New Day, New Opportunities...

New Day, New Opportunities...

Posted by Candace

2011 seems to be flying! The boys have one more week of school left and then they are out for the summer! Crazy... Even more crazy is the fact that Jordan will be in 6th grade next year...middle school! We're going to have a middle schooler and a football player. I am taking a deep breath even as I write this. I guess I just never quite thought it would happen. Kids grow up soooo fast. It seems like just yesterday I was helping my middle school brother with his homework, and playing Monopoly with my middle school brother-in-law, so I'm not quite sure how my son is now at this stage of life.

Admist this bittersweet time, we are more ready than ever to have our little girls here. Finishing our home study last week was a great feeling. One more step closer to having our children all under the same roof once more :). We are so excited! I am beginning work this week on our I-800 immigration form and as soon as we have our home study back, we will be mailing this out. The paperwork portion of this journey is just about over...for now!

We have had a new opportunity come our way through our adoption agency. Open Door works with a program called Homes of Hope International. This program brings over orphans from the Ukraine for 5 weeks in the summer and winter to host families, some who are interested in adopting them and some who just feel called to give them hope. David and I feel like we are the latter, so this summer we will be hosting 2 brothers, ages 5 and 8. In order to do this, we will need money for their travel and also to provide items for them to take back to the orphanage when they go home. We are planning some fundraisers right now to recoup these costs that we are paying out of our adoption fund. We are going to do a yard sale on June 3rd and 4th and maybe a car wash soon. We need donations for the yard sale, so if you have anything you are interested in giving, please let me know as soon as possible. I can come pick it up or it can be dropped at my house. I will be sending an email out this week that will give more info about giving monetary gifts. We are so thankful for everyone who is already supporting us through all of this and we ask desperately for your prayers in the days, months, and weeks ahead.

Our lives are quickly changing and sometimes it is overwhelming, but both David and I and, I think, even our children realize that this is not our doing, it is God's. The mission He has given us on this earth is not about us or how comfortable we can be... it is about building His kingdom and being His hands and feet to those around us. We have been prepared to walk this road, but we still have moments when it is very scary, so please pray that we will have courage, wisdom, and endurance for everything that God is asking of us. Not only with the orphans that our lives will touch, but in every area of our lives that He is changing right now. We know that the support of our friends and family is crucial to our ability to move forward...so thank you with all our hearts!

God's Timing is Perfect!

God's Timing is Perfect!

Posted by Candace

Wow! This process is just moving right along right now. We have had 2 meetings with our social worker and we have another one Friday and then the last one on Wednesday. They are going very well and we have connected with Charlotte (our social worker) on a personal level, so it has not even been uncomfortable. Once we finish the last visit next week, she will write up her report and turn it in to Open Door. I received great news this week in that the home study doesn't get sent off to the State of GA for approval... it only has to be approved by the adoption agency! This means a little less beaucracy and less wait time!! Yay! So here is the timeline that we are hoping for right now, and asking you all to pray for, according to God's will, of course...

1. Home Study Approved by the end of May


2. Dossier document gathering and CIS application approved (immigration) by the end of June (this is sooner than average, so please pray)


3. Dossier certified by the state and US government by the end of July


4. Dossier sent to China by the 1st of August


5. Referrals of our girls (when we get the pics and make a decision on accepting them) by mid August/ Acceptance of referrals by the end of August


6. Travel to pick up the girls in December (What a Christmas present this would be!!!)

Of course, these dates are on the "hopeful" side of things, so please, please pray that God will grant us favor. Our coordinator says that right now immigration approval is taking anywhere from 4 days to 6 weeks, so we would really like to be on the 4 day side of things. The other time frame that has leeway is the certification of our docs by the US. Pray that we won't get caught in any red tape!

We are thrilled to think that we may have our girls by the end of the year, but also a little overwhelmed with the thought. Need lots of prayer in this area as well. This will be a huge change for our family...the best one ever, but the most challenging as well. We need the support of our family and friends like never before as God fulfills His purpose in us. Thank you so much for all you do to be a part of that. So thankful that we are not walking alone.

