Trip to China Delayed

Unfortunately, our trip to get our son  has been delayed by one week. The office where we must go to get Yangkang's passport will be closed Jan. 1-3, so dates had to be changed. We will now leave on Jan. 2 and gotcha day will be the following Monday.

Some good news: we have our flights booked, and our agency is now booking the in-country travel. Other good news, our agency has another family that will be in China at the same time as us. We will meet up with them in Guangzhou.

Good News

We received a grant this morning from A Child Waits Foundation for $2,000. It will go toward our in China travel expenses. 

Also, this morning our consulate appointment was confirmed for January 6. We will depart for China the day after Christmas. We will have family house sitting for us while we are gone. In the mean time, we will have two busy weeks before travel with Christmas and preparations.

Yangkang's room is ready. 

We're Going to China!

We received Travel Approval today! Our Consulate Appointment will be confirmed by tomorrow. We will probably be leaving the day after Christmas -- best Christmas present ever!

Article 5

Our Article 5 was pick up yesterday and mailed to CCCWA (China's  Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption). Now we wait for Travel Approval, which should be next week. From there our agency will make our appointment at the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China for Yangkang's visa. Our departure and entire trip will hinge on that appointment. 

We requested an update on Yangkang a couple of weeks ago, and we received it on my birthday; what a gift! According to the numbers, he is 37" tall and weighs 35 lb. and wears size 9 toddler shoes. I have a feeling they weighed him wearing multiple layers, coat and shoes. Anyway, we think he is wearing a 3T size just like Mia, though she is 38" tall and weighs 30 lb. She needs a 3T for the length, but the waist is always too big.

We are still working on getting his room ready. I ordered his bed, mattress and ceiling fan yesterday. They should all be here by next week. 

With the update we received three new pics and a video. Here's my favorite pic:

Love the hair!

It's Been a Crazy Day

We got our NVC letter first thing this morning. We are now waiting for our Article 5.   I spent the morning filling out our DS-260 application online for Yangkang's visa. Our agency gave us a detailed  outline of how to fill it out. They sent me the orphanage and province name to enter, something seemed different, though I didn't give it too much thought. 

Later, I asked Julie at our agency when she thought we would be traveling, and she said 4-6 weeks! I also asked what hotel they typically book in Hefei, which is the capital of Anhui province. She responded with something like his province is Jiangsu, so you will be in Nanjing. This information wasn't registering with me, as I was trying to wrap my head around the 4-6 weeks timeline, but my husband was like "that's not his province." 

Long story short, his city's name was misspelled in the English documents that came with his referral. They are what we have been going by all this time. The misspelling is an actual city in Anhui province, and there is an orphanage there, which Love Without Boundaries works with. Everything we thought we knew about his orphanage was wrong. I am finding very little information on the orphanage that he is at in Huai'an in the Jiangsu province. 

Our paperwork is still on track. I did enter the correct province on the application, so now we are back to focusing on the 4-6 weeks. We are freaking out right now. We got Yangkang a booster car seat and clothes this week, but his bedroom is not finished. We still need to order his bed and mattress and ceiling fan (the white chandelier won't work for a little boy's room). We still need around $16,000 to complete the adoption. Most of that is for travel and the orphanage donation.

Please be praying for God's provision and our peace. And please pray against any evil that would try to come against us.

                                                                                                                                                                                          LORI 

I800 Approval!

Our I800 application was approved on November 5. We received the approval notice in the mail on Saturday. Yangkang's last name was misspelled, so a corrected notice will have to be issued.

We just have a few more steps to go before travel!

NVC - visa petition for our child

Article 5 - letter  that let's CCCWA know that our immigration file is complete

Travel Approval!!!!

Travel for Yangkang  (most likely early January)

                                                                                                                        LORI

We Have LOA!

We have our Letter of Approval from China, dated 10/16/14, so the wait was 77 days. We can now submit our I-800 application to US Immigration Services for approval to classify him as an immediate relative. 

And now, what we've all been waiting for....

Introducing

Joel Yangkang

We can't get to China soon enough.

                                                                                                                                                                             LORI

10 Questions Adoptive Parents Ask « Empowered To Connect

10 Questions Adoptive Parents Ask « Empowered To Connect

What Mia thinks about all of this

I haven't shared this yet, but I'd like to talk about how Mia has been with the news of the adoption. When we first asked her months ago if she would like another brother or sister, she said "no." We asked her on other occasions to which she replied "no." Then one day I asked her if she would like another sissy or ge ge (older brother) to which she perked up and said "yes." One day my mom asked her if she would like a big ge ge or a little ge ge. I told my mom that ge ge is only used for big brothers. She asked me how to say little brother in Chinese, and I said I think it's xiao de. Mia exclaimed, "Xiao de?! Ugh," and threw herself in the floor. It was quit hilarious. Well, she is getting a xiao de, though he is only one month younger than her. I'm sure she will let him know that she's the oldest.

