I800 Approved!!!

Today was a good GREAT day in the White House!!!  I called USCIS and found out they approved our I800 yesterday!! The I800 is the approval we needed on the US side to approve Olivia Kate as an immediate relative.  This means as soon as we go through customs in the airport when we get home, she will become a US citizen. :-)   We are so close y'all, it's almost hard to believe.  In a couple of weeks this information will go to China and 2 weeks from then it will be picked up from the US Embassy in China and we will only be waiting for China to say "Come get her"!!  Of course with Christmas coming, things could go a litte slower than normal, but I can see the light so I will try to have some patience......

I am so happy it is Christmas, my favorite time of year, and I can enjoy this time with my family (minus 1 precious little girl).  It helps time to go by a little faster as well.  It is hard to think about Olivia being in an orphanage and not having a family to celebrate Jesus with. The only way I can comfort myself is that she doesn't know any different.  This is where she has spent her entire life, this is the only place she knows.  At this point she considers it home.  And yes people this kills me!! I hate that she goes to sleep in a large room full of beds lined up and no one to tuck her in, that she has nothing of her own, the clothes and toys are all shared through out the orphanage.  And, I also know, she's not really waiting for us, she's only 2. 

  I pray daily that God will prepare her little heart for us. I know God is with her and He tucks her in at night and He kisses those sweet cheeks.  This I find the most comfort in!

  When we get her, we will be taking her away from everything she knows, everyone she knows.  She had not asked to leave her "home" and all she finds comfort in, to go with people who look, smell, and talk funny.  Yes this has been compared to as kidapping.  I hate to type this because it is heartbreaking to think she has to go through trauma to come to her family.  So I pray constantly that she will soon realize how much we love her and that we will forever be her mama and baba (daddy in chinese).  I KNOW God has His hand in this, that He has been guiding us and leading us to her.  He has been preparing us for this journey for years.  And I am SO thankful for this AMAZING path He has us on!

 

Today I also FINALLY received the pictures of her with her celebration cake.  I sent her a care package 3 weeks ago, when we got our LOA.  I knew if I sent a cake I would get pictures of her with it, so I have been anxiously waiting for these.  The cake and the hat she is wearing do say Happy Birthday, which is kinda funny, her birthday isn't until February.  :-) Oh well, I still get to see that precious face!

 This is the what the care package looked like, hopefully they are showing her our pictures....

 

I love that look! (and those cheeks!!)

 The cake is about as big as her and she looks really confused...:-)

 

 

 

Yard Sale Fundraiser

This past Saturday we had a multi-family yard sale at our church to raise money for the adoption.  It was AMAZING to say the least.  We had enough stuff donated that we could have opened a consignment store.  We are so greatful for all the support everyone has shown.  People not only donated items but many people also donated there time.  Lots of time.  We spent all last week organizing the many, many things we had, and the fact that people graciously gave up there time to help us, brings tears to my eyes.  Sorry, not trying to be dramatic, but it's true.  Saturday people spent several hours with us, setting up, selling, and taking the left overs to Goodwill.  Good friends and people we have never even met.  I wish I could show just how thankful we are for all the help we had, yes I told them and will tell them again, but it doesn't seem like enough.   I wish I could buy them all a day at the spa or a vacation. I will also say that God is good!  We all know everything He does is for a reason, 7 years ago when we walked in to our church for the first time and I had a sudden peace that this was where we belonged, I didn't know why then, but many times I have been shown.  He is faithful and He loves us and even more He loves our daughter and will make sure she comes home!

Oh, and she finally has a name!!! Olivia Kate Yuning.  :-)  Friday I had to send out some documents, yes more paperwork (I have decided it is NEVERENDING), and we had to put her name on the visa application.  Well lets just Mike and I racked up some minutes on our phones in about 3 hours.  We were back and forth all morning.  Finally I said it's Sarah Kate, and he said he REALLY didn't want to name her Sarah, so I compromised with Olivia Kate. 

