|
Updates
Adoption Story Update/Why China?/Prayer Requests
September 1, 2006Hi, everyone. I thought it was about time for an update on our progress toward bringing Savannah home. After this one, though, there probably won't be any more for a long time. :(
Since we last wrote, our paperwork has been finalized and sent to China. It took just a few days short of 8 months to get all of the paperwork done. I had no clue before we started that it would take so long. But, thankfully, our documents were logged in with the China Center for Adoption Affairs on 8/15/06. This is known as our "Log In Date," or LID. This date is a milestone for those adopting from China. We are so excited to have reached this point! Now the countdown really begins.....
Ever wonder why so many Americans adopt children from China?
There are several reasons that lead some of us down this amazing road. For us, it was a matter of answered prayer. For lots of people, us included, some of the following reasons are determining factors when researching adoption options: 1. Lots of girls are available. When choosing to add a child to your family through adoption, many people want girls, and thousands of them are available in China. 2. Healthy children are abundant. When adopting from other countries, including the USA, the fear of drug/alcohol abuse by the birth mother is a serious consideration. That is rare in China. 3. China is more cost efficient than many other adoption alternatives. 4. There is only one trip involved. In Russia, Guatemala, and other countries, you travel to the country once to meet your child, then have to LEAVE HIM/HER THERE, and make a second trip to finalize the adoption. I just could not imagine meeting my child and then leaving him/her in an orphanage. When we meet Savannah in China, she will be ours from that moment on!!
Why are there so many girls available in China?
For about 25 years, China has enforced a strict one-child policy in order to try to curb the population growth there. However, it is a long standing custom that boy children are responsible for the care of his parents in their old age. A girl child is supposed to care for her husband's parents - not her own. There is no social security system in China. For this reason, many families who give birth to a daughter will abandon her in a very public place, hoping that the baby will be found and taken to an orphanage. Then they will try again for a boy. (Some of you who are reading this know far more than me about all of this. I was just trying to get the basic idea in a simplified version for friends and family who may not be aware of these issues.)
Prayer requests:
1. Please pray that Savannah's birth mother will take good care of herself while she is carrying Savannah.
2. Pray that God will be with her when she makes the unimaginable decision to abandon her beautiful baby.
3. Pray that Savannah will be well cared for while she waits for us.
4. Pray that we will do all that we need to do to get ready to go get her!
5. Pray that the timing of the trip will be perfect for our family. (The wait from LID to the referral of a child has lengthened dramatically in recent months. We may be waiting well over a year to meet our new daughter.)
6. Pray that we will be patient!Thanks for checking in with us. We'll update again when we know more to tell you. Meanwhile, life in Thomasville is great! Lauren has a brand-new, 22x22 bedroom, and Savannah's room is ready and waiting for her. Lauren and Matthew have had fantastic starts to their school year, and Kenneth is healthy! Jami just tries to hold everything together - it's a struggle, considering Lauren and Matthew are both just like Kenneth!! :)
Until we write again,
Jami
waiting, and waiting, and.........................................
Lauren and Matthew pose for a shot outside the Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta.
Lauren's New Room
Lauren's New Room
December 1, 2006
Hello to all of you who chose to take time to read this. Many of our friends and family ask from time to time how adoption proceedings are coming, so I thought it was time to update the site.
As of this writing, we are in the middle of what looks to be a very long wait for Savannah. Our dossier has been in China since August 15, 2006. So far, that means we’ve been officially waiting for 3.5 months. (The countdown that started on 8/15 began AFTER 8 months of paperwork preparation--commonly known in adoption circles as the “paperchase”--and several years of prayer!)
Right now the wait for official word from China that a child is available for adoption is at 15 months and counting. There are several factors that account for the wait, but our prayer is that things will speed up and we will not have to wait that long. Historically, the wait has fluctuated from 18 months or more to around 6 months, and right now it is on the uphill swing again. It is entirely possible that things could change while we are waiting, and that is our prayer. However, we know that God is in control of bringing our daughter home. He led us down this road and has brought us this far. He will not forsake us now. All things will happen in His time and according to His will. Savannah will be here at exactly the right time for her and for us. We eagerly anticipate that sweet homecoming.
Meanwhile, things in Thomasville continue to move right along. Lauren has almost finished her first football season as a band member. Our team is in the playoffs, and we may even be headed to the Georgia Dome for a game next week. She is very excited about that prospect. Matthew grows daily as a student and as a comedian. His teacher loves him, almost to a fault. I’m afraid she spoils him a bit. Both Lauren and Matthew are so looking forward to having their sister home. With any luck, maybe we’ll be in China for Christmas of 2007. What a gift that would be!
We covet your prayers. Please continue to pray for us as a family, and for our sweet Savannah. Pray that she will be safe and loved until we can bring her home.
Thanks for reading. If you feel led to do so, please take time to sign the guest book. We love to know when friends and family have visited the site!
Love to all,
Jami
March 18, 2007
It's been a while since my last post. I don't do it very often, but once in a while, there is something that happens that I must share with anyone who will read it. This is one of those times.
Lauren (our 14-year-old) came to me the other day and told me that she had written a poem in her prayer journal. She seems to like to write, so this wasn't really unusual. I did not ask to read it, and she did not offer to share, so the conversation ended there.
