There's no place like home!: Praising HIM!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Praising HIM!

For everyday that our life gets a little closer to its new normal!

For the sounds of children playing... even when I have to say shhhhhhh!

Talk in you indoor voice!

For tea parties and pretend cookie baking!

For children sitting on counters!

For little girls and little boys dressed alike...

For abundant blessings from God!

For sunny days and snow covered ground!

I could go on... and on...

and on... and on...

so much to be thankful for...

Thank you, God

6 comments:

living4him5 said...: Amen!

Blessings,
Amy; January 21, 2012 10:48 PM
Vicky said...: Beautiful treasures!; January 22, 2012 1:03 AM
Lori said...: I LOVE it!!; January 22, 2012 6:54 AM
Sarah said...: Amen! So much to be thankful for!; January 22, 2012 4:34 PM
Janet and Kevin said...: So sweet. We are thankful for you, dear lady and your beautiful family!

:)
janet and gang; January 22, 2012 10:10 PM
Susan A said...: lovely, lovely, lovely!!!

(it's funny, I was thinking this three "lovelys" in a row, and then I got to the part where you said "thank you God" three times! :); January 23, 2012 1:38 AM

Is He Your Son?

This handsome and active boy as born 11/2001 wants to be adopted. He has excellent fine motor skills and built a wheel and cog with the building toys . He is coordinated and likes soccer. He likes playing games with the other children. While the caregiver said he is shy around strangers it was not evident during his drumming performance! He is normally quite outgoing according to his foster mother. He speaks well and communicates very well with other children. He is in the second grade. The teachers say he focuses well on his school work and works hard. He is outgoing, happy and lively. When he is happy he will laugh heartily and share his humor with his foster mother. He has a repaired congenital heart issue. A generous grant of $2000 is available to eligible families.

Are You My Family?

He speaks well and communicates well with other kids. He can draw a person and added ears, nose and hair to a funny face. He likes to play with other children and he organizes the games. He is a leader in the orphanage! He can count and does puzzles quickly. He is very good at Cat’s Cradle. His favorite toys are airplanes. He can catch a ball thrown a short distance. He is kind to younger children and understands taking turns. He likes TV and cartoons especially the popular Sheep and Wolf. He talked about himself during the orphanage program and when he grows up he wants to have a family; he "wants to live with a Mom and a Dad." He is post-surgery for a heart issue and is doing well. He was born January of 2005.

This Delightful Little Boy Needs A Family!

This very sweet young boy was born June 2005. He has down syndrome with no heart issues. He is well loved by his foster mother and father. He was described as a “happy, curious and lovely child.” Whenever he hears music he starts dancing. He can wash his face if his foster mom gets the towel ready and can do other self help skills. He has good speech and can say many words. He pulls his chair to the table when it is time to eat and he will clean his mouth after he eats. He is kind when he plays with other children and does not take their toys. He likes to run around and play with balls. He is very curious and likes to watch large machinery outside. He loves cars and will play with them and watch them out the window for long periods of time.

Timeline to Abby and Luke!

Quick Update On Us!

Hubby and I have 5 bio kids that are currently 27- 18 yrs old. Matt is 27 yrs old he is a college grad and a full time job. He is living in Colorado. We miss him but we are happy he is happy! Plus he loves to ski so now he can do plenty of that on the weekends! Katie is 26 yrs old and a college grad. She is a 4th grade teacher at a local elementary school. Billy graduated from college in the spring of 2010 and is working in equity research. Mark is a senior in college with a biology major. He attends DU in Denver, CO. Johnny is a senior in high school. He plays soccer year round and hopes to play in college!

We have adopted 6 waiting children from China! Anna came home first on August 8th, 2007 (at 16 months). She is currently 5 yrs old! Sarah came home on December 5th, 2008 (at 8.5 yrs old). She is 11 yrs old now. Emma and Ellie came home on July 19th, 2010! They are bio sibs, 9 and 8 yrs old! On our most recent journey to China we brought home Samuel Jacob 4.5 yrs old and Ava Marie 5.5 yrs old. They came home on April 1st, 2011! Both of the kids are from Henan Province.

We are in the adoption process again for Luke Lewis 2.5 yrs old and Abigail Elizabeth 5.5 yrs old! We are hoping to travel in the end of November or early December! Please follow along as we journey back to China for two more treasures!

