From Years to Months to Days to Hours

Friends, the countdown has dramatically changed.  In less than 12 hours we will board a plane that will begin our physical journey to Nora.  The emotions are crazy out of control, so much joy!  But, also heartache as I anticipate how Nora's life is going to change ... forever.  This brave little girl experienced loss as a newborn, when all that was familiar to her ... the sound of her family's voices, the smells ... was forever changed.  And, on Sunday, she will again experience great loss as once again everything changes, as she is placed in our arms, arms of strangers. 

Oh, how I want her to know that she is exquisitely beautiful and loved and that this is it.  This is forever, we are not going anywhere.  I know this will take time, and I know that not everything will be storybook.  But, I also have been reminded by wise friends that God goes before us.  He knows.  He knows the paths ahead, the paths of beauty and grace.  He knows that paths that may frustrate, challenge and deplete us ... giving us hope as we look to Him and gain strength.

When reviewing our itinerary, I cannot help but focus on Sunday, October 21st, Gotcha Day, the day we will meet our daughter, see her face to face.  But, I mourn Nora's loss, never knowing her birth family.  I do treasure the little glimpses into what we know of her past, the pieces we can share with her someday, the pieces that speak to the overwhelming love her birth family had for her ... to wrap their precious daughter in a pink blanket and travel, from who knows how far, to purposefully place their daughter in a location where they knew she would be found and cared for.  Oh, we are grateful for the love so clearly evident in this.  But, as I celebrate becoming a mom again, my heart breaks for Nora's birth mom.

Yet, I am grateful for this bittersweet time.  This time that God is working in me, in our family and in Nora.  So, I will choose to embrace it all, the hard and the over the top bliss, all of it.  Mourning.  Anticipation.  Fear.  Joy.  Grief.  Celebration.  Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and for loving on us and joining in our excitement.  Please join us in praying for Nora's heart and her healing.

So crazy excited for the next stage of this journey!

Gratitude ...

God calls us all to defend the fatherless, to care for the child that has no family.  This can look very different.  It does not mean that we are all called to adopt a child.  It may mean so many things for so many people.  We see it happening around us. 

 

We are feeling encouraged, blessed and loved on in many unexpected ways … around us many are helping an orphan, our orphan … our little miss, who in less than two weeks is going to go from orphan to daughter … 

And, because I don't want to forget, a laundry list, of sorts, of some of the encouragement and blessings surrounding us:

Family graciously stepping forward to take care of and love on the kiddos here while we are gone …
Friends and neighbors offering carpool and other assistance with the kiddos while we are gone …
Encouraging cards …
Friends supporting us through purchasing adoption tees …
A friend hosting a jewelry party and donating commissions (and friends and family purcahsing the jewelry!) …
Unexpected donations toward “bringing Nora home” …
A friend giving us her “gently” used (not expired!) awesome car seats (totally a God thing – thanks, friend!!!) …
An offer of frequent flyer miles and hotel nights (while this didn’t work out, the offer was beyond humbling) …
Gifts from friends I have yet to meet in person …
And, of course, prayers …

And, with that, I have a specific prayer requests.  Please join us in praying that God may be preparing Nora’s heart for what will forever change her, going from orphan to precious daughter, in less than two weeks.

This is it, in nine short days we will be leaving for China to meet our daughter.  Travel plans have been confirmed, and flights are booked!  Now, we just need to pack, continue preparing the kids here, and celebrate Jack’s birthday early!

And, because no post is complete without a photo, and many of you know how I am obsessed with adore monogramming … this was a gift from a sweet friend that I have yet to meet in person.  Yet, our daughters spent the first months of their lives together at the same orphanage.  So sweet, we cannot wait to cuddle Nora up in this after bath time.

Travel Approval, Color Coded Lists and Crafting

As I eluded to below, we now have a better idea of our timeline to Nora as we received our Travel Approval this week (on Monday, October 1st) ... yippee!!!  Seems the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA) cranked through paperwork before this week's National Holiday in China.  It was such a sweet surprise to get that phone call Monday morning!  So amazing to know that it won't be long until we are holding our baby!

Because of the holiday this week, we do not have definitive travel plans yet as we are waiting on confirmation of Nora's Visa appointment at the US Consulate in Guangzhou which will determine our exact travel dates. As of now, however, our agency is having us prepare to leave on October 18th.  Again, so amazing!!!  Because the Consulate is still closed on Monday, we should expect to know more on Tuesday.  More waiting and sweet anticipation ...

As I have heard from so many once you get to this point the process seems to move at warp speed.  So, we continue our preparations.  You will not be surprised to know that my manner of preparing includes a few color-coded spreadsheets and lists that have been edited and reworked and reviewed many times! In addition, I have found myself crafting (perhaps not the most productive use of my time when I could be ... well ... reviewing and working on my lists).

Little thank you tags to include with the traditional gifts we are bringing to China ...

As we prepare our home, our kiddos and our hearts, I pray for our sweet Nora.  I pray that God is preparing her heart ... all that she knows will be changing in a matter of weeks.  This is big ...

