The Waiting Process

November 27, 2017

Travel Approval is in!

We are officially cleared to travel to China!! Our consulate appointment was made early this morning, and we are booking our flights as we speak.  It's finally happening!!!!!! This time next month we will be back home with our family of four celebrating a beautiful Christmas TOGETHER.

When I say it like that, I know the next month will fly by.  It's just hard to imagine considering every moment of the past two and a half years has felt so incredibly slow.  Wow.  Our little boy is almost here.

We are now packing and planning and dreaming, getting together our last minute details and preparing for everything that we can.  Thank you all so much for your love and support! I can't wait to share our experience in China!


November 15, 2017

It's almost Article 5 time!

Our Article 5 was delivered two weeks ago to the Consulate in Guangzhou and will be ready to be picked up tomorrow! Our agency will then overnight it to Beijing for our travel approval.  Our agency is telling us that it may be completed within 3 days and then we can book our flights, or it could be 2 weeks.  Needless to say we are pulling for the 3 days!

We are hoping that by Thanksgiving day we will have our travel approval and be able to begin planning our trip to bring our son home.  We have been preparing furiously, knowing full well that we will be somewhat unprepared no matter what we do!  We received updated pictures of him and a video last week and are beyond thankful for the wonderful orphanage caregivers who made that happen.  He is SO ADORABLE! He is walking with assistance (a push toy) and seems very aware of his surroundings.  His orphanage even has a window, which is a huge!  Don't worry - I will be posting unending pictures of him once he's officially ours in China.

Thank you to all who have been supporting us through prayer, T-shirts, and overall love. It has meant the world to us. Please continue to pray for a smooth and quick process from here on out!


October 22, 2017

Dept of Homeland Security has approved us!!!

In more technical terms, our i800 request has been approved! The i800 is immigration paperwork approving the child we are bringing into the US. We were incredibly blessed in this process, as we had hit a speed bump that was going to cost us an extra 2 weeks. We were pretty bummed out about it. But somehow, by the grace of God and a very kind, efficient officer with the Dept of Homeland Security, our situation was quickly rectified, and we are somehow back on our original timeline. Wahoo!!  We also just got our Chinese visas, so we are bouncing out of our seats ready to go get our little Panda Bear!

Our next steps in a nutshell will be 
1. Waiting for our paper copy of the i800 approval (expecting it any day now!)
2. Having someone hand deliver our Article 5 form to the US Consulate in Guangzhou for processing (about a 2 week wait)
3. Having a carrier pick up our approved Article 5 and deliver it to Beijing for travel approval. (about a 3-7 day wait)
4. Book our flights!
5. Meet our baby boy!

Thank you for praying along with us throughout this process.  God helping us through our last paperwork hiccup was the exact encouragement we needed at just the right time.  We are so excited to be so close to holding our son. Please continue to pray for smooth sailing as multiple government officials and our adoption agency continue to work to process paperwork for our Little Panda's adoption.


September 20, 2017

China has approved us!!!!!

The Letter of Approval is in the mail.  I can hardly contain myself! 
Once our agency receives the letter, they will send it to us to sign and send back to China.  Our agency having the letter means:

1. They can send in our i800 paperwork into the US government to begin the next step
2. We can request updated photos/videos of our son!!

The next step involves more participation on our part as there will be multiple forms going back and forth over the next couple of months.  On average this step takes about two months.  Once complete, we will be able to request travel approval from China and then book our flight!  Based on a rough estimate, we will most likely be traveling to China in 3 months to bring our son home!

We are beyond excited about receiving updated info about our Little Panda. We only have one picture of him, so it will be so cool to see how he's grown and changed.  We are also hoping this gives us a better idea of what his medical and developmental needs are.  We are working with a doctor who specializes in international adoptions, so we will be having a long appointment once we receive updated videos and pictures about expectations and how to better prepare for his arrival.

I don't know how to express the level of excitement this news brings! We are finally moving forward.  Our baby is coming home soon.  I am having trouble falling asleep at night with the anticipation.  What will be his reaction when they hand him to us for the first time?  What will cause his first smile with us?  His first laugh?  How will he want to sleep at night?  Will he know what to do with a toy? (Most little ones from orphanages don't know how to play and have no idea what to do with toys, but each situation is unique.) Will he be walking?  Will he speak to us those first few days?  Will he like his first bath or will it terrify him? (Most kids from orphanages have never had a bath.) Will he enjoy being carried?  Will he be shy or bold?  Adventurous or careful?  Thoughtful or spontaneous? How will he react to Ladybug?  To the plane trip home?  To solid foods?  

Praise God for the progress! We are overflowing with gratitude.  I can't wait to hold my baby and kiss the top of his little head. (We call him a baby, but he is most likely around 2 1/2 years old.) I will hopefully have frequent updates as we continue through these next few months. 


August 2017

Anxiously waiting...

This has been a very challenging part of the process. Waiting on agencies and governments to process things while our son is sitting in an orphanage, unaware of the family who loves him and is so eager to be with him.  So much of this process is out of our hands, and that can be frustrating.

We got the phone call for our Little Panda March 14, 2017.  We have one picture of him, two videos, and some medical files. Our adoption agency made a mistake, costing us 2 months in the beginning. Therefore we were not able to turn in our updated dossier to China until June 2.  Then, radio silence.  We waited.  The normal wait time is usually around 8 weeks.

But then... (of course there's a but then) China changed their regulations for who may and may not adopt from their country at the end of July, right when we were expecting our Letter of Approval.  Our dossier had to go back to the bottom of the stack.  And so we had to wait again.  It was at this point the waiting began to become painful.  Had our agency completed everything correctly from the beginning, our approval would have been closer to June, and travel would have been at the end of August-ish to pick up our son. He would have been home by now with parents who adore him, a sister who plays with him, and a medical system that supports his needs.  He would be safe and well-fed and loved.  But as it is, all we have is our one picture to look at and pray over.

I think the times in my life I have grown in my faith the most are the times when I finally realize I have absolutely no control of a situation and I completely surrender to Him.  When things are going smoothly and I'm within my comfort zone, I tend to begin to take credit.  Man, I got this.  Man, I'm an awesome mom, or wife, or teacher.  I start to rely on my own scheduling, organization, and strength.  (This is something I'm working on.)  But when things begin to spiral out of control, or I am embarking upon a new adventure, I learn to rest in His absolute strength and embrace my own weakness.  Since we have accepted our referral of our son, the process has been filled with mistakes, and not on our part. The mistakes of others have cost us months.  Months. Months of our son living life without a family.  Months of our son not knowing where he belongs or who loves him, or if he is even loved.  Months of our son feeling invisible. Months of lost time.  And months to a child looks very different than that same time frame for an adult.  All because someone in an agency somewhere is overlooking a detail here and there.  It can be beyond infuriating.

But the Lord is patient and gracious with me as He reminds me of His incredible sovereignty.  There was one week in particular I thought I was going to explode from the urgency to bring my son home.

I was struggling. Big time.

That Sunday at church, our music director shared a piece of scripture with us that just pierced right through me.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea...The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us... Be still, and know that I am God.
Psalm 46

It brought me to tears.  God's word is living and active. There are times when He uses it to speak to me, and His message that week was loud and clear.

Rest in Him.
Trust in Him.
Pray and wait faithfully.
He is at work.  He is in control.
Fix my mind on Him and not what nutrition my Little Panda is receiving.
Dwell on his word.

And so we have been doing just that.  We wait for God's perfect timing to bring our Little Panda home.

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