We are "In Process"

Late this evening I received an email from Marilyn from our adoption agency. 

"I just received this great news… wanted to share it with all five of you.  This is something CCCWA has just started to alert us on…. so I can’t say how long before LOA, but at least we know things are moving forward."

Marilyn, 

These families' status has changed to "in process" as of 2/15/2012.  It means that their dossier has been translated and will now be reviewed.

1. McFarland
2. Wilson
3. Fouts 
4. Williams
5. Black

Sabrina 

Since my girlfriend Emily is sleeping, I decided to research her blog and check her emails for her stats in relation to her LID, "in process" remarks, and LOA. She was LID in mid December, "in process" on December 30th (14 days later) and received her LOA's February 8th... about 5 weeks after her "in process" status. 

In theory then, we are 5 weeks away from our LOA for Amaris... but, we also waited 4 weeks for our "in process" status. Our pile of paperwork has been translated into Chinese though, so now we wait for our first LOA... which may be around April 18th. 

We, of course, are anticipating great news about Annabella... whom we have NO PAPERWORK for. We are praying for her file to be given to our family. 

God sent a ladybug to us yesterday... while I am excited about our "in process" status, I really am believing He sent that ladybug because we are going to be hearing about Annabella soon. 

Amaris and I will celebrate our birthdays together on Monday, so, hoping good news will come then. 

Medical Update from China

Earlier in February we received a medical update on Amaris. We were given her ultrasound in color. That was nice. But, I don’t think she was REALLY seen by her cardiologist because the information I was given was an identical repeat from her pre- and post-surgery reports.

Ultrasound Suggests (CHD Postoperative)::

Pulmonary artery velocity is faster

Patched place did not show shunting

Tricuspid valve with mild regurgitation

Atrial left to right shunt (the last cavity type, recommended review)

The normal range of left ventricular function

                                                                                                     

While I don't yet understand cardiology talk, I did have her cardiologist here in America look at the reports. And, if her reports are accurate, this is what he said...

Patty:

I am very reassured from the February reports.  What they describe in the echocardiogram report sounds like a very good result from surgery.  I am having a hard time thinking of a heart reason for her color to be blue, if the echo reports are accurate.  That may just be normal.

I think that Amaris will be in pretty good heart health for a child with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot.  Most of the time children after a successful surgery do not have any cardiac limitations during childhood. 

You are doing all the right things...  Let me know when you have your return date and I can help the schedulers find an appropriate visit time.

Good luck,

Troy    

Valentines Day 2012

This week we took some family photos at our local park... we are still missing our littlest princesses Amaris and Annabella, but the big kiddos are all here.

Mama and Amaris will share a birthday this week.

Kai will start his journey with the Army at Boot Camp.

And, we pray diligently that we will hear some news about Annabella soon.

Got Another FEBRUARY 2012 Update!

I requested a medical update on our baby Amaris Nanette. It wasn't a true update. It was basically her same paperwork that was in her file. Though we did get her cardiac images in color.

The appearance was given that she was seen on February 3rd as a result of our request. I don't believe she was actually seen though.

We were given cardiac images in color as well as written information about her. I am hoping that though it is not translated in English, that it will still be understandable to our cardiologist. 

I personally don't understand any of it yet; however, I will be forwarding it on to Amaris' cardiologist at our local Children's Hospital so that I can ask him what miracles to pray for. 

Like most adopting families, all we can do for our child's health is pray. So, that is what I will do. 

Psalm 138:3 "As soon as I pray, You answer me." 

(The Message Bible).

Chinese New Year Update

This is our third update with photos and our second update with words. These are the questions that we asked Amaris' orphanage to help us hopefully better understand how her little heart is doing. She was post-op TOF at 15 months of age. 

Please pray that God will heal her little heart, cause the appropriate oxygen to enter and carbon dioxide to exit her body, that her edema (swelling) will disappear, and that God would continue to watch over our little princess until she can be in our arms. 

Happy 2^nd Birthday Nan Duo Duo

Mama and Duo Duo have the same birthday!

1.       Does Nan Duo Duo take any medications for her heart?

a.If she does, how many different medications does she take each day?

b.What are the names of her medications?

c.What are the doses of her medications?

Answer to #1:  She had not taken medication. 

We took her to Guangzhou Military Hospital on 4/20/2011 and 
she had her heart surgery on 4/26.

2.          Does the orphanage have photos of Nan Duo Duo growing up?

Is there a way to get these photos?

Answer to #2: Yes, we will give you a CD on Gotcha Day. 
It will have Duo Duo's photos. 

3.          Do you remember anything about the day Nan Duo Duo came to the orphanage?  

a.What was she wearing?

b.Do you still have her clothes? Can we have them?

 Answer to #3:  Yes, the police sent her to our orphanage on 4/11/2010. 

a) at that time, she was wearing a floral shirt with white color.

b)  If we can find her clothes when she was sent to our orphanage, we will bring to you on Gotcha Day.
Please remind us before Gotcha. 

4.          May we get updated measurements for Nan Duo Duo?
        a.Height? 76.5cm
       b.Weight? 11kg

           c.Head measurement? 46cm

           d.Shoe size? 12.5 cm

           e.Dress size?

Answer to #4: Height: 76.5 cm; Weight: 11 kg: head 46 cm; Foot: 12.5 cm. 

Clothes size: Please buy the clothes according to her body measurements.

Thank you for agreeing to let her hair grow long. We are excited to see her in “pig-tails”

Letter to the Nannies and Duo Duo.

