In Memory of Maria...

Since the tragic death of Maria Sue Chapman on May 21, 2008, there has been over $100,000 donated in her honor to Shaohannah's Hope. To learn more about how you can help honor this little girl and help orphans around the world please click here.

Tragedy...

I know that I don't personally "know" the Chapman family, but their family's loss has me in tears this morning. I was so moved by the Chapman's story when we went to a concert about 6 years ago. I sat and cried as Steven shared his 2 adoptive daughters' stories. They went on an adopted a third daughter from China, Maria.

The Chapman family has been a huge encouragement for so many adoptive families and changed the life of so many orphans around the world. Not only in the area of adoption, but their dedication to the children still in orphanages and foster care. We were blessed last year with a grant from their charitable organization, Shaohannah's Hope, when bringing home Anna. We have again applied to help with the expenses of Elli's adoption. I may not know them personally, but they have personally touched our family.

Please pray for this family as they are grieving the loss of their 5-year old daughter, Maria Sue. I cannot imagine what they must be feeling or the long road ahead of this family. There is no doubt that they love their children and are truly dedicated parents. Only God knows and only God can bring peace and comfort to this wonderful family.

Sending prayers to the Chapman Family,

Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna Mei

With Hope

By Steven Curtis Chapman

1 Thess. 4:13-14 / Heb. 6:9, 10:23

This is not at all how

We thought it was supposed to be

We had so many plans for you

We had so many dreams

And now you've gone away

And left us with the memories of your smile

And nothing we can say

And nothing we can do

Can take away the pain

The pain of losing you, but ...

We can cry with hope

We can say goodbye with hope

'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no

And we can grieve with hope

'Cause we believe with hope

(There's a place by God's grace)

There's a place where we'll see your face again

We'll see your face again

And never have I known

Anything so hard to understand

And never have I questioned more

The wisdom of God's plan

But through the cloud of tears

I see the Father's smile and say well done

And I imagine you

Where you wanted most to be

Seeing all your dreams come true

'Cause now you're home

And now you're free, and ...

We have this hope as an anchor

'Cause we believe that everything

God promised us is true, so ...

We wait with hope

And we ache with hope

We hold on with hope

We let go with hope

Mother's Day...

As expected, Mother's Day was chaotic, but hey, I didn't expect it to be anything less. We got up and did the usual Sunday morning routine to make it to church late :-) During the service, all my kids were given a flower to bring to me. Being the typical cry baby, I cried when Parker first walked up to me and told me that he loved me as he handed me a little red carnation. Trying to swallow the tears, I finally decided to just give it up and let it go. I am truly one of those people that I used to laugh at...my mother's dream is finally coming true!!

Even though there are days that picking up that same toy that I just picked up an hour before gets very, very tiring, I do love being a mom. I would have never imagined having 4 children and another on the way...but I am so happy that I do. It just goes to prove that God's plan for our lives far exceed what we could have planned ourselves.

Anna, Carter, Me, Parker, Elli, Jacob

One Very, Very Proud Mom,
Marcy

Happy Mother's Day...

For 11 years now, I have been able to call myself a mother. The first year brought my first son. The years following brought many happy moments, joyful memories and a few more babies. Every year, I have tried to make sure I had a picture with my kids on Mother’s Day. Last year, I sat on my front porch swing after church to take a picture with my three beautiful blonde boys holding a picture of my daughter that waited for me in China. She held my heart even though she didn’t know it. Anna was just as much mine as the three that surrounded me. The day was filled with many tears as I so desperately wished all my children were with me.

