her estimated birthday is July 2, 2011. We learned that she had been abandoned at approximately 3 weeks old. She was found within half a day and taken straight to the hospital due to frequent vomiting. Once at the hospital she was diagnosed with an intestinal atresia. She was then transferred to another hospital where she underwent surgical repair of her atresia. Since that time she has not had another further problems with vomiting or trouble going to the bathroom. She has been at an orphanage in Shanghai, China since August 2011.
She is currently almost 14 months old and she is beautiful!! She has big dark eyes and pouty little pink lips. She is still very small, but growing every month. Her diet consists of milk, milk cakes and porridge, fruit, and something called fish mud.
The orphanage looks very clean and Matt and I learned that it is a staple orphanage in China-one that helps set standards for all other orphanages in China. She gets a bath every morning. And from there it looks like she spends a good deal of her time playing, sleeping, and eating. At the end of her report from the orphanage it states, "she is a lovely girl, we all like her."
We were really impressed with the amount of information we received on our girl. We have discharge summaries from both hospitals, growth and development measurements and information, as well as a report from the orphanage. The only other notable medical issue is that she does still have an open foramen ovale (hole in her heart). We have a recent echocardiogram report and the hole is quite small and states that the hole is closing.
After we looked at her pictures and reviewed her information for about 2 hours, we went ahead and sent in out letter of intent. We knew right away that this was our girl. We loved her from the moment we heard about her. Since that time we also had a physician review her medical information.
We have decided to name our baby girl Ava. At this time we are not sure about a middle name, we want her to have a Chinese middle name. Matt and I have talked about her middle name being Tian which means "heaven", but we found out from Holt that she most likely doesn't go by any of her given names and probably has a nickname. So we will wait to decide on a middle name.
To our sweet Ava, we have never experienced a love like this. We can't believe how much we love you already from a picture. We are so thankful that God has kept you safe and provided the medical attention you needed. We are thankful that your mom left you in a place where you would be found quickly so that you could receive the care you needed. We are so thankful that you live in an orphanage with caretakers who also love you and are taking good care of you until we can be with you. We CANNOT wait to hold you in our arms and love you all the days of your life. We will continue to pray that God will protect you and keep you until that day; it is coming baby girl. We are on our way.
Love, mom and dad
I happened to have the day off work, so I was home. Bonnie, our social worker, called and told me that we had been matched with a baby girl...that's right, a GIRL!!! I couldn't believe it since we had been thinking since we started the process with China that we were getting a boy. Bonnie told me a little bit about the baby girl and asked if we wanted her to email us on her file. "Heck Yes!!" At that time I called Matt and told him to get home immediately. He was at work that day and I swear that was the longest 25 minutes waiting for him to get home.
Once Matt was home we opened the file and started reading about our little girl, Jiang Jiao Tian. We received her information both in Chinese and the English translation as well as several pictures. Her estimated birthday is July 2, 2011. We learned that she had been abandoned at approximately 3 weeks old. She was found within half a day and taken straight to the hospital due to frequent vomiting. Once at the hospital she was diagnosed with an intestinal atresia. She was then transferred to another hospital where she underwent surgical repair of her atresia. Since that time she has not had another further problems with vomiting or trouble going to the bathroom. She has been at an orphanage in Shanghai, China since August 2011.
She is currently almost 14 months old and she is beautiful!! She has big dark eyes and pouty little pink lips. She is still very small, but growing every month. Her diet consists of milk, milk cakes and porridge, fruit, and something called fish mud.
The orphanage looks very clean and Matt and I learned that it is a staple orphanage in China-one that helps set standards for all other orphanages in China. She gets a bath every morning. And from there it looks like she spends a good deal of her time playing, sleeping, and eating. At the end of her report from the orphanage it states, "she is a lovely girl, we all like her."
We were really impressed with the amount of information we received on our girl. We have discharge summaries from both hospitals, growth and development measurements and information, as well as a report from the orphanage. The only other notable medical issue is that she does still have an open foramen ovale (hole in her heart). We have a recent echocardiogram report and the hole is quite small and states that the hole is closing.
After we looked at her pictures and reviewed her information for about 2 hours, we went ahead and sent in out letter of intent. We knew right away that this was our girl. We loved her from the moment we heard about her. Since that time we also had a physician review her medical information.
We have decided to name our baby girl Ava. At this time we are not sure about a middle name, we want her to have a Chinese middle name. Matt and I have talked about her middle name being Tian which means "heaven", but we found out from Holt that she most likely doesn't go by any of her given names and probably has a nickname. So we will wait to decide on a middle name.
