One Tiny Little Word

Tomorrow.  Even saying that word gets my stomach in a million bagillion knots!  There is no way that it seems possible at all!  It's funny how for so long it seems like you are waiting forever...like five lifetimes for something, and then all of the sudden it's here.  Gah!  It's here!!!!  When I woke up this morning, my first thought was, "tomorrow at this exact same time, I will be on an airplane!"  Blows.my.mind.  Anyway, are we all set and ready to go?  Um, not quite, but we'll get there.  I got this crazy idea this time around to write individualized notes to the kids each day we are gone.  Sounded like an awesome idea before I started writing them.  Simple math would've told any sane person that 3 kiddos x 15 days = too many letters to write when you are trying to get ready to leave the country!!!  I still have to finish an entire weeks worth of letters to finish today.  I might be up all night!  So while we are talking about these three littles, please keep them in your prayers.  They have very mixed emotions about us being gone.  I know they will have a blast, and have a jam packed full schedule, but I'm still worried about them.  While you're at it, I suppose you could be praying for me too.  Just the thought of leaving them leaves a giant lump in my throat.

So what's on the agenda for us?  We will fly to Beijing and *hopefully* hit up the Great Wall this time.  If you recall from our previous journey to China, we never made it to the Wall due to flight delays.  Stinkin' flight delays!  We will hang out on an airplane for the Mister's birthday...yep, his birthday is Saturday!  Maybe I can get the flight attendants to sing Happy Birthday to him.  Ha!  We'll hang out in Beijing until Monday, and then we head to Xining, which is where will meet our little one on Tuesday!  Eeek!  Please be praying for her heart to be prepared to join our family as well.  Huge transitions are ahead for her, and she's too little to even understand what is going on.

The next post will be from China...most likely.  Unless I'm uber bored in the airport waiting on our connecting flight tomorrow! 

Sooooooo Close!!!!!

Bahhhhh!  I can't even hardly stand it!!!  So this week on Monday we had our Article 5 pickup, which if you don't know adoption terminology it will mean nothing to you :)  What WILL mean something is that we are now waiting for our TRAVEL APPROVAL!  Yes, we are simply waiting for China to say, "Come on over!'  Even writing that is just absolutely surreal!!!  Now, I'm not into bursting anyone's bubble, but here is where we might, (and hopefully don't!) hit a snafu.  See, the agency responsible for issuing these said travel approvals is currently doing an audit, which is causing a bit of a hiccup for more families than I would even care to think about right now.  What  does this mean for us???  Well, it means one of two things.  First option - We could get a rockstar fast TA in anywhere from 3-7 days, which of course is the option I would like to go with!  Second option - wait...and wait....and wait some more, with the approval most likely taking over 20 days to come.  Yes, yes, I know what you are thinking....20 DAYS...WHA?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Yes, my sentiments exactly!  So, we are praying. Of course selfishly praying for the first option, but also praying that we have peace in God's plan, acknowledging His plans are always perfect and that He knows when we should go to pick up our sweet girl!  Very much easier said than done, but we are working on it :)

Please be in prayer for us!  I brushed over a few minor, ok not so minor details, including the fact that there is a holiday the first Monday of April that would also impact a date we could meet our girl, and then there is also that pesky trade fair that happens in Guangzhou (aka the second city where we need to stay for at least 4-6 nights,) from mid-April through the first part of May that has a way of taking hotel prices and throwing them through the roof!  You know, no big deal, right? ;)  This momma's heart is also growing weary.  I want to see her, to hear her speak, to smell the smells of her hair, all of those things us moms like to do.  Our agency requested an update over a month and a half ago, and I've now succumbed to the fact that we won't be getting an update prior to traveling.  Praying that day that I can wrap my arms around that sweet little one comes soon!  Also please pray for our crew who will be staying at home.  They know the time is coming soon when we will be traveling, and they are not really excited about it...like AT ALL.  Please pray that their little hearts will be comforted, and that they will have a blast at home with all of those grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends that they will get to hang out with while we are gone!