This year, I am so blessed to have my little Anna with me on Mother’s Day. She is no longer a picture for me to hold, but in the flesh. She stands at my feet, swatting at my legs, gesturing for me to pick her up. She dances to the tunes of Backyardigans, hides under her bed with her feet sticking out as a game, brings me cereal boxes to let me know she has managed to open the pantry, kisses the mirror at the sight of herself, tries to put on her brothers’ shirts, plays in the cabinets, loves baths, climbs on her daddy, jumps on beds, mimics everything she sees us do, drags out the clothes in her drawers, comes running when she hears me yell for dinner, gets jealous when I hold Parker, thinks she runs the house, feels so cuddly in her little pajamas, hair falls right over her eyes, waddles when she runs, breaths heavy when she is asleep, makes you giggle when she does, plays kitchen in her room, feeds you food she magically gets out of the TV., understands “the look”, ignores “the look”, happy to be playing at home, loves when brothers come home from school, stands at the door when she see daddy in the backyard, squeals when grandparents come, loves to be center of attention, knows she usually gets her way, rotten as they come, and couldn’t imagine her not here.

This Mother’s Day, I will have my four with me on the front porch swing…holding another picture. A picture of another daughter that now pulls my heart. I will hold my four here just as close as I can believing that next year, she will be here with us fighting for attention, playing with her sister, messing up faster than I can clean, getting into mischief, tattling on her brothers and not wanting to sit still for next year’s picture…but believe me, there will be a picture.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Blessed mother of four & praying for blessing number five,
Marcy

The Grand Total Is....

Big Fat Zero!! Unfortunately, the weather just hasn't cooperated with us this weekend. What started out to be a pretty good weekend for a fundraising yard sale, turned out to be a bad one. So, I have boxed up, stacked up, piled, tucked and just tried to ignore the HUGE mess in my living room. We will try again for next weekend.

All in all, it is probably the best that we didn't do it this weekend. Jacob came home from school on Wednesday sick. Carter got to go back to school on Thursday and Jacob went to the pediatrician. As I expected, it was a virus with some allergies to boot. There was no way I could have done the sale on Thursday with Jacob sick and believe it or not, Thursday is usually the best day?!? Go figure.

Still no news from USCIS. We have not yet reached the average wait time for our USCIS office, but I was really hoping that my request for the application to be expedited would help...which it still may because we still have over 3 weeks to hit the average. I really "need" the approval no later than Tuesday or Wednesday in order to have a potential end of May DTC...but I am beginning to think I need to change my goal to early June. Unfortunately, that could easily push us back into October...sigh! I can't think about that right now, I just need to focus on what I CAN do...which is wait for next weekend and see if the weather is going to cooperate - wow, again, I can't do anything on my own...how many times do I have to learn that one?

I just told someone today that things happen when they should. We just have to wait and trust that they are being worked out. Well, it is true for her and it is true for me. So we wait. We wait for our kids to get better, wait on the weather to clear, wait on immigration, wait on China, wait for travel, wait to hold Elli.....we wait.

Thankful the kids are getting better and sending love to Elli,

Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna Mei

p.s.

I was wrong about the total...I have sold about $50 so far. Yes, I am apparently running an indoor yard sale. I guess that would be like a flea market right? People have come to my house, starting going through the stuff in my living room and bought some things, so I guess considering we actually haven't started yet, $50 is a real good start. It also goes to show that my family members will try to shop wherever, whenever ;-) and that's a good thing - at least for me!

No News...

Do you know how badly I would love to post some NEW news? Well, unfortunately I don't have any :-( I really hope to hear something from USCIS in the next couple of weeks, but you just don't know how fast or slow these things will take. It has been and continues to be my goal to be DTC (dossier to China) by the end of May. I am still hoping.

I am getting things ready for a Fundraising Yard Sale this weekend. My living room is filled to the brim and there is more to come. We have a rather large garage behind our house (big enough to pull a Dump Truck, Backhoe & a couple cars inside)...half of it is filled with Yard Sale "stuff", also known as junk, but you know the saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure". I am so hoping that many men find their treasures this weekend in our yard! I will post pictures of all the goods later....it is quite a site!

