Yippee! at last my article 5 is complete. It went in on February 5th and took 23 days to be completed! Why so long when the standard time is 14 days? Well, Chinese New Year fell during my time and everything shut down for a long time frame :(

Now it is a race against the clock for my TA. You see TAs take 3-4 weeks to receive and the actual travel takes place around 2 weeks after that. Again big bummer, if everything goes until the end of each time frame I will receive TA around March 28th and travel around April 11th. Well, guess what happens in April in Guangzhou China? The Trade Fair. It is a super huge event and brings in thousands of people from all over the world and essentially shuts or stalls down many things. It also triples the rate of hotels and airlines and such. Oh my. Most people in the adoption realm choose to hold off and wait until the Trade Fair is over to avoid the increase in cost and extra crowd. Unfortunately the Trade Fair is a 3 week event and will not be over until May 5th sigh.........

How can I make a decision to wait another 3 weeks to bring my beautiful little Blossom home?  Now, I have done some research on this and have found out that many people have received TAs in a much shorter time than 3-4 weeks. I see people are getting them in roughly 14 days and traveling two weeks after this. If this should work out for me then here is my time line. TA around April 11th and travel around April 25th. I like this time line a whole lot better. I would love it if everyone can pray and ask the Lord to allow this to happen if it is his will. It would sure be a blessing on our family and Blossom.

Well, what blog entry is complete without some new pictures of my little Blossom? I received these the other day and she just brightens my life and I am chomping at the bit to bring her home! Seems a group of people I do not know went on a mission trip and took this video and snapped a few pics of Blossom. 

Wearing the tiara that this family brought for Blossom. She loved it!

Final update picture of Blossom from my agency. Awe she lost another tooth without me.

Blossoms final update measurements are: height 38 inches, weight 23 pounds, chest 19 inches, and foot 5 inches. 

Here is the video that I was talking about. Click on the link and you will go to it on you tube.

 http://youtu.be/X5aqKOKrDuQ

High Heels & The Homeless

I bet you are wondering how shopping for high heel shoes can help the homeless. Let me go back a few days and fill you in. My daughter Jessica was invited to attend the Winter Formal. Along with the Winter Formal comes a new dress and of course new high heels. So, a few nights ago we went out shopping and found the perfect dress but could not find the shoes. Another shopping trip for the shoes landed us at Pay less Shoe Source. Now Jessica is not one to go shopping. She is defiantly one I would rank as go in, get what you need, and get out. No browsing allowed just straight to the point. Unless it is shoes. She loves to shop for shoes. She can try on pair after pair. Need-lees to say this is not something I tend to spend a great deal of time shopping for. So after browsing around and trying on a few pairs myself I just sat and waited for her to finish up.

I about broke my neck walking around the store wearing these things.

I sat there mindlessly staring off into space when I noticed a box with a $3.00 label on them. I reached down and grabbed the tennis shoes from the rack. At first I was thinking cool I can pick these up for my daughter Erica and even if she turns out not to like them they did not cost much. Then another thought crossed my mind. Our Church has a homeless ministry. Once a month they hand out personal size  toiletries to our homeless community. They will also hand out clothing, blankets and books when they have them available. So I tell my son Nathan "will you grab all of those shoes right there and take them up front?" I fill Jessica and Nathan in on what I am doing and together we collect 15 pairs of $3.00 tennis shoes.

I brought the shoes home and gave 1 pair to Erica. She said "look at what the tag says." 

I love it!

I am taking this little note tag  a a confirmation I am doing what the Lord would have me to do. Not only do I bring home 15 pairs of $3.00 shoes and a beautiful pair of high heels for Jessica the shoes that day were buy one pair get the other 50% off. So in reality half of the shoes were only $1.50!!!  How much cooler can you get Lord. I walked out of the store paying $51.00 for 16 pairs of shoes!!!!! The Lord is so good.

Now, onto Jessica and the Winter Formal. Here is some pictures of her beautiful shoes.