I have to admit, I love it!!!

LOAaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!

I'm so happy to be writing this post!!! Our agency emailed us to say we have our LOA from China.  This is the official approval letter for the adoption of our little girl (who still does not have a name). She has a Chinese name, just still haven't decided on whether we will call her Sarah Kate or Olivia......

Anyway, I am SO THANKFUL for this.  God has moved mountains and cleared paths so that we could fullfill His plan to adopt.  I am giddy with excitement....I can't express how happy I am to know that we have been approved and will be going to China in 8-10 weeks to get our youngest daughter!

As I posted earlier, our church is having a yard sale for us this Saturday to help with some of the adoption expenses.  Well all week we are sorting and pricing the many items, people have so graciously donated.  We have furniture, a washer and dryer, clothes, toys, a microwave, more clothes, tons of books, and little knick-knacks. I am blown away by the support we have felt this week from so many people offering their things for us to sale or their time to help us prepare.  If any of you are reading this, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!!!! 

Well, I was alone in the santuary tonight pricing some things, Mike had left to take the two little ones home and I was waiting for Chase to finish with youth group, when I got a surprising email......It was from our agency saying they had received our LOA from China and would be mailing it to us to sign. WHAT?!?!?!?! I think I screamed then a flood of tears came.  I tried calling Mike but he didn't answer (he did call back pretty soon).  And then I thought where better to be, than right here in God's house to receive this gift, from no one other than Him!  Because let me tell you, we have gotten this far, only because of God and His will for us.  It was perfect in timing, of course God's timing is ALWAYS perfect, for me to be there alone. You see the email had actually come a couple hours earlier, I just didn't see it. I sat and cried and Thanked Him for this AMAZING blessing He has given us. Oh how I can't wait to meet this perfect child He has planned for us.  I look at her face and picture probably a thousand times a day, seriously, she is on my phone. :-) I just want to hold her and hug her and let her know she is loved and has a Mama and Baba and 2 brothers and a sister.  I have tried so hard to not let myself think about where she is living, I just can't. go. there.  I'm sure it's a nice place, it looks nice by the video anyway, but she has never felt the love of a parent, she goes to bed alone, and probably hungry, I'm sure her Nannies hold her and feed her, but there are way more kids than nannies.  I can only think of it as a daycare that you never leave. I can only hope it's as nice as our daycares..............Enough of that.

We got our LOA!!!! Not much longer sweet girl!!!! :-) 

November

November is the month of thankfulness and the month of National Adoption Awareness.  I will post somethings throughout the month that I am thankful for.....hopefully one of those posts will have 3 certain letters involved (L, O, and A), I am trying SOOOO hard to have patience......but it is SOOOO hard......We are at day #49, 7 of those days China was closed, so I guess it's still early.....however, when you can only think of your child in an orphanage, without the love of a family, it becomes more like dog years......(7 x 49=343 days). 

Day #1 of Thankfulness-

November 1st.............My baby boy turend 6, WOW!  We had a great day, just the two of us.  I took him shopping for his birthday present.  I have never done that before and it was so much fun!  He was like a little kid in a candy store, but we were in Toys R Us....LOL.  Anyway, he just walked around for probably an hour, trying to decide what he wanted....We ended with a guitar (may regret that later) and 3 Avenger figurines.  He kept saying, "I'm not a little boy anymore, I'm 6 now, Mom".  I wanted him to hold my hand in the parking lot and he would say it again, so cute! Then he wanted to eat "where they cook in front of us" for dinner.  My mom, sister, BIL, and nephew joined us, it was really nice to enjoy each other and celebrate together .  I baked a cake but we have yet to eat it.  Keep running out of time.

I am so thankful for this little boy.  He is AMAZING!  He has the biggest heart, a personality that keeps us smiling, and more energy and love than can be measured. I wish I could put into words just how much I love this kid! 

Thank you God for this precious boy!