In the mix of trying to price and sort all this stuff, I have sick kids. Both Carter and Jacob were home yesterday and Carter again today. I believe he has a virus. He has all the typical symptoms. Jacob had really bad allergies this weekend. Anna is suffering from allergies as well as Parker. Rodney and I are both have runny noses, sinus pressure and headaches...you gotta love Kentucky in the spring ;-) I think just about every possible plant is in bloom not to mention all of the fresh cut grass that is driving our noses and eyes nuts!

Thank you to everyone that has donated items for the Yard Sale. My family has been awesome! Special shout out to Gina, Roni, Missy & Wanda. I will post updates on the Yard Sale and hope that we make lots of money to help bring Elli home!!!

For once happy that you can't walk through my living room and sending many hugs & kisses to Elli,

Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna Mei

P.S.

Please say a prayer for all those effected in Myanmar by the Cyclone. Currently they are reporting 22,000 deceased and 41,000 missing. There will be many displaced families, parents who have lost their children and children who have lost their parents. Such a heartbreaking tragedy.

Yeah For Schedule Change!!!

I just got an e-mail from the Cohen family!! Their schedule got switched and they actually went to the orphanage today.....soooooooo, I have great news about Elli and PICTURES! I have included a excerpt from her e-mail where she describes Elli, as well as the slide show below...she is going to tower over Anna! I guess Anna will get Elli's hand me downs ;-)

Thank you so much to the Cohen Family!!!

Marcy,

Our schedule got switched around and we went to Qingyuan today! Elli is very shy, but she is a big, healthy looking girl. She was afraid to be near us except in the arms of her auntie, whom she seemed to be quite attached to. We lured her into pictures with a lollipop. She ran back to her seat, where they were doing an art project - so we know she can run! We left her room and went to the one next door and she came to peek at us and then wave goodbye and and blow kisses to us. She is precious!

Well, obviously, she is gorgeous, which we knew, but she is healthy and appears to be well taken care of, which is a huge blessing. I am glad that she is attached to a caretaker. Kids need that and it helps with the bonding process following the adoption. I called Rodney and told him about the update and how much she has changed...he will be home shortly ;-)

Apparently she loves doing art, so I now know what to include in her suitcase for the trip...lots of "artsy stuff!" Harris, you are going to have an art partner! I don't know if you noticed or not, but the auntie that is holding her has on a shirt with "Half the Sky" logo on the side. This is a great organization that does so much for the children in orphanages throughout China. They were so active in the recent winter storms ensuring that the children had heat, food, water, diapers, clothes, medicine, etc. They have a program at Elli's orphanage. They are great!

So, so, so thrilled to find out that Elli is doing well. Updates are always bitter sweet. Happy she is being taken care of, but then the feeling of desperation to get her home deepens.

Sending love & hugs to that chubby cheeked princess, Elli,
Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna Mei

Hopefully An Update Soon...

A family that is adopting a little girl from Elli's orphanage is in China now. They met their daughter, Eliana (how funny is that?) on Monday. They are scheduled to go to the orphanage on Friday where they will try to get us an update and new pictures. We hope to have some news by Saturday.

I am pretty anxious to hear about her. The last information we have on her is from November and the last pictures were a couple of months prior to that. I am sure that she has changed quite a bit over the last 7 months and will likely look so different. Just with Anna's adoption, the hardest parts are the wait and the not knowing. You can't control either one. The little things like what your child had for breakfast, what they played during the day, if they have a runny nose, are their shoes getting too tight...random, yet priceless information for a mother. You think about all these things when it comes to your kids. You just want to know they are okay.

This may be the last family that travels to her orphanage before us. There doesn't seem to be many adoptions from this orphanage. With Anna we were so blessed to have updates on her nearly every month and that was hard enough having to wait from one month to the next to get news. In a few months, I hope to be able to get another update on her. There are many people in China you can hire to do just that. It is just hard to do "extra" stuff when you are saving to do the "necessary" stuff. So, we do a lot of praying that God protects and provides for her, as well as all the orphans in the world.