Happy Chinese New Year 2012!    AND    Happy 2^nd Birthday Princess Duo Duo!

Dear Nannies,

Thank you for all the love and care that you show for these precious little babies. Our family is very happy to be able to bring Duo Duo home to America this summer. She will be our youngest princess.

Please tell her that her Baba, Mama and her brothers and sisters already love her very much. She has 3 brothers and 3 sisters.

Thank you for letting Duo Duo and her friends enjoy this birthday cake. Please take lots of photos for our family. We would love to get more photos of her and her friends and where she eats, sleeps, and plays.

Thank you so much,

Duo Duo’s Baba and Mama

We Got Our LID

Today I found out that we are one of six families from Wasatch that received our LID (Log-in-date) from China on January 19, 2012. This means that our paperwork has officially arrived in China and been acknowledged. Our paperwork was sent off to China on 1/10 and arrived in Beijing that next day. This means our LID took 9 days.

The Chinese New Year celebration was January 22nd through 28th, so I thought I would be waiting until February to get our LID and find out that we were LID... it's fun to have one more thing checked off the list.

I snuck a peak in my journal for January 19th because this is such a special day for adoptive families, and this is what I wrote from Jentezen Franklin's book: Fasting.


"Now is the time. You've prayed about it, dreamed about it, asked me for it, longed for it, it's been prophesied over you. Prepare yourself!"

Wow... now, that's prophetic! I love how God is working in our lives. I also wrote down this verse: 


"Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."   Hebrews 11:6: 

First Package to China!

Today we celebrated Gabriella's 5th birthday. We also sent Amaris' birthday package off as well.

Amaris will turn two in February on Mama's birthday.

Mama had a HUGE 40th birthday a couple years ago... the day our baby was born! On that day, I had purchased two panda bears... one for Amaris and one for her sister who we eventually named Annabella. Isn't God good?

Shopping therapy!

So excited to be getting ready to bless our littlest princess with her first gifts from Mama and Baba.

We are preparing Amaris gift package so that it will arrive on her birthday in February.

Until she comes home, Gabriella (jie jie) and I are shopping at our favorite store: Naartjie... hoping we are buying the right size for our little one. She will be in our arms at age 2 1/2. We have put her measurements on the wall... and, apparently she is smaller than 99/100 Chinese babies... so, we are betting on size 12-18 months size. But, I am pretty sure she could easily wear 6-9 month pants. Gabriella wore 3-6 month skirts at age 4.

Well, Actually, we were DTC on Jan. 10th

Got a second email about being DTC.

Due to some issues, we ended up being DTC on January 10, 2012.

Only a four day delay. I know God is working out our timing for some reason.

We are DTC!

What a great, great day... Jason and I have been fasting and praying for this next year... and, excitement is already in the air!

I got an email this afternoon from our adoption agency:

You are DTC!!!!!!

Marilyn

I posted on Facebook:

This means, all that laborious paperwork, countless hours of hustle and bustle everywhere, doctor's appointments, animal immunizations, marrriage and birth certificate ordering and re-ordering, hours or reading and adoption preparation, pages and pages of writing, the numerous Fed-Ex packages back and forth to our 3 agencies, all the notarizations, and multiple authentications in this state, other states, and at the national level, etc, etc... are done... well, until ANNABELLA's file is in our hands. Our DOSSIER is on its way to CHINA... we will have more paperwork once Annabella's file is in our hands, but we are excited for this news and next weeks news too.

I-800A Received!

Our I-800A was processed fairly quickly but took an additional 24 days for us to learn about the approval.

10/18/11 Sent off I-800A
10/25/11 Received text and email from USCIS, I-800A received
11/29/11 Family fingerprint date for I-800
12/07/11 I-800A, Approval to adopt 2 children from China
12/31/11 I-800A, Hardcopy approval received via snail mail

Today we celebrate our oldest child's birthday. Kai is turning 20 today. God always seems to send our adoption paperwork on special days. I love it!

It took 41 days from text/email receipt to approval, and then an additional 24 days to find out of the approval... Praising Jesus!

Christmas Update on Princess Amaris

This is our littlest princess...

Someone from her orphanage answered my gazillion questions just in time for Christmas. 12.22.2011

We received the update 12.24.2011

1. Is Nan Duo Duo living in the orphanage or in foster care?
She lives in the orphanage.

a.If she is in the orphanage, who is her primary care giver?
Her daily care taker is her primary care giver.

i.What room is she in?
She lives in a big room with around 20 children there together, and every child has his/her own small bed.

ii.Who are her favorite friends?
She loves all children living with her in the same room.

2. Has Nan Duo Duo been seen by the doctor for her CHD heart condition?
a.Does she have bluish color on her lips or on her fingernails?
Yes, she does.

b.Has she had any illnesses or hospitalizations lately?
Yes, she does. She hit the corner of the toy cabinet in the morning of December 20. Her forehead misfortune to scratch and she had been sent to the hospital for stitches.

c.Is she susceptible to colds, bronchitis, pneumonia, or ear infections?
Before she had her heart surgery she was very easier to catch colds, bronchitis and pneumonia. She was sending to the People's Liberation Army General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, Cardiac surgery ward during April 20, 2011 to May 9, 2011. She got her heart surgery on April 26, 2011. After her surgery, because of the weather changed, she caught colds and bronchitis, but the number has been less than before.

3. Do you have any information on the day she was found?
a.What was she wearing?
A white background of the bright-colored clothes.

b.Was anything with her?
No, she did not have anything with her.

c.Did she have a note?
No, she did not have.