And like I said earlier along with the Winter Formal come a new dress and shoes. Here is my beautiful Jessica with her new dress and shoes.

What photo shoot would be complete without the................................. 

"Come on, we could be done by now."

"Will you just smile?"  "How's this?"  "Perfect."

No, No, No, that's not right."

"If you don't stop, I am going to send this to Grandma!"

  

Two of the most beautiful young ladies I know

But my all time favorite picture of the evening is...........................................

Yes, that's right, getting the  "thank you mom" kiss is the best part of all!

Thank you Lord for my beautiful Jessica.

     

Paid In Full

Paid In Full. This statement brings many emotions to my mind. Jesus dying on a cross to pay for my sins is one major thought. To this day I can not take communion without crying. I can not sit through a reenactment of His death. I have no way of comprehending the full magnitude of Christ willingly walking to his death. Being ridiculed, stripped, spit upon, and beat on along the way to be nailed and hang until death for sin I would commit in my life time. For the sins you would commit in your lifetime. He did this willingly because He loves me. He loves you. He created each of us. He knew we would fail Him at times and yet He still loves us. This is so amazing to me. I am continuously thanking Him for His sacrifice. I know I would never spend eternity with Jesus if He had not PAID IN FULL for my sin. Thank you Lord. I love this song and can never get through it without crying and just being so thankful to Jesus. I remember singing this as a child in church. It has changed a little over the years but it is still just the most awesome song.

I know many of you already have a relationship with Jesus, but some of you may not know Jesus as your Savior  He is the one who PAID IT ALL for you. If you want to learn about who Jesus is let me know. I would love to talk and pray with you.

The term PAID IN FULL brought on another emotion to me  last Thursday. Blossoms adoption through many, many, many, many,  people who have listened to the Lord has been PAID IN FULL!!!!!!! I am just so , so , so grateful to all of you who have blessed this adoption. So many warriors have prayed and prayed until they had callus's on their knees asking the Lord to bring Blossom home. Jesus listened to every one's pleas including my own. And because of your prayers and people listening to the Lord I have all my fees paid. I am again amazed on how the Lord has perfect timing. Did I always think this way? Yes  No, I had many times where I would think and ask God "what are we doing here Lord?"  I have laid this adoption at the feet of Jesus and left it there  and taken it back so many times it borders on being ridiculous. I have had my faith tested and stretched and retested again. I have had joy and excitement through out this process that I have never felt in my life. I have had the most opportunity ever to share what the Lord is doing for my family. It has not been easy at all, but I would not trade it for anything. I am going to China and bringing Blossom home. The only thing now is just waiting for all the paperwork to go through the right channels and then off we go. Thank you Thank you Thank you a million times Thank you!!!!!!!

Blossom celebrated her 7th birthday in China and here are a couple pics and video of her special day. A big thank you to a friend who shared this day with Blossom. Thanks!!!

Someone had a birthday.

Just a short note, Blossom turned 7 years old yesterday. My Nieces Lilly and Kylie and my nephew Bobby have been learning about the calendar and how it works. In October I sat down with them and together we entered every ones birthday on the calendar. Bobby had his 9th birthday in November and Kylie just had her 6th birthday at the beginning of December. They wanted to know what day Blossoms birthday fell on. So we entered that in on the calendar as well back in October. I was so touched by Bobby saying to me on Tuesday "2 days Blossoms birthday." I said your right but Blossom is still in China. I said do you want to have a party for Blossom? He said "party 2 days" You just have to love his new developing English skills. We do. So we had a little party on Blossoms behalf. Pics are not so hot as I used my phone but you get the idea.

Cute but simple little cake

A little help with the candles please. Look our dog Thumbellina
wants to get in on the action too.

I will take care of this for Blossom!!

Do these boots come in my size?

A party without presents? Not a chance. 

