2 weeks old and hittin' the road!

We're gearing up for our first family road trip since Jonathan came home. Gone are the days of two duffel bags and "if we forget it, we don't need it." Jonathan has been sleeping well, so we are eager to see how he does in multiple venues.

We're going to a conference north of DC with Sovereign Grace and we are excited. A great conference will become a bigger adventure as we enjoy it with the little man. As a bonus, we will get to visit with the Northern Scotts on the way back.

In case you haven't heard, God did an incredible thing last week through our church. As surprised as we were byJonathan's arrival, the necessary fees were a bit of a shock as well. We trusted God knew what He was doing, but we didn't know how we were going to see Him take care of the expense. Our church family stepped in and generously provided what we needed. That's no small thing - praise God! You can read our response on Concord's blog.

Baby pictures!

Our friend, Diana Simpson, is an amazing photographer. Just to prove it, visit her site to see some pictures of Jonathan. She spent Tuesday morning with us, and we had a blast. I had no idea a photo shoot could be so much fun. You can look at more pics as a slide show on the same site. Thanks, Diana!

Amy's mom and Drew's parents have been with us for the last several days, fixing up the nursery and getting our house retrofitted for baby. It has been a huge blessing.

We need to figure out how to share stuff folks actually want to read, but a day by day journal would be pretty dull. We'll post when he adds a new trick to his crowd pleasing routine of cry (politely, or course), eat with enhusiasm, burp, poop, and sleep beautifully.

A funny thing happened...

A funny thing happened on the way to finding Salem. And it happened quickly. We'd like to introduce you to our son, Jonathan David.

We'll post more in a bit. We're all doing fine, although a "good night's sleep" now has a different standard of measure.

Thank you for praying for us as we receive this amazing blessing. And don't forget to pray for Salem. With the Olympics and other issues in China, we still expect to wait another 18 months to hear news from Beijing. In that time, we'll have to update our files and China wil review us again. Plus, we'll be raising Salem's big brother. Praise God!

By the way, Cody is learning to love Jonathan, too. He has not, however, offered to help with 3 a.m. feedings.

A Heartbreaking Article

Hello all. I've been looking forward to posting some info about our work over the past 5 months getting the house ready for Salem. I've also had several thoughts I wanted to write out. All very cheery, very hopeful stuff. However, reading this heartbreaking article prompted me to post it first. Thanks to Tim Challies for the reference.

From the article:
The demand is so high that child traffickers unable to find enough willing parties have resorted to snatching youngsters off the streets - and 70,000 disappear each year.

Wang Lee started trading in people in 1985 when he was offered money for his girlfriend. After his wife died, he sold his toddler son. "There's plenty of demand everywhere," he said. "You can sell anywhere, anytime. Demand isn't the problem. The problem is supply.

"When I started you could hook eight out of ten girls, just by having sex with them. It was easy to trick them. Now I'm not selling women so much, mainly just children. If it's a pretty girl then maybe I can get £500 or £600.

"But girls who are ugly, you can't give them away. A boy - goodlooking, a few months old - £700 to £800. But a one or two-year-old boy can fetch an even higher price: £1,100 to £1,200. If the boy's cute and the buyer is rich, maybe more. It's all about negotiation."

Child trafficking is a reality in China, and as our wait has grown, I have found these stories more heartbreaking. It's not because I believe child trafficking is slowing down our adoption - that would be an incredibly self-centered response to this article. This is so much bigger than our slow-coming family. Rather, it is another glimpse of the broken families and the broken system from which our daughter will come. I cannot help but think about the predicament that Salem's birthmom will find herself in when I read about Wai Ling and her newborn at the top of the article.

I am, at the same time, grateful that Salem will be spared from this scenario. Thousands of girls are sold as instant or future wives or much worse. Pray that the Chinese government will act against this abuse. And pray that families will take the courageous (though illegal) step to leave their children to be adopted rather than marketed. I'll also ask you to pray for God to intervene, both in changing the culture that puts all hope in male heirs for the future, devaluing women and turning children into commodities and in the abolition of China's One Child policy. These are not easy problems - they are deep and interconnected. The Gospel has the answer to both of these issues, so pray for the believers in China.

