WOW!!!

WOW, is all I can say!!!  We handed our Dossier (our family history/BOOK) to our adoption agency on December 16th... it was mailed to the Colorado office on December 17th... mailed to China on December 20th... Received Christmas Eve and Logged in to China on December 25th - Merry Christmas!  WOW.... that's fast.  We were told we would find out by the end of January what our log in date was.... Never expected a 24 hour turn around time.  So, what is a Log In Date --- 

LOG IN DATE and its importance!  When China receives all of our paperwork (Dossier) - ie:  Family photos, autobiographies, medical exams, police reports, petition for the Chinese government to adopt from their country, birth certificates, marriage certificates, health reports for kids, reference forms, job verifications and the list goes on.  In  a nutshell, its everything the government wants to know about us, in order to see if we make the cut to adopt one of their children.  When they review all the information, and approve us, they give us a Log In Date.  This date means that we are officially approved to bring a child from China home with us.  NOW.... the process begins for matching.  We have a list of medical needs that we are willing to consider and so now they will begin to search the children that are turned over to the American system to see if there are any matches.  When a child comes available that matches a health need, we approved then they will call us to see if we are willing to review that child's health file.  If we have this Log In Date ( LID ) then we are then able to accept this child and send a Letter of Intent (LOI) to China asking for permission to adopt this special child.  SO, here we go - Please continue to pray for the finances to come in - for God to help us to know which child that He has chosen for our family.  Pray that God will prepare little John for this process as well.  

John!!  January 6th is his mothers termination hearing.  The adoption process will begin with that date - we have all we need to complete everything for him, except a few pictures to take and our part is done and we wait for the state to set a trial date to finalize his adoption.  

I look back over the past year plus and never imagined where we would be today.  God set us up on this amazing journey in the summer of 2012.  We were willing to take in a few orphans if God so chose, but decided that with our lives that it probably wasn't wise to take on two medical needy babies so we settled in for the long haul with China.  God had other plans... I had always said that I did not want to do domestic adoption due to the chaos is seems on this side of things - but God said... Oh, just you wait.  John was placed in our lives in January of 2013 and became part of our family on February 26, 2013.  What was told us to be a short journey is still continuing today BUT we wait, knowing that He is a Malin and was born to be a Malin.  God has changed our lives and the lives of our children.  They have been fantastic through this transition and I can honestly say that it has NOT been an easy one but God's grace has sustained and given us strength to be patient and love this little child of God when days are hard and nights were VERY long and loud.  Now as we continue on with the process that God originally led us to.... we walk with peace but also knowing that some days might be hard.. and the nights might get very long again and the transition may not be as smoothe as we may have imagined.  We also pray for God to help us and prepare us to be able to care for this little girl that He will choose for us.  That He would be sovereign in the decision as well as in the illness she may have, knowing that He has already entrusted us with John.   Its a little intimidating but when God calls, He equips and His timing is ALWAYS perfect!! 

Thank you for your prayers and your love!   

Moving along..... waiting on the Lord!

Well..... much needed prayer!!!  November 5th is our next court date for John.  His mom says she will come to court to sign her rights away.  Grandma is scheduled to pick her up and take her.. Lord willing.  If she does not show the courts are still waiting for a Termination of Parental Rights hearing.  When that happens, adoption shouldn't take long.  We have been assigned to the 8 week classes and only have 4 left.  Then we are ready for yet ANOTHER home study.  UGH!  I think half the world knows our life history and maybe more about us than some of the people we've known for years.  So please pray that this little boy will have a permanent forever family before years end... EVEN by Christmas.. what a great Christmas present.  

On the China front.. we are waiting for our Immigration approval to bring in a little one from China.  When this arrives, we send it to the State for approval and on to the Consulate.. then shortly after all our paperwork will be headed to China.  I will be SO happy when this whole process is over -- get life to a new normal.. whatever normal looks like :-)  I think our hands will be MORE than full but blessed by God for moving forward with what He has asked us to do.  

