I-800, Cable letter, and Article 5

We have some good movement to report!  Last Wednesday, we heard from our immigration officer that our I800, the petition to classify Hannah as our child, was approved.  Thursday, we received the physical approval by mail.  Friday, we confirmed that our visa paperwork for Hannah, which is necessary to be in place before we can travel, was sent to the US consulate in Guangzhou, China!  We completed more paperwork ;-) and early this morning we learned that an important letter from the National Visa Center was cabled (okay, now it's an email) to the US consulate in Guangzhou, where our interview on Hannah's behalf will take place.  This is still called being cabled....So, we have been cabled!   

We are now waiting for that letter, along with some other paperwork, which together comprise our Article 5 documents, to be dropped off in China.  Once they are picked up (a standard two weeks later), we will be waiting for our Travel Approval (TA).  Yes, that is exactly what you think it is.  How awesome is that?  TA typically takes two weeks, but can be more variable.  We will need to secure a consulate appointment (CA) once TA is issued, which usually takes only a couple days.  And that's it- at CA it will be time to book flights!

Receiving our I800 approval and being cabled allows us to better calculate our travel dates.  Or it would, except for Chinese New Year coming up!  The couple weeks everything is shut down, plus the fact that Hannah day and our consulate appointment are really bookends in a two week process that includes several steps from the legal process of her adoption, obtaining her Chinese passport, her medical exam for immigration, and our immigration interview.  So although we might have all the approvals needed to travel, we most likely will not be able to complete our adoption process in time for the holiday.  There is a cut off date that is our latest possible family day prior to Chinese New Year- after that, it's almost a month until the next possible date....that's if the consulate does not get a backlog of appointments following the holiday.  Our travel window is happily getting too narrow for me to talk about dates here, though!   

Our updated prayer request list includes:

• Continued prayers for Hannah's heart to be prepared for her adoption and for her to heal and thrive while she waits
• Preparation for our hearts as a family
• Safety and protection on all fronts as we progress through the last steps and travel
• Praise!  We need to guard her circumstances because this blog is open, but we can share that Hannah was moved this past fall, and she is receiving wonderful care where she is now.  On Christmas Eve, we received a beautiful update about her.    
• This new home for Hannah is also a prayer request, because her adoption will now make a total of three huge moves where the important people in her life all changed...all of it in the space of a couple years of life.  We are thankful that Hannah will have had several months in this healing home before we meet, and we know she is there and our timing to come for her is all for a purpose.

Thank You

You are one incredible, uplifting, adoption-loving circle of family and friends!  In December 2014, our final fundraiser, hosted by With Every Act of Love, totaled $1,200 towards Hannah's homecoming!  All of 2014, you dove right in with us, donating piles of items to a crazy huge garage sale, purchasing t-shirts, jamberry nails, art prints, envelopes, and sometimes even going undercover, donning anonymity to help Hannah come home.  If you played a role in any of that craziness, we have "tagged a bag" we are carrying with us to China and back with your family name (or a single initial, Anonymous!).  And we are going to make it!  Despite a (wonderful) 60-90 day forward leap, and some last minute challenges of the variety that are known to present themselves at the eleventh hour, we are still going to make it!

What else is there to say? 

Thank you.

You are simply amazing.
We are mightily blessed to be surrounded by you. 





   

Final days of With Every Act of Love and I-800 received :-)

Our immigration paperwork to classify Hannah as our daughter was officially received at the lockbox and should be in the process of being processed :-) sometimes between now and among and amidst the holidays.  After this step, the two countries start coordinating between themselves to allow us to travel to bring Hannah home!  We get a tighter and tighter time window as each step is completed.

If you have not yet heard about With Every Act of Love, we are their December family!  For the next 4 days only, they are continuing to host an envelope fundraiser for us, to help with that last big set of expenses that are coming months faster than we could have ever imagined.  You can see what it's all about by clicking the picture!  

Envelopes still available are #'s 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13,14,15, 16,17, 18,19, 55,74,144.  Meanwhile, we are continuing to work and save, and if we are awarded the Adopt Together grant we've applied for, we will be so close!  God has provided in ways we never saw coming- and you can believe I am writing these stories down for Hannah to keep.  They are uplifting stories, about people who will be part of her childhood, and some she may never meet.  When I know the outcome of the grant for sure, I'll share more, but for now, thank you, thank you for joining us!    

 

Side note, the day after I started getting antsy about it, Vivienne's adoption decree and certificate of citizenship followed her brand new US passport to our home.  One of those is impossible to replace as far as I know, the other is very costly to replace.  And originals were required, so lots of happy dancing this morning!  Back to safety with those documents!  Whew!     

With Every Act of Love

I'm writing from home today, as Vivienne's caught her....fourth? fifth? cold this fall...first year at mother's day out.  So we are keeping her away from you lovely people and trying to get it fought off in time for Christmas!      