Middle of the Night Awakenings

This past week has included middle of the night awakenings with either the persistent calling of “Mommy” or just good old fashion crying coming from down the hall from a certain little princess who is getting over a cold and has two molars coming in (and who, frankly, I think just likes to be snuggled in the middle of the night).  Last night was one of those nights and while I love an uninterrupted night of sleep, I am trying to cherish these fleeting moments of being able to rock my baby (yes, 30+ pound toddler) back to sleep.  And, I can’t help but think about little miss Nora and wonder, does she cry out in the middle of the night?  And, for who?  And, who hears her sweet cries? 

 

Baby girl, we are {literally}* counting down the days until we can hold you and love you and hear and answer your cries.

Photo is NOT from Nora’s orphanage but is representative of a typical crib that would be in a Chinese orphanage – with metal rungs and wood slat bottom (no mattress), likely for sanitary purposes.

 

*Yes, we are literally counting down the days now ... more on that real soon!  God is good!!!

Date Night {With My Boys}

It is not often that Jason and I do something with just the boys, but last night we had an opportunity to do just that!  (Thanks Mom, Lydia loved Grandma Night!)

We used our (nearly) free baseball tickets that we earned from buying gas this summer and headed to a Brewers game.  This was the perfect lead-up to Jack's much anticipated upcoming 11th birthday (which he is planning on celebrating with a baseball-themed family party).  And, the giveaway last night was Bernie Brewer Rally 'Staches ... totally Samuel's style!

Love these boys (all three of them)!

(And, yes, Rita, the idea of using the 'staches for Christmas card photos did come up multiple times last night ...)

A Treasure

Yesterday was a typical fall Saturday which began with the boys having soccer games in two different places at overlapping times.  It was my turn to go to Jack's game which just happened to be in a nearby town that has a great little Farmer's Market.  Jack had a great game (his team had their best game ever, Jack with two goals and every boy on the team scored a goal ~ it was so awesome to see the boys working together towards the end and purposefully trying to ensure that they were passing to each other so that everyone would have an opportunity to score, and it was great to see that despite the big victory, there was good sportsmanship). 

Anywho, I digress. 

After the game, I bribed Jack with the promise of a treat Jack was eager to walk through the Farmer's Market with his Mama.  But, I got a little distracted by a nearby "General Store" that drew me in.

Let me give you a little background, a few weeks ago as I was going through Lydia's outgrown clothes to pull some out for Nora (yes, a nesting phase), it dawned on me that we would need something to put Nora's clothes in.  The boys share a room, and the girls will share a room.  The closets in their rooms are not big (and the boys have one of their dressers in their closet, and the girls have a bookshelf in theirs with a bit of room for hanging sweet little dresses).  Lydia's clothes are in a changing table / dresser that my brother graciously made when I was pregnant with Jack.  Phew, maybe too much background ...

So, in the past few weeks Jason and I have gone to a few local antique barns and found some dressers that could be cleaned up with a little TLC and made into the shabby chic vision I had.  But, we had sticker shock (not to mention the time investment that would be needed to turn my vision into reality).  So, we also went to furniture stores, Hobby Lobby, Target, etc., but everything seemed so pricey and not well-made.  I was coming to accept that Nora's clothes might just be in a Rubbermaid for a while.

Until Saturday ... and our find at the "General Store" ... love. 

And, the price was less than many of the put-it-together plyboard dressers at the retail chains, and I negotiated a little.  Just because I could.  Seriously.  I'm kind of embarrassed to even say how much we paid for it ...

An amazing lesson for Jack as well, showing him how God provides, often when we least expect it.

The TA Wait Begins!!!

I was going to do a (Nearly) Wordless Wednesday post today with a photo of Jack from this past weekend with his face painted ... with a unicorn ... a pink unicorn ... with glitter. 

Instead, just confirmation that our "Article 5" (see this post) was issued today, and we are now formally "patiently" waiting for our TA (Travel Approval).  This is typically issued two to four weeks after Article 5, but there is a national holiday in China the first week of October so that may slow us down slightly.  We're still praying for our TA on the early end of October with travel in late October / early November (typically two to four weeks after TA, dependant on when we can get our appointment with the US Consulate in Guangzhou).  We received an e-mail confirmation from the US Consulate in Guangzhou today confirming that Article 5 was issued and this is how the e-mail ended:

"We look forward to meeting you and your new family member when you come to the Consulate for your visa appointment!"

 

An explanation point and everything!  Us too, US Consulate, us too!!!!  We cannot wait for you to meet this little one of ours.

This is one of the photos we got with an update in early August.  I hadn't posted it before because well, I'm kind of in love with this girl, and I was kind of selfishly hoarding and studying this photo.  You will notice the deep look of concentration as she studies her hand.  After following Ashley's blog HERE and their journey to bringing their "Little One" home, I find it fascinating to see that their daughter's comfort mechanism was her sweet little hands.  I have posted a link to Ashley's blog before, but this post and this post, from China, speak so eloquently to their daughter's comfort with her amazing hands.  Ashley wonders if it's just a phase of her daughter discovering her hands or if it is from hours in a crib with no form of stimulation ... I wonder too ...