Keep praying... waiting on Him for finances and for leading as to who our little one will be...  I had a dream a few weeks ago and was astonished at the clarity in the dream itself.  We had a tiny baby girl.  She was at home in a crib BUT her bedroom was in a patch of ground.. grassy and lots of dirt.  I was so concerned about her being attacked by bugs.. but Jeff assured me that she would be okay.  I went back to check on her later and she was rolling and lifted her head.. I was amazed that she had grown so fast.  Then I couldn't find her anywhere.. I searched and I searched.  I asked everyone I saw where did she go.. I was frantic.  I found Jeff and asked him where she was.. and he said who?  I said.......  I can't remember what we named her.. and I cried wondering where she was but more frantic because I couldn't remember her name.  Weird, you say?  Yes... I believe that though I don't know her name or who she is.. God does and in His timing.. we will meet!!!  Praying for that day and for each step of the process and HIS provision through it all.  

Love you all!

Robin

UPDATE!!!

Fingerprints have been completed!!!  On Tuesday, we visited the Department of Homeland Security to have our fingerprinting done in order to get an I-800 Approval. This will allow us to move on and have our Dossier translated into Chinese and sent to China.  A dossier is a LARGE packet of paperwork that gives every bit of information about our family in order for the government in China to see who we are determine whether we are "up to par" to adopt one of their children.  Our deadline is coming up and we need your prayers. There is a lot of money due and in a short amount of time. We know that God has called us to do this and know that He will provide.  :-)  We have exactly one year from this past Tuesday in order to be in China (fingerprints are only good for one year) SHEW!!

Now the story on John... We are still in waiting.  His mom still has her rights and we are waiting for the court to terminate them. She has told the caseworker that she wants what is best for him and they have given her another court date for review of the case.  This date is November 5th. If she would show up, she could take the time and sign papers to terminate her rights, but she has to show up.  So we wait and we pray!!

Thank you for all of you who support the calling God has for us - Thank you for your prayers!!  We love you all! 

June Update

Well here we are .....  we are sending in our final paperwork and awaiting the government.  I will be out of town for several weeks so we pray that doesn't put us past our deadlines.  Pray that we can get in and get our fingerprints done asap and then  that our approval will come in in plenty of time to get our papers to State and then to the Consulate in good time.

Update on John:  Our court date is July 16th.. if his mother does not show up for her court date then her parental rights will be terminated on the spot.  Then we would be able to begin the adoption process with him.  Shew.... between paper work and deadlines and keeping up with social workers on both ends.. then Johns Guardian ad litem and his grandmother.. I'm tired.  Praying for God's timing and perfect will.  Thank you for your prayers.. John is a blessing and we can't imagine life without him.  Its one of those things where you say you will NEVER do something..and God says... Oh no??? :-)

We trust the Lord to complete was He started and are thankful for each of you that keep up with us and are praying for us.  We have a lot of fees due very quickly and know that He will provide!!  He provided all the monies for the first set of fees so we know that He will continue to do so... !  

Well its been about 5 weeks now and John is adjusting well.  He loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the song "I need you now" by Plumb.  Why he has chosen this particular song, we don't know.  I can say that we can feel that we are not as young as we used to be but we are overwhelmed by how God works.  John is such a blessing.  BUT as we adjust to John and the new blessing God has placed in our lives, we are reminded by our adoption agency that we have work to do to finish our Dossier very soon before our documents are outdated and our file is closed.  With finishing the Dossier also brings on more costs that will be due.  Anyone out there have some ideas?  I need to do a garage sale( I have lots of stuff in my garage)  I know that God's timing is always perfect and we just have to do our part and finish our papers and trust God for the perfect match.  

Thank you all for keeping up with us and thank all of you who were such blessings at the baby shower.  John is set and has what he needs.  I will get those thank you notes done ASAP -- its just been a little hectic.

Love to all!!!!

