Hurry up and wait...

On Friday our dossier (paperwork) went to China! Yay! It was a little anti-climatic though as we had waited 3 weeks to hear that. But still very happy. Pray now that nothing gets lost or anything. What a nightmare that would be, though I'm sure it has happened to others.
So what next? The nest thing is our log-in date, when China logs in our paperwork. That could take about 3 weeks, hopefully not longer than that. Then once we are logged-in our agency will match us with a little boy 0-18 mos., with some minor medical need that we have indicated. We have 24 hours to initially accept him, so that will be a crazy 24 hours. Then we have up to two weeks to formally accept him. Then more paperwork goes back and forth, so it will take a few more months until we can go get him. I'm still hoping and praying it will be before Christmas, but may more likely be after.
Our BIG yard sale is coming up Sep. 4th. So many have donated, thank you! I have a lot to go through and organize. We are also beginning to plan a dinner and silent auction for possibly the first weekend in Nov.
Please continue to pray for God's provision and His perfect timing.
I am not always very patient and I like getting things done. Yesterday I heard the Lincoln Brewster song from Is. 40 and it really spoke to me about waiting on God through this process. Is. 40:27-31, read it!

Adoption roller coaster

Again I "knew" this would be a roller coaster, but things are so different once you experience them yourself. We went to our agency again today thinking we just needed to have one document notarized, ended up needing three done. Don't care at this point, just want to write the check to get us closer to Caleb. We also made the decision to take our documents up to Sacramento, "buying" us about a week of time and the peace of mind of delivering it and bringing it back yourself. Even if you overnight them they could sit on a desk below others for several days. So Rod and Austin will go and have a nice father/son day in the car. Naomi and I will continue to bake for our bake sale.
It was good to talk to our social worker some more. We should be logged in to China within 6-8 weeks and will get matched as soon as that happens. The person in charge of the China program with our agency is very anxious to match us as we are the only family requesting a boy right now.
Here is a poem that really spoke to me the other day. I certainly don't want to/can't compare myself to those who have gone through infertility, but this is a new journey for us. The poem is from the book "Toddler Adoption: The Weaver's Craft". The poem is called "Song of the Waiting Mother" by Christine Futia
I'm pregnant, but my tummy isn't growing,
And no one ever calls me "Little Mom."
The public simply isn't overflowing
With questions that I'd handle with aplomb.

There are no special clothes to mark my waiting.
Nobody stops and smiles as I pass by.
The absence of a due-date is frustrating
And looking at the nursery makes me cry.

When I'm overdue no one will worry.
The phone won't ring and ring as friends check in.
I can't induce my labor in a hurry,
My new life as a parent to begin.

Adoption is a worrisome endeavor,
And waiting all alone is not much fun.
To be "with child" a year seems like forever.
Dear God, we're ready! Please send us our son!

Delays and Disappointments

I "knew" delays and disappoints were all just part of this adoption process. But it is hard when you actually have to go through it. It was so exciting to get our fingerprints done "early". WE thought for sure we would have our immigration approval letter before we went on our trip to Sacramento, but then July 5th was a holiday. The letter came (of course) 2 hours after we left. Come to find out our social worker had gotten sick for a couple days and was delayed in sending out the info. that they had forgotten in the first place. I guess I need to pray for her health!
Its hard when I work so hard to do everything right and get everything done, and then to have delays. But I know that God is constantly trying to remind me that He is in control and His time is perfect.
I took our paperwork in today thinking it could be Fedexed today but then one more thing has to be notarized, so now we have to go back in on Wed., another delay. It was feeling like we were so close and now it feels a little far again. I was also thinking/hoping we would get matched by Aug., but the social worker said today before Thanksgiving and not to expect to travel until after the new year. :( Disappointment. But again God is the author of all this, He is above paperwork and time and everything in between.
I finished the book "Silent Tears" last week. Eye-opening and heart-wrenching, but glad I read it. I am praying Ps. 71 for Caleb today.

A little begging never hurt

We got our fingerprints at USCIS today! It was a miracle! The date they gave us did not work. Rod was off today so this afternoon we went down to see if they would by chance do our prints. Lots of prayer and a little persistance and they allowed us to do it. We are excited and thankful! So now we have to wait for our approval letter. Then our dossier will be complete and ready to be state sealed. We are hoping and praying that we will have it by July 5th as we are planning a trip to Sacramento anyway.
Getting closer to meeting Caleb!

Good mail day

Got our notices today from immigration to go get fingerprinted. But of course the actual appt. day doesn't work because Rod is scheduled to work. We are giong to walk in tomorrow afternoon and see if someone is in a good mood. So please pray. It would be wonderful to get it done tomorrow.
YES, I'm getting anxious!
Also did not know that it takes another 2-3 weeks after you get fingerprinted to get your approval letter. So that is a little disappointing. We are wanting to go to Sacramento anyway, and just thought that we would also be taking our dossier to get state sealed.
So feel a little like my hopes of traveling before Christmas are getting dashed. But I know God is in control and His timing is perfect.

Provision

We had a good yard sale and bake sale yesterday. Thank you to all who helped and donated things! We felt so blessed! God has provided in so many ways the last few weeks. He has always provided and always been faithful.
Finally got my birthcertificate last week and got our last document notarized. YAY! So now we just wait for immigration, get fingerprinted again, have to get all documents state sealed, THEN the dossier can go to China (DTC). Can't wait for that!
We also hope to actually meet Caleb soon, as in get matched with a little boy.

OK...its China

So we got home form a 2 week vacation late last Sunday night and our social worker calls us Monday afternoon. She had not finished up our home study for Korea yet because she was waiting until we got back so we could approve it and had just talked with the coordinator for Korea and China. It turns out that for the China program for our agency right now there are hundreds of boys waiting and no one else wants a boy right now, with lots age 0-2. We couldn't believe it. So if anyone wants to adopt a boy, go with China! So it seemed like a no-brainer to us, that this is what God has for us.
We have tried to figure God out and really want to follow His lead. He has continually reminded us that He is in control and only His timing is right. So even though I have been frustrated that it has taken so long to get our home study approved, I know there will be some reason.
Our home study will go to our agency headquarters next week and off to immigration. Since there are so many waiting boys, our agency will actually match us, and that could happen real soon. So that is very exciting! Pray that we will get to go before the new year, just because we are anxious to bring Caleb home, but also because China basically shuts down the month of January for their new year.
Thanks for praying for and supporting us.