| FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 04, 2005 07:04 PM, CST |
In mid October of 2005, Pat and I had an unexpected visit from an old college friend we hadn’t seen in 15 years. Five days earlier I had thought about a photo of him and decided to search through our photo albums, scan it, and send it to someone who now works closely with him. I was immediately written back and told that our friend would be in Pat and I have always held a hope for adopting and looked with longing on those who have adopted. Mostly we naively thought a child’s desperate plight would just land on our laps! And when Pat went to But then the situation with our college friend revived all of our hopes and we began to tentatively step out in faith to research international adoptions. Above all, we began to pray and seek God’s face regarding His will in all of this. As excited as I was to think about adopting, I was more fearful of doing something on my own, apart from the will of the Father. Despite always wanting to adopt, I didn’t want to simply go get something I wanted that had been denied to me – namely a daughter. Pat didn’t have such fears. He was nearly giddy with joy and peace that this was something that God wanted us to do. His fear was more on the finances' end but having faith in God, he also knew that if God was in it, He had provided for all our needs. Pat also had confidence that this was from God because God’s heart is toward orphans. In James 1:27 it says, “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress." In some ways we feel a little bit like the Israelite priests who were asked to carry the Ark of the Covenant across the rushing deep waters of the Meanwhile, my heart was being touched with the words of I Tim 6:17-19 that also show God’s heart and will for us to be generous and not to put our hope in money. Then as part of my regular study, I read Psalm 145:16-19. In these verses God is shown to be a loving God who “satisfies the desires of every living thing” and “fulfills the desires of all who fear Him." (Sharon)
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| FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2005 07:49 AM, CST |
How does one discover the mystery of God’s will? I believe it begins with an opportunity, accompanied by a desire and is then validated by the agreement of a husband and wife, the agreement of godly counsel, and the agreement of scripture. Over the course of the past few weeks God has abundantly done this for us. Slowly my fears have been replaced with an inexplicable peace and joy. Barriers that we thought couldn’t be crossed dissolved before us. Referring to the story of the priests and the Ark of the Covenant, I told a prayer warrior, “I’m ready to step into the water” to which she replied, “Water! What water? The ground is dry!” And so we have submitted our application, have gotten accepted and have begun the process of adopting. They tell us that it will be a year filled with hope, frustrations, disappointments, impatience, and growth. We will spend the first 3 months compiling a 5 inch thick dossier filled with documentations of our life history. This dossier will be sent over to We set forth on this road to adoption confident that God has lovingly placed this task and blessing before us. All of us are thrilled to travel this road despite the struggles we will have to surmount. All of the boys are also eager to have a sister. Our thoughts constantly turn to another part of the world where a little girl has possibly been just born and is being abandoned. We may not be able to be part of her first year physically, but we are there spiritually, praying for her safety and sustenance. A friend prayed “May she be a magnet for affection that her caregivers can’t keep their hands off of her!” That’s the beginning of our story but hopefully not the end. We’ll continue to journal our progress so that family and friends who visit this site might lift up our needs and our daughter’s needs in prayer. Thank you for being part of our journey. We pray that God will surely give us grace for adoption as we travel this joyous and exciting path. (Sharon) |
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| SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2005 05:53 PM, CST |
Today we were blessed with an unexpected visit from friends who had just returned from China with their new 2 year old little girl last night. They were excited about our decision and wanted to share the joy of their little girl with us. For me and Pat, it was a delight to see her. I kept thinking that up until 2 weeks ago this precious girl had only known the confines of her crib. But here she was in our home, toddling about, playing peek-a-boo with Ethan and Adam, and playing drop-the-ball-and-see-if-he-picks-it-up with Sean. It was the greatest blessing this family could give to ours because it made it very real for all of us, particularly the boys. Later Ryan said, "she was so cute!" So thank you to our friends, and thank you to God for giving us encouragement and joy today! (Sharon) |
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| SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2005 03:25 PM, CST |
