tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53728555626170181672024-02-07T20:34:15.876-08:00The Red SatchelThe Journey to our second daughter, fourth child, and insanity.Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-8488313796343486382010-10-06T08:44:00.001-07:002010-10-06T08:44:41.954-07:00All is well! God is faithful! Macie is home and doing fantastic!Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-25408631207963431472010-08-03T09:30:00.000-07:002010-08-03T09:31:18.993-07:00Finally....a confirmed travel date!!<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:130%;" class="swb" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Wow, I guess I really need to apologize for not keep this blog updated. So much has happened and so quickly over the last week or so and I have failed to keep it updated. First, on July 29<sup>th</sup>, we received our TA (Travel Approval)!! That was the final paper we were waiting on from China! Once our travel guy confirmed a Consulate date for September 1<sup>st</sup>, we were able to purchase airline tickets to travel (a full $1,000 less than anticipated – thank you Lord)! We are leaving for China on August 19<sup> th</sup>! I can believe it! Only 17 more days!!! It looks likes we will be traveling with at least 2 or 3 other families, one of which is going to the same province! Our room additions are nearly complete and we have been gathering furniture, clothes, and other items for Macie. We requested an update on her measurements several weeks ago, but have not heard back. That is ok. We will know soon enough. We are planning on letting her pick her own clothes (within reason) when we get there. We are not sure if she has ever had that opportunity. We plan on taking our mini laptop with us so that we can Skype with the kids and hopefully keep our friends updated. The next step in the process is to wait for our travel guy to schedule our final travel meeting and to send a copy of our in-country itinerary. We don’t exactly relish our 14 hour flight to Beijing, but what are we to do – lol. I guess a few Tylenol PM’s will help – lol. One good thing about the flight itinerary, we get into Beijing at 2:20pm instead of the midnight that we experienced last time! That’s gives us some time to rest fore getting up at the crack of dawn the next day!</span></span>Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-41774589592688137112010-06-01T14:08:00.000-07:002010-06-01T14:16:22.105-07:00Another Miracle!<p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><span class="swb" style="font-size:130%;"><i><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;">Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles He performs for people - Psalms 66:5</span></i> </span></p> <p><span class="swb" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-family:Comic Sans MS;" >Just when we think that God has done all that He is going to do, He steps in and demonstrates His faithfulness to carry out his promise COMPLETELY! At my last post, we still needed to raise approximately $8,500 for our remaining in-country expenses. As always, we didn’t know how we were going to come up with it, but we trusted that God would again fulfill His promise to provide. And provide He did! We have had an "anonymous" donor that gave us $10,000 to take care of the specific needs as well as a little "buffer" money just in case the costs are more than anticipated! How awesome is our Lord! </span> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><span class="swb" style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;">All glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20</span></i></span></p>Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-55682725638895542662010-05-18T13:37:00.000-07:002010-05-18T13:39:31.725-07:00<span style="color:#000099;">Haven’t written in a while and so much has happened! Probably the most significant is we now have a tentative travel date! On August 19th, we should be departing the US to go get our daughter! We were hoping for July, but our Lord knows what He is doing. That week is the week that school starts back and we will hate to miss it. We have mailed off our travel Visa applications as well as our USCIS I-800 forms. We have also found out that Macie is in the 4 th grade right now, but we are not so sure that it is equivalent to our 4th grade or not. It looks like we may only traveling with one other family that lives in Korea. Our last travel group had 8 families. I don’t know if a much smaller "group" will be more beneficial or less. They may pair us up with another group, that would be fine as well. We also have another answered prayer! We have had another grant agency give us $1,500! Thank you Lord! We will definitely need it. During our first travel meeting last week (conference call), we found out that the airfare has went up significantly than was estimated by our agency. But, it doesn’t matter if it triples or quadruples, we are going to go when the time comes and the Lord will continue to provide!