All I Want for Christmas is ....

We’re still here and waiting. I had believed that as soon as we were paper ready, we would be getting a match from the next released shared list. Once again, I was wrong. There have now been two shared lists released since we were paper ready, and we still have not been matched with a child.  Our adoption agency said that the list released on Oct. 31 was small with only about 20 children and only 5 or 6 of them were girls, and that they were not able to match us. There was another shared list Nov. 28, and once again we did not receive a match. The next list is expected to be released sometime around Christmas. I’m hoping and praying that our little one is on it. 

I have to remind myself everyday that God’s timing and His plan are perfect.

If you’re wondering what the shared list is, it’s a list of newly available children with minor to severe needs that is released to the adoption agencies. The agency has to lock a child’s file in order to match him/her with a family. Children that are not matched from the list are added to the large database of available children, most of which have more severe needs or medical issues. They remain in the database until adopted or they age out. When I say newly available children, I do not mean new orphans. Some children live in orphanages for years before they make it on the list. I don't understand the process, but I pray that God will open the flood gates, and all those children waiting will be released to be adopted. There are families waiting for many of them.

I know of one girl that is almost 7 years old. Her name is Tingting (Joy), and she lives at Shepherd’s Field Children’s Village. I encourage you to go to their website,   www.chinaorphans.org. Tinting's paper work appears to be in limbo, and there is a family that met her in 2008 that desperately wants to adopt her. This family has been paper ready for over a year, but they have to wait for her to appear on the list. Join me in praying for Tingting every day until she is with her forever family.

Please keep praying for our little one and all the other orphans as well.

                                                                Lori

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

The waiting is the hardest part, or at least it has been so far on our adoption journey. Getting a referral (match) is the next step in our journey. We are now waiting for that very important phone call from our agency saying that we have been matched with a child. I expect (or at least hope) that the next shared list of waiting children that China releases or our agency’s private list will have our little one on it. Our LID was 9/27/2011. We are adopting a child with a minor medical need or special need, so once we are matched, we should be traveling to get her within six months. Of course, we have been praying that it happens sooner. “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Families waiting for a healthy child from China currently have over a five year wait once they have a LID.  I can’t imagine waiting that long, but God bless those families that have and that are still waiting. From what I’ve seen and read, some of these families change programs, some adopt domestically during that wait time, and some end up having biological children during that time. I hope that these families that have waited for so long receive their referrals soon, and that their waiting is soon replaced with joy.

                                                                                                Lori

We Have Our LID!!!

We received a priority package today from Children's Hope. The letter stated that we have our official log in date(LID). Our LID is 9/27/2011. (Yes, we met that very important deadline!) This is a very exciting news. We can now be matched with a waiting child at anytime. I was told that CCCWA puts out an updated list every 6 weeks or so. I will call Tina Monday to see if I can find out more information.

                                            Lori

100 Good Wishes Quilt

I have decided to make a “100 Good Wishes Quilt” for our daughter. In China it is called a “Bai Jia Bei,” and it is an old tradition in parts of China for friends and family to donate pieces of fabric to the child’s mother to make a quilt. Often the fabric comes from clothes that the people no longer wear, or even from clothing of ancestors that have passed. The quilt is then handed down through the generations. They believe that the good wishes from all of the families and friends surround the child when she is wrapped in the quilt. We would like for our friends, family, and people out there in blogosphere to help us honor this tradition from our daughter’s homeland.  If you’re reading this, we would love for you to participate too!

Here’s what you need to do to participate:

1. Please choose a fabric that is 100% cotton(no knit). Maybe you have some remnants you’re not using that would be perfect. You are also welcome to send fabric that has a history or special meaning, even from old clothing like they do in China.

2. Cut a 8” square to be used for the quilt.

3. Then on a piece of paper write or type your wish for our daughter.  You can use decorative paper if you’d like, and if you’re into scrapbooking you can be as creative as you’d like. Your “wish” can be a prayer, scripture, song lyric, advice, your hopes for our daughter’s future, or just a simple note welcoming her to the family.

4. Attach a small swatch of the fabric you’re using to the note and be sure to sign your name.

The “wishes” will then be made into a memory book that will match the quilt blocks to who they’re from and that person’s wish for our daughter. What a wonderful keepsake it will be.

