We have our LOA!

The government agency that oversees adoptions in China closed on the 27th to install some computer upgrades.  In the past it has been a common thing for them to "clear their desks" of pending matters before a shut down.  I have had the strong gut feeling that our LOA would be issued on December 25th or 26th before that shut down.

Our agency is closed for the holidays from December 24 until January 5.  I specifically asked if they would be sending my LOA if it was issued between Christmas and New Year's and was told they would not process any documents until their return on January 5.

So I was totally shocked when my LOA arrived on December 29!  The date of issue?  December 26!  I'm very thankful that someone took the time to send this out even though our agency wasn't open.

So what happens now?  There are still several steps, but now they are measured in days or weeks instead of in months.  Today I intend to send the immigration papers that declare "Pat" to be an immediate relative (I-800) overnight to USCIS.  It typically takes two to three weeks for this approval.  If there are no further delays we should be able to complete the adoption towards the end of March.

Thank you! Match Exceeded!

You blessed our socks off!  Our account received nearly twice as much as we needed to receive our full match!  You sent in $4855, and Hand in Hand matched $2500 making the total grant $7355! This will go such a long ways towards our traveling expenses, and we thank you so very much! We've "tagged his bag" with the names of those who helped us to make and exceed our goal for the matching grant! Is this the coolest suitcase you ever saw or what?

Please consider Susy!

Susy is the focus child this month with A Shepherd's Crook. Look at that adorable smile!!!!  This little lady just turned five years old and is waiting for her family to find her.   If you commit in the next few days her agency fees are greatly reduced also.  Please take a peek and give her a chance!  Read about Susy here!

UPDATE:  My advocacy for Susy has paid off, and she has a family working hard to quickly process their paperwork!  WE ended up getting our Preapproval from China in December of 2015.  We are thrilled that we get to be her parents!

Neighborhood Luminaries

Our neighborhood has a tradition of setting out luminaries one night during the Christmas season.  The Little Princesses loved helping put sand and candles into the bags while Isaac was at basketball practice.

But the REALLY FUN part was to see the end results!  Tikvah and Isaac walked with a neighbor friend and her mother while the rest of us rode in the van.

LOA Wait...

During an adoption one develops an obsession with dates.  We obsessively count the "wait" days between the significant steps.  After checking the wait times for LOA with the other kids, the fact that I am a crazed mama now makes sense.  With the girls it was 46 days, and with Isaac it was 42.  We are now on day 48 with Pat.  (and with the current computer system we'll likely know about 10 days before LOA is issued - nothing in sight)  NO WONDER it seems like something should be happening!  Yes, we were always on the short side of the LOA wait, and at that time the average was 60 days.  The average wait time now is into the 70s.  I may need sedation.  :)

Cincinnati Dragons play their first game!

If I could choose just one thing for Isaac to participate in it would be basketball.  Imagine how thrilled we were when a BRAND NEW ADAPTED LEAGUE was started in our city!  They have been practicing for several weeks now, and today was their very first game.

Isaac was a little nervous when we first arrived.  His coach helped him get his loaner sports chair all set, then it was time for warmups.

They formed their "perfect circle" for a pre-game pep talk.

Meanwhile in the bleachers ... the purple fan club awaited the beginning of the game.

And it is game on!  Isaac is number 5.

We had some WONDERFUL referees.  Our team is very young, as in they just had their first practice on November second and many of them are still learning the rules of the game.  Our refs were so very patient, and they took the time to explain to the kids WHY they made the calls they made.

They also took the time to give encouragement and pointers on how to improve their play.

The dragons played a team that had much more experience and a lot of talent.  We scored our first points in the fourth quarter - it was #5 for the basket!  Yay, Isaac!

Score!

I am so thankful to coaches Jake and Ian for the many, many hours they sacrifice to encourage our kids.  I have never seen Isaac as excited about anything - EVER - as he was following today's game.

Here is our weekly update on the matching grant. We have just passed the half way point in meeting our requirements for the matching grant. In order to receive the full grant we still need $1245 postmarked by Friday, December 11 - just one week! 