4. How was Nan Duo Duo named?
a.What are the meanings of her names?
Nan, all children form Mao Nan all named last name Nan; Duo Duo is because all children come after 2010 all use reduplication words; we think Duo sounds very beautiful, so we named her Duo Duo.

5. How would you describe her personality?
a.Is she quite or more active?
She is a very active child.

b.Does she enjoy playing quite toys or running around and climbing on things?
She likes running around.

c.Does she laugh? Does she smile?
She does smile.

6. May we get updated measurements for Nan Duo Duo?
a.Height? 76.5 cm, 30.1 in
b.Weight? 10.5 kg, 23 lb.
c.Head measurement? 46 cm, 19.1 in
d.Shoe size? 12 cm, 4.7 in
e.Dress size?

7. May we request that you allow her hair to grow long?
Yes, we will allow her hair grow long.

2011年12月22日

Our Christmas Photo with Santa, 2011

We are just missing our littlest two princesses.

I-800A Approval

Today we received our I-800A Approval Notice that our family can adopt two little Chinese princesses.

I sent our 1-800A off on 10/18/2011 and received notification simultaneously via text and email on 10/25/2011.

Jason and I, and the two oldest boys got our biometric fingerprints done 11/29/2011. We did not walk in early; however, we were told if we came Tuesday-Thursday in the afternoon, we probably could have. We are on the west coast.

We were approved today, December 7, 2011, just 8 days after fingerprinting.

It took 41 days...

Annabella... this is YOUR Month!

While I have never seen Annabella's photo or file, I know she is from Nanning (or at least Guangxi), she is two and she has the label "developmental delay."

I believe I will know who she is this month.

I know God is faithful and He will put me in the right place at the right time... or, He will put YOU in the right place at the right time... and, somehow, her file will make it to my computer.


So, keep your eyes peeled... she's a pretty, little brown-eyed Chinese princess... our "gift" from God! Our beautiful little piece of grace... and part of her story somehow pertains to Nanning... we believe we are flying in and out of the Nanning airport and somehow she is meeting us there... she may be from another SWI in Guangxi or she may be from the Nanning SWI or foster care.

Another Emotional Day

As I wrote my inquiry specialist from our agency, my heart was broken... absolutely broken... I cried my eyes out... in just hours I had fallen in love with this little one. I wanted so much to hold her, love her and tell her Jesus loves her.

I think it was one of the hardest letters I have written, but I knew I had to release this little one to be in God's will and to receive His blessing. My blessing is coming.

Our agency is amazing. I would call Kathy my friend. But, it was hard after all that work I had done to share with Kathy that I wasn't locking this file... but instead, I was again giving another baby up. I shared with her what God had reminded me of. She was so sweet and understanding... which made it easier.

Kathy had interacted so long with me as we discussed the three girls and later just Mu Rong. She had 3 other families desperately wanting this little girls file, so I am hoping that I will help make yet another family happy today... I pray that Mu Rong will get a strong Christian family to call her own this next year.

I Prayed... He Spoke: "Be Still and Know that I am God!"

After gathering all the information on this little one from northern China... it was time to go to bed. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I wasn't stressed... it had just been a long day.

I decided though to take a bath and pray... I thought I might be more successful staying awake to pray than crawling into my bed.

I prayed and asked God to show me His will. Show me His grace and favor. Show me His "gift" to us. I remember praying that I wanted more than anything to be in HIS will... even if it meant I wouldn't bring this little one, Mu Rong, home.

And then, He began to remind me of many things... one by one... but, they were shooting out fast. If I heard Him correctly, this is what my heart was hearing... it will be very interesting once we truly know who our "gift" is... did I hear the Lord correctly? did I listen to Him or did I hear what I wanted to hear? I am human... so, I don't know. But, I can tell you one thing, it seemed very, very real.

I showed you in a vision 18 years ago you would have two girls... you even knew their height.

When you see your clocks... it has been 11:11 for years.

After gathering your bags in the Nanning airport, you turned to exit... and there a clock greeted you... it was 11:11am. I told you then that your baby would come from Nanning.

I told you in Dec. 2010 that you would have a heart baby and a developmental delay baby and they would come through Wasatch (we were already with another agency though)

I put your family on hold with that agency for 6 months so that Amaris' file would be ready.

I told you in March when you locked Giselle's file with Wasatch that "you could have Giselle, but your blessing is in June."

I took you upstairs at the EXACT time, caused you to look at your computer at the EXACT time, when Rainbow Kids posted YOUR daughter. I allowed you to know through the sweating of your hands and the rapid heart beat that this was the one... even before you saw her picture. I gave you Nanette, which means "grace and favor" because that's what you prayed for. She was given YOUR birthday so Jason would know she truly was yours. And, of course, she was with the agency you weren't even with, the agency I told you, you would be with. She is your heart baby.

You have faithfully prayed with your friend for her daughter Juliana... that she and her husband would get her file. On Friday, when your friend felt her hope might be dashed, your heart fluttered. That was Me. You told her, "I feel excitement in the air." Then you prayed that if her agency didn't get her file that I would give her file to your agency on Monday. It was not a coincidence your agency got her file. I did that for you and your friend because of your faithfulness. I love you.

On Monday, when your agency sent you all their files they got from the shared list... and only one file came through... I permitted that. I wanted you to see Juliana's file first. I wanted you to know that she was brought back to your agency to be given to your friend.

Now, I am telling you this: "Be still and know that I am God... test me now in this that I might not move the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it."

Your baby is from Nanning. She is 2 (almost 3) and she will have the label of "developmental delay." She will be your "gift". Be still and know that I am God. She is coming in November 2011.

