Our Log In Date!

We got our China Center for Adoption Affairs log in date confirmaion today so...we we are IN!
The examination of our Dossier will follow, as will the long wait involving the processing, review and  matching with our child...so we will follow our "groups" progress in a monthly newsletter called Places Everyone which shows the current schedule for each log in date group at the CCAA. 
There is a link to  Places Everyone in the upper right had side of the blog near the top....feel free to check it out too!   Look for the March 12, 2010 LID....thats our group!

Yay Eva....we are one step closer to you!

Here is the letter from Great Wall...they sent us travel info too for review!

Great Wall China Adoption

Dear Great Wall Family,

We are happy to report that your dossier was registered in China on March 12, 2010. The registration date is also known as the Log in Date or LID.

If we receive any additional information we will contact you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, if you need assistance or support, please feel free to give us a call.


Congratulations,

The Referral Education Team

Great Wall China Adoption

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When a child is born, an invisible red thread reaches out from the child’s spirit and connects to all important people who will enter the child’s life. As the child grows, the threads shorten, bringing closer those people who are destined to be together. ~Chinese Proverb~

Grant Status

Hi,

I am writing to update you all on the status of our most recent grant request and to thank you for your prayers.

David and I recevied our response letter today from ShowHope. We were advised that our grant request was declined. Again, the overwhelming requests for financial assistance far outweighs thier ability to give to every family that has a legitimate need. We believe ShowHope's nt process is covered in prayer and that God has another way of providing the means to bring Eva home.

I wanted to share this excerp from their letter..

"Thank you for your heart for adoption and for your faith as you walk according to God's leading. We are greatful that there are times God provides ShowHope the means to assist in the adoption process, but we are equally thankful that He doesn't need ShowHope to accomplish His purposes in the lives of orphans. It is our hope that  you will not be discouraged but rest in the knowledge that " Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass." I Thessalonians 5:24".

So true. While we are at peace with our circumstances, it is very upsetting and emotionally straining to be declined again.  We we will continue to apply for grants and fundraise so please continue to pray wisdom and discernment as we continue to research options.

Laura

Grace Anonymous

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. ~ James 1:17

Thank you to whoever it was that so graciously and generously shared with us on Sunday. Thank you so much for blessing our hearts and our "soon~to~be" family so richly!

Laura

Dossier Received by China Center for Adoption Affairs

Now that our dossier has been received by the CCAA, it will soon be registered and we will be given our Log-in-Date (LID). The LID is the date our dossier was registered with the CCAA.


Great Wall we will notify us via email the day they receive confirmation of our LID from the CCAA. From that point on, we can chart the movement of our dossier by following our LID month in a special e-mail called "Places Everyone". I will keep you posted.

This can be the most challenging period that we will experience, because after all we have accomplished, we must now simply wait for our referral...and it will likely take a couple years. So we will stay positive and busy...as usual.  To help occupy our time, we are being encouraged to learn about the Chinese culture, language and history. So we got a Chinese language course so we can begin to learn some basic Chinese. We will also focus more on our fundraising efforts to prepare us for the travel expenses ahead.

****Also, someone out there keeps commenting on our blog posts  and I would love to be able to read your comments... but the e-mails and comments through in little boxes but there are also chinese characters??  ;o(    Is there another way to decipher?

Dossier to China!

Praise the Lord...We did it! Our dossier has been approved by Great Wall and was Fed-Ex'ed to China today!  So.... it should arrive at Great Wall  in Beijing on Monday where it will be walked across the street to the China Center for Adoption Affairs. There it will be reviewed, hopefully accepted and logged in!


CCAA may log-in our dossier after receipt, but it may take up to 6 weeks for us to receive the log-in date. As we move into the next phase of the adoption which consists of the waiting time between completions of dossier log in to the referral time, we will be working with our Referral Counselor. Our assigned Referral Counselor will be in touch with us in the near future to introduce herself and to guide us along during the wait.


Our next post will probably be with our Log In Date....

We have not heard back on our grant yet....that woudl be a huge chunk for travel. They said they would let us know either way at the beginning of March. We have some fundraising opportunities coming up.....a couple of craft shows for Eva's Bags and our Spring yard sale!

Update...

Okay...I got the bee out of my bonnet...at least for a while!   I've gotten through 6 orders in the last two weeks and needed a small break. I found this Stonehill fabric at 75% off an few weeks ago and its been a distraction sitting folded on my cuting table so,  I made the dress for Eva and there is enough left for a bag. We already had a cute pair of white sandals and they now have something to go with!

We have our last document at the Chinese Consulate for certification and funds are trickling in toward our goal. I want this part to be over already...

We sold a bag on Etsy! 

Eva's Forever Family Quilt - Sneak Peek

Thanks to our dear friend and professional quilt designer Lori Hein, we have completed Eva's quilt using fabric remants left over from the Eva Bag project.

Its is absolutely amazing .. I love the fringed trim in between the quilt blocks and the back is super soft fannel in amazing colors and prints! Lori, I am amazed how you were able to bring all the different fabrics together so beautifully but then again, that is why your the porfessional. You have blessed our socks right off!

Thank you all for your support and forever memories!

