Full of Surprises

After nearly seven months with Gabi and over 6 months being home, I know two things for certain:
-Adopted kids are just like every other kid
-Adopted kids are nothing like other kids

Confused, that goes for me too.  Had you asked me to generalize what an adopted kids acted like, felt, etc, I would have described the exact opposite of Gabi.  This little girl has more energy than anyone in the house, controls situations, and always makes her presence felt.  While it is wonderful to have all of this rolled into the beautiful package that is Gabi, it also makes for our most challenging child.  We had some of this with our other three, but now we get it all at once.  Did I forget to mention that we get the best traits of a newborn, one year old, and two year old all at once?!  Verbal skills of an 8-12 month old, gross motor skills of a two years old, fine motor skills of someone older than three, and a confidence and attitude of a teenage girl.  It is this range of emotion, varying traits that make adopted kids so unique and special.

She has also shown me how one moment, one trip to a foreign land, can have such a profound affect on a life.  Seeing her thrive under our room has been amazing.  To see pictures of this girl from February 2013 and compare that to the girl that breaks into our bedroom every night, you would never believe they were the same girl.  How could she grow 6" in 6 months?  How could the girl that struggled to not fall down when walking in the Chinese hotels be like the energizer bunny now?  How could the girl who ate some rice and formula each day argue for hours on end for a second (or third) smoothie.

2.5 years without her family was too long!  I just think about our boy that has gone nearly 10 years without that love.  I can't wait to hold him ion my arms.  I can't wait to give him all of the opportunities that every child should have.

It is easier to ignore these children without knowing their names and faces.  They are all kings and queens in God's eyes.  I pray that everyone reading this blog can find a way to help this holiday season.  Whether it is buying a puzzle piece from us, sponsoring a child through Compassion International, or donating until it hurts to the Salvation Army, you CAN make a difference in a child's life.

Please take a moment to get to know our son.  Below are links to video's that we have been lucky enough to have while we wait.  I guarantee that his smile will melt your heart.

What Is Adoption?- Elijah is the child in the middle in scenes with three boys!

Defend Andy- This is the video that sealed the deal for us.  There was no waiting!  We were going to become one of those (enter adjective of choice) families that were going through this journey not only for a second time, but with travel dates likely less than 2 months apart.

I pray that everyone is blessed this Christmas season.

Love Andy

For those interested in helping us bring Elijah home, please see the fundraising tab at the top of the page and/or contact Christine or I directly through Facebook, email, etc.

You can also catch up on pictures of Gabi and eventually Elijah on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/GabisJourneyHome

Giving Tuesday

When God was asked what the most important commandments were he said love your God with all your heart AND love your neighbor as yourself. Tyrus Morgan (Christian musician) asked us Sunday night who is your neighbor? Is it the person sitting next to you? Is it the people that live next door to you? Is it the people in your community? Your church? Is it a child half way around the world?? The answer is YES!! They are all your neighbor.

 

We need our neighbors to stand with us to save this little boy from the life of an orphan. Your $10 can help change a life. What would you do to help your neighbor? Would you drive them to the grocery store? Would you buy them a cup of coffee? Would you give them a cup of sugar?  Would you give them $10 if they needed it? If we were pregnant would you buy us a gift?  Elijah does not need a physical gift, he needs you to help pay his ransom so he can know unconditional love, so he can have a family, and so he can have a relationship with our almighty God. We need you to help change Elijah's life. We cannot do this without you.

 

We currently have a Puzzle Fundraiser with a twist going one.  For a $10 donation we will write your name on the back of a puzzle piece (you can buy as many pieces as you would like.  This puzzle will be displayed in Elijah's room and he will have a visual of everyone who prayed for him, loved him, and helped bring him home.  In addition to your donation changing a life for every puzzle piece donated (there is no limit) your name will be placed in a drawing for Kindle Fire HD.

 

 

Ways to donate:

Paypal: aclaw99@comcast.net

Adopt Together (tax deductible donations): www.adopttogether.com/thelaws

Mail: please email for our address

 

We have sold about 60 pieces to date.  Can you help us get to 100 pieces this week?

The Cost of Adoption

Okay friends, its time to get honest.  Adoption is expensive.  We do not like asking for donations, its hard, and not natural for either of us.  It's harder to imagine Elijah spending the next 5 years of his life in an orphanage and then to be turned out on the street to try to survive alone and without a family.  The truth is we need your help and Elijah needs your help, we can't do this alone.  The truth is Elijah will probably wait longer than necessary because we need time to save and earn extra money.  So far we have paid our home study update $250, WACAP application fee $500, and USCIS Visa fee $890.  Before our dossier can be resent to China we need to pay over $5000 for our agency and country fees, and then additional agency, country, travel, and orphanage fees.  Elijah is worth it and we know we need to trust the God has this.  So we are asking; will you help give a child a home, a family, and a chance to know the One true King?  We have many ways you can be a part of living out the words of God and caring for orphans.