She is now ready to be the big sister. She has pretended to talk to him several times on her play phone. One day she told him, "We will come get you soon. It won't be long in the day."

She talks about him a lot. She even offered to share her room with him, before she knew he would be getting his own room. I'm sure there will be some jealousy and problems with sharing as with most siblings, but I believe Mia will be a great big sister to Yangkang.

Mia will be traveling to China with us for Yangkang. She has never spent the night away from me since her adoption in July 2012, and doing so would not be good at this time. She still often wakes in the night crying for me. 

A few people have shown concern over her going back to China, as if she wouldn't be safe there or that she could even be taken away from us. She is an American citizen and will be traveling with a US Passport, and as such, she is protected by the US government just as Brent and I are.

My concerns with taking Mia back to China are that she may grieve all over again, or that it will be hard with Yangkang at first, which will be hard on Mia as well.  

As for now Mia is ready to go get her little brother. She doesn't understand why we have to wait. I don’t understand it either sometimes, but I do believe in God’s perfect timing.

We are coming up on 60 days that we have been waiting for our LOA (letter of approval) from China. We are hoping to have it by Oct. 1. There is a holiday in China that is observed Oct. 1-7, and government offices will be closed during that time. Sometimes, they make a big push to get things out the door just before a holiday, and it seems that Mondays are often busy days for adoption related work in China. So, maybe we will here something by Tuesday here. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much though.

Earlier this week I requested a form from our adoption agency for a grant application. One of the questions that it asked the agency was projected travel date. We were a little bummed when we saw their response, Jan. 22, 2015. We really want to travel before Christmas. The sooner we get LOA, the more that becomes possible; hoping and praying.

                                                                LORI

Praise God

I was planning on posting this before we got the really big news. I can't help but praise God, because He is worthy. We received a generous gift from a couple in our church today -- a huge surprise. Then this afternoon we got an email stating that we have received a sizable grant from the JSC Foundation. Throughout this adoption, God has provided funds just as they were needed. I feel like our LOA is going to be here soon.


                                                                                                             Lori

Preparing

Our oldest daughter moved to the bedroom downstairs, previously our son’s room. He is only home for about 10 weeks out of the year and will be staying in the family room when he’s home. We hope to build a wall bed for him before the holidays. The same day Emily moved downstairs, Mia moved from a toddler to a twin bed; the same twin bed we originally set up before her referral, when we thought she would be older. We now have an empty bedroom upstairs for Yangkang. We don’t have his bed yet, but I have a bed along with bedding picked out for him. First, we need to give his room a fresh coat of paint and shampoo the carpet.

Besides these things, I have lots of little projects to sew/paint/repair, as well as the the regular nesting type cleaning and organizing. Brent has large projects underway. He’s building a storage shed, since we are outgrowing our home. The storage building will free up some room in the garage so the exercise equipment (previously kept in the family room) can go out there.  Also, we have water damage downstairs around window and under the floor that has to be addressed. The current window well needs dug out and replaced along with new pipes installed.

We have lots to do in a short time to prepare for Joel and to get our home back in order. It’s exciting and exhausting at the same time.

On the adoption front, we have been waiting 43 days now for LOA. We really hope to have it by Oct. 1. Our dossier has already been translated and as of last Monday it was in the review stage. After that there will be the match review, then LOA.

Right after we submitted our LOI, China sent us the requested x-rays of Yangkang’s neck. The very next day we received 2 surprise videos of him. After our doctor had a radiologists review the x-rays, we were told that while the x-rays aren't real clear, it appears that Yangkang has an extra half vertebrae on one side of his neck causing his head to tilt to one side. Our doctor was concerned that the neck malformation accompanied with the VSD could be a sign of a syndrome.  Other symptoms of this syndrome are kidney issues, scoliosis, hearing problems, and the inability to move the neck along with pain in the neck. The videos clearly tell us that he is not in any pain, he can move his head from side to side without any problem, and his hearing is fine. I believe and hope that the neck and VSD are separate issues and not a syndrome with other medical issues. We will not know specifics until after he is home. We, along with others from our church, are praying for Yangkang’s neck to be healed. Yangkang's name means hope for health. Our hope is in the Lord, who can do all things.