Well... what would YOU do? I don't know why these things have been shared with me with so much clarity. I don't think I have... in fact, I know I don't have, super fancy prayers... but, I know I have the faith of a child. I recently heard someone say that a child at the age of 3 believes that they will get 100% of what they ask for from their parents, assuming they have come from a loving home. But, by age 20, that same child will believe they will get about 20% of what they hope for. Someone recently came up to me after a bible study and said, "I don't mean for this to offend you, but you have the faith of a child... you truly believe that God can do anything." I didn't know how else to respond but with the truth... "Yes, I do!"

But even with my great faith, I wanted to say, "But God, I will trade my Nanning baby for this one... I already love her..." But, I know God's plan is better than my own. I have lost three others that I have loved as much as my own daughters... it was so very hard to lose Angela, Jessica and Gracie. But, they must not have been mine. Now, I have lost Mu Rong too.

I can tell you that God has truly been faithful in our journey to Amaris and Annabella and He truly has guided our steps. I don't have any doubts He isn't going to bring me Annabella... and, maybe she will come via you, your agency, a connection... I don't know. I wish I did, but that part has not been revealed.

I do know one thing for sure... God will show Himself faithful...

I Thought I Found Her

It's Nov. 1, 2011...

In my hands I hold the files of 3 absolutely adorable girls ranging in age from 10 months to 3 1/2 years old. I am in love.

I really didn't want to choose one... I wanted all 3. How could anyone choose from the three files I narrowed down. So, I let the doctors talk. And they did. I had 4 different doctors review the files and not one had much positive to say.

As I was doing my research, I learned that another family had actually looked for one of the files that was in my hands. They had sponsored her and wanted to bring her home. I would never want to be put in that position, so I immediately gave that file up... and all the doctor's reports that I had compiled. If that was their daughter, I was thrilled to pass her on. I would want someone to do the same for me.

I had labored for the last 18 hours over these files, emails, phone calls, and probably close to 100 emails back and forth to my agency inquiry specialist, Kathy Junk of Wasatch. It was a long day... and short night... but, I was now in love.

I had mapped out where Gabriella was from, Amaris, and then the 3 potential Annabella's. I graphed everyone's statistics... I checked meanings of names, birthdates, anything I could.

By midnight, I had narrowed it down to one. I thought I found her... I stayed up past 1am to gather everyone's thoughts, my thoughts, and the important info. from her file.

I already loved this little two year old. in less than 24 hours. For those of you who have paper-chased... you understand. For those reading that never have, there isn't a way to grasp it... so, it's okay to shrug your shoulders and go on to the next paragraph.

By this time, it didn't matter what any doctor or nanny said, she was ours.

But then... it was time to go to bed... it was time to ponder everything without the computer in front of me... it was time to pray.

The Eleventh Month of 2011

It's now 11/11.

For years, each time Jason and I go to bed, we notice that the clock says 11:11pm. It didn't mean anything for the first couple months... but, after that, we thought... what the heck?

Why is this happening? Are we creatures of habit? Is our clock broken? What is it? But, it started happening during the day too. And, it no longer mattered what clock we were looking at. That, was eleven years ago.

During a game night with our best friends on 08/08/08... I began to think, wouldn't it be cool to make each year... 09/09/09 a game night, 10/10/10 a game night, etc... but, then it dawned on me... there was actually going to be not only an 11/11, but an 11/11/11 soon.

It was then, that my heart felt that this month must mean something special. Something big is going to happen. It must... it has to. Will this be the month that we find our 3rd daughter from China?

I did discover not too long ago, that God did have a Bible verse with 11:11 in it that had quite a bit of meaning to our life. I never would have imagined that we would wait for our promised babies 16 and 18 years respectively, but we did. The Bible verse in the photo now pertains to me... though I don't think of myself as old, I am now barren due to surgery... and, beyond birthing a baby even if I hadn't had surgery... and, that is when God brought us our babies.

Authenticating Our Documents

This is our second time adopting... my first time to do all the paperwork. I wish I would have understood the authenticating process a little better BEFORE I ordered the birth and marriage certificates.

I didn't realize they needed to be authenticated in their state of origin... ugh!

So, shipping these documents back and forth reduced my number of Starbucks drinks to -2 this month... at $5 shipping per piece... shipping both ways USPS priority mail... to 3 different states is a bit upsetting. Not because of that price... that was a great deal... but, because I was required to ship them originally for $20 a piece.

Well, I sent them off to three states... two shipped today (Friday) and were back in my hands the next Wednesday. Not bad. Now I am waiting for the big stack from our home state. Sent Saturday... they should arrive soon.

Our I-800A was received!

This evening while I was working on one of Gabriella's scrapbooks, I received a text and email message simulataneously saying that our I-800A has been received.

Dear Applicant/Petitioner:

Your USCIS application/petition has been received and routed to the National Benefit Center for processing. Within 7 - 10 days by standard mail you will receive your official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) with your Receipt Number SIMXXXXXXXXXX.

Our I-800A is off to USCIS

We sent our I-800A off to USCIS.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

This was a long form with all of our personal information on it and our request to adopt two children.

We should hear from them in a week.

Homestudy Completed... Happy 18th Anniversary!

Today we celebrate two gifts...

Our NEW homestudy, with our new agency has been completed for us to adopt two little girls up to the age of 6. This homestudy took 48 days.

We have waited for Amaris for 18 years; but we got our first glimpse of her on June 20, 2011.