Crazy Blessed!!!

True confessions of an adoptive mom....I've been in a bit of an adoption depression these last few weeks, and have been having myself a giant mommy pity party.  I kept postponing and postponing a post, because we are waiting for our Letter of Acceptance, (LOA,) from China and I was planning on blogging once we got this sacred document into our hands.  Well, my plan was to have this piece of paper several weeks ago, which of course has not been the case!  I continued to pout and sulk around as I watched our plans for March travel slip away.  However, this last week has just blown our socks off!  It started last Friday, when as we were eating supper, we received a phone call from Lifesong for Orphans, notifying us that we were going to be recipients of a $3,000 matching grant!!!   What this means is that once we raise the $3,000 on our end, that Lifesong will be matching that dollar for dollar!  Hallelujah!  This is a huge praise, as we were notified earlier this past week that we had been denied grants from two other organizations.  I will be posting information related to our matching grant on social media for those of you who are interested in partnering with us in our sweet girl's journey home, and in a tax deductible donation of course ;)

Fast forward to Sunday night.  I received a message from another adoptive mom with a kiddo from the same province as our new little princess, and she was able to visit several summers ago and tour the baby room.  She mentioned she had pictures of the children in the room, and that I was welcome to take a peek at the them to see if I saw our girl.  Turns out, she was there!  This is amazing, because my friend visited only WEEKS after our princess arrived at the orphanage!  My friend had about 18 pictures total of our sweetheart, as she said she had fallen in love with her during the visit!  Oh her sweet little baby face is too much!  Why don't you all be the judge??? :)

I can't even stand this much baby cuteness!!!!

Finally, we found out some really exciting news about a potential therapy program for H.  Details are still be worked out, but as soon as we know all details, I will share the good news! 

Sooooo....back to the LOA!  We are really praying that we receive this document prior to the Chinese New Year, which is coming up the first part of February.  If we get it by then, we may still be able to hold out hope for early April travel.  This is a HUGE prayer request for us, as the middle of April - early May is a big trade fair in one of the cities that we need to stay in.  This could potentially cause us to have to bump travel to May, which is bad since May is such a busy month for us with birthdays, anniversaries, end of school, etc. 

Hopefully we will have another update coming soon!!!

One Year...and a month

Did I really just write those two words together?!?!?!  How in the world is it possible that we have had our little man in our arms for an entire year?  It seems crazy!  In some ways, it feels as though he has been with us forever, and in other ways, I feel like I'm still learning so much about him and his little personality that it could've very well been last week that we just laid eyes on one another.  Our little guy...he's an amazing little human!  Sometimes...maybe even often times, I hardly give him enough credit.  I get caught up in comparing him to other kids...either his age, or adopted, or both, and think to myself, "Oh man, H is doing this or that," but I have found myself more recently as we were approaching our one year family day anniversary taking a step back to see all that my guy has done.  He can run...and pretty well!  He has made great improvements in using his right arm and hand as well, and I know there will be more improvements made in the future as well.  And speech.  He blows me away every day!  See, with him we don't see these amazing quantum leaps.  Honestly, we never have since the day he entered into our family.  He wasn't one of those malnourished children who has gained 15 lbs and grown 6 inches...nope not him.  And for a long time, I felt guilty about that.  Like he wasn't receiving enough love, or food, or who knows what!  He definitely has grown, but for him, everything is in bite sized pieces :)  Well, except for when he's literally eating, and then it's not bite sized at all...dude can eat!  Anyway, he's been the slow and steady type.  Little improvements with movement or new words can be seen each day.  Seeing it each day is a new blessing, and I'm so thankful to bear witness to this little one's life.  We have been truly blessed! 

We've had LOTS going on this past month, and very very soon...like later this week soon, I will have more updates on our newest Schaadt, but that can wait for now.  Right now, let's just all take a moment and enjoy the cuteness that I get to see every day!

Barbells for Baby Schaadt and More!

