This is Eva's room. It does not show the whole room since we are still working on it. Since we don't know how old Eva will be when she comes home so we don't know if she'll need a crib or not so we are definitely prepared to change out the sleigh bed but over all it will remain much the same, at least for now. We will add that cute white dresser,some shelving, a toy trunk, ,etc...its a work in progress...its a great place to daydream and pray.

Adoption Process

David and I reached another important phase in our adoption journey! We were able to submit our first adoption agency program fee and will be assigned a dossier consultant at Great Wall any day now. The dossier consultant will expertly guide us through the dossier phase...the "dossier" is a set of appropriately authenticated and translated legal documents that are used in international adoption cases for the adoptive parents to obtain the legal custody or guardianship of the child in the foreign court, so the child can be brought by the adoptive parents to the United States for adoption. David and I have been gathering all the necessary documents required for our dossier and are working with our social worker on our home study. So once we have all the documents together ( many of which will be collected and reviewed during the Home Study) they will go to the state and national capital for authentication and on to China with our 2nd program fee. This must be completed within 6 months in order for the Chinese government to accept our authenticated documents. So for us, that means we have to have our dossier to China no later than September 3rd. So, please continue to pray for the Lords provision in this.

We also got our Washington, California, Minnesota and South Dakota Background checks back and our FBI background check came back...all squeaky clean!

Whats next? We have our health physicals scheduled for this Friday...then we start our meetings with our social worker!

We received a neat gift from my friend at work. My Friend has a sister who works for a worldwide hotel company She was was in Beijing recently for a week for a grand opening of a new hotel. On her trip she visited the Great Wall too. She brought us back a beautiful jade like rock she found on the GW tour and brought Eva back a cute little stuffed doll. Every time I see the stone I am reminded that our dreams aren't as far away as they may seem. Its also an amazing testament to encouragement and support David and I have been receiving...

David and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on Wednesday! Time flies when you’re having fun!
While we were saving for our first GWCA program fee, we have been busy gathering our adoption paperwork and some of our dossier documents for our Home Study.
Since we started the home study with Nora at Lutheran Family Services, she has already received our Washington State Patrol background check back. No response yet from the FBI on our fingerprints but we are expecting that to take a while but our letters of reference have been coming in already! Thanks to all of you who put love and time into writing those letter! You are a precious part of our journey in so many ways!
After digging up every address we’ve ever lived at - We’ve sent off our Minnesota, South Dakota and California background check requests and we are each working on our biography questions still…that seems to be taking the most time as is pretty detailed.
We have our physicals scheduled for the 17th and meanwhile we’ve saved enough to submit our 1st program fee to Great Wall! Praise the Lord…so when we complete our home study paperwork (our dossier) it can be sent to them and we move to the next level in our adoption process. What’s next? More paperwork and fees! We get our dossier documents authenticated at the state and national capital, then we file the i-800a and i800 forms to the department of immigration and naturalization – The i800a is an application to determine our suitability to adopt a child from a convention country. Once that is approved, we file the 1-800 which is the petition to classify a convention adoptee as an immediate relative and is necessary to finalize the immigration process.

We’ve barely started this long journey – two months ago we were at the informational seminar just learning about adoption with Great Wall and now here we are and it’s kind of a mind blowing and yet it’s gone so smoothly in spite of our futile attempts to direct and control the process…There is no doubt that we are NOT in charge here. This is Gods thing and we are continually overwhelmed by His love and grace…Your continued prayers and support are so appreciated!

David and I also thought we would plant a tree to commemorate our 5 year anniversary and the beginning of Eva’s adoption process. I am set on a flowering cherry tree. We have a spot off the back patio in perfect view from Eva’s bedroom window. My vision for that plot will be to make it into “Eva’s Garden”...a labor of love to keep us busy while we wait and pray for the day she will stand in her garden under her tree. I am researching Chinese botanical gardens to start a list of plants, flowers and designs that we can incorporate into the garden. So far the cherry tree, irises and peonies are on the list.

Believe, Faith, Trust

Not much to update...David has been sick with a bad cold this week so we have not been too active. Our Washington State background check came back and we are in good shape. All of the vital documents that we ordered came in the mail this week. So we are waiting on our California State background check and are mailing off David's background check for Minnesota on Monday. Some of the reference letters are coming in already too! So once all the background checks come back and are reviewed, we will move on.

