Time sure flys by!!!

I AM SOO SORRY, FOR THE LACK OF POSTS!! I can not believe that my last blog was in April, time sure flys by!! So adoption news.. the last supper major thing was when past court and Isaiah legally became ours :-)  Since that excitement we have had a few other big things happen, we received our I-600a approval. We filed that very, very late and had actually passed court already when we got that approval. We have had that approval for a few weeks now. Actually, to be 100% honest we have been ready to file for about 2 weeks now, but I have delayed. Our process has moved extremely fast, our turn around time on our process has been about 2-3 weeks for each thing. Which is the reason why I have delayed in sending in our I-600. I want our sweet boy home more than anyone in this world, and I couldn't bare the thought of us getting our I-600 approval and him being stuck because we still have to get funding. I know it doesn't matter how much I think I'm in control with "my delays" its all in Gods plan. He knew about "my" delays long before me. Its so incredible easy to give praise and be happy when things go our way, but when things are slow or uncomfortable we don't give him the same praise and WE SHOULD! Our God perfect and righteous in everything he does. Our pastor at church said something this Sunday that was a big motivation to me " He who brings good work to me will bring it to a completion" When we started this adoption process it was for selfish ungodly reasons. I wanted a son, I wanted Bri to have a brother, I wanted to give a child a loving home that he hasn't had before.I..I..I. God has had his hand on it from the start, I recognized it but I don't think I have ever given him full credit with all my heart.  I have been doing all the hard work, I'm the reason everything is moving quickly and we have received the funding that we have....WRONG!!!! We are nearing the end of our process today in unbelievable timing, because it's Gods plan. I have known this all along but tonight with a different heart I believe it and I know this adoption will work out exactly how it supposed to.
                    I will be mailing our I-600 this week. While we are waiting for this approval we have started on Isaiah's passport. We are praying we can get through both of these with no issues or long waits. We are very blessed that our process is still moving. Many regions have stopped processing adoptions. Which means if families have not passed court and they are in a region who has stopped processing adoption they are stuck. There has been a lot of heart aches in Ghana adoption world and many families have been waiting long periods of time and many aren't getting the things they need to continue. Please pray for these families who are stuck and for our family too. We have a big fundraiser coming up we would love for you to pray for its success and for our process to finish up quickly. I pray Isaiah gets here before we have this baby :-) Again, all in Gods timing!

INTRODUCING........

We are excited to announce on the blog that Isaiah K. Irwin officially became a part of our family. On Monday March 25, 2013 we passed court finally, we are a family of 4! My heart melts when I think about the day I will get to wrap my arms around his sweet neck!!

SOOOOO NOW WHAT? WHEN DOES HE COME HOME?!?

 

It will still be several months before we can bring him home, we have only passed court. COURT= The U.S. approving our adoption. Now the "process" is out of our hands, we no longer control how fast things move. Its all up to the Ghana government. The next steps are as follows:  Step 1: Since we have passed court we are waiting for our court decree to be printed. This could take a few weeks it could take a few months. We are in desprite need of prayer that everything is printed correctly. Step 2: Once we have the court decree in hand along with a other documents, we will file the I-600. I-600=The paperwork needed for the Ghana government to approve our adoption. We will file our I-600 stateside, we again wait for the approval. It could take a few weeks it could be a few months. The timing is all in Gods hands. So we have exited the easy part and entered the hard part of waiting!!

Here is our timeline so far with Isaiah: Referral in December. Dossier got in country in January. Court/passed in March. So we have been blessed to have been moving so fast, I pray it continues.

NOW WHAT?!?!?

We continue to fundraise! We ALMOST have this adoption completely funded, travel included! We need to earn about 3,500 more to be fully paid. It sounds like a lot but I faith it will provide quickly. I know we can do this, its getting warmer, the sun is shinning fundraising will be so much easier now :-) To keep up to date with our process, and fundraisers, and other things going on in our life keep an eye out on my Facebook news feed. I will post a new blog next time something exciting happens. Thank you all for your continued support and prayers!

