All Dressed Up

Check out this adorable picture of Noah trying on his suit for Bethel's 10 year anniversary party-isn't he the cutest?!  We are so thankful for the care that he receives and love seeing new pictures.

More Grants & Our Own Visa Applications

We have applied for two more grants in the past week through the Gift of Adoption and the National Adoption Foundation.  Luke and I have also been working on a fundraising letter and plan to mail those after Thanksgiving.  I'll post it on here as well in case there is anyone that would like to see what we've paid, raised and been awarded at this point-it also outlines the remaining costs and travel expenses.

We have decided to go ahead and apply for our own Visas to enter to China at this time and expect to have those in a matter of weeks-we want to be ready and waiting.  We're looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, celebrating all that we have to be thankful for and telling even more friends and family members about Noah.

Here's the picture Bethel shared last week on Facebook in case anyone missed it-Noah and his buddy out in a boat.

DS 260, Noah's Visa

Yesterday morning we received our PDF of the letter from the NVC and a link with instructions from our agency to fill out the DS 260.  We completed it and the agency reviewed it before signing and submitting late last night.

This was the last piece needed for Article 5 so one day next week Heartsent's in-country representative will walk in and "drop off" our Article 5.  It takes 10 business days to process plus add one extra day for Thanksgiving so in approximately 2 weeks it will be ready for "pick up".

We're so grateful to be at this point in the adoption process.  We wouldn't be at this point if it weren't for a great support system that God provided for us.  We are also hoping to hear more good news from a grant we applied for in October and maybe even an update on Noah in the next week.

Exodus 14:14 The Lord will fight for you.  You need only to be still.

Got our GUZ#!!!

Received an email this morning from the National Visa Center-the birthdate has been corrected and we have our GUZ#.  Yay!  Just waiting on the letter in PDF form and then the adoption agency will (hopefully) drop off the Article 5 next week.

We also got an update on predicted travel-at this point our agency feels confident we will be in China in  1 1/2-2 months from today.  Of course everything could change if we have any issues so I am cautiously saying there's still a good chance we'll meet Noah in January.

I also spoke with the BEGIN coordinator at the Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta today.  I've scheduled a visit for the week after Thanksgiving so that I can become familiar with the facility and their services for Noah.  He will be evaluated once we return home and get our heads above water.  They offer many different services for children that have visual impairments including a preschool.

Prayers While We Wait

Found this the other night on www.seeingjoy.com and wanted to share.  I need to read it everyday.

Roadblock...Still No GUZ#

Today has been a roller coaster.  I knew something was wrong from the moment I woke up.  Long story short (I'll spare you the lengthy details because it doesn't make sense unless you're also adopting from China) there has been another mistake-this time it's a roadblock.

Somewhere between the USCIS's approval of our I-800 (11/8) and the NVC receiving the said approval someone made a typo and inputted the wrong date of birth for my husband, Luke.  So we cannot get a GUZ#.  The records do not match.  I have submitted scanned copies of his passport and birth certificate and just for good measure the actual I-800 approval which has the correct DOB on it.

I've emailed and called anyone I know of that might be able to help (adoption agency included) and am praying to get this resolved ASAP.  We need the GUZ# and NVC letter as explained in a previous post for the Article 5 which is the step before Travel Approval i.e. finding out when we can go to China and bring Noah home with us.

As a side note the kids and I spent time this evening with a long lost friend from high school and her precious daughter, who just happens to be from Zhengzhou and we believe at one point stayed in the same room at the orphanage that Noah did at the same time.  What an amazing connection and blessing to have them in our lives and better yet plan to be in China this winter together as they bring home two additions!

I-800 Paper Receipt, Article 5 Intro

Good news our I-800 finally came in the mail today, 8 days after we were approved by the officer at USCIS.  I've emailed the National Visa Center (again) and am feeling hopefully that this week we will get our GUZ#.

Once we have that it means we have been cabled and it will be time for the Article 5 letter to be issued by the US Embassy.  The adoption agency's in-China representative will take our NVC letter to the Embassy in Guangzhou (hence the GUZ#) along with our DS-230 application and LOA.  This paperwork can only be dropped off Tuesdays-Fridays. I'll try to explain the final step(s) once we have our Article 5 drop off date but I know you feel the same as I do after reading that-this part is clear as mud! ;)

Thank you again for being a part of this amazing journey!  Many of you have cheered us on with encouragement, thru your prayers and contributed financially.  The waiting is very hard but we know it is and will be absolutely worth it once we become Noah's family.  I've had to come to terms this week that some people just don't understand why we are adopting and it is ok-we aren't doing it for anyone other than God.