Candlelight Christmas Eve

Noah was insistent he would attend the "big" church service on Christmas Eve at City Church instead of going in the children's worship.  He held strong even after we dropped Beckett off and reminded him you can't talk in "big" church.  Once the music began he was (almost) speechless during "O Holy Night" and with good reason the band is pretty awesome, too.  Noah soaked it all in, sang along to a few songs and then began to doze off during Pastor Dean's sermon (it was perfect but Noah needed a nap).  :)  He woke up just in time for a candlelight 'Silent Night'.  It was a special service and I'm proud of Noah for wanting to celebrate Jesus' birth in "big" church, it seems somewhat symbolic of how he is growing up and (I pray) beginning to understand the true meaning of Christmas.

But don't worry-Santa already came to our house tonight.  Tomorrow will be a very special day for our family especially Noah as he gets to celebrate his first Christmas ever.

Matthew 1:23 "See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated, "God with us."

Christmas Program

The church preschool both boys attend put on a wonderful Christmas program yesterday.  Noah was very excited to participate and sang every song.  Even with the lights and other distractions he was so focused!  I thought the costumes were kind of silly...but might provide some excellent laughs when they are older.  What a special way to celebrate the birth of Jesus-hearing my sons sing carols especially 'Joy To The World'.

First Christmas present-from his teacher: chocolate and an ornament

Proof I don't dress them alike or like girls  :)

^Love that another mom insisted on taking our picture; it sums up the morning perfectly

Early Intervention Evaluations

Last week Beckett and Noah were evaluated locally for early intervention services through Leon County.  I have been concerned about Beckett's speech-that it needs work, help, therapy of some sort (not delayed but the actual enunciated of specific words) and obviously wanted to start the process for Noah-visual impairments and to see what the public school system might suggest for next year.  Surprisingly, after the tests, Beckett does not require speech at this point.  Once he turns four in January he will be reevaluated for pre-K called VPK (voluntary pre-Kindergarten in Florida).  More surprising was that the tests 1) did not assess Noah's vision 2) showed that he needed additional help in development and language.

So today Noah and I went back and he went thru another an hour and a half of thorough testing/evaluations.  Again, they did not assess his vision even after I asked and pointed out he is legally blind.  I felt like I failed him in that moment.  The whole point (to me) was to obtain visual services in VPK.  I was not able to be in the room during the testing but the door was left open and I could hear and see most of what went on.  Noah stayed on task and seemed very secure without my assistance.  I'm anxious for us to find out the results and what the county recommends as far as services go.

The evaluators and therapists were very impressed with Noah overall.  They commented on his intellect and that his vision is not holding him back, in fact one said had he not spend 3 years in an orphanage he probably would have a genius level IQ.  But they told me his fine motor skills and language (not speech) could possibly be delayed.  The plan is to tally and examine both days' test results and for us to come back (again) after the holidays.  I'll be starting off the New Year contacting the Florida Blind Academy and a local VI specialist to make sure Noah gets ALL the services he needs-vision included.

Sunglasses Arrived!

First Update on Sadie & Getting Started Again

We submitted 10 questions to Sadie's orphanage via Helen and within 24 hours we received 5 new pictures and 2 short videos.  The answers came quicker than even our adoption agency could handle in-country (and also $60 for the communication).

To summarize: Sadie weighs 33 lbs and is 37 1/2 inches tall.  She sleeps in a crib 10 hours at night.  She has not been hospitalized but did have a cold this fall.  She likes to play outside and with other children.  She likes apples, bananas and most foods except not sour ones.  She can pick up small things up with her fingers, understand her caregivers and they request that we send her clothes and shoes.

Here is the package that was mailed to Sadie earlier this week 

And a few new pictures of our big girl (really she is bigger than Noah already) :) We've requested that the orphanage not shave her head anymore (they do so to prevent lice being spread).  It is truly wonderful to get a glimpse of what she is like but makes this wait even harder-on us.  

I'm focusing on what we CAN control tonight by completing some required paperwork and ordering more documents.  They must be current in the past 6 months per China.  I forgot how quickly the small fees add up!  

GAFS checks $30 ($15 each)

VitalChek-Stacy's birth certificate & postage from IL $34

VitalChek-Luke's birth certificate & postage from GA $54

Introducing Sadie

It's with great joy and thanksgiving that I publicly share the news-we are adopting again!  I still cannot hardly believe it myself.  :)  As you might know we continued to have a heart for orphans even since we completed Noah's adoption.  I honestly don't know how you could ever go thru this journey and not.  Luke and I had many conversations about what that meant for our family but felt content (that's a bad thing sometimes) and did not feel God pulling us towards a specific child.  There are so many worthy children that are waiting.  We talked about fostering instead.  I contacted the local program.  I stayed up many nights (too late) browsing waiting child profiles and advocacy boards, always concentrating on the Chinese orphans.  I prayed for God to lead us.  And He did.  