5. Send the fabric and good wishes to us, or you may give them to either of our mom’s or my sister Leonda if you’re in the Southern Illinois area. If you wish to mail them, please contact me for my address.

If you have more than one person in your family who would like to participate, you are welcome to send more than one quilt block and wish. Remember, we trying to collect at least 100, so the more the better. Children are also welcome to contribute to this project.

Thank you for participating!
                                   
                                                                                           Lori

Keeping Busy While Waiting

Once again we are waiting. We haven’t heard yet whether or not our dossier arrived at CCCWA before the Oct. 1 deadline. Tina at CHI says she assumes that it did. This week was a holiday in China, but maybe next week we will hear something definite.

Last Thursday we found out about a donation from a couple at church that hadn’t been counted in with the previous fundraising. With it, we not only got our full matching grant from Hand in Hand, but exceeded it. We feel so blessed!

Last weekend we moved our son’s bedroom downstairs into the finished basement. It’s not the best setup, though He says that he likes it. He’s away at college most of the time anyway.  The now empty room will be transformed for our soon to arrive little one. We already had a twin bedroom set not in use, so we are redoing it for her. Brent is getting it sanded and then I will paint it white while it is still warm enough to paint outside. I will post pictures as the room takes shape.

                                                                             Lori

So Blessed

We held a fundraiser dinner Sunday after church and received such a blessing. The timing of the fundraiser ended up in God’s hands and coincided with our matching grant. God’s timing was perfect. We received a lot of support. We feel so blessed! Thank you to all that contributed.

There was a common question that we kept hearing at the fundraiser dinner. It was about naming the child that we are adopting. Our child will be between 12 and 36 months. She will have a Chinese name that the orphanage gave her and most likely an English name given by her first sponsor. The last name that she has will not be her actual family name, because that will not be known. The last name is also given by the orphanage and often all girls from the same province are given the same last name. 

We haven't decided what we will name her yet. We have considered giving her a new first name and keeping her Chinese name for her middle name or just using her Chinese first name. I think we will probably know as soon as we see her face and get a glimpse of her personality, but her Chinese name is part of who she is, so we will at least keep it for her middle name.

                                                                Lori

Our Dossier is On Its Way & The Deadline Is Looming

Our dossier was mailed to China yesterday. Once it’s there it will be translated before it is given to CCCWA, China’s Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption. What we are hoping for is that CCCWA receives our dossier before Oct. 1 so that we do not have to meet China’s new requirements, which for us would mean having to get a new home study agency and having our home study redone. It would almost put us back to square one. There would also be reference letters that would have to be redone, as well as additional requirements that we didn’t have to meet the first time.  Basically, it would mean additional work, costs, and wait time.

CHI's China Program Director, Tina, is confident, and I am pretty confident, at this point, that we will meet that deadline, but once again, we don't know anything for sure.  Pray that we meet the deadline.

                                                        Lori

What a Crazy Week

In order to get everything completed for our dossier so that it could be turned in this week, we had to hand carry the last two papers of the dossier to the Sec. of State’s office and then the Chinese Consulate in Chicago.

Once again we thought we knew how everything would play out, and once again we found out differently. Monday went wonderfully. Everyone that I met went out of their way to be nice and helpful. Then came Tuesday, and I was hoping for the same.

We read that if we got our papers to the Chinese Consulate by 11:00 am for authentication, we could pick them back up at 2:00pm. They opened at 9:00am, and we arrived at 10:30am. We were told to take a number. Our number was 151; they were on number 76 at the time. Noon came around, and they still hadn’t called our number. They then closed for lunch for one hour. We were back waiting at 1:00, and we were finally called at 1:30pm. We were told our papers would be ready for pickup the next afternoon. We had missed the drop off time for same day service. We decided that it would be best for us to spend the night there, rather than make the long drive home and then back the next day. 

Since we hadn’t planned on spending the  night, we did not have anything with us. We went to WalMart and got the few items that we had to have in order to spend the night.  We stayed in a suite and fixed dinner there. All that being said, we returned the next day and got our papers.