 

And, I really shouldn't do this, but it's my blog so I'm gonna ... and, I'm pretty sure that this is going to end up in a high school slide show ... and, I couldn't just leave you wondering about Jack's face painting, I figured you might want proof yourself.  Crazy kid!

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

Pure Sweetness

A Glimpse Into a Senior Picture Pose, Perhaps?

Sunday, September 2nd, 2012 ~ Picnic by Owen

A Few Words on Being Cabled and Some Phenomenal Links

An update as to where we are at with bringing Nora home ... we are cabled.  So, what does that mean?  This means that the National Visa Center has approved our visa petition to adopt Nora, and they have "cabled" (i.e., electronically sent) our file to the US Consulate in Guangzhou.  We received this notification on Tuesday.  And, yes, this was also the first day of school for Jack and Samuel ~ love how Nora was a part of the first day of school.  God is good!

The approval from the National Visa Center, the application we completed for Nora's visa, and our referral acceptance from China make up what is known as "Article 5".  Following?  It sure is confusing and I often find myself re-referring to explanations and e-mails from our agency to refamiliarize myself with this part of the process.  Our Article 5 was dropped off (by in-country staff of our agency) at the US Consulate in Guangzhou on Wednesday.  The Consulate takes exactly 10 business days to process this paperwork and then issues our Article 5 to the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA) in Beijing on Wednesday, September 19th.  This then begins the official wait for our Travel Approval (TA) from the CCCWA.  I love it!!!  The travel approval is essentially our invitation to come get Nora.  Travel approval typically happens 2-4 weeks after Article 5 is issued and then travel typically happens 2-4 weeks after that.  Still with me?  It's complex! 

So, as you can imagine I have counted, recounted and fully scrutinized the calendar.  We know we will travel in God's timing ... but still I analyze the calendar and the timelines of others who have recently gotten their travel approvals.  In doing so, looks like we could be in China in late October / early November.  Seriously. 

As we wait, Jason and I have been spending a lot of time doing more research on many topics ~ more research on life in the orphanages in China, more research on caring for a "creatively lipped" baby, more research on attachment and bonding, etc.  We have been uncovering a lot of information, some is painful and hard to digest, some is real-life stories filled with hope.  Incredible. 

Over the course of the next few weeks, I'm going to post links to some of the blogs and resources we have found to be helpful and encouraging.  Some of you may not be interested in these, but some of you may.  Plus this is a good place for me to link them so that I can easily refer back as well. 

A caution, some of the links that I will post will share the hard stuff.  Adoption is hard.  Raising children is hard.  Likewise, some of the links I will post will share the head over heels joy and will clearly tell the story of God's design in adoption.  There are stories upon stories that clearly portray the joy of adoption and God's faithfulness and grace in adoption.  I pray that as our journey continues that it is evident that this is His story and that we will be honest with the hard things and that we will clearly give Him the glory in the good things. 

So, to start, just two links (warning, while it's just two links, these beautiful women and their families will draw you in so you might as well cozy up to your screen with perhaps a coffee or tea and enjoy):

Angie Weldon, mom of sweet Emery, a creatively lipped little one from China, shares her heart on her blog.  In this post HERE, she beautifully articulates Emery's non-verbal world.  I encourage you to explore Angie's blog further.  Angie writes beautifully, and she is quite witty. 

And, HERE you will find a Q&A on cleft lip and palate on Ashley's blog.  Again, take a minute (or likely longer) and explore Ashley's blog.  Amazing!  And, Ashley and her family just returned from China with their little one.  Precious!

And, because no blog post is complete without a photo.  Check this out, the only piece of clothing we have purchased for our Nora ... Love. It.  Won't she be sweet wearing this on the day of our US Consulate appointment in China?  The day she officially becomes a US citizen.  And, don't fret, just because we've only bought this one piece of clothing for little miss, she will be well dressed and accessorized after raiding Lydia's too small bins.  Nope, no worries folks!

"We love because he first loved us." 

1 John 4:19

First Day of School (2012)

The first day of school is upon us as are our traditional first day photos.

The Fifth Grader

Yes, today marked Jack's first day at the Middle School.  And, he had a fabulous day.  So thankful ... this is the first year that Samuel hasn't been at the same school as Jack, but he did great as well!

The Second Grader

Last night as I was looking forward to this morning it dawned on me that I likely wouldn't get my photo of the boys together this morning as Jack starts an hour ahead of Samuel.  And, many of you know that Samuel isn't one to get up early.  But, much to my surprise I ran in the house this morning after packing up the car and there he was, all dressed and everything. 

The Boys - September 4th, 2012

And, when it was time for Samuel to go to school, our little firecracker also wanted to be in a photo (oh girl, how long before you are protesting getting your photo taken with bed head and jammies on?! Too soon, I'm sure!).

And, yes, the boys, on their own, chose their first day outfits which included their Bringing Home Nora tees from our fundraiser.  Jack also took some family photos for inside of his locker, including one of Nora.  Love these boys!  They are rough and tumble, but they also have soft and compassionate hearts.

Here's to the start of a new year ahead, sure to be filled with adventure and growth!