Gotcha Day!

I'm so sorry this is so late and maybe no one is interested anymore since we are home now. But, since I was unable to post from China about our trip because of various difficulties, I decided I'm going to do a gotcha day post, because I'm sure that's what everyone is really interested in. I think I'll also back post some of the other things we did on our trip, but I really want to get some of the good gotcha day pictures (and a video) up here.

We started out the day with a breakfast buffet in the morning. Then, at around 9am China time, we hopped on a bus with the rest of the group, to go meet our kidos. It was surreal. I thought I would be a mess...sick even. When I'm nervous or big changes are happening, I tend to get these uncontrollable shakes. I was really worried I would get that way, but I didn't. I really felt a peace and calm and just really excited to see my baby girl. I really chalk this up to all the prayers I know were happening for us at that time.

This is where things happen really fast. We thought we would be waiting awhile at the office for our girl to arrive. Boy, were we wrong! Just take a look and see.

 

It was, in some ways, a wonderful day for us. We had been waiting so long and working so hard to finally hold our sweet girl in our arms. But, it was a really hard day. The worst for Carissa. My heart just broke for her. Everything changed for her that day. She lost everything she had ever known. Yes, we knew that her days as an orphan were over. That she would be loved so much. That having a family is much better for her than growing up in an orphanage. But, she only knew that she was handed over from everything familiar to complete strangers. It was tough to see that pain and fear in her.

 

Here are some of the pictures from that day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My precious baby girl, momma is so glad to finally have you in her arms. I know it was a hard day for you, but for me, it was one of the best. You grew, for many months, in my heart and the day finally came to hold you. I love you so much!

 

 

Day 1- Beijing

First, I want to thank you all for the prayers for our trip. It went very smoothly and we had no delay's. It was as enjoyable trip as a trek across the world could be, I suppose.
After a pretty uneventful flight to Beijing (I'll try to blog on that later), we had our first day of touring today. Our agency has us come in a few days early to get used to the time change and to have us get to know a bit about our children's culture. I really love that we got this opportunity.

When we woke up this morning we had a nice buffet breakfast in the hotel. Noodle's for breakfast was a big hit! They actually had a great mix of western-style eats and more traditional Chinese selections. Anyway, it was quite yummy!

After breakfast, we set off in the bus to Tiananmen square and the Forbidden City. The details in the buildings were beautiful and the area was huge. It was quite a walk for jet lagged people, but I think we all enjoyed it.

 

 

After that, we drove over to Hutong. Hutong is basically old town. It's a living example of the way Chinese used to live (and still do in this community). A community of houses where even the toilets and showers are communal. I was very intrigued by this area. It was very worn down, dusty and dirty, but just seemed rich with culture. And a tight knit community.

We took a rickshaw ride through the area. I tell you what, those men have some strong legs.

 

 

 

 

In Hutong, we were served a meal by a local family in their home. It was wonderful!

 

 

Overall, it was a great day. We all felt pretty good and we enjoyed seeing the sights.

Next, we go to Great Wall of China!

Anticipation....

We have been working to get things settled and ready for our trip. Paul has been trying to get a lot of work done to make up for the time he will be gone. Breanna has been doing some homework in advance. Sean, well, he's been sick (more on that later), so he has been doing a whole lot of nothing. Me, well, I have been trying to get some packing done (Carissa's suitcase is packed. Yay!). I have been cleaning, kind of organizing (does hiding and stacking things nicely count as organizing? ;o) ), moving furniture around, setting up a crib, running errands, getting things for the trip and also meal planning so that I can get meals in the freezer for us to have on hand for when we get back home.

I find myself lost sometimes, overwhelmed by the amount of things we need to get done, not knowing what to do first. I'm just trying to take it one thing at a time and feel accomplished if I get even a couple of things done each day. It's weird going from this intense paper chase mode to just kind of waiting and preparing. I've been working paperwork for so long, it kind of feels like I'm missing or forgetting something. Kind of unnerving.