 

 

Beyond Blessed

Since my last post our Dossier has made it to Ghana (praise Jesus), we also sent our sweet boy a care package, and we found our our awesome God has given us a referral of his own (I'm pregnant)! Its sooo much to take in, to say I am overwhelmed is an under statement. I'm trying not to think about how our lives are going to double change! Don't get me wrong  this is 2 things we have prayed about for a long time, and we are extremely happy. However, if i was in control and planning this big picture i would have brought our sweet Ghana boy home then maybe considered having another baby.  Clearly God thinks this way is better. If the adoption process has taught me anything it is DO NOT PLAN or think you have things under control. It seems every plan made has fallen apart and when i seem to have things in control and what i think is supposed to happen the exact opposite does. Perhaps this is God giving me a friendly reminder, it doesn't how much i plan and try to take control hes does in fact have this under control.

Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plan in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the lord that will stand.

Our adoption process so far as been very unique. Nothing seems to be going "typical" or "normal" and I can't lie its terrifying. I am the type of person likes things in order and routine, i must know whats going on and planning to happen. So as things this time are not going in a routine or in the typical process a lot of us know, i am asking you to pray for our family. In the back of my head i still have a fear of loosing this sweet boy. My heart can not take another loss. I need to find the courage and trust in God that I had in June when we started this journey. Obviously, I trust and have faith in Our AMAZING God, but i would be lying if i haven't asked "WHY" a lot these past few weeks. Not doubting our lords plans but sooo confused!

Psalm 28:7 The lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and i am helped; my heart exhaults and with my song i give thanks to him

We had it all planned out, we as a family would travel to file our i-600 in Ghana. We would meet our sweet boy. It is soo important to me to meet our sons biological mother. I want to know anything and everything she can tell me about him, their life, family ext. get pictures of all of us together. It was so important to me for me to tell her that her son will be very well taken care of, loved, taught about Jesus, will attend school, and that we would love to send her updates on him. The crucial bonding that i so desired for our family to gain with him on our first trip is now not going to happen. Since i am pregnant i can not get the yellow fever shot required to enter Ghana. So now are filing our I-600 stateside and only going to travel to pick him up probably only my husband. I just don't understand God reasoning for this......it means sooo much for me to be there and honestly I'm a bit depressed about it. I am trying hard to trust gods plan at this point. I know he knows whats best, but i am human and it is hard!

Psalm 37:5 Commit your way to the lord; trust in him and he will act

In a few weeks we will send our biggest payment and this payment will be the last of our funds and it will still leave us owing 3,500. Plus travel cost. I should add that travel costs will be significantly less now that only  my husband will be traveling and staying a much shorter time. I have faith our lord will provide he has guided and provided this far why would he forsake us now? He wont and i know that, still knowing the situation is scary! We have amazing friends several of you have donated hundreds of dollars, you are amazing, we are blessed and i pray one day we can repay you or at least pay it forward. You  help me keep faith and its your kindness that keeps me going. I sit back and think about all the people have helped us from the beginning; T-shirts, Yard sells, my mom and mother in law making 20 plus cheesecakes, our salsaritas fundraiser and the random donations, I stand in awe. The bonds our process has created with people is amazing, the trust i have found in our Lord unimaginable. This process has definitely brought me closer to God. Perhaps his purpose? I just don't know what I have done in my life to be so blessed! I almost feel guilty, our amazing God has provided, provided, provided and i still wonder and question how we will get the last of money needed. I am so unworthy of his continuous, faithful, providing love and yet he keeps providing and loving us....another thing i will never be able to understand.

Psalm 107:1 Oh give thanks to the lord, for he is good for his steadfast love endures forever!

FINALLY!!!

Howdy!! So what's going on with us? Well we are trotting right along! Our I-600a has been filed, we are waiting on our USCIS finger prints apt. In the mean time, while we are waiting on that we have everything for our dossier ready and will be sending it with a fellow traveler next week. Evidently we don't need the I-600a results to submit our dossier. We only need it to file I-600.  This is soo exciting!!! THIS IS SOO SCARY!!