Then, last night she came to me and Kenneth and had her journal with her. She said she wanted us to read her poem. The following is what we found-- unedited.
We're outside
playing on a summer's day,
And rain is far,
far away,
And it seems that
good times are here to stay,
But there's something missing.......Outside's cold, but
cocoa's hot,
Family time I love
a lot,
Telling stories, jokes
and riddles
Really tend to make
me giggle,
But part of me is empty.......Us four Butlers on the bed,
And silly Matthew bangs his head!
I laugh until my face is red -
But what's still missing?For the answer I look to heaven,
For maybe God has words to leaven
And fill my empty soul."Dear child, what you desire
is only a fifth,
to love and care for;
for you to be with.
Be patient, little one.
For you will have to wait a while,
But I am creating the perfect child.
No longer will you feel so empty and sad.
For you'll have Savannah to make you glad."So now I wait sweetly, patient and true,
Till I can leave and come and get you.
Oh, and this waiting takes a very long time,
But it's all worth it, 'cause someday you'll be mine.And then,
Only then,
Will nothing be left empty.
Written by Lauren
For Savannah
3/11/07Just wanted to share that. Thanks for reading.
Jami
May 16, 2007
Hi, all. It is May 16, 2007. As of yesterday, we are 9 full months into our wait for a referral from China. We have no idea at this point how long we will be waiting. My latest prayer is that we will travel to China next spring, before the 2008 Olympics, which will be held in Beijing. I would also love it if we traveled in the spring because that would give us all summer to bond with Savannah before she has to go into a child care setting.
My last post was Lauren's poem to Savannah. It still says it all. Our fifth family member is missing. She is in our hearts, and has been for so long now. Her room is ready, she has more clothes than you can imagine. She even has 3 asian baby dolls--just waiting to be played with. All we need is a daughter/sister to fill the bed, the clothes, and to play with the dolls. The wait for her is getting draining, depressing, and hard. I have another list of prayer requests. (I listed several a few posts ago, and they are still valid requests.) If you will, please pray that God will provide peace while we wait. Pray that the timing for Savannah's homecoming be perfect--His will, not ours. Pray that Kenneth and I make wise decisions about our family life while we wait. Pray that when our dossier hits the desk of a CCAA worker, that all the forms and papers will be approved with haste--no questions asked. (Sometimes the CCAA--China Center for Adoption Affairs--asks for clarification or updated paperwork. This would slow the process even more.)
That's really all I have right now as far as the adoption progress is concerned. Feel free to comment--we love to hear from friends and family.
Love to all,
Jami
March 2008
Hello to all. It's been a long time since my last post. (I think I always start that way.) There have been a lot of folks who have asked about our adoption lately, so I thought I would bring everyone who visits this site up to speed.
The reason I haven't posted in so long is that there really is not much to report on, as far as the adoption goes. China has slowed their process to a snail's pace (an old, diseased, physically challenged snail.) Parents who are picking up their children from China right now have waited around 2 years for their referral. Currently, our wait has been almost 19 months since LID (that's when our paperwork was "logged in" in China.) It took us 8 months to complete the paperwork, making it a total of 27 months since we started the process. And there's a backlog--so our wait could be anywhere from 3 to 5 years. I have jokingly told many people that Savannah will be in diapers, and we will be in Depends! Who knows what the future holds. All we know for sure is that God led us to the decision to adopt from China. We believe the promise in Philippians 1:6: "I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." He will finish what He started. It's so hard for us weak, simple minded humans to comprehend that--but we must have faith. The only major disappointment with the long wait is that Lauren is swiftly reaching adulthood. She is so looking forward to having her little sister, and by the time Savannah gets here, Lauren may be a college student. Currently, Lauren is planning to go somewhere close to home, so that she can still develop a strong relationship with Savannah.
Lauren and Matthew are both growing and developing into such beautiful young people. Lauren is a 10th grader, making good grades, although chemsitry and geometry are both challenging for her. She continues to make A's and B's on her report cards. She has completed driver's education, and on June 13, 2008 will get her driver's liscense. She is a good driver, and very responsible behind the wheel. She is planning to go to Jamaica this summer with the youth group from our church, where they will work in impoverished areas around Kingston. She continues to love her work in the band at school. She is a great drummer, and practices quite a bit.
Matthew is doing very well in the 5th grade. He was recently tested and qualified for the gifted program at his school. He is very proud of this accomplishment. He is very creative--which is the quality that pushed his test scores over the top for the gifted program. He also makes all A's and B's, and we think he may even make straight A's on this next report card. He will enter middle school in the fall. It is so hard to comprehend that my "baby" is about to enter middle school. Where does the time go?
Our most recent family addition is a puppy named Daisy. Good friends of ours have a dachshund who had a litter of pups, and we were the lucky recipients of one of the girls. Daisy has added so much fun to our lives. She is a sweetheart, and she and our 5-year-old dachshund, Buddy, get along so well. They run around and play together constantly--which is so fun to watch.
The transition into our new home is finally complete. All four of us are finally at peace with the decision to move here. We've settled in, and have begun to make memories here. We can't wait to bring Savannah into this home, which will finally make our family complete.
Here are a few photos of recent events in our family. (The cute little blonde is our nephew, James.) Until the next post, Love to all.
Jami
This page hosted by