To our sweet Ava, we have never experienced a love like this. We can't believe how much we love you already from a picture. We are so thankful that God has kept you safe and provided the medical attention you needed. We are thankful that your mom left you in a place where you would be found quickly so that you could receive the care you needed. We are so thankful that you live in an orphanage with caretakers who also love you and are taking good care of you until we can be with you. We CANNOT wait to hold you in our arms and love you all the days of your life. We will continue to pray that God will protect you and keep you until that day; it is coming baby girl. We are on our way.
Love, mom and dad
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Glacier National Park~Vacay Summer 2012
Matt and I were blessed with being able to take 2 weeks of vacation this year. It is a very special year because we were celebrating 10 years of marriage!! I still can't believe how quickly time has passed and just how different our life is 10 years after marriage than I had planned. What a journey it has been with many highs and lows, but it is so exciting to be able to say that Matt and I are happier, more content, and more excited for the future with each passing day. I am so thankful for a guy who stands besideme, who has helped carry me through some difficult days, and challenges me to see the world differently on a daily basis. We are definitely not the same people we were the day we married and I am very grateful that we have grown together. We definitely don't see eye to eye on everything, but I think that is how we continue to grow as a couple~challenging each other's perspectives and respecting each other's opinions.
When we first start talking about where we wanted to celebrate our 10th anniversary we talked about another trip to Alaska and Peru, but in the end we decided we were so hopeful that a trip to China was coming soon that we wanted to save our money for that trip; so Glacier National Park seemed to fit the bill. We'd been told by people who have been there that it was as close to Alaska as you'd get in the lower 48. Let me tell you, we were not the least bit disappointed with Glacier. I recommend it to anyone I meet: gorgeous scenary, lots of wildlife, and miles of hiking.
When we first start talking about where we wanted to celebrate our 10th anniversary we talked about another trip to Alaska and Peru, but in the end we decided we were so hopeful that a trip to China was coming soon that we wanted to save our money for that trip; so Glacier National Park seemed to fit the bill. We'd been told by people who have been there that it was as close to Alaska as you'd get in the lower 48. Let me tell you, we were not the least bit disappointed with Glacier. I recommend it to anyone I meet: gorgeous scenary, lots of wildlife, and miles of hiking.
Our first stop was Grand Teton NP. We spent a couple of days there to break up the long drive to Glacier. We had been to Teton several summers ago, but we only spent a couple of days there after Yellowstone and felt that it wasn't near enough time. We love the Tetons.
7,000 feet straight up from the valley. They are very impressive looking mountains. I can't help but see a very creative God when I see these.
Hanging out at Teton Marina. We spent all of our evenings here.
We spent my 31st birthday swimming through Firehole Canyon in Yellowstone NP.
We picked up Bobby about 10 days into our trip. He spent 3 days in the park with us and then helped us drive back. We made the most of those 3 days in Glacier: 2 12 mile+ days and kayaking.
Our first glimpse of the Many Glacier area: our favorite spot and home for 6 days.
On one of the many trails. Matt and I counted that we hiked approximately 80 miles on this trip. It's a lot, but it's awesome to think that we are getting to see places that very few others see.
A mama black bear and 3 cubs!! We have never seen so many bears and never 3 cubs!!! Bear watching was definitely a highlight. We never did see bears on the trail only safely from the road.
A hungry black bear eating berries. :)
We went to Canada for a day. This is us at Waterton Lake.
Big bull moose at Cracker Lake. The only people at this lake were us and one other couple.
Hike to hidden lake. This was as far as we could get on the trail. The park service had closed it passed this point because of lots of bear activity on the lake due to trout spawning.
Ptarmigin Tunnel trail. From the lake we hiked up the trail you can faintly see in the background: 3 switchbacks that lead to the tunnel through the mountain to the interior.
Funny story: on this day we were the only people in this hanging valley. We had seen some signs of bears but hadn't seen an actually bear. Most of the trail was in the open, but there were parts taking us through thick brush taller than us. At one point, we started to go through the brush calling for bears to let them know we were coming-the last thing you want to do is surprise a bear. Just as Matt pushed through the front bush we heard a growl. All 3 of us in unison starting walking backwards thinking there was a bear on the other side when all the sudden we realized what we were hearing was a helicopter who had just come over the ridge you seen in the picture!! Talk about bad timing. It certainly got our hearts racing though.
Dressed for our 10 anniversary dinner at Many Glacier Lodge. This was after 3 days of hiking and camping. Meaning 3 nights of no shower!! I think we clean up pretty good in spite of that.
Grinnell Glacier hike on our 10th anniversary. Absolutely gorgeous!!
Kayaking on swiftcurrent lake.