People ask me a lot if I'm just so excited, and I definitely am. I'm so excited to see Carissa face to face, to hold her and comfort her. But, there is also a bit of trepidation mixed in. I go from intense excitement one moment to "Oh my! what am I thinking?!?" There is the constant fight of the fear of the unknowns, fear that Carissa is going to have a really hard time, fear of the flight over there (have I mentioned that I have never been out of the US?), fear of getting sick on the trip, fear of my kids wondering off when I'm not looking....just fear. I know where that comes from and it's not my Heavenly Father. So, I feel like I'm at battle over my mind, sometimes. I know who's going to win, though. I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I won't make my decisions based off of fear. I know that God has given me a place in my heart as well as the rest of the family's heart for this baby girl and He's going to take care of things for me, her, and the rest of the family. So, I just try and shove those fearful thoughts out of my mind and point my thoughts upward. I do better at it some times than others.    "In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid.  What can mere mortals do to me?" Psalm 56:4

On top of all the preparations going on, we have been fighting illnesses in this house. I had an extremely sore throat a week or so back. It never went much further than that and tiredness, so that's good. Now, Sean has bronchitis. So, I've been really concerned about this. I'm really praying the rest of the family stays healthy this next 12 days and on the trip.

So, on that note, I have a few prayer requests:

For our health. That Sean would improve quickly and stay that way throughout the trip. That the rest of us stays healthy. That the trip to China won't be too hard on our bodies, including Breanna's asthma and all of our allergies and also our tummies.

For everyone's safety on the trip and when we are touring around various cities in China. Especially when we are riding in vehicles in the crazy traffic.

That our flights to and from China go smoothly. We have a couple of layovers that are cutting it super close, so we could really use prayers that everything stays on time.

For Carissa's heart. Please pray that, in her grief, God brings comfort to her heart that He can only give. That she somehow knows we are safe and that we love her so much.

Again, thank you for all your love, excitement, support and prayers during this time. It's such a comfort to know that we have friends, family and even a few people we haven't even met that are covering us all in prayer. It's an awesome feeling!

I just really can't wait to bring Carissa home and introduce her to this amazing community!

16 days

Appointments have been made and confirmed and tickets have been bought. We are heading to China in 16 days!

 

Then, 5 days after that, we will have Carissa in our arms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This baby girl has no idea how excited her family is to love on her! But, she will know the love of her forever family very, very soon!

 

 

John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

We're going to China!

Hold on baby girl!

 

Cause your family is coming to get you!

 

Today, we got Travel Approval! We are so excited!!

 

Usually, we would get final confirmation of our consulate appointment in China (where we get Carissa's visa to come home) in a day or two and could make our travel plans, but because there is a holiday going on in China until Monday, we have to wait until then or Tuesday. That also makes our travel plans take place a week later than we would like. But, we will have her in our arms this month. Most likely in 25 days. And that is something to celebrate!

 

October is going to be a great month!

Provision

I just wanted to give a little update on our Both Hands project we did a couple weeks back to help raise funds to bring Carissa home. We served our friend Rita for a day and us and the volunteers sent out letters, emails and spread the word via social media to sponsor us to work on her house. The sponsorship funds went directly to help us bring our daughter home to her forever family.

I must say, that we almost decided not to do the project. I had a difficult couple of months during the summer where I was just weary, especially on the fundraising front. I was scared of losing friendships, of offending people by asking too much, by seeming needy or whatever. Just a lot of fear that I knew was wrong, but just had a hard time shaking. We tried a few different plans to earn the money ourselves, without having to ask anything of anybody. They didn't work out. We even tried a couple of fundraisers that are usually pretty popular and those didn't really bring much funds in. I was thinking that maybe we just needed to take the hint and stop all those efforts and just put the rest of the adoption on credit cards or a loan and worry about it when we got home. I had come across the Both Hands fundraiser early in the process and we both absolutely loved the idea. But, we were still waiting on our home study to be approved at the time. Then, it was a busy, huge process to get other grant applications filled out, paperwork authenticated, etc. So, I had nearly put it out of my mind as a possibility, figuring it would just be too late to get it done and that people might be annoyed since we had already had some other fundraisers/fundraising pages and such out there.

I'm so glad that we didn't give up on this and that we had some awesome friends encourage us to follow through with doing this project. It ended up being far more than a fundraiser. We worked together with our friends to serve someone who really just needed the help. We formed a bond and a friendship with Rita and plan to carry on that relationship for the long term. I just really love her so much and am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to get to know her and her story. This most likely would not have happened if not for the Both Hands project. So, God orchestrated this so perfectly to really change and bless some hearts that day.

