Less than 24 hours!!!!

So while I've said I'm not stressed and think I've got it all together...Yesterday I found out otherwise.  Wyatt and I arrived safely in Orlando on Tuesday, early afternoon.  Wyatt did great on the flight down, we got here in one piece and settled in pretty well.  Brandon was scheduled to come in early afternoon yesterday and about 30 minutes before he was scheduled to take off...I had a flash of something come over me that I had forgotten.  So much for checking and cross checking!

Wyatt- check
all baggage- check
all adoption paperwork- check
vaccine and passport info- check
mile long packing list (i'll spare you the details)- check
HADLEY'S RETURN PAPER TICKET- a gigantic whoops!!!
my brain- NOT check!
So here is where I thank everyone for prayers because I really don't know what came over me, randomly in the middle of the day yesterday to make me think to check for her plane ticket.  She has a paper ticket required, for whatever reason and when I was attempting to be diligent and print a copy for my parents to have, I left her ticket on our printer.  Fabulous-o!  The GREAT news is that I thought about it yesterday, called the travel agent, she purchased another ticket for her and overnighted it to us...We just received it this morning...PHEW!!!  In the nick of time...Imagine that! :) So maybe I'm a little more anxious than I admitted (ha!) if I left our daughters plane ticket that we are going to China to get, at home! :)

So our plans today...we are tying up some last minute loose ends including baby proofing grandpa and grandma's house.  Wyatt managed to find every possible breakable item they have in the first hour he had arrived.  So rather than everything my parents own being broken while we're gone by our cute little interior designer (Wyatt) we have rearranged furniture, taken things off all remaining tables and this afternoon are going to purchase cabinet locks, door handle covers, etc.  He's already giggly over grandpa and grandma and of course they are the same way over him...which is helping me with the sick feeling in my tummy.  I am having a tough time shaking it yesterday and today, even though conceptually I KNOW he is in amazing and capable hands.  Ugh, that sweet little smile with his broken words that he jibber jabbers all the time, is all that I can think of.  Deep breaths as my friend Sandy would say :) 

Ok, so last and definitely not least...I do not know what we've done to deserve the truly unbelievable people God has put in our lives! SERIOUSLY!  From family to friends we are so undeserving and truly blessed!  The phone calls (sorry I'm not answering), text messages, emails...we've been overwhelmed by the support in such a way that it's hard to even describe or put words to.  The cute messages from a sweet friend with reminders of possible things I may have forgotten and her genuine humor to make me laugh amidst my nerves...The people taking care of our animals, our business, you name it!!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!!!  We cannot say it enough!!! THANK YOU!!!  I really am overwhelmed once again with the love that we are surrounded by and I can't help but think, we do not deserve it, why us?  God is so good to have put these people in our lives! We are so grateful!

Alrighty...I'm off to hop in the shower, off to get a final booster shot, pick up some meds for Hadley and finish baby proofing grandma and grandpas.  I hope to post again before we arrive in China to include our itinerary and other info...

BIG HUGS and LOVE!
Robin

The count down...One more week!!

One more week until we leave Orlando for China!  We have all of our travel booked, from Indy to Orlando (Aug 3rd) and from Orlando to China (Aug 6th).  Our bedroom is beginning to resemble the lost baggage department at the airport.  The evidence of this was when I thought I had moved everything out of the walk ways in our bedroom and managed to trip over an open suitcase anyway. The airlines allow 2, 50 pound bags and 2 carry ons and we are definitely maximizing that option!! I'm packed, Hadley's packed, Wyatt's packed and Brandon is my mission tomorrow. We're slowly but surely getting our documents together...Have you ever done that thing where you think you may have left the iron on...You're pretty sure you've turned it off but you go back and check and cross check?  Well that's me with our documents.  I keep going through them making sure they are in order, printing extra copies, just in case...One for each bag, purse, carry on...You name it.  An extra set for my parents to have, "just in case".  Over kill???  YEP! :)  You betcha!  We also received confirmation that we will meet Hadley on August 8th (it will likely be late August 7th in the U.S.), the morning after we arrive in Nanchang!! YAYY!!!  On top of that we had requested to visit Hadley's orphanage in Poyang county and we were granted our request!!!!!  We are beyond thankful for this opportunity because its our one chance to see where Hadley has lived for the first 17 months of her life.  It's a 3-3 1/2 hour van ride one way,  in rural China so we'll see alot of the countryside and hope to get lots of pictures to share with everyone.  Can hardly believe we are a week away!!!


