Buckle up...here we go!

Due to Mycah's adrenal insufficiency, we requested from USCIS (immigrations) a medical expedite.  I was able to send a wonderful letter from a sweet doctor friend detailing to them the reason and urgency of our request.  There are SO many orphans who would benefit from coming home sooner than later!  Like ALL of them???  So although I was hopeful and knew I had to try, I was also being realistic and trying not to expect too much.  We received an email yesterday stating that our request had been APPROVED and Mycah's paperwork will be expedited!  Praise be to God!  I cannot explain why we have been blessed with this, but I am ever so thankful that we have.  

So one day next week I will be making another all day DC trip to authenticate one last piece of paper and hope to catch the State Dept and the Chinese Embassy all in one day.  This is important since I really HATE navigating the DC Metro system alone and would like to only do it once and not twice!  After that and a LARGE agency payment (yikes), we will finally be DTC (dossier to China).  

I am not really sure what the time line is after that.  There are so many variables involved!  But looks like January MIGHT become my new favorite month!  So, again, we covet your prayers!  Please pray for...

1. Mycah - that he stays healthy and continues to receive good care from the nannies while he waits
2. Paperwork - that our papers continue to move quickly through all necessary agencies:  WACAP, China, USCIS
3. Finances - Expedited means FASTER!  Ok, so you already knew that!  But that also means that we no longer have several months to save, but only a few!  I am sure it is no secret how big of a financial obligation adoption is.  But I know a God who is BIGGER!  Please pray that God would grant us an extra dose of patience and faith as we wait on Him to show us the next step.

We should be receiving an update from the orphanage soon.  Hopefully it will include valuable medical information as well as adorable new pictures!  Also, after our papers reach China, Mycah will be receiving his first pictures of his new family!!!  So now I am off to find some flattering pictures that accurately portray this family who can't wait to love on our little boy!

                                                

SO CLOSE!

Well, the majority of this paperwork is SO CLOSE to being done!  I have said several times of late that being pregnant was so much easier than going through this adoption!  I realize more and more every day how much of this process is truly out of my control. This is hard for some of us overly-controlling people people who like to have a small part in what is going on!  So verses like, "Cast all your cares on Him..." in 1 Peter 5:7 are sometimes difficult to live.  So I try to remember other verses like Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you (Mycah included)...plans for good and not disaster...a future and a hope."  I know He cares for Mycah  and has a perfect plan for this whole process.  Praying my patience and faith catch up with my knowledge.

So far, we have had all of our documents (dossier) notarized, county authenticated, state authenticated, US Department of State authenticated, and they have now been dropped off at the Chinese Embassy in DC.  What's left??

• pick up papers at the Chinese Embassy
• mail to placement agency for review
• have fingerprints done
• wait for I800A (immigrations) approval
• have approval document notarized and authenticated
• mail to placement agency 
• agency conducts final review and then we are DTC! (dossier to China)

After all that has been done already, this doesn't seem like much at all.  However, relying on other people to do their jobs correctly and efficiently is the difficult part.  Let's face it...when you have someone as cute as this waiting for you...

                           

                                                                         ...patience can be a little hard to come by!

So I choose to rest in the fact that ultimately I am relying on God.

"Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name."    

                                                                                     Psalm 86:11

Click here for info on the iPad giveaway

Lots of prayers, please!

When I first saw Mycah's file, I had NO idea what CAH was.  Since our journey to make him our son began, I have been trying to make myself more knowledgeable about his disease.  It isn't as easy as one might expect since this is not as prevalent as other conditions and diseases.  But I have found a few websites and made a couple of connections with parents of children who also have this or similar adrenal insufficiencies.  Those are proving to be invaluable resources.  However, with this expanding knowledge of CAH, I find fear trying to creep in.  Not a fear of IF we can parent him, but a fear that we may not make it to him in time to prevent more serious effects of the disease.  I know fear is not of the Lord, so perhaps I should term it "extra motivation"!  After chatting with a fellow CAH parent over the weekend, we have decided to ask for a medical expedite.  These are often not granted by China even for the seemingly sickest of kids, so I am aware that we may not be successful.  But, like my mom says, "The worst they can say is no, right?"  And what kind of parents would we be if we didn't try to provide him with the care that he needs?

