Behold, I stand at the door and knock..knock..knock!

I have been on the phone our senators all morning. Melissa from Debbie Stabenow’s office has taken my plea and has contacted the in office liaison for USCIS. According to Melissa, our paperwork needs to be in the “lockbox” (which actually is a processing center for USCIS) for four business days. Since our paperwork arrived at 9:38 last Thursday morning, today should be the last day before it gets to our officer’s desk. He has already agreed to process it the same day provided that everything is current and looks ok.

I have learned to ask, and ask again, and ask even again for my kiddos. My area of comfort is always abandoned to get things accomplished for THEM!

All my best,

Amy

We Have Tickets!!!

David booked our tickets today!!! We leave GR on January 14, arrive in Shanghai January 15^th, visit with the Cere Care Center kids (and my beloved Liu Li Wei!) on the 16^th, and then to Kunming either late on the 16^th or early on the 17^th. We will depart from Hong Kong with our daughters on January 30^th, arriving home on the “same day” (although we will have endured a 15 hour plane ride!!!).

It’s official! We are going to get our girls!!!

Doing the happy dance,

Amy

Please Pray—Again

I am requesting prayer on three different fronts today.

Our I-800s were delivered at 9:38 Thursday morning to the USCIS lockbox—and they are still there. We need a quick approval since we need to travel in a little over 4 weeks! Once we get that approval we can buy our tickets, even without the Travel Approval. I contacted our senators in an attempt for someone with “muscle” to get this governmental agency to move things along. I have contacted my senators SO MANY times in the past months about changing the US Hague policy that makes our adopted kids toxic pincushions…but that soap box is for a different post. I just hope they don’t see my e-mail address and just push delete. Please pray for the approval of the girls’ visas.

Yesterday we received our second "denied" form letter from a grant agency. It seems that, even with our second adoption happening at the zero-hour, we don't qualify. There are two more applications out; please pray that at least one comes through with either a grant or a no-interest loan. We don't have our first adoption even near covered and the second is requiring many payments already. We travel in a little over 4 weeks, and the in-country costs are obviously twice what we originally planned for. We will need to buy tickets within the next few days too. Has anyone seen a money tree in bloom despite the winter weather?

The final thing I really need prayer for is my own heart. Probably coinciding with the denial letter, I started "looking at the waves" instead of focusing on Jesus, became overwhelmed with fear and worry, and started to sink. I KNOW these adoptions are of the Lord, I KNOW that he will take care of the details, I KNOW that I am not alone. It just doesn't FEEL that way right now. Please pray that since "I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." (2 Tim. 1:12) Since we act on what we believe, pray that I would believe that "the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed".(2 Tim 4:17)

Thank you, my fellow prayer warriors!

Amy

To Grant or Not to Grant

We have four requests out for either grants or no-interest loans. One just came back today—Denied. There are three to go…and one that promised that they would give us their decision by next week. May I ask you to please pray that we receive a grant or no-interest loan? It feels so menial, but when the rubber meets the road, we have $40k to cover. The fact of the matter is that we DON’T have it. Like Dave said, it is God’s to provide…and it will be interesting to see through whom he delivers it!  Even if we have to make payments on our visa for the next few years, it will be worth it.  Not preferable, but worth it.

BTW, we leave in LESS THAN 5 WEEKS!!!

To God be the glory,

Amy

Waiting Again

This week WACAP overnighted our I-800s to USCIS. We were supposed to receive a tracking number on Thursday; as of today, we are still waiting. However, I know that these adoptions are in His hands—and there is no better place to be!

I was blessed this week by another adoptive mom. Through an adoption yahoo group I met a mom from Long Island. She adopted an 11 year old two months ago who knew Xi Fan—would you believe their foster moms were best friends?  The best thing is this…Jessica, the 11 year old from NY, has the middle name of Hope…the same name we are giving Xi Fan!  It may be a 13 hour drive, but I have a strong feeling that we will be taking a road trip to New York this summer!