Last but not least...Our trip to the beach in July!  Looking back...Had we known we were going to get TA in July, we very likely wouldn't have gone on our annual trip to the beach.  It ended up being one of our best trips yet!  So happy things played out just as they did!!  God is good!! :)

Consulate Appointment

Just a quick note that we got word this evening that we received the Consulate Appointment we were hoping for! We now will officially be leaving for China, from Orlando, on August 6th. Our plan is for me to take our little man down early next week to get him settled in with grandma and grandpa in FL before we leave. Right now we're just scurrying around tying up all the loose ends. Wyatt is helping me pack (I mean UN-pack). For every pair of shorts I put in my suitcase, he takes two out :) We'll continue to keep you posted!

Thanks so, very much for all of the very loving and encouraging emails and phone calls we've received over the last few days!! They mean so much to us!

Hugs,
Robin

WE HAVE NEWS!!!! TA! TA! TA!!!!

Praise God for the news we received today!  To HIM goes the GLORY and honor!!!!!  This will be a long one  :)  Some straight talk....We had been hoping and praying we would receive our TA (Travel approval from China) this week, knowing it wasn't "likely".  Tuesday of this week, a bunch of TA's came in and ours was not included.  Yesterday, I was somewhat hopeful, but no TA.  Then yesterday when we didn't get a phone call from our agency, I called and was talking to one of my friends sharing my disappointment and she gave me some very candid advice.  She said, "Robin, if you WANT your TA, why not just pray specifically, "God, if it does not go against you or affect your ultimate plan, I pray that we receive TA on Friday"...I never thought of it that way! Ultimately, we just want to be in line with Gods plan so I decided, that's how I'm going to pray!!  And I did.  Well TA's typically come in early in the morning and the Tuesday TA's that came in this week were posted very early (around 10A.M)...So, 10:45 today came and went and I was beginning to lose hope.  12:00 came and went and I had given up completely and thought to myself, well today is not our day and that's ok.  Then (12:15), Brandon pops in for 5 minutes during the day, my phone rings and I see, "MADISON ADOPTION ASSOCIATES" across the screen.  I looked at it for a second and paused...It was our TA!  I answered the phone to hear a very kind voice on the end say..."I have good news for you, Robin, you received your TA".  PRAISE GOD!  He had answered our prayer!!!!!  At this point, Brandon who popped in from his day at work is dancing around the living room.  As if news of TA was not good enough...There's more!  I'm going to go backwards a little bit so that I don't leave any of this out....(keeping it real) Early this morning, before we received TA, I was going through a guilty period of thinking to myself and talking to God saying, "are we doing the right thing, is this fair to Wyatt, is this going to affect him negatively in any way?"  I was playing the doubt game, which is never good.  I asked God for confirmation, even though he has given that to us throughout the process time and time again!  So ashamed to share my doubtful heart but it's real.  So now back to the present...Not only do we get TA on the day we ask God for it BUT, you may remember that it was very important for us to travel before my mom went back to work.  For various reasons...My fathers health has not been perfection over the last 2 years (battling cancer, still and having a heart attack).  If we traveled to China and were not back by August 22nd my mom would be back at work and my father would be at home caring for Wyatt, primarily by himself.  I had been asking God over and over for mercy on my family as they were so willing to help us and support us by taking care of Wyatt during this time.  Well we were beginning to run out of time.  Now back to my conversation with our agency...So after the good news is shared with me that we have our TA (travel approval), I say..."So what's next, what do we need to do now?"  The person on the other end says, well we are looking at possible CA (Consulate appointments in China) dates and we are thinking the 23rd of August...Would that work for you?  I pause for a minute and am thinking, uh-oh.  I start to stutter out a pitiful, frazzled story trying to put all of this together and explain that if at all possible could we get a date any sooner, it would be HUGE for us and for my family.  She says, "tell me what's up"...So, I proceed to explain what you all, already know (the situation about my mom going back to work and my father home with Wyatt).  She says, "well, let me see, we can request it but that means you'd have to leave very quickly.  I explain that that's ok we'll figure it out.  So she says, well let me look at something....Then I hear, "oh wow, this is good news, there is another family traveling to YOUR province (Nanchang) requesting the same dates you all would like to travel, so that would make it easy on the people scheduling travel!"...I'm thinking, WOW!  Not only is there another family going to the same Province but they want the same dates!!!??  Then she says, but we'll have to see if her (Hadley's) TB test results will be back in time for you all to have the same Consulate appt date....Then I hear, "oh wait, this is great, because Hadley is under 2, you don't have to wait for the TB results and you should be able to get the same Consulate appt date!"  By now, I'm getting chills over and over!  The icing on the cake of this story is....As of right now, we have a tentative ticket booked to leave to go to China on August 6th and return on August 18th!  That means that not only will my mother and father be able to watch Wyatt together but they will have time to fly Wyatt back to Indianapolis (from FL) over the weekend we return home. meet Hadley and make it back to Orlando in time for my mom to go to work on Monday!!!!  ONLY GOD!  AMAZING!  Could the timing have been any more perfect!?  The reason our tickets are on hold and not formally booked is because our Consulate appt needs to be confirmed late Sunday night, early Monday morning in China (they are 12 hours ahead of us).  Our agency is pretty sure the Consulate appt will work out and we will continue to pray that everything falls into place.  I believe God will finish what HE has started!  We'll keep you posted!

