Article 5 issued

We can scream and shout as we are on the final step of this paper journey to bring Ian
home.  We received the news early this morning via e-mail that our Article 5 has been
issued.  Our paperwork will now be forwarded to Beijing where we will now wait for
our Travel Approval!!  This has been taking anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks.   Hang
on buddy, we're getting closer.

We still have our fundraiser going on and the items listed in the below post are still available to purchase.  You can leave a comment with you e-mail and the items you are interested in and I'll get back with you asap.  We also still have lots of origami cards available and will custom make swans, cats, dogs, dresses, and hearts.   Our Reece's Rainbow account to the right needs to read $7000 for us to be fully funded.  We're almost there as we just need under $2800 to be fully funded.  If you'd like to make a donation to help us with these final adoption costs, you can click on the Reece's Rainbow link to the right (donate) which will take you to our fsp (paypal account) that's with Reece's Rainbow.  You can also request a tax receipt. 

It's getting real and I'm getting nervous.  Please pray that our little guy's heart is being prepared for us.  Oh how I remember when we first saw Jacob at the age of 3.  He was not happy!!!  Oh the healing these little one's have to go through.  And this sweet little guy has been in his foster family for quite some time.  We were able to send some pictures of us to him and we sure hope he has seen us and knows we are his family.

Stay tuned . . . we are counting down to TA!

Another "Endeavor from the Heart"/I-800 approved

Update 1/31/15

We are still waiting on our Article 5.  Hoping it's picked up this week so we can then be on the final step, our long awaited Travel Approval which is taking about 2 weeks.  We are still fundraising to bring our little guy home and still have the items available below.  If you'd like to make a donation, our Reeces Rainbow FSP link is to the right.  It needs to read $7,000 to be fully funded.  Ian's adoption is a step of faith for us.   His need is something unimaginable.  I can't wrap my hands around what he's been through yet.  I'm getting there. But I still get tears just thinking about the pain and suffering he endured with the accident.  He has a long way to go but we have the resources to get him the medical attention he needs.  However, we lack the funding.  We've been so blessed to have received grants that have helped immensely, but we're still short $4,000.  If you feel led to make a donation, you can do so through the Reeces Rainbow link to the right.  We are so excited to be counting down to travel.  And can't wait to wrap our arms around our sweet little guy.


We received our I-800 approval.  We were approved on 1/15.  Yayyeeee!!!   We are now just waiting on our Article 5 and then Travel Approval.  We still have a way to go with adoption expenses. 

We've been busy creating new items to help to bring Ian home.  We'll be adding more items through out the weekend as well; card sets, art work.   We're getting so excited to bring our little man home.  It's been a long journey. And we're getting so close . . .  Yahooo! 

These make great gifts too: birthday, teacher, end of the school year, valentine, Mother's Day, etc.  If you are interested in any of the items below, please leave a comment with your e-mail and I'll get back to you asap to ensure it's still available.  Please state a brief description and the item number as well.   All jewelry is $16.50 each which includes shipping.  Payment can be made through our Lifesong Account to the right or through our regular paypal account which is also to the right.

1)  Starfish on 14+ pearl like strand.
  Starfish measures
1" in diameter.
SOLD

2)  "Cinderella" pendant on black
14"+ strand.  This pieces has light blue
shading on the time piece that doesn't
show up very well in the picture.
Pendant is 1 1/2" in length.
 On the back it's engraved
"On the stroke of twelve the spell will
 be broken and everything
will be as it was"  Cinderella

3)  Bubble dome sea shell pendant.
Measures 1 1/4 in diameter.
Chain is 14+

4)  Silver color sea shell pendant on
pearl like strand.  Pendant is
1 1/4 in length.  Strand 14+

5)  Wooden bead bracelet with black glass
beads and "Hope" charm.  We enjoy putting
these together.  This one measures
9" and is on a stretchy band.

6)  Believe pendant, silver in color,
 measures 1 3/4" wide on
cream ribbon.  Ribbon is 36" long and
can be tied to any length.

7)  Turquoise, cream, and silver color beaded
bracelet on stretchy band with "turtle" charm.
Measures 8 1/2"
This one was fun to make as well.

