I-800 on its way to WA and then TX !

Well we sent out our signed LOA, our last agency payment (yeeehaaaw!), our passports (for our China visa's), and a few other odds and ends!!! What a great feeling - now we wait again!!!

LOA ! ! !

Happy Chinese New Year, we received our LOA - Hoooooooooooray!!!! Jason stayed home today because he was supposed to have jury duty, but it was canceled. I was happy that he was home, but we went about our school morning anyways.  It was about 3:00 when I started giving up hope on a phone call for the day.  It wasn't a total loss, I scrubbed toilets and blasted some Big Daddy Weave in my ear buds!  Jason went to Target with the older two monkeys.  Then at 4:54 my phone rang and it said "Kelsey Melvin" I started freaking OUT!!! Kelsey promised she wouldn't call unless she had some good news!!! But I couldn't answer - I wanted Jason and the kids home and I also wanted to video tape the phone call so that we could play it back forever and ever!!! soooooooooo I jumped up and down and kept asking Jillian (the 5 year old) do you think she has good news? do you think she got our approval? Jillian just said "I don't know Mommy!!!" I called Jason 3 times but he didn't answer!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh didn't he know that Kelsey Melvin just called us?!?!?! Finally, he called me and said that he was on his way home!!! We all sat around the kitchen table and played the call - We heard the words that we had been waiting 89 days to hear! " I have your letter of confirmation!" ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh is what we did next!!! Soooo what does that mean? To answer the question asked most today, no this is not our travel approval. This is just the approval of our homestudy by China. We will now move forward with our I-800 approval, visas, Article 5 approval, then our travel approval. These steps will roughly take two months, but time is relative to this process - THAT'S FOR SURE! So thankful to have this step behind us, considering it is the worst wait!!! On to the next step and more importantly one step CLOSER to our little panda bear, Jackzhen!!! We love you baby............ xoxox

54 minutes......

Had a little bump in our road tonight! We are currently on day 75 of waiting on our LOA from China... I spoke with Kelsey and she said that the CCAA was requesting an extra paper in our dossier.... This doesn't seem like such a big deal, except the only reason we knew about it is because we have an amazing lady in charge of our adoption!!! Within 54 minutes she sent a paper to our homestudy social worker in Florida, she sent it back to Kelsey in Washington state, who then emailed it to the China liason, who will deliver it to the CCAA today.... 54 minutes!!! Thank you Lord for knitting this process together so perfectly with selfless people who love my Jackzhen so deeply!!!! Get thee behind me satan, I will not be moved!!!

tick tock tick tock..........

We are currently on day 70 of our wait for our LOA (Letter of acceptance)... I was thankful that we had the holidays to keep us busy, but they are now a memory.... Although, we started back to school today so that will keep us all bustling as we wait on the Lord to move... In my moment of wonderment today, I thought about the fact that our adoption is completely funded and what an amazing feeling that is... So instead of despair today, I am thankful that we can move forward when ever GOD sees it fit!!! And rest assure I will blog and let you all know when that is..... xo

I am thankful for a bus station......

This weekend is off to a great start!!! I have been so encouraged by amazing people lately! I met a sister in Christ who is adopting a little girl from, you'll never guess, THE SOCIAL WELFARE INSTITUTE OF WUZHOU CITY!!!! Yes the same orphanage that Jackzhen is in! We had an awesome converstaion tonight and she shared a ton of resources with me - I never knew they existed!!! Thank you Lord for Alisa!!! The first was a Chinese website and also how to articulate the search for his find ad.  It only took 10 minutes but I found it!

I had to take a deep breath before I read it.... I mean, until now, I have just accepted that he was abandoned... But reading his find ad would tell me where he was left, it was a puzzle piece and a visual to the start of his little life... This is what I found....

2008年9月25日在梧州市河东客车站候车室捡拾到一名男婴，2008年9月4日出生（估），入院时姓名不详，福利院取名：吴振秋。
September 25, 2008 in Wuzhou City, east bus station waiting room to pick up a baby boy, September 4, 2008 born (estimated), admission unnamed, orphanage named: Wuzhen Qiu

The waiting room at a bus station.... To some this may seem so cruel - but honestly I think it tells a much bigger story... You see Jackzhen was left when he was 3 weeks old - that means he spent the first three weeks of his life with his birth mom.  My new outlook is this; I believe that he was cared for and loved, for three weeks... A lot of newborns are abandoned immediately after birth, with their umbilical cord still attached, most don't make it through the first month of life. But there was a reason that he was 3 weeks old when he was left by his birth mother.   Wuzhou is a very impoverished region of China.  It is a very mountainous and there are a lot of poor farm workers that live there.  She could have very easily left him in a field, but I think she chose a place that was warm, indoors, and highly populated by people, because she truly cared for him.    There are stories of babies being left in gas stations, alleys, and sadly even dumpsters, I am thankful for a bus station...........

