To Say Thank You!

Wow!

In just 24 hours we have received an overwhelming amount of

congratulations

well wishes

new friend requests

prayers

and even financial support

already for our empending adoption of Kai (aka Joseph of Shepherd's Field).

We wanted to say Thank You

Then today we realized looking at agency paperwork that we need a little more money real soon than we originally thought...

Agency fee for second child - $2,500

USCIS fee for supp 3 - $360

CCCWA / BLAS & wiring fees - $1200

So as a Thank You for Donations...

ONE lucky Contributor will ge GIVEN a NEW HP LAPTOP valued at $469

Donation of $5 will get your name in the drawing one time

Donation of $20 will get your name in the drawing five times

You can use the Chip - In button on right or go to http://adventure4eli.chipin.com/help-kai-now

Please share...

Tell all your friends!

Drawiing 8-12-12

And hopefully we'll have PA before then, in Jesus name, Amen

Oh, and if you already blessed us to help bring Kai home in the last day or two, we will gladly add your name ot the drawing. Just please message me if your interested.

This should cover the immediate costs of our adding a second child to bring Kai home too. Of course, we will have his orphanage donation fee of $5,600, his child Visa ($300),  his in country legal fees & medical exam (approx $1300) & and additional travel to him (as he & Eli are not in same province). But I KNOW God is FAITHFUL and I BELIEVE He will provide. So please just pray for him, Eli and us and if God leads you to give... great! If not, then still PRAY!

God bless you all tenfold!

We are really looking forward to watching God show off even more to make such a wonderful difference in both Kai's and Eli's lives.

Oh, and before I forget...

I have to give God another shout out of praise

In all the excitement for becoming Kai's family,

I forgot to share that we had received a $250 donation this month to help bring Eli home.

Woohoo! Praise the Lord!

We also have gotten sponsors for 62 puzzle pieces to go towards Eli's orphanage donation fee.

And Levi took his change can he'd been collecting for months and got $48.71.

Together with savings & other funds rasied we deposited $681.71 into his adoption account.

Yay!

So God is working on bringing both our precious boys home.

Thank you Jesus!

With a heart full of love,

Sherry - momma to NOW 6 wonderful kiddos

Add one son...

Today I turn 40 yrs old

And this may be my best birthday ever!

My loving hubby made me a super dinner last night & breakfast this am.

My big boys made an effort to be present J

My family put thought into some nice gifts.

But the Lord gave me a HUGE gift, only he could give...

We have an Approved Home Study Update to Adopt TWO Children Concurrently

and . . .

We have LOCKED the file of JOSEPH of Shepherd’s Field!!!

Joseph is 13 yrs old and at risk of aging out of the China adoption program

And he has a complex congenial heart defect that needs surgery which China can't do
http://hejustwantsafamily.blogspot.com/

Thank you to all Joseph’s prayer warriors.

Boy do I have a story how God moved a MOUNTAIN for everyone...

Later

For now know that God is AMAZING and Joseph has a family coming for him.

So we will bring home TWO sons by the end of year of the Dragon.

Remember this pic from my Nov 6, 2011 blog post...

Notice there are TWO Koi fish, a big one and a smaller one.

Yeah, well apparently we missed that part when the legend spoke to us about bringing home a dragon. But you'll have to check back for "The Rest of the Story" later.

Please pray for quick PA

Pray for both boys, for Joseph's heart as his buddy Philip is being adopted this week and leaving and for his physical heart to stay strong, at least until we can bring him home to get the help he needs.

Pray for finances.

We need $2,500 to pay our adoption agency fee for second child when we receive PA.

So because we are hoping for a quick PA, we started the fundraiser Please Help Kai Come Home w/ $2,500 in 7 days. There is a Chip-In at the right side of the blog. If you feel led to help...

Yes, there is a Reeces Rainbow page for Joseph, but it can only be applied to travel and/or orphanage donation fee. But Donations made to it are Tax Deductions, so you may choose this:

http://reecesrainbow.org/38743/joseph

Either way, to God be the glory and may He bless you tenfold for your gifts, support and prayers!

Now onto the next part of the news...

We have given Joseph the name KAI JOSEPH.

Kai means REJOICE and in Chinese means VICTORY

And Joseph means add, “The Lord shall add to me another son.” Gen 30:24

We knew we were using the name Joseph for this adoption...

We just didn't know is was actually for "Joseph".

Thus we are now on the Adventure 4 Eli + Kai.