We have been looking for our "gift" for about 2 1/2 years now... we have found her several times, but at the wrong time... and, not always has she been under 6.

Today Jason and I celebrate 18 years of marriage. He is an amazing husband, daddy, and baba. I am so grateful to have married such a man of integrity.

Dream Vehicle Delivered!

In 2008, one of my girlfriends encouraged me to start writing my prayer requests down and those things that I am believing God for. So I did... and over that year, I saw God fulfill many of those requests. But, one of my requests took a few years to come to a final decision.

One of those items was my dream vehicle... since 2001, I had dreamed of the Toyota Sequoia, but as the years went on, my dream changed... to some sort of suburban, to an Escalade, then a Navigator, until finally I realized, that when I drove down the freeway, I was most drawn to the Infiniti QX56. As I did my research, it seemed to me that the identical car, but much more affordable version, was the Nissan Armada. I was sure we could eventually afford it, and so I began to consider: "it would do." With three driving teenagers, we needed another car... and I was happy to give up our 10 year Toyota Sienna.

It seemed like God was pushing open a door for us to purchase a new vehicle... we were having some unusual issues with the minivan because it was dying for no apparent reason. Jason suggested to take it to the local Pennzoil to get the oil changed. When I got there, they found that I had been driving with no oil. Weird... the oil monitor didn't register "no oil". I also purchased a new battery from Les Schwab. The van seemed to be good to go now, but it convinced my hubby that it was time to get a new vehicle for the family.

He asked me what I wanted. I told him that we could probably pay cash for the Nissan Armada but I really wanted the QX56. So, I was just going to wait it out. But within a few days, faith rose up inside me that it was time to get the vehicle... the QX56. I told Jason that I thought it was time. He said, "I already found you a few, which one do you want?" We looked at all of them, did some preliminary research on our own, and then decided on the one. It was beautiful, but it wasn't a black QX56, nor did it have 8 seats.

Because it was in the next state, he drove there to check it out. It was visually perfect... until he took it in to have Infiniti look at it. It just had too many things wrong with it. I wanted Jason and I to have God's perfect peace about this purchase, especially since I wasn't there. I told him not to buy it if he wasn't sure. When he received the report, he just wasn't sure. That was fine. My prayer was that Jason would know whether this vehicle was ours or not. It clearly wasn't. I would see him the next day and we would keep looking.

But, that night, I felt like God told me to Craigslist "Infiniti"... since this has happened to me a couple other times in my life, it was no longer a question of whether I should do that or not. Each time, God had specifically put me in the right place at the right time to receive the right blessing. I had to trust my gut that I really truly heard from the Lord. I searched again... black, 8 passenger QX56 had just come available that hour... I arranged for Jason to go see it. Ironically, coincidentally, or perhaps a Divine Positioning, what I call a God Wink, Jason happened to be in the city of sale, because he was already there to look at the other vehicle. Had he not been there, perhaps it would have been easier to sell the vehicle to another person.

Jason later confessed that he had been looking on Craigslist for months for a QX56, he just didn't want to tell me. But today, God had it waiting for us. After having Infiniti check out the vehicle, Jason returned the next Saturday, September 24, 2011 and bought the vehicle.

To our surprise, when I went to date my prayer journal that my dream vehicle had arrived, I saw that God had divinely orchestrated things so that this vehicle would be purchased 2 years after I had written my dream vehicle request out before God... and, when I had finalized it and truly told him what I wanted, He delivered it.

Coincidence or miraculous... if you have read our stories before... you KNOW we believe this is miraculous... God allowed us this purchase on 9.24.2011... two years to the day that I wrote what I was believing for.

God knows the desires of our heart and wants to grant them to us.

Some MORE New Wheels

Over the last few months, but more specifically since we received PA for Amaris, I have been looking for a triple stroller.

After much looking, I finally decided on a particular one that could seat 3 princesses... 2 in regular stroller seats and one in the back to sit or stand.

For some reason, I decided to look again on-line to contemplate the places to purchase it and to remind myself of it's ridiculous price. I have seen much more ridiculous prices, but this was ridiculous for a stroller.

I felt very strongly that God was directing me to "Craigslist" for this stroller. But, I thought it rather odd, because the stroller has only been on the market for a few months. But, I did what I felt was so strongly directed.

To my surprise, the very stroller I wanted was on Craigslist, just 20 minutes away... it had been taken out of the original box, but the tags were still on it and everything was in mint condition.

I shared my story of looking on-line earlier in the day. I also asked why she was selling her un-used stroller for 1/2 price... she was a nanny with a new job... and, therefore didn't need it after all.

God is our provider... and, His timing is perfect.

On this day, two years ago, I wrote down my desire for a particular castle bed in my prayer journal. A year later, EXACTLY, He gave me the castle bed. Read this story in in Gabriella's blog, SweetPrincessGabriella.blogspot.com. It's pretty amazing.

Two years ago, in the same prayer journal, on the same day, a few entries away from each other, I also wrote my dream vehicle down that I was speaking and believing for. Two years later, on the EXACT day of my original journal entry, the Lord answered my prayer. He gave me our new SUV, but that has it's own story.

Two new full sets of wheels in a day... September 24, 2011. Thank you Lord for your faithfulness.

An Unexpected Update

Sabrina, our Chinese liason for Wasatch (our placing agency) surprised us with two new photos and measurements on our baby Amaris. So exciting... I would like to see two little Chinese pigtails poke out of that hair shortly though. I had to ask this question though, "Is this my baby?" I didn't recognize her at all.

We Found Our NEW Agency

We are so excited to move on in our journey to our daughters.

