China Here We Come!!!!

We got our call for travel approval this afternoon. The wait is almost over!!! Looks like we will be leaving in 2 weeks, and guess what??????????? Our very possible gotcha day is that inescapable date of March 9! (reference post from early January) If it is not our gotcha it will likely be the day her adoption is finalized. Don't you just love how God weaves it all together??

Also, Andrew was playing in a tennis match today and his opponent happens to have 2 sisters adopted from China. They were at the match and I was so ADD from the good news and having those sweet little faces to look at it was hard to focus on the game. (Sorry Andrew) Andrew pulled out his first win of the season!

Stayed tuned for exact dates to come!

We thank you for your prayers!

Cindy

Still Waiting....

We are on pins and needles this long weekend! I have heard from our agency that our TA is on the way!! I worked up the courage to ask how soon would we travel after receiving the TA and she said... usually about 3 weeks!!! Wooo Hoooo!!! Now I really don't know what has been more difficult, waiting for 3 years without a picture, or 5 weeks looking at one!
There are a few things to ground us back into reality. Jason has gone to see his girlfriend who lives over an hour away for the day. It was excruciating watching him pull out and drive off-alone! It is one of the hardest things I've had to do as a mother. Why do they have to grow up??? Andrew has began his Tennis season and is loving every minute of it. Mark and I celebrated our anniversary watching him play his first match of the season. He played hard, but lost.
As usual... we ask for your prayers,

Ephesians 1:5,7
God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Christ Jesus...and it gave him great pleasure... he is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son.
Love,
Cindy (for Mark, Jason, Andrew and Lydia Joy) :-)

Hurry up and wait!

Today is Lydia's 11 month birthday! We were hoping for our Travel Approval before the Spring Festival... that doesn't look like it's going to happen. Oddly though, I find myself unwilling to give up as so much of our process has not followed the normal channels.

We have had some very special help getting our nursery ready. We are very thankful to Aunt cheryl and Uncle David along with Josie and Emilie as well as friends Frank, Allyson and Molly. We could not have done it without you guys! As you may have guessed by now... purple is our new favorite color. Her nursery is lilac and light green.

I found this map online, it reflects our upcoming journey. The closer we get to our TA the more butterflies I have about leaving Jason and Andrew here. For the record... Jason has never wanted to go to China with us. He is my old man in a 17 year olds body. Andrew was initially open to going, however, as tennis season has arrived and he holds the #1 boys single slot he has become unwilling to compromise his hard work. He also feels an allegience to his team. So we are left to ralley friends, family and church family to assist with their supervision in our absence. Please pray for me as I am increasingly unhappy about the boys not going. It's just not natural to leave your flesh and blood behind as you travel halfway around the world!

As you may have concluded by viewing the photo of the toilet, there are a few things besides the boys to be missed. Mark and I ate Chinese last night in honor of the Chinese New Year and I helped myself to some steamed white rice. This is what kept me alive while in China the last time. As soon as I smelled it I felt like I was sitting at the Holiday Inn Crown Plaza in Chengdu!

Please know that we have read and treasure all of your kind words of encouragement and congratulations! We love and appreciate you all very much.

Remember us when you pray,

Cindy (for Mark, Jason, Andrew, and Lydia)

We finally have agreed on a name!!!

Lydia Joy Grimes

After much thought, prayer, and deliberation we have finally agreed on our china doll's name. Its both true to her origins(meaning from an ancient land in Asia) and encompasses our hopes and prayers for her Godly future. In Acts 16, Lydia was a worshiper of God, with a heart opened by Jesus to the Gospel that Paul preached (v.14), obedient in baptism, persuasive and compelling in personality, and given to hospitality and discipleship(v.40) - Hey! that'll Preach! Sorry! Anyway, she was a seller of purple before she met Jesus which implies that Lydia was wealthy(Lk 16:19) because purple was associated with wealth. Because of the costly dye involved, purple was a sort of status symbol.Its interesting that purple can also be associated in Scriptures with our sinfulness (Jn. 19:5, Rev.17:4). Interestingly, we don't know anything else about Lydia of the Scriptures; however, our prayer already is that the life giving transformation of Christ "in the heart" that the Bibles' Lydia experienced will be our own child's experience at an early age. We covet your prayers.

Mark (for Cindy, Jason, Andrew, and Lydia) :-)

Our stork has landed!!!

Oh my goodness!!!! We were out of county last night watching Jason play basketball when my phone rang. It was 8:09 p.m.!! My guess was that they needed more last minute info ... but instead she said "I have great news for you guys... I'm holding a photo your daughter!" I nearly hit the floor. I scooted back in the gym and waived Mark down from the stands and we listened in stunned shock to the following details.

She is from the Jiangxi province, and is from the Xinyu Social Welfare Institute. She was born on February 27, 2008 and was admitted to the orphange on the 28th. She entered into foster care at 1 week of age. Her most recent physical was back in August and it has her weighing 13 lbs, and 24 inches long. It also informed us that she is a mod. to light sleeper and can be restless. Hmmm..... It states she enjoys music, and laughs aloud. It also said she has a ready smile and knows strangers from aquaintences. We hope to get more updated info asap.

Our boys are beyond excited! We feel like we are in a dream because nothing has gone the way referrals "normally" go. The date on the official red seal on our Letter of Acceptence is December 25, 2008!!!!!