                                                                                                            LORI

Let Our Hearts Be Broken by What Breaks His

Say Yes to No-nos!

post from Love Without Boundaries
www.lwbcommunity.org

After surgery for cleft lip or palate, it is all too easy for children to hurt the incision by putting hands or toys in their mouths. For this reason, after surgery children wear arm restraints, commonly called “no-nos”.

No-nos need to be worn for several weeks while the surgical site heals. These soft, Velcro-wrap arm restraints are surprisingly expensive and difficult to find in China. Luckily, however, no-nos can be reused over and over. Do you or someone you know have a used pair?

LWB volunteers traveling to China this fall hope to take as many no-nos as they can pack into their suitcases. Donated no-nos will be distributed to healing homes where children recovering from facial surgeries can make good use of them.

If you have a pair that you would like to see used again, please contact  Love Without Boundaries at specialprojects@lwbmail.com, and they will provide you with the mailing address of an LWB team member with room in their suitcase. Thank you for your help!

Referral

We have formally accepted a referral for a 3 year old boy named Yangkang from the Anhui province. He is one month younger than Mia. He was born with a large VSD and received surgery at 3 months of age to correct it. Our doctors believe that he is now low risk for further heart issues. We are requesting a little more information from China, but we submitted our LOI (letter of intent) to our agency today.  We will happily share a picture when we receive our LOA (letter of approval) back from China.

The month of July was an emotional roller coaster. We were LID on July 10. On July 14, the first shared list was released since our log in date. On July 15, I emailed our agency to ask how many LID families they had and how the agency goes about matching.  They emailed back with their response and then later that day, I was told that a little boy’s file had just been released to the shared list. After much consideration, we had to say no. Sadly, his multiple special needs were more than we felt we could handle. 

Then on July 23, a dear woman from our church shared with us information on a little boy that was being advocated for by Love Without Boundaries. His name was the same name that I’ve had on my heart since we were in the process of adopting Mia. I contacted LWB to find out what adoption agency had his file, and then contacted that agency to see if they would be willing to transfer his file to our agency.  The agency had just received his file the previous week, and was not willing to share until their families had a chance to consider him, which I completely understand and is only fair. However, seeing this little boy’s file and having to turn down a referral caused a lot of distress and confusion. I prayed that God would give us the referral from the next shared list the following Monday, July 28, and that the boy with the other agency would be matched by Monday also, if he was not the one for us.

So, Monday night came, and we received a referral from the shared list for our son Yangkang! The next morning I found out that the boy with the other agency had been matched as well. Praise God.

                                                                                                            LORI

2 Year Gotcha Day Anniversary

Happy Gotcha Day, Mia!

Last minute request, a Monster's Inc. cake (good

thing that we had some leftover fondant in the freezer)

Mia could spend hours in the yard just kicking

a ball around, so we got her a soccer ball.

We also celebrated Gotcha Day with a Chinese dinner, still some of Mia's favorite food. We recently found an international market that carries some items that we can't find anywhere else, like steamed buns. These are common in China, but rarely seen in Chinese restaurants in the US. They are a roll that is steamed rather than baked. We also get dumplings there, which Mia thinks are extra special. Sharing a Chinese meal is one way that we like to celebrate her culture.

It's hard to believe that it's been two years since Mia was placed in our arms. We love this little girl so much.

                                                                     LORI

Just Waiting (and obsessively watching for the release of shared lists)

Today I learned that our agency has 13 LID families, including ours, currently waiting for a SN match. Families aren't necessarily matched in order ,however, because it all depends what child each family is open to regarding age, gender, and special needs. The families waiting for an infant girl with very minor needs will probably have a long wait. Our wait might be shorter with our openness to either gender in the 3-5 year range. Of course, there's really no way of knowing, and anything is possible. And of course, God's timing is perfect. I need to prepare myself for a long wait, because sadly it is a possibility.

Also, in emailing our agency this morning, I found out that they just received a grant for us for $500 from Heart of the Bride. I was shocked, because we didn't know that they had awarded us a grant. Maybe the letter or email was lost, but it was a total surprise. This amount is going to go toward our agency's $700 referral fee, which isn't actually due until we have LOA. Praise God as He continues to provide!

LID!!!

We have LID! It's official; our dossier was logged in with CCCWA (China's Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption) on July 10. Our agency, CAWLI, is now searching for a match for our family. There's no way of knowing how long it will take for us to get a referral; it could be days or months. It seems that every wait in the adoption process gets harder. 