We are consumed right now with one, but there are hundreds of thousands of children that need homes. We love this little girl and want to bring her to our home to be ours, but we can never forget the others that wait, that aren't matched, that don't have families working to bring them to a home. Please keep our Elli in your prayers, but also pray for the other children that are alone. No child deserves to grow up without a mom and dad to call their own.

Sending many hugs and much love to our sweet Elliana,
Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna Mei

Tomorrow is a Big Day...

The day of Anna's first palate surgery is almost here. I cannot begin to explain the mix of emotions that I have right now. Anyone who has had a child to have to endure a surgery I am sure can understand. I am very excited to begin the process, but then the other part of me wants to say, "never mind...she is just fine they way she is."

I obviously dread the surgery, the pain, the healing process, but there is also a feeling of loss. I know it may sound strange to some, but I will miss her little crooked smile. The first time Anna smiled at us with her little teeth all out of line...it just melted my heart. The precious little grin that we all fell so madly in love with will soon be changing. I have taken many pictures of her because I never want to forget that smile. I want Anna to know that we are beginning this process to help her with speech and eating...not because she wasn't perfectly created.

What some may view as a curse, has brought our family a great blessing. Due to her "special need" a series of events occurred that caused her to need a family. I am so thankful that God allowed us to be that family for her. I am thankful that He has provided the means for the surgery to be done. Although I have a mix of emotions...I am thankful. I know that God started all of this and I know it will all work out as it should....it is God's plan. I know I may wear it out, but I know God's timing is perfect and His plans are complete. He will finish this good work.

Please pray for Anna as she begins this process. Please pray for everyone that has any contact with her and with her care. Also, please pray for Rodney and I that we make all the right decisions and the boys as they will be at home and do worry about her. Her surgery is early tomorrow morning. We are leaving tonight in order to try to make sure Anna gets a good night's rest. Tomorrow is a big day. The surgery will consist of an alveolar bone graft. They will be taking a bone from her rib, grafting it into the "gap" of her gum line and then working as much of the hard palate behind the gum line as they can. She will have a sore mouth and a sore side. They were unable to schedule an ENT, so she will not have the tubes done tomorrow. She will be on a liquid diet, which will be so hard for her now...she LOVES to eat! Something we tried so hard to get her to do (eat solids), we are now taking away. That may be harder for her than anything else.

I hope there is Internet access in the hospital where I can give updates. If not, I will post when we return home....probably on Sunday. I will make updates on Anna's blog.

I am so fortunate that I not only got to fall in love with a perfect little girl's smile once, but I will be able to fall in love with another tiny smile of Anna's that I am certain will be just as stunning ;-)

Praying for a successful surgery & God’s perfect will,
Rodney Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna Mei

Win A Wii...

For you "old timers" that followed our blog of adopting Anna you will remember Angela that traveled to China during the same time as Rodney and I to adopt her daughter Olivia. Well, she and her husband David are also adopting again. In a fundraising effort, she is having a Wii contest. If you would like to check out her blog to get all the details, just go to the link below.

http://www.familyforsophie.blogspot.com/

It is for a great cause and you know, you might win a Wii!

Good Luck Angela & David!
Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna Mei

Rockin' USCIS Trip...

Friday, Rodney and I traveled to Louisville, KY to file our I-600A and to be fingerprinted. In KY, you can schedule an appointment to file your application at the USCIS office and they will issue you a fingerprint card that day. Since you don't have a "scheduled" fingerprint appointment, they just work you in when they can.

