Recounting the blessings and slowly moving forward!

First of all, two friends of ours- the Gilmores and Padgetts, have been united with their newly adopted son and daughter. SO excited to see their journey come to fruition. Such a blessing and it gives us hope that ours trip is drawing to a reality every day! Please continue to pray as they finish up their trip and head home soon.

We got our PA (pre approval) from China on 5-4. We are waiting on our LOA (letter of approval) which is our final approval from China. After this we can file our immigration paperwork! We still have awhile. I just wanted to give a quick update!

Just a small testimony as I was thinking back....
Awhile back when we were waiting to submit our dossier, I was so frustrated because we were still waiting to have the money. I didn't understand why we were having to wait, as we had seemed to have the money "just in time" every other deadline that had passed. We waited exactly three and a half weeks to get the money which, in my mind, just delayed us from being eligible for a match a month longer. In my frustration, I failed then to see God's PERFECT timing. Had we not submitted our dossier when we did, we would have been eligible for a match in March instead of April. Bao wasn't on the March list- meaning we would have potentially been matched with another child. I know God has it all in His hands. Thank you for your continued love, support, and prayers!

What a fantastic day!!

I know I say this often.. but I suppose it really can't be said enough. God is so good and I'm just speechless at the blessings He pours out upon us. Today we had our biscuits and gravy fundraiser. We tried not to get disheartened as we knew there were MANY other things going on today (it's May- it's crazy time! :) so we had no idea the turnout that we would have. We had over one hundred people- amazing support- come out. God meant business when He reassured me that He would bring our son home to us! :) Today, I had the opportunity to meet Laura and Renee Kreglo- two people that I have a feeling will be in our family's life for years and years to come. Laura was adopted from China when she was seven months old and is now fourteen. Though a series of "God events" (I don't believe in coincidences), I was introduced to them through facebook and then for the first time, today. Laura is beautiful, inside and out. Renee has been so inspiring in the short time I've known here and for that, I'm so thankful! It's so amazing to have people that understand the journey you are on and are willing to cheer you to the end!

Monday we will submit our updated homestudy, I-800 (more immigration stuff on Bao specifically), and our silly supplement three that USCIS decided to make us fill out (it helps change our age range since we originally weren't approved past 1.5 years.) Prayers that all goes well!! As the days go by, my heart longs more and more to bring Bao home. I know we have quite awhile still to go. I know he is in God's hands, but not having the ability to know what he is doing day in and day out is hard. 


At 2:30 AM Mother's Day, our friends the Padgett's will meet their daughter Joelle in China. I'm bursting at the seams to hear details!!! It's so exciting to see other parents journeys finally come to fruition and be so close! David and Kathy, friends of ours from the KC area will meet their son Monday. I'm so thankful these two children will meet their forever families shortly!!


We'd appreciate your continued prayers as we wait on Pre-approval from China and wait for our immigration approvals to be processed.

 

FINALLY!!!!!!!

At Last!!

Last Tuesday, around 11:00, Holt (our agency) called us. It was Beth, one of the China program social workers. She said "Michelle, we have a little boy for you. First of all, he is beautiful. He is one year and a half. He had a congenital heart defect but it has been repaired and he is very healthy!". I was in shock and stumbled on my words as I tried to write down everything I heard. I quickly got off the phone, called Nathan, and waited for the email packet with his pictures and information to review. When you get a referral, at least through our agencies "China Child of Promise" program, you are given approximately twenty four hours to lock in the child's file. Locking in a file simply means you want to further explore their file and request any additional information that might be needed to make a choice. I got the email, found his pictures, and his pictures pierced my heart immediately. To say he was born to be a Sherer baby is an understatement :). He is beautiful, in my humble opinion. I'm a very THANKFUL mama!

We started looking at his file and realized he was not a year and a half but actually two and a half. Needless to say, this caused quite a stir for us because we were not, at that point, approved for a child that "old". We put it in the Lord's hand, asking that He would open the doors if he was supposed to be part of our family and close the doors if he wasn't. An hour or so later, we spoke with Beth about the mistake (I had emailed her after we discovered the discrepancy). She apologized profusely and explained they didn't ever make those types of mistakes. We shared with her that we felt as though what looked like a "human error" was really "God's perfect timing and will". They discussed our situation among the China team and agreed to allow us to addendum our home study. At that point, Holt told us we would face a $300.00 fee for our home study change and a $340.00 change for our immigration paperwork- all because of the age difference. Again, as much as this was frustrating, we realized it was in God's hands to work out.

His Chinese name is Bao and he is from the Guandong province in China. We are so blessed to be able to call him ours and so thankful God has brought us together. Eli smashes his pictures on a daily basis by hugging them and kissing them. Kaylee carries his pictures in the car with us and shows everyone, quite proudly, that she has a China brother.

Guangdong Province

Chinese : 广东省 Guǎngdōng Shěng Cantonese Jyutping: Gwong2 Dung1 Saang2

Abbreviations: simplified Chinese: 粤; traditional Chinese: 粵  (pinyin: Yuè, Jyutping: Jyut6)

Just a few days ago, we learned Holt would not be charging us for our home study update. Thank you God! He is moving and we know He is working to bring our son home. Our hearts are full, yet they feel incomplete. We would appreciate continued prayers as we jump through hoops to update paperwork, learn patience as we wait, wait, wait.... and preparation as we will leave Kaylee and Eli here when we travel in September or October for 12-14 days to bring him home. It's all in God's hands and I know it will be okay.

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