Jason wanted me to move on since December 2010, but I kept hoping, praying, and believing that God would miraculously change the hearts of those currently in charge of our home study. That would not be the case.

So, when our home study was finally given to us August 10, 2011, we made the decision to write one final plee together. If that didn't work, we would leave.

I had a social worker lined up with a great agency for the last 3 months, just in case we ran into this, but I didn't believe she was the right person for our family. And, I knew that it was the social worker that made all the difference. She was for our family adopting two, but I didn't have the peace in my heart that I longed for helping me to know that SHE was our social worker to work with.

Through email networking though, I found OUR new social worker and agency. I knew that this gal was the one. We began working with her and the agency she represented even before we ever left our current homestudy agency.

We had already had a 4 hour home interview before the weekend had started, and God was already putting our pieces together.

Thank you to JoAnn Vesper and Agape Adoptions... you gals are AMAZING!

Homestudy from Hell... Completed in 221 DAYS!

Today is a big day... I guess.

We got our home study draft to review. We waited 221 days for this. Part of the wait, our family was put on "hold" for, but the other part is just another part of the story.

Part of the wait was for our oldest son to get his fingerprints re-done, I am hoping that the other part was purely DIVINE DELAY.

Our home study was not written to bring home our two daughters... even though that is what we hired them to do.

We will have to exercise our rights to not accept the home study. We can't, in good conscience, let another person, un-involved in our life, decide for us, something different from what God is calling us to do. Even if they have prayed a prayer over our family, or with their 3 friends.

We have been praying for 2 years, all the time, throughout the day, throughout the weeks, months, and now more than two years... prayer consumes our very being. Faith consumes us. And, we clearly have been led by God throughout our journey.

Someone else's 3 minute prayer about whether they have done the right thing or not for our family, can't take precedence over God. Their feeling of doing the right thing can't even compare to what we feel God is directing us to do.

So, we will not accept her home study; something that we made very clear to our agency when we hired them. If our home study is not being written for two, we wanted to know immediately so that we could move on for a second opinion. Well, we waited quite some time to get the home study in our hands.

Now, it's time to part ways.

"God, please let this be easy. Please let us keep our integrity." While our faith is great; and, our faith and prayers were that our current agency would see that God was directing every step we took, our "un-named" agency just wouldn't change their decision to let us bring both of our daugthers home.

"God, please show me whom our next social worker and agency will be."

Baba chose Annabella for her name!

Since 2009, we have talked about Amaris by name, but we never had a name for Baby #3.

I always felt like we would name Baby #3 when we saw her, but when I felt the Holy Spirit telling me to name her now, we started thinking about names more seriously.

I wanted her name to be Giavanna... Gia for short; but, Jason wasn't in favor of that name.

He finally texted me today his choice... Annabella. Annabella means, beautiful grace.

So, Annabella it is. This is the first child of ours that Jason has named.

We can't wait to find out who this little one is. We imagine her to be 2 1/2 years old at PA.

Naming the OTHER Sister

Today I felt very strongly that God said we need to name the girls other sister. We have always talked about her as adoption#3, but that's only because Jason and I can't seem to agree on a name.

I think her name should be Giavanna. Jason doesn't know what it should be. So today, I searched AGAIN for possible princess names based on their meaning. We are certainly open to other "foo-foo" names... especially names with "anna or ella" at the end.

We will consider her given American listing name, depending on it's meaning. It would most probably be her middle name with her full Chinese name.

While this little one wasn't part of my original vision 18 years ago, in June 2009 we both felt that God clearly was directing our hearts to a third little one... one that we believe He has shown us will be our "gift".

I have prayed for grace and favor for these next two adoptions:
Analena – grace and favor

I have prayed for two beautiful girls:
Arabella- beautiful
Annabella – beautiful grace (Jason's favorite)

I have prayed that faith would arise:
Amariah – given by God
Emmanuella – faith
Giavanna – gracious gift from God (Patty's favorite)

We are all so excited to see who God has for our daughter #3... but, she needs a name. She's a real person waiting for her mama and baba to come get her.

Who is she? How old is she? What does she look like? We want to be approved for a daughter ages 0-14, but we believe our little one is two turning three within months of getting her.

Gabriella learned to pray a year ago today!

Gabriella learned to pray to Jesus a year ago today, Monday, August 1, 2011.

It was her first full day in America... having come from Guilin, Guangxi, China. She became an American citizen the night before.

Each night since, she has prayed for each of her family members, but she especially loves praying for Amaris. We are diligently thinking of a name for her other sister.

God loves special days as much as I do... he gave us Amaris' PA (Pre-Approval) one year to the day when Gabriella started to pray!

We Got PA!

We found out Wednesday, August 3rd at 8:04am that we received our PA on Monday, August 1st.

It took 15 days to get PA. Many, many PA's have only been taking hours to 7 days, so for ours to take 15 days was a bit odd. I have to believe that there have been some divine delays in our life with our next two adoptions. Maybe because both girls files weren't ready at the same time, I am not sure.

Here's what Kathy wrote:

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Here is your pre-approval. This is just for your records. We will keep a copy on file in the office. So happy for you.

Sincerely,

Kathy Junk
Wasatch Adoption Inquiries

Her File is Locked!

This afternoon, while I was playing with Gabriella, I got this email in my box. Thank you Jesus... you are SO faithful!

Monday, July 18, 2011 at 3:51pm


This is the email Kathy sent.