One day we will have to answer tough questions for Jackzhen and today was a revelation to the story we will share with him, then........

It was all about Jackzhen.....

We had been given an idea from a friend to have a spaghetti dinner and silent auction... We weren't sure if that was the route we wanted to go down, I mean, God had led us to this adoption and has orchestrated this entire thing, He will certainly provide the means!!! However, we had an overwhelming request from our friends and family to proceed forward and allow others to celebrate this adoption as well. I felt a peace that the people that would come and be a part of our dinner, would also feel a closeness to Jackzhen and in turn be a part of this bigger picture! We quickly changed gears and gave the dinner an Asian theme (Stir Fry!!!) My friend Tosha was the motivation behind our dinner. She donated things from her business for the silent auction part, as well as her friends and family. The kids and I also went around to a few businesses and presented our story. We were A-mazed by the kindness that was shown by our community! It was a great life lesson for our kids to see that there is love in this world, and God is present in everything! They saw the love and kindness shown by perfect strangers and as a homeschooling mama, I am always excited for life lessons that are lived right before my eyes!

The day before the dinner we were prepared to cook!!! However, we were not alone!!! My friends Alice, Lisa, Meg, my mom, mother in law, and my big sister Jen were all in my kitchen to help out. Ohhhh how I could NOT have done it without them... We cooked 96 chicken breasts, 40lbs of rice, and 12 bags of vegetables!!!

The dinner was a ton of fun! My favorite part was that no one felt obligated to give, it was not the emphasis of the night, but instead celebrating Jackzhen! We showed his video, told his story, and shared with everyone how we were led to him! I cant tell you how many times I cried that night! They were tears of happiness, joy, and even a few sad for a few people that couldn't be there! The dinner and auction was a huge blessing to our adoption, we raised over $4,000!!! Who but God can provide that type of blessing using rice??? One of my favorite memories from the night came a week after the dinner. A friend told me that she had so much fun and loved the food, but was surprised "we didn't see a box for donations..." my thought was "perfect!" It was all about Jackzhen....

Our Dossier is IN China!!!

Well it has been way too long since I have updated!!! I am staying sooo extremely busy with the kids and picture sessions that time is flying by! However, we have had some great news this past month, our dossier made it to the CCAA on October 24th!!! We were so thrilled to find that out, but really it means nothing! HA - Now we have to sit back and do some more and wait wait waiting on China to approve our dossier! I am told this could take 5-12 weeks and my fellow adoptive friend got her approval in 7, however my case worker through my adoption agency continues to tell me NOT to compare our situation to others........... WHY KESLEY??? It makes me feel better to do that :)  Oh well - God's timing is perfect and despite my outward impatience, my heart rests in that peace!

Squeak Squeak Squeak.....

We have been calling the UCIS in Texas once or twice a week for the past three weeks.  The reason was, to see if we have an agent working on our case.  NO! has been the answer of choice!  They tell us that it takes 45-90 days and that they only received our application on August 10th.  Although, I think to myself, "obviously that means nothing to me since I keep calling"!!! None the less I have to be patient...I am trusting in God's timing, not the government, so I continued to call!!! My thought was that a  Squeaky wheel gets the grease, so I was trying to SQUEAK very often yet kindly :)

Finally, on September 28th I called and again asked if there was any news on our case, and to my surprise, she said YES! We were approved on September 24th, the 45th day!!! I squealed in the ear of the sweet robotic government lady and she quickly told me to have a nice day.... I was hoping to break the 45 day mark, shame on me and my ungrateful spirit!!! However, Kelsey, the sweet social worker through my adoption agency, kindly reminded me that they are seeing this process take 70+ days! Thank you Lord, I will take it, and please forgive me yet again!!!!

I know this blog probably means nothing to most of you following, so I will break it down....
We first needed the US to approve us and our home study for international adoption.  This is the first "big step" after this approval we will wait 5-12 weeks on China to approve us!!! This may seem far away but really we are right around the corner!!!

Where in the process are you???

It has been a while since I have posted because, well, there isn't much going on :) However, I will tell you where we are in the process... Currently we are waiting on the US to approve our home study for adoption.  This could take another 4-6 weeks.  After that we will then send our dossier off to China and wait on their approval - this step could take 5-12 weeks, theennnnnnnnnnnn we will submit more papers here, there, and everywhere - okay so that wasn't very helpful, but frankly I am not even totally sure how many other steps are awaiting us.  I do know that God is in this process and I am resting in his still small voice..... We will be traveling sometime in early 2012, I am hopeful for February, but in the end God will write the final chapter to our adoption journey and it will be perfect !

