Trusting and waiting.......

Funny how you can get so obsessed over a little piece of paper! We got our provisional approval for our I-800 today in the mail. I actually already knew it was approved because I called them on the 25th and they told me of the approval! I just couldn't stand it until the actual paper came in the mail and I could see it for myself though. Now.....you guessed it....more waiting!!! I know...I feel like that's all I say. I was warned by people who have adopted before the wait is hard and they were not kidding. I was thinking, well...I've been pregnant before and remember how the waiting was tough, but this is a different kind of waiting, in a way it seems almost harder, for me anyway. Maybe it's all the "steps" or the anxiety of  "approval" that makes it harder, I'm not sure. And also someone told me the wait gets harder the closer you get and they were right. It sure does. I cannot wait to bring our sweet Joy home!! In the meantime, I'm praying that God continues to work in wonderful ways preparing us for our daughter and preparing our daughter for her family and her "new world". I've tried so many times to TRY to put myself in Joy's shoes. It's not possible. There's no way I can feel what she's feeling right now, but I continue to try to feel it......the excitement she is feeling of knowing she now has a family after so many years, the sadness of leaving her school and the friendships she's developed there, the sadness of leaving her caregivers and the only family she's known for the past several years, the excitement of coming to a new country, the anxiety and sadness of leaving a country and culture for one quite different from hers.....the list could go on and on. I know God will place His hand upon Joy and give her the strength and the peace she will need. I don't expect it to be easy, but I know it's God's plan, no matter what the course may be and just knowing this gives me a peace. I've seen God's hand at work throughout this whole process and I'm sure He will continue to guide each and every step.

More waiting and preparing....

Our I-800 application is set to arrive at the TX lockbox in the morning! Hopefully it will be approved in a few weeks. I just hope and pray that I did everything right and didn't leave anything out. It was over a pound a half of paperwork, so surely we got it all covered. I hope so!!! I won't breath easily until we get the provisional approval.
In the meantime we are STILL working on Joy's room. It's still purple ;) We've added pretty multicolored beads over white sheers and I'm trying to decide between a hot pink rug or a light purple rug....decisions, decisions....lol!!!! Her papaw and dad are still working on her home made bed. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure it will be beautiful. Papaw Harold can build beautiful furniture :) I can't wait to take a picture of her room and send it to her! I'm hoping to send her a package soon.
We still don't really have an idea of when we will be traveling. There seem to be many variables as to how long it might be. After we get our provisional approval of the I-800 we may have a better idea. In the meantime, we are praying for the transition process of bringing our almost teenage daughter home! I still can't believe we're going to have a teenager!! YIKES! :) :) :)

I hope she likes purple......

I really hope Joy likes purple! A couple of weeks ago when we sent our photo book to Joy we didn't have a picture of her finished room yet. I had to describe her room since I couldn't send a picture. Well....it was hard to describe a room that you haven't started yet.....so in that description....I told her her room was painted a very pretty blue. I had every intention of painting her room blue because blue is her favorite color, however I was going to use a island blue...or a turquoise because I found a comforter set that has turquoise, teal, purple, pink, etc. It's very pretty. Anyway, we picked out some very pretty turquoise paint for her room, but when we put it on the wall......MINT GREEN...so I went back to the store, got more paint which was a lighter blue and had no green in it....put it on the wall......LIGHT MINT GREEN!!! It was very strange....almost like her room was not supposed to be blue, but I was determined to paint it blue so we tried again........PALE MINT GREEN!!! I gave up. Chuck said, why don't we paint it a lavender purple....so I went to Walmart, picked out  the first purple that caught my eye and it worked! I think it looks really pretty. I just hope Joy likes purple!! If not, we are in trouble. I hope I get to talk to her and explain why I said her walls are blue, but they are really purple :\

We are supposed to be able to send her a picture of her room when we have it completed. So hopefully I can explain then. I can't wait to get it finished! Chuck is working hard painting the trim and doors now. The trim was an off white and we are painting it bright white to go with the purple. I got a very pretty purple bean bag to go in there as well.....Oh...I hope she likes purple!!!! :) :)

After the trim is painted, we have some pretty white furniture to put together. A white chest of drawers and night stand. Joy's papaw is making her a daybed. When he gets it finished Chuck is going to paint it white. It will have a trundle bed underneath so we can sleep in there with her if she wants us to. It's so much fun fixing up a girly room! I will be adding more pictures as we get it done. It's coming along though. Also, we are going to find a white desk to go in the dormer area because Joy loves to draw. I thought that would be a good spot for her to sit and draw and study :)

Finally...I800-A approved! Now....news for Joy :)

