LOA!!!!

We received our Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from China on May 9! Basically, this is an official document where we check a little box confirming that we "accept" this child that we have prayed for, dreamed about and that God has CHOSEN to be placed in our family. Please pray as we enter into the final stages of this long journey. Pray that the Holy Spirit is preparing Sadie for the changes that are coming. Pray that Harlan and Ellie Grace would be comforted by the great Comfortor to know that they are so loved through this crazy stressful time. Pray that Perry and I would lean on and draw closer to Jesus as we prepare to GO. Pray that the last needed funds are raised and that when the Lord says GO that we are ready to go get our girl. 

I won't lie, I'm so anxious. I don't know all of the answers. I'm not really sure what this is going to look like. BUT, I know the One who does know it all. And He promises that He will never leave us or forsake us. He is faithful and because of that TRUTH, I can walk where I cannot see. 

Thank you for following our journey and for all of your prayers and support.

 Together, we ARE Bringing Sadie Home!

We need YOU!

Both Hands Project May 3rd!!!
Click on the link and check out this super cool project that is happening May 3rd. Let us know if you would like to help out.  We need warm bodies, donations of food, drinks, paint, wood etc.  This is a fundraiser where you have the opportunity of sponsoring our workers for the day.  If you would like to donate, this info can also be found in the link.  Our prayer is that these sweet ladies are blessed beyond measure that day.  We would love to have your help as we use Both Hands...one for the widow, one for the orphan.  James 1:27

Newest pic of our Sadie Bug.  We can't wait to be able to kiss those sweet cheeks!

 

If you take a peek at our tracker over on the left, you will see that we still have about $17,000.00 to be fully funded.  Once we receive our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) we are approximately 10-12 weeks away!!!!  We are praising God for what He has already provided ($19,000.00!!!!!!!) and we are already praising Him for how He will provide for the remainder!  Every cent truly counts.  Thank you in advance for partnering with us for being faithful and "looking after the orphan in their distress".  

And so I write...

Writing has always been therapeutic for me.  A lot of what I write, no one ever sees.  It's just a way that my introverted, strong-willed, independent self can get my thoughts out without having to make myself vulnerable.  I have debated back and forth with God about whether or not I wanted to open myself up about this subject.  He says that I should, I say that I'm afraid.  But, as a family we are really trying to seek the Lord with everything that we have and to follow hard after Him.  If I am going to truly be a doer and not merely a hearer (or in my case a teacher) of the Word, I HAVE to obey even when it's hard and when it doesn't feel good because if I've learned ANYTHING in the last year and 4 months, it's that THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME. 

What I'm about to write might come as a shock to those of you who know me in real life because I don't show this side of me to ANYONE and I'm stalling so here goes...

When Harlan was 23 months old, we were blessed with another baby boy, named Barrett.  He was born on October 19, 2003.  We were the typical overjoyed, exhausted parents of a newborn and a toddler.  We were rocking along in our comfortable, complacent little lives.  Attending church on Sundays and Wednesdays, living in our nice little cookie-cutter neighborhood, Perry working a 9-5 nice paying job with great benefits, and I was working in my dream job with an awesome boss where I could pretty much dictate my schedule.  Comfortable. Easy. Complacent. Members of the Cult of the Next Thing.  Perfect little suburban family.  Then, on April 8, 2004, our world fell completely apart.  Our sweet Barrett made his journey to Heaven.  It was like a really, really bad dream that I just wanted to wake up from and go back to comfortable.  I wanted to go back to our Egypt where everything was familiar.  Where I didn't have to trust. Where I didn't feel so vulnerable and needy.  I had never ever been to this place before.  You see, I lived a wonderful life growing up.  My parents supplied all of our needs and most of our wants.  They did everything in their power to make our dreams for our lives come true.  They were the best cheerleaders and encouragers.  I just never had to really face any adversity and had always prided myself on being strong and independent and able to conquer anything.  And NOW God was asking me to do THIS!  How in the world was I supposed to put on a strong face when my world had just been snatched out from under me?  The answer: It wasn't about me.  It was about pointing people to Christ who was the ONLY source of strength that had ever been in me.  It was at this time that I had to finally give up control to Him, because I had nothing left in me.  Even though we had just suffered such great loss, it still wasn't about us.  It was all about Almighty God, who created each and every one of us to come to this earth, to carry out His purpose.  Barrett had a BIG purpose, and it wasn't about us.  It was about Christ.

