Journal Archives:

Post-China

Back to 2007(Pre-China)

September 28, 2006
Hi! We just wanted everyone to know we finally have our log in date!! It is August 15, 2006. So we have been logged in for over six weeks. That is really good news!! Now we just wait for the special needs list to come out. Hopefully, we will be matched this time around. But for now, the pressure of getting our log-in date is over! It is a huge relief. We will let you know when the list comes out! We celebrated with my parents and went to a huge pumpkin patch, went on a hayride and then out to dinner. We had a wonderful day! See the photo’s page! We are enjoying the beautiful fall weather (my favorite time of year)! I am also in the beginning stages of putting Rebekah’s quilt together and her quilt scrapbook and working on her scrapbook of our adoption journey. We will let you know when the new list comes out!

September 24, 2006
Our papers were sent to China on August 1st and we are still waiting for our LID...and waiting...and waiting. We anticipate the next COP (Children of Promise - Special Needs) list any day now. It has been 12 weeks since the last COP list came out. They are reported to come out approximateyl every two months. For now, we are settled in to a home in Vancouver and, yes, you guessed it...waiting. We will try to keep our journal more up to date, as life has settled down a bit.

June 17, 2006
Although it is almost hard for us to believe, we actually sent off our dossier for final authentication this week, following which it will be sent to China! This is cause for much celebration at our house. Under “normal” circumstances, if there is such a thing, this would put our referral date about 12 to 18 months out. However, the Lord has revealed to Rachelle and I that we will find our precious little girl on the “special needs” list, which changes things somewhat. First, it will speed things up considerably. We may have a referral within the next four to six months! Second, it means we will be have the opportunity to review lists of children who fall into the special needs category, which basically means China is having a difficult time finding them a home whether from physical issues, age, etc. These lists come out somewhat sporadically but we expect to see one within the next few weeks. Exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time! Please pray for us to have God’s wisdom and for His perfect timing, as well as for financial provision and a more permanent housing situation.

June 2, 2006 #2
Hello again! We have an update and it’s good news. Our doctor has already had the form re-notarized and put in the mail. This was a relief, as we were going to make an appearance at the doctor’s office this afternoon to try to get this resolved. I am so thankful to the Lord that we didn’t have to do that. It was a huge blessing. Our doctor really went out of her way to find a new notary. She was going to take it to the bank herself and pay to have it done when her husband called and said he found a notary in his office. Dr. Mitchell went over there this morning and had it done. The lady who notarized it again has also adopted from China and was very sympathetic! I will drop a thank-you card in the mail for my doctor tomorrow!!! Lord, protect that envelope and get it safely to Bethany!

June 2, 2006
Hi, everybody. As of yesterday, our papers apparently were not sent to Washington to be state sealed. I was under the impression they were sent. I talked to our caseworker yesterday and she said she was still waiting on a paper to be re-notarized by our doctor. These papers were sent to our doctor two weeks ago. When I called their office nobody knew anything about it. The lady who had originally notarized our medical exam form no longer worked there and they informed us they don’t have a notary anymore. I am going to pay them a visit today to hopefully get this resolved. Yesterday was a really hard day for me emotionally. It just sort of pushed me over the edge, I guess. Next time I post I hope to have better news.

May 31, 2006
Well, here we are waiting again. I am hoping to hear this week about our papers being state sealed. They were over-nighted last week to the states of Washington and Colorado. This is our last step before sending off our dossier. I was hoping to be logged in sometime in June (meaning our papers are officially in China). Meanwhile, we are trying to get our business going and enjoy ourselves whenever the sun comes out. Yesterday we went to a lake and really had fun. It was the only sunny day in the forecast for this week. We have dry summer months here that should start in July. We usually don’t see rain until October. We are also moving out of our house in July. Our neighbors are putting in a pool and that should be done in a month. We are thankful we are getting out of our house because between our two neighbors they have 13 kids and they are building their pool on the side of the house where we spend the most time. I have one word for it, “NOISY.” We all have over 1 acre, but they are building the pool on the fence line nearest our patio. To make things worse, in the year we have lived here their kids have done nothing but call my kids names and they are just plain mean. It is sad because my kids could have used some friends out here in the boonies. Well, I will let you know when we get those papers back. We are finally on the last leg of the “paperchase,” as they call it in the adoption world.