</span>Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-69423835543447997522010-05-05T04:21:00.001-07:002010-05-05T04:21:39.562-07:00LOA!<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><span class="swb"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">LOA!!</span> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><span class="swb"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">We have it! Our LOA has arrived! 58 days after our LID, we now have our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) from China! How awesome! We were told that it could be 60-120 days before we could get it, so I wasn’t really looking for it yet! What a great surprise! This doesn’t change our tentative travel dates, but its soooooo great to have this huge milestone behind us. We could travel as early as July, and as late as September (if current date statistics hold true). Thank you Lord!! </span> </span></p>Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-39575359905087554542010-04-09T09:13:00.000-07:002010-04-09T09:20:00.920-07:00Two items of interest and praise!<span style="color:#000066;">Great news! Actually, I have two items that are definately worthy of praise! First, we found out yesterday (throught a credible source) that Ling did get her birthday box!! Thank you Lord! Second, today we found out that she has been attending a public school for several years and probably already knows "some" key English words! That fact was good news in itself, but the best news is that the orphanage has agreed to arrange for a tutor for Ling within the month!! That is wonderful news! Thank you Lord!</span>Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-23474505806367144102010-03-27T16:17:00.000-07:002010-03-27T16:25:15.182-07:00Almost a teenager<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFtGe8kmFI_9VU7H9c5ZSNHFkiK5izzzpXVPyhrEEyT9h5KAa7t4nv67T-BpYi6oB86TcwEWbLuAVisyZrxDFGKGTPDErSdZO0xpAQ45OYnFOr2MkLX3q1Kra08QEOyG3fv0yYHCqPtqeU/s1600/IMG_7795.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFtGe8kmFI_9VU7H9c5ZSNHFkiK5izzzpXVPyhrEEyT9h5KAa7t4nv67T-BpYi6oB86TcwEWbLuAVisyZrxDFGKGTPDErSdZO0xpAQ45OYnFOr2MkLX3q1Kra08QEOyG3fv0yYHCqPtqeU/s200/IMG_7795.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453457843728901298" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjigNErEKWZx660oeujxvfrjDo3TpV4sdAbRZRhUPAHdUu1YDnP2rMM13nb1lXx4yrHYpqpWOiNH8HttOQd2hYSKWHnFRy5J-55-miqu_11Ey2Lcoc7CdlwqyG2LaeWvtZnHqGrkj0HOeVQ/s1600/IMG_7772.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjigNErEKWZx660oeujxvfrjDo3TpV4sdAbRZRhUPAHdUu1YDnP2rMM13nb1lXx4yrHYpqpWOiNH8HttOQd2hYSKWHnFRy5J-55-miqu_11Ey2Lcoc7CdlwqyG2LaeWvtZnHqGrkj0HOeVQ/s200/IMG_7772.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453457838237826626" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8tX-nC_dnSixFEZx3x4xrqM31jgX38ZQJVZDVCROzv6X4xUwKkq-LBcbFTLvtx9o5zmgYqr3ooInlZd1XIPLEacJtPWtrhr3bGgC3WOA-FSqTX4z7_Lv4_Z0rII9M1VaVVBsiXpdaW4GT/s1600/IMG_7766.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8tX-nC_dnSixFEZx3x4xrqM31jgX38ZQJVZDVCROzv6X4xUwKkq-LBcbFTLvtx9o5zmgYqr3ooInlZd1XIPLEacJtPWtrhr3bGgC3WOA-FSqTX4z7_Lv4_Z0rII9M1VaVVBsiXpdaW4GT/s200/IMG_7766.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453457829023497570" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="swb"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-family:Comic Sans MS;" ><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Her birthday came and went. I would have loved to have given her a birthday hug. She turned 12 on March 21st. Almost a teenager. We did have the opportunity to send her a birthday box, which we did. We mailed it on March 6th and according to the tracking slip, it was received at its destination on March 16th. Not sure if that means it made it to her specific orphanage address, or if it was just received in a general location within China. Either way, we are trusting in the Lord that it made its way to her. We were told that she needed and wanted clothes, so we sent 4 pair of Capri's style pants, 4 matching shirts, a Hello Kitty shirt, and a light jacket. We also sent 2 more disposable cameras, a jewelry box craft kit, a picture album with over 120 pictures of family and friends, a photo magnet with the families picture in it, a birthday card with all of our signatures, 2 reading magnifiers, a Happy Birthday flashing button/pin, and a beautiful necklace that a friend of ours sent us for her. In the photo album, we placed pictures of family members holding "Happy Birthday" signs with pictures of BD cakes/balloons etc. so that she could see what we were saying without needing a translator to tell her.