Jack~In the Clear
We went and saw the vet again last Friday to have lab work and see how Jack is responding to the medications. Since he got sick and was diagnosed with a bacterial infection early in the summer we have been seeing the vet on a regular basis. They really have been keeping a close eye on him and I can't thank them enough for that. Friday we received great news...Jack's labs were perfect and Dr. Dritely couldn't be happier with the way that Jack has recovered. Dr. Dritely felt comfortable enough to clear him at this time! Jack will be on his steroids for another month to appropriately taper him off the medication, but he didn't feel that there was a need for another follow up visit at this time. What a relief!!
Jack spent the last 3 weeks with his Grandma and Grandpa Fuller while Matt and I were on vacation. This always works out so well because we don't have to worry about boarding Jack and they live on a farm so Jack gets to run and explore daily~he gets to go on a vacation too. And if need be, Grandma and Grandpa Angell are close by too if he would have needed some "down" time or if Fullers needed a break. Jack obviously was spoiled rotten because the scale at the vet showed he gained 4.5 pounds during the last 3 weeks! This is only okay at Grandma and Grandpa's house :-) Anyway, Jack's energy is much better since before we left for vacation and he definitely has that Jack sparkle in his eyes again. That makes us happy and grateful parents!! Jack went for his first run since getting sick this morning. He made it slightly over half a mile before he stopped. But we thought that was a great start and we don't want to push him too much at this time. We'll take it slow, but it's so good to see him acting like his old self.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
The Wait
'About the long wait and many frustrations that adoptive parents encounter on the journey... “Oh my, I can speak to this. First, forget whatever timeline you were given at the beginning. Forget you ever heard that. Put that in the trash can. Adoption will change, shift, slow down, hit snags, be weird, be difficult, take longer than you think, take longer than you can stand. This will happen. This is the normal thing. When someone gives you a timeline, say, “Thank you for that cute little sentence. Flush.”
Dossier...Done!!
That's right; for real this time our dossier is done and on it's way to China!! All the paperwork is officially done. It's exciting, but I find myself in a weird place. A place where once again, we wait. We are excited, but very cautiously so. Can't wait to finally get the phone call saying that we are matched!!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Our Jacker Boy
What a week it has been for our little family. Matt flew to Arizona for work last Sunday night and was gone until late Thursday. On Monday and Tuesday night I took Jack to Standing Bear Lake~a lake near our house that we spend a lot of time at. Both nights it was super hot and Jack was just acting weird for example pulling on his leash or acting like he wanted to sit down all the time. I honestly thought it was probably just too hot for him or he was mad because his dad was gone. Either way I let him in the lake both nights to cool off. Jack normally loves to swim but Monday and Tuesday night he simply stood in the water and looked at me. Wednesday morning it was obvious that something more than just heat or obstanance was going on. His temp was 105 by this time. I called the vet as soon as I was able and they were able to see him that afternoon. The vet, Dr. Dritley, ran blood work that showed Jack was both anemic and had very low platelets. They determined that Jack had developed a bacterial infection from "something he got into". Possibly from the lake or he ate something he shouldn't have~ a dog will be a dog :) Dr. Dritley gave him an IV steroid and antibiotic and we were on our way. Wednesday night it seemed like that was all Jack needed and he was going to turn around quickly then came Thursday morning...
Thursday morning I was awoken at 5:30am to Jack struggling to breathe. I counted his respirations to be around 80 per minute and loud. He was having to use his abdominal and chest muscles (accessory muscles) to help him breathe. Luckily I work with amazing people who understood Jack is not just a dog, he is our baby boy and told me to not worry about work and just take care of him. :) I walked into the clinic as soon as they opened, without an appointment and they escorted me right back into an exam room. Dr. Dritley came right in and looked Jack over again. It was determined that Jack needed more tests including a chest x-ray. The lab work had not changed much from the day before, but the chest x-ray held the most devasting news. Dr. Dritley explained to me that because of the infection, Jack was collecting fluid around his lungs and even worse than that, because of the low platelets he was also bleeding into his lungs because he was unable to clot effectively. Dr. Dritley calmly told me that we were not in crisis mode yet, but that if we couldn't get Jack to make a quick turn around he may not make it. I was devasted and now I had to figure out how to tell Matt; over the phone in Arizona.