Our appointment time was 10:00 to file our I-600A. Louisville is about a 2 1/2 hour trip for us and we were cutting it close. The closer we got to Louisville traffic started getting a little heavy and I was starting to get a little nervous about being late. We parked 2 blocks away in a parking garage, had to cut through an Easter march and rushed through security. Went to the 3rd floor and had just enough time to use the restroom before 10. As I was walking into the room, Rodney was up at the window!!! Okay, my heart started pounding....what are you doing?!?! Rodney went to turn in our I-600A appointment confirmation while I was in the restroom. When he handed the paper to the officer, she was ready to go ahead with our application. Although Rodney knew we were there to file a form, he had not idea what the name of the form was, what it looked like or what needed to accompany the form. Rodney just signs where I tell him to, goes where I tell him to and that is about all he knows in regards to the adoption paperwork, God love him. So, he just went to my bag, pulled out my binder and was walking up to the window. I rushed up there to take the binder away, afraid he would mess up my "filing" system ;-) I gave the officer our application, birth certificates and marriage certificate then I asked her to attach a letter asking for an expedited processing due to special need child and the fact we had already received PA. She said, "okay" and stapled the letter to our form. Hopefully it will work.

We went to the basement to be "worked in" and there was not a single soul waiting to be fingerprinted. We walked right in, done the deed and was finished. We were walking out of the Federal Courthouse at 10:25!!!! 25 minutes = rockin' trip! Now lets just hope that approval comes just as fast ;-)

Happy for another item checked off our list & sending love to Elliana,

Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna Mei

A Little Boy Waits....

"Garrison" born April 23, 2003, he was abandoned the day before his 2nd birthday. Since, he has lived in a Social Welfare Institute (SWI). "Garrison" has been diagnosed to have a "skull malformation" and developmentally delayed. He is small for his age, but loves to play outside and his favorite toy is a car. "Garrison" waits for a family. Waits for a chance to go to school and to have the needed developmental interventions. "Garrison" waits to be held by a mother, to be played with by a father and to know the love of a family. "Garrison" needs a family, now.

"Garrison's" file is due back to the CCAA, China, on Monday. This may be the last time that his file is sent out to an agency to be placed, or it could be many, many months before it is placed on another list. If anyone is interested, think they might be interested, or know someone who is, please take a look/forward this information to help this little boy find a home. He has such a sweet little face and his smile...it just breaks my heart.

There is an $8,200.00 grant to go towards the adoption expenses for "Garrison". You can take a look at his sweet picture and read what the nannies had reported about his status at the SWI. This is a translation, so the English is kind of rough. But, there was an American woman who works in China and has seen him. She said that the nannies call him "naughty", but he is just a typical little boy :-) Go to the link below and click on List 20...insert password in all caps, and click on "Garrison".

http://public.fotki.com/CHIWaitingkids/
password - CHIWC

If you are interested in finding out more information, please contact stefani@infowest.com She is wonderful and truly has a heart for these kids. Children's House International has been great for us and I would love to see a family be blessed by adding this little guy to their family.

Sending prayers for a little boy to find a home,
Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna Mei

We Got The Call...

Finally after 55 days of anxiously waiting, wondering and jumping every time the phone rings, we finally got the call from our agency that our Pre-Approval (PA) had arrived. Very, very excited, I got off the phone, immediately called Rodney and shared the good news. Next came calls to my family. Although happy about the news, they all responded with, “okay, so what do you have to do next?” Can you imagine my family? They can’t let me stop stressing and celebrate about one thing before quickly reminding me about the task that lies ahead!! They keep me focused…stop celebrating and get back to work ;-)

So what is next??? We have to finish gathering our needed paperwork which includes the completion of our home study and our USCIS approval (immigration). After we get these, we then start the notarization, certification and authentication process. Next, is sending our paperwork, dossier, to China. That is the next step that China will actually play in the process. When they receive our paperwork, they will give us a Log In Date (LID)…this is the date in which the “time” really starts. After the LID, then China will review and process the paper work. Next comes the issuance of the Letter of Acceptance or Letter of Seeking Confirmation (LOA/SC). This is basically the step in which China asks a “final” time if you are sure you want to continue to pursue the adoption of this specific child. After the LOA/SC is signed and returned, China then will issue the Travel Approval (TA). This tells the adoptive parents that the adoption process is ready to be completed and you are invited to China to do so. After the agency/adoptive parents receive the TA, before actual travel dates can be set the Consulate Appointment (CA) must be established. This is the one of the last things that is done in China in the adoption process; therefore the dates in China are basically worked “backwards” from the CA. Of course, the most important date is “Gotcha Day” or “Forever Family Day”. This is the much anticipated date that the adoptive parents finally get to meet their child.

