Approved!

'United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reviewed...all evidence submitted...On the basis of this evidence, USCIS has determined that you...have been hereby approved to adopt one child from...the country of Albania"

Whooohooo!!

Approved less than 30 days from fingerprinting! We are seriously powering through this adoption.  Our file will be sent to Albania in the next week and into the Albanian Adoption Committee's hands.  Lots of activity will be happening on the Baltic side of the planet, but for us there will be waiting...and praying...and fundraising...and learning Albanian.  

As you wait & pray with us feel free to keep these before the Lord:

*Continued health & safety over our Girl. I've been praying specifically that the Holy Spirit would be her fortitude; for supernatural emotional strength to bubble up in the heart of this little girl as so much change is about to happen in her life. 

*Favor over our paperwork as it leaves this side of the earth and heads across the Atlantic. Specifically for the judge that we will have in the Albanian family court system. The amount of time we spend in country (already decreased from 8-12 weeks to 4-6!) is directly dependent on the judge we are assigned. 

*An adoptive family for my girl's BFF "Violet". They have been raised together as sisters since infancy. Violet's life is going to be equally turned upside down when her bestie leaves for her new forever home with us. My heart hurts to think that their little lives together will be separated and I yearn to find a family for this sweet girl (also with Down syndrome).

*Continued miraculous financial provision. The speed of this adoption has been incredible!  But it has also meant the fees normally spread out over 6 or 9 months have needed be paid over the course of weeks.  Over $16,000 has already been paid out with an additional $10,000 due as soon as our file is processed in Albania.   Several super cool fundraisers are on their way and 20 different grants are due to go out next month so I am excited to see how God provides!

*God's heart for the orphan to be clearly seen through our little family. 

Thank you, thank you for all your beautiful support. I can't wait for you to meet our sweet girl <3 

Why Do I Doubt?

This is how awesome our God is...last week I discovered I was going to need an extra $500 for extra medical exams. $500 that was not in the adoption budget and frankly, not in the bank account either. "Sweet Lord, where are we going to find $500?"

I told no one. 

Three days later a church friend passed me an envelope: "It's the strangest thing. I was standing at the ATM asking God what to do and He said this specific amount. Just open it later". Several hours went by before I opened the envelope...$500 cash. !!!!! 

God is good!

Happy 13th Birthday Sweet Girl!

My girl turned 13 years old this weekend. I am officially the mother of a teenager I've never met. (How's that for a weird sentence?).   

This is her 'missing birthday'--the birthday that happens during The Wait. Isaac's missing birthday was his first birthday, just 19 days after I was matched with him. What an exciting day that was!  We had a party--a blue number one birthday cake, balloons, friends and guests. We sang happy birthday and I remember my niece, who was 3 & 1/2 at the time sang SO VERY LOUD so her baby cousin could hear us in China. LOL. We took pictures with the only picture I had of him and I announced his name--Isaac JianMin: God's promise joyfully fulfilled. 

We did the same thing this weekend!  Friends & family joined at a local Mediterranean restaurant to enjoy the foods that maybe our girl was eating as well. We shared pink flower cupcakes and fun factoids about Albania. I won't be able to make up for the twelve birthdays that there was no momma to hang balloons from her bed or sing her happy birthday 50 times in one day. I don't even know if those 12 specific days were even acknowledged; if they were special, or if they hold traumatic memories. BUT we can start anew today!  We will redeem the day with joyous proclamation that you, my girl, my daughter, are LOVED!  You are WANTED!  You are have a FUTURE and a HOPE!  You are CELEBRATED!  

I'll wait to formally announce her full name until Gotchya Day, but it means Sweet Flower of Hope. <3 

Happy birthday, sweet girl. 

You are indeed the sweetest flower of our Lord's hope. 

YOUR FAMILY will see you soon.  

Eyes Open For Miracles

The story of Abraham's near sacrifice of Isaac has always made me uncomfortable (Genesis 22). I hold dear to  the foreshadowing of God the Father's sacrifice of His only son, but I also hold a deep fear that God would also ask me to sacrifice my most precious to follow Him. I won't lie.  Don't even mention that I have a son named Isaac. I can't even process that. 