If you see my facebook page, you probably know by now that our family is With Every Act of Love's family for December!  This will be our final fundraiser to bring Hannah home.  Here's how it works:

With Every Act of Love is hosting 12 days of giving, which is an envelope fundraiser.  144 envelopes, each ranging from $1-$144, you choose your number (amount of donation #33 envelope=$33.00 donation) by commenting below the facebook post or by messaging them & they will send you the information.  If you need a last minute Christmas gift, they can send you a personalized card to give to your loved one as well.  Here is the link you need to learn more!

https://www.facebook.com/actsflove

 

 

 

Because our 12 Days end on Christmas Eve, I want to say this now.  And probably again after this last fundraiser ends!  But I want to get the word out now.  We are amazed at the people in our lives who are doing this with us!  Thank you won't ever be enough.  Your gifts have pressed us deeper into our commitment to walk with other adopting and newly home families, moving forward, which is the nature of loving acts.  I was so unsure and nervous, not having done this before, but knowing we needed to respond "yes" to the overwhelming leading we were in agreement on.  Understanding what I know of Hannah's story up to now, I get it more- why we had to get started when we did, the perfect timing of events, and I also know the Lord is stretching us yet again through the adoption process.  I know this time of year, we are wrapping our hearts around God taking on flesh and coming to live among us.  We're remembering what was done for us, and learning to love more like that.  What a busy time of year it can be as well.  Thank you for your love, your prayers, and your patience!   

 

The Lord has done great things for us; and we are filled with joy. - Ps 126:3

 

LOA Baby!

It came Wednesday!  That hard LOA, the physical approval!  This is a formal letter China sends adoptive parents, asking them to accept the child to be adopted.  So Wednesday, we eagerly signed our named beneath hers and said that she belongs with us forever!  Photos to follow once I am able :-)

Next steps is I800, petitioning US immigration to classify Hannah as our daughter.  This step will take a month, and then everything starts to move even faster!  She will most likely be coming home in late February or early March!  Hurray!

Our Best Gift Came Early This Year....

So, re-reading my last post about feeling so easy-going this adoption is gonna make me laugh out loud.  Because about a week after that, I was in a whole other place...you know the one, adoption mamas! A couple of amazing, compassionate, spirit-led adoptive moms and friends helped me hang in there in November, let me tell you! 

Surprise!

 



You know how I've been reminded throughout two blogs now that God's ways are so very different than man's?  And how good a thing that is, too?  Last Monday our agency received some unexpected files, and sons and daughters were made known at last to their forever families.  The phone rang with that Alabama number- just 10 ordinary digits, but they make my heart leap and my stomach drop (in purely a good way!) every time they pop up.  There was a file.  Our wonderful caseworker, who has now matched us with both our precious children, sent it over, and it was actually very much like knowing Vivienne.  "Oh, there you are; we've been looking for you, precious one."  Really peaceful- no fireworks, just seeing this child and knowing that it was right.  That night we wrote our Letter of Intent, which presents our family and our ability to care for this child and asks the central authority for permission to make that babe our own.  I had a few days where I was physically dizzy over how quickly life had changed!  I am really glad all we were assigned for Thanksgiving this year was the green beans ;-)  It was probably all I could manage at that point!  It was a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving.

The Best Surprise!

 

The need for families for little boys is very real and serious, and we gladly expected to be one of those families.  But God places the lonely in families, and it does not always follow our logic or math...It's about ONE.  Our second surprise that day was that our family's "one" is the sweetest little girl!  It's about time for a picture, isn't it?  Here is our daughter, Hannah!

 

 



We are using her current name for her middle name, and it's important not to publicly disclose specific identifying information about her, but I can tell you that God knows her by name, and in our waiting the last few months He has provided for her in ways I'm not even sure I can share until this is all completed.  Just like He sent a caring nanny for Vivienne, He has provided something beautiful for Hannah.    

And Just One More Surprise!

 

Normally, when you write a letter of intent to adopt a child, you wait a week or often two for provisional approval, or PA, and then you wait 2-3 months for your final approval to be matched with this child, called the letter of acceptance, or LOA.  This letter is a letter issued by the central authority in China, essentially saying your request is definitely approved and seeking your confirmation, via the parents' signatures, that you are adopting this child.  

 

Well...our agency sent our letter of intent to adopt Hannah last Tuesday, and today...you guessed it, PA!  But not just PA...no, the computer system used by China to show the status of our dossier says that we are match reviewed, meaning that our actual, physical LOA should be here in about a week!  This moves our timeline way forward.  Like 2-3 months forward.  If the remaining steps progress on the normal schedule, it will still be chilly weather when we travel next year!  We are coming SOON, baby!

 

Next Steps

 



You know what?  I don't even know exactly what happens next, our timeline just got so bumped up!  I have to review the steps!  This is the part where it gets more complicated to explain the process.  I know the next step must be I-800 (back to US immigration) because we just got the paperwork to prepare for that step once our hard LOA arrives.  There will be a ping pong between those in each country's officials responsible for approving us to travel for adoption purposes, I know that much.  I also know that after LOA, things move fast step to step!  Oh my goodness. 