I was planning on making a trip to St. Louis Thursday to hand deliver those two papers, the corrected paper, and the requested photos for our dossier. I called ahead to make sure that Tina, the lady that handles the China adoptions at CHI, would be there. She answered but was on her way out the door. She was sick and going home. She said she wouldn’t be in Friday either. I decided to Express mail the items instead of taking them in person, since she wouldn’t be there anyway. The package should arrive there today, and she said she would mail our dossier to China Monday. She still seems confident that we will meet the Oct.1 deadline, even though our papers will still have to translated in China before arriving at their destination.

Once again this journey is out of our hands, but that is what a walk of faith is. We keep moving ahead, trusting that ever delay or push forward is part of God’s timing, and that He will provide the way.

                                                           Lori

We're Getting Closer

You know your life has changed when you enjoy getting mail from Homeland Security. We received our USCIS approval today! This is the I-797 form that we’ve been waiting, and waiting for, and waiting for….  As it turns out, having our fingerprints made early did not speed up the process for us. It seems that many families are in the same boat as us; trying to get our dossier to China by Oct.1 so that we do not have to meet additional requirements. Anyway, a copy of the I-797 will be notarized, certified, and authenticated the first part of next week and then sent on to  Children’s Hope International to become part of our dossier.

We found out yesterday that one of the papers we had already turned in for our dossier needs an affirmation statement added by the notary. This should be an easy fix; I hope. Along with the I-797 copy and the corrected paper, we still need to send passport size photos of each of us and a family photo as well as our letter of petition. This is a letter that we’ve written to the Officials of the People’s Republic of China requesting to adopt a child from China. In the letter we request a girl 12-36 months with a minor correctible need. We are anxiously waiting for our referral; maybe we’ll have one by next month. I can’t wait to see my baby girl’s face.

Lori

Dear Friends and Family

As most of you know we feel that God has called us on this journey to provide a “forever” family to a child through the process of adoption. We have started down this path of adoption and will be excited to bring a child into our home within the next six months or so. We have felt led to pursue a child from China, and we are now waiting for the specific child God has for us.

This road to adoption is full of many joys as well as challenges, the greatest joy being that we will soon have another child join our family, and the greatest challenge being finances. The costs of adoption include the expense of a home study, adoption agency, in-country fees, travel, etc., with the total cost ending up somewhere around $29,000.

We were recently awarded a matching funds grant to help with the expenses of our adoption through Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc. , a non-profit operating foundation. Hand in Hand will match funds that are donated through our friends and family for the expenses of our adoption. All funds received through our friends and family will be matched dollar for dollar by Hand in Hand up to our awarded grant amount of $5,000. That means that if we raise $2,500 from friends and family, Hand in Hand will match those funds for a total grant of $5,000.  All donations are tax-deductible. Funds received over the grant amount will also go toward our adoption as long as they are postmarked by Oct. 14, 2011.

You may click on the link to the right of this post to view our grant award letter that will explain more about the matching grant program from Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc. You can find out more about Hand in Hand through their website at www.handinhandadopt.org. If you have further questions about our Hand in Hand matching grant, please feel free to email us at adoptionjourneytochina@gmail.com.

Please send all donations made payable to “Hand in Hand Christian Adoption” postmarked by Oct. 14 to: (for tax purposes please include our name on the outside of the envelope only…do not put our name on the check itself)

          Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc.

          James Brent and Lori Lance

18524 Juniper Street

Gardner, KS 66030-9147

Thank you for your prayerful consideration in helping a child find a “forever” family.

Walking Hand in Hand,

J. Brent and Lori Lance

USCIS Approval!

It’s been awhile since I last posted. We did not get USCIS approval by Sept. 1  as we had hoped, but our adoption agency is now saying that if we get our dossier to them by the week of Sept. 12, we will probably still be ok. OK, as in make the Oct. 1 deadline for having our dossier in China. I've already sent our agency most of the papers that make up the dossier. 

That being said, we got our approval today! I spoke with the agent handling our case this afternoon; she was working on our application at the time. She then emailed me later to say that we were approved. This is a big moment in the process. We should have the form we need from them by Friday. It will go to China with us, but a copy of it has to be notarized, certified, and authenticated. It will then be turned in to Children’s Hope as part of our dossier.  This piece of paper will have to be hand carried to Springfield for certification at the Sec. of State’s office, then hand carried to Chicago to the Chinese Consulate, and then to St. Louis to our adoption agency. This will obviously take more than one day because of travel time and business hours.

