LOI!

What a crazy emotional week we have had. Since last Monday evening, we have received not one, but 3 referrals to look over. That, in an of itself is a bit unusual. Typically, if you receive a referral, it will be at least another month before you see another child's file. All 3 of the files that we have looked at/ prayed over/ researched/ etc. over the past week are of little boys whose true special need is that they need a family. They need to be loved. They need to belong. They need the hugs of a dad. They need the love of a mom. They need the friendship of brothers and sisters. And most of all, they need a chance to know Jesus. It is so difficult to look through files and try to decipher God's plan in all of this. We know each child so desperately needs to be adopted. We know there are so many more children than there are families, and we know that boys especially have a greater change of not being adopted at all, and growing up in the system. That being said, we know that for each file we turn down, there is a chance that child's file will never be looked at again, a chance they will never be adopted.

So, as we looked over these files- all of perfectly precious, chubby-cheeked boys between the ages of 11 months and 28 months, we prayed. We prayed for clarity, for peace and for John and I to BOTH know our son.

God answers prayer. After turning down 2 referrals, we received another suprise referral when we woke up Labor Day morning. We weren't expecting this referral. In fact, we had asked our social worker to just wait until the next list came out and not to try to match us. But, God had other plans. Lily (Our contact in China who matched us with our Lily, and is her namesake) locked one last file for us. She saw it and thought we might be interested. The file was a bit unclear. The baby was younger than we had expected. But....something told her we might be interested. Our sweet social worker Karla received the file. She almost didn't send it to us. He was young. We had already turned down 2 in less than a week. We had asked her to just wait......but something told her to send it to us....

We opened the referral. This boy was super cute. I mean super cute. Dark eyes, beautiful skin, precious face. BUT.....he was a heart baby. What do we know about hearts? And....he's young....11 months young. But....something told us to look further. So, after spending a day talking to specialists, getting an orphanage update, and praying/ talking/researching.....we are excited to announce that God has led us to send our Letter of Intent (LOI) to adopt this sweet baby.

We are thrilled and we are praying that God will take care of our little guy until we can bring him home. Please pray with us that his heart is healed, that he is safe, loved, fed and cared for until we can get to him. That somehow he knows he is already loved by his forever family.

At this point, we cannot yet post pictures as we are waiting for pre-approval to adopt him. But I can tell you that he is from Hunan Province and that his first birthday will be October 17.

As soon as we receive an update or we can post pictures, I will!

Blessings-

Meredith

Quick Update...

Well, we DID receive a referral Monday night, but after prayer and consideration, we did not feel that the sweetie was our son. A precious little 14 month old boy...and we pray his family finds him soon! So, we wait again....A new shared list should come out at the end of the month, and there is always the possibility that God could show us our son before then in some other way... Still waiting and still praying...Adoption is one incredibly long process of "hurry up and wait"

Blessings-

Meredith

Back to School, Lily's 3rd Birthday and Adoption Update!

For those of you who are still out there, we are still here! It has been a month since I last posted, and boy has it been a busy one. I wanted to give you a quick update and let you know we are still alive! Two of the sweetest little faces in the world! I'm so glad they have each other!


First Day of School for Jackson and Riley! This year, Jackson and Riley are going to a new school! They were really excited, and Lily just had to have a backpack like her brother and sister! I returned to teaching this year, and one of the perks is that Jackson and Riley now ride the bus in the afternoons from their school to mine. They think this is the most exciting thing in the world- apparently they have been waiting their whole lives to get to ride a school bus! Jackson started 5th grade and Riley started 2nd grade. I can't believe how quickly time flies! Notice Lily has her blanket and also a lunchbox. Lunch is served at her daycare, but she had to have her lunchbox in the picture- even though she doesn't actually take it to school!

On August 20, Lily turned 3 years old! We planned a pool party, but right before it was time to party, it began to sprinkle rain, so we quickly moved everything into the garage. After the kids played for a bit, the rain stopped and we were able to move the party back outside. THANK GOODNESS!

Lily has recently learned to pedal her tricycle, and she is really proud.

She's a big Dora fan!

WATERMELON AND BIG SMILES!

The cake

Lily had been practicing the birthday song and how to blow out her candles all day- she was super excited about that part.

And she enjoyed her cake too!

I cannot believe that Lily has been with us for only half of her life. She came home at 18 months, and it seems like she has been with us forever! We are so blessed to be her family.

