Bumps in the Road

We have had our last home study visit and everything has gone fine.  We have some paperwork left to do on that.  There have been a few unexpected bumps, but still plugging along. They hope to have all of our home study info and forms finished by Christmas.  After that we start working on getting the China dossier finished.  We already have done things for it, but this when we start getting more forms notarized and talking to State Dept. and Immigration. 

I am doing my best not to get to anxious.  I am trusting God and His timing.  We keep praying for "Allison" and her safety. 

I got this ornament for our future daughter.

Is Adoption Missional?

Quick update-Our Waiting Child application has been approved for us to start looking at referrals on the shared/special focus list. We had tried to inquire about one girl, but she had already been taken off the list. I pray she has found a wonderful home.

It has been tough getting paperwork done because of many other things going on. We hope to get everything done the week of Thanksgiving. As the holidays approach, I think about our daughter who will be here to celebrate next year. She will know the true reason of celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I stumbled across an article on adoption my hubby posted a couple of years ago written by our friend Johnny. Is Adoption Missional? Check is out. Johnny, Beth, James and Xiaoli are headed back to China this week to visit the orphanages they are from. Praying for their safe travels, and looking for to when we get to go as well.

Praying for "Allison" - we do not know who she is , but go does.


Donna

Home Study Visit

Today was the first of a few home study visits made by our social worker, Amy.  We found out she actually lives near us in Granville.  It was very nice meeting her, and also getting to know her adoption stories.  She has 2 bio girls and 2 chosen boys (one from USA and amother from China). She was able to give us some good advice when working on attachment and bonding issues. 

She did several interviews with each member of our family, except Hannah at this time.  Emily couldn't wait till next week.  Hubby was a little nervous about the safety inspection, but we passed with flying colors as well with the fire inspection. He also want to do major cleaning, which we felt went on for days.  We have another meeting next week for more interviews.

We like our social worker, and she is also very encouraging and a good resource for the future.

Mighty To Save

Not much to update on the adoption front, except that we are working on getting everything together for our home study.  It mostly consists of getting forms filled out, blood tests, fingerprinting, notarizing, and what other forms only Ohio requires.  We joked last week that Noel and I had a mini date, and it consisted of getting fingerprinted and our social security card verifications (since we couldn't find our cards).  We had fun getting it done, and making fun of what was going on in the social security office. 
Today during my quiet time the song "Mighty to Save" was running thru my mind.  We had practiced the song last night for Sunday AM service, but part of that song has just a strong meaning to me today.

"So take me as you find me, all my fears and failures."

That is how God will take us into his family, and how we will take our daughter into ours.  We will accept her and love her no matter her background or where she came from.  She will have all the rights and privileges as a member of the Dear family.  We are longing for the day when we will know who she is.



Lucky Ladybug

While surfing on the internet, I ran across something interesting.  I found out in the China adoption community ladybugs are considered lucky. Since we do not believe in luck but the divine providence of God - I found it fascinating.  Why? The girl's bathroom is decorated in ladybugs.  This was just one more confirmation for me that we are following God's will for our family. Here is an excerpt from a website that I found why this is:

Perhaps you've wondered why ladybugs are considered lucky in the China adoption community. We have too, and found out that though ladybugs are red, (the good luck color in China), the root of this belief is not found in Chinese culture.



In the late 1990's in southern China, international adoption programs began growing rapidly as people learned of the many benefits of Chinese adoption. One Fall the ladybug (Chinese beetle) population grew unusually large in Guangzhou, China. Guangzhou is a necessary stop for all Americans, Brits, Australians and Canadians adopting from China. (The city houses many Consulate-General offices.) This large ladybug population explosion was thought to be lucky  for the many adopting families flowing into China.

God is truly amazing how He can further confirm His Will.

Donna

Home Study Time

This week we have our first visit with our home study coordinator in Findley.  We will be prioritizing more of what forms need to be done.  We will get our fingerprints done this week, and then they will be sent to BCI and FBI.  Nice to know these fingerprints get us closer to "Allison" and not the "pokey".

Hannah asked us last week if she had to get shots to go to China, as many of you know she it not a big fan of them.  We had to tell her yes, a TB test, and that we all have to get one.

On a another note, Worthy of the Prize is having an auction in November for adoptive families they are supporting.  Check it out and you can get a jump on your Christmas shopping.

The Paperwork Elephant

This past week we were assigned to our adoption coordinator and home study coordinator. We are excited to work with Amy and Teresse. We received several emails from each with all the forms we need to start filling out. It was a little overwhelming when I started printing them out and reading everything. Thankfully Noel has the gift of paper organization and filing, and has agreed to get it together, and put it in order of what needs to be done. In addition to all these forms, we have grant forms to fill out as well. Noel's goal is to set a land speed record of forms completed. Some of these forms require 2-4 pages typed out of like our life story.