We plan to blog while we are in China and we invite you all to follow along as we go to get our daughter; Wyatt's sister!!!!  Here we come Hadley!!!!!!

Hugs and lots of love!
Robin, Brandon and Wyatt

Thoughts as we wait for TA any day!

The wait is coming down to the wire and as the time for possible travel gets closer, my mind has been racing.  There are a litany of things that have run through my head as we prepare to leave the country to go get our little girl that is waiting for us 7,000 miles away.  Probably the most difficult part of this process by far, will be leaving Wyatt for 2 weeks.  The reality of that is beginning to sink in and since we haven't left him for as much as an overnight, the thought has been burdening me lately.  As crazy as this might sound, I'm going to be brutally honest...I keep thinking to myself, is he going to think we've abandoned him?  2 weeks is a long time when you are 13 months and all you do is play, eat and sleep :)  Lots of praying surrounding saying bye-bye to our little man for 14 days.

When I think of Hadley right now, I can't help but walk through what her life has been like for the last 16 months...our little girl, an ocean away, has never known or understood what it's like to have a mommy and daddy...Those are words that are very likely foreign to her.  She doesn't know what it's like to have someone tuck her in at night, hug her or hold her when she's scared, protect her and look out for her, comfort her when she's sad and lonely, greet her in the morning with a smile when she wakes up, have a brother to play with, a full tummy all of the time, unconditional love and affection, family, parents and most importantly the opportunity to know Jesus Christ!  Wow!  All of these things I am ashamed to say and I dare say, I have grown so accustomed to.  All of these blessings many of us have known since birth....All of these things she has likely never experienced.  All of those things that she has never known or experienced have been HER NORMAL for the last 16 months. Boy is life about to change!  She is about to have a FAMILY and doesn't even realize it yet!  God bless and prepare her little heart and mind as she waits these remaining few weeks for us to get there!

