God is good all the time!

What a month this has been. When the referrals came in at the first part of August, it was very disappointing that the cutoff date was 11/21/05. Remember, our LID was 11/22/05. That was followed by a weekend where some disturbing realizations came to light. We had heard rumors that some adoption agencies do not travel during the month of October because of a big trade fair in China. We knew we would be expecting our referral the first of September which normally would mean we'd travel in October. I e-mailed our family coordinator and she let me know that, sure enough, America World does not travel the last 2 weeks in October. This meant that our group would most likely travel the first of November.
We also found out that weekend that the performance dates for the Ulysses High School musical are November 9 & 10. Jeremy had leads in the musical the last 2 years and it was pretty much a given that he would have a lead role this year, too. That meant we were faced with a tough decision; Jeremy would miss the musical to go to China or we would have to postpone our travel. Both of these options were impossible to me and it made for a very difficult couple of days. We decided to let the boys audition for the musical and we began to pray that God would just work things out according to His plan.
All of this combined to put a real damper on the expectation of our referral. I also had learned over the months not to count on receiving our referral until I knew it was on the way!
Auditions for "Oklahoma" took place last week. Jeremy was given the lead role of "Curly" and Kyle was given the role of "Slim". After having used elementary and junior high kids last year, the director decided he wanted to continue that practice. So, Logan made the cast, also!
We were all at peace with waiting until the end of November or beginning of December to travel to China to meet our Makenna.
Then on Tuesday, September 4, we received "the call". I couldn't believe it when we were told that Makenna wasn't even 7 months old yet. What a wonderful surprise! So even if we don't travel until December, she will only be 10 months old. We will still be able to share her first Christmas and her first Birthday!
And here is the most incredible thing. We have believed from the start of this process that God had a particular child that He planned before even time began to be a part of this family. Children are not eligible for International Adoption in China until they are at least 6 months old. That means if we had received our referral even one month earlier, it would not have been for this particular child! What a blessing to know that this incredibly long and difficult wait had a purpose! God's timing is always perfect and always has a purpose, but we don't always get the opportunity to know what that purpose is.
We are head over heels in love with this beautiful baby! And we are so thankful for God's faithfulness during this process. We know He will continue to uphold and strengthen us as we wait to meet our precious Makenna! And we know He is holding her in the palm of His hand!
To Him be all the glory, honor and praise!

Finally Some Encouraging News!

Well, here we are in May of 2007. I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything but there really hasn't been anything to report.
However, it finally seems like we might be getting closer. On Friday, April 13th, we got an e-mail from our agency telling us there was no guarantee but that they anticipated that we would be getting our referral in the next 2 to 4 months!
Then this week another batch of referrals came in and they sent us another e-mail to let us know our referral was not included. We have never gotten that kind of notice before and to us it was very exciting to know we are finally being given notice about such things.
The best news of all is that referrals are finally into November 2007! You'll remember our LID (log in date) was 11/22/05. The referrals in this last batch went as far as 11/1/05. We are finally into November 2005! There are only 20 more days ahead of us. That probably means anywhere from 2-3 more months.
It was devastating when only 2 days of LID's were referred in April. And this month they only did 6 days. Research shows that this follows the same trend of last year's referrals. Of course, if they only do 2 days again, it will take another year for us. Up until April, the average for the previous 6 months had been 15 days a month.
So, who knows? We trust our day will come very soon.
Please pray specifically that we will receive our referral in time to be to China and back before the middle of September. If this doesn't happen we will have to have our Home Study updated a second time.
This has been a real growing experience for us. It is one of those things that is hard to explain and difficult to understand unless you have been through it. But the Lord is soooooooo faithful! There is tremendous comfort in knowing His timing is perfect.
We will have a time of interesting adjustment coming next fall. Not only will we have a new daughter, Jeremy will be a Senior, Kyle will be starting High School as a Freshman, and Logan will be starting Junior High and 6th Grade. Whew! I sure am glad to know God knows what He is doing!
I look forward to being able to post info. again very soon. Maybe in another month or two we'll even have a picture!

December News

Well, here we are in the month of December and still no daughter. Unfortunately, it does not look like we will be traveling to China before next summer. For some reason known only to the Lord and the Chinese government, the waiting time has increased dramatically since we started the adoption process. Some days can be difficult; the worst being November 22, 2006 which was the one year anniversary date of our paperwork being logged in to the China Center of Adoption Affairs. But God is good and His grace IS sufficient! We take great peace and comfort in knowing that He is in control and that we will be united with our Makenna in His perfect timing!
Much of our Fall 2006 was consumed by the Ulysses High School musical, "The Wizard of Oz". Jeremy was the Scarecrow, Kyle was the mayor of Munchkinland, and Logan was a Munchin soldier. They spent a lot of time in rehearsal, but it was well worth it. The production was fantastic!
Since we did not travel to China this year, Galen has almost 2 weeks of vacation left. We thought it would be a nice diversion to go to Ohio for Christmas this year and spend it with my family. We are really looking forward to the opportunity to spend "extra" time with them this Christmas season.
We continue to ask for your prayers for our family during this waiting process. Please remember Makenna whenever the Lord brings us to mind. Since babies are not eligible for adoption in China until they are 6 months old, she is most likely born by now. How we wish she was home with her family this Christmas!
If you get the opportunity to listen to the new Christmas album by Third Day, be sure and listen to the song, "Merry Christmas." It is written by a member of their band who is waiting on a child from China!
Above all, we wish each of you a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

September update

Well, here we are in September. This month did start out with a little excitement! On September 1, Galen and I celebrated our 22nd anniversary! How about that. Married 22 years and about to have a baby!

We also found out on the 1st that our Dossier is out of the review room! That was very exciting news for us because that means our paperwork is on to the matching room! It will still probably be several more months before we receive our referral, but at least it is progress.

On the same day we found out that all 3 of our boys were cast in the upcoming high school musical, "The Wizard of Oz!" Jeremy will play the Scarecrow, Kyle is the Mayor of Munchkinland and Logan is a Munchkin!

I have been substituting a lot more than I expected to at this point in the school year. I am also still filling in for our church secretary while she is away. Needless to say, the Lord is providing plenty to keep us busy during this ridiculously long wait!

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Some days the waiting gets really difficult. We so want to have our Makenna home with her forever family!

8/24/06 - Waiting!!!

Well, it has been just over 9 months since our Dossier was logged in at the China Center of Adoption Affairs. When we started the process, we expected the whole thing to take about 12 months. The difficult part is that we are still several months away from receiving our referral.
I praise the Lord for His grace in making the waiting bearable.

We had a very busy Summer with lots of traveling. The boys started school last week and are beginning to get into the routine. I am subsituting and have already had 3 days of work!

God has been gracious to us in keeping us busy and keeping me from experiencing depression during this long wait. I spend time reading posts from our Yahoo group and reading other people's stories online. I can't believe how beautiful those baby girls are!

We pray every day for our sweet Makenna and that the Lord would pleeeeeeeease speed things up! All we can do is watch the groups in front of us. We are in travel group 239 in our agency and they have finished with group 221. Only 18 more to go! Trouble is they are only completing referrals for a few groups a month, if they complete any at all.

Praise the Lord for the assurance that He is in control and His timing is perfect!

Test

This is a test, this is a test of the pelton blogging thing. This is only a test....