CAWLI has told us more than once that it's okay to say no to a referral, if we do not feel comfortable with the child's medical needs. I felt a heavy burden just typing that last sentence. I can't imagine seeing a child desperate for a family and then saying no. Please pray for us concerning this: Pray that we are matched with the child that God has chosen for us, pray that our agency has discernment,  and pray that we have peace. AND please pray for our waiting child and all orphans.

                                                                                                         LORI

DTC!!!

We have DTC!!! Our dossier was sent to China on Monday (just found out). We are now officially waiting for our LID (log in date from China), after which we can get a referral for a waiting child. For Mia's adoption, it took about 6 months after our LID to be matched. That was a very long, torturous wait. We think that we will be matched much sooner this time because we are open to a boy or a girl a little older, 3-5 years, and our list of special needs that we are open to is longer. We shall see. I will continually remind myself that God's timing is perfect. It is my  prayer that we are matched with the child that He has chosen for us, regardless of gender, age or special need.

                                                                    LORI

Fundraiser/Matching Grant Update

I found out this morning that there were more donations Sunday that were put in the offering box, and that the funds raised were only $89 away from reaching the full matching grant amount. Our church was quick to add that amount, so the grant is fully matched!!!

Once again funds have come in just in time for the next round of fees. We will have our final documents back from the courier tomorrow. I will mail them on to our adoption agency tomorrow afternoon. The fundraiser/matching grant will just about cover our remaining agency fee of $3,600 and China's dossier fee of $1,790. We will be able to submit our dossier without delay! Again, we are so thankful for the amazing show of support from our church family this week.

Looking ahead, once we have our dossier log in date from China, we can be matched with a child.
                                                                    
                                                                                     LORI

Fundraiser Dinner

We had our fundraiser dinner at church today. We had a wonderful show of support from our church family, and we raised $1,888 to go toward our matching grant from Hand In Hand Christian Adoption, Inc. We are so thankful!!!

We Have I-800A Approval

We have I-800A approval. We were approved 6/4 and received the notice in the mail today. Wow! One more step down. Like the fingerprint appointments, the I-800A approval came sooner than expected. Unfortunately, this probably means that there are less families adopting. We will have a copy of our approval notarized Monday. Brent will take the last four documents of our dossier to the Sec. of State's office Tuesday for certification. The office isn't very far from where he works. Then Wednesday we will mail the four documents to our courier, Denise Hope, in Chicago. The Chinese Consulate in Chicago no longer allows for families to mail in their documents. So, it's either we hand deliver them or use a courier, and a courier is actually cheaper than travel. The Chinese Consulate has to authenticate the documents. We then should have the documents back in our hands sometime the following week. After this it will be time to submit these final documents to our adoption agency, China Adoption With Love, Inc. to complete our dossier. At that point we will need $5,380 for our agency fee and China's application fee before our dossier can be submitted to China. The timing of this will depend on when we have the funds available. 

                                                                   LORI

Post from our son Adrian

Trinidad Missions 2014

I can't believe it but at 2:30 am this morning I left for Denver International Airport to board a flight to Trinidad and Tobago. These are two small islands located in the Caribbean.

While in Trinidad we will be working with an organization called Every Home for Christ to take the Gospel from home to home. This is the third year that DLA has gone to Trinidad and Tobago, and we are coming close to completing the mission of reaching ever home, on both islands, with the Gospel.

I am both filled with excitement and nervousness for this trip. We will be gone for just a little over a week, and while there we will face many challenges and many victories.

Please be praying for us as we travel and for the hearts of the people to be open to the word of God.

We Have Been Blessed

We are thankful for God's provision. We have been awarded a matching grant for our adoption from Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc. We received this very same grant in 2011 for Mia's adoption. Hand in Hand will match dollar for dollar up to $2,500 for a total grant of $5,000. 

Last time we did a fundraiser dinner at our church, and we were able to maximize the grant and then some. It worked out so well that we are planning on doing the same thing again. We only have until July 15 to raise money for this matching grant, so things have to move quickly. The dinner is scheduled for June 22 at our church immediately following the morning service. 

It just so happens that if we can maximize the grant as we did with our first adoption, the amount raised will be almost exactly what we need for the next round of fees. The next fees will be due when we submit the final papers for our dossier, which is just weeks away. God's timing is always perfect!