Yesterdays scripture on myPower of a Praying Parent calendar reads...

Isaiah 65:23

They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be descendants of the blessed of the Lord, And their offspring with them.

Our hearts are full... we love you you all very much! Continue to remember us when you pray.

And by the way... Jason sunk the winning basket of the game in very last second!!!

Love,

Mark, Cindy, Jason, Andrew and Delaney??? Sarah??? Rebecca??? Lydia??? Leah??? Jenna???

Dream Weaver

Happy New Year!!

We have just returned home from a great week with family in Ohio. While we were there, referrals came! It is completely likely that we will have a referral in Feb. or most likely March. It is a "twin" thing that makes me believe it will be March...Cheryl came home with Josie on March 9th, she got Emilie's referral on March 9th, and my paper work was logged in at the CCAA on March 9th. I thought the March 9th connection was complete until I realized that March 9th 2009 is on a Monday... a very likely day for referrals to arrive for the March batch. TBC......
During the past 3+ years of waiting I have had a few dreams along the way. Now before you jump to conclusions that I have leaped off the deep end, let me reassure you that I come from a family of dreamers. God himself used dreams numerous times in the Bible to reveal Himself.
So, I have decided to post a few of my dreams that I feel were from the Lord to bring comfort to us as well as reveal Himself in this process.
In September 2005...
I dreamed we were in China getting our girl and she was sitting in the box she was found in. There was a date written in pencil on the flap of the box with her birthdate. It read November 17, 2007 ( or 2008.) I remember noticing that the year was much farther out than what it was supposed to be, and this is why the year is a fuzzy detail. I was so busy telling the Lord he got the year wrong I couldn't see that He was trying to show me that the wait was going to be much longer than I expected. I noticed that when they were handing her to Mark that there was a wooden chair in the box that was sitting in a thin aluminum pan. I immediately thought to myself that she must have come from a family that cooked for living and that they did not want her to get wet (or dirty) while she was waiting to be found. The guide asked Mark what her name was and he told her "Caroline."
On December 15, 2007...
I deamed of a beautiful park in China. I noticed a young couple who was sitting in the grass crying and comforting one another. In this dream I remember having the awareness that they were grieving the abandonment of their daughter. The father kept referring to her as "Po-Po."
(There were some very personal details in this dream I have chosen to keep private, but should she arrive and there be a connection to those details, I will certainly post them as a testimony to the Lord.)
January 12, 2008
I dreamed about being led with Mark through a side entrance into an orphanage. There were babies everywhere on the floor... not in cribs. You could hardly move without stepping on them. I began to cry. Mark reached down and picked up a tiny one. I saw 2 women asleep in the far left cornor of the room. One of them woke up and I was struck by the sheer exhaustion on her face. I picked up a beautiful girl playing on the floor and she threw up on me. I remember being alarmed that it had worms in it!! I thought to myself..."as soon as we get her home we are all getting wormed!"
August 27, 2008
Not exactly a dream...
As I was in that in-between time of awake and asleep I saw a georgous baby girl sitting in a plain room with white walls. She was in a high-chair of sorts being fed a bottle. She was wearing a pink outfit with a cute pink headband.
I got out of bed thinking "was that a dream or a vision?" Later as I was getting ready it hit me like a ton of bricks! We were leaving that morning for Atlanta to complete or 3rd (yes... 3rd) round of federal fingerprints. I firmly believe that the Lord was encouraging me to remember that "she" is what this day was really about.
Now there you have it. Call me crazy or call me blessed. I know I am blessed!
Pray for us often..
Mark, Cindy, Jason, and Andrew

Joel 2:28

Peace Speaker

This is the matching room where our "dossier" sits
and waits to be pulled. A dossier is apacket of all of
our blood sweat and tears, not to mention our
life story documented and notarized...
certified... and authenticated!
When God's perfect timing is complete, someone
from the matching department will reachfor our file and begin to read over it thoroughly. She will look through the profiles of available "paper ready babies" and match a baby to our dossier based on everything they have learned looking through our file. This is where all of our prayers meet the heart and mind of sweet Chinese social worker. She/he may not even know what is guiding them to this particular photo, that photo.... but Mark, Jason, Andrew and I know that this is the moment where an all knowing God literally creates a match made in heaven.

As some of you already know, our chosen adoption agency was Hope for Children out of Atlana. A few weeks ago we were abruptly notified that due to the failing economy, Hope was closing their doors effective immediately. An agency partner would be taking over our adoption process if we so choose. This offer came at an unexpected, significant fee increase. I don't have words to describe the fear and mistrust that began to consume my thoughts. Here we are so close to a referral and we are forced into the unknown. Then to add insult to injury came the news that the CCAA was increasing the orphanage fee donation from $3000 to $5000! Again... unexpected unforseen fees.
We have been brought to our knees (literally) by this flurry of unexpected events.
But God... that same all knowing God that will guide our daughters photo to our profile, is not shocked or caught off guard. He has used many caring family members and friends to intercede on our behalf. Peace comes like a soothing balm over a raw wound.
I'll close with Psalms 40:1-4a
I waited patiently for the Lord:
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear and
put their trust in the Lord.
Blessed is the man who
makes the Lord his trust.
Our family is blessed beyond measure this Christmas Season!
We love you ,
Cindy (for Mark, Jason, and Andrew)