PREAPPROVAL!!!

We got our pre-approval from the Ch*nese to adopt our little girl!  I'm so excited! THANK YOU GOD!!!
I was waiting until we got preapproval to share this blog. We were approved on Thanksgiving Day, but since the agency was closed for Thanksgiving, we found out today. Now we must move fast!  We have until February 26, 2010 to get our dossier to Ch*na. Our homestudy is next and a lot of paperwork will go with that. I would love it if we could go to Ch*na before the World Exposition starts.

A Really Good Day!

Today, I received my passport in the mail.  Then, I spoke with a person that works with the agency, and she sent me a couple of videos and pictures of her that I had not seen!!  I was so excited about that!  Then, I got a call saying my medical reports were ready.  I went to get them, and they were good! The only thing she put on there was that the routine blood test was abnormal, but of course it would be if someone has diabetes, so I really hope that won't be a problem, since she didn't explain why it was abnormal. She did fill out the medical conditions page about my diabetes, so surely that will be enough.  She said I was treated with medication and compliant in my care, which is good, so hopefully they'll accept it.  I wrestled with my scanner for a couple of hours and finally was able to send the paperwork to the agency.  So now, we wait for preapproval!!!!

Go Cade!

I'm so proud of you, Cade!
After a lot of prayer from many people, Cade is adjusting more and more to the new school, and he's making his mark here. He's really involved in church.  He's teaching a 3rd grade boys group this Wednesday night.
He is on the academic team at school, which is a quiz bowl team. They do quick recall quiz bowl style competitions and they compete with academic subject area tests also.  His team won 2nd place at the regional competition this past Saturday . He participated on the quick recall, and he took 2 tests.  He won 3rd Place for Social Studies and 5th Place for Language Arts.  He was the only Freshman from his school to place!  He came home with 3 medals. Goooooooooo Cade! Thank you, Lord!

Merry Christmas by Third Day - Beware, it'll make you cry.

I found this song today online. This Christmas will be hard knowing that she is so far away, but next year will be different, and she'll be with us at Christmas time.
Merry Christmas
There's a little girl trembling on a cold December morn
Crying for Mama's arms
At an orphanage just outside a little Ch*na town
Where the forgotten are

But half a world away I hang the stockings by the fire
And dream about the day when I can finally call you mine
It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

As I hang the tinsel on the tree and watch the twinkling lights
I'm warmed by the fire's glow
Outside the children tumble in a wonderland of white,
Make angels in the snow

But half a world away you try your best to fight the tears
And hope that heaven's angels come to carry you here
It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

Christmas is a time to celebrate the Holy Child
And we celebrate His perfect gift of love
He came to earth to give His Life
And prepare a place for us
So we could have a home with Him above

It's Christmas time again and now you're home
Your family is here so you will never be alone
So tonight before you go to sleep, I'll hold you in my arms
And I'll tell you from my heart, and I'll tell you from my heart
I wish you Merry Christmas

Physicals

I had my physical yesterday.  Bob has his tomorrow.  It's so frustrating! Moving, grieving because of the move, being sick with awful allergies from the first week we've been here(along with the ear and sinus infections because of it) and just plain ole stress tend to make a diabetic person's average blood sugar rise!  When you've been diabetic as long as I have, you know the triggers!  Then, to top it all off,  the doctor doesn't know you and doesn't know the patterns that your blood sugar follows and no amount of paperwork from the previous doctor is going to convey that to them because they don't read it!  I really miss my doctor in Mississippi about now. Of course, hearing, sight, heart, and everything else is pretty good.  I guess I will just have to wait and see how she fills out the form.

Faithful

I had my physical today.  I'm praying for the nurse practitioner that did it and the doctor; that they don't word anything in such a way that it could be perceived as more serious than it is by the Ch*nese.  Bob has his physical on Friday.

November 8th was Orphan Sunday

Yesterday was Orphan Sunday. Many churches across the country addressed the plight of orphans. I read this on someone else's blog and I thought that it was worth sharing.
"Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.
The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.
As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and picked up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"

As our pastor said yesterday, not everyone is called to adopt, but we all can make a difference somehow.  As Christians, we should all pray that God will show us how He wants each one of us to make a difference.

MEDICAL FRUSTRATIONS

This so frustrating!! However, I am going to be calm and patient because I know God is in control. "Ch*na did not say yes nor did they say no."  That's what our agency director told us. They want more medical information, so Bob and I both must have a physical. I am told that they don't usually say no when they request more info, but it all depends on what mood they are in when they get the info.  It takes a long time to get an appointment to a doctor when you haven't lived somewhere for very long. The first time I called the doctor's office, I got someone who told me the earliest I could get is January with the doctor and the nurse practitioner would be on the 17th.  She was going to call me back to let me know if they could notarize the forms for us or not, but of course, she didn't.  I called back just before closing time and got another person who was much more helpful. She was going to find out for me about the notarization in the morning, but she scheduled our appointments for the 11th and 13th;  a little bit earlier. I know it's going to all be fine, but it is so frustrating to wait for this and that to happen!  It'll so be worth it when we get to Ch*na and can hold our little girl and let her know that she will never be without a family who loves her again.