Ellie Grace..Our Last Update Before Gotcha Day

Yesterday we received new pictures and videos of our sweet girl!

 Just look at those cheeks,

and those eyes are so big that they have already captured my heart.

Two more weeks until I meet this precious babe!

I can't wait!

It's Been A Wild Ride..We Are Going to China!

After receiving TA yesterday, I was feeling so hopeless as we had a large financial gap standing between us and our Ellie Grace.  Last night, we asked our church family for prayer and wisdom concerning when to go, how to go, and what to do since we had such a large gap between what we had and what we needed to complete Ellie Grace's adoption.  Over the course of the evening, calls, donations, and support flooded in!  We were pledged and given nearly $8,000 dollars in just a few hours.  Friends, this is the miracle we were hoping for, and God delivered through our amazing congregation and friends.  When all the pledges come in we will have about a $5,000 gap, but we have that in our savings and were prepared to use it for our daughter's adoption so we got this! Today, we purchased our flights, began booking travel, contacted my favorite foster care home in Beijing to beg to volunteer, and jumped up and down because our Ellie Grace is coming home!  Anna Mei and I leave in just two weeks!  April 10th our Ellie Grace will be born into our arms.  TWO WEEKS!!!  I am so thrilled to be getting this baby girl home!  Thank you, thank you to each and every one of you!  China here we come!!!!

TA is Here

Our Travel Approval is here, but now I have to decide whether to take our dates that will be firmed up tomorrow or hold off because we aren't yet fully funded.  In four trips, I have never had to do this, and I'm a wreck.  I wish I could tell you that I was strong believing that God has a plan to bring this to the end that He has worked out, but I'm struggling.  I keep replaying the $8,000 car repair, new water heater, plumber visits, and all the other things that have minimized our savings in the last seven months. This adoption should have been easier as far as fundraising goes, but it has been a constant struggle with extra expenses!  I didn't sleep much last night because I want my baby girl home.  Tomorrow would be soon enough thank you very much.  To top it off, we are, once again as with Jillian and Anna Mei (I know lucky us!), going to be traveling during the trade fair which means hotel prices in Guangzhou are twice what we estimated.   This turn puts us even further behind where we hoped to be.  Even if we use ever single cent in our savings, we are not enough to cover this dear girls ransom by ourselves.  So here I sit, praying for some miracle so that I can hold this baby girl in two weeks!  TWO WEEKS!  OMW crazy, crazy!

Article 5 is Here!

Our Article 5 was picked up this morning from the consulate!  We have one more piece of paper to go!  Our Travel Approval should be here in a few days!  We are hoping to travel in about three weeks!  YIKES!!!  We still need $3,000 to travel, but I trust God with this.  Honestly, I should probably be up at night worrying and analyzing everything I can, but He's got it.  He hasn't ever gone to the wire like this before, but I am praying that we will have all we need so that our travel isn't held up any.  I would hate not to be on a plane to this girl as soon as possible, but it might be God's story for us this time.  I trust Him.  I can't believe it might be so near!  I just want to hold her so desperately.  Your momma is on her way, Ellie Grace!

IT IS HERE!!!

Our approval arrived in the mail today!  WHEW!  I am relieved, and ready to move on to the next step.  This set us back quite a bit, but we can still expect to travel in about 5 or 6 weeks.  I am counting down the days until this baby is in my arms.  The waiting this time is HARD.  You would think I would be getting a bit better at it by now, but this time seems to be the hardest.  Ironically, the Lord laid on my heart to speak to a group of young moms next week about the very topic of waiting because I am the one who needs the lesson from His word the most.  I just love how the Lord does that to me.

This Wait Might Just Kill Me

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?  Well, we have been waiting 28 long days for our I-800 approval.  With Molly, I had it back in less than seven so that makes 28 excruciating.  Granted, many other families are waiting much longer than I have, and I trust God with this, but I am not happy about it.  The approval was mailed a week ago from Missouri, and there is still no earthly sign of it.  Everyday I call my dear immigration officer, and beg him to help me.  When he returns my calls, he says it will come, and doesn't help.  I send emails, call, and here I am still without a paper waiting.  The good news is that the next two papers for the steps following this one are all ready to go.  My letter arrived that my approval was cabled to the consulate in Guangzhou from the National Visa Center, but still no actual USCIS approval so I wait.  I wait as patiently as humanly possible while a piece of my heart is on the other side of the world.  If you all would have time, it would be a blessing for you to take this before the Lord for me.  I just need that letter to show up!  God knows how and when it will.  Until then, I wait.