Finally, pray for the lost daughters (and now, sons) of China.

A Sleepy Saturday

Hello to all:) I must say we are so blessed to have such wonderful friends who are faithful to pray and check in on us, even after taking a 10 month hiatus from our blog. You guys are great:)

Today I woke up feeling a little puny, so I am having a sleepy Saturday. The Scott's (Drew's parents) are here for a week to help with the house project. They are in the back of the house getting the walls ready for a second coat of compound while I sit here and rest. (Thanks!)

I guess I should fill you all in for those of you who don't know what is going on here at our little cedar abode. After months of sporadic contemplation on moving to add more space, we began to envision our home being the home our children know. So, we spent the next few months researching, drawing countless blueprints, and planning. In April, we demolished our garage to make way for stronger walls and a second story. We have spent our summer here, working and learning a lot (not only about building a home, but about each other:)). Many people from our church and home have come to help us during each stage of the process. Last week, we finished hanging sheet rock and now have one coat of compound on the walls. Added to the back of our house, now rests (atop our garage) an upstairs master bedroom and bathroom, and a nursery:) We are beginning to imagine little feet pitter-pattering their way down the hallway. It's so fun to go into the nursery and envision the room where our daughter will sleep and play, the corner where she will read countless books, and walls that will surround her.

In the waiting, as the Lord has faithfully led us, we have been so blessed by the many twists and turns that have been in our path. At a time when many people seem to acknowledge the long wait as a negative thing, God had poured His grace on us to recognize it as His time for perfecting of our hearts. Daily we are growing and being challenged in this race of life, and in the midst of it all, He is building our family into a stronger one. We are so grateful for the wisdom of the Lord, to lead us in the way we should go, and for seeing our need for this time in preparing us to be parents.

Please continue to pray for Salem. Pray as the Lord prompts your heart. We love you all!!!

Past The Review Room

Well, we are back with good news today:) Drew surprised me today with a hard copy of the CCAA website stating that all dossiers through July 31, 2006 have been reviewed and are now in line for referral placement!!! Needless to say, tears followed with a HUGE sigh of relief:) We were with the Nichols who adopted their daughter in May eating at SouperSalad. It was great to rejoice with Salem's future buddy:)

If you remember, our login date was July 14, 2006, and we have been waiting for over a year to hear the news we heard today. Although the process is slow, we know that God is creating our daughter and will bring her home in His perfect timing.

Thank you for hanging in there with us. We love you all and look forward to introducing you to Salem:)

Already a Part of Our Family

I cannot begin to describe how the Lord is weaving Salem into our hearts already. I'm not sure, because I am not a parent with a child in my arms yet, but I am beginning to understand the love that a parent has for their child, and we haven't even met her yet. This is truly a God thing and I am enjoying it so much. We love her so very dearly, and cannot wait to share our lives with her.

As a reading teacher, I am enveloped in the arms of books everyday. If I am not reading at school to the children, I am reading at home. Who would have thought that the child who stuggled to enjoy reading would be passionately teaching others the value and excitement of taking a reading adventure through the pages of books. Everyday I thank God for my job and the joy it brings to not only help little ones discover the joy of reading, but to discover it myself. I so look forward to the day when I can hold Salem and read to her. If I can help it, our house will be bursting with books and a place where adventure begins. Already, we have the original copies of mommy and daddy's favorite books stashed away waiting for her. While I patiently pass up the cute clothes (we don't know what size she will wear and in what seasons yet), I am already making a steady collection of reading material.

Lord, above all, we pray that You will begin to give Salem a love for Your Word. As you care for her and draw her near, will You speak Your Word over her and develop inside her heart a longing for You. We love You, our Lord and Sustainer. Thank you for the gift of Truth!!!

Shame indeed

Two things bring shame on a home. One is dressing pets up in costumes. It's simply inexcusable. Look how sad this dog is. Cody goes limp when you put a hat on him. Why? He doesn't want our neighbor dogs to see. And they shouldn't have to. It's just wrong.