Today we studied Hebrews 10 in Sunday School. It seems that almost everything I am reading these days is speaking to me in regards to our adoption process. Hebrews 10:24 reads, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Sharon wrote about our college friend who came for dinner out of the blue and shared his two adoption stories. This was just the sort of spurring on toward love and good deeds that Sharon and I needed to hear. We will be forever grateful for how God used our friend's act of obedience to spur us on. As Sharon shared, we have always had a heart for adoption - hoping that one day we could. It is quite another thing to possess the feet for adoption, the hands for adoption, and the impulse to make it happen. Growing up with horses we had a lot of opportunity to use spurs - and often spurs were just the encouragement our horses needed to get going. After hearing our friend's story of adoption (which was really a story of obedience and courage) we couldn’t escape God’s heart for orphans. We were later challenged by James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans…” and I Timothy 6:17-19 where Paul says, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” As I look at this last passage even now, I am challenged anew. We’ve got retirement to plan for, braces to buy, a car that is on its last leg, we're adding a fourth boy to private school education next year... but we are thrilled that God has entrusted us with this opportunity, and we are convinced that by walking in this obedience we will be taking hold of the life that is truly life. Thank you for your prayers for us! The mountain of paperwork seems manageable, although it seems like the adoption agency wants to give it to us in piecemeal rather than all at once. Knowing Sharon, if we had it all at once it would be completed "all at once." As it is, we are going to need to exercise patience in the process as God gives us grace for adoption... (Pat) |
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| MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2005 04:16 PM, CST |
Our little girl may have already been born. There is even the possibility that at this moment, while I am writing this journal entry, she is being abandoned. Her name should accompany her from the very start of her life through the prayers and thoughts of those who care about her. Our daughter's name is Grace. She will be God's grace to us, and Lord willing, she will be grace to others as well. In coming up with names for all of our boys, we always had a girl's name at the ready. In one form or another, the name Grace was part of each of those names. We were ever mindful that were God to give us a daughter, it would be by his grace. This adoption is yet more proof that God works in unexpected and wonderful ways to shower us with His grace. We also feel that one of the qualities our world needs most in its women, is that they be women of grace. We pray that our Grace might live out her name in beautiful ways to the world around her. She is real and she needs your prayers even now. We hope that knowing her name, as we do, will call her to mind even more often. Though none of us can be with her during her first year physically, we can all celebrate her life from its very beginning. (Sharon) |
| SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2005 08:33 PM, CST |
We had our first homestudy visit with our social worker this past week. During our first visit the social worker interviewed Sharon and me about our past - our interests, our favorite subjects in school, what our parents were like, etc. Trying to describe my father who passed away in '89 was a little hard for me. I quoted from a poem I wrote about him, I told a few stories, and I tried very hard not to give in to what could have easily been a lot of tears. My life (pre-Sharon and kids) was distilled into 90 minutes, which was about an hour longer than Sharon took to answer the same questions. I don't know if I'll live that down, but I am determined to be more concise in our next visit where our social worker will be asking us about how we met and our life since then. I won't, for example, tell her that Sharon and I met at a Wheaton College talent show where I was singing with my stomach and she was doing her ventriloquism. I'm not quite sure how that will translate into Mandarin. I also don't think I need to say that from the first moment I saw her throwing her voice I knew that I wanted her to throw her voice my way. The third and final visit from our social worker will be in our home (the other two are at her office). During this visit she will meet our children and interview them. Following these three completed interviews our social worker will put together an 8-10 page document that tells our life story. This will be interspersed with quotes from each of our personal references, etc. and will then be part of the completed home study that goes to Harrah's Adoption Agency. To prepare the kids for her arrival, I told them about the entire process the other night at dinner. I shared with them that more than likely she will be asking each of them questions like, "do you want a sister?" or "how do your parents discipline you when you're naughty?" At that point I asked them how they would respond to the question, "do you want a sister?" Ryan, one of our ten year olds, jumped out of his seat in the kitchen, grabbed a stack of 3x5 index cards, backed up into the family room and proceeded to ham it up. Looking up at us and then back down to the cards, he began flipping through the cards as if searching for something. We could hear him mumbling to himself, "wrong question" to a couple of the cards, and then he stopped on a card and pretended to read, "I really want a sister from China...smile big." Then he looked up at us and smiled big. What began as a serious discussion quickly gave way to a night of improv. I just hope the social worker is ready for my boys... (Pat) |
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| SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2005 07:15 PM, CST |