A Name...

David and I have chosen a name for our little one...Eva Elizabeth.
David chose Eva as her first name..pretty cool...and sure sign that she will definitely be daddy's little girl. I absolutely loved it when I first heard it. And Elizabeth of course, after her momma and grandma...because my mom and I share the same middle name, it seemed like a perfectly natural choice our little girl!
There is another special story behind the middle name before it was even chosen that makes it even more special. I will update that when I have a little more time.

We also just got our first baby project...check it out at www.salvagegarden.blogspot.com...

Eva Elizabeth Wagner...we pray for your every day...

Home study...

We sent off our Home Study Packet today and our fingerprints went to the FBI. We are mailing out our letters of Reference and gathering all our other vital documents.
I am attending an on-line adoption webinar with Great Wall China Adoptions today from 4pm-6pm. This is a free seminar that will give us two hours of credit toward the required 10 hours which is a requirement of the Hague International Adoption Treaty...so things are underway for us as much as they can be at this point.

" Those who wait on the Lord will gain renewed strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
The will walk and not become weary".
Isaiah 40:31

Burr...snowy and cold today! I had the day off so we went downtown to the courthouse today to get our finger prints taken. These are required as part of the Home Study to complete the FBI criminal and background check. Its all computerized now...probably has been for a long time... Anyway our paper chase is officially underway. We've sent off for vital documents and are preparing to send out our referral letters and our physicals are scheduled for April 17.

Passing the time...

Hi all...This last week has seemed like a very long week! So glad its Friday...well, nope...its officially Saturday! Our couples study tonight was a welcome break and a blessing! Thanks everyone for your prayers and encouragement!

We are preparing to start our home study with Lutheran Family Services. A local agency here in town. The social worker we've chosen as brought many families through the home study process and on to successful adopted from China so we are excited to work with her. Please keep her in prayer. Her name is Nora and she comes recommended. Secondly, we will be choosing a Great Wall China service package.
Right now we are waiting on the Lord on which step to proceed with first or to try to do both the home study and service agreement simultaneously.
In the mean time we are busy retrieving our vital documents. We are getting our fingerprint cards done on Monday the 9th, taking an online parenting seminar on March 19th (will count toward the 10 hours of training required by the Hague Adoption Treaty) and our health physicals are scheduled for April 17th. Never a dull moment! Love and hugs to all!


"Lord, in the morning you hear my voice. In the morning I pray to you. I wait for you in hope." Psalm 27:14

We Are Approved & Expecting!

For those of you who don't already know...we received the phone call today @ 2:17pm -our adoption application has been approved!

I was sitting at my desk when I got the call from Kerri at Great Wall China Adoptions. I instantly lost all sense of reality, a mixture of excitement, joy and fear...emotions impossible to express in anything but tears of happiness and amazement that the door to our journey remained wide open! Gods has a plan and its way bigger than us and way bigger than the happiness and challenges that lie ahead!

After coming back down to earth...I had to restrain myself BIG TIME!
I called David immediately,then mom! I was utterly exhausted for the rest of the day and it was impossible to get anything done. Praise the Lord there was nothing pressing that required my attention...I just proceeded to stare at my computer, smile, pray and cry.

Now the real work begins...health physicals, fingerprinting, document gathering, fund raising and building up savings, FBI background checks, the home study and parenting courses, just name a few!

Neat reminder...

This is a dream I had just last week... I shared with with a few already but I was so encouraged I thought I would post it as it is a part of our journey. It was so awesome since I never remember my dreams and this one was so clear I could actually recall the details and write it down! This dream was a great reminder of where our trust lies and to live in that...where the Lord guides, He provides!....I was so comforted.

I was driving down Park Street, near our home on a beautiful summer day and just as I crossed the railroad tracks, I slowed down to take note of a very large and festive celebration taking place in the park, adjacent to Victory Faith Fellowship.

For some reason I was drawn to the crowd, I needed to see what all the hoopla was about. As I turned onto the cross street and pulled up to park parallel to the chain link fence surrounding the parks open field, I notice a banner hanging there front the fence....

I got out of the car, headed toward the opening in the fence and red the banner;
" We need $91,000 to build our new community pool area - Come help us celebrate and give thanks for what the Lord is going to do!"