Well, I am exhausted...

It's been a long day, so I bid you good bye for now and please continue to pray for us and our boys waiting in China.

Hugs,

Sherry

The count begins

We are officially...

Which means China has now "Logged In our Dossier" (our paperwork) into their database/system.

I am SO excited!!!!!

Now the BIG wait begins...

We are now counting to what is referred to as "LOA"

Letter of APPROVAL

Now called LSC or Letter of Seeking Confirmation.

When China offcially approves our application to adopt Eli.

We, our adoption agency, USCIS, none of us have anything to do with this wait.

The estimated wait for LOA can be 30-120 days.

There is no rhyme or reason to the major difference in wait times.

Lately others have been averaging there LOAs in approx 55-70 days.

China Adoption Online estimated timeline

http://www.china-adoption-online.com/china-adoption-program.html

Please pray for us as we continue to fundraise & save for the orphanage donation fee.

Which is due when we receive LOA.

Please pray also for Eli & his preparation for this huge transition coming soon to his life.

Thank you to all our supporters! Lord continue to bless you all tenfold.

Sincerely... one happy momma,

Sherry





Adoption Bug & Show Hope t-shirts!

We're so honored to fundraise along side Steven Curtis Chapman's ministry Show Hope with Adoption Bug t-shirts.

Here's the link to our store front: AdoptionBug.com :: Adventure 4 Eli

These t-shirts are awesome! And each purchase helps bring Eli home.

Here's a new pic of Eli to persuade you...  ;)

 Summer time is a great time to share your faith & spport of orphans.

So go check out the t-shirts!

God bless,

Sherry & family

We are DTC!!!!!!!

It's official!!!  I just received the following email from our adoption agency:

"Congratulations, your dossier was sent to the CCCWA (China) today. The tracking # is....
We will be contacting you soon when we have your LID date."

Praise the Lord!

The last nearly 8 months of work and prayers have finally come to this. This is one of the biggest milestones in the adoption process.

Next we wait for LID (Log in Date), the date our Dossier arrives in China & is logged into the system at CCCWA. I have seen as quick as a week and as long as 45 days. Praying for quick LID.

Now, for those non-adoptive folfs: Our Dossier is PAGES of official, original, notarized, certified & authenticated information about Steve and I, our marriage, our jobs, our children, our family, everything about us...

It is now on it's way to the officials at China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA). They will translate it into Chinese and review it and review it, and compare it to Eli's file to make sure we are the right parents for him, before sending a letter of approval (LOA) for us to adopt Eli. We have been told LOA can take anywhere from 30 days to 120 days. So again praying ours is quick.

But as soon as we get LOA, we need to send China a "Donation" for Eli's Orphanage in the approx amount of $5,600... Yes, you read correct - 5 thousand and 6 hundred US dollars.

So since God moved & Steve got his back pay so that we were able to pay the remaining adoption agency fees, we have decided that our Puzzle Fundraiser will all go towards the Orphanage Donation.

It is a 1,000 piece puzzle and at $5 per piece, if we get all 1,000 pieces sponsored we'll have $5,000.

More good news: After all the many expenses to date (between $11-12,000), we still have about $1,000 saved up in our adoption account. So we will have the last $600 to pay the Orphanage Donation, and be able to pay the $300 needed to wire China to get Eli's Visa. Praise God!

Update on Puzzle: We have 35 pieces sponsored to date... which equals $175 towards that goal.

So only 965 pieces to go...

We NEED to raise this $5000. We have to pay the Orphanage Donation fee to move forward in our adoption process. The orphans need that money too. So please consider sponsoring a piece of Eli's puzzle. For every piece sponsored, we write your name on back and Eli will be able to see all the names of those who helped bring him home. Please share this fundraiser with others you know.

Next prayer request: We applied for a Show Hope (Steven Curtis Chapman) adoption aid grant. This application cycle ends June 30th. Show Hope takes 90 days to review all the applications. Please pray for favor for us to be one of their receipitants. This will help us pay anything still needed and to travel to China to bring Eli home. Something that is very expensive, but is required for us to go & be there for 12-14 days.

Reminder: We do have a Brittany's Hope "Seedling Grant". Which means we need to raise $1,000 in donations directly to Brittany's Hope and tax deductible, but can't be from us (per rules); then they will match it and donate $2,000 towards our travel expenses directly to our adoption agency. Check it ont eh right side of our blog.