Harlan and Barrett

Sweet Barrett

It has now been 10 years.  I anticipate and dread this date every single year.  It has taken me 10 years to open up to a few friends.  The one thing that I absolutely can't stand is pity.  Please, Please, Please don't feel sorry for us.  Our family walking through the death of a child has strengthened our marriage, has allowed us to loosen our grip on our children (those of you who know me are probably questioning this one :)), has taught us to cling to God and His promises, and most importantly, has given us an urgency to share Christ with people.  It has changed us, refined us, chiseled out those materialistic, selfish, comfortable and complacent places in our hearts and replaced that with more of Christ.  Now, we are FAR from being perfect or for all of those places to be perfectly filled with Christ, but this little journey has caused our family to look at life and death just a little bit differently. 

I love what Paul says while in prison in Philippians 1, starting verse 9:





And this is my prayer; that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God. 

Now, I want you to know brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually, served to advance the gospel.  As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.  And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

 

 

Now skip down to verse 18:

 

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.  I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body whether by life or by death.  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me.

 

 

And then on down to verse 27:

 

 

WHATEVER HAPPENS, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. 

 

 

You see, Paul used his horrible circumstance to serve and to share Christ.  He realized that his imprisonment wasn't about him.  His pain wasn't about him.  It was all about Christ and pointing people to Him.  This is why I share.  This is why I have allowed this to be published this year.  If this helps just one person who is struggling with life to look toward the only One who can give you whatever it is you're seeking, then it's worth it to let you see the weak, shaky, vulnerable side of me that I don't like to share. 

 

This day will pass and it will come again next year if Jesus doesn't return before then.  I pray that as we anticipate it's arrival next year that we will continue to sing,

 

Set a fire down in my soul

that I can't contain

that I can't control

I want more of you God!

I want more of you God!

 

No more comfortable and complacent!  Through pain and a hard road we can honestly say, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Let Him show you His love today.  Let him cover you with his perfect peace.  He's waiting...



 

Getting Closer

We have had an exciting couple of weeks on the Adoption Journey!  We got news just NINE days after our Dossier was logged in that it was OUT OF TRANSLATION!!!  What?  Yeah, really.  This is getting SO REAL!  It seemed like just a few weeks ago I was trying to tell myself, "Just stay calm, Jennifer.  You still have a LOOOONG way to go."  Well, we are, as my daddy would've said, in the short rows now.  If everything continues to progress, we could be in China in 3-5 months!  Whew! 

We know that if God wants to bring Sadie home sooner than we thought, He WILL provide for our every need.  One avenue, we believe He will use will be through our Both Hands project that we are getting kicked off in the next week or so.  Both Hands is a fundraising project through Lifesong for Orphans.  It puts hands and feet to James 1:27 which says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  As we were praying about who we would serve through this project, the Lord revealed two precious ladies to me.
 Here they are:

Are they not the cutest?

 





We will be gathering a team and doing yard work, minor repairs, painting, etc for these sweet ladies.  I can't wait to get started!  This is going to be such a blessing for those of us who have the honor of helping them.  I just can't say enough about how happy we are to have gotten approved for this project  Want to help???  You can!  A lot of you will probably be getting a letter in the mail about this soon.  If you want to be sure to be added to our list, let me know by emailing me at aucritterdoc@gmail.com and leave me your address.  We would LOVE to have you on our team as we go be Jesus' hands and feet to these sweet ladies.

 

Along those same lines, we are starting a new T-shirt Campaign that we are super excited about.  We have had several people request that we offer more T-shirts, so here they are!

These will be available on MONDAY so stay tuned.  I'll post a link on Facebook when we have everything set up and you can come back here to place your order! 

 

I can't end this post without bragging a little about my grazing that I planted back in the Winter.  It came up!! It really came up.  And we've had cows grazing it!  Y'all, I killed an air plant once.  Seriously, all that it required was AIR and a mist of water like once a month and I KILLED IT.  That's why I'm so excited to have actually planted something and it grew.  (watered by God, of course, not me)  Anyway, here's a pic because I KNOW that you're just dying to see it...