                                                       BRENT

Fringerprints Are Done

Our fingerprints are done. We weren't able to walk in last Friday like we had hoped. By the time we got Emily from school that day and hit some slow moving traffic, we got there just as they were turning off the lights in that office. Adrian, however, was able to do a walk-in in CO last Friday. We were more worried about him getting his done that day than ours. 

Everything went smoothly today. Now, we wait for USCIS approval.

Why the Decline in International Adoptions?

My husband just shared this article on Facebook. I thought that I would share it here as well.           Click HERE  to read.

Fingerprint Appointments

Something happened sooner than expected. Today we received letters from the Department of Homeland Security with our fingerprint appointments. This is for our I800-A approval. We had these done for Mia’s adoption, but the fingerprints actually expired after 15 months. The appointments are for May 21; however, we are going to try to do walk-ins on Friday the 16^th. The reason we are trying to get them done sooner is because our oldest daughter is graduating high school the week of the 21^st, and it will be a crazy busy week.  It is possible that we might receive I-800A approval sooner than we thought, which is exciting, but terrifying at the same time. We have some very big fees coming up. We have been applying for grants over the past two weeks. Please be praying with us for God’s provision.

                                                                                               

                                                                        LORI

We Have Home Study Approval!

It's been a really long wait for this, but our home study has finally been approved! We should have it in hand soon so that we can move forward once again. In the adoption process, moving forward often means moving on to the next wait, which will be for the I800-A approval from the USCIS. The I800-A determines our suitability to adopt a child from a convention country. This wait usually takes about seven weeks.

Thanks to a couple in our church, from whom we received a generous donation yesterday, we will be able to submit our I800-A application and the $1,060 fee without delay. As I have said before, we wouldn't have been able to complete Mia's adoption, and we wouldn't be able to complete this adoption without the help of people like them. We believe that one way God provides is through others in the church body. We are thankful for His provisions!

                                                                   LORI

But How Can I Help? (Guest Post)

Not everybody can afford international adoption. Fact. Adopting from foster care, in most states, is free (or reimbursed upon finalization). Fact. Cost doesn't have to play into you giving a child a family. Fact.

BUT.

Not everybody can or should adopt. Fact. While I wholeheartedly mean this, I do believe that every single person out there can, in a small or large way, help a child who doesn't have the parents they're supposed to standing up for them and advocating for their future.

With that said, this post is hopefully going to open your eyes to a few ways you may be able to help those kids. Some require little time, effort, or money. Some require dedication, funding, and the fortitude to deal with all sorts of emotions. Pray on these and see where God is leading you (and don't be surprised if He calls you to something bigger or smaller than you're ready for). There is absolutely NO reason why YOU can't make a difference.

PRAY. 
Did you know that there's a 40 Days of Prayer for Orphan Care chain out there? Hundreds, if not thousands, of people daily are praying one of these prayers. And since we're told that God is there where two or three gather in His name (Matt 18:20) imagine how much more impact it is for hundreds to be gathering with the same prayer.

Simply praying for these kids is huge. You can pray for individual kids, for example if you know a family that is adopting and want to pray for their process or their child's well-being, or you can join the 40 Days prayer warriors by printing this and praying daily.

PETITION.
All over the world there are children who are stuck due to red tape and a few bad eggs ruining the whole batch. Guatemala, Nepal, and Cambodia are just a few examples. There are children in all these countries who have families waiting for them but can't bring them home. Some have waited for years. And we can join them to fight for their child's right to be home.

Right now, with everything going on in Crimea, there is a petition being signed to present to the White House. There are children over there RIGHT NOW who have families desperately wanting to bring them home and out of harm's way but cannot. The kids who don't have families waiting for them yet are directly in the line of fire and have no one standing up to protect them. Regardless of your politics and views of what's going on with Russia, it's safe to say that these kids didn't do anything to deserve this. You can sign this petition and help bring attention to the fact that these kids are the innocents in this battle and deserve to be rescued and given safety. It will take you all of two minutes but has the potential to save thousands of lives.

SPONSORSHIP.
Orphan care isn't just about helping those who are already without parents. It's also about preventing families from disintegrating. One of the largest, if not THE largest, reason why children are released for adoption is because their families are no longer able to afford to care for them. We can stop this cycle in its tracks so easily that most 1st world countries take advantage of it.

Education.

The simple act of a child being able to go to school can preserve families and change neighborhood economies for generations. You may be thinking, "How does the kid going to school help his parents afford to care for him?"

Let me tell you!