The other great shame is a blog that goes over a month without an update. But it is a shared shame. We started this blog to keep people up to date on the progress of our adoption. The problem is: no progress, no update. Yes, the big wait is just that. And it just got longer. Today's Bethany update said the wait from log in date (LID) to referral is now 14-15 months. The travel date to China after referral is received is averaging at 7-10 weeks. So for the last three months, people have asked when we anticipate seeing progress in our adoption. Amy and I have been saying "about a year" for three months, and we will likely repeat that answer until we see any evidence of the wheels turning across the Pacific.

Anyway, we are reading and learning a lot and will likely begin posting some things we are hearing in trainings. We realize our adoption process, like our daughter, isn't just ours - it belongs to our whole family and to our community. So maybe we can give everyone a heads up about some of the issues we are likely to face as a cross cultural family. Or maybe we can pass on what we are reading about creating a Gospel-centered home. Anyway, we will set shame aside and press on. We are encouraged as we see the Lord filling our days with blessings and responsibilities. Keep praying for Salem and for all her parents. Check back in a month. Maybe we'll squeeze out another post or two!

Logged In! the Big Wait begins...

Well, we got our last official word of progress until we get our referral letter. Bethany called to tell us our dossier was LOGGED IN on July 14, 2006. This means our dossier is officially "in line" to be reviewed and then (and most importantly) matched. This news should be tempered by the fact that this line is very long, and has been moving slowly. We anticipate at least a year-long wait until we get a referral. So, the Big Wait begins!

This really gets me thinking a lot. I mean, if Salem isn't born yet, her mom is very pregnant. This is a great time to join us in prayer. Amy's already posted about how you can pray with us.

Don't think this is discouraging for us! We are very excited, and this is just one more part of the process. In fact, we are more than halfway through the process. That's a great feeling!

Overseas :)

We are excited to inform you all that TODAY we received the document in the mail stating that our dossier was sent to China (DTC) on June 29!!! For the past few weeks, it has been in between leaving our fingertips and being sealed up to leave on its Salem-bound journey to the orient. Grand Rapids has been successful in processing our paperwork and now its finally on its way:) Now we wait to hear from China. In a few weeks (we hope), we will hear from the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) with word that our dossier has been "logged in". Once we have a LID (Log In Date), then the official waiting begins. It looks like it may be next summer or fall before we receive a referral.

What an excitement it was today to open that envelope and see those words!!! I must admit, it has been difficult over the past few weeks. The referral wait time continues to increase and has us wondering if it will continue as steadily or if the processing rate will decrease. Of course, that is what we are praying for. Please pray that the CCAA will hire more workers to help with the back log. And pray for those workers, that the Lord will bless them in their work.

We look on in faith with you. Thank you for praying for our little girl :)

How to Pray for Salem

Our friends, Stephen and Suzanna Nichols (who are about 6 months ahead of us in the adoption process), had a section of their blog dedicated to helping those reading the updates know how to pray for their daughter. We thought it was a great idea!!!

The following is a weekly prayer guide. Drew and I invite you to pray with us for Salem and her journey home. I'm going to cut and paste it onto a word document and plaster it to my bathroom mirror. Feel free to do the same:)

Sunday - the birth family of our little girl
Pray for the protection and health of the birth mother during pregnancy, delivery, and recovery; comfort and peace for the birth father and the birth mother as they struggle with and finally relinquish their daughter

Monday - the birth of our baby
Pray that all goes well with her delivery and there are no complications.

Tuesday - the abandonment process
Pray that she will be found quickly and out of harms way; comfort and peace for the birth family.

Wednesday - the orphanage
Pray that it will be a clean, adequately staffed facility with good care for the all the babies and children who live there.

Thursday - physical health of our little girl
Pray that all of her physical needs are being met; pray for her physical development and stimulation.

Friday - emotional health of our little girl
Pray that someone will pick her up when she cries and that she is nurtured and loved until we can get there to nurture and love her; pray that her transition from the orphanage to our family will go smoothly, that she will learn to recognize us and trust us as her parents.

Saturday - spiritual health of our little girl
Pray that our baby will always feel love, comfort and peace from her heavenly Father, but especially until we can get there to comfort her ourselves; pray that the Lord would give her a tender heart and make her into a woman after His own heart.

And if you ever want to pray for us as well, pray that He would prepare us fully, continuing to mold us into godly parents, for the calling ahead.