 

check out those straight rows

(I'm glad that you can't see the back side of this pasture...not so straight)

 

As always, God continues to make His mercies new every single morning.  We are so thankful to GET to live this life that we have been given.  We are continually amazed and humbled by your support and generosity as we travel along this adoption journey.  We are nearing the end and we still have a ways to go ($21,000.00 to be exact).  That number is really scary if I allow myself to look at it as one big chunk..  But, when I look at it as puzzle pieces and how God is fitting each piece together, it gives me a peace and assurance that  He has brought us this far and He's not going to abandon us now.  He places the lonely in families.  HE has placed this desire in our hearts.  He loves Sadie a whole lot more than we ever could (and that's a WHOLE BUNCH). 

 

If you would like to support our adoption and help us BRING SADIE HOME, there are several ways to do this:

 

1. Pray!

2. Donate through PayPal (top left of blog)

3. Tax Deductible Donation through AdoptTogether (top right of blog)

4. Give through YouCaring

5. Help with Both Hands project (email me and let me know you want to help!)

6. Buy a really cool T-shirt!! (See above)



 

Thank you for hanging with me this long!  I'm going out to enjoy some Alabama sunshine with the fam :)

We are officially "logged in" in China!  What this means is that our Dossier is in China and it is being translated!  We are one step closer to Bringing Sadie Home!  The next step is waiting on our LOA (Letter Of Approval) which could take 2-3 months.  We're getting closer!  We can't wait to see the amazing things that God's going to do over the next few months to bring this journey to completion and begin a new journey within our home and our community!  Exciting, scary days ahead but we KNOW that the ONE Sovereign God knows all and will bring this to completion.  All Glory and Honor to Him!

DTC!!!!

We are officially DTC (Dossier to China) today!!! What this means is that all of our paperwork that we've been working on since August is on it's way to China. More importantly, it means that we are ONE STEP CLOSER TO BRINGING SADIE HOME!!! 

We are so in awe of how The Lord has given us peace, comfort, provision and grace during this journey. We will be needing A LOT more of all of that in the coming months as we await China's final approval and all that is involved in traveling to get our girl. 

In the meantime, can we ask you to pray? Specifically, pray that the Lord will continue to quiet our spirits and that we will rest in His Sovereignty. He knows. Our job is to trust. Also, pray for sweet Sadie. Pray that the Lord would protect her heart and keep it functioning at full capacity until we can get her home. Pray that she will feel the love that only the Lord can give. Pray that He would prepare her heart for the huge changes that are on the horizon for her. 

Thank you all for partnering with us on this beautifully messy journey as we trust moment by moment in the One "who is able to do immeasurably more than we all ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us..." (Ephesians 3:20

Only through Grace,

Jennifer

Come and Sit a Spell

It's been a while since I've updated.  As the last post stated, we are in one of the W-A-I-T-I-N-G stages.  I know that I have ZERO control over the process and worrying and fretting won't speed it up.  That nonsense only serves to give me more wrinkles and gray hair.  So, not gonna do it!  We have been waiting on our approval (I-800a) from US Immigration for 41 days.  We got the dreaded "pink paper" yesterday and my heart sank.  Pink is usually a lovely color and brings me much joy...unless the return address says, "Department of Homeland Security." Trust me, you don't want pink from USCIS.  This is a Request for Evidence (RFE) and basically translates to DELAY.  We don't like delays when we are trying to get to our babies!  Turns out, the RFE was a mistake and will be fixed quickly.  Now, we should be receiving our I-800a APPROVAL this week.  EEEK!!! This means that our Dossier (mounds of paperwork) will be on its way to China SOON!  Once that happens, guess what??? We wait again.  Yep.  The waiting. 