Eva's First homemade outfit with 2nd hand jeans - Welcome to the Wagner Family!

Been feeling kind poopy lately and just felt like it would do me some good to make something for Eva so I sorted through leftover Eva bag fabric and was able to make this little peasant top (size 12 mo)  with enough leftover for an oversized pocket and matching patches on the the jeans. I was short on the patchwork fabric for one side of the top so I modified it a bit with one black and white polka dot panel and coordinating pocket.

Having it hanging on the wall is such an inspiration.

So cute if I do say so myself! 

Not yet...

A friend shared this with me...what a blessing in what has been a challenging time for me in my walk...

"Hope is always about what isn't," I say. And then, weaving its way through my accusations, silently and gently squeezing in, just in time, YET falls from Heaven and slips into place.

This word finds its way through a small space between our tightly clasped hands. The word adds itself, completing and changing the meaning, filling our hearts with truth, and overflowing them with hope. In that instant I say and know the truth: Hope is not about what isn't.   Hope is always about what isn't yet.
We sink to our knees and whisper timid words because of what isn't yet.

In moments where we trudge through life between a weathered cross and a not-yet-empty tomb, it brings us to our knees.  It causes us to lay our quivering and undone hearts on makeshift altars in the night. When did life twist to need these hopeless prayers of crying out and pouring out and wringing out our hearts together in the dark? When did we first notice just how small we are?

When I stumble over disappointments in the dark, and feel swept away in hopelessness, even then it is hope that causes me to cry out to the One who is faithful, despite my chronic faithlessness.

Our situation hasn't changed, but on our altar, we've shifted our grip. No longer holding on for dear life, together we hold fast to the One who gives life. We have put our hope, again, in Him. We send forth heavy sighs of hope for unknowns that are yet to be.
And though we don’t yet see it, our hands and hearts are open to receive this hope that does not disappoint.

Approval Notice!

Look what was in the mailbox when I got home!  We received our I-800A Notice of Approval
from USCIS today. This means we've met the eligibility and suitability requirements as adoptive parents of a child that is being adopted under the Hague Convention and are approved to proceed with the adoption process with the Hague Convention country we have requested.
This letter is the last of the paper work necessary to complete our dossier file. We are now ready to send it off to China as soon as we raise $3,500... our deadline is April 1, 2010.

We will be fine...we have to be right? The Lord has brought us this far....He is faithful!

  "In all these things we are more than conquerers through him who loves us".

Romans 8:37

Accepting Community Donations for Adoption Yard Sale Fundriser!

Hi all!

David and I are planning a Yard Sale / Adoption Fundraiser this Spring and we are asking for help from our community by way of  donations of  your unwanted items! This is to help raise funds for Eva's adoption!

It is only January but in a effort to maximize the results we are   accepting donations now and we will continue to do so up to the day before the sale this spring ( date to be announced). Feel free to contact us for more information. We will also gladly come pick up your bagged or boxed donated yard sale items...we have a truck for larger items:

David 's cell 509-953-7557 or Laura's cell 509-953-7570 or at pinkertoncricket@msn.com

 Items needed:

Toys, clothing, shoes, kitchen items, books, home decor, wall art, sports gear, textiles, collectible items, camping / sportswear supplies, pet supplies, home office items, old tools ~ garage stuff,  movies, music, games, yard and garden items, furniture, small appliances....

you name it, if its is decent condition, we'll sell it!

Thank you so much for your prayers and your donations!

Eva's Christmas ~ 2009

Eva got a band new retro red radio flyer tricycle for Christmas. David picked out this gift and kept it a suprise from me till Christmas morning. David ( Dad- OMG!) put it together for her Christmas morning!  It has a cool retro bell and red and white tassels! It will wait in her room with all the rest of her things. We can't wait to teach her how to ride it!

Eva also got a handmade crib quilt from Aunt Tisha - LOVE the owl, bridies and trees made of courduroy! Her name is even sewn onto it...top left. Isn't this precious? We are taking this one with us to China!

Eva also got a cute little china girl ornament.....she has a little pony tail sticking straight up on the top of her head. So cute!

Happy New Year!

Well, we are just about ready to complete our Dossier. David and I just completed our CIS fingerprinting appointment on 12-31 and we now await our Notice of Favorable Determination ( 6-12 weeks).

We completed our 10 hours of required Hague Training this last week too. Now we need to compile the lifestyle photographs we need to have to accompany our dossier to China. Then, our Dossier is complete.

To get our dossier to China we need to raise $3,500 . $2,500 is for our 2nd Great Wall China Adoptions agency fee and $ 900  for the CCAA log in fee ( CCAA ~ Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs).

Then we wait the 36-42 month timeframe for processing. 
During the 36-42 month processing time, we need to raise approximately $18,630.00 to complete the process of bringing Eva home. The breakdown of the $ 18,630.00 is as follows: Required orphanage donation $5,100.00, Visas for David and I $230.00, our international flights $5,000.00, Intra China Fees $5,000.00 (ground transportation, inter~country flights, hotel, meals, cultural tourism) , Legal fees in China $700.00,  Eva's passport $200.00, Eva's visa $400.00, Incidentals $2,000.00. The stay in China is about two weeks.