So this is what we need prayer for:

1.  The Johns Hopkins doctors will review his file, even       
     though is is not a patient yet (no insurance for Mycah until he is    
    "ours").

2.  Either the Johns Hopkins doctors or another doctor will write a   
     strongly worded letter about his need for immediate medical 
     treatment.

3.  We will have favor with all parties involved (Drs, Senators, 
     immigrations, China, our agency).

4.  All processing and paperwork will be done quickly.

5.  God would continue to financially provide so that finances do 
     not slow our process!

6.  God would continue to keep Mycah safe and healthy while he 
     waits.


The fact that God has allowed Mycah to live for 4 years and 2 months without having treatment for this disease is incredible already.  I know that God has a special plan for this little guy, and I am humbled and excited to have the opportunity to parent this little miracle.  Thank you all for your prayers.


PS...Thank you to those who have entered our iPad giveaway!  We are inching closer and closer to our goal!  If you haven't entered and would like to, please see my last post.  

Would You Like an iPad??

As many of you know, this adoption is a leap of faith for us in many ways.  One of the biggest being financial.  Becoming a one income family after our move has made this seem like an unmovable mountain at times.  I have even questioned the timing of this whole process.  It seems like it would have made a whole lot more sense had God lead us through this after Darrell is finished with school and I have a job again.  In church a couple of weeks ago, Pastor reminded us that God's ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9) and His timing doesn't always make sense to us.  We discussed the MANY times in the Bible that God did not "make sense" to His people...Moses, Joshua, Noah, Naaman, and Mary are probably with me on this one!  But looking back on their lives, and even to the milestones that we have reached during our adoption journey, God has always proven himself faithful!  But that being said, I know that He still requires us to be wise and do our part.  So our family is trying to be creative with ways to raise and save money.

So let me introduce you to the New iPad!!

  

And it just MIGHT have your name on it!!  

We will be having an iPad giveaway to help bring Mycah home.  Below are the details!

$5 gets you 1 entry
$20 gets you 5 entries
$100 gets you 50 entries

Reposting on FaceBook or your blog gets you up to 4 free entries!

(one repost per week...make sure you tag me or message me so I can credit you!)

The winner will receive the New iPad!

9.7" Retina display with Multi-Touch™
Dual-core A5X chip with quad-core graphics
5.0MP iSight camera and FaceTime® camera²
1080p HD video recording
Up to 10 hours of battery life³
Also available in white
iOS 5 and iCloud® camera⁴

One other lucky winner will receive their t-shirt of choice

from our Adoption Bug store.

The giveaway begins now and will go through Wednesday, October 17th.  You can donate using the Chip In button on the right side of the blog (some mobile browsers will need to choose to view the Full Site in order to see it), or by using the good old fashioned check book!  Make sure and include your name and "donation" when you give using the ChipIn button.  

Please spread the word folks!!  This is such an incredible device!  Even if you aren't an iPad kind of person, I bet it would make you a super cool Santa!!:-)  And most importantly, it will go to a great cause!

Mycah Ryan Junbin Saylor

Some Days Are Hard...

And the last couple of days have been just that!  Our adoption paperwork seemed to be sailing along, and I was sure we would be done with our home study and entering our immigrations wait very soon.  Although meeting our son would still be months away, these milestones at least help me to feel that we are making progress - getting closer to Mycah.  And at church on Sunday, there were so many little things said that seemed to confirm that this journey of faith was truly a work of the Lord.  Then came Monday.  It seemed that for every paperwork step forward there were 2 steps back.  Incomplete physical forms, questions about our personal lives, the feeling we were getting the runaround from our social worker.  