YOU ARE LOCKED!!! Can you hear me cheering all the way from Utah!!!! Hope this is a meaningful day in your life and if not, it will be now!!! We should have pre-approval in about a week. Take care.

Sincerely,

Kathy Junk
Wasatch Adoption Inquiries


I was never nervous, but most "locks" right now literally happen within 1 to 5 seconds, so that our "lock" on Nanette's file took 25 days, is almost unheard of.

This WAS a special day... not only because we "locked" Amaris, but because one year ago today, I got to hold Gabriella for the first time on her "Gotcha" day.

God loves special days as much as I do.

We Sent in our LOI

We sent in our Letter of Intent this morning, Friday, June 24, 2011 at 7:17am for our littlest one.

We hope to lock her file today! We have many meaningful days in June and July though, so maybe the lock will happen on one of those days. I'm really into special days. Everything for Gabriella seemed to happen on a holiday or Thursday with her adoption.

Thursdays were her specific day that Baba prayed for her.

We were chosen to be Nanette's family!

God has given us grace and favor! Actually, He literally has! Nanette's English name means grace and favor as well as her Chinese name Nan... I have been praying for grace and favor since we started our adoption journey for our next two daughters on Thanksgiving Day 2010.

While numerous families were interested, eleven family's files were held, and then it was narrowed to three families before we were chosen.

Having waited 18 years for this little one, you can imagine we were ecstatic to be chosen!

We found out at 10:10pm tonight, Thursday, June 23, 2011. Kathy works all hours of the day and night when she needs to... she is amazing. It's past 11pm for her.

I happened to count our emails between each other from the time I emailed her Tuesday night until the time she said we were chosen... 44 emails. Kathy, you are AMAZING!

Kathy shared with me that she hates to play God, but it was very clear that we were this little one's family.

Thank you Jesus for being so faithful. When I first had the vision of our daughters 18 years ago, I could have never imagined that I would wait almost as long as Abraham and Sarah waited for their promised son Isaac.

It's down to 3 families... and, we are one of them!

I got an email today. It's now Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 12:59pm.

A year ago today, my mom became unconscious due to two sudden brain aneurisms... 3 days later we let her enter Heaven's gates.

So, today is bitter sweet. I lost my mom, but I will be gaining my promised daughter. It brings me joy that my mom knew about our two babies even though she would never meet them this side of Heaven.

Kathy has narrowed her search for the perfect family for Nanette down to 3 great families. We are one of these three families.

Kathy said her heart is broken to have to choose a family. This has been her absolute most difficult placement ever in all the years she has worked. She hates to play God, but at the same time, wants to hear His will.

She will get back to us tonight or tomorrow.

I got Nanette's file!

Wednesday, June 22nd at 9:17am I got Nanette's files. Oh my... she is precious.

I opened up her files... looked at her photos and then looked at her labortory reports for any blood diseases.

She was ours!

I immediately forwarded her files to the 4 doctors I had already secured. Then, I contacted Dr. Jenista for my final report. It did not matter what any doctor would report... we knew that this was our daughter. We would keep their information though so that we could help Amaris Nanette as soon as we get her home.

I finally got to talk to Wasatch!

By some miracle... one of my emails got to Kathy. She had received them all, but she was a bit hesitant to allow our family to adopt Nanette because we had let Giselle go after we had "locked" her.

But, we only let her go because the Holy Spirit had VERY CLEARLY said, "You can have Giselle, but your blessing is in June." It was for no other reason. We were excited about Giselle, but I had to honor the Holy Spirit's clear direction.

I did mention to Kathy, that there have not been many times where I had laid my head down where He had clearly directed me to do something different from what I had just done. I could have never have known that He was going to speak to me that night.

It's Wednesday morning, 8:54am my time... Wasatch has been open for almost an hour. Kathy said she can't take any more phone calls today. She was absolutely swamped with interest in this little one.

All I could do now was send her emails. Oh God, PLEASE let Kathy see that we are Nanette's family. Ironically, I felt a total peace in my heart. I KNEW that we were Nanette's family. I waited 18 years... what's another day?

EVERYONE wants OUR baby...

I hardly slept last night, not because I was nervous, but because I was excited. I knew Nanette was our baby.

It's Wednesday morning... last night I emailed Kathy at Wasatch, I responded to the RK listing (I'm not sure who at Wasatch get that response) and I think I left a message on the phone for Wasatch, but I can't even remember that now. Excitement is in the air. My heart is still beating fast.. but, this time with great joy!

Wasatch is one hour ahead of us. They open at 9am... I'm sitting at my computer with my phone in hand. I have seen no responses yet. What if they missed my email?

I called Wasatch at 9:01am... apparently their phones have been ringing off the hook all morning... in fact, their phones were in essence jammed. Marilyn didn't know if she could get me connected to Kathy or not because Kathy was working from her home office. I wanted to jump on an airplane and tell Kathy the news in person... God gave her OUR daughter!

I explained to Marilyn what had happened to me, about my shared birthdate with Nanette, waiting 18 years for her, etc. She wanted so desperately to get me in touch with Kathy, but Kathy's phones were busy because she was so swamped with interest for this little one. She was taking one potential client at a time.

It soon became more than overwhelming for Kathy, so Kathy removed the RK listing.

She's Ours... She IS the One!

The second I saw her name, I knew she was ours... but then God SHOWED us she was ours.

MIRACLE #1
Supernatural presence of the Lord...
As written in an earlier post, I opened the Rainbow Kids listing the VERY SECOND it posted. And, when I did, I immediately had Holy Spirit goosebumps and sweaty hands... just seeing the name "Nanette".