Sharon and I received an appointment with CSCIS (Homeland Security) to have our fingerprints recorded for background checks, etc. This will take place on January 26 and, hopefully, this will be the last hurdle in our paperchase. Following the fingerprinting we will receive our I-171H which, from my understanding, is the clearance we need from our Federal government to go through with the adoption. We have plenty of other things to work through but we feel confident that we will have them completed between now and then. Thank you for your continued prayers! |
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| THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2005 09:17 PM, CST |
A quick update. Sharon and the boys are getting their TB tests tomorrow. I got mine the other day and was cleared of one more potential obstacle. Last week we had our second visit with the social worker. It went very well. Sharon decided to simply tell the social worker that we first met at a college talent show where she was doing her ventriloquism and I was singing. Neither of us chose to elaborate on the fact that I was singing with my stomach - complete with a cartoon face painted on my belly, my arms and head hiding inside a giant top hat. It's a long story, but let's just say I have been blessed with the genetics that makes rolling my stomach possible. That, coupled by the fact that the college swim team I was on had a friendly rivalry with the Men's Glee Club, made for an interesting opportunity that I couldn't pass up. My group was known as the Wee Club, and we brought the house down. Of course Sharon won Most Talented, and even though this was my first encounter with Sharon I knew as I watched her perform that I wanted to marry her. The one line of questions that I was a bit anxious about pertained to how we discipline our four boys. I am confident that the approach Sharon and I take is appropriate, but how would China view our approach? Thankfully, we weren't asked to elaborate. In fact, our social worker creatively skirted the issue of spanking by asking us, "is it okay if I write that you don't do corporal punishment?" Well, I wanted to be truthful, and the truth is we have found it necessary to spank our children, so I asked her, "how are you defining 'corporal punishment'?" She answered, "extreme beatings and imprisonment." I smiled at her and said with all honesty, "it is definitely okay if you write that!" This coming Monday the social worker will be visiting with our children in our home. I wonder if she'll ask the boys if we've ever imprisoned them? |
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| TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2005 07:30 AM, CST |
Our social worker was scheduled to be here yesterday afternoon for our last homestudy visit. Her husband called us an hour before our appointed time to let us know that she was taken by ambulance to the hospital. We are in the dark about any details, and so we can only pray - thankfully to the God who knows every detail and who has the power to heal. Our social worker's name is Debbie. Please pray for her! While this may set us back a few days or even a few weeks, the delay is rather inconsequential with all things considered. Our family is gearing up for Christmas, Sharon's parents will be arriving in a few days, and now the house that was cleaned from top to bottom for the social worker is ready for Christmas guests. Have a wonderful Christmas season. Thank you for your ongoing prayers for Grace and for us through the adoption process. (Pat) |
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| WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2005 10:06 PM, CST |
Our social worker called today. She's out of the hospital and doing better. Praise God! We will be rescheduling our last visit with her in the first few days after the New Year. She promised that this won't hold us up a bit since she has almost everything written. |
| FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2006 12:51 PM, CST |
Our social worker came to our house this week for her last visit - her first with our boys. All of our boys were cordial, outgoing, and funny. I feel good that their conversation with the social worker not only showed them to be pleasant, but also excited about their role as a big brother to Grace. Also, there have been rumors circulating the internet that China is purposefully slowing down their adoption process - shifting the typical wait time after the dossier is logged in (LID) to the Chinese system from 7-10 months up to 10-12 months. Our dossier consultant e-mailed us yesterday to let us know that this rumor is untrue and that the wait time is still 7-10 months following LID. This is great news, but we are highly tentative about completely embracing it. Our last piece - the fingerprinting - is taking place in Charlotte, NC on January 26. This will be the last thing we need to do, or can do, other than wait. (Pat) |
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| WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2006 06:21 PM, CST |
Our 1989 mazda died a natural death the other day - thankfully in its sleep. Sharon and I knew this was inevitable, although we were hoping we could put off the purchase of a new car until late summer. On the adoption front, we have collected almost all of the family pictures we need, and we are looking forward to getting fingerprinted on January 26th in Charlotte, NC. Following this time, I am going to focus some of my energy on filling out two adoption grant applications. These could provide Sharon and me with an important fraction of the adoption costs, and so we hope each of you is praying specifically for this. |
