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.

Crawling Along

We're still waiting on the paper receipt of the I-800 approval but in the meantime I have emailed the National Visa Center two times (already) this week to request our GUZ#.  Its confusing but basically we are trying to obtain the number that is generated when our file has been cabled from the NVC to the US Embassy in Guangzhou, China.  (That is the approval of our visa petition)  So far it hasn't arrived yet.  Veteran's Day has slowed us down.

I'll be honest I am feeling frustrated.  I am trying to be patient.  But this step can mean the difference between traveling in January or having to wait until after Chinese New Year (not leaving until February).  And although I LOVE checking in with other adoptive parents in this same stage of the process, I don't love the feeling that we are "racing".  The only race Luke and I are in is the race to get to Noah and bring him home with us.

Please pray that we meet Noah for the first time when God sees fit and not in our own selfish timing.

Peekabo

Look at this precious face!  What a great surprise to get a new picture of Noah tonight.

I-800 Approval!

I called to check on the status of our I-800 application and was able to speak with the immigration officer assigned to our case.  She approved our application this morning and the misspelling was corrected!
Unfortunately, the paper receipt will probably not go out in the mail today she told me.  Regardless-this is great news.  Everything else between now and getting on an airplane headed to China is in country clearances.

JSC Foundation Grant

We were notified this afternoon that we have been chosen to receive a grant from the JSC Foundation.  What a huge blessing!  They are a private organization that provides for Christian families that are stepping out in faith and adopting.  We will not be disclosing the amount out of respect for the organization.

After two small bumps in the road this is truly so encouraging.  If you are interested in learning more about the JSC Foundation and the amazing things their adoption ministry does check out http://www.jscfoundation.org/

Another Bump?

On Monday we received the paper receipt for our I-800 application and there was another mistake-this time a typo.  I panicked (of course), called the adoption agency and wanted to cry out "not again!".  

You see, we haven't even caught up from the last mistake.  This time it was USCIS.  Someone misspelled Noah's Chinese name but not on the actual application just on the receipt.  Hopefully this is not a big deal.  In an adoption everything must match up-names, dates and files.  It seems this won't affect the actual I-800 and the immigration officer that will eventually approve our application will correct the misspelling.  Please pray with us that there are no more mistakes that could make Noah wait for us any longer!

A Picture and Two Blessings

We are so grateful for the new picture of Noah (and especially that he is being held and making eye contact).  We have also been blessed in the past few days with two generous donations towards his adoption expenses.  Thank you really isn't even close to enough.  It feels very encouraging to have friends and family that are living out the gospel.

1 Timothy 6:18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.

I-800 text

On Thursday night (Halloween) we got a text from USCIS that our case was received and that we have a new receipt number.  This means our I-800 application was received at the Texas lockbox.  I emailed our immigration officer late Sunday night and was surprised she replied first thing Monday morning; our application has not made its way from the lockbox to the building-yet.  I really think once the I-800 gets to her she will approve it quickly and hopefully we will get right back on track to our original adoption timeline for Noah and can say with confidence that we will travel to China in January.

An I-800 is the first step towards finalizing the immigration process if you are adopting a child that lives within a Hague country and you have already been approved for adoption with a valid form I-800A.  The next (and final) two steps occur in China.  If you're confused, don't worry I am too.  I try to read ahead and research what comes next but it's a little fuzzy...