I've known from day 1 from this adoption journey that obedience to God's call to welcome our sweet girl home would include 8-12 weeks in Albania. In essence, I would need to quit my job and move my family across the world for three months having ZERO clue how the Lord was going to provide in the long list of not so small details. But also from day 1 the Lord had said "don't look to the waves, focus on Me".  Okaaayyyyy.  The details are waves. We'll just keep walking forward with blinders on...What waves? I don't see any waves.

For whatever reason, the details--the waves--felt big last week. I spent the evening researching my daughter's country; the notable summer heat, the rolling black outs, the intermittent lack of water even in urban areas, the language, that is frankly a tongue tying hot mess and I felt the tears coming. "Lord, THREE MONTHS away from home. What do I do with the house? I won't have enough maternity leave, I'm going to loose my job. Not to mention this is going to be hell on Isaac. We'll go, but this is going to ruin us".   All the Holy Spirit said was 'you need to worship me now".  Ok. Ok. I crawled into bed (next to Isaac's warm little body) with wet eyes and a desperate worshipful hum. 

The next morning I wasn't feeling much more confident, and called our adoption agency to walk through some details of 12 weeks of travel.  "Oh, hey Desiree. I probably should have mentioned this earlier (we've been in this process for three months already), but travel is only going to be 4-6 weeks max"  WHAT??!!!  I didn't know if I should kiss or slap the man!  (Thankfully, the phone prevented both.)  The happy tears came...finding someone to watch the house for a month would be a breeze; I'd have enough vacation time to cover an entire  maternity leave--I can keep my job AND have time to transition us all into our new normal-- and Isaac would be ok; we can bring Gramma AND a helper for a month and skype in for therapy appointments. This is actually going to work! 

And then the voice of the Lord: "You offered your sacrifice, I provided the ram. Keep your eyes open for the miracles".  

What a lovely promise. To walk forward with hope and expectancy. God WILL provide--the time off, the money, the resources, the emotional support, the physical health---He'll provide the ram to see us through this sacrifice. 

Praise you Lord!  What miracle are you preparing for us next?

Genesis 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you [b]fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place [c]The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will [d]be provided.”

Book Drive Fundraiser

Do you have new, old, used, loved, discarded books laying around the house?

Is it time to find some room on the bookcase?

Are your kids done with those stack of children's books?

Did Grandma leave you with boxes of books and no where to put them?

WE'LL TAKE THEM ALL!!!  

Each book equals cash towards our adoption fund. 

If you are in the greater Seattle or Chicago area we have point people who can collect your books! Please contact me directly for information.  

If you have books you would like to donate and are not in those specific areas, please consider taking your books to your nearest used book store for buy back and donating to our adoption.

Search your closets. Ask your friends, neighbors, coworkers...heck, complete strangers on the street! What a fun way to get to know people ;)

Albania Update

A quick little update as to where we are at in the adoption process.  Our paperwork and my fingerprints are currently waiting at the Department of Homeland Security for an adoption officer to be assigned to our case. I'm told that we should have an officer and have everything buttoned up by Valentine's Day. I'm praying that our file is processed MUCH faster than that, but in the big scheme of things February 14th is not that far away.  Once the US government says I can bring a child INTO our country, we can present our paperwork to the Albanian Adoption Committee. I understand that it may take them a couple of months to give approval to bring a child OUT of their country, but we still seem to be on tract to have a court date in Albania in June. 

So...we wait.  

I'm taking the time to learn Albanian. Let me rephrase that...ATTEMPT to not look like an idiot while making sounds with my face similar to the language of the proud Albanian people.  I'm not going to lie; it's not a pretty event, but when I think of those big brown Albanian eyes looking at me trying to communicate what is in her heart...I'll look as stupid as needed. 

Isaac has been helpful in getting our girl's bedroom ready. Sorting piles, moving furniture, cleaning corners. I'm still not sure he fully understands what all the commotion is about, but he is eager to be involved. That's a good little brother!