On another note,  $4,650 will be due when we turn in the final papers of our dossier. Sadly, we did not receive the interest-free adoption loan that we applied for; we were told that they simply did not have the funds available. I sent off an application to another interest-free adoption loan provider today. We did, however, receive a matching grant from Hand In Hand. They are a Christian organization, and they are willing to match dollar for dollar donations up to $2,500. I will post more info. on  that tomorrow.

So far God has provided the money that we've needed for this adoption. My family has been a huge help as well. We have to believe that God will continue to provide us with the ability to do what He's called us to do.

Keep praying on our little one's behalf.

                                                                         Lori

                                                                            

21 Days Early and 20 Minutes Late

Last Wednesday we received our appointments from the USCIS to have our fingerprints made at their field office in St. Louis. The appointments were for Aug. 26, too late to meet our deadline to have our dossier to Children’s Hope International by Sept. 1. So, I called to see about having the date moved up and was told that we could probably just walk in and have them done at anytime. We decided to try on Friday. With traffic delays and the fact that we had to go back home for something, we ended up at the federal building 20 minutes after they were supposed to be closed to the public. We were able to go through security quickly. When we got to the room where they do the fingerprinting, we explained the situation with us trying to meet a deadline, and they were kind enough to go ahead and take our fingerprints, a huge favor. So we were there 21 days early for our appointments and 20 minutes after the building was supposed to be closed to the public. Despite this, we were in and out of the federal building in 10 minutes with our fingerprinting done! We definitely have to give God the credit for this. 

Now, we must wait until we have our approval from the USCIS - hopefully soon!

                                                                   Lori

Follow-Up Visit with Our Social Worker

Yesterday we had a follow up visit by our social worker, Whitney, from BCHFS. These visits are necessary in order to keep our foster home license, which is required by IL in order for us to adopt. The visit included checking smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and hot water temperature.  I was also asked some questions like, how will you discipline your child, and how many hours a week does Brent work? We will need to keep our foster home license until we receive our child, or longer if we were going to adopt again.

Additional visits from our social worker are required by China to do post-adoption reports. These will take place at one month, six months, and twelve months after the adoption, and then one at the second, third, and fifth year after the adoption. The only problem I have with these post-adoption visits is that they can be scary for the child. I’ve heard that some adopted children fear that they will be removed from their home if the visits don’t go well. This of course is not true, but I can see where a child might think that.

                                                           

Lori

Lots of Waiting

We received a I-797C from the USCIS. It is basically a formal looking receipt. It’s not the I-797 paper we need for our dossier. We are expecting to receive a letter soon with the appointment time and place to go have our fingerprints made again. We had to do this for the state, and we will have to have prints done again for the federal government. I guess they don’t share with one another. We haven’t heard anything about the interest free adoption loan or any of the grants yet. Lots of waiting.

                                                                       Lori

The Scary Unknown

We have applied for an interest free loan to be paid back with the adoption tax credit, which is currently $13,170. We are praying that we are approved for it, and that we receive grants to make up the difference of the near $30,000 that our adoption will cost. We have submitted applications for 4 grants so far and there are a few more that we can apply for a little later on in the adoption process. The cost of adoption is a strain on most people’s finances, but following God’s will is always a walk of faith. When He calls us to do something, He always provides the way. And though the unknown is scary, we continue trekking along on this journey. At this point with our I-800A submitted to the USCIS and the dossier submission right around the corner, I am getting more and more anxious with anticipation of getting matched with our child. I will be praying daily that she is safe and well cared for, that we bond easily with her, and that we have her before the end of the year. Please commit to praying daily for our adoption and for the estimated 160 million orphans worldwide (a staggering number). There is great power in prayer that is aligned with God’s will.

If you have any questions about our adoption or adoption in general that I may be able to answer, you may submit them as a comment under this post.

                                        Lori

Finally, Home Study Approval!

Our home study approval was for real last week, and our journey is once again moving forward as I overnighted our I-800A application today to the USCIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services). This is an application for determination of suitability to adopt a child from a convention country. We were not able to mail it last week because it required our adult son’s signature, and he was in CO. on a trip with our church’s youth group.

Now, we must wait once again. We are hoping and praying that we get USCIS approval in time to get our dossier in China by the Oct. 1 deadline, so that we do not have to meet additional requirements, which would mean more time, paperwork, and money. Our adoption agency told us back in April that the USCIS was taking 6-8 weeks. We are hopeful, though, after reading another adoption blog that recently reported having their USCIS approval in four weeks.