</span></span>Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-58343529457179410202010-03-23T13:36:00.001-07:002010-03-23T13:38:17.869-07:00Finally a LIDWell, I guess I should update. We finally have our LID (log in date). March 5th. This is about 30 days later than we had anticipated. Our agency says it is partially due to the Chinese New Year and the subsequent holiday closing of the CCAA office. But, its all in the Lords timing anyways, and not our own.Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-56087064100726970702010-03-08T14:28:00.000-08:002010-03-08T14:44:58.192-08:00Birthday box<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-size:100%;" >Sorry it has been a while since a post. Still haven't heard from our agency in regards to a log in date (LID). Not really worried about it, just very curious. We should have had an LID several weeks ago. On a brighter note, we mailed out a box on Saturday that contained items for Ling's birthday which is the 21st of this month. She will be 12. I printed several "signs" that said happy birthday etc. and had the kids hold them while I took a picture. I did the same for Carolyn and I. We put these pictures as well as over 100 more into an album for the box. We also sent several outfits, some visual magnifiers, a small craft kit, a flashing "happy birthday pin", a necklace from a friend, 2 more disposable cameras and a few gifts for the orphanage director. It weighed 12 pounds and 4 ounces. It actually cost more to mail it than the value of the contents, but that's ok. We also included a birthday card that we all signed. I know that she probably cannot read any of the words on the pictures or on the card, but she will get the idea as the card and the signs had birthday cakes and balloons etc. on them. We really wanted to send a home movie DVD (in the event she had access to a DVD player), but we dint have time to compose one. If all goes well, she should have the box a few days before her birthday. I know we took a chance on sending her clothes, but Carolyn did a lot of research using Ling's latest measurements to estimate her clothing siz</span>e.Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-4403265568830233222010-02-12T10:38:00.000-08:002010-02-12T10:42:03.105-08:00Great News!Found out this morning that Ling received her care package box!!!! Thank you Lord!! We have been worried that she had not!!! Awesome! Awesome!! Awesome!!! We can now send her a box for her birthday which is in March!!Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-70119151346150965482010-02-07T11:34:00.001-08:002010-02-07T11:40:07.006-08:00A small delay<p><span class="swb"><span style="font-family:Arial Rounded MT Bold;color:#000080;">Good news and bad news. First the bad news - I was informed Friday that the timeline for special needs from china is now 5-7 months to travel after LID. That would put our tentative travel between July and August and not between May and June which I originally thought. It now takes 2 to 4 months to review our dossier and roughly 3 months to travel aftewards. I guess the good news is that we now have more time to prepare and more time to raise the remaining finances. Oh well, it's all in the Lords timing :)</span><br /></span></p>Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-65043097997626824082010-01-29T18:32:00.000-08:002010-01-29T18:33:20.883-08:00Finally DTC!!