新年好呀 - Gong Xi Fa Cai

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today is a very special day in China (and other countries around the world that celebrate the Lunar New Year).  Chinese New Year/Spring Festival is a huge holiday, much like Christmas is in the US.  It is celebrated for 15 days with festivals, food, lanterns, dragon dances and other traditions.  Our agency even sent us a memo that the government will be shut down for half a month, so all processing of paperwork and other things is on hold until the Chinese New Year celebration has finished.

2014 is the year of the horse, which is said to bring prosperity and wealth.  We could definitely use both, although we know that true prosperity and wealth comes from knowing Christ, not the Chinese zodiac.  Still, it is important to learn about Zachary's culture and to recognize the traditions of the Chinese.  Zachary will always be Chinese and our hope and prayer is that we can keep him connected with his roots, so that we all can grow to love and appreciate the rich culture and beautiful people of his homeland.

So, today Asher, Laurel and I set out to decorate the house for the Chinese New Year.  We made paper lanterns (which are said to light the way for the New Year to come in).  We used a broom to "sweep out the old year".  We made Chinese dragons out of egg cartons, practiced our Mandarin by saying "Gong Xi Fa Cai" to each other (rather crudely I'm sure!).  We found some children's books on Chinese New Year at the library and have been reading them throughout the week.

We listened to traditional Chinese music while we made an orange cake, because oranges symbolize prosperity and are given as gifts in the New Year.  Asher wanted to have a friend over, so when Josh got home we made chicken stir fry and egg rolls and shared our Chinese dinner with some great friends who are so excited for us and played along.  It was a lot of fun!  Asher seemed to really understand that we were doing this because this is how they celebrate where Zachary lives.  He seems to have a special sensitivity for other cultures and people, he asked a lot of questions about what they do and why.

As I was enjoying our small, but heartfelt celebration, the irony was not lost on me.  Here we are, celebrating the culture of our soon to be adopted son, while he is most likely not even celebrating at all.  Perhaps the orphanage where he lives did do something to recognize the holiday.  Maybe they gave out special treats, or let the kids outside to see some fireworks.  I really have no idea what he did today, but I hope it was something special.  We sure did have a fun time here in America, celebrating his culture...celebrating him.

Halfway Around the World

It's 8pm in China.

I woke up this morning at 6:00am to two kids jumping into bed, climbing on top of me shouting "Mama mama, Good Morning!"  We sat in bed and tried to guess how much snow might fall today- would it be enough to make a snowman?  Could we make snow cream?  How does snow fall?  Why do trucks put salt on the road?  It was a tangle of excited questions and snuggles, an early morning wake up call before the sun was even shining.  And I thought of Zachary.

What was he doing in China while we're piled in bed dreaming of snow?  Did anyone put him to bed tonight and snuggle him? Has he ever been outside to see snow?  It's such a surreal feeling to have a child on the other side of the world and know so little about his life.

I can't wait for the morning when all three of our little ones will jump into bed excited for snow, or Christmas morning, or our next vacation...whatever it is I look forward to the privilege of sharing these experiences with Zachary.  It is these ordinary moments that make us a family...something he has never known.

This morning I feel so grateful.  For Asher and Laurel, that they have a mom and dad and a bed to jump into.  That they don't know what it is like to live without these things.  In our broken world, so many do know.  I don't want to take that for granted.
As we wait expectantly for snow I am reminded of how often God uses periods of waiting to bring about glorious miracles.

Noah waited for rain as he built an ark.

Abraham and Sarah waited for their promised son.

The whole world waited for a Messiah.

God delivered on his promises in ways that the human mind and heart could not even comprehend!  The waiting was hard, agonizing, at times seemed pointless.  But the payoff was miraculous! 

 A restored Earth. 

God's Chosen People, the lineage of the Messiah.

Jesus, God with us!

We wait for Jesus to return and make all things new.  These moments as family are beautiful glimpses of heaven on Earth.  Bringing Zachary into our family is a small, broken glimpse of how God has adopted us into his family through Jesus Christ.  Brothers and sisters and heirs with the God of the Universe.  It's miraculous!

Small things point to bigger things and sometimes we get to see it...sometimes even in the haze of a too early morning wake up.

Thank you God for family, for the miracle and wonder of snow, and for a precious boy halfway around the world.

Adoption Update

So, we are moving right along with our adoption process, and honestly it has been a lovely experience so far.  We have had our second and third home study interviews, compiled loads and loads of paperwork, and are now waiting to finish our final training sessions.  Then our social worker can write up our home study so that we can send it to immigration.

