They said "yes" to our request!

Our agency contacted us this afternoon to say the orphanage director is allowing us to transport Maeve to her finding province (and thus avoid her having to return to the orphanage which is unfamiliar to her) assuming we are willing to pay for the additional $1,400ish cost for this to occur. We then told our agency we will in order to spare her more trauma (which ultimately impacts her for years to come). How could we not forgo the cost and have her traumatized? How do you put a price tag on not having your child be placed with complete strangers in a strange orphanage (especially prior to a huge loss event taking place when she is placed with us)?

We are so grateful that God worked this out in a manner which preserves further trauma for Maeve. Thank you for praying diligently the past few days for this. Please continue to pray for a quick TA, Maeve to be comforted by Him during this huge change, and our family as we work through details of the trip.

Soooo close, just not close enough

We received our article 5 today and are now officially awaiting the very last piece of paper - TA (travel approval). Our agency said "you need a Christmas miracle" in order to make it into the January 3 or 10th travel groups; if we do not, we have to wait until February 7th (no one can travel to adopt anywhere near Chinese New Year).  TA can take between 7 and 21 days. Ours needs to arrive close to the 7 day timeframe. Will you please pray for an especially quick TA if this is God's timing?

Another prayer request: Maeve is currently in a care center for children with medical needs. Per China's custom: orphans have to be transported back to the orphanage near where they are abandoned. It would be quite traumatic for our 13 month old to leave her familiar surrounding to be transported to an orphanage she is unfamiliar with (just to be placed with us whom she does not know).  We had to wait until today (once our article 5 was issued) to request the orphanage allow her to remain in her current location. We would then travel to her current location and "escort" Maeve and a nanny to the province of her birth. This would mean extra flights/travel for us, but we feel it would be so worth it if we can spare her more trauma. Please pray for her orphanage director to have a softening of heart and favor for this situation.

We now anxiously await for "the call" that our TA has arrived. We want our girl home as soon as possible, yet are attempting to rest in knowing His ways are so much higher than ours.

We appreciate you fervently praying for each request during this adoption journey.

Wonderfully Made

Several have asked about the specifics of Maeve's medical condition. We are not allowed to go into great detail on the blog. We can give you a general overview though:

Our desire and prayer is for both of our girls with physical disabilities (as well as our older children) to understand the depth of God's love for them from the moment He planned their existence.

     "For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:13-16

Maeve has all four limbs affected by her syndrome. Her hands are missing most of the structures; her feet have deformity and missing structures. She will be evaluated this winter/spring by an orthopedic physician. We are anticipating a combination of surgery, orthotics, and possibly prosthetics. We have experienced how a child adapts to missing appendages in an amazing manner. What we have also experienced is the emotional and social impact missing appendages has on a child (we are in the early years). The italicized portion of the verses above is of paramount to Maren and Maeve...that they can cling to this truth and can rest in it on a continual basis...this is our prayer.

Gracious God

Our Lord has been abundantly gracious to us. We do not deserve His grace upon our lives, yet He continues to pour it out on our family. We are looking forward to this week of deep reflection of all He is for us.

We know He is also pouring His grace upon Maeve. We are encouraged knowing next year she will be spending Thanksgiving with us instead of her current situation. We are trying to remain confident in God's timing for each piece of paper needed for us to travel. We were to receive the next piece of paper on Monday and it did not arrive until yesterday....this means we are set back a week (due to the U.S. embassy being closed for Thanksgiving). We will not know until the last week or so if we will get to travel in January as anticipated (had we received the paper on Monday, January travel would be   a stronger possibility). They (the staff in China) will submit our paperwork (Article 5) to the embassy next Monday. We should receive our completed Article 5 on December 16th. We then wait for TA which allows us to enter China and complete Maeve's adoption.

This process is elaborate; however, if you would fervently pray for speedy paperwork we would appreciate it. Please continue to pray for Maeve: for God to soften and prepare her heart for a big change and for her to be well cared for until we reach her.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Watching Her Play

We had a roller-coaster day in the adoption world Wednesday. We were informed that our paperwork, which should be with immigration in Kansas City,...is not. Please pray this will be sent ASAP and the officer will make a quick review of the paperwork.

About 5 minutes after receiving that email, we received......11 pictures and 4 video clips of Maeve! Unbelievable! We saw her playing and eating bread! Oh, how we are praying we can get to her quickly (with no more paperwork delays).  It was sweet, yet hard to see her...so close but not close enough. She has moved to another care facility. We would love to know what she has been through yet know we may never have answers.

