Where oh where is our LOA??

I feel like singing this every minute of every day.  We have been waiting 60+ days since we were given our pre-approval for Eli and now 3 months since our dossier was logged into China.  The LOA is the Letter of Approval, saying we are approved to be Eli's parents.  It also gives us a little better idea of when we may be able to travel to bring Eli home. 
I've said this before, but patience is not something I am good at and adoption is a true test for my patience.  All I know is that there is a little boy in China who goes to bed by himself every night, who doesn't even know that he has a family that prays for him every day and cannot wait to bring him home.  Please pray that we will get this LOA as soon as possible. 

While waiting I was able to create this.  I hope to have it printed for his room.

Puzzle Update - Can you help us complete it?

First of all, we would just like to say "Thank-you!" for all of the support we have received so far for Eli.  Your prayers, encouragement, gifts, donations and bracelet orders have been wonderful!!  We are well on our way to raising the funds we need for our required donation to Eli's orphanage.  Wanted to give an update on our puzzle fundraiser.  Several pieces have been donated.  Here is the puzzle so far and what the pieces look like.  Just a reminder ... for every $10 donated, we will put your name on the back of a puzzle piece.  The puzzle is a picture of Eli and our hope is that this will help represent everyone who helped bring Eli home, which he will be able to see one day.  There is a link to PayPal on the right of the blog where you can make a donation if you would like to.  Some people would rather not go through PayPal, which is fine.  We can accept checks/cash through the mail or if we see you as well.  We have never done a fundraiser and feel awkward asking for help, but we figure this is about as good a cause as any.  We are so anxious to bring Eli home and cannot wait to show him the love that every child deserves.  We appreciate your support!

 

 

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Weekend!!



We love to explore and take little day trips when we can.  Our falls are usually very busy with soccer and Tae Kwon Do.  Aidan's games are normally on Sunday afternoons and Keenan's games are normally on Saturdays, so getting away and doing anything is sometimes impossible during these months.  We love it and wouldn't trade the fun the kids have . . . and I am totally one of those crazy soccer moms, but when we can, we do really enjoy getting away for some family time.  This Saturday was one of those days that we had nothing planned, notta, nothing.  So he packed a picnic and drove a little over 2 hours away to Hocking Hills.  We had never been to Hocking Hills but had heard a lot about it after we moved to Ohio.  Within minutes of getting there, I heard Aidan say, "This is so awesome!  Thank you so much for bringing us here!"  We were blown away by the beauty we saw and the weather could not have been more perfect.  We explored the gorge and a couple of different caves.  We saw a few waterfalls and hiked through some amazing fall foilage.  There are cabins to rent around the area and we hope to come back sometime when we can stay a night or two.  There was a lot more to see and we can't wait to come back.  The kids have not stopped talking about our day there.  I feel so blessed to be their mom. 

 

Here are some pics from our day to Hocking Hills.

 

Family Pic

 

The kids holding up the rock

 

Michael and the kids on the rock bridge

 

Keenan in front of the lower falls

Another great pic of Keenan

The trio 

 

Upper falls

LuLu came on some of the hikes with us

 

Bella and the beauty of Hocking Hills

Scenery Pics of Hocking Hills

 

 

Aidan

 

While we wait ...

 

While we wait for the Letter of Acceptance from China, we have been enjoying the outdoors and this beautiful weather!

Bella loves that she is going to be a big sister (check our her shirt that a friend of mine gave her) 

 

 

We are able to send care packages to Eli.  Our agency prepares a letter in both English and Chinese and provides labels for pictures.  Under each picture in the photo album we have included the Chinese name for "Father", "Mother", "Big Brother" and "Big Sister".  This is usually the orphanage's first communication that Eli is being adopted and that there is a family eagerly waiting to bring him home.

We took a trip to an apple farm today.  The kids enjoyed the time with friends.  We took a hayride and survived the corn maze.  Here are a few pics:

Keenan, Aidan and Matthew (Aidan's friend)

 

The farmer allowed Bella to feed donuts to the pigs ... who knew they loved donuts?!

