AUCTION ITEM/ CHERRY BLOSSOM DREAMS

Cherry Blossom Dreams
This will be our very first item donated for our online auction to help us met our goal
to travel to China for our daughter the first of June 2013. 

Your daughters all would look so beautiful in this.

  2 piece- Flannel lounge wear set in a size 5.

Donated by : Red Thread Stitches Boutique

Please leave your bid amount and email address in a "comment" of this post. 
I will contact you by email on the morning after our auction cut off for this item. 
I then will send your information on to red thread after receiving your payment and 
they will mail this beautiful out fit to you directly. 

AUCTION WILL RUN : MAY 1 - MAY 14

Thank you so much for supporting my family and my daughter future.

VISA ENTRIES & ARTICLE 5 PICKED UP

Before I go on with our one more closer step to Bella .... I have to share what it truly the most important and that is God's plan and mightiness.

We are planning a garage sale to continue to raise the ending fees before we travel. I defiantly had things to clean out of my house , even things I could use but they just not as important as going to get her, I can't live with out to live with. (my heart says). So yesterday we had to make a doctors apt trip to the VA in Shreveport for Jeremy and as we are going into the gate I noticed that my ID card was to expire in June. Jeremy quickly said " we should go over there and get you another one! even though we'll be back with Bella before the end of June we won't have to worry with that!" I agreed and knew that since it was in the same building with the insurance I need to answer questions about that anyway. So we did.... We were seen right away and as this young lady prepared getting ready to take my new photo for my ID. I began to ask her questions about adding our adopted daughter into DEERS and just what and when I could get that started? She asked where we were adopting from and then commented on how amazing she thought it was. She then asked" Have you heard of "Show Hope"? I smiled and told her that we had applied for help from them. She explained that she gave monthly to them and was always praying that her support was going to the adopting families. I reassured her and continued to praise and brag on God and how he had began and brought us this far. Jeremy and she talked about her learning Spanish and him having family that have a Spanish church. She got very excited and started talking about the thing that God had placed on her heart to do in the future and how he speaks to her and guides her heart. Not only was it so refreshing to hear that from a young lady but to hear her proudly talking about it in a public work environment with us many others in hearing distance. Right away we recognized her as similar and family. She was a believer of Christ and loved him the same as we did. You could feel the Holy Spirit feel the room, in the way that brings an emotion that would make you want to hold a stranger and cry with them like your best friend but you have never met them and only known each other for 15 mins. That love and connection only comes from and the through the holy spirit from Christ. 
We continued to talk and she asked about how we had raised funds for the adoption and what we still had? I told her that we were planning a garage sale and she wanted to know when, I explained that we lived one and half hours away and it didn't seem to phase her. She asked if we were taking donations for the sale and I smiled with a yes! She told us that she have just bought a new couch but she hated the color of it and wasn't wanting to sale it. She asked for our number and told us that she had to pray but she thought God may want her to give us her couch. We left once again amazed of how God works and how each day of your life is planned for previsions from God.   (If your doing his will) We went from there to the BX to look around and who walks in behind us that the same sweet girl. She laughed and promised that she wasn't following us and that God told her to give her couch to us and she was there to look for a new one. What a blessing. This sweet girl with a love for what is on God's heart is giving us all that she can. I can imagine how she probably is still paying on this couch and will soon buy another just to have a larger debt just because she is sensitive to what God wants. We will get to see her again this weekend as we drive over to pick up her couch!! 

Back to news.... 
             April 22, 2013
They all suggested timelines are right on time so far.... Saturday we picked up all three of our passports with our visa entry stickers for China inside. Can't get in without that!

I received an email today that told us our Article 5 was picked up and this is what is said....