Look at these two pictures the first is Gabi on Gotcha Day on May 13th the second is four short months later.  Can you believe the difference the love a family and a church can do for a child.

How you can help:

• T-Shirt Fundraiser: We will be submitting the order at the end of this week.  We still need to sale 25 more t-shirts.  They are $20 shipped to you or $15 if you are local.
• Origami Owl: I am selling these beautiful living lockets.  Every dime made is put towards bringing Elijah home.  You can buy jewelry directly from my website or host a party and share this jewelry with your friends: www.oneless.origamiowl.com.
• Puzzle Fundraiser:
• Are you the missing puzzle piece???
  We are starting our Puzzle Piece fundraiser with a twist.
  We are asking every person we are friends with on social media, who followed our journey to bring Gabi, our family, and everyone else who wants to support us to donate $10 to our puzzle piece fundraiser.  We will then write your name on the back of a puzzle piece.  The completed puzzle will be placed between glass and hung in Elijah’s room so he can see everyone who prayed from him, loved him and supported him even before he came home.
  We have a large goal: 750 puzzle pieces, so we are offering an incentive.  For every 100 puzzles pieces we receive donations for we will have a drawing.  The first will be a Kindle HD.  So not only are you supporting orphans, but you have a chance to win a new Kindle.
  Please considering donating $10 (or more if you feel led) to help bring Elijah home.
  Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. Isaiah 1:17
  Ways to donate:
  Email: aclaw99@comcast.net and we will send you our address
  Paypal – click the paypal tab on the right side
• Please pray for our family, for Elijah, and for all orphans.

Elijah!

We have finally received preapproval to adopt Elijah (aka Jeremiah, Andy & Francesco)!!! Elijah is nine years old and has been waiting a long time for a family of his own.  We are so excited as it becomes more real.  Our I800A was also sent off today.  We decided the best route for us was to start over with I800A because it will keep us from having to do background checks later.  We have a few fundraisers to help us raise money to bring him home as quickly as possible.  The first is t-shirts.  We have designed a Hope for Orphans t-shirt and it is available in blue or pink.  Sizes start at youth M.

 

I love these shirts and hope you will considering ordering.  The back of the shirt has Jeremiah 29:11 on it.  They are $20 shipped, and you can pay through Paypal or mail us a check!

 

Second will be doing a puzzle fundraiser, watch for more information to come.

 

Third, I have started selling Origami Owl.  This is a fairly new jewelry line of living lockets.  You can order online through my website or host a party.  Visit www.oneless.origamiowl.com!

 

 

Thanks for following us on this journey!

 

Three Months with Gabi!

Today it really hit me how far Gabi has come in three months.  Really how far we have all come in three months.  When we were in China it really was one of the hardest times I (Christine) have gone through.  I knew it was a possibility that she would not bond with me and that she would reject me, but knowing and actually experiencing it are completely different.  I was so thankful that she attached to Andy quickly, but it hurt that I couldn’t hold her or comfort her when she was crying.  I also knew what I feeling could not compare to what she must be feeling.  She was taken from her nanny’s arm and given to complete strangers.  She was taken to a place that looked nothing like what she was used to, offered food she had never seen before, and whisked all over China in taxi’s, trains, and planes.  When I was carrying her through the hotel in Beijing she literally reached for complete strangers (men) to get away from me.  Our girl is so strong and resilient and all of that is just a distant memory.  She loves her mom and dad now (though often still prefers dad, but we are working that) and her brothers and sister.  She gives kisses and great big bear hugs.  If she wakes up crying I can comfort her now.  She is running, jumping and climbing stairs (no small feat if you observed her gross motor skills in May).

 

She laughs and cries when she doesn’t get her way.  In so many ways she is a normal two year, but I can’t help to think how extraordinary she is.  I know God has great things in store for her and I am so privileged to be a part of her story.  Adoption is hard, but oh so amazing and completely worth it.  We are called to care for the orphans, to be a father to fatherless.  There are so many children out there just like Gabi and they need a family.  We would love to talk to you about adoption. We would love for you to partner with us as we begin our next adoption.  Yes, we (I really mean Andy) will be traveling back to China to bring our new son home sometime in the next year.  Stay tuned to hear more about him as soon as we can share.

