Iowa is IN!

I've heard that God answers prayer before we even know what to ask... Yeah, I think that may have happened today.  Just got word from our caseworker that Iowa clearance is HERE.  I don't have a clue how it was managed, it sounded like it would be the end of the week at the earliest, but we are good to go!  So thankful!  Thank you to all of our friends who have been praying!

Please pray!

Our home study report is written up and ready to go (triggering the sending of other important documents) EXCEPT for clearance from Iowa - where Ethan went to college. We really need for this clearance to arrive so they can fill in the date and get this thing out to the people who need it. We'd appreciate your prayers!

Our intentional God

I found a reminder in my devotional this morning:

Our God is an intentional God, brimming over with purpose, infusing meaning into everything around us. He has sprinkled earth with calling cards of His presence and purpose...   Taken from Pearls of Great Price.  Copyright © 2006 by Joni Eareckson Tada

This causes me to ponder again, "What about Ella?"  (see my posts from late June/early July).  Her photos are still on our refrigerator reminding me several times each day to pray that her family finds her.  Our home study recommends the placement of two special needs children, and we would gladly and joyfully welcome her home along with Abigail Dawn.  Thus far the agency to which she is assigned says they cannot transfer her file to our agency.

I don't know what God's purpose is in causing "Ella" to stick in our heads and in our hearts.  All I know is she is a little girl who needs a family.  Please pray for Ella as you think of her this week.

We've done all we can do - papers are sent!

Whew!  We have reached the place in our paper chase where we have done all we can do.  The home study is virtually done.  They are waiting only on criminal clearance from Iowa -- Ethan went to college there when he was a teenager.  Ancient history, for sure!  The local agency caseworker is still hopeful that they will get the home study out of their office and to the placement agency in Washington next week.

What is next?

I Fed Ex'd  the remaining documents for our dossier to China to the placement agency today.  They can now begin sending each document for the county and state verifications and authentication from the Department of State and the Chinese Consulate.

The certification of the home study will trigger a huge step.  Once it is received, the placement agency can then file our I800-A which is the "Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country."  And directly from china-adoption-online it says, "USCIS will evaluate whether not you are suitable to adopt a child from China. Worried about getting approval? Don't be. You would never have gotten past the home study process if you weren't qualified."  Still, makes us a little nervous!

When this is approved we will be given an appointment for our final fingerprinting, a caseworker will be assigned to review the home study and fingerprints, then they issue approval.  The current average approval time frame is around 60-80 days.  We then get the I-797C, Notice of Action: Approval Notice. When this step is done our dossier should be ready to go to China.

The all important document!  Dossier: The application to adopt an orphan. It includes a letter requesting permission to adopt a Chinese orphan, home study, police reports, immigration approval, reference letters, medical reports, marriage certificate, birth certificates, letters of employment, and photos of our family and house.   It is approximately five to eight months from dossier log in until travel. So, now we wait.

We have our first "sponsors" in the puzzle fundraiser, and began putting it together this evening.  Thank you Jacob and Hannah Linson for our first 30 pieces put together!  That was a great start to the "Great Wall."

The first thirty pieces have been put together on the Great Wall fundraiser!  The proceeds from this go towards the verification, authentication, and agency fees for processing the dossier, and for the immigration fees.

Back sides of puzzle.  Thanks Hannah and Jacob!

We thank you for helping bring Abigail home!

What's in a Name?

Wikipedia:  "A name is a word or term used for identification. Names can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context."

Expectant parents spend hours pouring over baby names to find just the right one.  Does the middle name "go with" the first and the last?  Is there a funky nickname that is going to haunt the child if you choose this  name?  I know we spent a ton of effort in giving our children names that were meaningful to us, and hopefully that they could live with.  The whole name thing has me reflecting today.

As we recognized that the time was indeed NOW if we were ever going to adopt a little girl from China, we  began the search not looking for that "perfect name" but for the child that we felt God wanted to be part of our family.  Well, God is a master at weaving our life stories.  Here is a bit of family history for you.

After giving birth to four daughters, we more or less assumed that #5 would be a girl, and she would be named Abigail which means "father's joy or gives joy."  Surprise!  JAMES would not have appreciated the name Abigail.

Nine years later we give birth to our fifth girl, and the name Abigail had stuck with us all of those years.  Those who knew us well figured, "They got their Abigail!"  One complication.  A close friend at the time (who we spent a lot of time with) had a service dog called Abby.  I couldn't get over the fact that every time we called our daughter I would think of this little dog.  With much disappointment, we searched and searched the baby name books for something else appropriate. 

 Fast forward yet another decade as we are praying for God to show us the little one that He has in mind.  My friends who have adopted kept telling me, "Don't worry.  You will know her when you see her."   Because we are going "Special Focus"  to adopt a child who is maybe a little harder to place, we had to actually choose the child THEN choose our agency.  Special Focus children are assigned to one specific agency.  What if I messed up and missed her?