So, without further ado, I'm happy to announce that because of this project, we are now fully funded! We can now concentrate on packing and preparing our hearts and our home to welcome our daughter home. This has totally floored us! We are so relieved and so grateful for everyone's generosity, prayers and hard work throughout this whole process. We could not have done this without you. God has worked through you to give this little girl a mommy, daddy, sister and brother that love her so very much. A home, a forever family, nighttime hugs and kisses and cuddles...oh, that girl is going to get so much cuddles! She is going to know that she is loved. She is going to know that she was created by an awesome God who loves her more than we ever could. She is going to know, that no matter her difficulties in life, she was made just the way God needed her to be to accomplish His plan for her and those around her. She has a hope and a future!

We are so humbled and blessed to have such an awesome community that has supported us in all different ways in bringing our little girl home. Carissa is one loved little girl! and I can't wait to tell her about how so many people loved her and prayed for her before they even knew her.

I have not stopped giving thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers.
Ephesians 1:16

We are getting close. Most likely, only a little over a month before our girl is in our arms and she gets to meet her forever family. We can't wait for that day!

The olders....part two...

My soon to be middle child...and the only boy...poor thing. ;o)

 

He's a crazy ball of energy. He definitely gives us a run for our money.

 

I'm telling you. This look says it all!

 

My Seany boy is a great gift. He brings energy and humor to the family. He can be such a handful sometimes and frustrate us all. You would think, looking at how active he is and how much he likes all things zombie, explosive, fighting, lightsabering and violent dinosaur, that he would be quite aggressive.

 

 

 And yes, he can get totally out of control. But, he is so soft hearted and empathetic when he thinks someone or something is hurt.

And he loves babies.

 

And he was so proud the day his little cousin came into the world.

 

Like his sister, he loves the outdoors.

 

Science and bugs and creepy crawlies, oh my!

 

This little guy is a cuddler and he loves fiercely.

 

He loves his sister. (And, oh my! Those piercing blue eyes just draw you in.)

 

 

He loves his cousin, Aiden.

 

 

 

And he loves his daddy so much.

 

He's smart, loyal, and funny.

 

A total ham from day one.

 

This kido is pretty awesome.

Pretty darn cute when he was little.

 

And pretty handsome nowadays too.

 

 

And I just love him so much!

 

The Olders...part one...

So, while we are waiting for some additional, final paperwork to work on, I realized that if you look way back in the blog...way before adoption was on our radar, there was a bit about my older two kidos, but that was 4 years ago. I thought it would be fun to kind of introduce them to those that have only been following since the adoption announcement.

Breanna is the first born and totally has the first born personality. She was the only one for four years and it shows in a lot of ways. She has always like to command the attention and be the boss. Something I have always told myself will make her a great leader someday if we direct her in the right direction.

 

At the Age of 3, full of spunk and personality.

 

 

This child tests me, frustrates me on a daily basis. She is just like me in many ways, possibly many of the things I don't like in myself. She has taught me much about myself in her 12 years of life. Things I know God desperately needed me learn, so He gave her to me; and I'm so thankful. She is like me, but opposite of me at the same time. She has my impatience and stubbornness, but she also has the personality traits that I wish I had. She's always been very social from a young age. She is funny, cutting jokes from the age of two.

 

My silly girl.

 

 

 She's full of spunk, personality and energy. She's just a total goof! And I love her so much. We may butt heads on a regular basis, but I love the conversations we have when we are alone in the car or out on a shopping date. I love how smart and beautiful she is.

She is also adventurous and loves nature and all things science.

 

 

At home in the great outdoors.

 

 

 

 

 And she loves little kids and they love her.

 

 

 

She is also one of those people that will defend the cause of the weak, the lonely, the overlooked. I have seen her on multiple occasions, seek out another child that was alone, left behind, maybe even shunned by the other kids and attempt to include them, make them feel a part of her group, special. I have also heard stories of her defending a child that was being teased by others. When she was in second grade, she got into trouble for attacking another child. I totally was dumbfounded. Come to find out, she had witnessed that child being pretty mean, calling another child names and pushing him, so her being the defender that she is, proceeded to tackle the meanie child. The one that was being teased went home and told his mom about what Breanna did. That mom proceeded to search me and the teacher out the next day and thank Breanna for defending her son. Needless to say, Breanna did not get the slightest punishment from us. It was a proud moment. And she still has that in her heart at 12. I really envision her taking on an important cause someday and just really making a huge difference in the world.

 

One tough cookie! I'm telling ya, don't mess with her friends or family. ;o)

 

Beautiful, inside and out.

 

I love my precious eldest child so much!