It has really been crazy to see and feel the peace that the Lord has placed upon my heart during these wait times.  (of course, I've had my moments of panic and worry and doubt), but the Lord has been so faithful to bring me back to what I know to be TRUE.  A verse that was given to me years ago by a dear friend is Philippians 4:8.  I'm sure you know it by heart, but it's one of my go-to verses when fear and doubt start to creep in..."Finally, brothers, (Paul leaves them with this to chew on) whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable,  - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."  And Paul goes on to say, in verse 9, "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - PUT INTO PRACTICE. And the God of peace will be with you."  These days, I have found myself having to put into practice what the Word of God has shown me through the years.  I have been forced to BELIEVE, truly believe, the promises that He has given each and every one of His children.  I have had to FULLY ACCEPT that He adopted ME into His family and I am FULLY His.  And, the biggie for me lately is that all of those promises that I have read about for year, you know, the parting of the seas and the 80 year-old ladies giving birth to babies that He said He would give??? Yeah, those.  Well, those kinds of promises are still true today and they're true and available for ME (and you).  He has shown me first hand, that He is still faithful to His promises.  "And that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  Did you catch that?  In ALL things (even waiting, even in the RFE's, even in the tragedy, loss, unexpected expenses) God works it out for the GOOD.  It's all good!  It really is. 

So, all that to say that we are waiting on US Immigration  to send us a lovely piece of paper that says that we are approved to adopt a child from China.  I may or may not be stalking our mail carrier.  But, for those of you who know me, I HAVE to have a little of my OCD tendencies manifest somehow.  :)

We DID receive the most precious pictures on earth of our girl!  Sheri at Gifts to China with Love has been absolutely amazing at getting pics of Sadie for us.  Of course, I zoom in and examine every little detail.  These are pics of her "modeling" her new outfits that we ordered  her for Chinese New Year. 

New PJ's

Seriously?  Too Cute!

Cuteness Overload

Her little Puffer Jacket

Do you not want to just squeeze those little cheeks???? 

 

So, for now, this is what we hold on to.  And, that is OK because we KNOW that God will place her in our arms at the perfect time.  In the meantime, our prayer is that one of her Nannies knows Jesus and is whispering His precious, holy name in her ear and telling her how LOVED she is.  She has been CHOSEN, LOVED, and ADOPTED by the One TRUE King!  It brings my heart JOY to look forward to the day that we can share that love with her.  For now, sweet girl, we rest in the fact that He has you "covered with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."  Psalm 91:4  (This is her verse.  It has been prayed over her every single day since we first saw her sweet face>)

 

Switching gears to life on the farm.  I know that you all are waiting to hear about our new babies.  Here's a few pics for you to enjoy!

Calves keeping each other warm

Estelle and her new baby

Estelle...in all her glory

Working together.  Mixing Feed.  This has been the coldest winter for us in 50 years!  We normally would be grazing cattle by this time of year but instead we are still feeding.  I'm in awe at Perry's work ethic and drive.  The lines in Jason Aldeen's song that says,

"That's the only way I know

Don't stop till everything's gone

Straight ahead, never turn round

Don't back up, don't back down

Full throttle, wide open

You get tired and you don't show it

Dig a little deeper when you think you can't dig no more

That's the only way I know"

 

This describes him perfectly.  I don't know how he does it other than that's the only way that He knows.  He LOVES what he does.  He LOVES agriculture and working the land and feeding the world from it's fruits.  He is my hero. The one that I look up to, respect and love dearly.

 

And, we can't forget "Snowmageddon 2014".  This is a novelty to us.  In fact, I haven't witnessed snow like this in Alabama since 1993.  I am a warm weather girl, so I wasn't impressed but Harlan and Ellie Grace had a ball!

 

And, I can't forget our little fast and furious trip to Oklahoma and Kansas.  Perry had some work to do and I needed to meet my Soul Sister in person, so off we went.  We had a ball and got some much needed time together on the 14 hour one way drive.  I am always up for some one on one time with my main squeeze.

These girls...

I can't even describe to you how much I adore these ladies.  We all have a common thread that will forever tie us together...CHINA BABIES! (not to mention that I think I share a brain with one of them...you know who you are!)  Love you to the moon and back!

 

Well, if you're still with me, you are a trooper and probably deserve some kind of prize.  Sorry, I can't come up with anything spectacular at the moment, except that I promise, I'm almost done. 

 

Be sure and check out my newest obsession, Haute Handmade.  This is where I have FINALLY gotten up the nerve to offer some of my handmade items up for sale.  Go check it out and tell all of your friends!  All proceeds help us to get one step closer to funding our adoption.

 

Until next time...