On another note, we sent our Dossier (compilation of TONS of paperwork) to China on August 16th. This past Friday, I received confirmation from our social worker that our Log in Date (LID) was August 26. For those of you not living in "adoption land", what this means is that we are now logged in to China's system and eligible to receive a referral at any time. We expect a new list of available children to come out this Monday night, and we have our fingers crossed that our son will be on that list. We are so excited! It may not be our month, only God knows, but we are ready to move forward in this process. If we are matched, we will likely receive "the call" on Tuesday morning. I will keep you posted!

Blessings-

Meredith

GOD IS WORKING!

So last night, I was having a little pity party (read previous blog), and in the midst of my party, God showed up! He sent me a sweet new friend who is hosting an adoption fundraiser for us! Details are below- If you are interested in purchasing items, just click on the link- they will be shipped directly to your home and make great gifts!


Scentsy makes beautiful wax warmers that use a light bulb to MELT fragrant wax, not burn it. They're so much safer and healthier than candles! Visit http://www.jennc.scentsy.us/ and click on "Curtis Family Adoption". Feel free to share this link and repost if it you wouldn't mind.

THANKS!

Blessings-

Meredith

Adoption Truths

As we have been journeying through this adoption process again, I am reminded that almost nothing in adoption is a certainty. Each and every time that we "think" we will have a certain paper signed, in our hands, at our agency, etc. it is either much earlier than we expected, or much later. Whenever we "think" we understand the rules and documents that we are working with, the rules change. The documents change. The process changes. When I pray for patience through the process inevitably something comes along to test that patience. There is, however, one thing that is certain in adoption- it is expensive. Satan has really been after me lately and I have been falling into his trap of worry especially in this area. Physically, I can look around and see that God is Faithful! He is faithful to provide what we need at just the time we need it. He is faithful when we follow Him. I am so blessed with a Godly husband, 3 wonderful children, a home, food to eat, clothes to wear, etc. etc, and yet still, Satan can slip in and I begin to second -guess God's plan. "Do we have enough money for another child? How will we pay for the initial expense? Do we have enough time for another child? Can I really be a good mom to 4 children? We don't even have an extra bedroom! Are we hearing God wrong in adopting an older child? a boy? and the list goes on and on...I know that God is probably looking at me and saying "Oh you of little faith. If only you could see the plans I have for you! JUST HAVE FAITH AND TRUST ME! "

I am working hard to listen to God these days, and to KNOW that I KNOW that he will provide in every way if I follow Him and listen to Him only! With our first adoption, I SAW it happen! I don't know why I allow myself to take my eyes off of Him and listen to what others say and think. Please pray that God will use us for His glory, and that we will keep our eyes ONLY on Him!

Thanks for walking beside us as prayer partners in this journey.

Blessings-

Meredith

TRYING NEW THINGS...

This summer, Riley and Jackson wanted to try some new things, and one of those things included horseback riding. So, I called all around to find a great place for them to try out their skills. We found a wonderful little horse farm in Opelika and they have REALLY enjoyed it! So, I thought I would share a few pictures from their lessons!

Jackson crossing the poles...

Jackson and Riley working through the obstacle course

At the beginning of their first lesson, one of the things they had to do was to show that they were comfortable with being on the horse...they did several things to work on this, but one requirement was to be able to turn all the way around in the saddle. I thought it was pretty funny...looked like they were riding backwards, so of course I had to take pics of that....

Enjoyable times! Glad we tried it, I might have never known if they hadn't asked!

On another note, we finally received our I 800a approval on July 14, so now our dossier is being certified and authenticated (which should take 2-3 weeks) and then we will be Dossier to China! (DTC) At that point, we can be matched with a child- this is the beginning of the exciting part!!

Enjoy the rest of the summer- I can't believe how quickly it is flying by!

Blessings-

Meredith

Couponing for Adoption

If you know me, you know that I am a HUGE fan of coupons. a. really. HUGE. fan!

I know how much you can save by just spending a little time BEFORE you go to the store, making a game plan and a good list!

When we adopted Lily, we had to determine ways that we could save money and I really got addicted to it. I must make a huge apology to those who have stood in line behind me in Publix!

I haven't taken pictures of my trips in a while, but I thought I would share this week's purchases with you.

Total before coupons: $122.91

Total after coupons: $37.30

I had a $25 rebate card from a previous trip, so my total out of pocket was $12.30- grocery week for a family of 5, not too shabby! (Plus I am stocked for the next 6 months on diswashing detergent!)

GOTTA LOVE SOME COUPONS!!

Blessings-

Meredith