China!!

After many months of waiting, praying, and waiting some more, we are restarting the adoption process! I first titled this post A New Journey Begins, but it's not really a new journey. It's more a continuation of the same journey, just down a different path. I wanted to start a new blog, but I realize that everything we've already gone through is all part of the journey to our little girl. God has been weaving his perfect plan all along, knowing exactly what would happen in Vietnam. When we first started thinking of adopting, we wanted to adopt from China. We knew about the one child rule, and the many baby girls who need homes. We also felt drawn to Asia. But, we didn't qualify for China because of age, so we thought Vietnam was a perfect fit. When Vietnam closed, we looked at other programs, but none of them felt right for our family. We decided to keep waiting and see where God was leading us.

We've had China on our hearts for a long time, but we didn't qualify because of our age. I don't think many people look forward to turning 30, but I can't wait because that will mean we are eligible! Since that's less than six months away, we're starting the paperwork process now. That way, we can (hopefully) turn in our dossier right when I turn 30. April 2007 was when we applied to our first agency for Vietnam. It's hard to believe that it's been two years since we initially started the adoption process!

We just found out today that we've been accepted into Holt's China program. Holt is a very reputable agency that has been doing international adoption from the beginning. They are experts at what they do, and we have already been very impressed with their staff. They've been very happy to answer any questions and great with communication. We'll be adopting through their Child of Promise program, which is a program to adopt a child with minor/correctable special needs. They will match us with a child based on the needs that we specify.

We are praising God that we are now ready to step forward again, and thankful for how He drew us to Him during the wait. Soon the hardest waiting will begin!

Fingerprints Again

We went to Indy to get our fingerprints redone today. They expire after 15 months, so we had to go back to keep our paperwork up to date. It's frustrating to have to go all the way to have the fingerprints taken again (digitally, I might add), but we took advantage of the trip by spending some time at the Children's Museum. It's just hard to believe that we started this process about 18 months ago. Still no updates. We're just keeping everything current so that once we decide on the right country for us we can go ahead with the process.

The Chapmans on Good Morning America

If you missed seeing the Chapman interview on GMA this morning, you can watch it here. My heart continues to break for this family. They have been through so much, but their faith has not faltered.

The Hunger Site

I found this awesome website that allows you to donate food with a simple click. Go here to check it out. All you have to do is click on a box and it donates over a cup of food to the hungry. So easy to do! You can have an email sent to your inbox to remind you to click daily. That's what I'm doing so I don't forget to do it every day. Just a small way to make a difference.

Waiting

If you're wondering what's going on with our adoption, we're in a period of waiting right now-waiting on God's direction and leading. With Vietnam closing and some other things we've been through lately, we're trying to get a sense of where God is guiding us. We feel a peace about this time of waiting, and we know that God will direct us in the future. We'll update you on any decisions we make.

Please Call Your Legislators!

We have contacted many of you regarding the campaign going on for Vietnam adoptions. I just got done calling and emailing my legislators. For some reason I've always been intimidated by this sort of thing, but it really was simple. After talking to a live person, I emailed them with the same message as well. When I talked our local representative's office, they actually gave me the email of the right person to contact, which I thought was really cool that they are listening! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's the email we sent that explains the details:

Please join us in a campaign that's going on to encourage our government to come up with an interim agreement in order for adoptions in Vietnam to continue when the current agreement expires on September 1. You can find out more about it here . Please call your legislators today, Tuesday, or Wednesday (June 2, 3, or 4th) asking them to them to support A Child's Right Campaign for Vietnam. Please call both of your U.S. Senators and your representative in the U.S. House of Representatives. You can find your Senators' phone numbers and email address at www.senate.gov and your Representatives' phone numbers and email address at www.house.gov. I've included Illinois senator's information: Richard Durbin (202)224-2152, Barack Obama (202-224-2854).

Include the following in your calls and emails.

· "I/we urge the Senator/Congressperson to join the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Co-Chairs and sign their letter to Secretary Condoleezza Rice in support of the recommendations found in Joint Council's A Child's Right Campaign for Vietnam."

If they have not heard about the Campaign, ask them to contact the Congressional Coalition for Adoption Institute at 202-544-8500 or Joint Council on International Children's Services at 703-535-8045.

The Door Closes

We learned some very sad news yesterday. I have alluded to the possibility of a closure in Vietnam, but we had hope that it may still work out in the end. However, the US Embassy in Hanoi posted an announcement on Friday that they will accept dossiers through July 1, but you must have a referral by September 1 in order to adopt from Vietnam. The closure is not a surprise, but I thought they would grandfather in those who had dossiers over there. It is really hard knowing that our daughter won't be from Vietnam. We have fallen in love with the country and culture, and we've made some wonderful Vietnamese friends in the community in the process. It is good to finally have some answers, but there are still so many unknowns. We aren't sure yet where we will go from here. Please keep the many families affected by this news in your prayers. Many have been on waiting lists for many, many months and don't know if they will get a referral before the September 1st deadline. If you're interested in reading more, check out the Voices for Vietnam Integrity blog.