So if you do not hear from us, we have drowned in paperwork. It is so worth it.

Our daughter is constantly on our minds, and we are looking forward to seeing her. We have given her a name for now, since we do not know who she is yet. The name we will lift up in prayer is "Allison".

Keep praying and pray for "Allison".

Donna

Why a girl?

Several have ask - why a girl? Why not? I know we have 2 girls - 3's a crowd.  We have prayed about it, and we feel God is calling us to adopt another girl.  Girls that are not adopted often have a great chance of being sold into a slave industry that is very prevalent in our society today in America and worldwide. Here is just one example of what can happen - http://nataliegrant.com/category/news/.  In following Natalie Grant and her mission to end human trafficking is another reason why it is important to help girls from ending up in situations as these. It is even happening in Ohio - http://www.gracehavenhouse.org/.

Keep Praying!!

Donna

WE'RE APPROVED!

We have just received word that our application has been approved! Next step - more paperwork and homestudy. 

Our adoption agency is America World Adoption - http://www.awaa.org/.

Keep Praying!!

Application is Sent

Last night we completed our first set of paper work - the application.  It was exciting hitting the submit button.  We checked and double checked all of our info.  We survived taking our family picture.  Now we wait for them to approve our application, and then we start the home study.  We did find out that there is an International Adoption Clinic at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus.  It was one of the first kind started in the U.S.  When you get your referral, they will set up an appointment with a doctor where they will go over the information you have received about the child.  After you bring your child home they will also help you with all the tests and other things your child will need to bring all immunizations up to date.  I did find out that our pediatrician requires this before she will see them.

Keep praying!

Donna

Decision - Finally

After talking to a couple of agencies and adoption coordinators, we decided on which direction we would like to go. It is where we feel God is leading us, and we are very excited about it. We are going with America World Adoption out of Virginia. We have friends that has used them for their adoption from Ethiopia. When we talked with Mike Stone and Melissa from their agency, we felt comfortable with them and felt they would be the best fit for our family. It does also help that they give ministers a discount off their program fees. The country program we feel led to is the China Child Waiting Program. We also looked at Brazil, but feel better about the China program. The China Child Program is for children that may be healthy but older and children with special needs. Special needs in China is different than in the USA. We are able to also specify to which level of special needs we can handle. It can be anything from small, minor correctable to a major disability. So, it is a wide spectrum of needs. The ages we are going for is a 4-7 year old girl, and I would love to find twins if possible.

Our first step is to fill out the application, which is several pages. Noel is not excited that we have to take a picture for it. We have alot of paper work to fill out. Hannah is worried we will not be able to say their name and that China is communist. Emily is excited to have someone to boss around.

Please keep us in your prayers as we pray and prepare through all the steps we have complete. Pray for us in making decisions on how we are going to fund the adoption. Pray for the future child God has in store for us.

Donna

Overwhelmed

There are so many agencies to choose from. I joined a couple of yahoo groups to gain more information on agencies I had been looking at. WOW - information overload!! Noel and I had an unexpected trip last week, so we were able to talk a little more about the direction we would like to go. I think we have decided to go international which would allow for mission trips and so forth. Domestic adoption in Ohio may be more hoops than we want to jump through. We are meeting with one agency this week to gain a little more info. There are so many decisions to make in family in addition to this - school, church, piano, extra curricular activities, etc...

We were going to take classes offered by the state and potentially use the state for our home study to save a little money. We realized how far we had to go for these classes, the time away from home and our girls, and paying baby sitters - it doesn't pay to take them and the agency may not take the home study either. We just keep praying for wisdom and guidance we need.

Donna

Which Direction?

Domestic or International? That is the question. Which one? So far we have found out in Ohio, you pretty much have to be a foster parent in order to adopt. When a parental rights have been terminated, the foster parents are given first choice of the child. For the age group we are looking for, many others are as well. So we are questioning is there really a need? We have signed up the the classes here that they require before they can start the home study.

On the international front, I have been requesting info from other international adoption organizations. We are just trying to find where the Lord leads.

The Beginning

WOW! God has made His will so loud and clear for our family. We are pretty comfortable in our family, and the number of kids we have. Noel and I use to say maybe one day we will adopt, but that is always been a decision we would make in the future. Well, the future is NOW. I think God has been nudging me along for the last couple of years, but while at the Southern Baptist Convention He convicted me so loud and clear. It was time to quit saying one day, but now is the time. God has blessed our family, and He is calling our family to find a child out their to share the love of God with. God has told is In His Word to take care of the widows and orphans. That is a mission God has charged our family with.

We are not sure if we will adopt a child domestically or internationally, but we want to find the child God wants for us. I hope to use this blog as an encouragement for others and to keep you up to date in our journey as we seek out our new little "dear" one.

Donna