*Our adoption agency is not allowing us to post these pictures and videos...however, if you want to come to our home and see them we would be happy to show you :)

Maren (as did all our children) got to see the pics and videos. She is processing "little Maeve,"as she calls her, in relation to her own story. Both girls have limb differences which draw people's stares and comments. Please pray for her heart to be comforted and filled by Jesus and for her identity to be found in Christ alone (not man's approval). For the first time, Maren has voiced her dislike for having a prosthetic leg. Please pray for guidance for us as we parent through the tough questions from our toddler regarding God's story in her life situation.

LOA

We are so thankful: our LOA arrived! We had just been told last week that most families were currently waiting 90-120 days for LOA...and then ours arrived at day 52 (the exact same timeframe as Maren's)! We know God has a timetable that surpasses all of ours! It was overnighted to us and delivered Friday. We then took it to Danial to sign and went to the post office to overnight LOA (plus about 30 pages of documentation)) to Texas (where immigration paperwork is sent). We now know we will travel in January or February; realistically leaving the U.S. on January 10th, but hopefully the 3rd if the rest of the paperwork were to move on target or early.

Adoption includes a massive paperwork trail. The rest of the paperwork trail to get to Maeve:

1) I-800 approval document: comes from U.S. immigration (typically 2 weeks from sending it to Texas).

2) Article 5: comes from the U.S. consulate in China (typically 3 weeks from I-800 approval document; however, currently they are taking longer to process).

3) TA (travel approval): comes from the Chinese government giving us approval that every single document is completed and processed and we can go get our sweet girl (typically takes 2 weeks from Article 5).

We will not know when we get to travel until approximately 10-15 days before we leave for China. Because of all the upcoming holidays in the U.S. there is a chance we could get bumped to February. Will you please join us in praying for quick processing of each of these 3 documents? We are trying to rest in God's will and sovereignty as the best plan (instead of our plan); however, there are times we fail.

Beautiful Things

One day, shortly before Maeve's birthday, I was feeling the heaviness of her birthday apart from us and all that the "day of birth" embodies as she grows older. I was putting away dishes and talking with one of my sisters on the phone; Maren was at the kitchen table with her art supplies. After I get off the phone, she brings me a very small crown she had made (without being instructed). She told me "it for my little sister." I begin crying as I considered the symbolism of the crown and God, Our Father, bestowing a crown of beauty for Maeve. All the while, the song "Beautiful Things" by Gungor (http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/lyricsdetail.php?lyrics_id=62069) was on the radio station that we have playing in our home continually. Ponder the lyrics if you have a chance....they speak of how He makes beautiful things of each of our lives. I was thanking Jesus over and over for encouraging me with the details of that morning...down to even the music the radio station was playing.

The words we have recently placed on the wall outside the children's bathroom in our home (see below) are a daily reminder for our family.  We are confident: He will make beautiful things of your life, Maeve.

On a side note, we are at day 50 of waiting for our LOA (the arrival of this document is key to how soon we travel to China). Part of this process, is the lack of process: we know other families received LOA last week who were matched the same day as us.

Please continue to pray for God's protection and care to be evident in Maeve's life this day.

                                                     *words on wall taken from Michelle Anthony's "Spiritual Parenting"

Happy Birthday dear Maeve...

Our dear, little miss Maeve is celebrating her first birthday a half-a-world away from us. It is a day to celebrate her life. Our thoughts are gracious: gratitude for her birth mother carrying her, thankfulness for the beautiful life God created, and that He chose us to parent this dear one.

We would be remiss however to ignore the magnitude the day of her birth weighs on us. As a dear friend once said, "broken families and children were not how God originally planned it." She should be surrounded by family and friends celebrating her 1st birthday; she should be hugged, kissed, adored over, and fed well on her birthday (and every day). What we do know is that our sovereign Lord is watching over her. We do know that He has big plans for her life (this is abundantly clear as He has created opportunities already for His love and glory to be discussed with acquaintances regarding her adoption). He creates beautiful things; He redeems our lives; He will crown her with beauty.

We would like you to join us in celebrating her 1st birthday. First, please commit to praying for Maeve each day. Also, please pray for her birth parents (especially this week) as this week would also be a heavy reminder for them. Pray that some how her birth mom and birth dad would hear about Jesus and desire Him to guide their lives. Second, if you wish to: please leave a note, song lyrics, or a poem in the comments. This way we have something tangible for her to look back and see how her family and friends loved her from the beginning. Third, if you wish: consider giving financially through the "adopt together" link on the right; this is a way for you to give with a tax-deductible gift.

We are confident in God's love for her!