Finally got word today that our I-800A has been approved, after 11 looooong weeks of waiting!!!!!  This means that we are suitable to be parents (I should hope so !) and may adopt a child internationally. One step to mark off the list. Now.....we file the I-800. First, we have to wait until we get the rest of Joy's paperwork to complete the I-800. I have no idea how long it will take to receive those papers. Hopefully, not long. This is a very exciting time right now. This past Monday, our adoption specialist mailed out our fees, along with a photo book and letter to Joy. Joy is learning for the first time that she has a family! I wish I could be there to see her reaction. I wonder if she will be happy that she has a family, or I wonder if she will be sad that she will be leaving her home country and the only home she's known for the past seven years, along with all her friends who've been her brothers and sisters. I'm sure it will be bittersweet. I just hope she knows how much we already love her and can't wait to have her join our family. We've had several months, since August to be exact to look over her picture and her paperwork and we've become attached to her emotionally already. Before that, we had decided we would adopt and had already developed a love for a little girl whom we had never met. We were just waiting on God to show us who. I'm praying that Joy can sense the love and care we already feel for her and the transition will not be too hard on her. I don't expect it to be a piece of cake, but I just hope God will provide a peace for Joy and an understanding for us.

Excited for a very special friend.......

I am so excited today for a very special friend of mine, whom I've had the pleasure of getting to know "virtually" in the adoptive community. She and her husband are leaving today to meet their precious little girl!!! I am so happy for them! Praying for a safe trip and smooth transition for this precious family!  <3 <3 I can't wait to see pics of the family together!!!!

God is always right on time........

Since my post a couple of days ago when I said we signed the acceptance form, but were still a bit short from the full amount we had to send out, things have changed :) We now have enough to send the checks out on Monday!! This is amazing! We were actually short a little over $1000. God has once again proved He is faithful and we should never doubt that if it's His plan He will make it happen! I have said this over and over, but I can't say it enough. We are so thankful for the generosity that people have shown to help us bring Joy home! Thank You!!

Giving God All the Glory....Official Acceptance/Fundraiser

As I mentioned in my previous post we were blessed to have a fundraiser Monday through Wednesday of this week. This very sweet lady named Sarah who has a shop on Etsy did the fundraiser for us. I have never met Sarah and actually had never even talked to her when I asked her about the fundraiser. I just happened to come across her site through another family's fundraiser. Sarah had posted on her site that she would do fundraisers for families who were adopting. I thought this was very nice of her. Before the fundraiser started, I didn't know what to expect. I thought that we would be doing good if sold 10 pendants. I don't know why, but I just thought it was going to be hard to get the word out. I hadn't officially posted anything about the adoption on facebook yet and I thought many people were going to be surprised. Also....I'm not a very good sales lady. I usually end up talking the person out of buying whatever it is I'm trying to sell...lol!!! Anyway, I must say, this was definitely another one of those times when I saw God completely working things out! It was amazing. We not only sold 10 pendants, but we sold 94 total!!! I was jumping for JOY ;) ;) This was such a blessing because we signed our official acceptance form to adopt Joy on Tuesday! We are so happy and so relieved, but along with the excitement and happiness there is also a BIG bunch of money to be sent out. This fundraiser couldn't have happened at a better time. We are still a little bit short of sending out the entire amount. It turned out to be a little more than we expected because I didn't realize we had to pay for Joy's visa and medical stuff at the time of the match. I was just focused on the big amount, which we have been so blessed to receive from friends and family. It has been truly amazing to see God work this out. I know I've said that before, but it truly has. I just want to shout it out and tell everyone what He has done to bring Joy home with us!

Oh......I guess I should get to the part about Joy....I think maybe everyone who follows my blog already knows, her name is Joy :) She is 12 years old. We got a new picture of Joy, although I'm not allowed to share it yet. She is small framed and slender with long black hair and she has the most beautiful smile! We found out her favorite color is blue and her favorite things are shoes and bags :) :)  I am now preparing a photo book to send to Joy. It will include pictures of us of course, our house, the neighborhood, the community and some pics of the weather. I hope she likes snow because we've had plenty this year! I guess the first things I will be buying for her are snow boots, sweaters, and a coat! I am not sure what the weather will be when she comes home. It may be late spring, which will still probably be pretty chilly coming from a tropical island :) I lived here all my life and I've never gotten used to the cold winters. But of course, we will probably be hitting the 90s by June ;)   

On another note, we are STILL waiting on I800A approval!! We found out why, it has something to do with a new law that has changed in NC since we submitted our application. Chuck used to live in NC. Hopefully this will be cleared up in a few days and we will get our approval!

Thank you for all the prayers and support! I appreciate each and every one of you :)