Last and final step

We received word yesterday from our adoption agency that our dossier has officially arrived at the Chinese Consult in Chicago! Words cannot describe how wonderful it was to read those words. As I mentioned in our previous post, authenticating our paperwork with the Chinese Consult is our last and final step in completing our paper chase!! Our agency indicated that the authentication process may take up to two weeks and they expect to have our final documents in hand by December 28!! Our goal was to have our dossier complete before the first of the year and God, who makes all things possible, made it happen!  Praise The Lord for the little victories!

Once our agency has our paperwork, they will hold onto it until February 5, 2016 before submitting it officially to China. As I have mentioned, China requires both parents to be 30 years old before they are allowed to adopt from their country. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but over the course of our (going on) 3 year adoption process, we have learned the importance of patience. God timing, not ours.  And now we are so close! I have never been so excited for time to move faster, as usually I am wanting it to slow down. :-)

As you all know, over the course of these past few months, we have put our fundraising efforts into high gear- selling shirts, bracelets, superhero capes (we still have a few left), having bake sales, canvas and wine painting parties, ect.  We knew that updating our paperwork from an Ethiopia to China was going to cost us extra fees for our home study update, finger print update, and agency fees.  Once our dossier is submitted to China, we will owe the first installment to our agency for their services. This past week, we wrote the check to cover that cost! Praise The Lord once again! In fact, we had exactly the amount we needed with $158 to spare to use toward our next payment!

I felt a strong need to share this today.  I don't like talking about money, as no cost can outweigh the life of a child...but I felt I needed to share this little praise moment to encourage anyone who is looking at taking a leap of faith but are worried about how they will make ends meet.  If you are following a calling, God truly works out every detail.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"
Romans 8:28

It just so happens I stumble across this picture on Facebook yesterday...I'd call it irony but I know irony has nothing to do with it....

So please be encouraged today and know we are serving an amazing, loving and faithful Father.

We will continue to update you as we get closer to February 5th.  Thank you for your support!

God Bless.

Adoption Update

Good Morning Everyone!!!

With Orphan Sunday (November 8^th) quickly approaching I thought it would be a good time to update everyone on where we are with our adoption process.  As you all know, we have been in the process of adopting for over two years now.  It is crazy to think over two years has passed since God first laid the idea of adopting on our hearts.  When we first began this process, I would have never imagined all the amazing things that God would have in store for our family.  We have learned so much and grown so much stronger in our faith.  For me personally, I think the area God has grown me in the most is trust (and maybe patience a little too J).  When we began this process back in April 2013, I envisioned our family of 5 to look a certain way.  However, after two years on the waiting list to adopt from Ethiopia, God revealed to us that he had a different picture in mind all along.

So this past summer, we took a leap of faith and essentially walked away from our Ethiopia adoption to venture on this new path laid before us.  It was not an easy decision but God made it clear this journey has been prewritten and we are merely his instruments called to do his work.  Thus began our new path to adopt from China.

Just like Ethiopia, there is a lot of paperwork involved to adopt from China.  However, rather than feeling overwhelmed with the massive load of documents to complete, notarize, state certify and authenticated, we have felt at peace.  In a way, it was almost easier this time around because we knew what was expected and how important it is to pay attention to the smallest details.  Currently, we are still waiting for our i800a approval from the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS).  There was a slight hold up with our fingerprint approval due to the wording in our home-study but it is in the process of being corrected and we hope to continue to move forward soon. 

For those of you who do not know, our family is adopting from China’s special needs waiting list.  Because we felt led to adopt a child with a medical condition, this has added an entire new chapter in our adoption story.  We have researched in great detail several medical needs we are open to and in order to adopt from this list we have to have a home-study that clearly indicates that we are not only open to these needs but approved for them as well.  That is where our home-study has held us up.  Our social worker approved us for the broad range of health conditions we are open to but the wording did not indicate the specifics in a way that the USCIS recognized.  Therefore, we received what is called an RFE (Request for Evidence) from the USCIS indicating our home-study needed to be updated to reflect that we are approved specifically for the medical needs listed.  That is where we stand today.  Our home-study agency has agreed to change the wording in our home-study to reflect specifically what the USCIS requested.  Once we submit this new update, we will continue to move forward in our process.

