update on Taiwan response...

Well, we did receive a response from Cathwel in Taiwan. Apparently the birth mother is concerned about how able we will be to care for 2 children the same age with many of the same needs. Personally, I think this will easier than caring for two with totally different sets of needs, but I can understand why someone could question it I guess. So, we had to respond and send a care plan of sorts explaining why and how we thought we could accomplish this. Of course, having already put many years into an older set of twins, I think we had a pretty reasonable argument. We'll have to wait and see if they feel the same way.

I know it's probably typical of all families that adopt, but I just feel like I wish they would let us bring her home and get started with making her a part of our family already! Geez! Having a family has to be better than living in an orphanage; no matter how good the orphanage and the care there is! I'm not a patient person to begin with, and especially not when it involves my children. I want what is best for them and I want it NOW! haha. Guess I better learn a little about delayed gratification, eh? But, I'm sure anyone reading this, who has children, understands what I'm talking about.

So, please keep us in your prayers. They seem to be working..(although you could also pray for a little bit more speed if your so inclined!) :-) We do appreciate the concern.

Sheryl

I hate to say it, but today I'm pretty down. We were planning on using the money from the sale of Joby's Harley to finance part of the adoption (we had helped out a family member in crisis with the money originally saved), and guess what, the bike hasn't sold at this point. I am expecting a message from Julie at CCI any day saying Taiwan has matched us with Yin-Chiao, and then we only have 2 days to send the money in. At this point, it will take a miracle, or we will have to tell Julie we are not able to do it as we had originally thought (and were). I'm devastated. I can't help it, I feel like I've lost the faith tonight. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Sheryl

Our homestudy has been sent to Taiwan!

Well, it's been sent! Julie sent our homestudy and our profile to the orphanage in Taiwan on Monday afternoon. I received an email from her last night telling me that they had contacted her stating "they think you seem like a nice family and they will be having a committee meeting to determine if you are a perfect match for Yin-Chiao". Julie said she will be very surprised if we are not matched with her and we should know something either way by the middle of next week! WOW!

Meanwhile, Joby has put his motorcycle up for sale to fund the next part of the adoption. So far, a couple of interested parties, but no buyers. Unfortunately for us, it's WINTER in Michigan and nobody is thinking about riding a motorcycle with 3 feet of snow on the ground! (sigh) There has to be someone out there who wants that bike! If anyone you know is looking for a beautiful Harley-Davidson, send them our way!

Please continue to pray for us; that this continues to move forward and that we find the funds to finish it!

Thank you so much to the person who sent this version of the "starfish" story to me. I love it!

The Adoption Starfish Story...

As I walked along the seashore

This young boy greeted me.

He was tossing stranded starfish

Back to the deep blue sea.

I said "Tell me why you bother,

Why you waste your time this way.

There's a million stranded starfish

Does it matter, anyway?"

And he said, "It matters to this one.

It deserves a chance to grow.

It matters to this one.

I can't save them all I know.

But it matters to this one,

I'll return it to the sea.

It matters to this one,

And it matters to me."

I walked into an orphanage,

A young woman greeted me.

She was adopting a little girl,

She was excited, I could see.

I said, "Tell me why you bother,

Why you waste your time this way.

She's only one of thousands,

Does it matter anyway?"

And she said, "It matters to this one.

She deserves a chance to grow.

It matters to this one.

I can't save them all I know.

But it matters to this one,

I'll help her be what she can be.

It matters to this one,

And it matters to me."

Where we're at..

I received emails from Kris at AAI and from Julie at CCI yesterday. It seems that Kris will have our homestudy done and to Julie by Dec. 23 (as in 4 days from now!). Then, assuming that it all complies with Florida's and Taiwan's regulations, she will be able to email it off to Taiwan right away. Julie said that USUALLY she gets a reply within 2 weeks as to the "match" of a child. She is requesting specifically that Yin be "matched" with us, but it takes the approval from the orphanage to make it official. Now.... I'm nervous! (sigh). It always seemed like a long time away, now it seems like tomorrow. I just want it to go smoothly, get the match "official" then be able to move along with the adoption. I would LOVE to have her home by summer! Can you imagine.... two 2 year olds in time for summer! Perfect.

Please say a prayer for us that this goes along smoothly... no bumps, no glitches, no problems!

Thanks
Sheryl

The Starfish Story...

I LOVE this story! I actually "borrowed" it from someone else's blog, so I don't have any idea who to credit as the author. I think it has a beautiful message and it touches me every single time.


The Starfish Story

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked "What are you doing?

The youth replied, "Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them back, they'll die."

"Son," the man said, "you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can't make a difference!"

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it back into the surf.

Then, smiling at the man, he said, "I made a difference for that one."

Our homestudy is almost complete...

Well, we did indeed have our last appointment for our homestudy last Wednesday at our house. Kris came right after lunch and it only took a short time. She spoke with Amber and Tia, then Kelli after he arrived from class. He was running about 1/2 hr late (grrrr) so I was worried she would get mad, but she didn't; just took it all in stride.

She spoke with Joby and I a little bit about our plans for after we bring Faith home, and how we felt about adding another child, with special needs and from another culture, to our home. What we would tell her about being adopted, etc. She seemed to think our answers were appropriate.?.