 

 

 

 



 

 

 



I800 Approval and Both Hands

Well, I thought this would be a good time to update as a couple things have happened since I last posted.
On Saturday, we did our Both Hands project and it was awesome! We had a great time serving with several of our friends and family. I highly recommend this project if you are looking for a fundraiser for your adoption or even for a fundraiser for your church's adoption ministry, or orphan care ministry. It is a really well run organization. They pretty much held our hands all along the way, giving us all the letter templates, forms, hints and recommendations for every step in the process. It was a great experience! Please take a look at the video that our friend Adam made of our day.





This morning I awoke with a fantastic email. Carissa's immigration has been pre approved! This basically means that I have one more form to fill out on this side of the Ocean (Carissa's Visa application) and then it and the approval get sent to China and we basically await travel approval. Yay! This process has a few steps in there and will take a few weeks, but we are getting so close! We can't wait to snuggle our girl!

Doesn't she look super snuggly?!?

Both Hands

Travel to go pick up our girl is getting close. We find ourselves somewhat overwhelmed with the tasks remaining that we need to do in order to be prepared to do that. There's more paperwork to do, Visas to apply for, fees to pay, rooms to organize, a room to paint, baby/toddler and travel items to purchase and packing to start to get done, because you just don't wait until the week before to pack to travel half way across the world. So, we've found ourselves a bit like, "where do we begin?!?. Oh! I'm exhausted just thinking about it. I think I'll go lay on the couch." But, seriously, it kind of snuck up on us. But, I know we'll eventually get it all done. Just gotta focus on one task at a time, as hubby says. :o)

We've also been working on one last final fundraiser. At least, that's our hope. It is called the Both Hands Project. Both Hands is an organization that helps families fulfill both mandates of the scripture James 1:27 "²⁷ Pure religion, undefiled before God and the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." The concept is to choose a widow to serve for a day. Gather a team together to help you work on her home, doing painting, yard work, cleaning, organizing, etc. Members of the team also send out sponsorship letters to ask family and friends to sponsor them to be on the team. It works kind of like a fundraising golf tournament or 5k run.
So, we've been working toward doing a project on August 30th. We have an awesome widow we are serving for a day. And all sponsorship funds raised will go toward helping to bring our Carissa girl home. It's actually pretty exciting. I'm really excited about helping out Rita with all the "honey do" projects around the house that she has been unable to do herself or afford to hire someone to do since losing her husband 4 years ago.
So, if you click on the attached link, you can see our donation page. Please take a look and help if you can. If not, please share the link with friends and family that you may think will be interested in helping out.
Thank you!

http://www.bothhands.org/paul-and-angela-widner

She smiles

We got an update on baby girl today. She's getting so big! I wish I could be there to see it...counting the days until we get to snuggle her and see her grow up and celebrate the milestones.

 

 

We have one other picture of her just barely smiling. This is the first toothy, real grin that we have seen. It made our day!

She's also standing very well, just using one hand for support. We've only seen one other picture of her standing with a walker for support, so this was extremely encouraging to us.

 

I bought her some clearance sale shoes to celebrate! :o)

 

 

And We are really hopeful to see her use them very soon!

 

Thank you so much for all those that have been praying for our sweet girl. We really felt that some of our prayers had been answered when we saw this update today.

LOA

So, if you follow me on Facebook, you know that we received our LOA, which is the letter of acceptance. This is China's official approval of our adoption of Carissa. We get to sign this piece of paper letting them know that we accept her.

 

When I checked the box saying we accept her, I was, like "Yeah! Are you kidding me? This is my baby we're talking about! I want to go get her now!". So, I checked that box and signed my name. Yahoo!

 

 

 

And so did her daddy!

 

We are so excited! This is a big step. We will basically be getting immigration approval and making plans for travel from this point on. That process will take approximately 10 weeks, give or take a week or two.

Hold on, baby girl! We are coming very soon! Mommy, Daddy, Sister and Brother are so excited for you to join our family!