Once we receive our i800a approval from the USCIS, we have a few more documents that need to be sent to the secretary of state for approval.  After the state approvals the final documents, we will be sending all of our original documents to a Chinese Consult in Chicago for authentication.  This is the last and final step in our paper-work process!!!  We will then send all of the original documents to our adoption agency and they will hold on to these papers until February 2016.  China is very strict on the fact that parents adopting must be 30 years old (Nic turns 30 in February). 

Then the final wait begins.  Our adoption agency is very optimistic that our wait for our daughter will not be long once our dossier reaches China.  We anticipate that we will finally be matched with our little princess and traveling within the year to bring her home. 

As we approach Christmas season this year, we know this will be the last Christmas as a family of 4 and what an amazing gift God will give us next year!!!  We know God is faithful and this is his will for our family.  It has been a long and at times hard and emotional journey, but we are hopeful that our story of waiting will soon be a story of rejoicing and celebrating.  The child we have been longing, praying and waiting for will finally be home in our arms.  She will finally have her forever family here on this Earth and what a joyful time that will be for us all.

Thank you for your prayers and we will continue to keep you updated as we move through the final stages of our adoption process.  God Bless!!

Merry Christmas my sweet child -> please watch this video as I found it after I posted this blog originally. Just another sign God is giving us hope and strength...

September 12 Canvas Fundraiser

 

 

Canvas Painting Fundraiser

 

When:  Friday, September 18th

 

Time:    6:00-8:00 PM (please arrive 15 minutes early to set up your station)

 

Where:  New Life Wesleyan Church

              75 E 1100 N

              Chesterton, IN

 

Cost:     $40/ Painter   -   This will include all of your supplies. 

 

Pre-registration:  You may pre-register now up until September 12th.  Space will be limited. 

 

 

Two options for signing up:

 

1.)  Check Payment:  Checks may be made payable to:   "America World Adoption" and either 

      mailed or given to Nic or Nicole Ayres who will submit them after the canvas party has taken

      place.

 

***Please indicate on the memo of your check that the donation is for: "Nic and Nicole Ayres' Adoption"***

 

-OR-

 

2.)  Online Payment:  On the right side bar, there is a link to donate now for the September 18th Canvas Party - Click here to donate via credit card or paypal.   ---------->

  

     When donating online, please indicate the name of the person attending the canvas party and that  

     your $40 donation will be for the Canvas Party on September 12th.

 

***In order to have supplies available and to reserve your canvas, payments must be made before September 12th***

 

 

Additional Info:  We are asking everyone to donate an appetizer to share but it is not required to attend.  We will be providing lemonade and water to drink.  Please no alcoholic beverages.

 

 

The picture below is what we will be painting at this event.  If you have any questions of concerns, please feel free to contact us: nayres19@comcast.net or 219-617-5005. 

 

We truly appreciate all your support and prayers as we journey on to bring our daughter home. 

 

God Bless.

 

 



 

 

 

 

Moving forward...

The past two weeks have been amazing.  As you already know, there is so much paperwork needed to complete an adoption.  100% of our paperwork from our Ethiopian Dossier is non transferable to our China Dossier.  Therefore, from a paperwork standpoint, we essentially had to start over.  As I mentioned in our last blog post, my first initial reaction of starting our paperwork from scratch was overwhelming.  But a few weeks into the paper-chase our progress has been more successful then what seemed possible.  In fact, our adoption coordinator even commented on how quickly we are pulling our dossier together.  Piece by piece our puzzle is coming together.  We couldn’t be happier with the progress we have made so far and will continue to work toward finishing our end of the paperwork over the next few weeks.   