EXCITEMENT:
When our POA gets our dossier he will make us a court date. Once we go to court he is officially ours :-) This is AMAZING! This is what we have waited for months for!! We will go to court in the Cape Coast. We are told that it will be very very soon. It is VERY POSSIBLE that we will get to travel in February! To love on my sweet, sweet boy... sigh...I can't wait for this day!!

FEAR:
We are not ready financially to travel so soon! We have 2 fundraisers set up we are prayerful that will help bring in quit a bit. The fact of the matter is we need prayers and WE NEED YOUR HELP!! This coming together way faster than we ever could have anticipated. I know its all in Gods timing, praying we can just keep up!

This is where we are at:
3 plane tickets from Nashville to Ghana    $4,300
hotel/ stay in country for 10 days                 $   600 
Food 10 days 4 people                                         $   200
Souvenirs/ other                                                   $   200
TRAVEL TOTAL                                                             $5,300

This seems impossible!! I know God funds what he favors, but I can't lie my worldly mind is a nervous wreck! I'm worried that because of my inability to come up with funds I will not be able to travel when its time! I know that the impossible is possible with God. He put me in check and reminded me he's got this under control this morning!

FACT:
This is ONLY our first trip travel cost that we are fundraising for. We still Owe our POA 6,000 and we will stay have to earn the money  to travel back to pick our sweet boy up and bring him home. The plan is to finish paying our POA with our tax money and fundraising for our 2nd trip travel cost. I will be the only one to travel to pick him up and plan to only stay for 4 days. so that trip will be much less expensive.

PLEASE, PLEASE CAN YOU HELP BRING OUR SON HOME:
Clearly the majority of our travel cost is going to be airfare. AIRLINE/ FREQUENT FLYER MILES!! So many of you travel often. You can donate your miles and be such a blessing!! It looks like we will be flying Delta. They are the only airline that I have found that only has one connecting flight then straight to Ghana.

Don't have airline miles? We will take any donation you offer! There is no such thing as to small. Each dollars is a blessing! You can mail us a check to 4705 Springlane Dr Owensboro, Ky 42303. We have a paypal account but I'm not sure what you need to add to that. If you know please comment below :-)

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask him anything according to his will he hears us. 1 John 5:14 

The BIG one!!

"When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place"

It's that time again...fundraiser time!! I have prayed since before Christmas on what the right fundraiser will be for us. Over and over again I keep thinking about the same thing. So our next fundraiser will be a SILENT AUCTION AND WALKING TACO DINNER on Febuary 23 at 6:00pm :-) In addition to this we will be selling raffle tickets for $1 each for a chance to win $100. We will draw the winning ticket the night of auction. I am excited I think this will do very well for us.

So what is this money going towards? All of the money we raise is going to our TRAVEL COSTS for our first trip! HOW EXCITING IS IT TO BE WORKING FOR THAT?!!!? So what do we need to in order to travel? Tony and Bri have to get their passports. All 3 of us have to get our shots. 3 rountrip airline tickets and our room/stay in Ghana for 10 days. A great way you can help is airline miles! Thats an easy way to help with something alot of people forget they have. Please be in prayer with us that we will come close or exceed our goal. Our goal for this fundraiser is $1,200. Its going to cost alot more than $1,200 for us to travel but that is a great start and we will have a few other fundraisers to follow but this is our big one :-)  

I know most of you are very supportive about us taking our daughter and a few of you are unsure. Our reasoning for deciding to take her is as follows. We are a family, this is exciting for all of us. She can not wait to meet her brother! I think it is cruicial for him to meet all of us at the same time. I have asked several other families and they all highly recommend it. I think it will be easier for him to come with and trust us if he sees shes happy and taken care of. Also, I dont want her to think we have left her, or replaced her. She is 5 years old and the longest shes been away from me is about 20 hours, never a full day. This will be a life changing experience for all of us including our son. It's something we need to do together.