<p><span class="swb"><i><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#ff0000;">The Lord is my strength and my song; He has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise Him - my father's God, and I will exalt Him! Exodus 15:2</span></i></span></p> <p><span class="swb"><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#000080;">Finally, we can breath a sigh of relief! We are officially DTC today! For those of you who are not familiar with that term, it means we are<u> D</u>ossier<u> T</u>o<u> C</u>hina. Our dossier consists of all the documents that are needed by China to process our request to adopt. We started collecting and processing these documents in early September, 2009. There are 15 original documents that were processed at local and federal levels as well as copies of passports, extra passport pictures, multiple signed agreements, and six family photographs. On another wonderful note, we have also received word this week that we are the recipients of two additional grants! How awesome and faithful is our God!</span> </span></p>Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-89664998639648011052010-01-21T14:45:00.000-08:002010-01-21T14:53:53.880-08:00Some new pictures<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZH-CmfEwOoS8YK3L5ZjbodOaM-kQE30RtQhY5ScoxCQSjTPEcQN_jUheJYns_mCqT-DG35ud-sIQHbnjy_klrEhfArmgUxCM_tv50WrMeXpAafQ7in53_K2fljnD919aR0QWa11a0rSfz/s1600-h/Nov+22+09.BMP"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 149px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZH-CmfEwOoS8YK3L5ZjbodOaM-kQE30RtQhY5ScoxCQSjTPEcQN_jUheJYns_mCqT-DG35ud-sIQHbnjy_klrEhfArmgUxCM_tv50WrMeXpAafQ7in53_K2fljnD919aR0QWa11a0rSfz/s200/Nov+22+09.BMP" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429329213519151474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9SxPbwVqsIfTcY6zu0Md_wOrfTgJECXKEn8Byyekpxrh4895ote4XWISTasnJ-Jy0hfrRx1TnlP4V1j7_Mvv73fWKUZZaY815KmkNqA43VqW5MCJy173gjiBbk3aAp5EXqCeklE8nn5XF/s1600-h/Mar+20+09.BMP"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9SxPbwVqsIfTcY6zu0Md_wOrfTgJECXKEn8Byyekpxrh4895ote4XWISTasnJ-Jy0hfrRx1TnlP4V1j7_Mvv73fWKUZZaY815KmkNqA43VqW5MCJy173gjiBbk3aAp5EXqCeklE8nn5XF/s200/Mar+20+09.BMP" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429329040017731314" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHijY1FBwY48oUDhe0jz6HGepvCjTEnn6gSP8I3vqUD55m2iMeqtl86tiHYXIS81Yt2gwsL8mnYplj5BZqG3riwwe08FMEryo8DWE4zn2ALotbGHMsehqQ1nxhtYWrltiMnn711qyAAY2/s1600-h/Feb+19+09.BMP"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 140px; height: 187px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHijY1FBwY48oUDhe0jz6HGepvCjTEnn6gSP8I3vqUD55m2iMeqtl86tiHYXIS81Yt2gwsL8mnYplj5BZqG3riwwe08FMEryo8DWE4zn2ALotbGHMsehqQ1nxhtYWrltiMnn711qyAAY2/s200/Feb+19+09.BMP" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429328593414549810" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span class="swb"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-family:Comic Sans MS;" >The dear la</span></span><span class="swb"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-family:Comic Sans MS;" >dy from Spain has sent us more pictures of Ling. Here are three of the better pictures. She actually sent about 10 or so and some are as recent 30-45 days ago. She looks so mature! It's hard to </span></span><span class="swb"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-family:Comic Sans MS;" >believe she is only 11 years old. The picture of her in the blue sweater is reportedly from November of 2009. The one where she is sitting on the side of the bed is from March, 2009. The picture of her in the white pullover is from February, 2009. These dates might not be accurate, but are probably close. </span></span>Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-60478038586944840272010-01-15T16:50:00.000-08:002010-01-15T17:04:03.644-08:00So far away<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmqjtuDaj_2dQGGqJfzbTo0h5R5U8vSN_Xj0Rsa8MR5hF4Uv6NpEPDQJJTtguxU0bhAaO0pc-2Ig-rbDTYCzSEA0QAW9RowgzeIzcSDgeBkJjubPElyAU3NPJNPmA_voXqyUBh-IXskMX/s1600-h/China+for+blog.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 163px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmqjtuDaj_2dQGGqJfzbTo0h5R5U8vSN_Xj0Rsa8MR5hF4Uv6NpEPDQJJTtguxU0bhAaO0pc-2Ig-rbDTYCzSEA0QAW9RowgzeIzcSDgeBkJjubPElyAU3NPJNPmA_voXqyUBh-IXskMX/s200/China+for+blog.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427136438063531714" border="0" /></a><br />Here is a map of China for those who are unfamiliar. Ling is in the Jiangxi province. Bella was from Louyang in the Henan Province (just above Jiangxi).Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-9877394687980317092010-01-09T18:06:00.000-08:002010-01-09T18:07:13.790-08:00<p><span class="swb"><i><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#ff0000;">Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. Jeremiah 17:7</span></i> </span></p> <span class="swb"><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#000080;">We brought our need to Him, and He answered. We have been contacted by yet another grant agency (Christian based) that has generously agreed to give us a $4,000 no interest loan that we don’t have to pay back until the middle of 2011!! This is another example to how God will take care of us, if we but ask! Our 15 documents have been priority mailed to the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC and to the Chinese Consulate in New York for authentication. We hope to have them back in 10-15 days. We can then overnight them to our agency to send off to China!<br /></span></span>Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-18097883595471112232009-12-29T13:22:00.000-08:002010-02-01T16:03:42.080-08:00Seeing is beleiving<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy5vK_NvlXYm9jL1lNToA7ZmuchKXKPyUjzRomrvJMq-0PUX5vzdpyM9J2OntAKW8lb_MRsszQ_6dt2p9DrqQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />We are very blessed to have received a video from a dear lady who traveled to Ling's orphanage in 2008. She sent us about 30 minutes of video of the orphanage with over 5 minutes of Ling included! The video that she sent on DVD is actually much clearer than it appears on our blog. I have trimmed several minutes of the video and posted it here. The video shows Ling playing with and comforting several small children. It is such a blessing to see her caring for others in her situation. We have been told that she is a very loving and caring young lady and we can see that in the video. Carolyn and I debated if Ling had some sort of "tick". If you watch her closely, it appears that her head "jerks/twitches" somewhat. I think we came to the conclusion that it was probably that she was just facing a very large window and she was "fighting" the glare. One of the ladies that has visited the orphanage several times this year says that she refuses to wear sunglasses.Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-67822739178795634782009-12-21T15:52:00.001-08:002009-12-21T15:57:53.359-08:00Pictures<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfjJlf0zemVXZxlLccJR0fQc4M1g1VYwkAeUk1sQwTuU-A5zNPHxxe2vDwaUXIEokYN2Qj2cjXs7KmGj0USxvKpvk_98xQMFneBQF1O3LOat6bh1s5zsAH5dN5NQ-yOU8o4EwkUd3GEh6/s1600-h/DSC01273.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfjJlf0zemVXZxlLccJR0fQc4M1g1VYwkAeUk1sQwTuU-A5zNPHxxe2vDwaUXIEokYN2Qj2cjXs7KmGj0USxvKpvk_98xQMFneBQF1O3LOat6bh1s5zsAH5dN5NQ-yOU8o4EwkUd3GEh6/s200/DSC01273.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417842044560470946" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RNXTrsZnT5JaFH3PhWLHFgGAFLhJRZkf-D5ZYQ625UMmMjvQr0QsprD8Rfm7Eloaj0Z82NEl10eRYeQdtoVZ2eAWoZSsqy78h47mFBi5R-pQwhpM__FFXlLGBqbhjROh93e7Q41-UkgF/s1600-h/CIMG2198.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RNXTrsZnT5JaFH3PhWLHFgGAFLhJRZkf-D5ZYQ625UMmMjvQr0QsprD8Rfm7Eloaj0Z82NEl10eRYeQdtoVZ2eAWoZSsqy78h47mFBi5R-pQwhpM__FFXlLGBqbhjROh93e7Q41-UkgF/s200/CIMG2198.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417841848257101266" border="0" /></a><br />Here are a few more pictures that we have of Ling. She looks sooooo skinny! These almost look like two different girls, but we have been assured they are both Ling. I think they are take about a year apart (both pics are about a year old)Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-4100776888437080152009-12-21T14:56:00.001-08:002009-12-21T15:06:29.826-08:00Fingerprints and answered prayer!<p><span class="swb" style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">We went to the USCIS office in Columbus to have our fingerprints recorded on the 17<sup>th</sup> and all went well! Another answered prayer to report! We received a wonderful phone call on December 16<sup>th</sup> from an organization that we had applied to for assistance! They will be sending our agency $3,000 on our behalf to go towards our expenses! Praise the Lord! He truly knows what we need when we need it!! We had a balance of $1,300 that needed paid before we could send in our dossier, and now we have it!</span> <span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> We have our Consulate and Embassy documents ready to go for the final authentication. We hope to have our USCIS approval toward the end of the week or early next week. When we have that, we will need to have a copy of it notarized, taken to the county courthouse for authentication, and then my plans are hand delivering it to the Secretary of State for their certification. Then it will be ready to send to the Consulate. Once we have the USCIS clearance document back from the Consulate, our dossier should be ready to go to China. If (and that’s a big “if”) we can get “logged-in” before January 10<sup> th</sup>, we wont have to file an extension. The Lord will truly have to work a miracle for that to happen.