Common Objections to Adoption

Got three minutes? Say yes. Because I know you do. Then watch this:

James 1:27  Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

David Update!!!

This is the last official-from-our-agency update on David that we'll get before we meet the boys. A while ago we requested an update on Samuel also, and are expecting our foster sponsor update sometime soon as well. But for now, we have David's update, and we only received measurements and two pictures so here's a picture:

His measurements are all the same, except he gained a pound. His skin TB test came back positive which is common in Chinese kids who have had the infant vaccine, so an X-ray confirmed he is negative for TB. We'll have to repeat the TB tests while we're in China. We connected with a family who is adopting a little girl from the same orphanage as David. They should be meeting their daughter in a couple days and visiting the orphanage this week, and they said they would try to get a couple pictures of David. We have been so blessed with pictures of David and people who have met David... God is good.


Colossians 3:15  And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Go Cubs!

As some of you know, most of Chris' family are GINORMOUSLY HUGE White Sox fans. I think everyone except Uncle Mike, actually... but especially Grammy. (I think she actually needs professional help.) And if you are from Chicago, you know about the Crosstown Showdown. The Red Line Rivals. The "North Siders" (Cubs) vs the "South Siders" (Sox). So when we heard that Josh would be on the Cubs team... well, we thought it was just too funny! How perfect!

Anyhoo, Josh has been having fun playing T-ball this summer. Here are some pictures:

the team huddle before the big game

fielding

after hitting the ball (slow camera...)

run, Josh, run!

Yay, Longmont Cubs!!!
~chris


Malachi 4:6a He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers ...

Guest Post by Grammy

Here are a few words from Chris' mom, Grammy. Also known as The Paminator, or The Gramminator...

Since becoming a grandma the first time, I have had so much fun. Now my blessings will be multiplied with 2 more grandsons. Sometimes I almost cry just thinking about it. Life has so many adventures! And having been in China several times – both in big cities and rural areas, I have had a glimpse of what life is like there. So many people, struggling to make a living. And for these 2 boys to have an opportunity for a better life is almost overwhelming. I hope to get to know them well, to read to them at night, to play with them during the day. Just to get to see each become his own person, each with his own personality, likes, dislikes – wow!

It seems like this road to adoption has been going on for so long, and yet it is less than a year. It has given me time to adjust to it and think about what it will mean to me and how much I am looking forward to it.

Samuel and David…can’t wait to meet them. I hope they like hugs.

Love, Grammy

2 Timothy 1:9  For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.

Happy Father's Day

I just want to give a shout out to all the fathers out there ~ You guys ROCK!!!

But I especially want to recognize my husband today. He is the most amazing dad. He is loving and kind. He is a man of integrity. He is more patient than any person I have ever met (he puts up with me, doesn't he?). He has a great sense of humor. He can fix just about anything. I can go on and on. He rocks.

Let me show you what a great dad he is:

Dyeing Easter eggs together

Teaching Josh the ocean is not scary

Checking out the new GI Joe guy - while dressed like a GI Joe guy...

Lighting the S'mores marshmallow on fire - Cool!

Teaching mini-me how to bowl

Gone fishin'!

Cleaning magazines... ???  Ya the kind that hold bullets. Something every boy needs to know I guess.

Teaching Josh how to hit a baseball

Jason, thanks for being such an amazing Dad. Our new sons are truly blessed to be joining our family, because they will have a Dad who loves them and spends lots of time with his kids. They will be blessed to be in our family because you will give them a perfect example of how to love by the way you love their mother so much. You bless me every single day, and I love being your wife.

Here is one of Jason's favorite bible verses: 
Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
      do not depend on your own understanding.
   Seek his will in all you do,
      and he will show you which path to take.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I also need to recognize a few fathers who are no longer in our lives. Both Jason's dad (2010) and Chris' dad (2004) passed away. We love you and we miss you, Dads!

And we will never forget our munchkins' China dads. We don't know the munchkins' birth stories. We don't know if the China dads were in the picture for their births. We don't know if China dads are still with their China moms. So many unknowns... but we do know that the munchkins' China dads helped to create their little lives, and for that we are grateful. We will love your sons, and protect them, and raise them in a Christ-centered home. We will never forget the gift you gave them by bringing them into this world and leaving them somewhere that they could be found quickly and could have a chance at a great life.

Blessings,
chris


Deuteronomy 6:5    And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart,
      all your soul, and all your strength.

Article 5s have been Picked Up!

Woot Woot! Cross that one off our Honey-Wait list!

Our Article 5s have been picked up from the US Consulate in Guangzhou. They are flying up to Beijing right now (exciting, huh?!) and should be at the CCCWA in Beijing early next week.

YAY! (insert jump and click heels together here!)

So now we're officially waiting for our Travel Approval. We should expect that in 2-4 weeks, and then we'll travel to China! to! get! our! munchkins!

