Another Bump In The Road

We received a letter on Monday from USCIS that our i800 had been rejected.  I felt my heart start to break-called the adoption agency and was reassured it was a mistake.  

Well actually there was a mistake, the agency mailed our paperwork to the wrong address and that is why the i800 was rejected.  Luckily, this can all be corrected but we don't know how much time it will cost us.  I was really feeling confident that we would travel the first week of January until now.  

At this point our i800 has been resubmitted (this time to the correct address, we hope).  I filled out a form to receive a text message when it "hits the lockbox".  I'll let you know when we know more.  In the meantime, please continue to pray for Noah.  We don't want him to wait any longer-no matter what.

A Work In Progress

In the past week we've been working to get things ready for when Noah comes home with us-as you can see it's a work in progress.

Luke painting Noah's room 

Madras comforter

Gray gingham sheets (coming this week)

Planet mobile donated by our sweet friends

Noah's car seat which matches his brother Beckett's

Rash guards-tons! All gifts from Grandma (Luke's mom)

Added a 3rd chair to the playroom and painted it orange (the kids choice for Noah)

We're still waiting on the USCIS i800 approval and then the remaining clearances for travel come from China.  12 weeks or less...

Update:  Mimi (my mom) bought Noah's duvet insert with all her hard-earned Kohl's cash.  And the sheets arrived and are already on his bed.

Packages On The Way

LSC! LSC! LSC!

Our adoption agency received our LSC (letter seeking confirmation) from China today!  This is a BIG day.  We only waited 31 days.  We're very grateful.  This means Noah won't have to wait too much longer for a forever family.  I am actually still in shock; some wait 100+ days to receive this approval.  Luke predicted it would come tomorrow days ago and he was correct.

I've heard it's all downhill from here...in approximately 8-12 weeks we should be in China getting ready to meet our son, Noah!

•God is good.
•Waiting is hard.
•I'm praying for all my adoption buddies that are still waiting on LOAs.

This was the first picture we saw of Noah

30 Days Down

Today we mark 30 days passed on the LSC (letter seeking confirmation) wait.  Each day we're closer to adopting Noah than we were the day before but I won't lie-the wait is harder than I expected.  I've met a lot of new friends in the adoption world and a few of them received their LOA/LSC's yesterday.  I'm so happy for them (overjoyed really for those waiting children) but I do feel some envy and am questioning why we haven't received a quick approval.

Here are a few highlights from the past week:

I mailed a sponsor package to Noah and his friend, courtesy of a generous donation.  And because of the gift of yet another donor this week I have already started filling a new shoe box with vitamins, snacks, clothes and toys.  

We've also completed the entire process for the JSC Foundation grant and submitted the online portion for a Show Hope grant.  Two friends were kind enough to be personal references and then some.  We had a sit down meeting with a pastor from the church we attend and were able to share our story and then hear about the immediate need for foster families in our own community.

I had the chance to attend a get together for families that have adopted children from The Swallow's Nest (a foster care home in Zhengzhou) in Acworth, Georgia and my mother-in-law came along for support.  We met 2 boys that were once at the same orphanage at the same time as Noah-how cool is that!  I also brought photos of his friend and continue to try to find a forever family for him.

Luke and I are trying to work out a plan for our children while we are in China-who will take care of them for how long and how much school will be missed.  I know these are minor details but they seem overwhelming at times.  I'm feeling a little discouraged that Noah's adoption isn't top priority to everyone else around us; what I can say is that God reminds me (and Luke) every day that we are to follow his calling-yes it's financially and emotionally stressful but we are doing this together and letting God lead the way.  He is always faithful.

Matthew 17:20 I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you

A Birthday Party!

Noah celebrated his birthday with all the other children at Bethel last week.  We know he is loved and well-taken care of by his ayis.  What a blessing!

The cake

The celebration

Noah's buddy

Our sweet 3 year old

Happy Birthday!

Today is Noah's 3rd birthday.  It is very bittersweet because I feel so sad not to be a part of his day but it also means we are getting closer to our LSC and traveling to bring him home with us.

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!  We promise this is the last birthday you'll celebrate without your family.

While We Wait-I800

We filled out the I800 today! It's the petition to the US government to consider Noah (formally Zheng Jian Ang) as an immediate relative of ours.  This was the first time we wrote his full name-Noah Matthew Hopkins.  I will mail the I800 to our agency tomorrow so that it is ready and waiting when the LSC (letter seeking confirmation) arrives...whenever that is.

We think its important for him to have a name chosen by us and not the orphanage.  Noah is a name Luke and I both liked and Matthew is Luke's middle name; so both our sons will each have a part of their father's name (Beckett's middle name is Lucas).

We plan to actually call him whatever name/nickname he is currently called for as long as he wants especially while he is learning English and adjusting to all the changes.  

Until then I am reading The Connected Child by Karyn Purvis and practicing Mandarin.  Luke will paint Noah's room in the next few weeks and we plan to take some additional online courses on preparing our (biological) children for the adoption of their brother, Noah Matthew Hopkins.