So began the pouring over files with many agencies.  One agency sent me 1797 names with brief descriptions.  I literally cried.  The need is so great.  How could we possibly choose just one?  However, there WAS a way to make sure that our little girl's file was looked at.  There was one name in the entire world that guaranteed I would open and look HARD at that file.  I confess, I passed over a Sarah and a Hannah (we have one of those) but Abigail, she had to have a good look.

Funny thing about these names on the foreign adoptive files.  They aren't the child's actual name, (as they would be in the states) and no one expects you to call them by it when they get home.  The agency "randomly" assigns them an English name, probably because we have trouble pronouncing the Chinese names.   I later found out that the girl our agency randomly labeled as "Abigail" had an English name that they use in her school - Dawn.  Why didn't the agency use that name?

I think I fell in love with her the second I opened her file.  I kept trying to give others a chance, and did continue to prayerfully consider many, many other girls.  Abigail just wouldn't leave our heads and hearts!  Do you ever second guess yourself?  I won't go into the dozen other details and confirmations that solidified "Abigail" as "the one" but yeah, my friends were right.  We knew she was "ours" when we saw her.

Shared at Death by Great Wall

The oh-so-important dossier!

Our visit from the social worker went very well on Sunday.  She was impressed that we had all of our documents prepared thoroughly and all of the requirements  - including that the escape routes posted throughout the house - were done.  She indicated that she usually has to tell people to get that step done before she returns for the second visit.  Since the escape route posting is clearly on the list of requirements I have to wonder why it isn't done the first time?  In any case, she is to return tomorrow to finish up.  We are waiting on some references to get back to to the agency, and that is pretty much it.

With the homestudy quickly drawing to a close, that will trigger the beginning of the dossier processing.  A dossier (daw-syey) is defined as "a collection or file of documents on the same subject, especially a complete file containing detailed information about a person or topic."  In this case, as uncomfortable as it makes us, the file is on US.  Details, LOTS of details. 

The dossier is a set of specific, required documents that represent our family to the Chinese government.  Each document must be completed, signed, notarized (or certified in the case of birth and marriage certificates).  This step is completed on just about everything.  Then each document needs to be verified again at the county level; verified again at the state level, and finally authenticated at the appropriate Chinese Consulate or Embassy.  This requires many cover letters, couriers to each of those offices for each document, a fee from our agency to process the whole lot, etc. It is perhaps the most important set of documents we will ever complete.  The Chinese authorities will ultimately accept or reject us depending on this set of documents.  

We have had enough confirmations over the past several weeks to realize that this whole thing really wasn't OUR idea.  We are humbled and oh so excited that God is apparently intending for this adorable little person to be part of our family. 

We would like to invite you to be part of bringing Abigail Dawn home.  We are having a puzzle fund-raiser to help get our dossier processed and to China.  What is a puzzle fundraiser?  We have purchased a puzzle of the Great Wall (at times the fees can seem like a wall to overcome!) and are inviting you to sponsor a piece -or a few pieces!  For each $5 donation we will put the donor's name on the back of a puzzle piece and begin putting it together as we have sponsors to do so.  We will double glass frame the puzzle when it is complete so Abigail can see the back with the names of all those who graciously helped us get these documents moving. If you would care to participate, you may use the "Reece's Rainbow" donate button to make a tax deductible contribution.  It is found to the right on this page.  Thank you for your friendship, your concern for the orphans, and most of all for your continued prayers!

Our Great Wall puzzle

Do you believe in coincidences?

I continue to be amazed at the "coincidences" and "just so happens" that we are seeing regarding Abigail.  For instance, I was visiting with my favorite former neighbor in Indiana yesterday.  Of course I took along the photos of Abigail as any proud mama would do.  Christa was flipping through them, stopped, (eyes bugging out) looked again, and she exclaimed,

 "I know that girl!"

 Me: "Know WHAT girl?"

Christa:  "That one! (pointing) She goes to our church!"

The "girl"  attends *********** - when she is in the country, that is.  All Christa knew was she was in China working with children.  As you can imagine, I was pretty excited to think of a friend of a friend actually looking out for Abigail AT her orphanage's school.

I have noted over and over when watching Abigail in the videos that she seems so happy and loving.  I have a feeling that much of this may be due to this "girl's" obedience to the call to work in China.

I am so grateful for this lady and her fellow workers who are there loving on those children.  They are making a huge difference in their lives.  I am also grateful for the opportunity to peek inside the orphanage (via the newsletters) and see what daily life for Abigail looks like.  In one of the photos in the newsletter, I see her beautiful little face smiling straight into the camera.  That does my heart good!  Thank you, God, for these continued little glimpses that "just happen" to assure us that we are on the right path.