Christmastime in the middle of an adoption

This Christmas is a little different for our family this year.  We know we have a daughter and she is out there, but we can’t hold her, we can’t give her presents, we can’t hug her, and we can’t teach her about Jesus’ birth.  What we were able to do today was think about her, talk about how next year may be different, and pray for God to keep her safe, to have caregivers around her to love her, and for his perfect timing in our adoption.

As we were driving home today I was thinking about the next steps to continue to move our adoption forward.  We need to get a few final documents notarized,  then all of our dossier documents need to go to the Secretary of State to be certified and then to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago to be authenticated.  We have chosen to do this on our own as it can save us over $500; however, this process has given me much anxiety.  I don’t like not knowing things, and in this adoption process there is a lot of things I don’t know.  I don’t know that I have all the right the documents, if they are in proper order, and notarized the correct way.  I don’t know where I need to take them to at the Secretary of State, and I have absolutely no idea what to do with Chinese Consulate.  During this same time I began to think about Mary and Joseph and how they didn’t know why Mary was chosen to give birth to Jesus, they couldn’t even find a place for Mary to give birth in, but they trusted and believed in God.  In this time of uncertainty we too have to trust in God.  We have to trust that the right people will be placed in our lives to help us along this journey, we have to trust in his perfect timing, and we have to trust that this is God’s will for our lives and our children’s lives.  So I take a deep breath and move forward with the paper processing knowing God is walking along side us every step of the way.

We also took another step this week which is very uncomfortable for us, and that is asking our family and friends to help support us finically in our adoption.  We have completed our home study and have our first large installment due to the adoption agency. As we continue through the adoption process the enormous cost of international adoption becomes very real.  We will do anything we have to to bring Gabi home.  We know she is our daughter and we know she deserves a family to love her and for her to give her love to.  But the truth is we need our friends and families to support us in this journey.  Thank you for continuing to follow our adoption journey.  We hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones.  If you would like to view our letter I have placed it under the fundraising tab. 

 

Welcome to our adoption journey

We are just about a month into our adoption process.  The most exciting part is that we have received preapproval to adopt an adorable 19 month old little girl from Tianjin China.  Our family has choosen to call her Gabriella, which means God is my strength.  Little Gabi is hard of hearing and we believe has cochlear implants and is receiving language supports in China.  We pray this is has occured because we have learned the younger children receive the implant they more likely they are to develop normal speech and language abilities.  This is all uncertain because orphans in China do not always receive timely appropriate medical treatment.

One question we continue to receive is why adopt.  Our simple answer is that God put adoption on our hearts many years ago and through a series of events in our life we believe he is telling us NOW is the time.  We believe we have another child out their waiting to call us mommy and daddy or MaMa and BaBa.  Through much prayer and research we know Gabi is supposed to be our child and we are so excited to bring her home as quickly as possible.

We ask for your prayers and support during this time.  We are almost at the end of the home study process, and we are gathering the appropriate documents, and jumping through the correct hoops.  We are also looking at fundraisers and grants to help us bring Gabi home (thank you to those of you that have already offered your support). We are looking forward to sharing this journey with you!

Matthew 18:5, And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.