Dear Adoptive Parent
 Next, your agency will deliver the Article 5 and Letter of Seeking Confirmation to the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA), which will issue the Travel Approval (TA).  The TA allows you to come to China to finalize the adoption, so once the CCCWA issues the TA, your agency can email us to request an immigrant visa appointment at the Consulate.  When your agency requests an appointment, they are required to submit your five choices in rank order.  The ACIVU strives to schedule every family for their top appointment choice on which we still have available visa appointments.  We do not reserve certain days for children of certain ages.  All appointments are open to adopted children of any age and medical condition, and they are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.  We then notify your agency of the scheduled date and time.We look forward to meeting you and your new family member when you come to the Consulate for your visa appointment!

SO we now wait to receive our approval to travel. OUR INVITE! Once we receive that we can have our appointment scheduled and book our tickets.  Praise to the Lord God Almighty just could only be done by him alone!

CARE PACKAGE!

BELLA'S SURPRISE BOX!!! 

We were able to send her a summer package, where it made it able to send her a few new dresses, shoes, hair clips and a stuffed animal of her very own. The most special part for us was that she will get her first ever family photo album of us! I received this email yesterday saying that our album was complete and showing us what was bought for her package. We were so pleased!! It also includes a letter from us that was translated into Chinese for here nannies to read to her and candy for them and her class mates.

I keep wondering which one of these sweet dresses will be her favorite? And which one will she be dressed in the first time I ever lay my eyes on her?  I hope is makes her smile so big! I hope that she loves her new little animal and I pray they let her keep it with her,maybe even sleep with it! But that's not for sure known at all there. I would give almost anything to see her face when they open that photo album and tell her that's her family. If she will even understand what it would mean for her nannies to tel her that these faces are coming to get you and take you home. Well I am sure she will never dream but I hope she feels love. My prayer is that she feels the holy spirit so strong coming out of that box that it blows to the little hairs on her face and even though she may not know the meaning, she knows it's something GREAT.                                        

  I told Jeremy I wish I was in that box and I was even jealous of my pictures going before me! 

In time .....In time..... 

April 13, 2013  Catfish Festival 

I knew that the catfish festival was always a big turn out and I really had been praying that we would get to sale our t-shirts there but that didn't work out and it was not God's plan. But his plan was for us to be there. I knew that we were suppose to be there and we were suppose to stand up for what we were doing to let all see. And the ones that were kind enough to walk forward got to heard. Jeremy was going to have to work and I always feel more insecure when he is not standing beside me. Well of course he did not end up working and boy was I happy. We got up bright and early ate breakfast, got dressed in our matching "Bella shirts" and headed out. For the ones that have never "found for a cause" I would call it, you really have to build your self up, pump up Jesus in your mind and heart. See you have no idea how people will act towards you, if you will be ran off, or if you will leave the day feeling successful or beaten down. I know that we are holding a sign that says " Help Us Help Her" with a picture of a beautiful little baby but in our hearts we feel like we are hold a sign up that says " Will You Follow Him " with a picture of Jesus dying on the cross. Its that kind of awkwardness. People all look at you, read your sign and judge you. God is good and faithful to his obedient children. We were blessed with smiles and people that came to share stories and encourage us and if that wasn't enough we received $172 dollars in donations! Praise God! Thank you all for that!

I have to share a very special part of our day. I saw this one lady that was waiting at the gate to see if she would be allowed to bring her dog into the festival. I knew that she looked like someone I knew and in that moment I knew that was the reason that God have pulled me to come. I do not even think I turned to Jeremy to tell him why I was walking away. Let me just share first of all , the woman I am making my way to was an old past client of mine. She was a minster and had started an orphanage in Africa, and I had not seen her since 2009. 