1) Most schools are capable of offering a meal to the children enrolled. For many kids, this is the only meal they'll get throughout the day. By having their kids go to school the parents don't have to worry about whether or not their children will have food to survive. This one meal a day can make a huge difference in whether these kids starve or live, stay with their family or go to an orphanage.

2) The education these kids receive can help them further help the family. Many cultures do not use birth control and continue having children until they hit menopause. Which means Sally could be 17 when Susy is born. If Sally has an education, legit job skills that can help her family afford what they need to survive with this new baby in the mix, than Sally is able to help keep Susy in her own family's arms instead of an institution.

3) Receiving an education breaks the cycle. Those who are educated are more likely to seek out education for their own children. Meaning that the parents, whose job skills are enough to help them earn higher wages, can now provide the money needed for their own children to not only stay in their family but may also be able to give them a better education, obtaining better job training that can provide the kids even higher wages. Within a few generations, this family may be able to get out of the vicious poverty cycle and no longer have to worry about whether they can stay together or not.

A great article about the effects of sponsoring a child to go to school can be found here. The organization that article talks about, Compassion International, is a great place to start if you want to consider sponsoring. You don't have to go in this alone either. If the monthly cost is too much you can partner with your parents, siblings, or prayer buddies to support a child (which, by the way, is a great way to deepen your own relationships as you're now both caring for someone in a deep way...it does things to you, trust me).

Sponsorship doesn't just happen on a student level though. Teachers many times need sponsors as well. Many teachers around the world are actually missionaries working in schools that the governments can't provide staff for. Sometimes these teachers come from abroad, sometimes they are local citizens who want to change their own neighborhood. Often, these are the only people standing between a child and an orphanage. In some countries, they're the only ones able to bring medical attention to an area. When clinics aren't around doctors often travel to schools in the village to dispense medicine. But if there are no teachers, there are no schools. No schools can sometimes mean no doctors. And let's not forget the important work that the teachers are doing to begin with! It doesn't matter where you are, grabbing the attention of 6, 18, 35, 50 children of any age is hard work!! You can sponsor a teacher here, and they even have different commitment levels so you can choose which best fits your giving budget.

USE YOUR TALENTS.
Jen Hatmaker just wrote an awesome blog post about using your gifts for God's kingdom (ahem, which is what I'm trying to do right now by writing this...thanks for the kick in the pants that I certainly needed, Jen!). This is so much easier to do than you think! Need some ideas? Well...

If you know how to sew you can easily whip up a few pillowcase dresses for organizations like Little Dresses for Africa. This is just one of many that will accept dresses, so you can hunt around if you want to find one sending to a country you feel more connected to (there is NOTHING wrong with having your heart in a certain place). These dresses are super simple to make and if you want to sweeten the deal you can get a craft party put together for you and your friends. My church makes dresses monthly, though I'm not sure for which organization, and there are local groups that can be found on sites like Meetup.com that do this sort of thing.

Want to broaden your horizons? Craft Hope changes the type of projects they do every few months. While not strictly crafting for orphans, they have done many projects (the original one being dresses for Africa) to send to orphanages around the world. Again, another good excuse for a craft night party.

Are you good with technology? There may be an orphan care ministry in your area that could use your tech savvy to design their logo, t-shirts, or blog. Some groups out there, like The Archibald Project, need photographers and videographers to help them capture precious moments and important events for families and orphanages. If you're a photographer or videographer but can't afford to go overseas at the moment, consider signing up to volunteer a free session for adoptive parents on Red Thread Sessions. You're helping celebrate the new life these kids have while also helping to tell their story, which could encourage others to jump on board to adopt (true story, I know half a dozen people who heard/saw someone else's story and decided to adopt themselves. LOVE IT!).

Do you like gift giving? Making it all cute, putting together just the perfect thing for someone? They could certainly use you at Project Night Night! These packages help homeless kids feel a little less scared when they come into shelters. Some states accept these packages for kids newly coming into foster care. Reach out to a shelter near you or your local department of child services to find out! Want some examples? This gal put together 9 Project Night Night bags for her local shelter. This crazy awesome girl decided she wanted to "wrap them in love" and provided blankets for kids. How cool is that?

THE BIG ONES.
I saved these for last because I know these are the things that most of you will hesitate on. But I would still heavily encourage you to consider them!