We have been reading several other adoption blogs. It’s wonderful to see their stories unfold as they get referrals and meet their child for the first time. Looking forward to those days!

                            

                                      Lori

Can We Move Forward?

We once again are being told that our home study has been approved. We even have it in hand now, but we are not allowing ourselves to get too excited because last time our adoption agency, Children’s Hope International, found an oversight that had to be addressed. That costs us a three week delay.CHI still has to review it this time too and send us a letter of approval that will go to the USCIS along with the I-800A, the home study, a copy of our marriage license, copies of our birth certificates, and a money order for $975.  I am hoping that the letter from CHI arrives tomorrow or Thursday. I will then overnight the package to the USCIS office in Texas. I will overnight it because at this point ever day counts, and could make or break us meeting the deadline for having our dossier to CHI by Sept. 1 so that they can have it in China by Oct. 1. If we don’t make the deadline, we have to meet new requirements that China has set for anyone that doesn’t have their dossier to them by Oct. 1. We would have to get a new home study agency that is Hague accredited. We would basically have to start the whole process over with the new home study agency. The new requirements would also require that our reference letters be redone and notarized. We would also be required to have additional reference letters; one from our adult son and from one of our daughter’s teachers at school. It would also mean additional costs. So it is very important to us that we meet that deadline.  Please keep praying that everything falls into place.

On a happier note, I am starting to think about decorating the nursery or little girl's room. (We don't yet know how old she'll be.) I bought a beautiful Oriental table cloth from a yard sale that I am going to turn into a couple of throw pillows. I also have been sketching a picture of a cherry blossom tree that I want to do as a moral on the wall. I will posts pictures in the future as the room takes shape. Right now I am just in the planning stage, but this is much more fun than paperwork. 

                                                                         
                                                                                            Lori

Adopted for Life

Click on the link below to hear the sermon "Adopted for Life" by Dr. Russel Moore. He shares the meaning of Romans 8 along with his personal experience with international adoption.

http://vimeo.com/25630063

                                                                                                                       Lori                       

An Unexpected Delay

It turns out that our home study cannot be finalized yet. Our adoption agency found something that our home study agency overlooked. Since I lived in Indiana for a short time, DCS in Indiana will have to run a background check on me. I was asked by our home study agency a couple of months ago if I received mail in IN while I stayed there and/or got a driver’s license from there. The answer to both of which were “no.” I was then told that they wouldn’t have to do a check on me there since I wasn’t really a resident. Well, it turns out that's not the case. It doesn’t matter if I had a driver’s license there or even how long I lived there, a background check is still required. The really aggravating part of it is that since I never had a driver’s license there, it is impossible for a background check to even find anything. So, they know they’re not going to find anything, but they have to go through the process anyway. If this delay takes too long, it could keep us from meeting our deadline of having our dossier to Children's Hope Inter. by Sept. 1 so that they can have it to China by Oct. 1.

I’m hoping that our home study agency will do everything in their power to get this done quickly. Our home study will have to be reapproved by IL DCFS after IN does their background check. We are still trusting in God to take care of the situation, though it is causing some anxiety. Please keep us in your prayers.

                                                                                                                                Lori                                                                                               

The Lord Has Provided

Post by Brent:

If you've been following this blog, you know that Lori has made all of the posts to date. Sometime we collaborate and often I read them before they are posted, but never before have I felt that I needed to contribute directly. Today I felt compelled to add something about what's been going on recently from my perspective. From the very beginning of our adoption journey we have felt that this was something that we had been called to do and not simply something that we wanted to do. Because of this we undertook a huge step in faith to begin something that we knew we did not have the resources to complete.  Since we started the adoption process there have been a few times when I couldn't help but wonder how we were going to do it. On two of those occasions I felt God reprimanding me for not having faith that He who created all things would provide the means to complete what he was asking us to do... and so we continued on. Recently I was talking with someone who made it quite clear that they thought that we should have never began this journey without having the funds to complete it sitting in a bank account somewhere. This conversation weighed heavily on me and again the seeds of doubt tried to sprout up in my mind. For the past three weeks, we have been waiting while the State of Illinois reviewed our home study knowing that once we received approval it would be time to submit to USCIS for approval and that along with that would come the first costs that we would not have the money to pay for. Then it happened... on Monday of this week we received an unexpected check in the mail that would not only cover the USCIS fees but also the costs for the Chinese Consulate to authenticate our documentation! God is so great, so faithful and His word is the absolute truth! In Matthew chapter 6 verse 25 says; "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"  Christ was saying that he will meet all of our needs, and since God is the same yesterday, today and forever, the same thing holds true today! God has and will continue to provide. Thank you to all who have been praying for us as we continue on the wonderful journey that God has called us to. 