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| SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 04, 2006 08:37 AM, CST |
We've traded our expired Mazda for a nearly new Saturn! The boys are thrilled to ride to school in style, and Sharon is thrilled to be done with a car she has never liked for its aesthetics and manual transmission. People have asked me if I had a sentimental attachment to a car I've had for ten years. When that's happened I may have politely answered with a "no," but I was laughing histerically at the notion that I could be attached to a car. Nope...I'm not that kind of a guy :-) On January 26th, Sharon and I drove the Saturn over to Charlotte for our fingerprinting. We had heard horror stories of the wait time in the Charlotte office - it being compared to the DMV, but worse. We were on their schedule for 2:00pm and the entire process was over before 2:30! In some ways the entire adoption process is reminding me of my past experiences at Disney World: a significant, almost painful wait time followed by a joyous adventure. Well, we're being treated by grandparents to a Disney World adventure this winter - evidence that the wait time is a distant memory compared to the fun. The main difference? When we do get our daughter, I am looking forward to a wonderful LIFE-LONG adventure. Come to think of it, I'm also looking forward to the time she and I can wait in line together somewhere fun! (Pat) |
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| FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2006 08:12 PM, CST |
We came out of the fingerprinting building knowing that now we needed to wait for the form that it generates. It is known as the 1-171H form and those of us who are internationally adopting also know it as “THE” form. Well, as we exited the building, Pat turned to me and said, “We’re going to get ours in 2 weeks." I laughed.
Yes, I laughed.
I laughed because this form generally takes at least 2-3 months to receive. We had even read that it can also take up to 5 months! Occasionally someone might receive it as soon as 2 weeks after fingerprinting, but after having read blog after blog on the internet of how long it has taken people, there was only one blog of it having taken 2 weeks. And so I laughed.
“Pat, you just have to accept that we’re going to have to wait.”
“Why?” he said. “Don’t you think God can do it?”
Ouch. Certainly I thought God could do it. But patience is a virtue and this is one of those things that we just have to learn to be patient about. Right?
The next day, I stopped laughing. God convicted me that I was like Sarah of the Old Testament, laughing because she really didn’t believe that God was big enough. Or was it, like me, a lack of belief that He was caring enough? God also brought to mind the verse, “You have not because you ask not.” So we began to pray.
We also involved our children in our prayer for a miracle. I explained to the kids as best I could that this would indeed be a miracle. I also explained that if He didn’t give us the form in 2 weeks, it’s not because He isn’t big enough OR caring enough, but because He has a far better plan that we don’t know about.
Two Sundays ago, Pat had run into a couple who had two adopted girls from The next Sunday, 5 days ago, Pat ran into a friend who is a federal prosecutor. Pat asked him about the idea of contacting Senator Dole. He not only thought Pat’s idea was good, but he gave him key pointers for how to craft the letter and told him to do it right away. Pat wrote the letter on Sunday and sent it on Monday. On Thursday, it was exactly 2 weeks since our fingerprinting, and I opened our mailbox with expectation. Nothing. That’s OK, Lord, I trust you with your perfect timing. On Friday, I went to our box and expectantly pulled out our stack of mail. There sitting on the very top was a thick envelope from Homeland Security. Could it be? Or is it more paperwork to fill out? The people who fingerprinted us informed us of the possibility that we might be required to be re-fingerprinted if our fingerprints didn’t meet FBI standards. I took a deep breath, opened the envelope, and began to read, ”Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition." Was this IT? Was this THE form? There, at the very bottom in tiny print was written “Form 1-171H." This WAS it! This was the form we had prayed about, and it had arrived 2 weeks and 1 day after having been fingerprinted! I ran into the house screaming and waving this paper around. I scared my kids to death! Then they started jumping around and saying “Praise God! We’re getting a sister!!” Pat wasn’t home yet so I called him and said, “We got our 1-171H form!” And do you know what he said? He said, “You’re kidding, right?” Now who’s being a Sarah! HA! We immediately faxed it off to our Dossier Consultant, Overnighted the original document, and then celebrated by ordering pizza! If all goes well, we could have our Dossier being sent to
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| SATURDAY, MARCH 04, 2006 08:27 PM, CST |
Yeah! We found out yesterday that our dossier - all of the formal and necessary paperwork - was sent to China. We are officially "DTC" - which simply means "Dossier to China." Our next waiting period begins now and includes two milestones - China's reciept of the dossier (which is referred to as the "Log in Date" or LID) and the answer to an adoption grant application through a North Carolina Christian Adoption Foundation. Thank you for your continued prayers! (Pat) |
| THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2006 09:12 PM, CDT |
Several days ago we received verification that our dossier has arrived in China. Our official LID (Log-in-date) is March 21 - yeah for springtime!! Over the past few months we have been establishing a friendship with a family in our church that is also adopting a girl from China through the same Texas adoption agency. They were LID one week earlier. Because of the nearness of our two dates, it is possible that we will receive our referrals at the same time since they tend to bundle referrals to the same adoption agency. If we receive referrals in the same batch, these will be girls from the same province and, more than likely, from the same orphanage. The best blessing in all of this is the possibility that we may have a chance of traveling together! In addition to waiting for our LID we were also waiting for news from a North Carolina Christian Adoption Foundation. The board met in April and passed on us, but their e-mail response to us was sweet and holds some promise. They will be reconvening later in the year and their hope is that they will be able to provide one or two additional adoption grants. God is faithful. It has been strikingly clear to us that He wants us to adopt, and we rest in Him that we will have the resources to make it happen! |
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| SUNDAY, MAY 07, 2006 04:55 PM, CDT |
Our waiting period is very different from enduring the nine month gestational period of a normal pregnancy - It is poorly defined (7-12 months from now we should receive our referral) and without the luxury of any of the physical cues (heart beat, expanding abdomen, crazy cravings). Even so, there are still things to do while waiting, and I have already discovered that a woman's nesting instinct is not linked to levels of progesterone, human chorionic gonadotropin, or estrogen. Sharon has been busy this past week decorating our little girl room with pinks and other pastels. Instead of iguanas and tropical flora (it was the boys' room) we now have flowers, butterflies and lady bird beetles hand-painted on the walls. It is quite lovely. And seeing one of our ten year olds (Ryan)rocking in the chair yesterday, hoping that the room will soon be filled with a precious little girl, warmed our hearts. Three things of which I am certain: 1) God has known and loved Grace from before the foundations of the world, 2) God meant her for us and us for her, and 3) She is in process!! - somewhere in China right now, there is a mother who is either carrying Grace within her womb or one who has already given birth to and abandoned her. When we started this process she may have merely been an idea in our mind. Now...she is a real person! We're praying for you, Grace! (Pat)
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| MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2006 08:31 PM, EDT |
When we arrived back on the St. David's campus this August many people asked us if we already had our baby. As it turns out, we are probably quite a few months away from being able to hold and care for our little blessing. Since many of you may check in regularly to see what's happening, we didn't want to leave you in the dark about the slowdown. When we started our process we were hoping that the entire process would take 12-14 months from start to finish. We were on pace for this kind of time frame - whipping out the paperwork portion of the process with time to spare. Once our paperwork was in China (logged into China March 21) we were left to wait - which is by far the hardest part of the journey. God's grace is sufficient though, and even though China seems to have purposefully slowed its process, we know that He will be faithful! As China slows down, God is giving us more time to raise the money necessary for the adoption. We are praying that we will not only be able to come up with all of the money without borrowing, but also that we will continue to be patient in the process. PF |
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| FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2006 07:37 PM, CST |
Sigh. Long sigh. Longer sigh. Waiting is hard. Whenever we run into people who know we're adopting, they ask, 'So, when do you think you'll get your little girl?' You'd think that every time someone asks, the date would move closer, but instead it keeps moving further away! 8 months have passed from when our dossier was logged into China. It's called LID and it's a mighty important date because predictions for when you will get your first glimpse of your child (your referral) hinge on that date. When we started the process it was about 8 months from LID to referral. So when we started we thought we'd be seeing her sweet little face now, and traveling just after the new year. But China has gotten VERY slow. So slow, that reports are saying that from LID to referral could be now as much as 2 years! That just hurts. Physically hurts. So for those of you who do us the honor of visiting this site on ocassion, would you please offer up prayer for me and my family? We know that God's timing is absolutely perfect, but it's hard to get that brain to heart connection right now. Just pray that I will learn how to wait and trust and that God's peace that passes all understanding would guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus. You could also pray that God would provide all we need as we will inevitably have to spend the extra time and resources to update our fingerprints, government paperwork, and homestudy which will be due to expire before we get Grace. We'll make it through and all of this will be a distant memory when we hold Grace in our arms. But right now is just. . . hard. Sharon |