</span></span></p>Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-56702801970810552472009-11-29T15:08:00.000-08:002009-12-21T15:04:02.658-08:00<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" class="swb" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-family:Comic Sans MS;" >Just a quick post, but another answered prayer. God has provided the money we need to send our dossier paperwork clear up to the Secretary's of State level. Just like He said He would do!</span></span>Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-54092082907458418302009-11-12T15:04:00.000-08:002009-11-12T15:16:36.800-08:00Inside the Orphanage<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYHVyNs-ZNTH3SrVsdTD3VIOzaUwvXNL1UndaDLhE4hmPzoeewgljdCvm-dmC2JoVp7aC3S4I590ML_KeLQypkGx68vthapQ1-oZBJODc0ARE0Y4l7lriK5VUyFMDjQhsdKKrqgGgDM-kU/s1600-h/Colorless+room.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 174px; height: 153px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYHVyNs-ZNTH3SrVsdTD3VIOzaUwvXNL1UndaDLhE4hmPzoeewgljdCvm-dmC2JoVp7aC3S4I590ML_KeLQypkGx68vthapQ1-oZBJODc0ARE0Y4l7lriK5VUyFMDjQhsdKKrqgGgDM-kU/s200/Colorless+room.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403359318844363906" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNe04A6oCxH9b46xGDwMYiymUTyNSr8iPoaryiCh3Tc4uqtFLhPV_5gv50V-WEKO4A4j_8tkm0f0gFPCss3_NidkuEHDW9azMUhLAHBWBO_ekwkX30thjfD0xyNkbdpQDyp-bUm8BBSTpi/s1600-h/Double+potty.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNe04A6oCxH9b46xGDwMYiymUTyNSr8iPoaryiCh3Tc4uqtFLhPV_5gv50V-WEKO4A4j_8tkm0f0gFPCss3_NidkuEHDW9azMUhLAHBWBO_ekwkX30thjfD0xyNkbdpQDyp-bUm8BBSTpi/s200/Double+potty.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403359317068044786" border="0" /></a>Over the last few days, a nice lady has sent me more pictures of Ling's orphanage and surrounding Province. The orphanage is a once abandoned hotel. It looks clean, but according to the pictures I have seen, looks very bleak and somewhat colorless. I am sure they do what they can for these kids, but I wished they had a little money to spend on pictures etc. to make it a little nicer for them. I have stared the certification process for all of our paperwork that must go to the state and federal government as well as the Consulate and Embassy for authentication. Its a huge process, but taken one step at a time, is manageable. Carolyn and I are praying for the money to finish this part of the process. The next time I post, I hope to be able to report that God has provided again :)Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-12530973316983965112009-11-09T15:04:00.000-08:002009-11-09T15:17:48.043-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGgwUtAAEXlKWV4rpzcINDqsy6Re_3NIiQGbm9_0y6UmI8ESWHX9CSfYJ_dOVR7RVDhzApZSWgNl2tsW9IFVOl5tVUBUhbl2Tv1IyBP66_4xKfnsx7RFZsdQDDg4NV2iiR0H1WjNJD6j5/s1600-h/Wash+day+at+the+orphanage.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGgwUtAAEXlKWV4rpzcINDqsy6Re_3NIiQGbm9_0y6UmI8ESWHX9CSfYJ_dOVR7RVDhzApZSWgNl2tsW9IFVOl5tVUBUhbl2Tv1IyBP66_4xKfnsx7RFZsdQDDg4NV2iiR0H1WjNJD6j5/s200/Wash+day+at+the+orphanage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402244837246068402" border="0" /></a><br />Today we mailed out the care package. Praying that it makes its way into her hands. According to the post office, it should arrive at her orphanage in 7-10 business days. I didn't mention that we were able to mail the box as a result of an answered prayer. We had it nearly ready to go with the exception of a few remaining items we really wanted to send and was praying for the funds to get them. On Friday we received an unexpected check from a church in Alabama that was just enough to purchase the final remaining items and to pay the postage to send the box. Thank you Lord once again. I also received a few pictures today from an online friend who has been to the orphanage. One of them looks like it was taken on wash day. I couldn't image doing laundry for 200 kids and having to dry it outside on anything available (as the picture alludes). The orphanage is an abandoned hotel. Not really sure of the internal living conditions, but imagine they are sparse at best. I am sure they do the best with what they have.Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-86660479986890359882009-11-08T13:40:00.000-08:002009-11-08T14:17:26.333-08:00Care Package<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRYgLpD3mVixB0sSxzBz8vvosFxut24F7YFPLQv8qEltA5w1sXxe-Jh3pF8R8lMIVHHolqZ-pZgJU2szdNbnzENZLmZ29VhBv4wVAO4i8Re-oqarybvEHTPijjuHZgMrbL40pdnFuARt1/s1600-h/IMG_6876.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRYgLpD3mVixB0sSxzBz8vvosFxut24F7YFPLQv8qEltA5w1sXxe-Jh3pF8R8lMIVHHolqZ-pZgJU2szdNbnzENZLmZ29VhBv4wVAO4i8Re-oqarybvEHTPijjuHZgMrbL40pdnFuARt1/s200/IMG_6876.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401858275250507650" border="0" /></a><br />Today I finished the care package that is going to Ling. Tomorrow it goes in the mail! We ended up putting the following items in the box: A pink Ohio State hat (just because it was pink, but Trisha will like this anyways), a pair of fuzzy jammies, 4 pair fuzzy socks, 4 pair sunglasses (not fuzzy), a tween journal (hopefully her caretakers will encourage her to write in it and maybe her friends and caretakers will do the same), a set of 4 cute ink pens, chap stick, 1 heart shaped necklace, another necklace that says "big sister", two disposable cameras, hair scrunchies, hair clips, fancy bobbie pins, a package of Gheodelli chocolates (for the orphanage Director), and a photo album with about 75 pics of family (our favorite item). We labeled a lot of the pictures in Chinese and American so that she could see who her mom and dad are (ok, maybe not a good idea-lol) and what her siblings looked like. We also were blessed to be able to have two letters translated (thank you AHH). One from us to Ling and one to the orphanage director. I know how excited we were when we sent Bella a similar box! When I was packing this one for Ling, Bella was asking me question after question. "Daddy, did you send me a box when I was in China"? Yes sweetie, Me and mommy sent you a box just like this one. "Why daddy"? Because we loved you Bella and we wanted to let you know that we were coming for you! "Did you put the same stuff in the box Daddy"? Some of the stuff was the same, but we also sent you some different things that we thought you would like! "I did like them daddy, I liked them a lot"! I dont really think she remembers opening the box, but who knows. We have pictures of her opening it....and they are priceless to us! We pray that this box makes it to Ling with at least the letter and photo album. If the rest of the items make it, great. But we would at least like her to be able to see her new family so that maybe she wont be so scared. If you dont mind, those that are reading this, say a little prayer that the box makes it to the right destination. We probably wont know until we go get her.Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-10792469764808133382009-11-05T16:54:00.001-08:002009-11-05T16:58:44.217-08:00Movin alongWe finally got our I800-A application sent in today to the US Department of Homeland Security. Applications are taking 30-45 days on average to process right now. That gives us 30-45 days to get all of our documents authenticated, which means we are leaning on the Lord to provide the money to take care of it. On an answered prayer note, we received an unexpected check today that will cover the purchase of the remaining items that we want to put in Ling's care package as well as covering the postage to send it to China (about $50). Thank you Lord! Its just so awesome to see how He provides exactly what we need exactly when we need it :)Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-73263127487124983932009-11-02T18:30:00.000-08:002009-11-02T18:33:02.174-08:00Another answered prayerIn my last post, I mentioned not having the money to send in with our I-800A form. I prayed about it all day....and God answered this evening :) A kind agency is taking care of it for us with a no interest loan that we can pay back whenever we have it :) I absolutely take that as an answered prayer! Thank you LordFiremantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5372855562617018167.post-39239143479099917392009-11-02T14:49:00.000-08:002009-11-02T14:57:33.204-08:00Very short video clip of Ling. This was taken by the father of a child that was adopting from the same orphanage. Ling helped care for his daughter.<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwljWvDU-Y6h08TExBZwpvKheHjnxiUq_JvT_PIq-U9y4I-m4FFncpiqwUEh53u9_LLJNc7tIjuD1602AVmLg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Firemantrbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07387113308339303334noreply@blogger.com0