On It's Way:)

God is good!!! If you read the previous update, then you know that just yesterday we were anticipating another week of waiting on test results for the final preparations of our dossier. However, when I came home from church last night, there was a message on our answering machine from Laura, one of Dr. Duff's nurses, to inform us that our test results were ready for pick-up!!! So, it turns out that the initial information we recived from the lab tech was correct---only one day's wait.

This morning, I went to the Dr's office first thing (well, after our early morning workout), secured the results in hand and personally delivered them to Bethany. I just received an email from Mary that GR called and they are sending it off for authentication...which means everything is in order:) Yeah!!!

Slight Delay

After relinquishing all of our documents into the hands of others, we were relieved to be in the official last stages of waiting. However, yesterday, I received a call from Mary that revealed a minor setback.

I was excited to hear that our dossier had made it from Nashville to Grand Rapids, meaning it had received the Great Seal Of TN. But, in their detailed scrutiny of the dossier before sending it to China, they found that Drew's medical document was lacking liver and thyroid function results. I immediately called our physician to check on them and found that his liver results were normal, but they had overlooked the thyroid tests for both Drew and myself!!! So, I asked if they could fit us in right away, and we were in lab by 2:00. The lab technician told me that I could pick up the results today. I planned to do that and personally drive them to Bethany to be faxed to GR, but when I called and spoke with the nurse, she said that the technician was mistaken and the results of the thyroid tests would take another 5-7 days.

So, we are waiting again. I will be honest and say that tears filled my eyes when I heard that we would have to wait another week and that our dossier is on hold in GR, but the Lord kept reminding me to trust Him. It's hard not to think about the fact that if we had looked with more care, that we might have caught it ourselves sooner. But, just as He has taught us along this long road, we are trusting Him and resting in the grace that He gives to us. We know that He is orchestrating the time until we are united with our daughter. And, NOTHING can thwart His plans. We rest in grace.

On a happy note, Drew and I just celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary yesterday:) Also, Happy Birthday to Papa Thrift today!!!

Out of Our Hands

As if this situation has ever truly rested in our hands... Today, we will drop off the last fragments of paperwork to our local Bethany office. Whew. It really hasn't been too bad. It would be a breeze if we didn't also have daily and weekly responsibilities. Then again, we've been helped by many friends and family members in an attempt to gather all our documentation. Thanks to you all.

After the bundle of paperwork is deemed "complete," it will be sent to Nashville for the "Great Seal of the State of Tennessee." I suspect it has a guitar on it. Then, it moves to Grand Rapids, home of Bethany's big office. There, it will receive final authentication and scrutiny before it crosses the Pacific. They'll let us know when it officially "logs in" in China, and then we'll, well, wait some more. But we figure that if you consider we've been walking in this direction for over two years, we are officially past the half way point. Ahhhhh. It's all in how you look at it.

We came across a great article today by Russ Moore, the Dean of the Theology School at Southern. He has two adopted boys, and was writing on their 5th birthdays. Hope you enjoy reading it as we did. Click here for the link.

Please continue to pray for us as we wait, and pray for little Salem, not yet born. We can't wait to introduce you to her.

Front Door Delivery

We got it!...Permission to bring Salem home:)

A few weeks ago, we spoke with our postman on his daily rounds and told him about the important envelope. He's been looking for it almost as earnestly as we have:) The doorbell rang yesterday afternoon, and I opened the door to reveal the postman with a package. (We leave for Peru tomorrow on a mission inquiry trip and the parents of one of the missionaries sent a package to us to bring to their daughter in Chiclayo.) As he handed it to me, he also handed a small white envelope and said..."and I believe that you might be looking for this as well." Needless to say, a little squeal erupted from my elated face. Suzanna said we should have taken a picture with the postman for the scrapbook. Maybe we will run him down one day for the commemorative picture:)

We prayed that it would come before leaving for Peru. Although trusted friends are getting our mail, we wanted to have it in hand. It would have been preferable to have had time to gather all documents and have our Dossier on its way to Grand Rapids by now. However,with Mary out of the Bethany office until Tuesday and the on-site notary out today, we concluded that it would be wise and promote much peace in our hearts to wait until we return so that we can sit down together and make sure we have everything in place. Besides, it gives us something to look forward to:) And peace abides as we continue to trust the Lord and His plans.

