Where are our China Babies?

Here is a map of CHINA!

I wonder where our China Babies are?

Too busy to slow down!

Wow!! Alot has happened since I last blogged. We have purchased along with our friends and partners and second DirectBuy in Baton Rouge, LA. Marty will be running the new center until May 1, 2008. Yes, he is moving down for a few months. I am in Shreveport taking care of business. In the meantime we are still working on the Dossier. It seems as if we have not completed anything in quite sometime.

Last night our social worker contacted me and said that the Dossier is typed up and ready to be sent to the Secretary of State for a signature!!! YEAH!!!! Well, had it not been so late (9:00 p.m.) I would have driven to pick it up because I was flying down to B.R. today. I could stop in and get them to sign it. Instead we will get it next week after Christmas and Marty will get it signed the following week. Merry Christmas to Us!!!

Lastly we will need to get Immigration approval and then send it off to China!!! It seems it has taken forever to get to this point but looking at the dates it has only been 3 months.

I will post an update as soon as there is one!! Keep Praying for our children!!

In His name!

Dossier Received!

Yeah!! We received our Dossier. This is the final leap before the wait. Once the Dossier is complete it will be sent to China. From there we wait until we get the call from the agency that a child has been chosen. I will try my best to get the Dossier sent in ASAP. There are several items needed but nothing that is too hard to achieve.

We received our Passports in the mail this week. Yeah!!! That means we can visit Vanessa in Germany and travel to get Kamiko. We also received the info on our fingerprints as well. Everything with the American side of the process should be complete.

Last night Marty and I went to a new Chinese restaurant and met with the owner. She has a 3 month old son and an 18 month old daughter. We met the little girl (Kristina). She is beautiful. Lin(mother) was excited when we told her about us adopting from China. She began to open up more to us and was very friendly. She said that she would love for our children to meet and learn Chinese together. Meeting Lin and her family was a miracle. Marty and I could not stop thinking about our child all evening. She will have a friend from her home country here in Haughton, Louisiana. Not to mention that she will learn her own language as well. I guess it's time Marty and I learn some Mandarin.

Anyway, I wanted to update you guys. Please keep on praying!!!

One on One

Marty and I both completed our one on one. It took about an hour and a half each. Lots of questions and discussion. Our social worker has confirmed that our marriage is strong enough for our child. She also approves of our parental and discipline plans. I find it amusing that we have had to answer the questions and give explanations just to find out if we can be approved for a child. WOW!!

We have a few more items to get on the paperwork list for the American side and need to get items notarized for the China side. We should have this completed by this Friday. We have another appointment for the Home Study on Monday. We will update you as soon as we can.

Keep on Praying!

Home Study

Today we had our first visit for the Home Study. Everything went well. We had just enough paperwork filled out and ready to hand over to the social worker. There was so much that I actually got confused and did not know what paperwork went with what agency. When a couple adopts Internationally there must be two agencies. One in the United States and one in the Country of the child. It can get confusing.

The Social worker toured the house to make sure there was a room for the child and check for smoke detectors, gated fence and other requirements needed. I was a little nervous because at the moment our Master Bathroom is being remodeled. She said that it was ok. I also described some of the other changes that are going to be made to the house. All was ok as long as they are complete before the child arrives. That means I have about 2-3 years to the get the house the way I want it. Ha!Ha!

We have scheduled our second Home visit and have many things to do between now and then. Paperwork to finish, passports to get, fingerprints etc... Pray that we get all of this accomplished.

Keep on praying!!!

Orientation Call

We had our Orientation with the Agency. More paperwork is on its way. Yeah!! We were introduced to the young lady that will walk us thru the adoption process. Once the Home study and the paperwork on the American side are received by the agency it should take approximately 12-18 weeks to complete the adoption. There are many steps that need to be taken in order for everything to run smoothly. For now we will focus on the Home Study and completing the forms that are stacking up on the table. According to the adoption agency we have already started off on a quick pace because of the Home Study already in process. That is exciting to hear!!

Step #1 accomplished

Ok, yesterday I tried to blog the update from our visit with the case worker. The system was down and I could not so you find out today.

The visit was exciting and educational. We learned that there is a lot of paperwork involved with the adoption process. We left there with a list of several items to bring to the second meeting and of course a stack of paperwork that needs to be filled out. We did schedule the first appointment needed for the Home Study. The Home Study process should take approximately 6-8 weeks. Our prayer is that it is much quicker.

We did learn that it is very difficult to adopt twins from China. There are several reasons why and I will not get into them at this time. However, there is always the possibility. We will continue to pray that the Lord's Will be done. Twins or not, we just want what He desires for us and our child/children.

Our next step is the Orientation with the agency. It is a conference call that is today.

Keep us in your prayers!!

Until Forever

Forever She'll Stay

This morning in China a mother cries
She’ll never forget her daughter’s eyes
Her heart is broken and filled with pain
The tears run down like the falling rain.
She has no choice but to leave her there
The cost of keeping is too much to bear
She hopes her daughter will one day know
True love can be found in letting her go.

This morning in China a baby cries
Hungry and scared as tears fill her eyes
Her mother has left her in this public place
Another lost daughter of the Chinese race.
Someone passing by has heard her soft moan
She’s soon quickly taken to a foster home
It’s here she’ll reside in the care of another
Until she’s adopted by a brand new mother.

That very same moment, in the U.S.A.
A Husband and Wife cry as they start to pray
Their heart is heavy but filled with much love
Each pray for a daughter they think the world of.
“Dear Jesus I ask that your arms would be
Wrapped tightly around the one picked for me
Guard her in China ‘till we make our way
And then in our arms forever she’ll stay.”