This is what is commonly called the “red thread”.  There is a Chinese legend that says the gods tie a red string around the ankles of men and women who will one day marry each other.  The China adoptive community has embraced an adapted version of this legend:  An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstances.  The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break.

I can’t wait to meet our new daughters!

Amy

We Got the Word…Again!

China issued us our letter of approval for Xi Fan today! Whoo-hoo!

Now both of the LOAs go to NVC of USCIS with our I-800s.  After they sit in the “lock box” for some indeterminate amount of time, they will be processed and approved by our pre-appointed officer. It takes seven to ten days for the National Visa Center (NVC) to send a cable to the US Consulate to indicate that certain preliminary steps for issuance of a US immigrant visa have been fulfilled. After receipt of that cable, the US Consulate typically takes seven to fourteen days to send the Article 5 letter to the CCAA. The CCAA then typically takes two to four weeks to issue travel approval after the consulate appointments are set up. Clear as mud yet?

Little does China know that with or without their “approvals”, we WILL be going to get our girls before the 19^th of January. We may have to stay put a few more days in China, but that is the least of my concerns!

I praise God for delivering these clearances! I will continue to believe that He will see us through.

To Him be the glory,

Amy

Presenting…

Our new girls! 

Min Zhi will become Amanda Beth MinZhi (Mandy is close in sound to MinZhi)

Xi Fan will become Hope Katherine XiFan (against all hope, we chose to hope for Hope!)

All the kids in our family have names starting either with an A or an H, so the girls will have their part of our immediate family’s heritage.

Beth is my sister’s name, and Katherine is David’s (maternal) grandmother’s middle name, so they will have their part of our extended family’s heritage.

They will keep their names as their second middle names, so they will retain their Chinese heritage.

We chose to involve our kids in picking out the names. Talk about difficult! It never failed that when some liked one name, the others HATED it. We finally arrived at the place that the majority of the kids are ok with the names with only one disliking each selection.  For all the hassle, however, we felt it was important for everyone to be involved, as the adoptions are affecting everyone.

Just wanted to share a bit of our excitement!

All my best,

Amy

We Got Word!!!!

I just heard from our agency that Xi Fan’s referral was transferred to WACAP and that we have pre-pre approval for her!  I also heard that since the CCAA is now aware of the time sensitive nature to our case that we may get our pre-approval this week, plus possibly our LOA for Xi Fan as well!!! I am doing the happy dance in my kitchen and can’t seem to wipe this silly grin off my face!

Min Zhi’s paperwork is on hold right now, as we need to submit both at the same time since we are using one dossier. I have never felt so peaceful about being told that I need to wait for one of my daughter’s paperwork to be submitted!

To every person that told me not to worry about the adoption process and timetable while we were waiting for our LOA for Min Zhi—Thank YOU! Had we raced forward (like I wanted) we wouldn’t be getting Xi Fan! 

Going to dance more circles!!!

All my best,

Amy

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It has been a great day! I was able to do some shopping early this morning, got the dinner to the table all at one time, cleaned up afterwards and ate dessert—all before 4 pm! Soon it will be time for leftovers—my favorite part!

I also have to share that Sara from Madison Adoption Agency (MAA) asked how things were going with Xi Fan’s process. I told her that our agency contacted the CCAA earlier in the week, but hadn’t heard back from them by Wednesday. Sara wasn’t satisfied with that answer…she sent Ming, their Chinese contact, to advocate for us with the CCAA. I am SO THANKFUL that she is on our side!!! I will certainly share any news that we receive! Please keep us in your prayers!

All my best,

Amy

No News is…No News

Another week gone by with no word from the CCAA. My agency’s China coordinator was in contact with the CCAA but they had no decision for him. I don’t know if this means that they may not approve this adoption, or if they just don’t like to be pushed into a decision. I thought for certain that we would know by today. By the time Monday rolls around we will only have 1 ½ months to complete this adoption. No wiggle room here!

