I have had several people ask where we are right now in our very long process. So here is a quick update!
We are still trying to raise funds! This may be very boring to continue hearing and Im so sorry! We wish that we had the money to adopt without begging for money. But at the same time we have been so blessed to meet so many new friends and it has been so fun making things for people! Our next fundraiser will be a breakfast and then a babysitting night! More of that to come in my next post. As always, you can donate funds to our go fund me page: gofundme.com/hoffmanadoption. We still have $32,000 to go!
Now where we are in our process: we have handed in our home study. It has been approved by our homestudy agency, Catholic Family Center, with a couple revisions. All Gods Children is now looking it over and could possibly ask for even more revisions. We will then be getting the final copy notarized and sent to the Secretary of State. They will send it back stamped and then we send that and a lot of other paperwork to Immigration. Then we get fingerprinted.....again(and this time we have to pay for it)......and send everything, once it is back from Immigration/homeland security, to China for approval. (Anytime after they approve our home study we could get a referral, meaning they could come to us saying they have a child they think would fit our family.) Then we get our LID(Log In Date) with China. If we have decided on our child we take the next steps: getting ourselves ready for our visit to China and pick up our precious child. I dont think you can even imagine our excitement!!!
So right now we are waiting....and waiting. It is very difficult to sit and wait to see who your child is going to be. It is not better or worse than waiting to give birth. Both are equally amazing in different ways. We are not waiting in excitement for our baby to be born, thinking about clothes and cribs and night time feedings and how to nurse and do home school at the same time :-). Instead our thoughts are on much different things, no less exciting but more challenging. Our child is already waiting. We will not be taking a child under 3, the Lord has led us to adopt an older child. He or she may be 5 years old with a significant disability. We are thinking of and considering all the therapies we may have to draw from in our community. We are thinking of how to encourage our child to "attach" to us, the most important process of bringing our child home. We are thinking of meals to give him or her before they begin to get used to our meals, with its different textures and tastes. We are thinking of how in the world to communicate with a child who has ever only spoken Mandarin.
We are thinking of the twinning process that will most likely be taking place with either Christian, Caleb or Josiah. We have to be sensitive to our child who is coming here from China as well as the children that we have given birth to. They, no doubt, even Mariah, have a romanticized idea of what this process is going to look like. I dont think that even Jeremy and I will know how difficult it is going to be once our child comes home.
But we do know that we will love him or her. We love them.... even as we wait.
Prayer requests:
1- funding(sorry again, haha)
2- patience. This process is long and frustrating. People do not move as fast as you would like them to. So please pray that we wait patiently for everything.
3- our child. He or she is no doubt sitting there wondering if he or she will ever have a family. This is heartbreaking to think about. Like we loved our future birth-children, before we even knew they were coming, we love this child. To think of any suffering that they have to endure before we bring them home is absolutely heartbreaking. The thought of any of my kids suffering or feeling hopeless is heartbreaking. So please pray that our child feels our love somehow, that Jesus even puts that on his or her heart right at this moment.
4- Our birth children. Patience and love for each other, Jesus and our new child.
5- our marriage. This process is extremely difficult. We have begun our date nights again because it is so important that we stay connected as a couple. We could use prayers for us as parents, as always, but even more importantly we need prayer for us to grow stronger, stronger in our love for Jesus and stronger in our love and devotion as a couple.
Thank you so much for praying for us, thank you so much for praying for our child.
Im waiting
Waiting on you Lord.
And I am hopeful!!!
Im waiting on you, Lord,
Though it is painful....
But patiently I will wait.
I will move ahead bold and confident!
Taking every step in obedience.
While Im waiting
I will serve you.
While Im waiting
I will worship.
While Im waiting
I will not fade.
Ill be running the race, even as I wait.
I'm waiting.
Waiting on you Lord
and I am peaceful.
I'm waiting on your Lord
Though its not easy.
But faithfully I will wait.
I will move ahead bold and confident.
Taking every step in obedience.
While Im waiting I will serve you.
While Im waiting I will worship.
While Im waiting I will not fade.
I will be running the race even while I wait.
I will move ahead bold and confident.
Ill be taking every step in obedience.
I will serve you while I'm waiting.
I will worship while I'm waiting on you, Lord.