Hugs and love,
Robin

Getting closer!

I'm a little delayed in posting because we were fortunate to take a trip to FL (the beach) for the last week with my family. I was really hesitant on going, thinking it was too much with China around the corner. Brandon put his foot down, thankfully and made an executive decision and we went anyway :) Turns out it was a good choice for multiple reasons and we are all very glad we went. We actually had a momentary laps in sanity and decided to drive, thinking we'd bring Wy's things down and leave them at my parents for when we go to China. Wyatt was such a trooper driving down...I honestly can't believe how easy going he was! We are now in the car driving home, 3 hours in and so far so good. He's reading B and I books in what sounds like Chinese in the back seat.

So I talked to our agency (Madison) yesterday and got a better idea of where we are in process. Our Article 5 was picked up on time, as planned so we are about a week after Article 5 waiting for TA. Our agency is "cautiously optimistic" that TA may come before the end of the month! IF that happens then we could be on a plane for China the 2nd week in August!! B and I are throwing around alot of different thoughts and ideas that I'll explain later when I'm not typing on a 3 inch keyboard :) But my point in sharing that is to ask for prayer as we make decisions...That they be God honoring. Also asking for prayer surrounding our upcoming trip.

Can't wait to share beach photos and more...

Hugs,
Rob

Water baby and China update

This was Wyatt's 1st time taking a swim with his daddy a few weeks ago.  He loves his baths so we just assumed going in the pool would be more of the same and it turns out that it was...The two boys were too cute together, having their male bonding moment in the pool.

CHINA UPDATE:

Nothing terribly eventful to share on our upcoming trip to China.  We should be receiving Article 5 tomorrow and from their we will wait for our TA (Travel approval).  Once TA is issued, our agency then books our CA appt (Consulate appt) in China.  All travel is scheduled around the CA appts because they are at the very end of our 2 week stay in China.  When the CA appt is booked by Madison, we will then book our outbound flight from the U.S. to China.  We were told that all July CA appts are booked so even if we receive our travel approval right away...We will have to wait for an August CA appt.  We are hoping for an early August CA appt but we'll keep everyone posted.  

Hugs and love,

Robin

UPDATED PHOTOS OF OUR DAUGHTER!!!!

PRAISE GOD!!! These pictures were taken China time-TODAY of our Hadley!!!!!!!!  I have no other words....I'M HEAD OVER HEALS IN LOVE!!!!!!! Brandon just keeps saying...She's so beautiful, she's so beautiful!!!  OOHHH MYYYY!!!!! Get me on that plane!!! 

Wyatt gets his 1st haircut

So we go in and both get cute little black capes...Wyatt was not a fan of his at all.  Trying to convince him he was a super hero was not working.  So we started off with a little bribery...FOOD!

"I'm humilated, mom and I can't stand this cape but you can go ahead and keep the food coming.YUM!"

"Mom, this haircut lady is really nice...I'll come back again if you promise to bring my favorite crackers the 2nd time around...K???  Mom??? Mom??  Alright, fine...I'll come back anyway"

 I delayed W's first haircut as long as I could because I was so afraid that when we cut it, we'd lose his curls.  I was thrilled that after it was all said and done...The curls remain! Mission accomplished!!

Wyatt's 1st Birthday!

It was a wonderful day with family in town and friends over!!!  Our little man is 1!! He started taking multiple steps on his own this past Friday, the 18th. Today he's been walking from one thing to the next!  He's so proud of his wobbly little self and you'd think that he walked on the moon for the first time based on our reaction.  I really feel like every stage becomes the new "best" stage!

NVC NOTIFICATION!!!!

