12 months since our last post? We are the worst bloggers ever!

Our apologies for the woeful neglect of our blog.  For so long it seemed as if nothing was happening and then all of a sudden everything is happening.  So let me try to bring you up to speed.

The Both Hands Project was a great success in August 2011.  We had so many friends help as we worked all day on Sharon's home.  We raised about $4000 for our adoption through the event.  Thank you to all who gave and served.

We settled into a waiting phase since all our paperwork was in and our agency was starting a new system that connected our agency with a specific orphanage in China.  In theory, this is supposed to speed things up by removing the middle man.  That was October 2011.

Our case worker, who had been to the orphanage, told us she believed a child that matched our special needs list is part of the group of children that is to be released for adoption.  The problem was the orphanage was not completing the necessary paperwork to move the process along.  Once again, waiting!

Fast forward to April 2012 and our immigration paperwork is about to expire and we have to submit a request for an extension.  Our new social worker begins the process to update our home study as we have to get criminal checks and physicals all over again.

May 2012 - BIG MONTH!!!!  Our case worker send over pictures and descriptions of some children who are considered not highly adoptable because of their age and/or medical issues.  One girl caught our attention.  She was born July 1, 2009.  Her diagnosis is spina bifida and one leg that is shorter than the other.

She is walking and on track with all her growth, mental and social progress. After consultation with two doctors, we believe we will need some surgery once she arrives in the US.  However, both doctors feel her long term prognosis is very good.

WE FOUND OUR GIRL!  We will call her Carter.  If you would like to see her picture feel free to email us and we would be happy to send it to you.  We have been advised by our case worker not to list her Chinese name and post her picture to a public blog before China hands her over to us.

So in God's perfect timing this all works out.  Had we not been in the process of updating our home study, we would not have been able to list Carter's specific conditions.  So once again we are learning that God brings things about in His timing not ours.

So now we are back in a wait mode.  Our immigration update has to be completely processed before we can move forward.  But we have received the LOA.  This is the official letter from China that says we can adopt Carter.

We have been told we could travel as soon as October!  We are very excited.  Until the next post, God bless you.