Wow!  So SO much has been going on in the world of adoption lately!  It has been A-MA-ZING!  First off, a few weekends back, (because I'm THAT good on keeping up with life lately,) was Barbells for Baby Schaadt.  If you haven't heard of that, then that means you probably aren't on Facebook!  Some history on it...a few months back, we were approached by an amazing young man from our church about organizing a fundraiser crossfit competition that would be his "18th birthday celebration."  We were completely blown away that this guy had such an amazing heart that he wanted to do such a selfless and giving thing for his birthday!  I can only hope that our boys grow up to be as focused on serving and helping others as this guy is!  Ok, so back to the story...a Crossfit competition was what was decided upon, as that is a big time hobby and interest of this young man.  I had never been to a Crossfit "box" or competition before the event...and let me tell you people, those "crossfit types,"...they don't mess around!  It was absolutely astounding to see how many people competed during the day, and how many additional people came out in support of the event!  It blew our minds!  We felt so loved and supported!  When the totals had come in, we raised over $1,500 towards our adoption through the competition!  I'm seriously still in shock as I write those words now.  I can't wait to one day share with our precious girl how all of these strangers had come together to help bring her home.  And yes, I'm getting teary eyed just typing that now!  Are you new to the Crossfit world?  Well, here is a little taste of what the day entailed...

It.was.awesome.  I might even try crossfit one of these days now....maybe :)  The week after Barbells for Baby Schaadt was the little man's tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy and dental work combo.  Booo!!!!  We tried to prep him as best we could without scaring him half to death.  I told him he was going to go see the doctor who would help him to not snore anymore.  This is what he told the Mister the same night after coming home from work:

Little Man : Daddy me go doctor and no (insert the cutest snoring noise you have ever heard)

It was so beyond precious!  I don't think that post surgery, he felt it was really necessary to go to such extreme lengths to help him to not snore!  The doctor said his tonsils were enormous, and that without them there, he should see quite an improvement in sleeping, breathing, etc.

 This was him, "driving under the influence" on the way out of the hospital.  He loved it, although I'm sure he doesn't recall driving out at all!

Recovery went well for the first two days...and then it went bad.  We had a really rough time for the next full week, and actually it wasn't until yesterday that he really started eating again, and tomorrow will be 14 days post op.  All is good now, and the appetite that we know and love has returned!

We are also gearing up for our online Adoption Auction coming up at the end of this month.  We have gotten some absolutely awesome and adorable donations that I'm so super excited to share with all of you!  Be on the lookout for the preview week and then the actual auction dates!!!

One of my favs...how cute is this baby outfit?!?!

Another fav...the Starfish Story, "One Matters" necklace.  This wonderful shop owner custom designed it for our auction AND sent me a matching one too! 

In adoption news for our little starfish, we are waiting.  Ahhh!  Our home study update is completed, and we are currently waiting for our home study agency to finalize the update and get copies to both our agency and us so we can move along to our next step.  I'm really ready to move on to the next step.  It seems like we have been in the same place forever!  Because things have been taking so long, I'm thinking we won't be sending our dossier to China until early November at best.  Very best.  Please be praying for the next few steps in getting our dossier to China to go quickly and smoothly so that we can get our arms around our little starfish as soon as possible! 

And She Shall be Called.....

So you may or may not caught a glimpse of our little sweet pea over these past few weeks or so.  You may have seen her face and not even realized it!  Well, the Mister and I were trying to wait to formally introduce our girl to you when she finally had a name.  Ahem...well, the original plan was for that to be not much longer after we announced the adoption.  I should've known that wasn't going to happen!  After going through about 500 names that I had suggested, along with suggestions from family and friends, we finally agreed!  Seriously people, this is BIG stuff!  Why?  Because the name game has always been torturous for us...this is how it typically goes:

 Me : "What do you think of you fill in the blank with whatever name I was throwing at him at the time?"  

The Mister: "No." 

 Me: "Do you have any suggestions?

The Mister: "No."

Repeat this 499 other times and you will have what our life has been like over the last few weeks!  So, now that I've totally built her name up way too much, let me be the first to formally introduce you to....