It all seemed to go o.k.. So now I guess we are just waiting for our State security checks to come back alright, then for her to write it up and send it out. I know Julie at CCI (the placing agency) is eager to find a home for Faith, so she's happy that it may be sooner than later.

She sent us a loose timeline. It would mean coming up with all of the money in only a couple of months, but we would get to bring Faith home, possibly, by the end of Spring, beginning of Summer. That part would be AWESOME!

So, we're just waiting to hear from Kris that it's all done and ready to roll so we can move on to the next step. Please take a moment to say a prayer for us, and for Faith, that this moves ahead quickly, and that the money presents itself when needed. She really needs a forever family; no baby should live in an orphanage all of this time. Especially a baby that needs so much attention to achieve the potential I know she has!!

So, whether you're helping us financially, or with prayer, thanks so much ahead of time! Joby and I can definitely use both types of help and all we can get of them! :-)

Sheryl

And we go on...

Kris, our caseworker at AAI (homestudy agency) called. She received the go-ahead to expedite our homestudy! Yeah!!! (I think). Now we must come up with several thousand dollars weeks earlier than we had anticipated...

Our last homestudy interview will be Wed., Dec. 3rd. Then, it's just waiting for Kris to get all of the references back (most people have told me they've already sent them) and to write up the study. We must then send it to Julie at CCI (our placing agency) and she sends it to Taiwan for acceptance and an official "match" with Yin. Please pray this happens without a hitch. I'm so nervous that somehow, something will send us off kilter.

Well, that's all that's going on with the adoption at this point. Just hurry and wait, hurry and wait and worry. It will so be worth it in the end though!

Sheryl

News from the placing agency...

We heard from the caseworker at the placing agency Friday. She said another family is trying to complete their homestudy in an attempt to adopt the same baby girl! I know I should be happy for her that she could have a forever family even sooner than us, but somehow I can't bring myself to be that big of a person. I'm so upset. The caseworker said that the other family isn't completed yet either, so no idea how far along in the process they are, but Taiwan is certainly anxious to place her, so ... whoever gets done first.

After contacting the caseworker doing our homestudy here in Michigan, she is going to try to expedite the whole thing, but must get clearance from her supervisor to hurry it along vs. using their typical time frame. So... the good news: we could possibly be done sooner than anticipated and bring her home from the orphanage sooner than we thought. The bad news: that also means we have to come up with A LOT of money sooner than anticipated!

So, that said, say a prayer for us that this all goes forward very quickly and she isn't "matched" with another family before we're able to get our paper over to Taiwan, and that we are able to come up with the money to proceed!

Sheryl

Homestudy....

Well, we met with our caseworker for our homestudy. We were so nervous, but it seemed to go well. She understands our desire for this to speed right along as she has an adopted child also. (that was a nice perk!) We have set up the dates for our second and last meetings for the first 2 weeks of December, so assuming all of the paperwork goes as quickly, I'm hoping we could get our homestudy approved by the end of the year.

Then comes the even harder part. Joby and I must find the money to finance the rest of this adoption. It seems like we make too much money for assistance, but too little to pay for it ourselves. We are praying that God will find a way to help us with this. Please say a prayer for us also, we truly believe there is a plan, and it DOES include our bringing Yin home to live with us forever!! [now, if God would just feel the need to reveal the steps in the plan..... :-)]

We have been in contact with the caseworker at the placing agency and know that Yin hasn't been matched with any other family so we are filling out forms and completing our education requirements as quickly as we can, hoping to expedite this process. Even our kids are hurrying. The morning after we told them they needed references from a teacher they had teachers lined up and waiting with instructions to fill out the form and QUICKLY return it to the agency. (I had to laugh after the girls told me they gave their teachers directions!)

So... we continue to wait and pray. I'll keep everyone updated on any changes as quickly as they happen. I'm so eager to HAVE changes to report!!

Sheryl

We've finally began..

Joby and I have talked and talked about having another child. Yes, we have 4 now, but we both feel like we were meant to have one more.

After Elizabeth's birth, our older kids were so wonderful. They have loved and cherished Elizabeth since the first moment of life. The fact that she was born with Down syndrome did not deter them at all. Kelli, Amber and Tia are all aware of the complications that are frequently associated with Down syndrome, were in fact on hand for Elizabeth's open heart surgery,they know that there may come a day when they will have to assume responsibility for Elizabeth. Because of this, Joby and felt it necessary to make sure all three kids were on board with adopting a child who would also have Down syndrome. Boy, were they ever!! One of the few things we now know we DO NOT have to worry about is their acceptance of a child into our home who will also have developemental delays. We are truly blessed with the children we've been given!

So begins our journey. We have established this blog so friends and family can make the journey with us.

We have at this point contacted Adoption Associates, Inc. to do our homestudy. We have had our first meeting with them and sent in our application. Now it really begins.

We have also found a little girl in Taiwan we would really like to bring home. She is absolutely beautiful. She is only 7 days younger than Elizabeth and it would be like we had another set of twins. We so enjoyed and continue to enjoy raising Amber and Tia that we think it would be wonderful to do it again. Although she has some medical issues, Joby and I feel confident that God will see her through and we will be able to correct that which is correctable, and manage what is not.

Now, onto the tons of paperwork!