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| TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2006 10:14 AM, CST |
'It's Christmastime and you're not home. Your family's all together and you're somewhere else alone.' These are the words of a new song by the group Third Day on their newest album Christmas Offerings. The song speaks of their child and sibling far away in China not able to be with them for yet another Christmas season. When we started this journey, we did feel that Grace would be with us this Christmas. Now we're not even sure if she'll be with us for next Christmas. With that thought, she may not even be born yet, so technically, she's not waiting all alone, she's nestled safe and warm in her mother's womb. During the course of this year, however, this mother will have to face the agonizing decision to give her little girl up. China's one child policy, being so focused on providing sons, puts these women into dilemmas that no mother should have to face. These are brave mothers, however, who hold on tightly to their pregnancies. Perhaps hoping for a son, or maybe even a way to face the fine of a year or two's wages, they sometimes hide their pregancies to the very end. If they are caught, these babies can be forcibly aborted and then mom receives an operation to ensure she has no more children. After giving birth they often struggle with the decision to allow someone else to raise their cherub. But eventually the hopelessness of their situation wins out and they know of nothing else to do but to take their little child (usually a girl) to a busy area of their province, and without being seen, leave her. We've heard that they, like Moses' mother, will often hide and wait at a distance until their child is found. They will even follow the path of that child to the orphanage it ends up at. And stories have been told of birth mothers who get news of their child's placement day and watch from afar as their baby leaves the orphanage with their forever family. There is love. Is this not the theme of Christmas? Sacrifice. Love. An undeserved gift. So this Christmas, we think of the sacrifice that one young mother in China is going to have to endure. She will experience a New Year filled with such sadness. Meanwhile, far away, our family anticipates the joy of a New Year. We know that it will indeed be the year of our daughter's birth. We know that God has created her with us in mind to be her Mom and Dad. And we know that without the incredible sacrifice of a mother who protectively carried her for 9 months and lovingly placed her to be found, we would not be anticipating the joys of being her family. So thank you dear birth mother and father for your sacrifice. We are so very grateful. We hope that God will help you treasure this last Christmas with your little girl and feel the hope of her Christmases to come. Sharon |
| WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2007 11:09 AM, CST |
It's still January so I think I can still say 'Happy New Year!.' The way things are looking is that we could receive our referral (our good news phone call regarding the match that is made) in Dec/Jan. Currently China is processing about 13 days worth of dossiers every month. In the past they had been processing 30 days for every month. So if they speed up even a little (say 16 days) then we could get our referral in Oct/Nov. If they speed up even more (18), then we could get it in Sept/Oct. And so the story goes. . . But at this point, we are bracing for the fact that this pace will continue and we probably won't be traveling to China until a little over a year from now. Any and all prayers you'd like to say on our behalf would be appreciated as we dig in and wait. In the meantime, life is lively at the Fitzpatrick household. I certainly have a lot to keep me occupied and I am grateful for the wondeful family God has blessed me with. Life passes by so swiftly. May I not miss all the joys that life holds in 2007. Sharon |
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| FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2007 08:32 PM, CST |
We PASSED! Today we learned that our dossier has completed the review process! That means that there was no problem with our paperwork and that the Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs has given us the green light to adopt a child from their country! This is the next big step after being Logged In and we are thrilled! It's a big load off our minds. If you get stuck in the review room, then your file is taken out of the pile and NOT put back where it was taken out! It stays stuck in limbo until you fix the problem with your paperwork which can take months sometimes. Somewhere far away our family's story and pictures were scrutinized, the file was stamped with ACCEPTANCE, and someone picked 'us' up and carried us down the hall to the Matching Room. And I didn't feel a thing! HA! It's a cool thought though! Now our file is waiting for someone else to pick it up and match it with our little girl. We've sort of just gotten pregant (AGAIN) because it will probably be 9 months before that happens. Then when they match us, they send the photos and file to our adoption agency and we get the call that we have a daughter! Maybe that's more info than you needed to hear, but it's wonderful news for us. It means there's actually been some movement in this turtle race we're in. We're one step closer!! Sharon |