I was stunned and thrilled to see such a crowd gathered for this bold statement of faith and celebrating as if it was already "the grand opening"...but there was nothing there but a large green field.
As I turned to walk through the gate into the park I was approached by a man, he was all smiles and he reached out both hands to greet me.
"Welcome, welcome!" he exclaimed. He proceeded to ask me my name and then asked "So what is God doing in your life?"

Thinking I had never been asked a bolder question, I gave my response saying, "Well, my husband and I are going to adopt a child from China." The man ( whose name I didn't get) just beamed with joy...so much so that he seemed to be utterly glowing! The man then said, "Oh, then Praise the Lord! It appears you need for God to provide for you too!", he invited me to spend the day with everyone saying "Join us and give thanks with us for all that He is doing to do in our lives!"

I was so filled with hope and joy I didn't even try to make an excuse as to why I didn't want to spend the day with all these strangers...so I happily found myself a folding chair and opened it up in a sunny spot just outside the main crowd. I sat down, looking over the festivities, noticing how happy and joyful everyone was, how happy and joyful I was! The sky was so blue and the grass was so green. As i took in the clean air, I thought indeed, this is a great place for a pool! It was then I met the gaze of a grey poodle with one of those fancy hairdos...it was grinning at me from ear to ear...and I smiled back. Accepting my invitation, it trotted over and sat down next to me in the sun.

And there we sat....the dogs fur was silky soft and the sun felt so warm on my skin. Everything was so right, I felt at home with my heart, with my needs and my hopes, in fact, I had never felt more at peace, nor had I ever seen a more perfect day.
The sun felt so much warmer and comforting than I remembered feeling before and then I realized, it was coming from the inside!

Then I heard my husbands voice... "Laura, Your running late, you'd better get up."
And that, is how I started my day today! (Wednesday, February 25)

We did it...we are "Expecting" great things!

We submitted our application with Great Wall China Adoptions today at 2:45PM PST, Saturday February 28, 2009. *** Yay....clapping and squealing!!! **** Our paper pregnancy has begun! We are so relieved... and so excited to see what the Lord is going to do! It's taken a lot to get to this point and we are just as excited as can be! Please keep us in prayer over this next week. We should hear back in about 4-5 days on the approval status!

Too bad you cant read the computer screen behind us....it says "CONGRATULATIONS!"...Yippee!

We are one step closer little one. You are in our prayers every day.

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to give you hope and a future."

How our journey begins...As newlyweds in 2004, David and I sought out international adoption for the very first time. International adoption from China was for us, was a simple choice...the only choice. We interviewed several agencies and attended seminars and although our hearts were in the right place, the financial undertaking seemed totally impossible for us at the time...so we let it alone and got on with our new life together. David and I never really felt an innate desire to have biological children of our own, so we put "family" on the back burner...God had other things in mind for us.

In July of 2006 we made the decision to relocate from San Diego, CA to Spokane, WA. We needed a change of pace and a change of scenery. There were many reasons...a few of the major ones: We wanted a change in lifestyle ans scenery, we wanted to find a small church where we could get involved in ministry and fellowship, I needed a change in careers, our commutes were awful and we wanted to buy a home with a the big yard that we could afford. We hit the road for Spokane by the end of October 06', headed North and we have taken the love and well wishes of our family and friends with us...We love you all very much!

Since moving to Spokane the Lord has done some amazing and dramatic work our in our lives, as husband and wife and as individuals. We are very involved in our church, David teaches the Jr. High Youth Group and Sunday School, I have a small administrative role in the church as well, we each attend small group studies and the Lord has even allowed us to lead a Couples Study! The Lord has also extended our family by bringing some amazing people into our lives so between our family and friends, our cups run over! And best of all...our desire for a family has grown. Still overwhelmed by the cost of adoption, we tried a few workarounds...after several trips to the doctor, it became more evident that this path was wrong for us and perhaps we were just trying to avoid the cost of adoption and the huge leap of faith that we knew it would require. So, here we are five years later...and our desire to have a family and adopt a baby girl from China as only grown. The financial mountain in front of us is no smaller than it was before...we are just approaching that mountain better equipped spiritually to climb it, waiting to see what the Lord is going to do!

You are welcome to join us on this journey of Faith, Hope and Love....