27 is my favorite number!

OK - for selfish reasons, this is my favorite number b/c my birthday is February 27th and my firstborn's is July 27th, but we are officially number ******27****** on the waitlist, and it gets even better! We have also received our FDL -Favorable Determination Letter from USCIS (Immigration), stating we can move forward with the adoption!

We are super thrilled because these last few months with little to no change has been hard. It's not that we are anxious or can't endure the wait, to be honest, it has allowed the devil to work in our minds and raise a little doubt. For 5 months we worked on paperwork, ran here and there and then everything stopped and the waiting began. Jon and I talked about this and we know and still believe we are doing the right thing and are excited for our family, yet the fear of the unknown still exists.

AGCI assured us that summer and Christmas are the two most difficult times in the waiting game. Honestly summer wasn't too bad because we were so busy. For me, it will be the school year b/c all my precious ones will be at school and I will be on my own. I am trying to decide how to fill my days this school year, between volunteering and keeping up with the house and getting the kids where they need to be after school I am already busy, but I know God wants me to be doing something else. I feel the calling to facilitate another bible study, since the first one went so well. I also have thought about leading a prayer group at school to pray for our children and teachers. Both of these could easily fit into my schedule, I just need to stop procrastinating and start planning.

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. We truly are having a wonderful, busy summer and I just don't get to sit down at the computer much anymore.

We're still here!

I know- it's been too long. Life got in the way of blogging over the last month, but for a good reason. Jon and I were able to take a vacation together, just the two of us, and it was great. We spent 5 nights in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and honestly, it was the most relaxing vacation I've ever been on. We didn't leave the resort for any excursions, and didn't even participate in any resort games. We simply sat, read, swam, ate and slept...... oh, and Jon threw up, A LOT. We had one day where Jon was sick, we think from Caesar Salad dressing. Anyway, we loved the time together and big thanks to our parents and my sister for keeping the kids.


Well, no big news to report on the adoption. We are now #30 on the list waiting for siblings. Not too encouraging - since we were #31 a month ago. But again, we are confident God has a plan and that he is acting on it even if we can't see any progress. On a good note, we have our USCIS appointment in Milwaukee scheduled for June 30th to get fingerprinted again. This will be my third time getting printed and hopefully the last. Jon and I will have to make a day of it since our appointments are three hours apart. Thank you to those who have offered your prayers and congratulations. Your support means so much to us!

In other news, we are proud to report that Payton had an awesome couple of weekends in baseball. Last weekend he played in a tournament in Ripon and their 9U team took first place. This weekend they played here at home and they took second. For the most part he did great. He is pitching in his first year of kid-pitch and is doing really good. We are most proud of his attitude and character, letting his light shine for Christ as he shows respect for the officials, his coaches and teammates, displays good sportsmanship and genuinely just loves to play the game. Way to go buddy!

WE ARE ON THE LIST!!

Yea! After months of paperwork, post-office runs, phone calls and lots of prayer, we are on the waiting list for sibling boys ages 0-5! We got the call on Friday and our number is 31! We were told that number sounds higher than it is because if a family is on a list for siblings and the single child list, if they receive a referral for a single child, their name is also taken off the siblings list. So, just simply guessing, having no real idea when we might receive a referral, we're thinking it will be 3 to 6 months before we receive a referral. However, God has surprised us many times through this process so, who knows!

Thank you for all your prayers and support. We so appreciate it. If you think of us this week, please pray for our little guys and the workers at AGCI as they work to match the precious little ones at Hannah's Hope with their forever families.

Dossier being reviewed today!!!!!

Well, it is official. The Dossier and Home Study are now at AGCI and going to be reviewed today! After my finger printing disappointment, I called my case manager at AGCI to let her know what happened. In her loving and very bubbly voice ( I love that about her :) she told me that she'd check with the Social Services Dept. to see if we could move forward and add the date of my print clearance when it comes back from the FBI.

I received an email 45 mintues later saying yes, go ahead and send the dossier! YEA! I was so relieved after two months of having that thing just sit in my work basket. If you have gone through the adoption paperwork before, you know how much time and effort goes into getting it all done quickly and correctly. And ours sat for 2 and a half months, finished. Not touched. Not mailed. Not reviewed. Until today!