I had no idea how to tell Matt what I had just heard and I knew I was not going to be able to keep myself together to tell him calmly. But I also knew he was waiting for my call to get an update. Having to pass on this information was one of the toughest things I've ever had to do. Thankfully Matt was already scheduled to come home that night. He tried to get an earlier flight that day but unfortunately had no luck. Dr. Dritley's biggest orders were to keep Jack quiet and resting as this would be the best medicine for him. Unfortunately and fortunately, keeping Jack quiet and resting has not been a problem these last couple of days. Jack is normally full of life and energy and this last week it's all he can do to walk around the house. I was able to stay home with Jack on Thursday to watch him and Matt stayed with him on Friday.
I am happy to report that Jack is one tough dog and he is doing much better!! He is still having to work harder than normal to breathe, but much better than last week. No temp since Friday morning. His energy level is still very low but the twinkle in his eyes has returned. I have no doubt that our spunky little boy will be back to normal before too much longer.
Thursday morning I was awoken at 5:30am to Jack struggling to breathe. I counted his respirations to be around 80 per minute and loud. He was having to use his abdominal and chest muscles (accessory muscles) to help him breathe. Luckily I work with amazing people who understood Jack is not just a dog, he is our baby boy and told me to not worry about work and just take care of him. :) I walked into the clinic as soon as they opened, without an appointment and they escorted me right back into an exam room. Dr. Dritley came right in and looked Jack over again. It was determined that Jack needed more tests including a chest x-ray. The lab work had not changed much from the day before, but the chest x-ray held the most devasting news. Dr. Dritley explained to me that because of the infection, Jack was collecting fluid around his lungs and even worse than that, because of the low platelets he was also bleeding into his lungs because he was unable to clot effectively. Dr. Dritley calmly told me that we were not in crisis mode yet, but that if we couldn't get Jack to make a quick turn around he may not make it. I was devasted and now I had to figure out how to tell Matt; over the phone in Arizona.
I had no idea how to tell Matt what I had just heard and I knew I was not going to be able to keep myself together to tell him calmly. But I also knew he was waiting for my call to get an update. Having to pass on this information was one of the toughest things I've ever had to do. Thankfully Matt was already scheduled to come home that night. He tried to get an earlier flight that day but unfortunately had no luck. Dr. Dritley's biggest orders were to keep Jack quiet and resting as this would be the best medicine for him. Unfortunately and fortunately, keeping Jack quiet and resting has not been a problem these last couple of days. Jack is normally full of life and energy and this last week it's all he can do to walk around the house. I was able to stay home with Jack on Thursday to watch him and Matt stayed with him on Friday.
I am happy to report that Jack is one tough dog and he is doing much better!! He is still having to work harder than normal to breathe, but much better than last week. No temp since Friday morning. His energy level is still very low but the twinkle in his eyes has returned. I have no doubt that our spunky little boy will be back to normal before too much longer.
Immigration Appointment Is Done
I'm definitely late posting this information, but yes our immigration appointment for fingerprinting was done on June 14th. We will hopefully be getting our approval letter in the mail for them any day. This is the last piece of our dossier we are waiting for. We received word late last week that all of our other dossier documents have been certified and are now on there way for authentification by the Chinese Embassy. Things are certainly moving in the right direction!!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
China's Matching Process
We received an email late last week from Holt stating that China would be releasing children this week. We were given a heads up by our social worker that these emails will be coming, but boy did the email start a whole string of emotions for us over the last week. Emotions ranging from excitement to sorrow, anxiety to joyfulness. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like our baby was in this group. Honestly, we're doing ok~better than I thought I'd be feeling by today if we didn't get the call. We knew it would be a long shot to be matched the first month we were eligible. But it's hard not to get your hopes up in spite of that reality. We're just so anxious to meet our child!!
China's matching process is very different from Ethiopia's. There is still a waiting list, but because we are in the Child of Promise Program (meaning that our child will have some type of special needs) we will be matched with a child who matches our medical conditions criteria that we are open to. The medical conditions criteria was part of our home study. There were numerous possible medical issues and we were asked to state if we were open to the issue and if so, to what severity. This was a tough job. We spent a lot of time studying what the conditions were so that we felt we were making educated decisions.
China releases a group of children every month or so. Holt staff then has the difficult job of matching families with the children. Like I stated before, the decision is based more on matching the demographic and medical information of the child with a family that matches those things. Once a family is notified that they are matched, they only have 24 hours to decide if this is the child they have been waiting for. The short time frame allowed to make this decision is why I think they give us a heads up email. The heads up allows us to make sure we are available by phone to be notified, to make the decision quickly, and if we need to take any information to a physician to review we have time to set up an appointment. I can't imagine saying no to a child at this point so I am very thankful for the staff at Holt who have gotten to know us well and will help match us with our child.
We are continuing to trust and are walking in faith that we are on the right track to meet our child. We are still believing that our perfect child is out there an we will be matched when the time is right. We will continue to pray for our baby's health and safety until the time we get to hold them in our arms. And believe me once we get ahold of them, we're never letting go!