We also have planned out several fundraisers over the next few months. There is a book drive coming and an online auction among other things.  I am already so overwhelmed with the blessing of our friends, family and strangers. Nearly $10,000 has been so very generously given to bring our Sweet Girl HOME!  That is just so...AWESOME.  Thank you! Thank you!  

As you continue to pray over our adoption, here are some specific requests:

• Health & emotional safety over our girl.  Her world will soon turn absolutely upside down. We are praying for supernatural fortitude to develop in her as the Holy Spirit whispers His peace over her.
• Continued favor over our paperwork. That the right people would be given to our case and that our story would speak to their hearts.
• Peace and understanding over Isaac's heart as his little world will also be flipped upside down. I'm excited to see him both look up to an older sibling and be able to guide her through her new environment (he is a good leader). 
• Favor over my job as I navigate how to be gone for more than three months (and still get paid!)
• Continued blessing over finances. As our 2017 taxes are completed early next month we'll be able to apply for nearly TWENTY grants.  Between those grants and the planned fundraising I am hopeful that we will have everything we need to bring our girly HOME.
• Most importantly, for the Lord to be glorified in every step of this process. It's our family desire that His name is etched into every breath of this story.    <3    

Auction Items Needed

We are planning an online auction/adoption fundraiser in February are in need of a few items:

*If you are a business owner (or know a business owner!) in the greater Seattle area and would like to donate to the auction please let me know! 

*Gift certificates are awesome auction items. Do you have any laying around? Or would you like to purchase one and donate it? 

*Also looking for donations of gift cards that can be used nationwide. These can be anything from Target gift cards to Chick-Fil-A to Home Depot to online stores. You name it! 

*Uniquely creative items are also a big hit! Are you an artist, designer, creator? I'd love to have your creativity involved in bringing my girly HOME.

(Feel free to share widely!)

The Toothfairy

Back in June, at his regular dental visit, Isaac's dentist mentioned with all the casualness as if he was telling me the sky was blue "...and his front tooth his loose...".  I remember doing a literally double take---WAIT. WHAT?!  I have zero clue why that little dental factoid took me by such surprise. He came to me with just three teeth. I was present and armed with Tylenol for the next 16 teeth coming through. Teeth coming and going is kind of a normal kid thing. And at nearly 7 years old, you'd think I would have been prepared for a tooth or two falling out.   Whatever...I wasn't emotionally prepared that day. 

I didn't mention the tooth to Isaac as to not cause any undue worry. Fast forward to two weeks ago, when Isaac realized the tooth was REALLY loose while we were in the middle of the grocery story.  "MOMMA!  BAN-AID!  BAN-AID!  TEEF. BAN-AID PEEESE"  Poor kiddo nearly had a panic attack in the middle of aisle 8.  I held him and reassured him and quickly made our way home to a social story about loosing teeth and an episode of Peppa Pig & the tooth fairy.  I brought out a tooth fairy pillow I had tucked away for such an occasion and talked about how only BIG BOYS get new teeth, and how EXCITING this is--REALLY exciting, right Isaac??  He looked at me like I was about to push him down the stairs...

Tonight we were doing our regular 500th loose-tooth-check-of-the-day when he let me wiggle it a bit harder...then a little bit harder. And when I asked him "do you want the tooth of fall out now?"  he nodded vigorously...

Not four minutes later...the tooth gone and a nervous little boy wondering why in the world his momma is NOT freaking out about part of his face falling off.  It took some convincing, a lot of hugs, and two popsicles for him to agree that he is OFFICIALLY a BIG BOY.  He did it!  Way. To. Go!!

Starting to warm up to the idea...

I prepared for this event several weeks ago, finding the perfect Isaac tooth pillow...but then I panicked tonight and told him to hang it from the front door so the tooth fairy could find it.  ????  So there it is...waiting for the tooth fairy...on the front door (because that is normal). 

 Thankfully, our local tooth fairy knows that cash means nothing in our household and super balls ARE THE BOMB. Also dental hygiene is key to a successful future.

So there it is. My son lost his first tooth. A huge childhood milestone!