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| MONDAY, MARCH 05, 2007 09:10 AM, CST |
One year ago today we learned that our paperchase was over and we were DTC (Dossier to China). Usually this heralds the true start of your adoption 'pregnancy' with 'birth' coming 6-9 months later. Not so for us, but still we rejoice that one year has passed and that we are within one year (we hope) of having our child with us. Last week we enjoyed a week off from school and had fun touring the Biltmore in Ashville, NC. My parents were with us and it was a great time to spend together. Of course, the kids didn't truly appreciate this impressive mansion, the largest of America's homes. But they did love the hotel's indoor pool and all of the munchable treats their Mom Mom brought for them. Yet, even amongst all of the fun and fellowship, I told my mother that I feel like someone is missing. I began to feel this about 4 years ago. I'd count my children 1-2-3-4- and feel a panic with thinking , 'Where's the 5th?' That was before we had even considered adoption. Now it is even a stronger sensation. I look behind me in the van, or look around the table and can't shake the fact that someone is missing. Of course, it is little Fitz number 5 who is so far far away. Please pray for her today and for us as we endure this wait for her. Sharon |
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| WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2007 10:01 AM, CDT |
HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY from our LOG IN Date! One whole year has passed, and perhaps one whole year yet to go. Because of the longer wait, our initial paperwork is unfortunately going to expire. So we now have to re-do, re-apply, and re-pay for both another Home Study and another I 171H form (Government documentation). In the next few months I'll be setting up Dr. appointments for all of us, arranging another fingerprint appointment (why is it that they can keep a criminal's fingerprints in their system for years but ours is defunct after a year?), sending away for criminal checks (again), getting more notarized reference letters from our friends, and yes, sending out more checks! Whew! And we thought we were done with all of this when we celebrated one year ago today! God knows all of this, of course, and is allowing us to experience the agony of the greater financial strain, the frustration of the paperwork chase, and the bittersweet longing for our little girl. Yet blessed be the name of the Lord. He does all things well. Thank you Father for this journey that is working in us to reflect more of your glory. Sharon |
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| MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2007 11:41 AM, CDT |
One month later and the buzz is that the wait times will now extend to 3 years. I came up with a calendar for my kids to track the progress of the adoption. I put up the months of Oct 05-March 06. Right now, China's Center of Adoption Affairs has completed processing through Oct 26 so I crossed off all of those dates from Oct 1-26. Every month CCAA processes a few more days worth. When they do, I will cross off those days. When we finally get to March 21 (our Log In Date), that means it's our turn! The month of November '05 was a HUGE month in terms of people getting their dossiers to China. Because of that, they only processed a discouraging 2 days worth of dossiers last month. If they keep at that pace as they work through the dossiers from November, our wait will definitely extend into late 2007 or early 2008. We'll know better once they get through Nov '05. We'll keep you informed...... Sharon |
| WEDNESDAY, JUNE 06, 2007 05:59 PM, CDT |
It'll be a happy day when I can begin to feel like I no longer keep saying (ad nauseum) that we are a year away from our adoption. I have been saying that for a year now and I think people are going to start thinking I'm either cuckoo or there must be something terribly wrong with our paperwork! But praise God it's neither! We're ALMOST at the point where we can begin to say 10 months. But until China processes November 2005 dossiers (the BIGGEE month), we're still in limbo. For those of you keeping track, our Log In Date with China was March 21, 2006 and they have now matched children with people who have been logged in since November 7, 2005. This month they covered just 6 days. That's not too much and you can imagine we all were a little disappointed. But it's better than the 2 days they did just a few months ago! Today my children were able to X those 6 days off the calendar, give a little sigh, and ask me again, 'So, do you you think it will be a year?' Yes, it'll be about a year. . . Sharon |
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| FRIDAY, AUGUST 03, 2007 10:29 AM, CDT |
For any of you keeping track -- China has now matched babies with people whose log in dates were through November 21, 2005. At this rate, we could be looking at getting our referral in June of 2008, traveling in July or August with a skillful avoidance of the Beijing Olympics?? So we're ALMOST at the point where I can hopefully announce we are at LESS than a year. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers! Sharon |
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| FRIDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2007 03:45 PM, CST |