China's matching process is very different from Ethiopia's. There is still a waiting list, but because we are in the Child of Promise Program (meaning that our child will have some type of special needs) we will be matched with a child who matches our medical conditions criteria that we are open to. The medical conditions criteria was part of our home study. There were numerous possible medical issues and we were asked to state if we were open to the issue and if so, to what severity. This was a tough job. We spent a lot of time studying what the conditions were so that we felt we were making educated decisions.
China releases a group of children every month or so. Holt staff then has the difficult job of matching families with the children. Like I stated before, the decision is based more on matching the demographic and medical information of the child with a family that matches those things. Once a family is notified that they are matched, they only have 24 hours to decide if this is the child they have been waiting for. The short time frame allowed to make this decision is why I think they give us a heads up email. The heads up allows us to make sure we are available by phone to be notified, to make the decision quickly, and if we need to take any information to a physician to review we have time to set up an appointment. I can't imagine saying no to a child at this point so I am very thankful for the staff at Holt who have gotten to know us well and will help match us with our child.
We are continuing to trust and are walking in faith that we are on the right track to meet our child. We are still believing that our perfect child is out there an we will be matched when the time is right. We will continue to pray for our baby's health and safety until the time we get to hold them in our arms. And believe me once we get ahold of them, we're never letting go!
Dossier for China...(Almost) Check!!
We are almost ready to check off the next big step...our dossier! All the paperwork for our dossier is now on it's way to Holt so that they can send it off to be certified and authenticated before it goes to China. The only paperwork we are still waiting for is our immigration approval. Our appointment with immigration is scheduled for June 14th. Hopefully our approval letter will come quickly after that appointment. Then the paperwork will be finalized for China. Getting closer!!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Holt Gala 2012
Last Saturday we were able to attend the Holt Gala with Matt's parents. We had so much fun! First of all, I love being able to get dressed up and go out.
The Holt Gala started with a silent auction. There was a ball room full of items for sale. This year we were able to get coasters made in Guatemala, China adoption books, and a baby quilt. I am in love with the baby quilt. In fact, I may have guarded it when only a few minutes were left in the auction...maybe!! I have been looking around for baby bedding for a while now and haven't found anything that I just love. It may sound silly, but I don't want it to be your typical "baby" decor. And this quilt seems to fit the bill. Now I have to figure out what color we want to paint. Maybe match the green?
We ended up sitting with the same family we sat with last year, which was cool to catch up with them. For supper we had salad, steak, chicken, new potatoes and dinner rolls. It was delicious! Especially the steak. It was so tender. For dessert, we did the dessert dash again. This entailed bidding as a table for dessert. Then they called the table numbers in order of highest donation to less to pick your dessert. I was nominated to make the run this year. The heels had to come off for this serious competition :)
At the end of the auction, Holt had 6 left over bottles of wine. To get rid of them they had everyone who wanted them stand up. Then we all played heads or tails; they'd flip a coin and we'd place our hands on our head or tail to place our bet. When I made it to the top 5 or so, they had us all come stand in front...so everyone could get a better view of our tails I'm sure ;) In the end, I won 6 bottles of wine!!!
We had a great time meeting new people catching up with some friends. The Holt community is such a fun and unique group of people. Not everyone has adopted, but everyone has been touched by adoption in some way. It's one of those things that you just can't completely understand until you've been through it and we are very thankful for our friends and family who are walking this road along side us.
The Holt Gala started with a silent auction. There was a ball room full of items for sale. This year we were able to get coasters made in Guatemala, China adoption books, and a baby quilt. I am in love with the baby quilt. In fact, I may have guarded it when only a few minutes were left in the auction...maybe!! I have been looking around for baby bedding for a while now and haven't found anything that I just love. It may sound silly, but I don't want it to be your typical "baby" decor. And this quilt seems to fit the bill. Now I have to figure out what color we want to paint. Maybe match the green?
We ended up sitting with the same family we sat with last year, which was cool to catch up with them. For supper we had salad, steak, chicken, new potatoes and dinner rolls. It was delicious! Especially the steak. It was so tender. For dessert, we did the dessert dash again. This entailed bidding as a table for dessert. Then they called the table numbers in order of highest donation to less to pick your dessert. I was nominated to make the run this year. The heels had to come off for this serious competition :)
At the end of the auction, Holt had 6 left over bottles of wine. To get rid of them they had everyone who wanted them stand up. Then we all played heads or tails; they'd flip a coin and we'd place our hands on our head or tail to place our bet. When I made it to the top 5 or so, they had us all come stand in front...so everyone could get a better view of our tails I'm sure ;) In the end, I won 6 bottles of wine!!!
