God is amazing....

I haven't posted a blog entry for a little while. I've been feeling very "down" about the adoption...the process takes so long, are we doing the right thing, "what are we doing?", etc. I've been worried about the money to pay for the adoption and all of those "practical" concerns.

I read a Jeanette Oke book called, "Too long a stranger" At one part in the book the main character is thinking over her life and realizes that she should have been relying on God instead of running herself ragged to do it all herself. Also, I was reading a blog by a woman who has adopted three girls from China. During the process, she questioned if she should be adopting a third daughter. She said that it is amazing to realize that not only did she feel led to adopt this particular girl but her husband did as well.

To read this, when I am so filled with doubts, is just amazing! God will provide all we need, whether is it encouragement or more practical concerns. I know I will probably be doubting again through this process but I just want to say, "Thank you Lord!"

We are almost finished with the homestudy, we have to complete a few more forms. We are also starting to collect the documents for the dossier. My (Beth) birth certificate came in the mail today. We are waiting for Mark's to arrive as well.

This past weekend we bought some things for Adam's care package: a blanket, a few toys and picture albums to send to him.

Please continue to pray for Adam. We pray for his health, safety and that someone will share the gospel with him until we are able to arrive.

Beth

Interesting tidbits...from the dossier

We have started working on our dossier and I learned a few interesting things last night.

#1 It costs less to order a certified birth certificate from Maryland than it does to get one from Michigan! (yay MD!)

#2 You can get two Maryland birth certificates for the price of one Michigan birth certificate...and have $2 left over!

#3 It IS possible for a 31 year old and a 37 year old to not know the name of the hospital where they were born! And, they also won't know the name of the county that said hospital is located in.

I am sure as I go through the dossier process I will add more interesting tidbits to add.


I just have to say, I LOVE my kids!!! Our girls are so excited about the adoption. They pray for Adam almost everyday. They also pray for "all the other children without families" Abby is 6 and she regularly prays for the people in China, "that they can learn about Jesus and they won't go to jail" It's amazing how this process is helping them to become more globally minded. Even Brian, 2 years old, is getting into it...he is learning Mandarin along with the rest of the family. He says "Ni Hao" and "Wo Ai Ni" (These are "Hi" and "I love you" respectively)

Please keep us in your prayers as we trudge through the paperwork of the dossier.

Beth

Dossier...forms, forms and more forms.....

We have started the dossier section of our adoption....wow!! There is a TON of paperwork. I am getting exhausted just looking at it. I guess we need to take it one form at a time.

As soon as our social worker reviews our homestudy we can start applying for adoption grants. We are in full fundraiser mode. I keep going over and over different fundraisers and which will raise the most. We will probably do a yard sale, maybe a bake sale and a fundraiser at a local restaurant. I am also a Tastefully Simple consultant, if you want to place an order the profits will go towards our adoption. Email me for more info on placing an order. beth_c_smith@hotmail.com :smile: I'm working every angle I can! LOL!

I've read alot lately about adoptive parents getting gifts of frequent flier miles to offset the cost of the flight....hint,hint....if you've got frequent flier miles...I've got a place to go..... ;-)

Well, now that I've begged online...I think it's time for a rest. Abby has strep throat and Brian is just getting over a stomach bug....please, let Emily stay healthy!!!!! When it rains, it pours.

Have a great night everyone. Keep our little man Adam in your prayers.

Beth

Ni Hao!

Ni Hao! That is Mandarin for "hello"! We are all trying to learn Mandarin so we can speak to Adam in his own language...although I'm sure we will butcher it EVERY time! I hope we get some points for effort! So far we can say, "Hello, How are you?, I love you, Thank you, Mom, Dad, little sister, little brother, Do you want water?, Are you hungry?, Are you tired?" We're getting there.

I just love Abby's sensitive heart. We've explained that some mothers in China can't take care of their children and have to leave them to be adopted. Almost every night for the past few weeks she has prayed for "all the mommies in China who have to give away their kids, that they won't be too broken hearted" She also prays for all the children "that they will find mommies and daddies" I love how sweet she is.

So, we've finished the Homestudy. I have to meet with our social worker tomorrow to go over all the paperwork for the dossier.

Brian has been fighting some sort of stomach bug, he's been vomiting since 9:30 this morning...right before we left for church! Mark and Brian stayed home. My poor baby was soooo hot this evening, his temp shot up to 101.2 degrees. He hasn't thrown up since 2:00 pm...so I'm hoping the worst is over. I should have know he was sick when all he wanted for breakfast was raisins.

We have the flower border removed from Adam's room. Somehow I don't think a 10 year old boy would appreicate a flower border! Now we need to paint and find a bed! We're going to paint the room white and let Adam pick out a border, etc.

I was completely shocked last week when I was looking for the kids' snowboots, I found a box of boy clothes that should fit Adam! I must have gotten them as hand-me-downs for Brian. Don't you love surprises!

Well, I guess I better get back to watching the Super Bowl commercials. Yes, that is why I watch the Super Bowl!!

Have a good night everyone...remember to pray for Adam!

Beth

I am in SHOCK! (good shock)

I was reading a blog of someone who adopted an older girl from China and she posted some photos she found of her daughter on the web. So, I started to wonder if I could find some photos of Adam .....I DID!!!! There is a blog from someone who adopted a boy from the same SWI last year. I've looked at this blog before but never looked at the posts from before they traveled to China. So I started at the beginning and found two photos of Adam with a group of kids from his SWI. I was so excited I was trembling!!!! Yay!!! I emailed the family, just to verify it is him but I am 99% sure it is our "little man". Happy Day!!! (SWI is what some orphanges in China are called) I can't post pictures of Adam yet but I will as soon as I can.

Keep Adam in your prayers!!!

Beth

Pray for kidnapped children in Yueyang China

I got the following from an email list I am on. Please pray for the families, children and that these suspects will realize what a horrible thing they were doing.

"Police in Yueyang have broken up a gang that abducted children in Yueyang to sell in distant Chinese provinces, state media reports.The children were mostly toddlers aged two or three years old. They were sold for between 860 yuan ($125) and 26,000 yuan ($3,800), according to news sources.Five children had been rescued and 13 suspects arrested. The children were snatched in broad daylight by gang members on motorbikes.Child trafficking is seen as a growing problem in China, despite government attempts to crack down on it.Please pray for families in Yueyang who have experienced the tragedy of having their child kidnapped as well as families who live in fear of the schemes of evil ‘men.’Pray that the gospel will go forth into all of Yueyang and that the society will be transformed as hate is replaced by love, greed is replaced by charity, and fear is replaced by peace."

Beth

Always learning!

When I was a kid I heard someone say "People never stop learning" Of course, being in school at the time this was not something I wanted to hear. Yes, we know it's true...we might not have tests and quizes but we are always learning something new.

Well, right now most of my "learning" is focused on the adoption. I have been reading books about adoption, going to seminars about adoption and now I am researching the educational options that are out there for when he arrives. Our oldest daughter attends a private Christian school but Mark and I are considering sending Adam to public shool for at least a year. I would love to send Adam to the same school Abby attends but I think that public school will have more resources to help him while he is learning English. Please pray for us as we research things to help his transition. I will need to be an advocate for him to make sure he gets every resource available to him.

Right now it is 9:50 am here and it is nighttime in China. Please pray that Adam sleeps well and that he has a good day when he wakes up.

Beth