Making it official!

WOW, what an amazing update we have to share! On August 16 2019 we received notification from China that they had translated and reviewed our dossier and we were approved to officially adopt Ellie! So, on August 21, 2019 we checked the box, signed and submitted it back, acknowledging that we agree to adopt our sweet little girl. This is a huge step in the adoption process.

So, what’s next……
-We now submit our LOA document with more documents (I800 and I864W–don’t you love all these document names!?!) to the USCIS (US Citizen and Immigration Services) that once approved will finalize the immigration process. Once we receive that notice we will then file something called a DS-260 to the US Consulate in Guangzhou China on behalf of Ellie, which is an application for immigrant visa and alien registration. The completion of this will eventually trigger our appointment date and time! We have consulted with the China Team at Bethany and will be participating in a travel call to discuss all things travel in early October. We have been told that based on current time lines we will likely travel to get Ellie in November. We have also been told that we will likely receive 1-2 weeks notice before travel…..yikes! So, as we move ahead we will be applying for our travel visas, completing travel forms and will begin working with a travel agency connected to Bethany to talk about flights.

And as we wait we have begun moving bedrooms around so our house is a bit under construction, as we shift Ian into Andrew’s room, get Ian’s room ready for Ellie and add a bedroom to our basement for Andrew (lucky for Addison she stays put!). This seems like such a daunting process……but we are again blessed by so many who are willing to help! We cannot begin to express how thankful we have been and continue to be for our village.

We also continue to raise funds and wait to hear back on grants we have applied for. As mentioned in our previous update we did receive a $3000 matching grant through Lifesong for Orphans: https://mystory.lifesongfororphans.org/stories/gods-plan-becomes-plan/. We were so grateful for this gift and were able to hit the $3000 to be matched and beyond already! We are in awe with each donation that comes in. I have said this before and I will keep saying this but this process has been so amazing for so many reasons. The experience of watching others so selflessly give and desire to be a part of this little girls story is overwhelming. We make sure to celebrate each donation with our children, allowing them to see the goodness in others and how much our family is loved and to show them the many ways God continuously opens doors for us to bring Ellie home.

We continue to wait to see if we are awarded a grant through Show Hope. We applied back in April and have been told our application will go before the board TODAY and we should hear back from them the first week of September….woo hoo! As we wait for their response we also have applied for 2 others, Angels in Disguise, which is an adoption grant specific to families adopting a child with Down syndrome and Every Child Has a Dream. This grant tends to place their focus on providing grants to families seeking to adopt children with special needs, waiting children or families adopting sibling sets.

At the end of July a family, who is also adopting, reached out to us and encouraged us to reach out to Bethany Christian Services regarding something called the Janna Fund. We had not heard about this fund and had no information about it. This family had reached out to us after talking with the couple connected with this fund. They felt that God was working in the midst of this interaction. We were so thankful they followed God’s lead on this one because on August 7, after supplying a family picture and adoption testimony, our adoption case worker contacted us to tell us we were being awarded the Janna Fund! This was so amazing! Something not even on our radar, a fund that we were told even our case worker was surprised we had been awarded because a family had already benefited from it and it is typically only given to one family per year we would be blessed with! We have firmly believed and trusted that God carved our adoption path so long ago and continues to provide resources to make it a reality. This is just one of so many examples that have affirmed our belief in His plan. Our God is so amazing!

Along with that beautiful gift we also closed out our Clara Cookies sales for July and the whole month was filled with evidence of God’s blessings! So many cookies were sold and local businesses got involved including:
-having a table at the sidewalk sales outside of SheActive boutique
-having a collection jar at Rouge River Crossfit, who also ended up purchasing socks from our We Help Two campaign to fill their swag bags for an event they are having in September. Our sock fundraiser is still going strong but will be closing out soon so if you need more socks visit our site at:
https://go.wehelptwo.com/campaign/?campaignid=1835
-Herman’s Boy has a offered to have a change jar set out for us for the whole month of August!
-We also will have a table at the Rockford Farmers’ market labor day weekend to sale more Clara Cookies, with profits benefiting Ellie. These cookies are amazing and so is the lady in charge (Rebecca!)….check them out at:
https://www.claracookies.com/

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So basically our community is pretty amazing!!!

We also received a grant from the Down syndrome Association of West Michigan (DSAWM). This organization has been such a great support and resource throughout this process! This is the same organization hosting the walk in September that we are participating in for Ellie. There is still time to join our team and walk along side us as part of “Ellie’s Entourage!” Follow the link below to join us in September.
https://dsawm.ezeventsolutions.com/StepUp/ElliesEntourage

We are so excited and nervous about the months to come. As we take steps forward towards bringing Ellie home we are certain that God is leading the way. I would be lying if I said that the only emotion I feel is joy. It’s hard to face all the emotions that come along with this process, especially when they are feelings of uncertainty, fear, anxiety, etc. Don’t get me wrong I feel all sorts of joy in my heart, but those are all present too. Being Honest about feelings in this process feels awkward but I think it’s important. There are highs and lows, questions and certainties, joy and fear. The more I start talking about these things the more “normal” they become and the more accepting I become of everything that comes along with this. Of course I am not saying I have it all figured out, but I (along with our entire family) are learning so much through this process. And although lessons on being honest with our emotions, filling out mounds of paperwork that initially make zero sense, home improvement and fundraising are continuously being learned our biggest lesson has been what can occur when we trust God’s plan, listen to his nudging and surrender all to him over and over again.