 

John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

 

 

 

Tattoo's

I have been wanting to write a post about my experience a few weeks ago at Teen Reach Adventure Camp (TRAC) http://hopeunlimitedinc.org/. I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to put my experience into words. Truth is, there are no words good enough to describe what that week was like for me...heartbreaking, life changing, heart warming, unreal...none of it describes what it feels like to minister to child that has gone through things that I can't even imagine. A child of 12 that has lived things that no person, young or old, should ever have to go through.
How do you describe something like that?
Many of these children come to camp broken, bruised, terrified, heartbroken. They have labels permanently, what one girl described as tattooed, on to their hearts that people in their lives have given them. People that should have been trustworthy, people that should have protected and loved them. Instead these people gave these children labels such as; abused, neglected, forgotten, broken, worthless, unlovable, abandoned, ugly, stupid, unworthy... and that's just a few of the labels that I heard these children say they felt about themselves or were told to them.
During camp my job was simply to love on these girls. To share with them the love of God. To show them they have a hope and a future (http://azhope.com/). To give them new labels to tattoo on their hearts. Easier said than done with some of the girls. And that can't be accomplished by just me, a counselor...It's a team effort.
A bible teacher who teaches them about David and how he conquered Goliath. How they can conquer their own Goliath's in their lives. How God makes them conquerors over their sins, their trials, the labels they have been given in life. How God chose David and made him a King, just as He can choose them to be His daughters...princesses.  A bible teacher who has been through hell and back in her own life and can share her very own story of triumph. Something that made an ever lasting impression on these girls. Some who thought they may never triumph now have hope that they too will be conquerors someday.
A group of hair dressers and make up artists who come to camp for a day to help make these girls feel beautiful. They participate in a day of pampering, picking out beautiful dresses, shoes and accessories. And the girls just glow. Girls that came in with walls up, with slumped shoulders and broken spirits are now beaming, excited, trying on dresses and twirling around. They felt so beautiful and special.
A group of men that came to camp to be examples of how real men should treat them. Many of these men are husbands and fathers. They escorted them to a princess dance, served the girls a fancy dinner and most importantly, poured life and truth into these girls. Truth about how no matter their history, no matter what's been done to them or what they have done, they deserve to be treated like princesses. They are worthy of love and kindness and respect. Words, I know many of these girls will always hold close to their hearts.
And the ultimate leader of our team, My Lord and Savior. A God who can take a broken heart and make it whole again. A God who can turn a child with a dark and terrible past into a little princess, glowing and smiling. A God who can soften the hardest heart.
These girls came in with some pretty harsh labels tattooed on to their hearts, but many of them left with new tattoos....Loved, Redeemed, Cherished, Conqueror, Beautiful and Princess. The scars from the old tattoos may never completely go away. But these new labels are stronger, bolder...and that will make all the difference!

"'For I know the plans I have for you', says the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11

Update

Yesterday we got an update on our precious Carissa girl.

 

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Isn't she just adorable? Even with the cute bed head? We are so ready to go get her!

 

We have  a few prayer requests:

 

Carissa has been moved to a different facility. I'm sure it's been a hard transition for her. On top of that, she will have an even bigger transition, when we go pick her up in just a few months. So, please pray for her heart to be prepared and for her to be comforted.

 

Please pray for her health. She's around a lot more kids now and in a different environment, so she may be exposed to things her little body is not used to.

 

Please pray for our process from here on out to go as quickly as possible. Especially, now that she has been moved, it just makes us want to go get her as quickly as possible. Right now, we are on day 39 of waiting for our Letter of Acceptance/Approval (LOA). Hopefully, we don't have too much longer to wait. Many are coming in at about day 70 right now, but we are really praying hard for things to start speeding up, so maybe we can get ours at least by day 60.

 

So, I hope you enjoyed the pics. I can't stop looking at them. I can't wait to cuddle this little girl and tell her how much we love her. It's getting closer everyday. It can't come fast enough!

 

"Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in His holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you."

Psalm 33:20-22

 

 

 

 

 