John William  -  February 13, 2012

     This is just an update on where we are in the process with 'lil John.  He is now home with us.  We don't know how long it will take to adopt him...we are just trusting God through the process.  He is a complete doll and we are loving him even though we are quite sleep deprived.  The court order is in process to make us his primary caregivers and then as soon as Mom terminates or the state terminates Mom's rights..we will be ready to begin the adoption proceedings.  She is open to us having him and has admitted that she believes that it will be the best thing for her to terminate her rights so that he can have a good future.  

     Pray for him as he adjusts and attaches.  We are seeing some progress but he is not sleeping through the night, but this is nothing new.  He has never slept through the night... so pray that the Lord would give us wisdom in knowing what to do to make this happen.    

     We still have a few things left to do for our China paperwork -- it takes time to get birth/marriage certificates through the state and then the China Embassy is next.  Then we have to have local background checks done as well as our physicals on March 27th. So pray for us on that note --- in order to have our home study done for China.. we have to have quite a large amount of money.  We do not worry because we know that the Lord is in control and has brought in all the money we need this far --- its just been hard to do anything recently as we've been taking care of John and he is a full time job :-) but such a blessing!  We covet your prayers as we tackle what God is doing in and through our lives.  We need strength, compassion and SLEEP :-)  

     Thank you all for your support and keeping up with us -- We love you all and are so overwhelmed at your love and generosity.  Our church family gave us a baby shower last weekend for John and totally gave us what we needed to have him come home.  Thank you Leah, Pam & Karen for organizing the shower and everyone for all you gave us.  Thank you also to my friends at the Childrens Home who gave us some diapers and some well needed warm clothes for John.  Our hearts are full!!!  

     Stay tuned for more...... I'm attaching our newest picture of John on the playground at church :-)  <3

But God.....

I can't believe that it is February, time is flying!  We are still working on our paperwork but getting closer by the day. I don't believe there are too many more steps in this portion but I could be OH SO wrong :-)  We will be attending the "Empower to Connect" Conference this weekend in Orlando.  Show Hope is hosting this conference and we look forward to gleaning as much information as we can and learning from others who have walked in our shoes.  

As we trust the Lord and walk in obedience to what God has called us to do... He continues to surprise us and overwhelm us with His plan for our lives.  A week ago, the Lord brought a little 11 month old boy into our lives and in that short week, He has taken us from a family of 6 to a family of 7.  Lord willing, he will be placed in our home in a few weeks.  This does not negate our China adoption... this is a little bonus as we wait.  We didn't intend on adopting more than one but as we all know...as we walk along the path and make our plans, there are times when we hear.. BUT GOD!  Then everything changes!  So.... walk with us as we tackle the domestic system and the international system at the same time -- should be fun.  I just pray I don't send the wrong papers to the wrong agency :-)  Oh boy.... as we say -- "strap it on.. its gonna be a WILD ride" -- 

We would covet your prayers for this little guy whose life is about to change forever!  Pray that God would knit his heart with ours and the transition would be easy for him.  We already feel that he is meant to be with us... knowing that we have some tough weeks + ahead of us!

LOVE TO ALL!!!

Where we are!!

Praise the Lord for all of you who were involved in our Christmas Concert!!  The Lord provided about $526 through this event.  We are overwhelmed at the generosity of our loved ones. 

 

We are working on our paperwork currently.  We have a mound of items needed to finish our home study.  We have to have birth certificates/marriage certificates ordered. No record paperwork from the police dept, financial statements, ...... the list goes ON AND ON! :-)  We know this is the hardest part of the process :-) besides the waiting.  We have had a rough month but are working this week to get these details ironed out and on the move.  Please pray for us to have the time to get the documents needed and FOCUS!!  Money wise we are half way there for the 2nd set of fees due in order to get our documents to China!! Please pray that the Lord will continue to provide and give us direction as to what fundraisers we can begin this 2013!! 

 

Here's to a beautiful 2013 & Lord willing a little face to go with our updates!! Love you all!