Please pray for our trip. We will be flying into Lima tomorrow night, spending the night, then driving 10 hours on the PanAmerican Highway to Chiclayo on Sunday. Monday we will drive from Chiclayo into the Andes mountains at 10,000 feet into a town called Incawasi. We will spend the next few days meeting with the people in the Lambayeque region on Northern Peru, praying for wisdom and direction from the Lord. We will be assessing the needs of the people, speaking with local pastors, and praying for a glimpse of what the Lord is doing among the people there. On Thursday, we will return to Chiclayo, then to Lima on Friday, then back home on Sunday.

Our job is to gather as much information as we can about this region and its people (98% of which have never had access to the gospel), report back to our local body of believers here at Concord, and seek the Lord in this together to see if He may be calling our church to partner with this people group over the next five to six years. Please pray for our safety, the Lord to be at work in us, and for our eyes to be open to His plans, whatever they may be. This is an incredibly exciting adventure! May the Lord's Name be glorified and may His fame spread to the ends of the earth.

Answers:)

Our wait for the paperwork from the INS was expected to take 6-9 weeks, give or take some. But, when the 13th week rolled around, we started getting nervous, wondering if it had been lost in the mail or in the shuffle of credit card applications. I called Mary to let her know. I thank the Lord for prompting me to call when I did. As we have said before, we have prayed for a peace that passes all understanding.

When I talked to Mary on Wednesday, she was surprised that we hadn't received our paperwork. We initially assumed that the paper bog was increasing and that it was just taking longer. But, a "quick" call to the INS answered some of our questions. Drew tried to contact the INS a few weeks ago, but was unable to get any information, so when Mary offered to communicate to them for us, I was excited that we may have some answers soon:)

Mary has been trying to contact the INS to try to expedite paperwork for a family who is adopting a sibling from Guatemala for the child they have already brought home. The birthmother wants to move to Mexico, and they want to travel as soon as possible to secure the child in their home. Mary said that when she recieved the call from them regarding this family that she would ask about our paperwork as well. Considering it had been a few weeks since she first tried to call, and followed with several more tries, I assumed it would be a while before we heard from her. At least we had a venue for some answers, just to know if it was on its way. However, yesterday, when I came home from school, there was a message on our answering machine from Mary. They called her back!!! She had answers for us! Our fingerprints HAVE been processed, but they didn't have our Home Study (HS). When we went to Nashville in February, we were told that they would look at our HS, stamp it and make note that we were approved for adoption, then give it back. But, somewhere along the way, the HS was lost in the mix. Soooooo, Mary is overnighting the HS to the INS and hopefully we will see the final link in our mailbox soon. Keep praying for all the pieces to come together, for the family waiting to recieve their child from Guatemala, and for Salem.

Thanks for joining our journey to find Salem:)

Amy's Eligible!!!

Yeaaaaaa:) The 30s are fabulous already! I was going to post on my actual birthday, but mom came into town to celebrate with us and wanted to spend as much time with her as we could. Thanks, Mom!!! And thank you to Drew and all my beloved friends who helped to make the day special. To be able to celebrate this day on a Sunday was an extra gift from our Father:) Waking up to worship the One who holds our family's future was sweet.

It seems so real now, knowing Salem's little heart is beating out there and we are so close to bringing her home. Please continue to pray as we wait for THE envelope in the mail. As soon as it comes, we will beeline to Bethany, downtown Chattanooga, and to Nashville for the final preparations of our dossier. Even the mailman knows it is coming and is anxious to find it for us:) So, we wait.....and trust the Lord:)

Our friends, the Nichols, who are also adopting from China have their dossier already logged in. They are hoping to travel in November. As you pray for the Lord to prepare us, pray for them as well. They will be paving the way for us. We can't wait to meet their little "Peanut."

The Lord brought this verse to mind today. I have been praying for the Lord to keep my heart from anxiousness. While we hoped our paperwork would be on its way to China by now, we know that His plans are bigger and better than any of our expectations or hopes. Read it an be encouraged in your heart today and trust alongside us.......