A spark

They walk through the door, dressed up and beautiful, escorted by the men that volunteered this weekend to make a difference. The girls have been pampered this afternoon. Given beautiful dresses to wear. Hair, makeup and nails done by volunteers that just want to show them love, if even for a moment.
These girls all have different stories. Ones of pain, fear and heartache that separated them from their family. Children left to a system that many times adds to the pain; many tossed from home to home, no routine, no security.
But, here they are, a weekend to just be kids. To feel the love. To be told about the One that will never leave them, never cause them harm...the only One that will never disappoint them; a friend, a comforter, a healer. A Lord and Savior.
Across the room, I see a child that on the first night had such an angry, stoic look on her face. She wouldn't eat the first two days. Now, she looks like a different girl. She allowed the volunteers to spoil her, to do her hair and makeup. She has a beautiful dress on....and she smiles. And my heart smiles.
I see another child that walked in the first day with her shoulders slumped, a hesitant look on her face. Now, she walks in very tall and proud with a big smile on her face. I think to myself what a difference a day makes.
After a dinner served by the men volunteering at the camp (They are kind of like the father figures for the camp), the girls dance. They dance and they laugh. Most of them up on their feet, reveling in the excitement and joy surrounding them. It's refreshing to see.
Then, it's time to wrap the evening up. The camp counselors put the girls into circles according to the groups they are in. Then, the men come out. They have spent the past two days serving at the camp., helping with the activities, facilitating the trust/team building activities, getting to know these girls. These men kneel in front of each girl and just quietly pour words of life into them. They encourage them, they tell them they are beautiful, each girl hearing what the men feel that particular girl needs to hear. Words that maybe no one has ever told them. And I see tears....from the girls and from the men. And my heart breaks. It breaks for their pain, their disappointment, the suffering many of them have had so early in life. But, through that break comes hope and thankfulness that the girls are there to hear words of peace and of comfort. Words of affirmation, hope and joy. Words they may never have heard had they not had the opportunity to come to this camp. On this weekend, they've been given a spark of hope. A spark that may ignite into a mighty fire someday. A fire that could change their world and the world of those around them.


http://hopeunlimitedinc.org/

puzzles, donations, prayers and translation...

So, the puzzle fundraiser is going pretty slow. We have gotten two donations specifically for the puzzle. But, I have started assembling some pieces from donations that we have received in the past. I'm not sure how this is going to turn out. But, we are thankful for every little bit. We know that it adds up amazingly fast somehow. So, we'll keep trying on this puzzle fundraiser, but I'm brainstorming how else we can raise the rest of the funds we need to bring our baby girl home. Some suggestions I've had are a baby sitting night, where Breanna and some of her friends can maybe help to babysit at our house for a donation on one or two evenings. Breanna and I thought we would love to have an arts and crafts sale, since we both love to do things like crochet, sewing, rainbow loom and Breanna is really getting good at sketching and such. Another idea was me doing photography sessions for a donation. I am, in no way, a professional, but I enjoy photography and would really like getting more practice. And if I could do that and get some donations, that would be wonderful. If you have any ideas or like one of these ideas, please leave me a message with your input. I would like to get an idea of what the interest would be for any of these ideas, so please don't hesitate to give me your thoughts.
However, we have gotten a couple really generous donations and we will definitely be putting those people on the puzzle. We now have about $7000 or $8000 left to fully fund the adoption. Praise God!
We can't begin to express how thankful we are for those that have donated to help bring Carissa home. It seems like every time we start to get just a bit nervous about having enough funds to finish the adoption, it seems a generous donation shows up. We really should learn to not get nervous at all and realize that God's got this. We are so blessed and so humbled! And not just the donations; when people ask about how things are going and tell us they are praying for us and for Carissa, it gives us such peace and comfort.
Not much happening just yet on the adoption front. I did get to fill out some immigration paperwork last week. It kind of made it pretty real. Putting the address where she will be living with us and the terms of her immigration and everything. It felt good to get that filled out. We will just be doing a lot of waiting from this point on. Our agency did let us know that our dossier has been translated. So, that means it is on to the next step of being reviewed and then finally approved; probably another 6 weeks.
We are hoping for an update on Carissa soon, but it's not guaranteed to happen. It would be great to get another peek at her, though. They grow so fast at this age. Every time we've seen another picture of her, she looks so different. I can't imagine not seeing another picture or video of her until gotcha day, but that's a possibility that I will have to prepare myself for.

Psalm 130:5 "I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope."

T-shirt Relaunch

Well, Paul and I have had several people come up and ask if we were still selling t-shirts, how they could get one because they missed out the first time, or had already bought, but wanted to purchase more. So, we decided to re launch the t-shirt sale. It's through a company called Bonfire funds and we get a good portion of the proceeds to go toward our adoption fund. We have to sell at least 50 shirts for the sale to be successful. They won't print the shirts nor charge your credit card until 50 shirts are sold.
So, if you are interested, please follow the link below to find out more details and purchase a nice, soft, comfy shirt for a good cause. :o)

https://www.bonfirefunds.com/widner-adoption-fund

Third Trimester

So, I'm not sure what the timeline comparisons from adoption to pregnancy usually are. But, I kind of feel like we are in the third trimester of our "paper pregnancy" now. That's right! We completed one more big step in the international adoption world. Log In Date (LID). This means that China has our paperwork and application and they have accepted it into their system. This is the official end of our big "paper chase" that we have been working on since we started our home study in November.

