This and That....

First, I want to tell you a little story about God's faithfulness. I know that God has planned our adoption journey from beginning to end, but sometimes I still try to "figure it all out" myself.

So...this afternoon I was fretting about adoption expenses. Again, I know in my heart that God will provide (just as he always has in the past) but sometimes I try to make my own plan.

I was driving home wondering exactly how the financial aspect of the adoption will work out. Once I arrived home, I went to the mailbox to get the mail. Much to my surprise, there was a completely unexpected check from the doctor's office. We had previously over paid and they sent us a $25 refund. Isn't God amazing?

Regardless of the amount of the check, it was a such a tangible reminder of God's faithfulness. Should I need a "sign" from God to know that He is faithful? No, but God is so cool that He sends special blessings at just the right moment. According to Ephesians 3:20, God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. I know that He will provide for our adoption in every way, in ways that we could not even imagine!!

Psalm 138:8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever-

On another note, Raleigh's parents are leaving for Taiwan tomorrow morning. They will be there until September 14th. They have an opportunity to work with an English speaking ministry there. Please pray for their safety during this trip. Also, pray for God to give them wisdom and clarity about the future. There is potential that the ministry in Taiwan will ask them to move there for a long-term position. I am praying that God will give them complete peace about their decision.

Interesting article in Time Magazine

If you are interested, here is a link to a Time Magazine article about Seoul.

The title is Seoul: World's Most Wired Megacity Gets More So.

First Sign of Fall!

Raleigh always says that I rush the seasons, but I must say that today felt like the beginning of Fall. I know we will have many more hot Atlanta summer days, but it was at least a sneak peak of the cooler weather that is to come. It was not as cool here as my parents said it was in Nashville, but it still made me think of what I call "football weather."

As I was outside on my patio, I noticed that one of the small maple trees in our back yard had a few leaves that have already turned a beautiful shade of red. To me, that is the first sign of fall!

Please Pray for Our Child's Birthmother

Our agency is currently stating that the wait time is approximately 12 months from your home study's approval date. Our home study was approved July 30 and our baby will probably be around 5 months old at the time of referral. If my math is correct, this means that there is a chance that our child's birthmother is pregnant.

Like I have mentioned before, adoption timelines change frequently and we know that God has already chosen the perfect child for our family. But if we do receive our referral in 12 months, then our baby is growing right now. This is hard to even imagine.

Please pray for the health of our child's birth mother, even if she isn't pregnant yet. Pray that she will make healthy choices for herself and her future baby. Pray that people will be placed in her life to tell her about Jesus. Pray that our child will be loved by caretakers once he or she is born. Pray that our baby will attach to one caretaker before he or she comes home.

Thank you for all your prayers!!

To My Husband

I just want to say a special thanks to Raleigh for being sooo supportive over the last two weeks during the start of a new school year. I mean he is always great, but he was especially fantastic when I needed it most! The week before school this year was the craziest I remember and I spent many hours at school. Although the first week of school was a big success, it was very exhausting as well.

Thanks Raleigh for making dinner, cleaning the kitchen after dinner, doing laundry, packing my lunch, bringing me coffee every morning, buying my classroom rug, setting up my classroom computers, stuffing folders for my students, bringing dinner to me and my teacher friends when we were all at school really late, listening to my endless stories about school, cheering me on, and loving me when I'm at my best and my not so best.

Thank you Raleigh!

We are Officially Waiting!!

We have exciting news in terms of our adoption timeline...we are officially waiting!! We received an email from our social worker and our home study was approved July 30, although we were not actually notified until several days later. I have been meaning to update the blog, but preparations for the beginning of a new school year have been demanding most of my time.

Our agency will not tell us what number we are on the waiting list, because many factors impact your waiting time, regardless of where you are on the list. Some factors that influence the wait time include age of the child, medical needs that families are open to or not open to, gender preference, etc.

We feel very blessed to be at this point!! We plan to fill out the I-600A this weekend.

Thank you to everyone who continues to pray for us and encourage us along the journey!

One Step Closer!

We received an email from our social worker today and our homestudy is complete and has been sent to our agency's corporate office for approval. WooHoo!

She also told us to begin completing the I-600A. This form is the Application for Advance Processing of Orphan petition. Once we complete the form, our agency will mail it to the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services). Next, we will receive an invitation to be fingerprinted at the Atlanta USCIS office. Once the USCIS receives our paperwork, it usually takes 1-4 weeks to be invited for fingerprinting. These fingerprints will be electronically sent to the FBI for approval.

It may not be a big step...but we are one step closer!