In addition to a few documents we need to complete our dossier, another big step we need in order to complete our paperwork is updating our home-study from Ethiopia to China.  We begin this process July 29th, which is our first schedule visit with our social worker, followed by our second visit August 15th and our third visit August 16th. We have printed off the 5 page check list of individual items that we need to address in our home study so we are able to work through them one by one with our social worker.  This will be in addition to any information our home study agency thinks needs to be address.  Needless to say updating our home study will most likely be the most time consuming part of the paper chasing process.  But once the home study is approved by our adoption agency, we will see light at the end of the tunnel because we will be winding down our paper chase for our dossier.  It is so exciting to think we are so close already!! 

Another exciting announcement we have is that we are in the process of planning our first China Adoption fund raiser.  We have been so incredibly blessed to be introduced to a wonderful (and extremely talented) woman who will be leading a Canvas Painting Party September 18, 2015 from 6-8:30 PM!!  For those of you who have not heard of a canvas painting party or have little artistic ability (like me) don’t be intimidated!  No artistic ability or knowledge of the arts required.  Basically, at a canvas party, you have an artist leading the class who helps you step by step, giving tips and advice along the way on how to paint the selected picture until you have completed your masterpiece.  Tickets for the event will be $40 a person which includes all of your supplies.  We are asking everyone interested in coming to pre-register with us before September 12^thin order to reserve your canvas (contact Nicole Ayres – nayres19@comcast.net for more details).  We are asking attendees to bring an appetizer to share (not required) and Nic and I will be providing drinks (lemonade and water).  More details to come on the location of the party.  Below is the picture we will all be painting!! We are so excited for this event! 

Thank you so much for your support and encouraging words as we continue on the journey to bring our daughter, who tentatively will be named Amelia Capri, home.  God Bless.        

Our New Adventure

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

John 15:16

“You did not choose me, but I chose you”

“I chose you”

Jesus may have spoken these words in person to his disciples the night before he died, but they were meant for all of us.  God has a purpose and a plan for every living creature that walks the face of this Earth.  He hand selects each and every one of us according to his good and perfect will.  How humbling that the creator of the universe loves us so much that He would take the time to plan our future and lay a path before us.  The possibilities are endless.  As for Nic and I, His plan is for us to adopt.  The journey of our path has not been easy.  It has been filled with emotions, road blocked and hurtles.  But even though the process has been difficult at times, there is nothing about our journey that we would change.  God has used this process to shape us, to help us grow and to prepare us for the future.   

“whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

God has provided for us in so many ways over the course of the past two years; He has encouraged us when we were frustrated with paperwork, He has assured us this was His will for our family, and he has provided for us through the generous giving of time and financial means from family, friends and complete strangers.  Truly through him all things are possible.  We prayed for the future of our family and over the course of our adoption our Heavenly Father has given us all that we need… 

If you have been following our adoption, you have heard me say before the paperwork is extensive. Everything has to be perfect and precise.  If it is not exact, it has to be redone.  There is no room for errors or typos.  When we made the decision to follow God to China, the thought of starting all of our paperwork over was scary.  China is very thorough and they require more authorization than what we had to do prior with Ethiopia.  When we began receiving emails with all the paperwork requirements, my heart sank.  Essays, notaries and time lines, oh my!  But rather than allowing the enemy to build anxiety in my heart we turned to the one who gives us help, strength and peace.  Ask and you shall receive….God has given us a new outlook on all the paperwork and we are no longer stressing over what needs to be done.  Rather we now look at the paperwork as an adventure and a potential for growth.  It is amazing the relief that overtakes you when you lay it all down before the Lord. 

