Notarized & Certified

Today we received our last batch of documents back from the NC Secretary of State. The documents have now been notarized and certified. Tomorrow I'll mail them to the US Department of State, an extra step because we happen to live in this region. Then back to waiting by the mailbox...

U.S. Immigration Approval!

Today we received APPROVAL from Immigration to adopt internationally! Hooray! In the mail was our I800-A Approval from USCIS. This is the last document we need for our dossier (the giant stack of paperwork that gets mailed to China). Now we begin sealing our remaining documents, including the home study report and Immigration approval. First up, mailing to the NC Secretary of State office. We are so close to completing our dossier!
(Ironically, we were approved on June 30, the day of my last post when I couldn't stop thinking about it!)

For the First Time

We are still waiting by the mailbox for approval from Immigration...
In the meantime, we enjoyed a lovely vacation with extended family. We spent a lot of time outdoors playing on the beach, swimming in the pool, and riding the golf cart. I truly enjoyed watching Ethan play with seashells, jump ocean waves, walk through a splash pool, and feed ducks all for the first time. His vocabulary is ever increasing, now including dog, bubbles, rain, duck, and all done. What a pleasure to see him grow and learn!
I've known for a long time that I wanted to adopt. I tried to soak up every second of Ethan's infancy, knowing that it would likely be the last time we experience the newborn/infant phase. Don't get me wrong, the sleep deprivation almost killed me. But the snuggles were so soft and the kisses so sweet. And who could forget all the firsts? There was the first smile, the first roll, the first crawl, the first word, and the first steps. Our adopted child will likely be over twelve months old when we meet. We may never experience many of this child's firsts. This bothered me for awhile, knowing that a nurse, nanny, or foster mom, all a stranger to this child, may see these firsts instead. Worse yet, no one may witness them at all, from a child left alone in a crib.
Yet as Ethan continues to grow, he reminds me that there are still so many firsts to come! First time seeing the ocean. First time chasing ducks. First day of Kindergarten. I may never have a newborn again, but I will experience so many firsts with our next child. We will start out as strangers, uncomfortable and unknown. But one day I will see this child's first smile in a safe home, listen to the first giggle with brother, and hear the first "Mama" and "Dada" to forever parents.

"Who brings our chaos back into order

Who makes the orphan a son and daughter

The King of Glory"

(Phil Wickham, This Is Amazing Grace)

Biometrics

Last week we received Form I-797C from USCIS in the mail. This letter gave us the appointment date and time to "capture our biometrics." In other words, we had to drive to Charlotte to be fingerprinted. We left really early in the morning to give plenty of time in traffic. It rained heavily and, not surprising, we passed damaged vehicles of two wrecks on the way down. It turned into a beautiful day though, with lunch and a little shopping, just the two of us. Now we wait for approval from Immigration before moving onto the next step.
Thanks to everyone that is helping make this journey possible. The support of family, friends, and coworkers is invaluable. It may take a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to bring home an adopted child!

I-800A Application

Our I-800A Application was received in Texas on May 7. (It is my understanding that we will know approval status within 90 days of that date.) The application was then forwarded to The Hague Adoption Unit in Missouri. Soon, USCIS will schedule a biometrics appointment for us to have our fingerprints taken.
Once we receive our I-800A Approval, we can start the sealing process for our final documents!

A Miracle in the Making

Tonight I read an article about a baby buried alive in China. When the baby was born, the parents didn't even want a birth certificate for their child, knowing it would soon be abandoned.

"The boy's family -- including the infant's grandmothers -- allegedly hired a man for $290 to get rid of the baby, according to Xinhua.

That day, the hired man left the newborn to die in a cardboard box in the wilderness. Two days later, believing the baby to be dead, he buried him, according to Xinhua.

Later, a woman who was picking herbs on a hillside heard a wail. With the help of a few villagers, police rescued the baby and sent him to the hospital.

Wu said the baby was in critical condition -- coughing up mud, his whole body covered in scratches and bruises -- when he arrived at the hospital.

The baby weighed 7.8 pounds when he was born. By the time he was rescued, he weighed only 5.9 pounds."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/14/asia/china-baby-buried-alive/index.html

This breaks my heart in so many ways. The baby in the picture had a cleft lip. This sweet, innocent baby survived but so many others have not. This could be my baby's beginning. I have always assumed I would be telling my child that he/she was given up for healthcare reasons. But this story reminds me that my child may not have been relinquished in love. That my child may struggle with his/her origins when a story like this is exposed. 
But have no fear baby, your life will get better and better from here. And we will love you forever, regardless of imperfections as we all have them.
Please say a prayer tonight for this little boy.

"No, I will not abandon you as orphans - I will come to you." John 14:18

Changing Labels

Perfectionist. Pragmatist. Pessimist. These words have described me, have labeled me. No matter where our labels come from, we become our labels if we don't change them. Our identity, our personality, and our character can become wrapped up in our labels. I'm not a fan of change. I don't even like updating or upgrading. Change is hard, but so very important. First, we should turn to Jesus for healing and replacing past wounds with truth. We receive a new name, a new identity. Daughter. Heir. Child of the one true King. Then we can grow, change, and develop new personality. Our new character shows love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. My new labels should be understanding, compassionate, and positive.

What if your labels were orphaned, abandoned, or deformed? Children are sensitive to words spoken around them. Some kids may claim false labels, leading to negative self fulfilling prophecy. As parents we must help change our children's labels. We must create an environment of grace, mercy, and trust in our home. We must destroy hatred, regret, and unforgiveness. We must display maturity, health, and strength. We must speak truth by openly communicating with our children. We must speak hope by telling our children that God has a plan for their future. We must speak life by praying over our children. And we must speak love to remind our children of their Heavenly Father's unconditional love. 

Inspired by http://subsplash.com/daystargso/v/a734abe

"Speak life to the deadest darkest night

Speak life when the sun won't shine and you don't know why

Look into the eyes of the broken-hearted 

Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope, speak love, speak life"

TobyMac - Speak Life

A great video to discuss labels, bullying, and the impact of our words with kids.