I'm crying! It's just the pregnancy hormones, don't worry!

So let's take a peeksie at our calendar. 2-4 weeks for Travel Approval puts us at July 4 to July 18 for TA...

Two week TA (7/4) puts us on a plane to China somewhere around July 13 to 15.

Four week TA (7/18) puts us on a plane to China somewhere around July 27 to 29.

So now we hear alot of silence and do alot of waiting and praying (mostly for our sanity) and nesting and preparing, but when we get TA things will really get rockin'!


1 Peter 4:19  So if you find life difficult because you're doing what God said, take
it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he's doing, and he'll keep on doing it.

Our Honey-Wait List

We are waiting for our Article 5s to be picked up.

And waiting for updates on both boys requested years weeks ago.

And waiting for our foster sponsor update on Samuel.

And waiting for the grant money to get to our agency.

And waiting to get our visas back from Chicago.

And waiting for our power of attorney papers to come back from Chicago that toddlin' town.

And.Waiting.To.Hold.Our.Sons.In.Our.Arms.

That's it.

I have this Lincoln Brewster song stuck in my head:
   "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord,
   wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord....
   Our God, You reign forever
   Our hope, our strong deliverer..."



Isaiah 40:30-31 Even youths grow tired and weary,
      and young men stumble and fall; 
      but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
     They will soar on wings like eagles;
      they will run and not grow weary,
     they will walk and not be faint.

Here We Go Again...

So remember back when we were putting together our dossier and we needed to have practically every bit o' paperwork notarized...

Then we needed to take it to the Secretary of State to have it certified (they say, ya this person who says he is a notary is in fact a notary)...

Then we needed to send it to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago to have it authenticated (they say, ya this Secretary of State is in fact the real live Secretary of State in Colorado, USA)...

And after each step our stack o' papers became larger and larger because there were so many additional papers being stapled to each document...

And we had to have our awesome amazing friend Lisa (yay, Lisa!) and my awesome amazing Mom (yay, Mom!) spend hours and hours and hours in lines at the Chinese Consulate in Chicago...

Remember all that we went through?

We need just ONE more document to be notarized (well, actually two copies of the same document but let's not get technical). And then certified. And then authenticated.

Crikey!

We need powers of attorney to complete the adoptions separately. Notarized. Certified. Authenticated.

I have been trying hard not to let my thinking go to that place that blames. Blames our adoption agency for not telling us months ago when we happened to mention several times that we were going to travel separately to the provinces to complete the adoptions. It would have been convenient to have this last paper dropped off a couple weeks ago with our visas, since our visas were just in Chicago visiting the Chinese Consulate. But, as our 6 year old has been reminding me, I need to treat people how I want to be treated. So I should think of people kindly like I want to be thought of too. So I will not blame. It is what it is.

Our adoption agency is AMAZING and has been completely on the ball every step of the way, leading us by the hand. And it is my understanding that they will really take care of us over in China, which is the most important part and where we will be the neediest. Our friend that just returned from China with his daughter said, "You don't need to use any brain cells while you are over here (in China). They tell you exactly where to be, when to be there, and what to bring." I like the idea of not needing to rely on my brain cells while we're in China :-) 'cuz they probably won't be working very well.

So I still love love love our adoption agency, and I'm driving to the Secretary of State tomorrow morning... anyone want to ask my Mom to go to the Chinese Consulate again for me?
~chris


Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
~ Luke 6:31

Answered Prayers

So here we are. About a month, month and a half from traveling. We have felt God's hand on

Each

And

Every

Step

of this adoption journey. We know He is driving this bus. He makes sure we know it, because He keeps putting people in our lives to keep the bus moving. The speed bumps slow us down a bit sometimes. We can't see around the curves and we just have to put the pedal to the metal and trust. And we need a bus because there are so many people blessing us on this road to growing our family.

Why do I always use transportation metaphors? I dunno. I like cars and trains I guess.

How many more prayers can He answer? I dunno. All of 'em I suppose. That's His biz.

Let's talk about money. Money was our first perceived roadblock ~ that goes back several years even. Money suddenly appeared to cover one adoption. Money that is turning something sad into something beautiful. Just enough moola for the first. Money wasn't there to cover the second, but we would make it work by going into debt a bit. OK, maybe a big bit. OK, I guess quite a lotta big bit. But it wasn't going to stop us from adopting both boys, since it was God's idea and all (remember who's driving our bus...) and we felt strangely peaceful about it.

If you follow adoption blogs of believers, it is AMAZING how many times God takes care of the money part. We're going to turn down that road now...

(don't let the transportation metaphors distract you)

Jason decided, aw, what the heck, let's apply for a grant. Did you know that there are many many organizations who just want to give their money away? Anyhoo, Jason felt strongly that we should just apply with this one particular organization. I was against it, mind you. (they will never give US any money, more paperwork, we can make it work for our family without it blahblahblah) But being the good submissive wife that I am, I said OK. And being the spicy wife that I am, I said you can just help yourself to all that paperwork!