God has not only given us peace over the paper chasing process, but he has also already begun providing financially for our next step.  As you may have seen on Facebook, we have been selling our “Project  Ethiopia” t shirts for ½ off the original price.  Over the course of the past two weeks, we have sold almost all of our shirts to people all over the United States and raised the $500 needed to pay for our home study update for China (which is our first financial expense since transferring).  God is good and God provides always. 

God is good all the time and all the time God is good.   

Have a blessed day!!  

Crossroads...

This is what the Lord says:  “stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it and you will find rest for your souls…”
Jeremiah 6:16

Two years ago we began a journey that had forever changed our lives. It was a journey that has tested us, stretched us farther than what was comfortable, strengthened our bond as a family and helped us grow in our walk with the Lord. Two years ago we began a journey to adopt a little girl from Ethiopia. Over the course of the past two years we have encountered more twists and turns then we ever imagined. But through the trials the one thing that remained strong and consistent was our belief that God has his hand in our adoption process. He gave us continued assurance through it all that we were filling his perfect will for our family.

Two years have passed and we want to share with you today that God has again brought us to a crossroad where we have the choice to stay in our comfort of what we thought would be for our family or to follow the new course God has presented to us. Because nothing about international adoption is comfortable and easy we chose to stand by the one who makes the impossible possible. Today we are here to share that while our hearts for adoption have not changed, the location has. As of this past week, God has lead us to putting in a transfer to adopt from China. While part of our hearts will always be in Ethiopia, God has made it clear the path for our family and we will continue on knowing he is the author and perfectly of our story.

We will continue to keep you updated on this process as we venture on our journey of bringing our daughter home.

"Mommy, when can I meet my sister?"

“Mommy, when can I meet my sister?”

“Mommy, can go get my sister now?

“Mommy, can my sister sleep in my room?”

“Mommy, can I come with you to Africa when you go get my sister?”

“Mommy, when is my sister coming home?”

“Mommy, is my sister with Aunt Chami?”

 

Every day I am asked these questions…Not a day goes by where Amira is not a topic of discussion. Every day I have to explain to a very loving, excited and compassionate three year old why we cannot go and get her sister and bring her home.  In a way it is sad because every day I have to see the look of disappointment on her face when I explain that it is not yet God’s time for Amira to join us.  But at the same time it is amazing.  It is amazing to witness firsthand how a child can have a heart so incredibly big that she can love someone she has never even met.  Amazing that she has the faith that someday her sister will in fact join our family.  Amazing that at such a young age, she never gives up hope.    

We can learn so much from young children.  To love like they love.  To forgive like they forgive.  To trust like the trust. 

 

Trust.  That is one area of my life that has truly grown tenfold since we began our adoption process Feb 2013.  It has not always been easy to trust God’s plan for our family and I would be lying if I said we didn’t have set backs.  It has been an emotional process, but I trust that every stumbling block and set back has had a purpose.  I trust God has a reason for the wait.  It has been 2 years since we began our adoption journey.  Never would I have imagined 2 years ago that we would be still waiting.  But I trust God has something in store and just like I tell my sweet Evelynn, it is not God’s time for Amira to join us.

 

So while we wait, we continue to jump through all the hoops required to keep our paperwork up to date.  We have recently just updated our home-study as well as update our paperwork with the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS).  This will keep us up to date for another 18 months as far as immigration is concerned.  If 18 months from now we are not holding our daughter, we trust that God has a purpose for the continued delay.  Also while we wait, we continue to pray.  We pray for our sweet baby girl half way around the world.  We pray for all the children around the world who are orphaned and hurting, that they may know the love of our Heavenly Father and someday be joined with a loving family here on Earth.  And we pray for our family, for the process and for the future our family has in store.  Lastly, we remember to count our blessings, as we are so incredibly blessed every day.

As always, we thank you for your prayers and will continue to keep you updated as we continue forward on our journey of bringing our sweet baby girl home.   

 

 

As I tucked my children into bed tonight, this song came on...it is true for my children who are with us now and some day for the one to join us... Safe and Sound