Thanks for sticking by our side in prayer and support, I will be back to updating this page soon, when there is lots to type about !!!!

Peace xo

More than the starts that I taught how to shine!!!

I was talking to my grandparents tonight on the phone and I was excited that they were asking all about Jackzhen... I was telling them how I got all of my paperwork done, notarized, and submitted the UCIS in less than 4 weeks.... My grandpa made the comment, you are a determined young lady and you are gonna get what you want!!! I chuckled, it's true, I am an impatient, make things happen, kind of person!!! and obviously when my kids are involved it is ten fold !  Then I heard a song on the radio later on that went like this

I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more

Those words totally spoke to my heart - God loves us more than the stars that he taught how to shine!!! That thougtht in itself is amzing, but it gets better!!! He alone has has given us the love in our hearts... And even though our love here on this earth pales in comparison to the love our creator has for us, it is still an awesome thought... God has given us this amazing love in our hearts and I am motivated to use that love to fight through this process and get to our Jackzhen as soon as we can...
Thank you Lord for loving me more than any of your other creations and for instilling this love in my heart.... You alone are to be glorified for the guidence and provison through each step of our process!!!

Summer School Jackzhen Jar Style

The kids are loving their summer schedule, however with their Jackzhen Jar endeavor in full swing, they are having to use some of that summer sunshine for math madness.... We have been so blessed by the support of our family, friends, and community that I am seriously left speechless. Just today, the kids were given $25.00 by two blog followers and friends that just felt led to give!!! AMAZING!!!!

Their current total after 2 weeks and 8 jars is $233.46.... They are at over 20% of their goal (which was set by them to help purchase just one plane ticket for our trip) I love these children that God has blessed us with and seriously, cannot wait, to add the 4th monkey to our family....
Thank You Thank You to any of you that have given to our jars and also to those that have kneeled down in prayer for Jackzhen and our process, we are forever grateful !

He who brought us to, will also carry us through !

So I have been told that this process will have its share of ups and downs, and in the past month I can atest, that is every bit true.  The sad fact that most of this process falls in the hands of people who are so unemotionally detached from the situation, quite frankly, stinks.  The next stage of our process is approval and the processing of one piece of paper.  That doesn't sound too bad, right??? However, that approval could take 45-90 days!!!! My heart just aches over the reality of the "process" but I have faith that He who has brought us to, will also carry us through.  I am reminded by wonderful people that the time frame given isn't always an exact.  I have also been encouraged that we have blazed through the first part of our process and we are ahead of the norm.  It helps that school, dance, music, soccer, and LIFE is about to get very busy this month ! I am not losing hope that this will be completed before I know it !!! Although in the meantime, I will just have to order Jackzhen another package in order to get another update with his little face...

"with faith like a grain of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’..." Luke 17:6 I find this verse to be much more thought provoking than the thought of a mountain moving.....

The List........

I am so excited about this little endeavor, for not only my three kiddos here, but also for that one little kiddo of mine who doesn't even know how much he is loved and supported!!!  We have been blessed with so many awesome people who have allowed us to put our jars on their counters! Below is a list of where you can find these cool jars of ours!!!  If you have loose change, my kids LOVE to do math and you would add to their summer fun  :) HA - but all kidding aside these are great businesses who have done an awesome thing by allowing us to hang out there! So stop by and support them... Thanks everyone !!!!

1. Rising Sun Cafe - 10 South Main Street Brooksville, FL 34601 - http://www.risingsuncafe.com/index.html

2.   Hair Studio One - 1204 South Broad Street Brooksville, FL 34601 - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hair-Studio-One/128364937229439

3.  Allstate Aldrich Agency (as if there are any others :) -
10004 Cortez Blvd Spring Hill, FL 34613- http://www.allstateagencies.com/JASONALDRICH2/Welcome/

4.  Cupcake Heaven - 2721 Forest Road Spring Hill, FL 34606-3377 - http://www.cupcakeheavenspringhill.com/

5.  Integrity Auto - 18829 Sakera Rd Hudson, FL 34667-
http://fl.serviceslisted.com/5892910-IntegrityAutoCare.htm

6.  Get Tanked Saltwater Aquariums -
13162 Spring Hill DR, Spring Hill, FL 34609-
http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Get.Tanked.Saltwater.Aquariums.and.Supplies.352-596-3461

7.  Ram Setlur, DDS - Courtesy of our favorite Hygentist Summer -
14539 Cortez Blvd Brooksville, FL 34613
http://www.healthgrades.com/dentist/dr-ram-setlur-ylts7.cfm

8.  TBA

9.  TBA

10.  Hendersonville, NC

11.  Savannah, GA

I have two jars left if you would like them to sit on your business counter!!!! Email me, mandy@gigglestogracephotography.com