And last but not least, we are still accepting donations towards our Video Camera Give Away. See info on the right.

Well that was a lot to update. But we SOOOO appreciate all our prayer warriors and supporters. Please please pray for our puzzle fundraiser and consider sponsoring a piece or two so your name will be there for Eli to see and help us pay the orphanage donation fee needed to bring Eli home.

Thank you all & Praise be to God who called us to add this wonderful boy to our family.

With a heart of praise,
Sherry

This has been a GREAT week!

Monday, 6/4/12, one of our Boston Terriers had puppies… one boy & one girl, which is exactly what our kids wanted to be able to raise and show themselves.

This is Zoe’s own girl that she trained, showed and finished her championship herself. So this is the kids first very own litter. Momma and babies are doing well!

Tuesday, 6/5/12, was a once in a lifetime opportunity… Steve and the kids went to the planetarium and saw Venus dance by the Sun on its transit trip that won’t happen again until 2117.

Wednesday, 6/6/12, we received our I-797 Approval Notice from USCIS!!!

It came by mail in the afternoon and the approval date on the notice is 6/4/12… That means our officer whom I spoke to on Fri and was told it was on his desk and he expected to get to it next week, got to it Monday! That is so awesome!

Thursday, 6/7/12, Steve was scheduled to work the day shift, but thankfully was able to switch his work schedule around and get up early and drive our I-797 & our home study to Austin, TX to be certified by the Secretary of State. And he made it back in time to still work the eve shift. J

Friday, 6/8/12, today… we overnighted the last 5 documents needed to be authenticated by the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC to Assistant Stork.

It will arrive tomorrow, Saturday. Then Monday the 5 documents (our birth certificates, marriage license, home study & certified copy of I-797) will be authenticated by the US Department of State and dropped off at the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC. After the embassy authenticates them , they’ll be picked up on Friday and shipped our adoption agency.

Then hopefully soon we will be

Dossier to China

Today, still Friday 6/8/12, Steve received $ money $ from the US Department Of Defense that he was owed for back pay 9 months ago…

Enough that we were able to pay the $4,000 agency fees due in order to submit our Dossier to China!!!

God is ALWAYS right on time!

Now we had kicked fundraising into overdrive… a car wash tomorrow and plate lunch sale on Sun and next Friday. We also still have Puzzle pieces and the Video Camera Give Away. Plus we have bracelets for sale which I haven’t even posted yet. We were prepared to work hard to get what we needed to submit our Dossier.  But Steve’s money came at just the right time because we still needed $2800 to submit our Dossier, plus over $300 we paid today to get the documents authenticated. Of course we are still going to do the fundraisers, because there will still be lots more money due to bring Eli home.

Oh, and one last little cool thing…

Levi & Zoe both have a collection of Build A Bears. Well we want Eli to get to have the Build A Bear experience and so we ordered him & Levi each a limited edition Year of the Dragon- Dragon…

Well they arrived today, Friday. What an awesome Friday today has been!

The Dragons are not stuffed yet, because we will take the kids to Build A Bear after Eli comes home, so they can build their Dragons and name them together.

Well, June is sure shaping up to be an amazing month. Cannot wait to be DTC & I will sure keep everyone posted as soon as we are. Until next time, Praise God for the blessings in your life.

Smiling momma,

Sherry

We're approved by USCIS!

Yes!

Hallelujah!

Thank you Jesus!

Our USCIS I-797 Approval Noticed arrived today, dated... 6/4/12!

I can't believe how excited I was to open that envelope...

This is a HUGE step towards bringing Eli home!

3/4 of our Dossier is already at our agency waiting. Steve is running I-797 to be certified by TX Secretary of State tomorrow am. Then we will FedEx it to Assistant Stork to be authenticated by Chinese Embassy. Then onto our agency will go the last few Dossier documents...

Which means we NEED that other $2,800 FAST!!!

Puzzle pieces are $5 to sponsor & Eli will see your name as one who helped bring him home.

Or we still have our Video Camera Give Away going on...

Ativa Mini HD Digital Video Camera. $5 Donation = 1 chance or $20 Donation = 5 chances


Please consider helping with any donation you feel led to give or can spare. It's crunch time now!

Thank you to all our supporters & prayer warriors. I know that God has used you all to help us get this far, and we pray the Lord blesses you tenfold.

Can not wait to be DTC (Dossier to China), won't you help us please? Eli is waiting...

One excited and hurridly working momma,
Sherry