Our hard copy LOA came by Fed Ex yesterday. 

It was VERY HARD  not to leave work early to get it signed and back to Fed Ex (though it did come too late to get it back to Fed Ex anyway).

Needless to say, it is signed, dated and checked accepted and will be dropped at a Fed EX drop today. 

 :)

LOA!!!!!

Home with Zane today, sick, strep throat.
Just checked my email.
LOOK AT THIS!!!

Hi, Phillip and Cynthia:

Congratulations!

I received your LOA from China today and sent it to you by FedEx today.

What this means is that...we are OFFICIALLY matched with Sun, Min and he will be our little guy!

 
Now, we wait to receive our Fed EX carrying our LOA.
We must BOTH sign and date, and WE MUST REMEMBER to check off the WE ACCEPT box!
Then we Fed Ex back ASAP.
Then we send off for our I800 (our agency will do this for us).  This is our  'Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative.'   It is our approval from USCIS to adopt the child you were matched with specifically.

Then, you guessed it, we wait for the I800 approval. These have been taking about 4 weeks. 

But hey, for now, we are E-X-C-I-T-E-D!  (Ok, and a little nervous, overwhelmed, happy... :)  )

Please keep us in your prayers. 

Lane, Cindy, and Zane


'For those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength..."Isaiah 40:31

  

Snapshot Sunday - Turtle

We came home from church today and saw this little lady sitting on the (newly cleared) lot next to our house.  Lane went running out to see her and Zane of course, went running right after him.  She was a leather back turtle, probably trying to search for a spot to lay her eggs. 

 
New neighbors will start building on this lot this week.  So Lane decided he'd better put her back in the water and let her find another spot.  The guys clearing the lot told us they had already moved her once before.

Still waiting on our LOA....

Blessings...

Updated info and LOA wait

We received updated information on our little guy, actually a few weeks ago. 
Yes, I am just posting now! 
His caretaker wrote that he is a sweet little guy, he speaks clearly and good sentences (important), is amicable, gets along well with the other kids, is a good helper with the younger kids.
We received his current height and weight; he is about a head shorter than Zane. 
We received lots of pictures.  He is precious!   Many of the pictures were with another little girl who will be coming home before him.  I am hoping we can get in contact with that family, I've asked the agency about it. It would be nice to hear how their trip goes, if they get to meet him when they visit the orphanage, etc.  Also, if our two little ones are friends, it would be good for them. 
I cannot tell you how often I look at these pictures and read the information we received.  Not a whole lot, but we will take what we can get.  Many families do not get an many updates. 
We will not be posting any further pictures until we receive our LOA.  Mostly due to agency rules; we have not been officially matched yet. 

We are on day 56 of our LOA wait. 
Yesterday it seemed many waiting families received their LOA's.  One family was on day 57, another family on day 129. 
So, you see, there is no way of telling. 
Due to Lane's summer travels, we are just praying for God's timing. 
IT'S HARD. 
I want to go and bring him home now.  I want to hug him and love on him and see our boys play together.

We are praying about some fundraisers; please keep us in your prayers.  We need prayers for timing, costs, adjustment, patience to name a few.

With God, all things are possible.

Snapshot Sunday

This photo just makes me smile.  I had dropped Zane off at school.  I remembered he had brought turtle and 'beese', but forgot about them.  I went to my car after work and opened the door to my back seat.  After a bad day at work, this just made me smile.  :)

Sunday Snapshots (posted Monday!)

Our paperwork, mentioned below, is on it's way to our agency.  I checked and rechecked, so hopefully all is correct.  That paperwork was done in preparation for our LOA. 
Which, we are on day 32 of the wait.
But I am not counting (seriously, trying not to, just had to go count on the calendar!).

Zane and I picked up a 'Lizard' sprinkler yesterday. 
While playing, he mentioned a few times, 'it will be more fun when my brother is here'.   :)
He would not look at me and smile, so these are the best I could get. 

This verse was on Joel Osteen's devotion today; what a great verse to start the day with!
“Then the LORD said: ‘I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you’ ” (Exodus 34:10, NIV)

More paperwork....

We've been given the go ahead by our agency to start in on our next set of paperwork.  Did I mention before the amount of paperwork we have to do for adoption?! 

Tons. 

But all for a precious cause.

We need to complete the I800 (Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative), I-864 (Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act - we assume certain specific obligations under the Immigration and Nationality Act and other Federal Laws), and the DS-230 (application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration) ready to submit  for when we receive our LOA (which in reality, is still weeks, months away). 

These papers are not necessarily hard to fill out, but stressful in a way as you do not want to make any little mistake.  Any little mistake could cause your paperwork to be sent back, resulting in more time, frustration, you get the picture. 

Thankfully, this set will be sent to our Agency first so they will be able to preview before it is all sent!

Have I mentioned before that adoption is HARD? 

It is hard, emotional, expensive, and really tests your patience.  And that's before your child comes home!

But it is one of the BEST blessings we could ever receive.

"And whoso shall receive one such little child in My name receiveth me".  Matthew 18:5