Journey of Faith:Our Little Guy From China

Ohhh, I finally got this to work.  Yay!!  I have been playing around with this all day!  I just had to post this video.  It was sent to us by Joanna who just came back from China.  She was able to visit Caleb quite a bit and took lots of photos for us as well as this video.  I cannot stop playing it.  It is so sweet and is so different than still photos.  He and Joanna are looking at a photo book we sent to him for his birthday.  Joanna is asking Caleb who each of us are and just listen to his response.  He is also being asked whose house that was and he said "wo de" which means it's mine. 

Every time she has sent us something whether it be a quick email while she was there or the email to introduce herself, Tim and I tear up.  This whole adoption has been a gift from God.  We truly believe that. Joanna has been a gift from God to us as well as to Caleb.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we did and still are.  We will cherish videos like this for years to come.

Yesterday afternoon we received word that our agency had our travel approval!  Oh my gosh.  I am so glad that it came even though we may have to wait to hear Monday when we get a consulate appointment. 

This was the second great piece of news that we received yesterday.  The first is an email from Joanna (whom I have to tell you more about).  She has been visiting Hanzhong.  She has been visiting Caleb.  She loves him and has been a huge part of his life (this story will take another blog post for sure!)

Here is her email to us:

Hi Shelly and Tim,
Just a quick email to let you know that I gave Caleb the blanket and teddy bear that you got him. He loved them both, especially the blanket. He held on to it the whole time I was with him and he found the soft edges right away. Today I had lunch with him and his house mama and baba. I told them about you, they were very happy to hear about you. They love Yang Han Xi so much... It was helpful to hear about you guys from me. They pulled out the picture book that you sent Job, and I sat with Job and looked through the book. I asked him who the people were in the picture, and he said, "Mama and Baba". When we got to the picture of your house, his house parents asked him whose house it was. He answered boldly, "It's mine!". :)
That's just a quick update on what's been going on here. I have been spending my mornings with Job, and they have been really special. Today was especially special because we were able to talk about you guys. It was good for both Job and his house mama and baba. I can't wait to send you pictures and tell you more when I get back.
I keep forgetting to measure his feet, I will do that tomorrow. They are big though!!! Also, he is definitely a 4T now! He fit the 4T perfectly.
Thinking of you!!!
Love, Joanna

I still read this and tear up.  You should have seen me at work when I opened this.  I had to run to the bathroom...to think he really knows of us and may recognize who we are in a few weeks!!  God is truly amazing and faithful!

I love you all,

how great my neighbors are? Well, they are a fantastic group of ladies. I enjoy getting together with them for a little wine and a night of talking and catching up.

On top of being great neighbors everyday they have decided to throw a shower for me. I get all teary eyed thinking that they want to do this for me. I am really getting excited to see everyone. A few of my coworkers are invited and a handful of friends are too. It will be a great evening! I am so thankful to my neighbors for being part of my support system through this adoption process. Thank you to you all in advance!

I finally really know that our Article 5 was picked up on Monday, November 8th!!  We are now into our TA wait--yay!! Our agency said that they have a few families a few weeks ahead of us and they are still waiting on their TA, but they will let us know when they receive theirs so that we can judge when we should get ours.  Caleb, here we come!  God is So Good!

I have not posted in a long time.  We are at a stage in the adoption world where we are waiting on the US government, the Consulate in Guangzhou that is.  We are waiting for our Article 5.  Many have asked what the Article 5 is.  Well, here it is the best I can describe it...it is a letter issued from the US Consulate in Guangzhou to serve as verification that the child meets all the requirements for a Convention Adoptee, and that the USCIS has provisionally approved your I-800 application--clear as mud right?  After our I-800 was approved and we got the cable from the National Visa Center, this information as well as other documents along with the Article 5 letter will then be packaged up and sent to the CCAA in Beijing where they will issue our travel approval (TA).  So two more steps!


We expect that our Article 5 will be ready for the courier to pick up in Guangzhou on Monday, November 8th.  We really hope that there will not be any hold up to this standard two week wait and our agency has already said they are on top of it.  If it is not picked up on the 8th they said it was not ready by the Consulate.  When we get that package delivered to the CCAA, the projection is that TA will be about 2-4 weeks.  We want to travel as soon as possible so we will not be asking to wait at all!

We are hopeful that the next two steps will go quickly!  We would REALLY love to have Caleb back to Minnesota to enjoy his first Christmas with us!

Love to you all,

I have love wild Olive tees!  They are having a giveaway and I would love some of their t-shirts, but the giveaway is not only for tees, but tickets to Women of Faith - Over The Top Event in Hartford, CT on November 19th and 20th.  Oh, how I would love to go, but it is not good timing with the adoption.  I will try and win the t-shirts, but even if I don't, this is a great website for t-shirts that are faith based.  The styles and colors are always changing. 

If you want to enter, just go check them out here http://www.wildolivetees.com/blog/.