This is something kind of fun that many people on our agency fb board (our awesome "support group") does. They often make fun pictures to announce the big steps in the process. So, I thought I would join in. Things like this are fun to do, especially when you're amidst the pressure and stress of the process.
So, next, our paperwork will be translated and then, finally looked over for approval. We already have a Pre-Approval to adopt Carissa. So, they have seen some of our information, but not all of it. So, this step (LOA) will be our final approval. This step can take from 30 to 90 days. Most come in about 60 days. We are really praying for a 45 day approval ;o), just to make it a bit quicker.

So, that's where we are at now. Possibly about 4 to 5 months to travel to pick up our girl..... October!....It seems so far away, but also like it's coming up fast....Like, it will be here before we know it. We have lots to do to prepare to have toddler in the house again. So, I'll make the best of the wait, and hope the busyness helps the time pass faster.

In the meantime, we still need to make about $12,000. This is basically travel and the mandatory $6,000 orphanage donation. I have applied for several grants, but we won't hear about those until close to travel and they are a long shot, something we can't rely on happening, so we still need to attempt to raise some more funds. I'll be going ahead and going back to my job at the school, once school starts back up, until we get close to travel. So, that will bring in some more funds.  But, we also have the puzzle fundraiser going on.

We have three pieces sponsored so far. 249 pieces left. A good start. A slow start, but we are so thankful for every little bit. We don't deserve any of it. We know that. But, we are willing to do all that we can to bring our girl home, to get her out of an institution. Because she does deserve a chance. She needs a home, a forever family. Without that, her future does not look bright. Not only is she an orphan, but one with special needs. That puts the odds against her, to survive into adulthood, much less a productive, happy, fulfilling life. But, her future in a family, with a mom and dad that love her and siblings. We will do all we can to give a chance at a super bright future, a chance to reach her full potential. And most of all, she will be given the chance to hear about Jesus and hear all about how much God loves her and how all of us are adopted into His family. The most important family of all!

Info on the puzzle fundraiser:
$10 to sponsor a piece. You can sponsor as many pieces as you would like. You can donate through paypal, check in the mail (if you already have our address), or through our Pure Charity account. (Links are on the side of this blog). Leave a message as to what name and/or tiny message you would like on the piece. Once it's done, it will be framed where you can see either side, to show the picture and the names/messages. If you still have questions or want more detail, please see the previous blog post. Thank You!

The missing piece.

 

 

 

Isn't this a pretty picture? The top characters are Carissa's name in Chinese characters. The other words are words that we hope will become important to our sweet girl. And then a scripture that we feel fits. All on a background of Chinese holly (carissa flowers); one of the reasons we love her name. My honey made this picture for us to put on a puzzle. Why a puzzle, you ask? Well, that brings me to my next subject.

 

After researching various kinds of fundraisers, we came across a lot of puzzle fundraisers. And we thought it was a pretty neat idea. It's neat because Carissa feels like the missing piece of our family puzzle, in a way. So, a puzzle fundraiser seems kind of fitting. So, we thought we would try it out and pray it helps us raise funds to bring our precious girl home. So, this is how it works.

 

 

We will be "selling" each puzzle piece for $10 each. In exchange for the cost, we will put your name, family name and/or very small message on the back of the puzzle piece. If you buy more than one piece, your message can be a little bigger. It's kind of like a sponsorship. As we get pieces sold, we will put the puzzle together and send out picture updates as it's coming along. When all the pieces are sold and we have the puzzle put together, we will frame it where you can see the front and the back. It will be a keepsake for Carissa to have for many years to come, for her to see all who had a hand in bringing her home.

 

So, there are a couple of ways you can purchase these pieces. If you are local and see me, you can always give me the money in person and tell me what to put on the puzzle and I will do that. If you know my address (not sharing it publicly ;o) ) you can mail me cash or check and write a little note telling me what to put on the piece that way. You can also donate through the Paypal donate button on the side of this blog. I think paypal has a way for you to leave a message, so you can write a note saying how many puzzle pieces you want and tell me what name and/or message you would like on your piece. You can also donate through the PureCharity account (link on the side of the blog) (It's tax deductible) and then, leave me a message through email or this blog, to let me know that you donated and what you would like on your puzzle piece/pieces.