Thank you to all who have helped us make it to this point! If you'd like to help us meet this goal, please include our name on the OUTSIDE of the envelope only - do not put our name on the check itself. Send to:

Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc.

Ethan and Randy Lanz

18318 Mimosa Court

Gardner, KS 66030

Thank you!

Decorating the Tree

Oh the excitement as the tree is untied and readied to decorate!

Every year we add ornaments to each child's personal collection.  Isaac even had a few that we had gotten him last year in preparation for his homecoming.  He was surprised that he had a box with ornaments!  So many of our lights had burned out that after the personal ornaments went on we took a break until the next day so we could get a few more lights.

Decorating resumed the following morning. When a wheelchair and walker are added into the mix, decorating gets a little bit more crowded and confusing, but everyone got involved and had fun.

Jen is a REALLY hard worker, and she stayed on to fuss with ornaments long after the other kids had called it, "good enough."

What we are hoping for this Christmas is our LOA from China!  We hope you all have a blessed Christmas season!

O Christmas Tree!

It has been a tradition in our family for about thirty years now to cut a Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving.  The two little princesses wait for everyone else to be ready to go.

On our way to the tree farm!

Tree farms aren't very wheelchair friendly, but with team work we got the job done!  Everyone got a turn to cut the tree.

 

Less than 2 weeks to hit the goal

At the end of October we got the good news that our family had been awarded a dollar for dollar matching grant up to $2500!  In order to receive the full grant it has to be matched however.  With less than two weeks to go our fund stands at $510.

If you would like to help us meet our $2500 goal to meet this match, (and be involved in the Tag His Bag fun) please send your donation made payable to "Hand in Hand Christian Adoption" and postmarked by December  11.  For tax purposes please include our name on the OUTSIDE of the envelope only - do not put our name on the check itself.  Send to:

Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc.
Ethan and Randy Lanz
18318 Mimosa Court
Gardner, KS 66030

If you have any questions concerning this grant you may contact Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc. They can be reached at 913-248-5015 or by email at handinhandadopt@gmail.com .  

Thank you for your prayers as we continue to work towards Pat's homecoming!

Happy Thanksgiving

We have so very much to be thankful for, and these people in our lives are among our greatest blessings!

When our kids and THEIR kids gather and then you throw in an Aunt, Uncle, Cousin and Grandma it is a great big group of happy!  We are very fortunate in that we actually ENJOY one another's company.  It makes holidays a lot more pleasant that way!

Grace (James' fiance') was so sweet in helping the kids with their art projects.

Pre-dinner activities included making turkeys, coloring pilgrims and a word search.

 

 

 Crock pots began to arrive in mass.  There were so many crock pots all around the kitchen. It was like someone had called a crock pot convention!

 

Of course the pies had a good turn out also!

And Ruth made an adorable turkey from fresh vegetables.

 
But the people!  They are the REAL treasures!  From the youngest -

 

 to the oldest

And all those in between!

 

 

And we are extra thankful to have Isaac home with us for his first ever Thanksgiving in America!

While the blessings of a large family are many, it is getting rather tricky to arrange seating for us all.  One of our daughters hosts Thanksgiving at her home each year, and her husband and kids are so patient with the mob descending on their house.  In order to allow a walker, wheelchair and lots of kids room to move, the tables aren't set up until it is actually time to eat.  I was amused watching as the family shuffled around setting up tables, then counting and recounting chairs.

 

 

We added in a princess table....

Nope, still not enough.  We'll add one more table to the end...

And we had enough!

No meal is perfect, of course, and we had our little problems...

And one little guy just couldn't quite make it through the meal.

 But it was a great day filled with lots of laughter, good food, and most importantly those people we love the best.

 I can hardly wait for Pat to join in our Thanksgiving Day next time around.  One thing we discovered about him last summer (while he was being hosted in the States by our agency) was that he LOVES to eat.  This may be his favorite holiday!  Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.