1) DONATE to a family who is adopting. This does NOT just refer to money. You can donate your time helping a family fundraise (do you know how boring it is to sit at a yard sale alone waiting for foot traffic? Soooo much better if friends are there with you!). You can give clothes or toys your own children have grown out of to a friend about to bring home a child that could enjoy them. You can get together with a few other people and make freezer meals so that the woman at church who's bringing home a toddler from Africa doesn't have to worry about dinner prep for a week or two while trying to bond (and get back on the right time zone!). Think: if this family was bringing home a newborn, what would they appreciate friends and family to do? What would they need? Now tailor it to the child's age and how long the family will be from home/how long they'll need to recuperate and odds are you can think of some way to bless them.

2) DONATE directly to an orphanage. This one is a little harder, but if you ask your adoptive friends I bet you they know who can use what. Some orphanages may have an Amazon wishlist (it doesn't hurt to ask if you're not sure) or something similar so you can order online and have it sent directly to them. Bonus points if you use a program like Swagbucks to earn gift cards to purchase the items! A lot of times parents traveling to pick up their child will ask ahead of time what the orphanage may be in need of so they can bring them over. For example, I know a gal who was looking for a certain type of formula and size of baby clothes. Friends got together, purchasing formula and giving clothes they no longer needed, and viola! Orphanage stocked for a few months! Again, not the easiest thing to figure out in the world, but by no means difficult to do. And the staff working there REALLY appreciate what they receive, as it makes caring for the kids easier and provides them with a better life while they wait to go home with their parents.

HOST a child for a few weeks. These kids are often older, school-age children who are still waiting to be adopted. They visit your home for 4-6 weeks and basically you just show them what it's like to be a kid, with a family, having fun. Honestly, this is an AMAZING way to serve in a more right here, right now, both feet jumping in way. You're allowing these kids some exposure to your community, which helps them learn how to live outside of their orphanage and helps your community learn of an amazing child looking for a family. You're helping them learn English, the language they're most likely going to need to learn should they get adopted. You're teaching them what love looks like, what healthy attachments look like, both of which prepares them when it comes time for them to have their own family. You choose the child (or children) you're going to host, meaning if you have teenage daughters you can avoid getting a teenage boy (admit it, that's a legit fear many parents have). You can choose whether they're European or Asian, their age, their gender, you will read biographies of them to make sure you're a good match for them. Mind you, you're responsible for their airfare and all costs of having them with you during their stay. BUT...think of how WORTH IT that is for that child. Instead of sending one of your kids to summer camp you can bring a kid to your home for their own version of summer camp (your kids will feel like it's camp anyway, since they'll have a new playmate to goof around with). This is much cheaper than adoption, much more intense than blindly giving to a cause where you don't know the names and faces.

You can check out New Horizons for Children for more information.

So there you have it. If you want to help kids you have a good amount of ways to do it and a list of excuses that's growing shorter by the hour. ANYONE can do at least one of these. I truly hope this opened your eyes, maybe tugged at your heart a bit, and has got you thinking about how you can start making a difference and leaving a mark in this life.

With ài,
Dani

Danielle and her husband, JT, are adopting a son from Taiwan. You can follow their journey on their blog,  loveinmandarin.blogspot.com/

Thank you Danielle for graciously allowing me to share this post.

Worth Thinking About

Fundraising

If you’ve noticed the fundraising thermometer on the far right of the page, you may be shocked at the $35,000 that we need for this adoption. It is overwhelming at times; I try not to think of that number, but we keep pressing forward because a child’s life is worth so much more. If you wonder where all this money goes, check out our adoption costs page.

I want to add that every penny that we pay ourselves is also included in the amount raised so far. We are contributing everything we possibly can ourselves, and are not relying solely on others. However, we cannot do this on our own, which brings me to fundraising.

Our current fundraisers are an affiliation with christianbook.com, see post, and Funding Factory.

For Funding Factory we are collecting used cell phones, digital cameras, old ipods, ipads, and certain toner and ink cartridges. Funding Factory pays for the shipping and pays a set amount for each qualifying item.

We were able to send our first shipment last week for which we received $44.80 to go toward our adoption fund! We will continue collecting for this fundraiser until our adoption is complete.

I would like to make a challenge to businesses, not just local, to participate. Businesses are often asked to mail their empty toner and ink cartridges back to the manufacturers, but receive little or nothing in return. If you work at such a business and would like to donate your empty toner and ink cartridges to benefit our adoption, CLICK HERE, where you will be directed to a very short one page application. Use our id # 344971 in the box that says "school or nonprofit ID," and then you’re ready. Collect items, print free shipping labels online at Funding Factory, and ship.  You can even request them to send free shipping boxes if you need them. Once they receive the shipment, they will place the earnings in our fund. All the funds collected go toward our adoption costs.