 

Also, please share, share, share. Share from your email, share on facebook. Whatever way you can share. There are 252 pieces to this puzzle. So, I'm hoping you can help me to spread the word and make this a great fund raiser.

 

Thanks in advance for all the prayers and support. We are getting closer to bringing our girl home everyday. We can't wait!

Tick Tock...

We have been getting a taste of what the waiting phase of the adoption is going to be like. It's a little bit unsettling. To have nearly all your part of all the paperwork and various tasks done and have to wait on others to do their part is hard. But, it also means we're getting closer. Closer to bringing our precious girl home forever. And that's a comfort.

This past month we have been working on getting our immigration approval. We had to send in our home study and application to USCIS and wait for them to set up an appointment to get fingerprinted. Once the appointment was set up, Paul and I had to go in and get fingerprinted at the USCIS office in Phoenix.

Then we had to wait for them to approve us to bring a child from China into the US. It is called a I-797. We finally got that piece of paper on May 6th. This was one of the big steps in the process that could have taken over two months. For us, it took 23 days. That's actually amazingly quick compared to the average wait time. So, we were pleased with that.

Now, we have sent our home study and the I-797 to be authenticated by the Chinese Consulate in DC. That will possibly take a couple of weeks. So, we are waiting on that to come back to us. Once that step is done we will send those remaining two pieces of our dossier to our agency (CCAI), so they can send it all to China with our application. This step is often referred to DTC (Dossier to China).
What we will be waiting for first is called the LID (Log in Date). This is the date that China receives our dossier and logs it into their system and begins translating the documents. From DTC to LID usually takes a week or so.

Then the real waiting begins. After LID, we will be waiting on our Letter of Acceptance (Approval) or LOA. This is basically China's official approval for us to adopt Carissa. They will send the LOA for us to sign agreeing that we accept their referral of Carissa for adoption. This paper can take 30 to 90+ days to get after the LID. I think for most people it's about 60 days. This wait, according to those who have been through this, is a hard one. You reach the 30 day mark and from that point on you are on edge just waiting for that precious piece of paperwork. It's enough to drive waiting mommies a bit crazy. ;o)
Once we have LOA, we will be waiting for TA (travel approval). Usually travel approval comes 8 to 12 weeks from LOA. There are a few things to get done in between LOA and TA, so that will be a hard wait, but we will be busy with preparations, visa approvals, and packing, etc. So, I'm sure the time will go by a little quicker.

So, we are chugging along. We are getting there. Slow and steady. Our home study took extra long, but now we made up a little bit of time with such a quick immigration approval. Lets pray for the other steps to happen on the quick end too.
If things go well and at the average wait times, we are looking at October travel.

This month, we have also had a couple of really good fundraising events. We sold t-shirts and made $790 to put in the adoption fund. We also had a garage sale with our own items and donated items from many of our friends. We made $600 in one day with that one. So, we feel really blessed. Money to bring our girl home has been trickling in a little bit at a time and it really adds up. God has really been providing.

I have also been filling out grant applications. That process has been much harder than I had imagined. They really make you work for that chance to get a grant! Reality is that not everyone that even qualifies gets a grant. So, this one has been hard for me to get the motivation to follow through on. I look at the list of things required and the long applications and wonder if it will be a waste of time. But, I know I've got to try and if we don't get the grants, then God will work another way to provide. And most of all, every bit of work we need to do to help bring our girl home, is so worth it. She is worth it!

We've got about another $14,000 to fully fund our adoption. Sometimes if feels like so much, but at the same time, we have already been blessed by God's provision by generous donations, successful fundraisers and my job that is helping to trickle in funds. I know we will get there. We are already halfway there and that is amazing!
We still have the links on the side of this blog to our Pure Charity account. This donation is tax deductible and they send the money directly to our agency for agency expenses. So, if you are someone that is looking for ways to get tax deductions, this is a good way to go. You can also share the page with all your friends online.
We also have the paypal button for donations directly to us. These funds will help pay for travel expenses.
And also the amazon link really does work! If you make your amazon purchases using the link, we get a percentage of the amount you spend on that purchase, up to 7%. It's not a ton, but even the little amounts add up.

I just want to thank everyone for the prayers, the donations of items to the garage sale, those that bought t-shirts and the monetary donations. We are greatly blessed by an awesome community of family and friends that are helping to give a child a forever home. A home where she's wanted and loved and cared for. We can't wait to bring her home to such a loving community.