Please Open Early

It is not Christmas yet but I received an early Christmas present! I was told not to wait and open it right away. Any guesses on what I may have received? Here is a hint it comes in an overnight envelope. (Bows and Christmas tag not included Hee Hee)

And Look what they sent me. My LOA!!!!!!

Isn't this the most beautiful present anyone can ask for under the tree?

How awesome is this?

So tonight, instead of baking Christmas cookies, wrapping presents, shopping or watching a Christmas movie  I will fill out the DS-230, I-864, initial a copy of my referral, sign an original care plan letter, send yet another set of copies of our passports, copy of most current 800A and 3 sets of I-800 forms (visa applications ). Oh, also 1 application for immigrant visa for Miss Blossom. Hmmmm...... Christmas festivities or paperwork? .......I think I would rather do all of the paperwork!

As I approach bringing Blossom home I have begun preparing more for her arrival. She will need some special things that most children coming home will not need. Of course after she officially becomes my daughter in the eyes of the law (she already is in my heart ) She will be fitted and given her own equipment that will be designed with her in mind but until then she will need to borrow. I stumbled onto a really cool website called ABLE CLOSET it offers pediatric medical equipment that a person can check out and borrow for 6 month intervals. It is great as it is in the Bay area and only 3 hours from my home. They only ask for a small donation and that you return the equipment in good condition. I found a great wheelchair that will be perfect for Blossom. My sister in law Diane who spent time with Blossom the summer picked it up for me and said it will work out great.

It has a shoulder harness that will keep her sitting up and not leaning off to the side along with a comfy head rest.

The seat is called a tilt in space and can recline Blossom back if she gets tired.

You can even turn the seat around so she can see her mama and bond even more! The entire seat will detach from the frame and the frame folds up just like a regular stroller. How cool is that?

This little guy is my nephews son Aiden. He is 3 years old and is the same height as Blossom but he is about 11 pounds heavier than Blossom. He fits great so I know Blossom will have some room to spare.

I also belong to a wonderful yahoo group that deals with special needs medical equipment that parents no longer need. Maybe their child has grown larger or it did not work for their child. Anyway you can post on it if you are looking for something and if people are not using it any longer you can pick up some great deals. Because Blossom can not sit on her own she will be very difficult to bath I found this wonderful bath chair on this yahoo group. 

The seat can be made into many different seating positions from a chair to laying completely flat and many other positions in between. We use something similar at my work and it is wonderful. 

Lastly, I again stumbled onto another web site of a grandma who makes special needs chairs. These can be attached to your kitchen chair or put onto the floor up against the couch. She even says they can fit into a basket at the grocery store. Not trying this out till Blossom is home Hee hee.

Attached to the dinning room chair. Blossom can join in in the family meals.

Here it is with the front portion down so I can put her in. It has two position belts and the head bolsters to keep her upright.

Al-righty then enough of all my treasures, who wants to see some videos? Hold it down a minute and take a look.

I received these videos from my agency the other day. Looks like Blossom is going through her daily stretching exercises. I am so happy that she receives these exercises two times per day. I am positive they have helped her be more flexible. The Lord has blessed this little girl in so many ways. Thank you Harmony House nannies for the awesome care you provide to these little children.

Awe isn't she just the sweetest? You go little lady and eat all your veggies.

Things are looking mighty fine around here. And who do I owe everything to? You guessed it Jesus. He continues to be there every step of the way. Thank you so much Lord you are amazing.

Merry Christmas and a big Happy Birthday to Jesus!

I'm Thankful

I am sorry I have not posted in quite some time. I think if it could go wrong it did go wrong. First I was struck with a horrible cold virus that seized my entire body for 3 weeks. Two of those weeks I lost my voice and was left with this voice of some might say sounded kinda manly Hee Hee. Laughing now but not then. It was so bad if I wanted to order anything from the drive through I had my daughter order it for me. I wonder what they thought when they heard her little sweet voice in the box and then my manly voice at the window? My body ached, I coughed until my ribs hurt and I was pleading no no not again I was run down uggh I felt miserable.

