March 08

March 4 We received email from Fei, we were approved TODAY! The deadline to submit dossier to CCAA is Sept 4, 08.
Congratulations.
The kiddos are excited and making plans for their new brother.

Oh by the way kids- did we tell you there is a BIG HONKIN' wait time ahead of us???

We are in the thick of getting Employment verification letters and police reports-we need to show that the fine folks from the county have not had to ticket us for traffic violations.
We need character reference letters for the HS,
Physical appointments,
and the list goes on and on.
I600 application sent, received and accepted on 3/5. Thankfully we were able to submit application before the new I800 the much more detailed form goes into effect on 4/1.

Feb 08

I spoke with Fei from Asia, Feb 20, Pre-Approval letter sent to CCAA.!!
The paperchase begins. Appointments for HS, Dossier preparation, etc.

My dear friend Shary has become a notary for me:)

What a blessing to be able to call and coordinate instead of having to race to the bank or some where else to get documents notarized.

Jan 08

We found a little guy and requested his file to preview. He has a CL/CP just like Jarren and is only a year younger.
I made the fatal error of falling in love with his sweet little face before we prayed and that was a HUGE mistake. After we received the file and began the initial paper work we knew in our hearts he was not our son. Thankfully John and I were both willing to be obedient to where God wanted us as a family instead of pressing forward with zeal.
The day we determined that the agency needed to be made aware of our decision not to go forward, we received an email from ASIA-associated Services for International adoption.
They had a new SN list and I took a look.
There he was 7 months old with a Bilateral CL/CP.
Time to pray some more, could he be our son???
We requested the file and it was a long 2 days before I heard back from the agency-I asked for info on a Friday night. Monday morning Marci replied to my inquiry and before noon I had his file.
We got everything to Dr. R at Operation Smile and the International Childrens Clinic based affiliated with CHKD. I had an appointment on Jan 24 to see the pediatrician.

Oct 07

We prayerfully made the decision to start actively watching the Waiting Child lists on the many websites I have been reading looking and wistfully praying over.
Before the CCAA made the change to one big list with no pictures-for the protection of the children, there were many agencies, many lists and I got my name on as many email update lists as I could.



We are clueless how the Lord will work this time but we are excited to find out.

August '06

August 12, 2006 We are FINALLY back in the greatest country in the world with our newest addition Jarren. Life is changed forever and we are so incredibly blessed and grateful that the God of the Universe handpicked this little lambie to be part of our family.

I am humbled beyond words because I know that He could have picked anyone but He chose me to be Jarren's mommy:)

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