Hubby and I are passionate about special needs adoption. We feel called to adopt and we are loving every minute of it! We are both in our early to mid 50's. We can't think of anything we would love to do more than what we are doing right now! We are thankful for this opportunity to enjoy these wonderful children!

We have chosen to homeschool our children from China. When adopting older children they really don't fit into one grade, they are combination of many grades (including Pre-K). We also feel like we missed out on so many years with our wonderful children, we don't want to miss out on any more! Plus it is great for attachment and bonding!!

Our Journey to Ava and Sam!

PA for Sam - 6/21/2010

PA for Ava - 9/28/2010

Adam Walsh (local clearance)

Submitted 8/11

Approved 9/10

(this is where we lost a month in the process- this should have been submitted earlier- but there was a bit of a mix up)

USCIS - Submitted 9/21

received letter from Texas 9/27

(We do not need fingerprints right now)

Approved - 10/18/2010

Fingerprint Extension - prints done 11/26/2010

Dossier Certified - Oct 14th, 2010

Dossier Authenticated - Nov. 2nd, 2010

DTC - November 12th, 2010

LID - November 19th, 2010

LOA - December 17th, 2010 (28 days!)

USCIS Received Application - December 27th, 2010

I800 Approval - January 11th, 2011

received in the mail- January 15th, 2011

NVC Letter- January 25, 2011

Art. 5 - February 14th, 2011

(Delivered Feb. 16th)

TA - February 28th, 2011

CA - March 30th, 2011

Travel Dates - Thursday, March 17th - April 1st. 2011

Gotcha Day - Monday, March 21st, 2011

Our Journey to Sarah Grace JiangMing!

Requested referral- Dec. 20th, 2007 ( the minute we saw her picture we requested her referral, but we needed to be approved by the older child committee in order to proceed.

Referral approved- Jan. 11th, 2008

LOI - sent February 14th, 2008

Fingerprints/ USCIS- March 5th, 2008 (Sarah's birthday!)

PA - May 17th, 2008 (never officially received)

USCIS approval - June 23rd, 2008

DTC - July 1st, 2008

LID - July 11th, 2008 (11 days)

LOA - Oct. 17th, 2008 (98 days)

TA - Nov. 10th, 2008 (24 days from TA arrival, 19 days from the date it was sent back to China)

CA- Dec. 2nd, 2008 (We received it on Nov. 13th)

Leave for China - Wednesday, November 19th @1:00!!

Gotcha Day - Monday, November 24th- Yippee Jesus!

Return home from China - Friday, December 5th

Timeline to Emma Joy and Ella Mei

Saw the their pictures - March 2009

Got their referral! - April 2009

Accepted their referral - June 5th, 2009

(we had to wait to officially accept it until Sarah had been home 6 months)

Adam Walsh - May 26th, 2009 and May 26th, 2010

Homestudy done - July 30th, 2009

CIS approval - November 2nd, 2009

PA - November 12th, 2009

DTC - December 10th, 2009

LID - December 24th, 2009

LOA- March 15th, 2010

I-8oo Aproval - March 31st, 2010 (received April 7th)

NVC - April 7th (received Saturday, April 10th), arrived at agency on April 12th.

Article 5 - May 13th, 2010

TA - June 10th, 2010

Travel dates - June 30th- July 16th

Gotcha Day - July 5th

Consulate Appt. - July 14th

Home on July 17th!!

There's no place like home!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Praising HIM!

6 comments:

Isaiah 43:5

Click on the picture and find pictures of more waiting children!

Is He Your Son?

Are You My Family?

This Delightful Little Boy Needs A Family!

Email me!

Friends to Share With!

Timeline to Abby and Luke!

They're Christian family that gave up their life in the States for the orphans of China!

About Me

Please Help My Friend Shonni Bring Home Her Son!

Quick Update On Us!

An Orphans Wish

Homeschooling Blogs that I Enjoy!

Blogs That I Enjoy!

I Would Gather Children

Great Sites for China Special Needs Adoptions!

Blog Archive

Our Journey to Ava and Sam!

Our Journey to Sarah Grace JiangMing!

Timeline to Emma Joy and Ella Mei

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