So, we praise God for giving us the patience to wait. We thank Him for his master plan and for just letting us carry it out. We glorify Him in all of this, and are humbled he chose us to parent two more of His precious lambs.

To our little guys:

Mommy and Daddy are praying that God is keeping your bodies nourished and fed. We pray that you are getting hugs and kisses every day. We ask that God has revealed Himself to you and that you know how much your Savior loves you. We can't wait to meet you and hold you and care for you and love you!

F.B.I. Envelopes in the Mail!

This should be great news, right? This is what we have been waiting for for eight weeks- clearance from the FBI! Well, one envelope contained great news- Jon has no criminal record. Well, I knew that, but now everyone we know can rest easy too.

The not so great news? The other envelope contained a new blank print card and a note that my prints were rejected because of "code L0117- insufficient pattern area (s) recorded for identification purposes." Meaning, they weren't clear enough to process.

That sooooooooo stinks!

So, not only did we get a eight week late start in getting the prints taken and to the FBI, (due to a misunderstanding by our social worker) we then waited another eight weeks just for me to be rejected???? After a five minute pity party filled with tears (I was by myself, thank goodness), I pulled myself together, had a talk with God and I was assured, "this rejection has a purpose". Hmmm. "Any chance you'll let me in on the reason for that?", I said. I have a feeling when I see the picture of our boys for the first time, that question will be answered.

I am seeing many truths confirmed through this adoption:

* most glaringly: EXPECT the UNEXPECTED!

* our plan is not God's plan

* God's plan is better for us

* it doesn't do any good to feel sorry for myself- just makes me feel worse

* I am so thankful for my husband

* I see how compassionate and loving my kids are

* that I have great family and friends who are praying for us

* overcoming trials with perseverance makes us stronger

* God will never leave us or forsake us

* Each roadblock put in our way has a purpose which will lead us to the two precious boys God has planned to be part of our family

So, am I disappointed with yet another delay? Absolutely.

Will I get over it? Yep.

Am I confident in God's promise from Romans 8:28 ? 'And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.'

NO doubt.

Home Study received- finally!

Jon and I received our completed home study for review yesterday! Last night we went over the twelve page report and made any necessary corrections and revisions and I emailed it back this morning. Once that has been sent to All God's Children, we were told we could send in our dossier to AGCI for review to make sure it is all correct. Then we just have to wait to get our FBI clearance back and we can be put on a wait list for our boys! Please pray that the FBI is ahead of the 13 week schedule we were originally told, so far we are at 7 weeks!

Happy one year "placement" Maddie!

Maddie joined our family a year ago today. She was adopted from the Humane Society when she was 3 years old. To be honest, she wasn't the cutest dog when we got her. She had recently had puppies and so had lost lots of her hair, and looked like she hadn't had a bath in months. After "fostering" her for a weekend, daddy said OK to keeping her and she was ours!

For the first five months, Maddie was not the ideal pet. She pooped on the floor all the time, peed all over the family room rug and bit two kids, who happened to be our neighbors and good friends. We were also not the ideal owners. We hadn't done a lot of reading on adopting or training a dog and didn't have her kenneled when we left the house, so she had free reign.

After biting the second neighbor, Jon and my dad were adamant that she go back to the Humane Society, but I just couldn't do it. I felt like I had failed her. All I could think of was "if I can't take care of a dog and deal with her imperfections and somehow work with her to handle them, how can I even think about adopting two little boys who will come home not trusting us, be scared out of their minds, have no idea what we are saying to them, and be their mother?"

So, the next morning, I spoke to several dog trainers, went to the library and read a couple books, listened to Cesar on CD and started training her myself. I began to really pay attention to her needs and learn her habits, and to be consistent, loving and firm with her. Within a few months, she stopped growling at little kids, making messes on the floor and started to let us know when she had to go outside. She needed time to get to know us, be comfortable in our home, and trust us. Her barking still drives us nuts, but when she barks, she thinks she is protecting us, which is sweet. Terribly annoying, but sweet.

I can see now that God used our dog to give us just a small taste of what life will be like when we bring home two new children. I know that I cannot compare caring for a dog to caring for two children, but there are some similarities. We won't know their pasts or what they have endured in their short lives. They will not trust us, understand us or be comfortable in our home for a while. They will need time to attach and bond to us and us to them, just like Maddie did. Praise God for using this bundle of cute black fur to teach us a lesson.