8)  Turquoise color cross pendant
 on 20" black cord.
Charm measures 1 3/4"
SOLD

9)  Turqoise color beaded stretchy bracelet
with cross charm.

10)  Cross bracelet, brown band.(2 left)

11)  Hints of gray, silver color, and turquoise color
glass beads on stretchy band with "Faith" charm.
Measures 9"

12) Beaded necklace or can be wrapped as
a bracelet, shown.  Measures 33"
(colors of taupe's, cream's, clear)
SOLD

13)  Beaded bracelet measuring 9".  Love this one
too and we can certainly add a "Faith", "Hope", or
"Believe" charm.

14)  "Believe" bracelet, 8 1/4" on stretchy band.

15)  Tortoise look pendant with "Believe" charm
on cream ribbon.  Ribbon measures 36"
Pendant measures 1 1/2"
SOLD

 

LOA

Wooooohooooo!!!  We received our Letter of Acceptance on 12/29.  Our hard copy arrived on 1/6.  Our I-800 has been mailed and we are on day 9 of the wait.   We're hoping to get approval within
the next couple of days.   Travel to bring our little guy home is getting closer.  And we're getting
super duper excited!!!!  Once we received our LOA, we also received some awesome pictures of
Ian.

It looks like he likes to play UNO.  We will definitely be taking an UNO deck with us to China.
Along with some cars, books, and other little toys we've stashed into his backpack. 
Praying that our sweet boy is being prepared for the upcoming transition and that God will
prepare his heart.   The wait is the hardest . . .

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."   Isaiah 40:31

Out of Translation

It's official!  We're out of translation "oot" which means all of our documents have been
translated.  The next step is under review.  And then we will receive our "letter of approval".
There are several steps beyond that but we'll try to wait patiently for our loa and then look at the next
steps.  Getting so excited here to finally meet our little guy. 

 

 

 

We have been so blessed to have received a $3000 matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans.  We are currently at a little over $700 which includes the funds from the auction we just held.  To help support our grant, we are selling origami note cards that our daughter, Faith makes.   If you'd like to help us meet our $3000 goal either by purchasing one of the card sets or making a donation,  here's how you can help.  Leave a comment if you'd like to purchase a card set or if you'd rather make a donation you can do so by check or our Lifesong paypal link.

Checks can be made payable to Lifesong for Orphans.  In the memo, note family name and family account number #4765, Vantrease to ensure it goes to the correct account.   Please mail to "Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40, Gridley, IL 61744.  100% of the donation will go directly to our adoption.  To donate online, you can click the "donate" button to the right, under "Ian's Lifesong Account" which will take you straight to our paypal link with Lifesong.  The account number will show there as well, #4765. 

Our card's come in a set of 8 with envelopes and are $13.75 which includes shipping.  These make great little gifts for teachers too.  Each card is signed with Faith's Chinese character.   Any pet lover would love Faith's cat and dog set of notecards.  Each pet set contains 4 cats and 4 dogs and varies by the color of card stripe/dot and the color of the origami.

The dress origami set at the bottoms contains 8 mixed patterns/colors of dresses on different colors of card stock.  Again this set is an example and all sets vary.  Each set comes with 8 white envelopes.  The notecards are blank inside. 

DTC for Ian 10/17/14

Yayyeee!  After the long paper journey, which we thought would never end, we are finally DTC for Ian.  DTC means  . . . Dossier to China!.  As we still have a little bit of a wait to go, we should travel sometime the first of the year.  Adoption isn't easy!  There are soooo many obstacles. And one of the biggest obstacles is the financial piece.  We have been so blessed to have received a $3000 matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans.  To help support our grant, we are selling origami note cards that our daughter, Faith makes.  Those are in the previous post.  And we'll be adding more a little later, including some Christmas ones.  If you'd like to help us meet our $3000 goal either by purchasing one of the card sets or making a donation,  here's how you can help.  Leave a comment if you'd like to purchase a card set or if you'd rather make a donation you can do so by check or our Lifesong paypal link.