In September I found this precious little girl's picture and bio.  I knew she was special.  I showed Luke.  We weren't ready to adopt again we both agreed.  We could barely handle our three somedays we told each other.  I prayed a lot.  I cried a lot.  I asked God to make me a better mother.  I can handle this I told myself.  I requested her file from the agency.  I asked Luke to look and consider.  Could we afford to do this again?  I asked myself if I was crazy (seriously).  

I really think God kept nudging us.  We watched her video and of course wanted her to have a family.  We didn't think we were that family.  So with all I had I shared her picture privately in adoption, albinism and waiting child groups.  I emailed other families.  I knew she had a family that would come forward.  Weeks went by and nothing happened (other families reviewed her file they just weren't ready to commit).  We stopped talking about it.  In early October I checked to see if the agency still had her file.  They did.  Luke and I discussed why no one else had stepped up.  Lots of prayer.  A few days later I felt an overwhelming conviction.  I know God was reassuring me that we could do this.  He would do this through us.  Luke and I were in agreeance-we were being called, asked...led to this child.  We contacted the agency again, submitted our application and worked diligently to prepare the LOI (letter of intent) to China.  Her file would be returned in less than 10 days to the shared list and perhaps she'd never have the chance to be adopted.  

After 2 weeks of waiting, we received PA (pre-approval) and have officially started the adoption process for Sadie.  She turned 3 in August.  She is in a poor, cold, remote area in China living in an orphanage.  It is not the same province or city that Noah lived in (our agency has asked us to keep the exact location private).  Her special need is albinism and nystagmus (bouncing eyes) just like Noah. You could probably guess our children are so excited and proud that we are doing this again.  We told them before we told any of you :)  Ella can't wait to have a sister, Noah is over the moon she is Chinese AND looks like him, and Beckett will finally have his opportunity to be the big brother.  Of course it will be harder than they realize.  Sadie is an orphan that has lived without a family since she was 2 weeks old.  She probably does not receive much nurturing or attention in the orphanage.  She does not know what love is.  Our children will each give up something when the adoption is complete and gain more than probably even I can imagine at this point.  Adoption is hard.  And we know it is worth it.

Luke and I realize not everyone will support us again.  That's ok we've told each other.  We aren't doing this for other people.  Other people don't pay the bills or raise our children.  We will make the big, scary payments.  We know God will provide in many ways.  Hopefully a t-shirt fundraiser, garage sale and a grant or two will additionally help us overcome the financial hurdles.  We would love for any of you to help but we understand that many of you contributed to Noah's adoption.

We are currently tackling the paperwork (called the paper chase).  A new agency (Lifeline) and new state of residence (Florida) = lots of new papers...in fact it has required us to COMPLETELY start over.  Our SW (social worker) has begun to contact our personal, professional and other references needed to complete the necessary checks.  This time I hope to keep a more detailed list of what an international adoption entails and the broken down costs in order to help other potential adoptive parents (you might be reading this considering adoption yourself). Here's what we have so far:

Application $250

First agency payment $3,138.75

Orphanage fee $140

FL fingerprints $102 ($51 each)

Prepare-Enrich marriage survey $35

Yesterday we ordered a photo album of our family to be sent to Sadie (service in-country).  $30 

I also asked for a pair of sunglasses to be included to protect her eyes.  $25 (wow)

We submitted 10 questions to our agency for an update (yay something is free) and are hoping for new photos and a video in the next week called family interaction (thru the in-country service). $60 

We'd love it if you would pray for our daughter Sadie as she waits-for her protection, good health and her heart to be prepared for all the changes ahead.  We are so grateful that God has a plan for her, just like he has a plan for each of us.

Starting Christmas

^This is the only picture we have of Noah with evidence of Christmas in China.  I think he is approximately 14 months old and had just started to attend the preschool run by Bethel inside the orphanage during the day.  We know he had at least one caregiver that was a believer and prayed over him (probably in secrecy).  It's hard to comprehend that this year will be his first real Christmas and hopefully one in which he understands why we celebrate-the birth of Jesus.

We bought our tree yesterday after church and Noah was excited by every step of the process especially decorating it.  He loved the white lights and hanging ornaments all by himself.  And this year it was his turn (by default) to put the gold star on top.  Luke splurged and bought an electric train to go around the base.  It was $30 well-spent as Noah and Beckett both watched it for over an hour.  :)

We hung the stockings, put out many manger scenes and talked about the real reason for the season.  Noah can tell you all about Santa too, he's a sponge soaking in everything around us.  It felt surreal to decorate for Christmas with our son who wasn't apart of our last one-not because he wasn't born yet-but because he was an orphan without a home or a family to celebrate with.  

I know Noah will continue to enjoy all the magic of the holiday season and perhaps help to remind us all how special Christmas is.  Thank you God for sending your Son to save us all!