Fortunately, I recovered from the virus of a lifetime. During this time I began watching my newly adopted niece Kylie 5 years old and nephew Bobby 9 years old who were adopted from China. Along with them I also watch their sister Lilly 7 years old who was adopted from China 5 years ago. Needless to say at this point I could spend an entire post on these children and the wonder of watching them begin to integrate into their new family and American life. Notes to families that are adopting older children from China, expect the child not to understand the reason we wear seat belts in America. My first day driving with Kylie and Bobby I was greeted with Bobby at my ear trying to tell me something. Scared the daylights out of me to say the least. Children my open car doors at will so child locks should be placed on before children discover the fact that they can open the door. Car washes are super fascinating and create much laughter. Soda means Diet Pepsi not Root Beer, Sprite, Orange, or any other brand of soda. It is possible to communicate with children using charades type movements and a lot of sound effects. No one greets you at the end of a school day quite as exuberant as these children. It is possible not to speak a language fluently or even understand exactly what is going on but  if you dress a child up in a costume and teach them that the phrase trick or treat somehow it sinks in .  Trying to explain homework to children in English is often hard enough try doing it with two children who just look at you and say "I don't know" . But these little guys are just awesome. I miss them tonight as they are meeting their Grandma and Grandpa down south in San Diego.

So on to the next order of delays. So being pretty non computer savoy I really don't venture out much past E-mail, FB, yahoo groups etc. If I am in doubt of something I call my kids and ask before I do so to speak. Well, one day my son Nathan said to me "mom you need to clean up your desk top" I said OK and went on with life. Then one day just sitting there this little cute sorta Goodyear Michelin / astronaut looking guy popped up saying he was the Mac Keeper. Now, I have seen this little guy many time before and just have not had time to bother with him so I just click ignore and go on with life. But that day I thought to myself this guy must be what Nathan is talking about. He is the one who is going to clean up my desk top. So I push the button to allow him to do so. He politely tells me he has scanned my files and if I just click one more button he will be happy to finish the task. Then that little voice in my head says maybe you should call Matthew and just make sure this is OK. One quick phone call tells me I have done something very bad. I downloaded one of the few virus a Mac can catch. So I took the computer in and had it cleaned but guess what this little not so cute anymore guy keeps coming back. So I have to take it in again. Luckily, I am using my sons Matthews computer to complete this post.

Then my daughter Erica who has been diligently saving her money to go to China, she has saved $4000.00 to go. She is now facing her own setbacks. Her car is in the shop needing $800.00 worth of work, she needs to pay for her books for next semester, and her glasses are wearing out. And she is now thinking she may not be able to go with me after all. This would be terrible if she were not able to go after all her hard work to go. Praying the Lord will bless her and allow her to come with me.

With all this you may be saying and why are you thankful? I am thankful that the Lord has been so faithful in my life. He has come through over and over again in this adoption. It is easy to just focus on the bad things in life and trust me I go there too. The Lord knew from the moment He put this plan into action and I jumped on board that things would get rough at times and my faith would be stretched over and over again. He has been faithful at each step to make sure everything is right where it should be when it is needed. So I am thankful to Jesus and all He does for me and my family. I had all of my kids together for this vacation, my health is great presently, I have been blessed once again with strangers listening to the Lord and providing more funds to bring Blossom home. He knew I would never be able to do this on my own. That is what is so super cool about this entire thing I can 100 % say this adoption is of the Lord as I am just along for the ride as I can not do it on my own. If I could only not get myself all in a fluster when things seem overwhelming. Jesus has this. He has my back and He is bringing Blossom home. So the other day I am going through my Bible and if your Bible looks like mine it has Sunday bulletins and notes and what not  stuffed here and there anyways I see this little scrap of paper sticking out of the pages and I flip to it and at some point in the past I read and underlined this verse and it was there just speaking to me again! Chronicles 28:20 Then David continued, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged by the size of the task, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the Lord is finished correctly. I am thankful for this verse and it has given me once again a promise that Jesus will bring Blossom home.