Checks can be made payable to Lifesong for Orphans.  In the memo, note family name and family account number #4765 to insure it goes to the correct account.   Please mail to "Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40, Gridley, IL 61744.  100% of the donation will go directly to our adoption.  To donate online, you can click the "donate" button to the right, under "Ian's Lifesong Account" which will take you straight to our paypal link with Lifesong.  The account number will show there as well, #4765. 

This little guy has had a rough start to life.  We are so blessed to be his parents and can not wait to
get him home.  Waiting isn't easy, but we know God's got this!  Precious boy, oh how you are already loved. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Origami card sets available including our new design.

 



This set sold as a set of 8 including
2 doves, 2 stars, 2 angels, and 2 trees
with envelopes.

Set of 8 dress origami cards in assorted
patterns.  This one is an
example and each set varies.
Also $13.75 a set and
includes envelopes.



 

 

 



Lifesong matching grant

FINALLY,  we are DTC.  Our documents left for China Friday, October 17th.  Yippee!  We are
so excited.  We are getting ever so much closer to bringing Ian Michael home.  Hoping to receive an update on him any day.

In the meantime, we have been so blessed to have received a $3000 matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans.  This means they will match up to $3000 of funds that are raised or donated on our behalf. 
We still need $2800 and have several items to list to sell to help us along the way.  As you can see to the right, our daughter Faith, who was adopted in 2012 at the age of 12 loves to make origami cards.  She has made several so far and we have been trying to come up with some new designs (which are almost complete) for the holidays.   We also have some jewelry that we'll list as well.  If you are interested in either the cards or jewelry, please leave a comment with your e-mail address and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.  We appreciate everyone who has helped us along our journey to help bring Ian home.  I was able to add a "donate" button to the right (Ian's Lifesong account), which takes you straight to our Lifesong paypal account.    I've listed two pictures of each card set below.  One shows all the cards included, and the other shows how they are packaged.  Also, each item is numbered.  Please include the number of the item in your comment.  Thank you so very much!!

1)    Set of 8 blank note cards with envelopes in chevron stripes and dots.
$13.75 (includes shipping).  c
SOLD


 

2)    Set of 8 "swan" origami on black/greys/, cream note cards
blank inside with envelopes.
$13.75 (Includes shipping)

 

3)    Set of 8 "dress" origami note cards in assorted colors
with envelopes
$13.75 (includes shipping)


 

4)  Set of 8 "dress" origami cards in assorted colors
with envelopes.
$13.73 (includes shipping)
SOLD
 

5)  Set of 8 (dress) origami cards in assorted colors
with envelopes.  $13.75 (includes shipping)
SOLD

 

6)  Set of 8 (dress) origami note cards in assorted colors with envelopes.
$13.75 (includes shipping)
SOLD
 

7)  Set of 8 (dress) origami note cards
with envelopes
$13.75 (includes shipping)

 



8)  Set of 8 (dress) origami note cards
with envelopes
$13.75 (includes shipping)

9)    Cross bracelet

$12.50 (includes shipping)

10)   Cross necklace (faux turquoise)
$12.50 (includes shipping)

11)  Cross beaded bracelet
on stretchy band
$12.50 (includes shipping)



Count down til DTC

As we wait our final countdown to finally send our documents across the pond, a sweet friend, Stacy Richards, is hosting a fundraiser for us through her Jubilee's Jewels.  If you haven't seen, heard, or purchased any of her remarkable jewelry, here's your chance and you'll be helping bring Ian home.  Each piece is made with care and they all have such an amazing message.  I have this piece and wear it all the time.  It touches my heart as I think of all the orphans who desperately want a family.

"BE LOVE   loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty"  Mother Teresa

Here's how to order one of Stacy's pieces:

Click on http://jubileesjewels.com/
You can order any piece she has listed, including the fundraising pieces
When ordering, add "ANITA" in the comments section so we get credit for the sale
At the close of the fundraiser, Stacy will then send the funds we made to our "Lifesong for Orphans" account.

If you'd like to donate directly to our Lifesong account, click on the  "Ian's Lifesong account" button to the right on our blog.  Thank you so much!  We appreciate each and everyone of you and love reading your comments giving us support and inspiration to get our little guy home.  Keep praying, We know God's got this!