Hi family and friends!  Today when I got home, in the mailbox was waiting our NVC NOTIFICATION!!!!  Celebrating another big step today!!!  Our last hurdle prior to TA (travel approval) is our "Article 5"...That is expected/anticipated to come on or around July 8th (based on when we received NVC).   By all logical standards...It doesn't look like we will be on a plane heading for China until the 1st part of August.  BUT, that's by logical standards and nothing is impossible for God!  So we are going to rest in knowing that He has his hand on the clock and the timeline for Hadley to come into our family...Better him than me! :)  With that being said, we would still love to travel in July before my mom goes back to school for convenience purposes (1st/2nd week in August).  Continuing to pray for Miss Hadley as we wait to meet her.

Hugs,
Robin

Photos from the Poyang fundraiser

I'm excited to share more photos from the Orphanage Clothing Fundraiser at Poyang!!!!  These are pictures of babies that are currently at Poyang in the clothing that friends and family purchased a couple of months ago!!  How awesome to see those adorable little faces in new, clean clothing!!!  Huge thanks to everyone involved!!! :)  XXOO

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY WYATT!!!

There are genuinely no words to even begin to describe the emotion that Brandon and I feel as Wyatt turns one today.  There is so much reflection as the journey to him was filled with winding roads. Both Brandon and I agree that never in a million years could we have ever imagined the different paths we would have followed and how they would have lead us to this perfect baby boy!  This time last year we were in labor and delivery and C had just been induced...little did we know how much our lives would change at 4:08 P.M. and how spectacular God had worked all of the details out for everyone involved.  So often I think about how amazingly our journey to Wyatt was orchestrated...We started off saying no to fertility intervention, and an ABSOLUTE NO to domestic adoption (haha :-), wanting to adopt from China but didn't qualify, decided on Vietnam and went through all of the processes and the country shut down...We moved on to Russia and withdrew, only to enter our paperwork into Korea for 2 days and then received the phone call that would change our lives forever!  Who planned this?  Not us...We weren't even looking in our sons direction at that time.  We had our own agenda.  But miraculously God directed our path in a direction we had previously said "no" to and in the meantime he had softened our hearts.  The phone call we received on a Thursday afternoon was telling us about a woman with two little girls that wanted to give her unborn baby a good life.  The decision she made gave not only her son a new life but us as well.  This precious angel, Wyatt makes us smile on any given day more times than I can count. The joy we feel as his parents is indescribable.  He was hand picked by a loving God specifically for our family and as I sit here typing this post, my eyes our filled with tears because on my BEST day I couldn't have orchestrated such perfection!!  No thank you will ever be big enough...No prayer will ever be lifted up high enough to show our appreciation for our son!  Thank you to that special someone who picked up the phone that Thursday afternoon!  You already know how God has used you in so many ways to change lives!  Thank you to Wyatt's birth mom and father for making a decision that my mind cannot even begin to comprehend...The love that it took to place him in our arms is beyond anything I've ever felt before.   We love you all in such a new and unique way.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRECIOUS WYATT!!!!  We love you so, very much!!!

Marlee Update and diagnosis

I know many of you have been praying for Marlee and have been advocating for her since it was brought to our attention that she was suffering from seizures and getting progressively worse in her condition about 4-5 weeks ago.  After testing...she has been formally diagnosed with a disease called, Tuberous Sclerosis.  I honestly do not know much about this condition at all, other than what I've read on the internet.  So I cut and pasted basic information that I found.  Tuberous sclerosis or tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare, multi-system genetic diseasethat causes benign tumours to grow in the brain and on other vital organs such as the kidneys,heart, eyes, lungs, and skin. A combination of symptoms may include seizures, developmental delay, behavioural problems, skin abnormalities, lung and kidney disease. TSC is caused bymutations on either of two genes,TSC1 and TSC2, which encode for the proteins hamartin and tuberin respectively.  The real blessing in all of this is that due to the efforts made by some very special people thousands of miles away...Marlee is now receiving the seizure meds she so desperately needed.  She is at least comfortable now and that has been such an awesome gift to this baby girl.  The group that is to thank for their efforts and work in the Tianjin CWI, is ICCO.  This group uses 100% of the proceeds donated to their organization toward children that are in need of care similar to Marlee.  Anyone can donate specifically to this group to assist in paying for Marlee's seizure meds and Dr. bills...Which is so awesome!  If at any time you'd like to donate towards Marlee's ongoing Meds or learn more about ICCO please visit, www.tjicco.org . Thank you so much for all of the prayers for Marlee!!!