We had a great time meeting new people catching up with some friends. The Holt community is such a fun and unique group of people. Not everyone has adopted, but everyone has been touched by adoption in some way. It's one of those things that you just can't completely understand until you've been through it and we are very thankful for our friends and family who are walking this road along side us.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Home Study for China...Done!!
What a week it has been! We woke up on Monday to quite a surprise, an email from a good friend letting us know that there may be an infant in need of a home. We are very thankful for amazing friends who are thinking about us even when we least expect it! But let me tell you, this was a lot to process at 6am on Monday as we are both getting ready for work!! Matt was able to call our friend to see if he could give us any more information or at least tell us who to contact. It turned out that the situation was not a clean, clear cut one with lots of scary possibilities for now and down the road. I know I am being a little cryptic, but I don't want to give out too much information regarding this particular situation.
Matt and I prayed and talked and prayed and talked about what to do. In the end, we did not feel that this was a direction we were supposed to go. We are both feeling at peace and very comfortable in our current position with China. As things would go and often do with God, our clearances from the state finally went through on Wednesday of this week AND our social worker had time to do our home study on Thursday AND I was off work on Thursday AND Matt was able to take off some time Thursday morning as well...coincidence?? I think not!! That was definitely the validation I needed that we had made the right decision.
We met our social worker, Bonnie, on Thursday morning and spent about an hour catching up. She had a lot of our home study already filled out since we had been spending so much time together lately. We mainly had to update financial information. Apparently, China is very particular about things and we have been warned that everything from the homestudy better match up to documents exactly including financial numbers. So that took some time to make sure we were doing our math appropriately. Thank God Matt is a mathematician!
Last night we looked over a final draft of the home study and today it was submitted. YAY!! Another big step in the right direction. We were also able to start gathering paperwork for the dossier for China. I remember feeling very anxious about the paperwork for the Ethiopia Dossier and I must admit that I am feeling some of the same anxiety for the China Dossier. But just like last time, we need to break it down one item at a time and obviously it is all doable. Matt and I are just wanting to move really fast so we have to remind ourselves to take a breath sometimes.
2 Timothy 1:7...For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Matt and I prayed and talked and prayed and talked about what to do. In the end, we did not feel that this was a direction we were supposed to go. We are both feeling at peace and very comfortable in our current position with China. As things would go and often do with God, our clearances from the state finally went through on Wednesday of this week AND our social worker had time to do our home study on Thursday AND I was off work on Thursday AND Matt was able to take off some time Thursday morning as well...coincidence?? I think not!! That was definitely the validation I needed that we had made the right decision.
We met our social worker, Bonnie, on Thursday morning and spent about an hour catching up. She had a lot of our home study already filled out since we had been spending so much time together lately. We mainly had to update financial information. Apparently, China is very particular about things and we have been warned that everything from the homestudy better match up to documents exactly including financial numbers. So that took some time to make sure we were doing our math appropriately. Thank God Matt is a mathematician!
Last night we looked over a final draft of the home study and today it was submitted. YAY!! Another big step in the right direction. We were also able to start gathering paperwork for the dossier for China. I remember feeling very anxious about the paperwork for the Ethiopia Dossier and I must admit that I am feeling some of the same anxiety for the China Dossier. But just like last time, we need to break it down one item at a time and obviously it is all doable. Matt and I are just wanting to move really fast so we have to remind ourselves to take a breath sometimes.
2 Timothy 1:7...For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Announcement!!!
It is time to share some news; Matt and I have made a big decision and we are changing the direction of our adoption. In all honesty, God has opened a door along this journey that we didn't expect and we are stepping out in faith that He will continue to see it through and lead us to our child. We have decided to continue this journey of bringing home our child from...China!!!
So I know that a lot of you are probably wondering how in the heck we went from Ethiopia to China. That's a big difference! Let me tell you, it was not easy to make this decision. We have had Ethiopia in our hearts for a long time now and it was really hard to trust that this was a door that God was opening for us. As I said in our previous post, we have been spending a lot time with our social worker discussing the recent news out of Ethiopia and while visiting with her, the option of China came up. In many ways, what is happening in China seems too good to be turn. This was one of my big hang ups. If it seems too good to be true, it must be--this is what I normally think and had to fight with myself about while trying to decipher the correct move to make. But in the end Matt and I really felt God calling us to step out of our comfort zone and trust Him. Trust that He was continuing to guide us on this journey and that He is great enough to offer us a door that seems too good to be true, but it just might be that good. I can't wait to see what He has in store during the next year.