Rebekah: We are praying for you and we love you so much already. I know when you come home we will wonder how we lived without you!

May 7, 2006
A week ago we finally received our I-171 H document (background check) approving us to bring an orphan into the country. We were so excited until I realized they had spelled my name wrong. This is the document from Homeland Security that we have to take to China with us to hand deliver to China Adoption Affairs. Names cannot be misspelled! So, regrettably, I had to send it back to be corrected. It has been a week since I sent it and have no idea when we will get it back. It was hard when they lost our home study and it was even harder when I had to send that document back. However, I know that God has Rebekah picked out already and from the time she was conceived in her mother’s womb, she was created for us. I rest in that truth and am thankful that our trust is in the Lord and NOT in the government. Meanwhile, we inch closer to the day that my sister and her family are going to come here to live. I am looking forward to her being here for my baby shower and being part of this long “pregnancy.” Hopefully, next week I will have good news of receiving that document in the mail!!

April 12, 2006
Well, we finally got our fingerprints done yesterday. We got up at 3:30 a.m. and hit the road to Seattle. It has now been seven months since beginning this adoption process. I would have never dreamed that our dossier wouldn’t be sent off by now. There is no point in worrying about it. We don’t know how long it will take for immigrations to process our background check. I certainly don’t have any expectations as far as fast they will get it done. I’ve learned that lesson. Right now we just live life and go with the flow. The really hard waiting will begin when our papers are logged in at the China Adoption Affairs. Right now they are working on dossiers logged in last year, May of 2005. They are moving so slow. Maybe by the time our dossier makes it to China they will have picked up again. I’m not getting any younger! OK – There’s your update.

March 27, 2006
Well, here we are three weeks later. We got our fingerprint appointment on Friday and wouldn’t you know it, the date they have set for us is the day the Patterson will be flying home from Denver. So, we are trying to reschedule the fingerprint appointment. So far, we haven’t heard when it will be. We do know that we will probably have to fax a copy of our application along with a letter to request a rescheduling date. Good grief.

Hopefully in the next few days I can update my journal with a date. I am learning not to freak out so much when the delays happen. We have so much to do to get ready for her coming. We did have a nice weekend at the beach, though, albeit too short.

This next year will be quite an experience. I really hope my sister and her family can move here before we go to China. Having my sister here when we come home will mean a lot to me. I need her. Well, enough for today.

March 7, 2006
Today will be the beginning of my journaling for this journey that we are on to bring Rebekah home. I figured this day was a good day to start, as this marks a major bump in the road in the adoption process. At least it is our first bump, and not our third or fourth. We have been waiting for our fingerprint appointment for five weeks now. Yesterday, I was feeling uneasy that it was taking so long so Patterson emailed the INS department last night. Well, this morning we were informed that they didn’t have our homestudy. Our case worker told us in January that it was sent to the INS and they had a return receipt of its delivery. So, long story short, it has been lost. Of course INS didn’t lose it, it just disappeared. I just couldn’t believe it. So, I went from… “Oh great, now we have lost another five weeks in this process” to “I know God can turn this around and on the day they hand us Rebekah these extra five weeks won’t matter.”

My sons were upset too. I wanted to note what wonderful kids I have. My oldest son, Jeremiah (11), came to me and told me the story of his trip to Texas to hunt with his dad. He reminded me that when their trip was postponed he was so upset, only to find that when he got there he was so glad and it was worth the wait. He hugged me and I felt so much better. He has such a wonderful, encouraging spirit. Sometimes he seems so grown up. After I had calmed down and made a few phone calls (to whine at anyone who would listen) the boys gathered their allowance that they had been saving for a very specific Lego toy, put it in an envelope, and gave it to me and told me to go buy a bamboo plant that I had been eyeing at Home Depot. Sometimes I am in awe of how God thought I should have these boys. They have been a huge blessing to me and have changed my life. I plan to buy that plant and it will be my reminder to trust God every step of the way; to fight when I need to fight and rest when I need to rest.