A Continuous Smile

Last week at the twins' last baseball game of the season a father of a ballplayer came over to us (Danial and Michelle) and told us, "your daughter (Maren) ALWAYS has a smile on her face; I have enjoyed watching her each game."

Later, I was pondering this: Maren was prayed over immensely while waiting in the orphanage for her forever family. I know God was faithful to our prayers and prayers of our friends and family...giving her peace and joy...bringing her from unpleasant circumstances, carrying her through a dramatic change, and yet all the while guarding her precious heart.

May we all continue to faithfully pray that Maeve will be able to have a smile after all she has been through and will go through...Oh, Lord protect her heart and spirit; set a smile in her.

Photo shoot

We received our updated home study (1 of the 2 documents we are waiting on) Wednesday and promptly (literally met the mail lady at the driveway, got in the van, and drove to the shipping store) overnighted them to immigration. We now await LOA; we are on day 19 (of a 30 - 120ish day wait). China has a holiday this week, so the adoption part of the government is shut down this entire week.

We are able to send a photo album to Maeve. In some instances, the staff will show it to the child...we have no idea if she will get to see it. (We feel someone showed the album we sent to Maren to her as she kept the album close when we arrived home...we will never know for sure). We had a little photo shoot this week in our living room (see below). We put the photos in a soft photo album and shipped it to Oregon (where our adoption agency is located), and then they ship out packages to China every Friday. We pray she will get to see it in order to begin preparing her for the big change.

Every day is harder to wait knowing our sweet girl is halfway across the world; however, it is a calm assurance knowing our Father is watching over her and nothing is out from under His watch. Please continue to pray that God would prepare her heart for the big change she will undergo as she leaves everything familiar; pray for someone to care for her and love on her.

Waiting Game

We are currently waiting for 2 documents:
1) our updated home study: this comes from our adoption agency; we had to have it updated for our new home; we are hoping it arrives early this week and then we forward it to the U.S. immigration
2) LOA is a document from the Chinese government: this document can come to us in 28-170 days; we are fervently praying we are closer to the 28 days (for reference Maren's came in 52 days); the sooner this comes the sooner we get to head to China (the time it takes to receive this document determines if we travel in January or later)

Please pray for these documents to come speedily. Ultimately, we know God has His timing for every detail...including how long Maeve waits for us to come and get her. Pray for us to rely on this and not revert to worry and anxiety over the arrival (or lack of arrival) of these documents.

On the home front:
Our children are super excited about finally seeing a picture of Maeve. Maren has called her, "my Maeve." We have begun preparing her that mommy will be in China for 2 weeks to pick up her little sister. She talks about her "little sister" repeatedly throughout the day. Examples, "my little sister like scoop snow with me," "my little sister need Candyland puzzle...small one...for Christmas," "my little sister like orange watch." This might be a sign of Maeve getting some "extra support" for decision-making (a.k.a. bossing) from her big sister, Maren.

We appreciate the encouragement and support during this waiting time!

Introducing...Maeve Boatman!!!

We received "THE call" on Tuesday around noon. The China team asked if we would be willing to review the information of a little girl with all 4 limbs affected by deformity, and we said, "yes"! Later that afternoon, they sent her information and picture via email. We submitted the paperwork to adopt her that night. 

She is almost 11 months old (younger than we imagined; however, we are thrilled with whatever God has planned). Michelle and Mora will travel to get her in January or February (if all the paperwork falls into place as it should). 

We have prayed for God's will, sovereignty, and timing to be at the forefront of this adoption. In January of this year, we believe we were to start the paperwork to adopt again. At this time, we had many unknowns: we were not sure where we would be with jobs, finances, etc...however, the known was this: "Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." Isa1:17. God has created a passion in both of us (and our children) to take up the cause for orphan justice; and to our family, one component is adoption. 

Ways to come come along side our family and be a part of God's work in this adoption: 

*Please join us in fervently praying for Maeve: for her to feel His comfort and peace as she goes through lots of transitions and for adequate nutrition and interactions with caregivers. 

*We ask you to pray for our family as we prepare for the trip and Maeve's arrival; pray for us to rest in His provision of the details and finances. 

*Unlike the first adoption, we believe God desires us to humble ourselves and allow our faith community and family to have the opportunity to join this amazing journey of His (not ours)...letting God use His people to ease the financial need...so He may receive the glory.
We will be posting opportunities on this blog, so check back for more information. 

We are overwhelmed that God is allowing our family to once again see with our eyes the beautiful picture of redemption that adoption portrays...for we too are adopted...into His Kingdom as Children of the one, true God.