For anyone wishing to make a monetary donation, you can do so through the PayPal button located at the far right under the fundraising thermometer. If you would prefer sending a check, you may make a donation directly to our adoption agency:

China Adoption With Love, Inc.

251 Harvard St., Suite 19-20

Brookline, MA 02446

Make sure you include a note or write in the memo line of the check, Lance family adoption.

NOTE TO OTHER ADOPTING FAMILIES:

If you are considering Funding Factory for your next fundraiser, please use us as a referral. We will receive $50 for every referral. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

·        * Choose “Referred by Participant” during registration

·        *Provide our organization ID# 344971

·        *Send at least one box of Qualifying items within six months of registration

    Thank you to everyone who has participated in our fundraisers thus far and for those who have made donations!

                                             LORI

Moving Forward

Our adoption has been stuck for awhile over our oldest daughter's fingerprints that were taken last November. They were processed, but not processed. Well, today we learned that we finally have her clearance, and we can now move forward. Our home study is now being submitted to the DCFS for approval! Approval typically takes one month if everything is in order.

Just a note, we started this adoption 71/2 months ago. With our first adoption, we had a LID by 8 months. Hopefully things will pickup now.

Thank you to all who stood with us in prayer.

                                                                                                            

                                                                   LORI

Christianbook.com Affliates

We are happy to announce that we are now christianbook.com affiliates. What does that mean? It means that you can go through our site to purchase things at christianbook.com, and a percentage of the sales is given to our adoption fund. Christianbook.com has pretty much every Christian book out there, plus CDs, Bibles, and other Christian merchandise such as Graduation Gifts and VBS material.

For us to receive a percentage back from the sales, you simply click on the Christianbook.com button located at the top of the middle row. This is a link that will take you directly to the christianbook.com website where you can then shop as you would normally. Once you’re there, the browser session will remain active for up to four hours for us to receive credit. Unfortunately, if you use coupon codes, we will not receive credit. As an affiliate, we will receive 8% for all physical products and 5% for downloads.

Even if I wasn’t an affiliate, I would recommend them. They typically have the best prices out there. When our son was attending St. Louis Christian College, we purchased most of his textbooks there, because they had the best prices. So if there’s a book or CD that you are planning on purchasing anyway, please go through our affiliate link to help with our adoption. 

Cost of Adoption Stats from Adoptive Families Magazine

Cost of Adoption Update: 2012-2013 | Adoption Information from Adoptive Families Magazine: Domestic, International, Foster and Embryo Adoption Resources

And the Wait Goes On and On and On

We are still waiting for our home study to be submitted to the DCFS for approval. Our oldest daughter’s fingerprints are the hold up. We have been doing everything that we can to try to move this forward. When I did some looking into Accurate Biometrics on their website, I found that prints are typically processed within 24-48 hours. The prints were taken Nov. 12, over three months ago! On the website they gave a phone number for the IL Police Dept where you can call to check on the status of prints. I called and was told that the results were sent via email on Nov. 14. The officer then told me that it was a good thing that I called that day, because after 90 days they will not resubmit the results. It was day 89. The State Police resubmitted the results that day. This took place a couple of weeks ago.

Last Friday when I contacted one of our social workers again regarding this matter, I was told that it’s only been three weeks. Back in January I was asked to sign the application for Emily’s fingerprints.  This was the same application that had already been processed back in November. The application says right on it that people 17 years old or older do not require a parent’s signature. I told the social worker this, but I went ahead and signed it and sent it back to her. The request was then resubmitted. It’s only been three weeks since the signed application was batched to the DCFS on 2/6. I guess I just don’t understand how some of the process works, but something doesn't seem right here. I’m sure that I am driving my social workers nuts at this point, and annoying my social workers definitely is not my goal. My goal is to get our child home as soon as possible. Please pray that this paper issue will soon be resolved. I will try to hold on to the fact that God’s timing is perfect. 

                                                                         LORI

Wish You Happy Forever (book excerpt)

Wish You Happy Forever by Jenny Bowen (excerpt) by HarperOne (an imprint of HarperCollins)

Featured on Julie Gumm's Blog

Today we are the featured family on Julie Gumm's Blog. Julie is the author of Adopt Without Debt, and it is an honor to have her share our adoption story with others.

CLICK HERE TO READ

Look Who's 3!

Mia turned 3 yesterday. She has been with us since she was 17 months. How blessed we are to have her in our family. Our oldest daughter has a birthday today; she turns 18.