I would make estimations on the timeline, but I know better. With so many variables, it is just near impossible to know…if the Olympics didn’t come into play, I would think maybe August, but who knows how the Olympics will effect adoptions in China. They could speed things up to get people through and then not have adoptions during the Olympics, they could just process as normal and then stop adoptions while the Olympics are in progress or they could just keep on truckin’ and the Olympics not affect anything. So basically, we’ll know when we know.

We are so excited about the first real milestone that has been accomplished. We cannot wait to meet Elli for the first time and above all that, my biggest “moment” is when all my children are together for the first time. I cannot wait to meet Elli, but I really cannot wait until we bring Elli home where we will have all our children in our arms’ reach…now that will make a mother’s heart happy.

Big YEEEAAAHHH for PA and sending much love and many hugs to Elli,
Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna Mei

"God Has Responded"...

What an amazing day today has been. Yesterday, the reality of deadlines hit, and hit hard. Due to the implementation of the Hague in the United States, we must have our I-600A filed before April 1. If it is not filed, the adoption of Elliana would be jeopardized.

In order to get our USCIS, immigration, form filed before the Hague deadline of April 1, 2008, we still needed to get physicals for everyone in the house...that's 6 physicals and Rodney and I have to have additional blood work on top of that. Because Rodney is self-employed, our insurance is not the best in the world. We pay for all of our office visits out of pocket…so a nice chunk of change. These must be done so that we can get them to our social worker so that she can finish up that portion of the home study and get it to the USCIS office before we file. Along with that, the last date in March for us to file the form in Kentucky is March 21. Yes, less than 2 weeks away and the fee for the I-600A form and fingerprinting is $830.00. I was totally stressed.

So the time was short, costs were big and the finances were not there. I have prayed for God to make it all work out and I have brainstormed to try to think of fundraising options. I have just started selling Avon in order to help with the adoption costs, but it wasn’t going to be enough or even available yet. At my wits end, I again began to plead with God to show me what to do. I had seen on several adoptive parent’s blogs a ChipIn account for friends and family to contribute to their adoption. I thought maybe we could do that, but I didn’t want to ask for help from others. But I kept going back to the idea and with the reality of the deadlines breathing down my neck, I felt there was not other option. So, I swallowed my pride and made a plea for help.

Throughout today, people, some that I knew through the adoption group and other’s that I don’t know contributed to the fund. I was blessed by each one and encouraged that God was providing for us. It wasn’t the way that I wanted Him to do it, but along with His provisions, He was trying to teach me a lesson about my pride. I know that I cannot do anything without Him, but I wanted Him to provide on my terms. I have had to ask God to forgive me for being ashamed to ask others for help. I have had more than one person today to tell me that we need to let others know about our needs. God can speak to people about our needs, but sometimes we need to tell others so they can help us “bear one another’s burdens”. I want others to be able to share with me as a matter of fact, I love when people can confide in me about their needs, but I guess it is very hard for me to do that in return.

After my request for help, there has been over $500.00 contributed today!! That should be enough to cover our physicals and hopefully part of our blood work. God has again amazed me and I have been humbled by the fact that people responded to our need so willingly. I know that there are so many people that love our family and love this little girl we so want to bring into our family. I will forever be grateful for every word of encouragement, prayer and contribution made to help us bring her home.

The main reason that we picked out Elliana as her name was because of the meaning…it is a Hebrew name that means “God Has Responded.” Yes He has! What a story this little girl will have of all those that loved her.

Sending thanks to all of you, praises to God above & love to Elli,
Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna Mei