Nyah T***

 Before we go any further, because I know you are trying to figure out pronunciation, It's ni (like hi,) -ah.  Her middle name will remain her current name, which I cannot share at this time.  Hence the reason for all of the asterisks!  Now that that has been cleared up, onto why we picked Nyah.   Well, there's the fact that I've always loved the name, and once we discovered the meaning of the name, it kind of sealed the deal for us.  We've never been much into name meanings, but the name Nyah is actually of African origin and means, "one with a purpose."  Done.  That was all I needed to read.  My girl...she has a purpose.  I can't wait to get my arms around her so we can watch her beautiful life unfold in front of our very eyes.  

Oh yes, so now that you know her name, let me introduce you to her.... 

 Our beautiful princess!

....and yes, you will notice that in the younger picture below, she has more hair.  They are shaving my poor girl's hair!  Um, can you say, hair bows?!?!?!

As far as where we are in the process, we are waiting for our home study to be finished up. We are praying that our home study will finish up within the next 3-4 weeks, and wrap up a few other things so we are able to send our dossier to China by the end of October.  Maybe???  Hopefully???  Man, I sure hope so!  Don't you just want to squeeze those little cheeks too?

The Story of #4

In case you missed it, which I doubt anyone who is reading our blog has, we are on the road to adoption once again!  We are so excited, overwhelmed, nervous, you name it!  This time we will be going back again to that “large Asian country,” but this time, to return with a beautiful little lady!  Our sweet girl is currently just 17 months old, and this momma is doing everything I can to get our arms around her before she turns 2…which I think may be a long shot, but you never know!  

The Mister and I had been going back and forth on if a fourth was in the cards for us as a family.  Because the Mister was considering the possibility, I conveniently let our agency know that we could quite possibly be searching for a little girl over the coming months.  Well wouldn’t you know it, around early July, our agency presented us with a file of a sweet little one, just 16 months old!  The Mister and I talked and prayed about her and the decision, and decided that she was to be the newest member of our family!  

Now backing up to the month of June, I was approached by a friend to consider writing a guest post for the website, No Hands But Ours, about our little guy’s special need…cerebral palsy.  She had mentioned to me that they were looking for someone to write on that specific need, because apparently many prospective adoptive families considered it to be one of the more “scary” needs.  It sounded funny to me that anyone would call it a scary diagnosis!  I prayed about the post, knowing it would reach a much bigger audience than my little blog here, and also since I don’t consider myself to be nearly as good as a writer as many of the mommas whose blogs I follow, but I felt like God was calling me to write what was on my heart.  I won’t repeat the whole post for you…you can read it here, but I wrote these words just days before receiving our little one’s file.  Why does that matter?  Well friends, it all comes down to God’s perfect timing.  I say that because I genuinely feel that He used what He had laid on my heart to write to comfort us in making our decision about adding that little one to our family.  Why?  Because our new little one will also be diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when she arrives home…and her scans…they are scary to me.  Yep, I said it.  Scary.  The word I had thought was so funny to use in conjunction with my precious little man was just the word that came to mind when I was reading over my little love’s file.  If you have stopped and read my guest post on No Hands But Ours, you are probably getting the connection here!  That post, if not written for any other person’s benefit in the entire universe, was written for me.  God was whispering just to me, “I’ve got this.  You need to trust me.”  We were called by God as a family to adopt, and I do know that He’s “got this,” but it’s hard.  It’s not just hard in the adoption related world to trust God, it’s hard lots of the time.  Because if you’re like me, you’re a control freak, you like to try to plan for things to go according to your plan.  But people, the sooner we realize it’s not our plan, faster it will be when we submit to God’s will and purpose for our lives, which is of course 1,000 times better than anything that you or I could ever imagine.  

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. ²¹ Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” – Ephesians 3:20-21

So glory to God…glory because He knit together my beautiful and precious little girl in her tummy momma, glory to Him because He knows her story and can make beauty from the ashes, and glory to Him for continually showing me what amazing blessings are the result of just trusting in His plan.