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!.......do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:5-7

Holding Pattern

Hello again:) Sorry for the looooooooooong silence. The hustle and bustle of paperwork and interviews a few months ago had us updating more, but for the past 8 weeks we have been in a long holding pattern. Every day, we are searching our mailbox for a big yellow envelope from the INS that holds the I-171. This is the last document that we need before we take all of our certified documents to get The Great Seal of Tennessee. Once it comes, we will call Mary or Peggy to make an appointment for them to overlook our packet and make sure that we have everything in place. Then we will venture to downtown Chattanooga for processing, then to Nashville again to get The Great Seal. Once we have that, we can compile all documents into our dossier!!!:)

Only 22 more days until I (Amy) am officially qualified to adopt from China. We hope to go ahead and send the dossier in the next few weeks, though. It has to first go to Grand Rapids, MI (Bethany's Home Office) for more processing, then will head to China from there where it will be logged into the system and translated into Chinese. Lord willing, the dossier will be logged in as close to April 30th as possible. But we are trusting the Lord in His timing!

A few weeks ago, we heard that the referral wait has been pushed even longer than before. It now stands at 10-11 months after log in. However, the Lord is actively instilling His amazing peace. We are resting in the truth that He is sovereign and know that His plans are the absolute best. He has been so gracious to show us that very truth in others areas of our lives just to keep us reminded:) So, for those of you who are doing the math, it looks like, as long as the 10-11 month time period remains the same, that we will receive Salem's referral somewhere close to March of 2007.

As we wait together, please be in prayer for our family. As you pray for these things, our prayer is that your hearts will rejoice in the goodness of God as He reveals Himself through the answers. May He gain ALL glory, for He alone is worthy!!!

What to pray for specifically:

That the fingerprints will come in this week
That the referral waiting time will not be extended any longer
That in all the waiting, we will keep our hearts set on God's agenda, not ours
That Salem will be safe and will receive excellent care and nutrition
That the Lord will begin calling her to Himself
That He would gain glory through ALL of the tiny little details!!!

31 year old baby in the house

Well, Nashville went well. One lesson learned - all our friends who were fingerprinted on Wednesdays waited HOURS for their 5 minute fingerprinting. We showed up on a Thursday and were in and out in a half hour. Would have been less, but my arms were "uncooperative" with the computer taking fingerprints. It has to be just right or they do it again. Who knew I had over 40 fingerprints?

But now, I am home. Sick. I don't think I've had a fever like this (102.5) since becoming an adult, and let me tell you, I didn't like it. Not one bit. Docs aren't sure if it's the flu or a viral sinus infection, but just for fun, my body added an ear infection. So I'm on a couple of designer drugs (my very first "z-pack") and feeling a bit better. Just being able to sit up and type is a plus. But it will be a few days until I'm good again.

All this has got me thinking. I hear about families having sick kids and sick parents in the house, and suddenly, I don't know how they do it. I was absolutely worthless for 36 hours, and I don't carry much market value now. Amy has been great - getting things for me, letting me feel ok about being worthless, and spraying the house down with Lysol after I went to bed. So I'm trying to imagine what it would be like with 2 babies in the house - an infant and a helpless 31 year old. Whew. Hard to imagine. But parents do it every day. I guess we will too.

It's just one of those moments when you realize how different life will be when Salem gets here. You realize how adjusted you are to "just the two of us." They say everything changes when kids come along, but I never thought about Salem changing the way we are when one of us is really sick.

All this has just prompted me to pray for Salem's health. She's probably still in her Chinese mom's womb, developing and growing. Pray for her to grow strong and resilient. Pray for her immune system, that it will develop normally. Pray for the health and safety of her Chinese mom, too. Thanks.

Nashville Bound

I would have used an exclamation mark, but the top row of keys on my keyboard stopped working two weeks ago. [need to go to staples...]

We got our home study back today thanks to Mary, our awesome case worker. That means we're heading to the INS office in Nashville on Thursday to get our fingerprints taken by the Feds. This is great news, as a lot of couples spend a lot of time twiddling their ink-stained thumbs waiting for their INS report to come back. The earlier we get the process started, the more likely we can get our packet off to China by Amy's birthday.

Thanks for all the prayers. I couldn't imagine the process being smoother thus far. Pray God will keep His merciful hand on us.