The waiting is challenging, so many things outside of our control, but somehow I am learning to like it. If I can't control it, it does no good to waste energy on it, so I have to consciously place it in God's Hands and utilize that saved energy on other things. Faith and Trust and Patience are all difficult lessons, but as we learn them, our lives become stable and healthy. If God is on our side, what have we to fear? His timing is always perfect!

Never Too Late to Get Back Up

Never Too Late to Get Back Up

Posted by Candace

Well, I talked to our social worker today and we set up an appointment for Saturday afternoon at 1pm for her to come do a walk through of our house. Do you think I will be cleaning this week? Unfortunately so... I am sure David will insist we pass the "white glove" test, even though I will do my best to try to convince him that they would like our house to look "lived in", not like the cover of Better Homes and Gardens. I mean do children really live in those magazine houses? Really? But anyway, I am very excited to start this last part of the home study process. Charlotte says we will have 4 visits with her as that is what China requires. I hope David and I can fake a happy marriage that long! hahaha...completely kidding!!! :). During this first visit, Charlotte will walk the house and make sure it meets with certain standards and guidelines. No idea what they are, so we shall see. But I am excited nonetheless.

Waiting has become the norm in life right now, and I am finding it a little bit easier. Though I want with all my heart to find our girls and bring them home as soon as possible, I also realize that God is preparing me for this while I wait. He is already changing my view of structure and my schedule and you wouldn't believe the practice He is giving us with chaos. Every time I think I get it all straight, He digs a little deeper and I find myself floundering again. Hopefully soon, I will be perfect and won't need all this work any more ;). Again, completely kidding, I am afraid He will be working on me for the rest of my living, breathing life. One minute I totally get it and the next I feel like I am in the middle of a forest with no marks on the trees. I thought it was only me, until I was reminded at a recent church service of the story of Peter.

Peter was Jesus' loud mouth, speak-before-you-think disciple. I love most stories of him in the Bible because I can completely relate. Peter followed Christ without fail for the full 3 years of His earthly ministry. He was one of the disciples who got to see the Transfiguration, most of Christ's miracles, and even walked on water with Him for a few minutes. When other disciples turned back because they couldn't handle Christ's declarations, Peter stood strong with one of my favorite verses in the Bible "Where would we go, Lord? Only You have the words of eternal life. We know that You are the Messiah." And yet after Jesus was arrested and was well on His way to being convicted, Peter denied that He even knew Jesus. Not only did he deny Him, but he actually cursed Him. You would think that this would seal his fate as much as it did Judas'. But Peter's heart was soft. His rashness and his mouth (wow, that sounds so familiar) got him into trouble many times, but his heart was for the Lord. Peter realized his sin and repented from the depths of his heart. He was a broken man... He had failed his Master and his Lord... I bet that he thought his relationship with Jesus was forever ruined. Christ, however, rose from the grave and I find it very interesting that one of his first appearances was to Peter. Peter was fishing and wasn't catching anything... Jesus appeared on the shore and told him to cast his nets to the other side of the boat. When Peter obeyed and pulled up his nets, they were full to the brim. It was then his heart probably sank. It was Jesus on shore. How on earth would he face Him after completely betraying Him? Gosh, I can't imagine the shame that must have engulfed him...to stand before the One he had called "Messiah" and then cursed as soon as life got rough. You would expect that Jesus might should give him at least a very good chewing out. But Jesus doesn't... He simply asks him 3 times how much Peter loves Him "You know that I love you, Lord." Peter replies 3 times. And then Jesus gives him something to live for... He says "Feed my sheep". Or in other words "Peter, accept my forgiveness, forget about yourself, and move forward in my plan." Jesus reinstated Peter in a way that Peter never could have reinstated himself. Jesus still trusted him with His church! He didn't take back what He said about "Upon this rock (Peter) I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." He still wanted Peter to be a crucial part of what He had done on the cross. WoW!

I love that story primarily because, I , like Peter, fail my Lord so many times... and I, like Peter, need Jesus personally to sometimes reinstate me, remind me, and motivate me to get back up and continue forward with the mission He has created me for. And He still does what He did back then... I may not be able to see Him, but I hear His voice in His Word or through another person or in my heart telling me that His grace is sufficient for me. He's a pretty amazing best friend!

Please pray for us, particularly on Saturday, that all will go well and we will mesh with our social worker. Hopefully soon, step 1 will be completely complete :).