Jehovah-Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)

It’s been two weeks since our home study was mailed to DCFS for approval. From what we’ve been told, it will be about two more weeks before we receive that approval. In the mean time, I am busy filing out grant applications and getting together all the needed documents that go along with them.  Most grants require home study approval before submitting, but I want to have everything together so that the applications are ready to submit as soon as we have our approval in hand. Also, some grants are done quarterly, making June 30 the next deadline for them. It will be close as to whether we can get our applications for these in on time or not. If you would like to pray for us, pray that the finances for this adoption will fall into place.

God has many names, and one of them is Jehovah-Jireh used in Genesis 22:14. This means THE LORD WILL PROVIDE. And yes, He will provide.

                             
                                                                                           Lori 

God's Timing

Today at church we were once again reminded of God’s timing. A dear lady and friend there believes that any setbacks are God’s way of ensuring that we get the right child; the child that God has handpicked for our family. I believe this too. God knew from the beginning of time that this precious child born in China would one day be our daughter. How amazing is that? On the other side of the world, there is a tiny little girl without a home and family waiting for us. Please be praying for our daughter in China. Pray that she is safe, loved, and that all her needs are being met.  Though we do not yet know her name or what she looks like, she is already our daughter at heart.                                      

 Lori                            

Our Home Study is in the Mail

Our home study is in the mail!!! This is a long awaited day with piles of paperwork and a few unexpected roadblocks in our past. We now will be counting down the weeks – probably days – until we get the much coveted home study approval. This is a major step in the adoption process. We’ve been told that approval typically takes four weeks. Once we get the approval, we can apply for grants/loan, send our I800A to the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services), and view CCCWAA’s database of special needs children. 

Even though we are trying to hurry things along, we acknowledge that everything will happen according to God’s timing. He may speed things up at times or slow them down at others so that we ultimately adopt the child that He has in mind for us. Of course, there could be other reasons for God's timing in this as well. I’m sure that at the end of this journey we will be able to look back and understand so much more than we do now.

                                       

                                                                                     Lori                            

Foster Home License

Today we received our Foster Home License from DCFS. We weren’t aware that any of our papers had even been sent to them yet.  This was a nice surprise in the mail today, and it means that we are one step further along in the process. As I’ve said before, we had to become a licensed foster home in order to adopt. We’ve been told that this is required for all Illinois residents wishing to adopt, even if they never plan on having foster children.

By the way, the last obstacle with our home study was resolved yesterday!! We are now anxiously waiting for our social worker to finalize her reports and mail them to DCFS for our home study approval.

                                       

 Lori                            

Are You Interested in Adopting a Boy from China?

China has been known in the past to have many girl orphans due to the one child law and gender preference for boys, but surprisingly there are many boys in the orphanages there now. Below is a video posted by our adoption agency, Children's Hope International. You may want to grab a Kleenex first.

Call Childrens Hope if you are interested in adopting a boy. They'd love to speak with you! 314-890-0086 or follow their link on our page.

                                                     

                                                               Lori

Things Aren't Going As Planned

We thought that all was well with our home study, and that our paperwork and the social worker’s reports would be in the mail by Wednesday, May 18, going to the state’s DCFS office. Well, as we all know, things don’t always go as planned. There were three items that had to be addressed last minute. One was a quick and easy fix. We had to drain the water out of the fountain in front of our house.  The other two items are being taken care of, but they are out of our hands, so we must wait patiently.  We remain somewhat calm and believe that this is all part of God’s perfect timing.

Thanks so much to all of the people that have helped us thus far in some way! There have been people that have helped move the progress along, there have been those that have given words of encouragement, and there have been those who have prayed. We are so grateful for all. 

                                                     

                                                                         Lori