Matt and I are open to a little boy or girl, always have been. We decided when we started on this journey that we wouldn't pick the sex of our child if we were pregnant and we don't want that kind of control regarding our child through adoption either. The fact that we are open to having a boy moves us up the list in a big way for the China program. Unfortunately, most people who are waiting for a child from China want a little girl and that leaves a lot of little boys who do not have a family to come home to. This is the main reason Matt and I felt the call to switch to China. The wait for a little boy in China is suspected to be a year at this time. Once we are matched with our child we wait about 6 months before traveling to China. The travel to China is also different. We only have to make one trip and we bring our child home that same trip!! What a relief that we don't have to leave our child in the country before we can bring them home!
We are so excited with our decision, but cautiously excited. It's hard to not put up walls around your heart to try to protect it after so many disappointments. We are scared to death of more disappointments and heat breaks. I am still learning to trust and to give EVERYTHING to God. I can see in the past where I have tried to just keep a thumb of control on our adoption. I want to give this entire journey over to Him. I want to trust that He has us all firmly in His hands. I am learning to do this. It is a daily decision for me to let God have full control. I trust that He has not forsaken us and will not leave us here. He will see this journey through. What an amazing God we serve. A God who cares about us so much that He continues to guide and open doors that "seem too good to be true". That is true love!!!
In other news, my mom had a "suspicious mammogram" that lead to a specialized MRI test to further look at the suspicious area. Today she saw her cancer doctor and she is still cancer free after two years!!!! I am so relieved and happy to share this news. I so want her to be around for many, many more years. I want her to meet her grandchild(ren). She has been a constant support and encouragement to me and she has walked this journey beside us. I want her to be able to reap the rewards at the end of this journey as much I want it for myself. She will be a fantastic grandma and I want her to be healthy and able to enjoy being a grandma!!
I am feeling very thankful after a long few months. Thank you friends and family for your continued prayers and support. Love you, megan
So I know that a lot of you are probably wondering how in the heck we went from Ethiopia to China. That's a big difference! Let me tell you, it was not easy to make this decision. We have had Ethiopia in our hearts for a long time now and it was really hard to trust that this was a door that God was opening for us. As I said in our previous post, we have been spending a lot time with our social worker discussing the recent news out of Ethiopia and while visiting with her, the option of China came up. In many ways, what is happening in China seems too good to be turn. This was one of my big hang ups. If it seems too good to be true, it must be--this is what I normally think and had to fight with myself about while trying to decipher the correct move to make. But in the end Matt and I really felt God calling us to step out of our comfort zone and trust Him. Trust that He was continuing to guide us on this journey and that He is great enough to offer us a door that seems too good to be true, but it just might be that good. I can't wait to see what He has in store during the next year.
Matt and I are open to a little boy or girl, always have been. We decided when we started on this journey that we wouldn't pick the sex of our child if we were pregnant and we don't want that kind of control regarding our child through adoption either. The fact that we are open to having a boy moves us up the list in a big way for the China program. Unfortunately, most people who are waiting for a child from China want a little girl and that leaves a lot of little boys who do not have a family to come home to. This is the main reason Matt and I felt the call to switch to China. The wait for a little boy in China is suspected to be a year at this time. Once we are matched with our child we wait about 6 months before traveling to China. The travel to China is also different. We only have to make one trip and we bring our child home that same trip!! What a relief that we don't have to leave our child in the country before we can bring them home!
We are so excited with our decision, but cautiously excited. It's hard to not put up walls around your heart to try to protect it after so many disappointments. We are scared to death of more disappointments and heat breaks. I am still learning to trust and to give EVERYTHING to God. I can see in the past where I have tried to just keep a thumb of control on our adoption. I want to give this entire journey over to Him. I want to trust that He has us all firmly in His hands. I am learning to do this. It is a daily decision for me to let God have full control. I trust that He has not forsaken us and will not leave us here. He will see this journey through. What an amazing God we serve. A God who cares about us so much that He continues to guide and open doors that "seem too good to be true". That is true love!!!
In other news, my mom had a "suspicious mammogram" that lead to a specialized MRI test to further look at the suspicious area. Today she saw her cancer doctor and she is still cancer free after two years!!!! I am so relieved and happy to share this news. I so want her to be around for many, many more years. I want her to meet her grandchild(ren). She has been a constant support and encouragement to me and she has walked this journey beside us. I want her to be able to reap the rewards at the end of this journey as much I want it for myself. She will be a fantastic grandma and I want her to be healthy and able to enjoy being a grandma!!