 

Can I just?  Ahhh!  Oh, there is a busy little list ahead!  I need to pull Vivienne's clothing and see if anything is small enough for this tiny child (or warm enough, since we traveled in summer last time).  I need to pull my packing list...and buy supplies...and re-arrange rooms!  These are things I save to do during the LOA wait to keep busy then.  But the LOA wait is already over! 

 

Prayer requests are now fairly numerous, but I'll try and keep it quick :-) 

-Please lift Hannah up in prayer as often as you think of it- she is pretty tiny, and we are also praying for total healing for her whole body. 

-Pray for those involved in her care, and the special endeavor happening to pour intensive love into her and the children with her.  And for those who see and hear about it- that it would be a blessing to everyone who encounters it. 

-We'd sure also love to ask for prayers for attachment and bonding.  It's a serious business, this breaking of a child's trust over and over, which is just a part of orphanage life even in the best of circumstances.  This is probably among the very least well understood aspects of adoption, and I do want to talk about it, but later, as we approach travel. 

-Please pray for preparation of Vivienne's heart.  She has adjusted so very well since her own homecoming, and she is getting pretty excited (Hannah is "Baby"), but those little wheels in her head are turning, and it's our job to reassure her of her incredibly precious, permanent place. 

-Pray for us to accomplish each day's work from now until we travel, and for travel mercies.

-Pretty earthly, but pray for our adoption fund to grow quickly, because we just (joyfully) lost 2-3 months worth of saving time!  But it is going to be good!!!

 

Okay, another novel from me.  Bless you people for reading!  ;-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Forever Families Foundation Grant!

We recently got the most amazing, wonderful surprise!  We were given an adoption grant of $1,000 from Forever Families Foundation!  This foundation is a new one, but it is already making such a difference.  This amount meets us half way on our next agency fee installment, or from a different perspective, covers our child's one way ticket home!!  When we heard that we were one of the applicants chosen this fall, it was perfect encouragement at the perfect time.  A burst of "steam" on this marathon.  Such a weary season this fall!  Missing granddad (the joyful, thankful grief believers get to live- it still takes time), crazy bad colds/sinus rotating among the three of us for eight weeks no matter HOW much soap and sanitizer flows, a not-fun adoption bump that is just part of the process sometimes, and finally being right in the midst of our referral wait.  When the letter arrived from Forever Families Foundation, it was like light breaking through!  It is more than the dollar amount, it's the encouragement- that hand pulling you along a few steps.  We are so grateful and we encourage you to check out the work this organization is doing!  Please visit http://www.4everfamiliesfoundation.org/.  No one asked us to say a word, by the way :-).  It is our pleasure to share this!

Speaking of where we are in the process, we are waiting to see our child's photo for the first time.  I have found between both of our adoptions that the two toughest times in the whole process are the wait for referral and the wait for LOA (the last "yes" from China for a specific child's adoption).  These are both emotionally loaded times of suspense, and naturally they would be the two longest waits, with the way our process works.  Because we would be overjoyed to adopt either a little boy or a little girl, and our special needs list is a little wider than last adoption, both we and our caseworker anticipated a swift match, but things can ebb and flow sometimes.  Great example of the way that God's timing is so very "other," apart from ours. 

People say the waiting does not get easier the second time, but really so far- so far!- it is better this time for me, personally.  No mistake, plenty of emotion and yearning right now, but I'm busier and it does help!  Maybe it's different because we were first time parents last time, and there was a certain agony in not knowing whether this stepping out would really "work," regardless of the pull on our hearts or the program's steady reputation.  We trusted God then, but realize for a post-infertility couple, what that often looks like just prior to adoption is believing His goodness and love when things don't work out like we hope they would.  No explanations, no medical or earthly reason we could see.  Just God is good.  Not safe, in an earthly sense anyway.  Good.  Our plan was to adopt much later...like so many other couples, when it was comfortable to do so.  But Vivienne could not wait, and her heavenly Father knew her by name.  We are not interchangeable cogs in this adoption process- our daughter needed her mommy and daddy to hurry up and bring her home, and in His mercy He didn't let us miss out on her.  Vivienne's adoption was certainly not the only, but definitely the most impactful teacher in my life of really wanting His timing and will more than ours.  Lessons in waiting being what they are, I am still very thankful we were propelled with such an overwhelming drive to begin the process earlier than planned this year!

By the way, sorry to have three fundraiser type items on the column to the right- we ended up ordering additional shirts to meet our minimums for the second shirt run.  It was so helpful and fun to be able to do, but it does add one too many items to the blog I feel like :-)  Still, it's my only way of attempting to wrap things up there!  I hope you'll forgive there being too much there for a little while!