So our bus took a detour down Grant Lane. Their website says they will get back to you in a week or two. We applied in mid-May and didn't hear anything in the first week. Or the second week. Then we got an email that their office was going to close on June 8 for the rest of the month of June. We knew they received our stuff... I thought ~ why didn't they just tell us we are rejected?

June 7 came and went. Now they are out of the office for the month... oh bummer... I guess we're outta luck.

Luck, shmuck. We don't need luck when God's driving.

On the evening of June 8 (when they are supposed to be gone on a mission trip actually) we received an email saying that we were approved for the grant. (insert Jason and I looking shocked here) And do you know how much they gave us?

We're not telling.

But the cool thing...

the amazingly goosebumpily awesomely cool thing...

is that the grant covers almost exactly how much we would have gone into debt.

Wow.

That's all we need. Thank you, Lord, for driving our bus, picking up just the right people for our journey, and for making sure we know you are in control.



Romans 12:5  ...so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

Random Clefty Thoughts

What causes a cleft lip/palate?  A cleft lip and palate happens when the tissue that forms the roof of the mouth and upper lip don't join in the first couple months of pregnancy.  It could be due to the mother's poor living conditions, exposure to chemicals/pollution or poor prenatal care.  The cleft can be unilateral (occurring on only one side of the lip/palate like Samuel's) or bilateral (occurring on both sides of the lip/palate like David's). A cleft lip and palate opening goes from the nostril, through the lip and gum line, and all the way through the roof of the mouth to the uvula.

How does a cleft lip/palate impact everyday life?  Having an open palate (roof of your mouth) can cause problems breathing, feeding, hearing, or speaking.  We'll have to see how the munchkins' cleft issues affect them after we get to know them. Most kids with cleft issues eat most foods just fine. Sometimes food can get caught in their open palate, and we will need to use a booger-sucker (technical term) to get the food out. Yum! If we don't get all the food out, well, we will definitely notice the munchkins' cleft issues when they sneeze... and food comes out their noses later! Kids with cleft issues have more frequent ear infections which can cause hearing issues, and will usually need ear tubes at some point. Many kids with an unrepaired palate can speak, but may not be intelligible to those who don't know their "accent". Sometimes kids with an unrepaired palate are mostly intelligible, but speak with a nasally voice. I suspect we will be comfortable with day to day management of our boys' cleft issues by the time we get home from China.

So, if the open palate causes no problems for the munchkins, why do they need surgeries?  The number one reason is speech.  With no way to close off the air that escapes through their noses, it would be all but physically impossible for them to say certain consonant sounds.  They will need speech services to help them learn how to correctly use their new palates and speak clearly.  Having corrective surgery will also help to stabilize their mouths. It is common to wait until 4-6 months after any surgery to start or resume speech services. We'll have to see what our doctors say when we get to that point.

How many surgeries will they have?  We have no idea. David already had a lip repair in China. His palate is still wide open (extra wide since he had a bilateral cleft), so he will at least need a palate repair. Many times kids need additional surgeries as they grow. Samuel may or may not be able to have his lip and palate repaired at the same time. I think that depends on the surgeon, and the extent of the repair. Other possible surgeries would include ear tubes -- not a huge surgery, but a surgery nonetheless.  We hope for one palate surgery for each boy, which needs to heal correctly, with no holes, and function correctly as far as speech goes. Sometimes after palate surgery, a fistula (or hole) opens in the palate that needs to be surgically repaired.  Down the line they may need a procedure to "release" the lip if it healed tight after the lip repair surgery.  A tight lip will impact the jaw and teeth.  As they grow, they may need bone grafting to fill in the gum line. Sometimes a surgery is needed to lengthen the back of the palate as they grow. There will probably be some dental procedures depending on how their teeth come in.  These surgeries will happen over the span of years.  Certain things will need to grow and develop before they can do some of the corrective surgeries.

Thinking of every possible procedure and surgery all at once is too overwhelming to think about.  Our plan is to really just live a very normal life day-to-day. The munchkins' cleft issues are just one small part of who they are.



Hebrews 10:24-25 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

We're Cabled!

As of yesterday, June 1, our information was cabled from the USCIS National Visa Center to the US Consulate in Guangzhou.

~ ~ ~ ~ DOING THE HAPPY DANCE ~ ~ ~ ~

Now our agency rep can drop off the rest of our paperwork at the US Consulate. Could they possibly drop it off on Friday??? If not, the agency rep will have to wait until Tuesday...

Whenever the paperwork is dropped off, the next step is exactly two weeks later... our Article 5 will be ready for pickup!


1 Chronicles 16:23-24  Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.
         Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.