 

Blessed

* I wrote this a month ago, but never posted.  It has now been almost two months since we first held Gabi!!

Adoption is a blessing that I wish every family could experience.  We began this journey unsure of what the future would look like, how long it would take until we could hold our daughter, and completely trusting in God.  Trusting he called our family to adopt and trusting God’s plan was always for Gabi to be a part of our family.  When we didn’t know, He knew.  He knew our exact timing throughout the entire process.  As a family we trusted, we prayed, we prayed specific  big prayers, we asked God be with our family through this process, and He was!

Adoption is not easy and it is not for the faint of heart, but it is so worth it.  Our darling Fenley Gabriella has been with us for one month now, and it seems as if she has always been a part of our family.  God knew long before we did that she was our daughter.  We were contacted by another family this week who has been praying for our daughter since she was on our agencies waiting child list.  They fell in love with her immediately, and submitted paperwork for pre-approval to adopt her.  However, they were a couple hours too late.  Two hours prior we had sent pre-approval paperwork for Gabi to be our daughter.  We had no idea any of this had taken place, God knew, He knew she was ours and ensured our timing was perfect.  This family has prayed for Gabi for the past 9 months and for her family.  They cried and rejoiced knowing she had a forever family, and now that are waiting on a referral for their own Chinese treasure.  As they wait we will pray for them, as we will always be connected through adoption.  Because of Gabi at least one more child will have a family, because of God’s beautiful plan we have Gabi.

Colton teaching Gabi to float on her back!

She is warming up to the dogs!

 

He is Risen ...

He is risen indeed.

Another good week in the Law household. We received our I-800 approval and now we are waiting for our Article 5. It seems our paperwork only comes when we are too lazy to hit the mailbox. For the second time in a row, we had important news waiting for several hours just a hundred feet away in our mailbox. Needless to say, I am will be in no rush to check the mail until we get home from China.

The weekend had us just a little busy. A quick trip to visit my family on Saturday getting us home after 10:30 followed by an Easter Sunday lunch with Christine's family. I love the interest that so many family members have in our journey. Sandwiched in between this was an early morning of getting ready for church, finding Easter eggs in our family room, helping prepare a biscuits and gravy breakfast for the church, a terrific sermon on the Legend of Folded Napkin, and the always chaotic Easter egg hunt at church. The link to the online sermon is below.

http://new.livestream.com/D1Naz/events/1992599

I am finishing up Sunday with the 30 for 30 about NC State. I absolutely love the Jimmy V speech at the ESPY's

On the downside, we have hit a little speed bump in with fundraising. Our hope was to avoid putting anything on credit cards (at least to the point of collecting interest), but one of our sources of funds fell through and as so many people have felt over the last few years, the economic crunch is hitting mining machines again. So I will be taking at least four weeks of unemployment this year. But I know God will provide financially and I GET FOUR MORE WEEKS TO BOND WITH GABI!!!! The latter is very exciting for me if the capital letters didn't give it away.

After a week of travel and family activities, I will be enjoying a vacation day on Monday as the kids have their final day of Spring Break.

A Very Strange Spring Day

Today has been quite the day.  After a beautiful spring day on Saturday, we had a few overnight snow flakes turn into a pretty sizable winter storm.  While I headed north to the Bloomington airport through some icy roads, Christine and the kids headed east to Sidney to join in the 60th anniversary celebration of her grandparents.  Both of us drove past numerous cars in the ditches.  I nearly made it into a ditch near Maroa while Christine got stuck as she pulled into Sidney.  The day turned out well for our family in the end.  My plane was the only one to take off from the airport this afternoon while a handful of others were cancelled and the anniversary celebration was moved closer to home.  60 years is definitely something to celebrate.  Apparently it is rare enough that the likes of Hallmark and Amazon haven't commercialized the special mark in their relationship.  They are loved not only by there family but by so many around town.  Congratulation Richard and Irma!

Our paperwork pregnancy is nearing an end.  All signs point to us traveling by June.  We are hoping that since this is our forth child, that maybe we will go early and travel in May.  Strangely enough it seems like a long time coming and like it has just been coming so quickly.  I think the later is a little bit of the fear of the unknown.  Will we have a child that falls in love with everyone in our family from day one, or will we have major struggles.  The answer is probably somewhere in between.

This process is full of emotions.  Had you asked me a year ago that I would shed tears for someone thousands of miles away that I never met, I probably would had laughed at you.  Each day is filled with excitement.  Excitement of seeing Gabi in person in just a few short weeks.  Excitement of hearing Lyndsey pray so earnestly to get her sister home.  Excitement to see Aiden do little things like making Gabi a Valentine's card or changing the background on his iPod to an American flag next to a Chinese flag.  At the same time I have struggled with celebrating Christmas while Gabi is without a family or singing happy birthday to a picture.  Good moments are constantly followed by difficult ones. But knowing she will be in my arms soon makes it all worth it.  God has opened my heart to this little girl and we pray that God is preparing her heart for us.

