A Discouraging Little Weed...

It's Wednesday, and I'm 2 days further into my prescription of Typhoid immunization pills, but no nearer any news about our TA (travel approval)...alas, still waiting to hear when we can scoop this precious little dumpling into our arms forever!

Unfortunately, a weed of discouragement is trying to take root this week: our adoption agency gave me the 'reality' that we may not travel until the 2nd or 3rd week in OCTOBER! Absolutely deflating news, especially since we've been thinking that we could celebrate "Gotcha Day" sometime in September! Our coordinator explained that China celebrates a 'Moon Festival' the first week of October, and the entire country stops to celebrate - adoptions included. So if we don't receive our TA in the next week or so, then those important provincial and consular appointments which require scheduling 1-2 weeks in advance, won't be available for us to finalize the paperwork until mid-October.

Needless to say, it's been a teary couple of days around the house, and I can't shake the dismal feeling of being powerless to bring my son home any sooner. I turned to the story of Hannah this morning, knowing that I would find both comfort and camaraderie from this amazing woman of faith. Like Hannah, I am now barren, my body unable to carry any precious life inside of it. So her cries to the LORD, though difficult, also comfort me, as I understand her desperate desire to have a child. And Hannah's prayer, so bold yet silent, encourages me to persist, persist, persist in seeking the LORD to bring our child home much sooner than predicted.

Will you help me pull this discouraging weed today? All we have to do is ask FATHER:

Most powerful Father God,
Your perfect WORD, Father, reminds me that if I simply ask, then it will be given; if I seek, then I will find; if I knock, then the door will open because You give good gifts to Your children. Please, Lord Jesus, since You are the absolute best at moving big stones out of the way, I am begging that You move the rock that stands in the way of our travel to bring Nicholas home much sooner than anyone could have ever predicted or planned. And Holy Spirit, I am asking that you to pull the weeds of discouragement from my heart and replace them with seeds of comfort and joyful anticipation on this journey to sweet Nicholas. Above all, Father, I remember that You are this world's Master Gardener, and You provide a season for everything in perfect time. I submit that in all things, it is really not my will nor timing, but YOURS that will be done.
In Jesus' most precious name I pray,
AMEN

Waiting for our Sprout...

It's hard to believe that it's been nearly 10 months since we said, "YES! HE'S OURS!" It's all happened so fast, but when you're waiting to hold your child for the very first time, every day that passes lingers like eternity. For any adopting family, 'Gotcha Day' can never come soon enough. Never.

So as we wait for Nicholas' Gotcha Day to arrive, I thought it would be nice to sit a spell and reflect on where we've been...(or in garden-ese, let's take a gander at the row we've hoed this far...)

10/21/10 - Thursday morning, my friend shares a FB link to a blog advocating for 3 sweet little boys from China, all in need of their forever families: http://mycupoverfloweth.blogspot.com/2010_10_17_archive.html
I share the link with Rob, and we decided this was indeed a door to knock on...we both began praying that God would open it quickly...
(The story of these little boys is just incredible - read Stacy's blog above to learn more! We still can't believe that God has allowed our family to be woven into this beautiful tapestry of these precious little lives! And, Lynn & Stacy, your heart for the orphan has changed our lives forever - Thank you!)

10/22/10 - We submitted our adoption application to Wasatch, and received background information on this precious little boy named 'Parker'...

10/25/10 - Monday morning & there was no doubt for any of us that the little boy from the blog belonged with us! We begin referring to him as 'Pumpkin' until we receive pre-approval from the Ch*nese Center for Adoption Affairs...

10/28/10 - We receive pre-approval (PA) from CCAA, with a deadline of April 28, 2011 to submit our dossier. Sounds like a long time to compile the papers, but there is so much work to be done!

November 2010-January 2011 - We choose the name Nicholas Bennett Qing for our little boy...just like Miss M & Mr. B, there is a very special blessing in this new name...(I'll post more later on Nicholas' name! :D )

DOSSIER MARATHON begins! I begin organizing & compiling a mountain of paperwork: birth certificates, marriage license, physicals, financial statements, various verifications, police clearances both international & domestic, plus a homestudy, each needing to be notarized, authenticated by the State of Texas, and further authenticated by the Chinese consulate...

12/22/10 - HOMESTUDY! Our wonderful social worker gave us the best gift of the season, as she came to conduct our home visit just 3 days before Christmas!

2/1/11 - Homestudy is finalized! Whew!

2/11/11 - USCIS receives our I800A application to determine our 'suitability' to adopt a child from another country

3/18/11 - Biometric fingerprints at USCIS office in Houston

3/29/11 - I800A approved! We are found 'suitable'!

4/8/11 - Nicholas turns 4! We celebrated with little cupcakes in Texas, and we were blessed to be able to order a large cake for the orphanage to celebrate with him...we have the sweetest photos of Nicholas and an amazing Ch*nese birthday cake! Pictures confirmed that those little dumplings enjoyed every single bite!!!

4/13/11 - Our dossier is sent to China (DTC)...The wait for official approval begins...

5/10/11 - Our dossier is received or logged in CCAA, also known as our 'Log In Date' or LID...still waiting....

6/30/11 - APPROVED by CCAA to adopt Nicholas!

7/7/11 - USCIS receives our I800 Petition to classify Nicholas as an IMMEDIATE relative...a little wait here....

7/21/11 - USCIS APPROVED our 1800 Petition...wait a little bit more....

8/4/11 - We received a cable from the National Visa Center (NVC) that our petition has been forwarded to the US Consulate in Ch*na....waiting a little bit more....

So what's next? We're now waiting for this step entitled, 'Article 5', which is a letter notifying us that the US Consulate has received and reviewed Nicholas' visa application, and that all our paperwork is ready for the adoption to be completed. Once we receive Article 5, then we'll wait another couple of weeks for CCAA to authorize our approval to travel (TA).

Just a little more waiting...we've come so far! Little sprout, it won't be long and your forever family will be holding you close!

Prepping the soil....

Well, I've finally decided to blog, if only for a few weeks! As we prepare to travel to Ch*na for our precious little dumpling, I know that the usual ways of communicating with everyone via Facebook & email will not be available once we arrive in-country. Several helpful folks have suggested that I create a blog for the purpose of posting photos, sharing stories, and offering a seat to anyone who wishes to 'virtually' travel with us...

If you've known me for any time, you then know how much I love plucking around the yard, playing in the flowers, and puzzling about on my quest to grow peppers & tomatoes during a wicked Texas drought! (Thinking my years in Q should have prepared me for this, right?!) Well, it should be no surprise that some of my biggest faith-building lessons come from my 'Grace Garden', named so because anything that grows here, grows only by the grace of God! And I also know that God's hands are not only tending my garden, they are constantly cultivating my life - especially during this season of adoption! You see, God planted a wish for another child in our family's heart nearly 3 years ago, and now, finally, we are are about to see this fantastic wish sprout into a wonderfully-made little boy whom we'll soon meet...His name is Nicholas Bennett Qing.

My sincerest thanks to those of you who choose to share this journey with my family! I write for all of us when I tell you that we are most humbled that you wish to walk alongside us, and we are deeply touched by your support and prayers! With God as the gardener, you can be certain that spending time in this garden will produce an abundance of memories, sprinkle showers of lessons, and most likely, we'll work together to uproot any pesky weeds that attempt to take root along the way!

Well, it's time for me to roll up my sleeves, slip on some gloves, and grab a spade (or wireless mouse)...today we're planting a little blog, and very soon we're picking up a SPROUT!