I remember spending time with her each week sharing my heart of how a longed for so much more but didn't know how to get it? Wondering how in this world would God change my life and circumstance. She was a great listener and encourage r and always told me that it was in God's timing. I stood in front of her re introducing myself and even though she knew I looked so different she knew who I was. I told her is was great to see her there and then I pointed over to Jeremy holding that huge sign on the corner and so proudly said "LOOK! That's our daughter and we are adopting from China!" I was so proud to tell her LOOK! GOD CHANGED MY LIFE AND I AM FINELY DOING IT! I wanted to encourage her that God still answers prayers and hears hearts cries. She was shocked a little but seemed very excited and I knew she remembered my heart and our talks from long ago. She was very interested in how this had all came about and walked over to talk to us. I was trying to fill in so very must and share how God had so amazingly arranged all of this, even back to having my stomach rupture back in 2009 while was day one of this journey to my new life. She listened amazed of God 's glory and seemed to hang onto every word I said as it seemed tears whaling up in her eyes at times. I could feel a third join our conversation very quickly and my story telling began to flow smoother and well put together. Oh I know that is when the comforter shows up.... the Holy Spirit.  It truly made my day getting to share with her and as I did I felt as though I had came to a complete circle in someway. I was reminded of how big and might the God is that I serve and the memories that came flooding back were to show me that this was planned to come in to fruition many many years ago. Fruition meaning "realization of something desired, accomplishment or condition of bearing fruit."

So my full circle feeling is my accomplishment and praise the Lord I hope my daughter we be my fruit beard from the my labor this past five years. Amen!

So before we ended our all to short visit she asked two questions, What did we need to go? and Had anyone offered to pay for our plane tickets there? I was not shocked by this two questions coming from her because she is a very straight to the point NO BULL wonderful lady. I answered her with total truth and told her that was why we were there on the street and how much we had to have before we could leave. She asked for my phone number because she wanted to help us go, ended up she didn't even live in the state of Louisiana anymore. That much more reason that meeting her this day was an appointment set by God. I do not know if God will led her to contact me to help get us to our goal or if it was the blessing to me just for him to become even bigger and more real than he was yesterday 

I am sure of THIS he has a plan for lives and he sees them through and brings fruition for his glory!

                                    We are blessed so much more than we allow!

(Thank you Ms P. for being used in my life! I love you!)

Visa Entries

April 9, 2013

Our passports and documents are being mailed out today to get our visa stickers from the China Embassy in Los Angeles.  This will give us permission through customs to enter China! We should get them back within two weeks. Just in time for getting our Travel Approval. One step closer in getting ready.

WE'RE CABLED PEOPLE

Friday, April 5, 2013

What does that mean?

Well it actually is a great big deal!! We received a letter from the State Dept of National Visa Center says that our petiton to classify orphan as an immediate relative has been forwarded (or cabled) to US Consulate in Guangzhou China.

Our adoption interview may now take place. And they can send us "travel approval".

How thats dont? A representative in Guangzhou China will dropped off our documents next Tuesday, on April 9. The "Article 5" takes 10 business days to process so we anticipate it will be ready for our representatives to pick up on April 23. It will be express mailed it to the CCCWA in Beijing.
And we can expect to receive your Travel Notice 2 weeks later.    THATS MAY 7th!!!!!!!!!!

Well could fly out on a jet plane two weeks later!!!
Happy Birthday to me JESUS!!

PRAY PRAY PRAY!! We need plane tickets!

It's NO joke!

April 1st 2013

We got our approval letter from USCIS (Immigration) today. 

NO APRILS FOOL DAY FOR US!

Now we wait for our cable date.....

Just for info of our time line 

once we have our cabled date (which should be next week) 

we will received our NVC (National Visa Center) letter!

Then we wait for our Article 5 drop off. Our agency will overnight all of our documents to Guangzhou to the U.S. Consulate– around two weeks

THEN our Article 5 and paperwork will be sent to Beijing to the CCCWA where we will wait for them to issue us TA (TRAVEL APPROVAL!). The TA is issued any where from 1 – 4 weeks (they have been averaging at about 2 weeks) to give TA. 

They are saying that families are traveling 2-3 weeks after TA approval. Looking like June Gotcha!!!!