So this post is a request for prayers, folks!  There is a little boy in China who needs medical care and a family.  We have exactly 2 months and 3 days left to get our dossier (a MASSIVE amount of paperwork) to China before we risk losing our pre-approval for Mycah, and he becomes available to other potential families.  I know that "if he is supposed to be with our family", this will work out.  I know that God is not surprised by this slow down in progress.  I know that God has a perfect plan for our family and for Mycah.  I know that all of this is totally out of my control and that worry does not change anything.  I know that I serve a compassionate and sovereign God. I know that God always proves himself faithful in my life.  BUT...this week is H.A.R.D.

Please pray for favor, timely processing, provision, and peace this week.  This mommy aches to be on the way to get her son. And I desire even more that God be glorified in this situation and in our family.


"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid."  
                                                                                                                                        John 14:27

Our Boy Who Waits....

Isn't he the cutest!!!

Several weeks ago, another adoptive mama received her travel dates to get her little girl from Mycah's orphanage.  She so graciously offered to ask about him when she got there.  Often during orphanage visits, this is not allowed.  So I tried not to get my hopes up.  However, not only did the staff bring him out to meet her, she was allowed to take pictures and video!  During this time we found out that he is attending school now (maybe learning Mandarin?).  He looked very healthy and seemed to be a little shy.  He said nothing, but smiled and made his "peace" sign that seems very popular over there.  I will be forever grateful to Sheryl and Andy for letting us "see" our son and for letting him know that we love him!  This was very kind of them considering all they had on their plate that day with their new little Lucy!

This is his teacher.  He seemed very comfortable with her!

The orphanage was apparently very clean and had a friendly staff.  For that I am very thankful!  However, at the end of the day, an orphanage is not a family.  And so I press on with this "paper pregnancy" with hopes of having him join our family as quickly as possible!  Please continue to pray for favor and for quick processing!  This mama wants her big boy home!

Seasons Change...Ugh, Again???

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:"  Ecclesiastes 3:1

This is a lesson that apparently is taking me a long time to learn.  It seems that God has been trying to teach me this lesson for at least 8 years now.  Or maybe that's when I started hearing it?  But just because someone hears something does not guarantee that they are listening.  Kind of like..."Take out the trash!" or "Clean your room" or "Stop aggravating your brothers!"  I know my kids HEAR me.  After all of our medical ear issues, I have the audiology reports to prove it!  But listening and obeying...well there's another issue altogether.  I know this comes as a shock to most, but I kind of like things to be predictable and familiar.  Couple that with my extreme loyalty issues and my slight desire to feel like things are in my control, change isn't always so welcome in my life.  So when I read things in Proverbs like "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your paths straight," I tend to get a little anxious.  When seasons started changing for me after Nathyn was born, I was reluctant.  But God proved himself faithful.  Then a couple years later we were assigned to an Air Force Base in California.  I was reluctant again.  After all, didn't God know that Travis was the LAST base listed on our "wish list" of assignments??  But again, God proved himself faithful in an exceeding abundant kind of way by blessing us with church, school, and friends...who are now family:)  And yet again in June, I found myself facing another change of season.  Knowing God's faithfulness many times in the past, why in the world was I still resistant to this change?  Why couldn't I trust that God has things in control even when I do not?  I knew this was leaving friends, church, school...familiar and comfortable.  Not to mention that this would take me out of a classroom that I loved so much and away from people that I could not imagine being without.  And even scarier...HOMESCHOOLING my kids, which I have adamantly said I could/would never do!  (After all, that puts me SOLELY responsible for my kids' education.  That, to me, is a very scary thought.)  Having few no other acceptable educational options for my kids here, I gave in.  So why am I so stinkin' surprised that God is proving himself faithful for the millionth time?  

What an awesome week, and what an awesome God!

One week down...8 months to go!