A lot of people have asked specifically what the process looks like so I'm going to try and explain the steps ahead of us.

1. We receive our completed home study (takes 6-8 weeks).

2. We send it along with paperwork to officially request US immigration to bring a child into the country as a citizen (takes 2-3 months).

3. We send our immigration approval and home study to China along with our dossier.  The dossier is basically a lot of paperwork that China requires us to have, as well as the official request to specifically adopt Zachary. The dossier gets "logged in" and we wait for China to review it  (takes 1 month).

4. We receive our LOA, which is the official approval of our request to adopt Zachary. (takes 2-3 months)

5. Apply for a visa for Zachary through immigration (takes 1 month).

6. Wait for an appointment with the US Consulate in China and official travel approval (takes 2-3 months).

7. Travel to China to go get Zachary!!! (takes 6-8 weeks after travel approval to actually travel and then 2 weeks in country to finalize the adoption).

Some of these steps can be longer or shorter.  A lot of it just depends on unforeseen delays and how quickly the various governments get things done.  There are so many unknowns and so we just have to be prepared for anything.  Please pray that the process continues to unfold smoothly, that our home study would be approved on a quick time table, that immigration approval would go smoothly and we get assigned a competent and kind officer, and that we would have patience as we wait.  It is hard to wait when you know the name and face of the child who is waiting for you.  Twelve months seems like an eternity, but we know that God will use this time to prepare our hearts, and hopefully Zachary's heart, for the changes ahead and to grow our faith. 

Learning about his life

We have been so grateful for all the love and support shown to us since we announced our plans to adopt.  Thank you, thank you to all of you for being excited for us and coming alongside us in this journey.  Josh told me the other night that in the few months since we've started this process he's never understood God's love for us more clearly.  God surely does show us His love through the arms of those around us, so thank you for already loving this little boy with us.

We are in the midst of completing our education/training requirements.  At the end of this process we will have taken over 50 hours of adoption related education courses, seminars and read numerous books.  All of this information has been extremely helpful and is very eye opening to the kinds of challenges and needs that adopted children experience.  We are learning a lot about attachment, sensory disorders, developmental delays, malnutrition and neurological/social issues that present with institutionalized care.

Zachary spends a lot of time in his crib.  That is just the way it is in orphanages.  Too many kids, not enough helpers.  He is also very small for his age, more like the size of an 18 month old.  There is not enough adequate nutrition and unfortunately, he is a slower eater and in an orphanage setting that means that he doesn't get as much food.   But we pray for him and ask you to as well.  We don't know what kind of things he has experienced in his short life, but we pray that he will have a tender heart that is open to love and attachment with us.  We pray that God would protect his mind and heart, keep him strong, and sustain him until we are able to come and scoop him up.

There are so many variables ahead of us, and we know nothing is guaranteed.  Adoption is a wild journey with lots of ups and downs and there is no way to know exactly how this will all play out.  But I hope and pray that this time next year that little boy will never have to know again what it is like to lay all day alone in a crib.  He's going to be held and rocked and loved :)

Introducing Zachary Jude

We got PA from China today, so we can officially introduce you to our son, who we will be naming Zachary Jude (which means "God has remembered" and "praise").

He is almost 3 years old and has the sweetest smile.  We love him so much already!

FBI Fingerprinting *smooth criminals*

We went to the local detention center today and got fingerprinted.

Ha!  Never thought I'd type that sentence!

The process was actually quite smooth and now we have official registered finger print cards for the FBI to run background checks with.

Guess we better be careful where we leave our prints now ;)

Homestudy #1 - Orientation Interview

Today we had an orientation interview over the phone with our adoption agency and the social worker who will be conducting our home study.  Both of these ladies were so sweet and genuine.  They obviously love what they do and both had such visible faith and trust in Jesus.  Our agency has been amazing.  Every interaction with them, every question, every single thing has been beyond our expectations.  It is incredible to talk to someone about adoption and know that they understand our heart, the gospel message, the love of Christ that propels us forward.  I have been so impressed.

Our orientation interview ran an hour and 15 minutes.  In it we got to answer fun questions like: "Why adoption? Why China?  How did you meet?"  We both talked about our faith, our support systems and families, our desire to adopt, how we felt led to China.  Some of the questions were pretty personal, and I know it will only get deeper as we get farther into the home study.  They also gave us an overview of all the paperwork and the overall timeline for the entire process.  They anticipate that we will be able to travel in about 12 months.

The next step is to complete our autobiographies, which is a massive essay we both have to write with hundreds of questions about our entire lives.  Once these are ready we will have our in house visit and individual visits.  Here we go- the home study has officially begun!