So, although I didn’t receive the news I had hoped for, and two of my daughters are halfway around the world, I am still surrounded by my family that is active in loving each other, living on a street where neighbors still look out for each other, and have a hope of a life eternal in glory with my Father and my King.

Happy Thanksgiving!

All my best,

Amy

Still No Word

We have paperwork signed, translated, and ready to send! Now we just need to hear from the CCAA.

Dave says that he won’t start pulling furniture out of the girls’ rooms until he hears the official word. Then we will keep ourselves busy moving furniture, posting it on Craigslist, stripping wallpaper, and putting a new coat on both the girls’ rooms. They will be sleeping on mattresses on the floor and using clothes out of storage containers for a while…but if Hailey’s clothes actually make it somewhere other than the floor, it will be an improvement!

On a side note, I had the opportunity to fast from coffee again, this time for another adoptive family that is going through an emergency adoption. Mary will be traveling over Christmas, and is flying through all her steps at breakneck speed. I had the joy and privilege of approaching the throne room of grace on her behalf today, and I thought of her often as my caffeine headache reminded me of what I did without! If you would like to join me in praying for Mary, she would really appreciate it!

All my best,

Amy

Waiting for a Word

Last Thursday the CCAA was supposed to decide if Xi Fan’s referral could be transferred to our agency, but as of Friday evening, we still have had no word. If I am not mistaken, they were going to also going to let us know if we could do the second adoption at the same time. These are pretty big decisions, and although there is no real reason for denying this adoption, we know that it isn’t a “sure thing”. I have been fine with not knowing all the way up until today, and now the doubt is creeping in. I know that God has ordained this adoption; if I didn’t believe, I would be riddled with anxiety. God is bigger than the boogie man, Godzilla, the monsters on TV, and any doubt that may sway me from standing firm in my faith of God’s will for our family.
Hopefully we will have a positive word by tomorrow!
Believing Him,
Amy

PS On a side note, Hailey did really well at state yesterday. Unfortunately, her ambition and adrenaline made her jump the gun on her start, so she DQ-ed for her 100 back, but she was still the fastest freshman in the backstroke there! Too bad they don’t medal by class…Her relay team finished 9th overall. It was a great first time showing at state—and she’ll have three more years to improve!

Hailey’s Going to State!

Ok, so it is not adoption-related, but I just have to share!

My sweet 14 year old daughter is competing in Ypsilanti today at the state level for swimming! She is in the medley relay swimming backstroke and in 100 back…the fourth freshman girl to ever make state from Hamilton! I am so proud of my sweet thing!

Here’s to a great swim, Hai! Make some bubbles!

All my best,

Amy

Early Morning Blessings

After another night of little sleep (who can slumber when there are rooms to reorganize, names to decide upon, and “gotcha” days to envision?!?) I gave up and went downstairs early. As a matter of habit, I checked my e-mail. To my utter amazement, I had received countless messages of people all across the US that said they were praying for me, that they had been praying for Xi Fan for several weeks, and praising God that she now has a family. One person blessed us in a very tangible way and donated to our account…I have never met this person face-to-face, but she has now invested in the Kingdom by helping bring this little girl home!  Through the day I was blessed again and again. Never before had I felt washed in God’s love through the outpouring of kind words and actions! 

As I continue to work through addendums, applications for grants, and parenting plans, I feel energized by my “sisters” who have come alongside me and have been praying for me. Thank you.

All my best,

Amy

New Address

Hey Everyone, as you might have noticed, we've moved to a new address! Yesterday I was playing around with it, so if anything weird happened... it's probably my fault! Anyways, we're now 'stable' and we'll be staying at fathman6.blogspot.com for now. If you go to the old address (fathman5.blogspot.com) then you will be redirected to this page, so you won't have to worry about not being at the right one!

Thanks,
Austin-Web Designer, brother of 3 (and 1 exchange student), soon to be brother of 5 (and 1 exchange student) =D