Last but not least...Today we received our I-800 Provisional approval!!!!!  Moving right along!!!!  Theoretically from I-800 Provisional approval to our NVC notification should take about a week and then from NVC Notification to Article 5 is approx 2 weeks and then 1-2 weeks till TA (travel approval)...That's the jist of the remainder of our timeline.  I know it sounds crazy...All of the oodles of acronyms and stages but the good news is we're getting close :)  Continuing to hope and pray for July travel!  We'll keep you posted!!!

Hugs and love,

Robin

Orphanage fundraiser update

I wanted to share what I received today regarding the orphanage clothing fundraiser...It's so exciting to see what was actually purchased and shipped to the orphanage for the children because of you!!!  Thank you SO much to everyone who contributed to the children of Poyang!  These little peanuts now have clothes that they wouldn't have otherwise had for the summer and that's such a gift.  I've also cut and pasted the letter that was included with the photos.  I'll be sure to share when additional photos are shared with me.  Thank you- Thank you for clothing the babies of Poyang!!!

We just received pictures from Poyang Orphanage of your generous donation of 160 sets of baby clothes, ages 3 months to 12 months.  We hope to have more pictures soon of the children in the clothing.  In the meantime, the orphanage staff and the children are very appreciative! 

Thank you so much for your generosity! 

Andrew Gurthet 

Associate Director, Orphanage Assistance Program 

“Hope and Healing for Orphaned Children” 

Love Without Boundaries 

www.lovewithoutboundaries.com 

Boomer and Claudia at this years first show

Boomer and Claudia competed this weekend at the first show of the year!  It's been a long time since they've been in the arena together and about 2 years since Boomers been in a show.  They were amazing and did very well, especially for the first show in a while.  I was so proud!!!  They took 4th in halter out of 22...Boomer is a halter champion.  They took 2nd in English pleasure and 4th in walk trot!  It was a good day for them...They placed in every class they entered! While I was watching some of the junior riders I was thinking about how much fun it will be to watch Hadley and Wyatt ride!I  Next year Wyatt will be old enough and mobile enough to start introducing him to ponies/POA's.  He loves animals...His first word wasn't mama or dada but DOG! Ha!!  And then uff- uff which is his version "woof- woof".  He has priorities :)  His next word was dada and I came in a distant 3rd with mama in the last few weeks.  But I'll take it!  I could just sit and listen to him chit chat all day long.  Now we're working on sissy and horsey...

Marlee Update

Last week I received an update on Marlee from the Medical Director at LWB.  It was shared that Marlee has been diagnosed with a complex Neurological disorder that they believe is progressive and "nothing can be done".  When I initially got the news, my heart was aching for Marlee....This beautiful, precious little angel waiting on a family. But on a positive front...The contact that I have is not giving up hope and is going to try to get this diagnosis and Medical Info past the communication barrier and on to an American Physician.  I am praying that God will have mercy on Marlee and that if anything can be done, intervention will be quick.  If He plans to call her home....I pray that he will end her suffering and call her home quickly as well.  He is sovereign, He knows her by name, He knows the hairs on her head and HIS Will be done!  Please remember her in your prayers!!  I keep asking myself the same questions over and over....Why did I see Marlee??? Why did she stand out to me???  Why am I so burdened for her???  The only answer I have right now is so that I will pray for her and others will pray for her too....


1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.


1 Timothy 2:1-2
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

HOORAY!!! WE GOT OUR LOA TODAY!!!!!