Christine had a chance to visit the Champaign School for the Deaf this past week.  She came back very excited by the program.  Apparently Macon County has never used them which means families have had to take up the cost and the travel themselves to use the service.  So my next big ask is to help bring this experience to Gabi.  The money is probably the smaller part of this ask. Finding a way to get her to and from each school each day is the big need. 

Thanks for joining us on our journey.  Our family very much appreciates the emotional and financial support we have received from family, new friends, and old friends.

China Approval!!

Wow! What a day.  Our family received the best news today – we have received approval from China to adopt Gabi!!  I keep saying Gabi is coming home soon.  This is the final countdown – WACAP has said about 2 ½ months to travel.  However every timeline they have given us has been longer than the actual time frame.  They told us 3 – 4 months for approval and we received it in 39 days!

I want to share with you an amazing God moment we were able to share with our children.  My timeline in my head has always been to have approval by March 15^th, since we started that was my goal.  So last night I told the kids that we all need to pray and ask that we receive approval this week and believe that God would answer this prayer.  The verse that was coming to mind all evening was Matthew 18:19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”  How amazing that God answered our prayer and we were able to witness what happens when we live out God’s word.  This adoption has brought our entire family closer to God and continues to strengthen our faith. 

So what’s next?  (Remember our agency typically gives longer than normal wait-times, average right now seems to be 8 weeks)

·         I-800 approval (3 weeks)

·         I-800 approval forwarded to the National Visa Center, NVC forward approval to U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou City, China (2-3 weeks)

·         U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou signs off on Article Letter 5 (2 weeks)

·         CCCWA issues Notice to Travel (TA) (3-4 weeks)

·         Discuss travel date and request consulate appointment

·         Appointment confirmed

·         We book our flights!!!

Look how short our list has become.  Now I am worrying about what to do with kids and dogs if we travel before June, but it is a great problem to have because that means Gabi is coming home soon.

Thank you to everyone who has joined in our celebrating, everyone who has prayed for us (please keep those prayers coming), and everyone who has contributed to our adoption fundraising.

We still have our fundraiser going on through March from the blog Worthy of the Prize: http://www.worthyoftheprize.blogspot.com/2013/03/meet-law-family-our-newest-adoption.html

We have also had amazing pizza fundraisers at our church; we have been selling noodles, greeting cards (we sold 50 boxes!) and our timeshare.  Thank you!  Gabi is almost home.

Waiting

We have now entered the stage where all we can do is wait.  Our dossier was officially logged into China on January 28th.  Our agency said to expect a 2-3 month wait for approval, though it seems actual wait times for approval have been 34-54 days.  We are praying for ours to be on the shorter side so we can go get our girl.  We appreciate your prayers!

We got an exciting email Wednesday night with new recent pictures of Gabi.  Through facebook we were able to connect with a family who was going to Tianjin to get their sweet girl.  They offered to take Gabi a gift from us and take pictures if the orphanage would allow it.  Well they did!!!!  They were able to email us two pictures and promised of a couple more when they get back home.  They were able to give Gabi the puppy and saw a smile after a few minutes.  She said Gabi was pretty scared of them at first.  She is a big girl for 2 years old, tall for her age and solid.  We got the first glimpse of her cochlear implants ~ she is just adorable.  I can't wait for her hair to grow out though, lol.

 

 

 

We also bought Gabi her first present............a Cabbage Patch Doll.  I was part of the Cabbage Patch generation and loved these dolls, Lyndsey also has several, so at Wal-Mart yesterday we found a Chinese Cabbage Patch Doll!! Of course we had to get it for her.  Lyndsey thinks she should play with it until Gabi comes home.  Gabi better hurry or Lyndsey may not give it back, lol.

 



 

We also have several fundraiser going on.  You can check out the fundraising tab for all the details.  We are selling handmade greeting cards (30 cards for $30), and we are auctioning our Disney timeshare.  Our church adoption group is also having a Take and Bake Pizza Fundraiser to help support four families who are adopting.  We are making fresh pizza's on the morning of February 17th and selling them for $12 each.