MIRACLE #2
"Heart" baby
As Jason jumped from his computer and raced to mine... we saw the picture of a beautiful baby. To my delight... she was a "heart" baby. I had told Jason back in December 2010 that I felt God was leading us to adopt a heart baby and a baby with developmental delays.

MIRACLE #3
Born on my 40th Birthday
This baby had my same birthdate. She was born on my 40th birthday. God designed Nanette to have my birthdate so that JASON would know that this truly was the one we had been waiting for. After all, he didn't get to feel the Holy Spirit's presence when I saw the name "Nanette."

MIRACLE #4
Agency the Lord had revealed 7 months earlier
Nanette was with Wasatch... the agency I told Jason I believed God was calling us to back in December 2010. I couldn't explain it back then, I had no idea why I felt the way I did... but, he knew that there was a pretty significant chance that we would be moving agencies... he just needed another sign. Well, here it is!

MIRACLE #5
Her Chinese and American names mean: Grace and Favor 
(the only thing I really prayed for with these adoption)
While I waited to hear from Wasatch, I looked up the meaning of Nanette. We named our first two biologically children with really cool names... but, we never even thought to think about what their names meant.

With our adopted girls, it was absolutely vital we name our daughters based on meaning. We knew baby#2 was going to have the Hebrew name Amaris (Un-mare-is) which means "God has promised." God promised her 18 years ago... she was going to keep that name forever.

But, we didn't have a middle name for her, other than her full Chinese name. We still wanted to have an American middle name as well. I decided to look up Nanette. To my delight, yet another sign from God, her name means "grace and favor"... I have been praying for God's grace and favor with these next two adoptions that I might know who our little ones were.

MIRACLE #6
That hasn't happened yet... because numerous families want MY baby... but, I KNOW she is ours... so, with confidence I am speaking she is ours in Jesus name! And, miraculously, I have total peace.

I quickly emailed Kathy... and then tried to fall asleep.

Holy Spirit Goosebumps and Sweaty Hands...

June 21, 2010... the day I waited 18 years for has finally arrived.

It was a Tuesday evening... I had been scrapbooking downstairs but felt I was supposed to go upstairs... I didn't know why though. I gave my husband a kiss on the cheek, rubbed his back for 2 seconds and abruptly turned to my computer. When I did, that VERY SECOND, Rainbow Kids popped up in my email. It was 9:26pm.

Since the summer of 2009, I have checked EVERY female Rainbow Kids posting, but this one was different.

MIRACLE #1
When I clicked on it, it was a girls name... Nanette. I immediately got Holy Spirit goosebumps all over my body (from the top of my head to the tips of my toes) and my hands began to sweat profusely. It was the most phenomenal experience. My heart started to beat rapidly. It seemed like a rather long time looking at this name, but it was probably only about 3 seconds.

That 3 seconds seemed like forever... I had no idea what this girl looked like, how old she was, what her special need was, or which agency she was with, but I KNEW she was mine.

A Vision 18 Years Ago

I found our baby... our baby that was promised to my husband and I 18 years ago.

Eighteen years ago God had given me an undeniable vision of two little tan-skinned girls with dark, shoulder length hair. They appeared to be the height of the middle of my thigh and just above my waist. The taller one looked at us, smiled and turned to run in the grass behind her.

This vision of these two girls has never left my heart and I have cried THOUSANDS of tears over these years for them. I prayed for them. How in the world would we ever find them?

Throughout the years, Jason and I would talk of the two little girls. We would share with our kids as babies, then preschoolers, school-agers, junior highers, and high schoolers about their little sisters.

Jason always said, "When God brings them to my doorstep, I know they are ours!"

Well, God brought our first one, Gabriella, in a miraculous way after Jason ended up in China for two weeks. Apparently God thought it would be better if Jason went to the doors of the orphans. It was there in April 2009 that God prepared his heart to adopt.

All of our miracles to Gabriella can't even be spoken, however, if you want to read about her story, you will get a glimpse into the amazing miracles that God Almighty created for us. Many of the miracles are the very first posts on her blog... SweetPrincessGabriella.blogspot.com

This photo was taken and added to this blog on 7/19/2012... 

Amaris has been home 3 weeks... she is 2 years and 5 months old... 

Gabriella has been home 2 years... she is 5 years and 7 months old...

My vision did NOT have two sweet little princesses in matching clothes, but I did know that they had dark hair to their shoulders and tan-skin. The older girl turned and ran in the field behind her. 

If you have read Gabriella's blog, you will know that Gabriella could not even sit without falling, nor stand when we got her. She still, to date, has not taken a valid step by herself unassisted. 

But, someday soon, she will walk and talk, run and jump, hop and skip and play basketball. 

How do I know? The Lord gave me a vision now 18 years ago. And, I believe Him!

No Longer on HOLD!

It's now June 4, 2011... our family was put on "hold" for 6 months before we could continue our adoption process we started Thanksgiving Day 2010.

Has ANYONE EVER heard of such a thing? If you have been home your agencies "required" amount of time from your previous adoption, was your family then put on hold again?

Anyway, we were excited to finally get our paperwork started to bring home our daughters... it was a bit awkward, but we managed to get through the review... ironically, the social worker really didn't talk with my husband and I. She interviewed our 4 teenagers and prepared to leave.

Before she left, I asked a few questions that had been weighing heavy on my heart. But, the final question was, "Based on your visit today, would you permit our family to adopt two girls?" She said "yes"... oh, we were so relieved... maybe the 6 month hold paid off... we thought we were going to have to start the entire process over if she said no.