When your waiting for LOA news from your adoption agency...There is nothing more exciting than to see their phone number flash across your phone!  Then to hear the words..."We got your LOA today"...Well that did it.  I was jumping up and down like a little kid!  We are one more giant step closer to Hadley!!! YAYYYY!!!!  This means that if all goes well we could receive our TA (travel approval) to go to China in  approx 8 weeks, give or take.  We are still praying and hopeful for July. We are SO excited!! PTL!!!! PTL!!! This was fast and this was God!!!  Huge answer to prayer!!

The second bit of good news is that we've been contacted by someone that is trying to help Marlee!!!!  PTL!!! We are tickled to pieces about this as well!  Again, please prayerfully consider reviewing her file if you have a heart for adoption.  She is such a precious little thing and she deserves and needs a family who can give her the unconditional love, nurturing and medical care she needs.  Thank you so much for remembering Marlee in your prayers and please continue to pray for her.  If you'd like to review her file or photos....Contact Madison Adoption Associates.  Her photos are included in the post below.

Madison Adoption Associates
Administrative Office (Delaware)
1009 Woodstream Drive
Wilmington, DE 19810
Phone: 302-475-8977Fax: 302-529-1976

BIG HUGS!!
XO
Robin

Marlee- Urgent need (PHOTOS ADDED)

About a month ago, I was looking on our adoption agencies website at some of the new children that they are hoping to place from the shared list.  A sweet little 2 year old girl caught my eye and got a hold of my heart.  They call her Marlee.  She is a precious baby girl, waiting for a family in Tianjin, China.  The write up on her shared that she was very loving and caresses the face of her caretaker, she sounds like a cuddler.  Such a sweet-sweet baby girl!!!  At that time, Marlee's file shared that she has CP and from the photos and video that were shared it was apparent that Marlee needed PT.  At that time I contacted LWB to see if they could help get Marlee the PT she needed while waiting for her family in China.  We had decided on a plan for how we were going to tackle that and get Marlee help.  In the meantime, things were changing for Marlee.  I received an update on Marlee on Monday.  She is said to now be deteriorating, suffering from seizures, disabled and very-very thin.  She is in desperate need. This week I've written to a few organizations to see if they can help get her the care she needs immediately and I'm waiting to hear something back.  I'm hoping that someone who has come across our blog will have the resources to help Marlee right away.  Marlee is available for adoption and if you'd like to review her file or can offer assistance, please contact Madison Adoption Associates....She is listed on the shared list.  I also have some pictures from our agency of Marlee from several months ago, before she had begun to deteriorate.

Madison Adoption Associates
Administrative Office (Delaware)
1009 Woodstream Drive
Wilmington, DE 19810
Phone: 302-475-8977Fax: 302-529-1976

Meet sweet Marlee... Please pray for her

Thank you!
Robin

Getting in gear for Miss Hadley

A few days ago I shared that LOA's seem to be speeding up.  Typically they have been running about 55+ days all the way up to 80+ days.  This typically is the longest part of the waiting process after you submit your paperwork.  In the past couple of weeks we've seen LOA's just over 40 days.  Tonight I was made aware of a 36 day LOA!!  I've been counting down the LOA days in our process to Hadley like a kid on Christmas.  We are on day 24!!!  One of my dear friends and I have been saying over the last few weeks that we are very hopeful and believe that we are going to get our LOA for Hadley quickly.  I told my friend a couple of Sunday's back that if I really believed that Hadley was going to come home sooner rather than how the timelines had previously been trending, then I really needed to start to prepare for her coming home.  So last weekend I started getting her clothes together and washing them.  This week I'm ordering her furniture for her bedroom and painting her room.   Everyday when I look at Wyatt it's a regular reminder that he has a sister that's 7,000 miles away just waiting for us to come and get her.  We're getting ready and so excited!! 

Matthew 17:19-20  "Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, 'Why could we not cast it out?' He said to them, 'Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."

Lots of prayers being sent up for Hadley as she waits for us, speedy paperwork and a travel miracle!!!

Hugs,

Robin