Friday, April 22, 2011

A Good Sign Amidst Chaos

Well, this week has been a doozie. Our car is totalled. Joey and Emma were in a wreck in front of our neighborhood. It was a very low speed collision, that happened head on with a big ole truck. So, our little bitty car didn't fare too well. Joey and Emma are just fine- no soreness, no aches, and no complaints. Thank God they are okay! The car- well, I am confident God will take us through this one, but I wasn't so sure at first.

Our car and van are paid for. We had no car note, and we were perfectly content with our old vehicles. Yes, they are old, and therefore the book value is really low on them. But, they are worth more to us than the silly book value. The car and van are VERY dependable vehicles. We take care of them, and they take care of us. And we were using what would have been car note money to fund the adoption. This is what I struggled with, and I feel horrible for having thought this way. But I was wondering why, oh why did this blow have to come to our adoption funding? We are doing what God wants us to do, right? So then, why interfere with our already difficult saving process?

I was thinking small. I realize this now. I have struggles too, after all I am human. And God, is amazing! The answer to these questions, I wasn't ready to face. I knew that God wasn't the cause of the accident. I know that He is the protector of my husband and child. He shielded them from injury. He shielded them from the oncomming traffic of the busy highway they were on. He made sure my husband and baby escaped the accident, not only scratch free, but free of soreness as well. I KNOW THIS.

The car, and I have felt this all along, we can live without. The adoption, we cannot do without. The funds for the adoption, we cannot do without. I was concerned for our little one in China. How is this accident going to affect them? A big motto of mine, is that if God leads us to it, He will lead us through it. And today, as I was checking the mail in the mailbox, feeling bogged down with worry, God showed me that He is helping us. In our mailbox was a letter from vital records with Joey's ammended birth certificate. The one that we were told would take 11 weeks to be ammended and then sent to us, only took 2 weeks!! And that would be 2 weeks, tomorrow!!

I think this is amazing, especially with the threat of government shutdowns, and the timeline for birth certificate duplicates being 4 weeks long. I am amazed, and see His handprints all over this. I would like to point out, that I have several family members waiting for the child's new amended birth certificates for over a year now from the same office. I can't stress enough how BIG this was to me today. God obviously wants us to get to China ASAP for our little one(s).

Praising God & praying for His blessings upon y'all,
Until next time,
Tasha

Wu, Mommy and Baba are thinking about you still. We are hoping you feel our love. Only 4 more months until we learn who you are. Don't lose hope little one. We will be there soon. Love you, Mama

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Goo Goo for Baba

One thing you hear from adoptive parents is how adoption is tough, and I truly believe that you really don't know how tough it is until you experience it first hand. The waiting is excruciating. The paperwork is... well, paperwork. Not too exciting, and at times a bit overwhelming.

I am going through a mix of emotions lately. I have been mad, sad, crushed, and agonized by the wait. It just seems so long, and I am not good with waiting. Oh, the Lord knows that I am not good with waiting. It makes me all nervous inside, and my mind is racing. I am a worry-wart by nature. I worry about everything. Right now, a chief worry in my mind is regarding Wu being cared for. I long to know that my child is safe and well cared for. I want to see his/her face, and hold him/her close to me. It's not possible right now, and logically I know this. I know there are timelines and paperwork for a reason, and a good reason. But my heart is aching.

I was having a bad day this week. Some adoption criteria was changed, and really it isn't a big deal at all. But at the time, it felt like another huge hurdle standing in my way, between me and my baby. Well, that day Joey and I took all of the children for physicals for the application. The children were really well behaved,and our pediatrician really seemed excited for all of us. And I believe he could tell the children are really excited too. Anyhow, we get all of the paperwork filled out and we head for the van to go home. I decide to look over the paperwork before we leave, and I was humbled and excited about what I saw on those forms. Our pediatrician noted that all of the children were in excellent health, and in the extra remarks section of their forms, he wrote, "excellent parents." Wow! When I say the little things mean the most to a person, I truly mean it... they do! Our pediatrician did not have to write anything down in that section, let alone something about Joey and I, but he really made us feel lifted in spirit.