I have been holding out on writing in this journal until I could say with certainty that we are at less than 1 year away from holding our Grace. But nothing is certain where China is concerned these days and I thought it was high time I gave those of you who love us and are interested an update of where we are at. We're a little closer, but every month China slows a little more so really we aren't much closer than we were when I updated this journal in August! Nevertheless, technically we're moving ahead in the line. This line we are in can only be likened to those lines at Disney World. Remember how you would think you were almost near the front and you would take the corner only to discover that you are no where near the front? It was maddening as a child and I can attest that it is maddening for me as an adult with this adoption. Most of the time I'm doing fine and can handle the wait. After all, God has blessed us with such a wonderful life. The days are full of the joys of raising these fantastic sons and living the life God has given us here in Raleigh. I love serving God through our church's library ministry, and Pat is happy and fulfilled serving as an upper school principal. But I confess that there are major points in the year that bring about a sadness over the loss of not yet having our daughter with us when we had so thought she'd be safe in our arms. Christmas is certainly one of those times. Amidst the joy of the season is a lump in my throat at the little girl in China who belongs to our family. God is faithful to cheer, however. Even today while my heart was heavy, God renewed my spirit with a phone call from a friend who is praying and who just wanted to see how I am doing with this long wait. I'll get through this season with a little more sadness than I would have wanted but it will also prompt me to pray for our Grace and for all of the other dear children waiting to be reunited with their forever families. This sadness only draws me closer to the Father and reminds me anew to trust in His sovereignty. He loves us, called us to adopt, and has a perfect plan for uniting us with our daughter. As for the latest details of the wait -- China has now matched through Dec 14, 2005. We think they'll be in Dec for 2 more months and have HOPE that the smaller months of January and February (meaning less dossiers were logged in) will take 4 months to get through. Then we're on to March (our month) which could take at least 3 months. That puts us at Sept for a referral. Of course, all of that is very speculative and would need China to stop slowing down and keep at a steady pace. It also doesn't account for Chinese New Year and the Olympics. So realistically, I'm thinking October/November '08 for our referral and travel in December/January. Who knows -- only God does and our future as well as Grace's is safe in His compassionate wise arms. Feel free to write in our guestbook. It is a great source of encouragement to us and we so appreciate your prayer support. And finally, Merry Christmas to our dear little Grace. Stay safe and warm my darling. May you be a beacon of sunshine that draws many caretakers to you to give you lots of comforting and life-nurturing hugs. Soon we'll have lots more to share with you to fill you up and full with love. Sharon |
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| TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2007 07:27 AM, CST |
Check out our boys' Christmas video at the following address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL3iMeaiRDM Merry Christmas! |
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| FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 08, 2008 12:04 PM, CST |
It's a new year in China! We have been told by the CCAA that they were going to start processing 2 weeks worth of dossiers come the new year. That hasn't happened in about 2 years so we all take it with a grain of salt. But if it is true, we could be matched as soon as 6 months from now! If it's not true, we're still probably looking at a year from now. . . . Yes. . . . I sound like a broken record! On a good note, last month they processed 8 days worth. In the 'old days' that would have been a pitiful amount, but now that amount was like a breath of hope to those of us waiting! I am praying in earnest that God would break down the stronghold in China and set the captives free. It's really not about us or our daughter but about the thousands of little children that this slowdown has affected who are basically prisoners at these orphanages. We are often asked if we ever regret starting this process. Absolutely not! God is taking us on a journey to get our daughter. I'd no sooner regret this journey than the journeys that brought us our 4 boys. And I'd also no sooner abandon my little girl than I would any of the precious sons we have been blessed with. Thanks for hanging in there with us with your concern and your prayers! Sharon |
MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2008 01:29 PM, CDT
At this rate (and it can change), we are anticipating an April or May referral with travel to occur in the summer. But like I said, it can change! We still could have a 2 year wait ahead. . but let's not go there just yet! For now, we will bask in the glow of the Olympics and enjoy the wonders on our TV of this incredible country that will grant us the privilege of being parents to one of their own. And we will probably say a few more times, like we did during the opening ceremonies, 'Hey! There he is! That's Grace's birth father!'
It's amazing to even consider we will be traveling to this country in the near future and coming home with a little girl who God created just for the Fitzpatricks.
Enjoy the Olympics and if you will, pray to the Father in Jesus' name for us and for our Grace! Go USA! Go CCAA!!!
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