 

I want to end with this thought from a fellow adoptive parent, Kari Vandervelde, whose family is waiting to bring home two beautiful children from Ghana:

Adoption is not easy. It’s not cheap. It’s not rational. It’s not logical. But in God’s eyes, it is beautiful and the perfect way to honor Him. There is nothing more rewarding in this whole world than rescuing an orphan and giving them a family. Nothing. Not a bigger house, not a nicer car, not a better vacation, and not more money in your IRA. Nothing.

It’s said that nearly 100% of Christians are in favor of adoption and support it. 34% of Christians even consider adoption themselves. Sadly, only 1% of Christians actually do adopt. We’d love to see that number grow and grow!

When she posted this it help me refocus on why we are adopting.  We are rescuing Gabi, we are honoring Him, and our faith is growing every day of this journey.  Have you considered adopting or helping others adopt?  Thanks for sharing this journey with us!

 



Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!

If you have had to miss your child’s birthday, then you can understand a part of how we are feeling today.  As Gabi turns two she likely will not have a party, a birthday cake, or presents.  She doesn’t know what it feels like to be surrounded by family and friends as they sing Happy Birthday off key.  We don’t get to help her blow out two candles this year, but we can make a wish for her.  We wish that next year will be different.  That next year she will be surrounded by her mom and dad, brothers and sister, extended family and friends.  I can picture her blowing out her candles, with Lyndsey close by to offer help the way only an overprotective big sister can.  We already love Gabi so much and pray for her every night and usually several times during the day.  Today I pray one of her nanny’s will take a moment to remember her birthday and give her a little extra love.  I pray that she can feel our love and prayers from half a world away. Lyndsey and I were talking about Gabi’s birthday and how we can’t be there today to sing Happy Birthday, and Lyndsey’s response to me was we can sing Happy Birthday here and God will sing Happy Birthday to Gabi.  I love that little girl.  She has such a big a heart, a true love of God and a belief that everything is possible with God.  Such a great reminder for her parents!

We are getting closer and closer to being able to Gabi home, yet with every step also comes another financial payment.  This past week came the realization that God will provide if I believe in Him.  Sunday morning I woke and read the bible verse of the day: Mark 11:24 Therefore tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. I prayed over this verse and came to believe God will provide for this adoption.  He has called our family to adopt and he will provide the way.  I believe this with all my heart.  At church later that morning we received donation from a very special family, what a blessing!  God puts exactly the people we need in our life and he has put wonderful supporting people in our life.  Thank you to everyone who has donated money and/or prayed for our adoption!

Happy Birthday Gabi!!  We are working diligently to bring her home as quickly as we can.  We trust God’s timing is perfect and she will be here exactly when she is supposed to be.  Will you join us in wishing Gabi happy birthday?  Will you pray for her today that she will feel our love?  If you feel you are being called to send Gabi a birthday gift we have a donation button on the side of this page.  Your gift can help us bring her home to her family who cannot wait to celebrate with her.

Miscellaneous News

Adoption Update

Happy New Year!!!  The New Year has made me even more excited about bringing Gabi home.  I think because 2013 is the year she is coming home (God willing)!  Before 2012 was over we completed a couple more steps to complete our paperwork and get it sent to China.  Our documents were verified by the Secretary of State in Springfield, and then we drove them to a courier in Channahon who will hand deliver them to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago tomorrow.  Then next Thursday she will pick them up, overnight them to us and will then send all of our paperwork to WACAP for them to check over and send to China! Whew!  We are also starting our research on China and are starting to practice our sign language. 

Fundraising

I also wanted to share will all of you two fundraisers we have had already.  The first was an amazing Hot Air Balloon Fund Raiser.  Hank and Aissa Norris spent an evening giving our friends and family tethered balloon rides.  Many people were able to check this off their bucket list and help us raise money to rescue Gabi.  It was wonderful and we were blessed by so many people.  Thank you again!

The second fundraiser was selling peanut brittle and homemade noodles at our churches annual bazaar.  Andy and I helped by grandparents make the peanut brittle and they made the noodles for us.  We had a great afternoon with my grandparents and got a refresher course on making peanut brittle.  Again, thank you for supporting us and we hope everyone enjoyed their homemade goodies.

Praises

The adoption tax credit was made permanent, and will help many families with adoption costs.  This credit will not be refundable so will not benefit everyone; we can continue to pray and talk to our legislators about the need for it to be refundable.  Another part of the adoption tax credit is that we can exclude from our income adoption expenses paid by an employer.  This is awesome news for us because starting in 2013 Caterpillar is giving a $5000 adoption credit on qualifying expenses once our adoption is finalized.

We are excited to see what 2013 has in store for our family and yours! Happy New Year!!!  P.S. If you have a few extra dollars left over from Christmas and would like to help us rescue Gabi we added a donate button to the side of this page.