Besides physicals, I have been filling out the other necessary forms needed, and started on the form with ALL of our addresses from the time we were 18. We have moved 11 times since then! I cannot remember all of those addresses, but I needed them for the form. So I make mention to Joey that I needed them, but didn't know how to get them. I tried a search engine online, and had no luck. Joey, being the wonderful man that he is, goes away for a while and then comes back with ALL of the addresses! Oh how I love that man!

Joey has also been moving as quick as he can to get work verification and other documents completed for me. He comes home from work, and asks me if there is anything that he can do to help me complete things faster! He is amazing! And, have I told you all how much I love that man?!?

Seriously, I think this whole process is making me fall more and more in love with him. And I didn't think that was possible, but I guess it is. I am so blessed to have my best friend for my husband.

Until next time,
Tasha

Wu, Mommy is going goo goo over your Baba. God has really blessed you with the best Baba there is, and I know you will love him. He is so anxious to bring you home, as am I. Your brothers and sisters were so excited to tell their doctor about you. Lucy told me this week that, "Mommy and Daddy need to hurry up and go to China to bring back the baby." She wants to meet you so bad. We all want to meet you. A little less than 5 months from now, we should see your face and get to know you through your foster child report. I am looking forward to sending you something special in the mail. I pray a special blessing over you tonight. That God keeps you safe, and blesses you with great caregivers who shower you with love. I pray that you feel our love deep within your heart. Amen. Sending you our love, Mama

Friday, April 1, 2011

Paper Chasing

This week, we received information on how to get our paper chase done. It seems pretty straight forward, and the documents seem easy. The hard part seems to be all of the sealing involved.

Next week, we will all be going to the doctor for physicals. Right now, Joey is ordering birth certificates and checking out the spelling on his. This could be an issue. All documents need to match each other exactly. Problem is, Joey's name is spelt two different ways on his documents. Hopefully this issue can be fixed soon, so we can gather the rest of the documents and start getting them verified and sealed.

Once we get the doctor appointments done, we can submit our paperwork for our homestudy and get that going. Once the homestudy is done, we can submit our 1800A. And we also need to apply for passports once the name issue with the documents has been fixed.

I am learning why it is called a paper chase. There are so many places you have to go to get these documents that are needed, and then you have to bring them to a whole bunch of places to get them authenticated. I guess the good news is that after this, there will be no mistaking who we are LOL

It's a learning process. And boy, are we learning! And it is just getting started!! In the end, it will be well worth it.

Ending on a bright note here...

Joey came home from work yesterday, and as usual, he asks me if there were any interesting news from the day. I didn't have any, so he began to share his. His face lit up, as he started to tell me about all of the people he told about the adoption at work that day and how EXCITED they were for us. I can't express how much a smile and encouraging words can do for a person. Especially a person who is going through the agonizing wait that is associated with adoption. We have waited for about 7 months now to be able to get started with the paperwork and it will be another 5 months before we will be able to submit this paperwork. Then we must wait another 3-6 months to go to China to pick up our child. That's 15-18 months of waiting, and we are just on month 7. And the reality of it all, is that it could take longer. So thank you to whoever it was that lifted mine and Joey's spirits yesterday. Thank you to all of you who continue to pray for us and lift us up in prayer, and especially to those of you who are praying for our little Wu.

We are grateful for each and every one of you who are supporting us. We are grateful to the wonderful God who has blessed us with this child. We are grateful for Wu, and for all of our children.

Feeling blessed and praying His blessings upon each of you,
Tasha


Wu, Still thinking of and loving you from a distance. We are coming close to only 5 months away from seeing your face, and learning more about you. We continue to pray for God's love and work to surround you, our precious child. Loving you, Momma