Adoption Update: Paperwork, Gege, and a Party

The last couple weeks have been so crazy in the rest of our lives that it’s actually been a very welcome distraction from the waiting.

The Paper Pregnancy

We should have the final copy of the home study in hand this week!

We might have had it Friday, but our Family Coordinator discovered that I’d messed up a piece of paperwork. Thankfully it was one of our letters, so I just had to fix the error and coordinate the two very kind, obliging people to get together to sign and notarize it.

It’s already been scanned and resent, and I’m told it should just be a day or two, then, to wrap up the home study. Feels like such a huge milestone!

Next is the USCIS (U.S. Immigration) paperwork. I have everything else signed and ready to go. Just need a copy of the home study to slip into the stack and send off.

It’s like orchestrating a relay race, but if it was a race … I would be winning.

And then I can start applying for grants, which will be helpful both financially and for making me feel like I’m doing something.

The Gege

Our Man Cub is thinking about his brother more, it seems, and it’s so awesome and so heart-wrenching at the same time. Things he has recently said to me:

“I had a dream last night that I woke up and I said, ‘Is Brother here?’ and you said, ‘Yes,’ an’ he was … and he was wearing a green shirt … with pterodactyls …”

“Do you think Brother is lonely in China ’cause the other brothers don’t want him BUT I DO!”

Slayed. Dead on the floor.

Sometimes he’s not so sure if he’s going to like Brother or not. He hopes that he will, but he really thinks he needs to wait and see.

Which in almost any other circumstance I would probably celebrate as remarkably reasonable, but in this case it has been facilitating some interesting conversations about love. What is it really? Can you choose to love someone you’ve never met? Can you choose to love someone you don’t like? Super complicated stuff for a five-year-old, so they are short conversations, but he thinks about it.

The Fundraising

Grant applications can go out soon, but we’ll probably have to write a fat check to the USCIS with our application before we hear anything. And we have two things in February that I’m actually really excited about.

First is our Chinese New Year party. If you’re local, please come out and celebrate with us. We’ll hang out, have some late snacks, and raffle off some more really great prize baskets. There will be Chinese New Year crafts for the kids (and the adults, ’cause you’ll want to) and we may even break the rules and do lanterns (even though that’s technically not supposed to happen yet).

I’m totally going to nerd out on some culture, and make you come with me.

And I have one other secret up my sleeve for the evening, but I’ll tell you about that later.

As with the last event, please don’t let finances keep you away. There will be opportunities to donate, but—and I really mean this—it means so much just to see you there. We could never, ever do this without the love and prayers and support of our awesome community, and just getting a small crowd together is so encouraging and refreshing to my soul. If you don’t have a penny to give, please come anyway.

H2O Church is graciously letting us use their building. Directions and all the other details are on Facebook. Fish Kisses, Hope Expeditions, and ReFind Design are sponsoring gift baskets. (As always, if you or your business want to sponsor a basket or the event in general, hit me up and I’ll send details.)

Second cool thing in February is MUDLove! I love what these guys do, and they do ministry fundraisers. I realized recently that they do a very limited number of fundraisers for adoptions as well. I applied several months ago (I’m a pro at applying for things now), and we were selected!

We’ll have a page on their site with our story, wristbands with our theme, and a special mug designed just for us! So you get to support our little Panda Cub and help provide clean water to international communities and get some really cool stuff. Win-win-win.

Our campaign will begin February 5. I’ll share designs and details as we get them!

Next Steps and Prayer Requests

So still waiting, but very close to one big checkmark with the home study. Prayer requests:

• Speedy conclusion to the home study with no last-minute issues.
• Fun, successful fundraisers.
• Patience and peace in my hungry mama-heart.
• Peace and protection over our little gege.