We still have a ways to go but from where David and I stand, the past 11 months have been transforming in our lives and in the lives of our friends and family. During times of eceonomic townturn, we have been able earn / raise the money needed to get us to this point in Eva's adoption process and it has been a wonderful journey. We have tuly been blessed. We do wish we were further along financially which would help move the process along faster but we are moving as the Lord provides and we trust Him fully to complete what He has started.

We hope to hear back soon about another grant we have applied for.

We can also accept dontations in the form of 'frequent flyer miles' ....we can use those toward the cost of the international flights!  So...If anyone has any frequent flyer miles they would like to donate...please let us know!

Have a Blessed 2010!

Unexpected Opportunity!

My friend Heather introduced me to a friend of hers named Teri. Teri makes lovely hand crafted jewelry. Teri recently began having "trunk" shows from her home and inviting other crafters to display thier items too. Items like clothing, scrapbook supplies, fabulous paper crafts, Scentsy Candles, lotions and cosmetics, etc. So, my friend Tish and I met Teri on Sunday, December 6th. We knew we were at the right house becuase it was the only one in the enire neighborhood with over a dozen cars parked out front with people coming a going. We made our way into this lovely home and mingled around checking everything out, ( awesome stuff!) meeting several ladies before making our way to the room where Teri was. I showed her several Eva's Bags ( already sold ) and she really liked them. I left her an Eva Tag and that evening an e-mail from Terri invited me to sell Eva's Bags at her next boutique on December 20th! Whoa! AWESOME, right?!

But I already told myself I could not do it ...10 days to prepare and with 10 orders pending. I wasn't sure.... but after talking it over with mom, she thought I should go for it...even if I only have two bags to sell, go and get the word out, hand out cards, flyers, etc. So all of the orders I have do not have a Christmas deadline / rush and the women have been very gracious....God bless all of you!

So I took a vacation day today to work on some prep for what I hope to be 10 medium bags. What doesn't get done, doesn't get done. But if I sew a bag a day....we might pull it off! I am excitied to see what the Lord will do!
Please keep Evas Bag's in prayer...all the glory to the Most High for all the success this fundraiser has had and the opportunities to come!

We're workin' on it Eva!

First Grant Request~ Denied

We received notice today that our grant request could not be considered at this time. They had received and reviewed over 278 applications which added up to over 3 million dollars in requests.  Funds available depend largely on donations. We were not informed as to any other details...which was kind of hard. You know, wanting to know the reasons why so we feel better?...."NO" always hurts.

Anyway, we have applied for another grant in the mean time so please keep that in prayer. The Lord is faithful...if He wills us to proceed He will keep the doors open and do so in His timing.

Ecclesiates 3:1

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven

Hague Training Underway!

Yay! We are enrolled in our parental training courses and already finished our first class ~ TRAVEL TO CHINA...it was very interesting and super informative. I was also a reality check on just how expensive the travel portion is alone! Anyway...that is something that the Lord will help us through...like everything else...an opoortunity for a miracle! 

• Isaiah 41:10    "Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."
• 
  
  Isaiah 41:13    "For I the LORD your God will hold your right hand, saying to you, Fear not; I will help you."
  
• Isaiah 30:21    "And when you turn to the right or when ye turn to the left,  your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it."
  
• Isaiah 42:16   "I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone."
  
• Matthew 6:11 "...Give us this day our daily bread."
  
• Philippians 4:13  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
  
• 
  
  Philippians 4:19  "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
  

The Lord NEVER fails!


We are in the process of applying for another grant so please keep that in prayer. We are meanwhile, praying we hear some good news in the next couple of weeks about our first grant.

Good things are coming....

i-797c Notice of Action

We received the i-797c Notice of Action. Its not a rally big deal but every step and every piece of paper we receive is very exciting to us! Eeeeek!!!    The i-797c is simply a notification that payment has been taken, which indicates our i-800 application was successfully submitted. Next we will receive notice that our biometrics appointment has been scheduled at a local USCIS support center. Not sure exactly what the timeline is on that but I am thinking another 60-70 days.
Mean while we are getting our Hague training underway!

Hague Training

Thanks to Eva's Bags we are just about at our fundraising goal for the on-line Hauge training. We waited for this training because we wanted to take the training through Great Wall vs. another provider and the program through Great Wall was just recently launched. David and I are required to take at least 10 hours of  "parental training" which is  geared toward educating us on: becoming a mutlicultural family, healthy attachments,  life inside the orphanage, health and development of orphaned children, travel to China, etc. We are looking forward to the training while we await the response to our i-800 application. If you are interested in learining more about the courses, click this link....http://www.adoptionmomentsonline.org/main.php

Vital document authentications are back but not for long!

Our marriage license and my birth certificates arrived back from the California Secretarty of State on Friday and David's birth certificate came back from Minnesota Secretary of State today so they are officially authenticated by thier respective heads of State. The same documents are now being prepared for yet another journey...to the Chinese Consulates for authentication.

The two California documents go to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco and the Minnesota one goes to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago.  Bye bye...see you in a few weeks!