 

Bella, Aidan, Matthew and Keenan

 

Me and my kiddos

 

Keenan, Aidan and Matthew



Also wanted to share this pic.  Love this "in action" pic of Aidan

 

 



What I know and what I don't

What I know ...  I know there are 147 million orphans (and some believe that estimate is low).  I know that less than 1% of 1% of them will ever be adopted (that is an extremely low number!).  This number saddens me to no end.  I know ... that 2 of those will join (and already have) joined our family.  I know that there is a little boy on the other side of the planet who has never had the love of a mother, the love of a father or the love of brothers and a sister.  I know that he does not know about us yet and that he wakes up each day surrounded by many other "orphans" and goes through his normal routine each and every day, with many days probably looking a lot like the others.  I know that as I write this, he is probably sleeping and my heart aches to have him here ... to hold him, to love on him and for him to know that he is ours ... forever ... and that he will no longer be motherless, fatherless or without a home and siblings who adore him.  I do know that he has a Heavenly Father that loves him unconditionally and is watching over him each and every day and will for the rest of his life.  I do know that our family has been called to the fatherless and the orphans of this world and we have been blessed beyond measure to see so many orphans find their forever families.  I believe everyone is called to something and this is our something.  Not too shabby, huh?

What I don't know ... I don't know why Eli's birth parents did not feel that they could take care of him.  I don't know what that will be like for him as he gets older.  I don't know the struggles that we may have as a family, but who does?

I know that I am a child of God and one that cannot wait to grab my little guy up in China and shower him with love like he has never known.  Please continue to pray for our family.  This is truly a rollercoaster ride.  We are waiting for our Letter of Acceptance and there is no true prediction of when this might come.  Our prayer is that we will receive it this month so we might have the chance to travel before the end of the year.  This would mean a relatively "quick" LOA, but we know God can move mountains!  The kids keep asking if Eli will be here before Christmas and unless we get that LOA soon, I don't think it will happen (because of all the other steps we need to go through before travel).  But again, God can move mountains, so we will see!

I don't like to write a post without sharing some pics, so here are a few ...

Keenan receiving his new belt

 

 Bella and Addyson

 

Our niece, Ashlynn, in all her gear

 

The boys bithday party ... Keenan is now 7 and Aidan is now 10!!

Bracelets for Eli!!

Orders have been coming in for bracelets and dog collars.  We are thrilled with the response we have been getting with these.  We do have a new color which is an orange and black sawtooth, so if you are a Bengals fan or as my neighbor even pointed out, a Harley Davidson fan, you may like this color.  Let us know if you would like to order a bracelet or 2!!  We can make any size, but the standard sizes are small (5 1/2 inches), medium (6  1/2 inches) or large (8 - 8-1/2 inches).  All colors (other than the orange and black) are found in the picture at the right of the blog page. You can either send us an email or order through ebay (link also at the right on the blog). We can also make dog collars.  We just need the size and color.

Some of the bracelets we made over the weekend

 

 Bracelet making activities :-)

 

 Thanks everyone!!! 



Update and New Pics

We were surprised on Tuesday when we received an update on Eli.  We received some updated measurements and development information as well as 2 pictures (yay!). 

On the home front, the boys started school this week.  Aidan is now a 4th grader (how am I old enough to have a 4th grader?!).  Keenan started 1st grade.  They both had open houses and we got to meet their teachers.  They were all smiles after the first 2 days of school - so thankful!  Bella starts Kindergarten this week.  We also went in and met with her teacher this past week.  We have heard only wonderful things, so we are really excited about her year. She CANNNOT wait to get started!

Soccer is also in full swing.  First games are today and practice between the two happen almost every night.  We are a busy running family right now, but we love it!

The bracelet orders and dog collar orders are starting to come in and we are all very excited about this!!  (Thanks to those you have ordered some!  And thanks to those who have donated to our puzzle!)  Will post pics of the boys making them soon.