So here is where I am at in the process. I am waiting for my LOA. On November 8th my dossier was completed in translation. My SW said I should received my LOA in 4 - 6 weeks! I am no longer at a place were I am frustrated this is taking for ever, it will never happen, whine whine whine. I am now at a place were I am like EXCITEMENT!!! I am so going to China soon and meeting my daughter Blossom and bringing her home to her family. I see it now, I thought I would never be at this point. I am nervous and have butterflies in my stomach. What will it be like to travel to another country that is so different? Will she like me? Will she cry? Will I cry? Dumb question. Will she go through the anxiety that other children do? Will I bring the right size clothes and diapers? Will she fit in the car seat I bring? How will I feed her puree food when I am there? On and on the questions go. Am I nesting right now? Is it really necessary to clean out all the closets in the house right now? Yeah, I am getting that new mommy syndrome going on here. I am so excited I am about to burst.

So as you can tell there have been no pics this go around. Boo hoo it is because I am using my sons computer and do not want to download all of that stuff to his computer. I will post some pics next time. Until then............

USCIS Approval!

On Friday 9-14-12 my daughter Erica called me and said "mom aren't you waiting for something from USCIS?"  I said "yes." Erica said "well there is an envelope here, do you want me to open it?"  I say "YES!!!" "WAIT!!!!" "what color is the paper showing through the plastic window?"  Erica says "blue sorta, it has lines on it" So I am thinking well, blue with lines is different then the pink paper I received saying they did not accept my home study last time. At the same time I am thinking blue hmmmm, I thought the paper is suppose to be yellow or golden. Hence forth the name  "The Golden Ticket." I say "go ahead open it." Erica opens it and says "what am I looking for?" I am thinking to myself, how am I suppose to know?  I say "I don't know just read me what it says." She is kinda mumbling as she is reading the busy work, then she says the most wonderful word I have heard in a long time..............."APPROVED"  "Approved?" She says it again "APPROVED"

I begin feeling like I am going to faint. 

Not good as I am driving to pick up Jessica from school. I say "YES! YES! YES! thank you, good bye I will be home shortly" For the next 5 minutes I am literally shouting "Thank you Jesus!" "Praise you Father" "You are the one true King!" I am laughing, shouting, jumping around in my seat, lifting my hands hand and just having an amazing worship the Lord moment.

I know people that are sitting next to me at the stop lights (I think I hit every red light to the school) are thinking maybe she needs ..............

If they only knew!

 YES! YES! YES! I am approved! Just writing about it again makes me want to start the whole process over again! Thank you Father, you are so awesome!

So my Golden Ticket.............

was really Blue!

Man, Praise Him He is so good! Remember I posted last week weather or not I should send in my Dossier paperwork and all of the $$$$$$? I am so happy to report that I did send it in and it is now sitting on my SW desk waiting for her return to work tomorrow. She had been on vacation and then went to  China for work. Now everything is just sitting there waiting for her to open it and begin the next step! Ohhhhhh I am so happy. 

My sister in law Diane returned home last night from China. Jessica, Erica and I went over and meet Kylie and Bobby. Beautiful. How cool was it when Kylie and Bobby ran up to us and knew us by name? Thank you Skype! Yesterday, I spent about 6 hours preparing three complete meals for their family so they can begin easing back in to a family routine. I will post more pictures later of Kylie and Bobby. I want them to get settled in a little. I will also post more pictures of Blossom. By the way Blossom is so picin cute.  I watched the videos Diane took of Blossom and Blossom is totally in love with her uncle Keith who was doing the video. Blossom kept turning  her head again and again to look at uncle Keith and she was just talking away to him and smiling. I told you Blossom uncle Keith is a softy. 

 here is Blossom just talking away to uncle Keith.