I am feeling very thankful after a long few months. Thank you friends and family for your continued prayers and support. Love you, megan
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
It's Time to Be Honest
I know I promised to be a better blogger the last time I posted and I obviously have not lived up to that. Honestly, it's in part because I haven't known how to express my feelings over the last couple of months. They have been some of the hardest we've endured since deciding to pursue international adoption. None of the news coming out of Ethiopia is good or optimistic. Time lines are being lengthened significantly and in the most recent update we learned that no infants have been adopted out of Ethiopia for some time. Meaning that the little progress that is being made towards adoptions is with older children and for us that means that we are not moving up the list at all. About a month ago, I talked with the Holt Ethiopia office in Oregon and at that time we learned that we are sitting at approximately 80 out of 120 waiting families--talk about disheartening. So needless to say, Matt and I have felt very helpless lately; questioning what is going on and why; and recently wondering what options we have.
First of all let me try to explain what we know about what is happening in Ethiopia to delay things so much. It all started last summer when the Ministry of Women and Child fired their director. Shortly after that adoptions stopped completely. They discovered that a lot of short cuts were being taken with adoptions including not always notifying appropriate family members of an upcoming adoption. They have since added more processes to ensure that appropriate people are notified as well as other bureaucracy that I don't totally understand. It seems like the changes they are now including are for the better, but unfortunately it is slowing things down a lot and waiting children and waiting families are caught in the middle.
This last weekend, Matt and I were talking about the adoption and feeling discouraged-unable to answer each other's questions or calm each others' fears. We decided that enough was enough; it was time to meet with our social worker, Bonnie to find out if she knew more of what was happening in Ethiopia and to get some answers on what our options are. We met with her this morning and I'm happy to report that we feel more optimistic than we have for a while. Not because they were able to give us better news regarding Ethiopia, but because we do have options. I'm not going to write about our options now, sorry. Matt and I are seeking the advice of our families and praying about what decision to make and which direction to go. I am going to ask you all for your prayers again as well. We have a big, important decision to make and it's scary. We want to make sure that we are making a wise decision and not making a decision based on our current emotions. So please pray with us as we seek wisdom. Pray for our child wherever he/she may be. Pray for patience. Thank you friends.
First of all let me try to explain what we know about what is happening in Ethiopia to delay things so much. It all started last summer when the Ministry of Women and Child fired their director. Shortly after that adoptions stopped completely. They discovered that a lot of short cuts were being taken with adoptions including not always notifying appropriate family members of an upcoming adoption. They have since added more processes to ensure that appropriate people are notified as well as other bureaucracy that I don't totally understand. It seems like the changes they are now including are for the better, but unfortunately it is slowing things down a lot and waiting children and waiting families are caught in the middle.
This last weekend, Matt and I were talking about the adoption and feeling discouraged-unable to answer each other's questions or calm each others' fears. We decided that enough was enough; it was time to meet with our social worker, Bonnie to find out if she knew more of what was happening in Ethiopia and to get some answers on what our options are. We met with her this morning and I'm happy to report that we feel more optimistic than we have for a while. Not because they were able to give us better news regarding Ethiopia, but because we do have options. I'm not going to write about our options now, sorry. Matt and I are seeking the advice of our families and praying about what decision to make and which direction to go. I am going to ask you all for your prayers again as well. We have a big, important decision to make and it's scary. We want to make sure that we are making a wise decision and not making a decision based on our current emotions. So please pray with us as we seek wisdom. Pray for our child wherever he/she may be. Pray for patience. Thank you friends.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Not the News We Were Hoping For
Last Friday we received an update email from Ethiopia. We never know what the emails we say, as the circumstances change all the time in Ethiopia regarding adoptions. But this email hit hard. When we started this process last February the average time frame for referral (matching us with our child) was 9-12 months, time for travel after referral about a month, and time for second travel 1-2 months after that. According to the email we received last Friday, the referral time is now taking 11-14 months, time for travel after referral about 4 months, and then another months for the second travel to bring out child home. Are you kidding me?? This has been some very difficult information to process through. Thankfully, I have an amazing husband who has let me shed lots of tears and numerous friends and family who have lent and ear and hug. The hardest part is to think that our child may not be coming home in 2012, when we were so sure that they would be. We are trying to remind ourselves that the information out of Ethiopia does change all the time and that the timing is still in God's hands. He hasn't dropped us or our child. We're still safely wrapped up. Sometimes, that much easier to hear than others. Each day we have to wake and decide if we're going to be angry at God, or keep persevering. I've concluded more days than not, that there's no strength in being angry.
Please pray for us friends. For us and for our child. We can't wait for that day when we are finally together.
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