Gifts for our boy

We have a pretty great group of families who 

are connected via our adoptions.

We have been very blessed to get to know several of these families!  

The power of prayer is a pretty amazing thing that has made 

these families seem like family

even though we've never met many of them. 

Here's the fun thing...  

When other families travel to bring their children home,

sometimes they get to take care packages to Zaine for us.

Sometimes they are able to personally deliver them and other times 

they will leave them at the hotel for our attorney to deliver.

This past Sunday we received news that made this mama's heart smile.

We had friends that were able to visit Zaine and love on him for us.

How wonderful to hear that he's full of laughter and smiles!!!

He's happy and smiling!

They think he's around 9-10 months old given his size which goes 

along with what we were thinking from the pictures we've seen.

They said his foster mom is so sweet.

They were able to give him his care package we sent 

with our family picture album!

They were also able to take pictures of him for us.  

My heart was thrilled to know he was seen and loved on 

and then we got pictures on top of that!

We just got 2 more care packages ready and in the mail to 

more adoptive families who will be traveling soon.  

A few outfits, a fun ball (because if he likes playing ball like his brother - he'll love it), a truck, a camera for his foster family to take pictures for us and a soft monkey from his Mimi and Pop Pop for Valentine's Day.

Addison's drawing for Zaine, a teether, a few outfits, a cuddly dog blanket, another camera, a family picture and a gift and letter for his foster mom.

You'd be amazed at how much you can fit in a gallon zip-loc baggie - although, we adoptive moms have decided they should make stretchy baggies.

More bottles for his foster home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't wait until we're the family traveling and 

we're able to deliver gifts for other parents.

It's been a good week!

It's been a good week!  

Exciting news was very much welcomed this week on the adoption

 front since last week had not been the most encouraging.

We found out Monday that we passed court in Congo on

 January 28 and began our 30 day waiting period.

DRC law says we have to wait 30 days after receiving the court 

judgement before the adoption is final.

 This means that on February 28, 

Zaine will be ours in the eyes of the DRC.   

YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Addison was excited to put up two more pieces to our puzzle.  

We also received a.dor.able new pictures of our little guy! 

 I didn't get a lot done on Tuesday because 

I couldn't stop staring at his sweet face.

There are several families getting ready to travel to get their precious children who are taking gifts to Zaine for us.  Addison has been asking if she could draw a picture of our family for Zaine...  This was the finished product she brought me so I could write the names of everyone.  

I wish I had taken a picture of the top too - 

the tops says "Zaine, this is our family."  

I first looked at it and thought how special it 

was she drew this for him and then I looked closer...  

yep, she drew us with an orange marker and Zaine with a black marker.  

This made me smile.  

Yes, we are going to look different and I love it.  

Whenever I see a family that has an adopted child with them,

 it makes my heart smile.  

These children have been chosen.  

Adopted.  

Just like God adopted us into His family.

God's family doesn't look alike either.

Addison has never once mentioned the

 skin color difference in her two brothers. 

This was an opportunity for us to discuss 

how God makes each of us different and yes, 

Zaine will have a different skin color 

but he's a part of our family just like she and Xavier are.

 She looked at me like I was crazy to think any different.  

If you look closely in the picture, 

she's the only one with blue eyes in our family. 

She drew it like she sees it...  her family.  Zaine's family.

 

thoughts from my back and forth mind...

We received some difficult news yesterday for all DRC adoptions... 

This post will not be interesting to most people and honestly, I'm writing it more for myself than for others to read.  I need to process what we've learned and how I feel about it.  I also want to be able to look back over our entire journey once Zaine is home and see how God's hand was in each and EVERY step of the process.  This set back didn't surprise God and it's all in His perfect timing.  He knew this little hiccup would happen.  He knows exactly what day we will hold Zaine in our arms for the first time.  He knows when Zaine will come home to meet his brother and sister.  He knows... and I'm clinging to that today.

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In short - our process is going to take a little longer.

In long - the secretary of state office has been at the DRC embassy this week refining the adoption process.  Their goal is to keep the adoptions coming out of the DRC ethical.  We like that goal and applaud it 110% but our hearts didn't like hearing how they will carry this out.  They are going to investigate each adoption before they will issue a visa.  They are stating this will increase the wait time 3-6 months before we can bring our children home so they have enough time to investigate.

My heart and my mind know that God is in control.  I know this is a good thing for DRC adoptions.  I just don't like what it means for us right now.  My heart and my mind are battling what I know and what I feel right now...  here are some of the conflicting things running through my head.

* This is another 3-6 months that Zaine will bond with his foster family and then we will swoop in and take him away from that.  Believe me, I am SO beyond thankful he is in a good foster home and being cared for and loved on - I just wish I was the one being able to do it.

* A friend (who has been walking a difficult foster-to-adopt road for a while) reminded me yesterday...  These children are not ours but His.  God loves Zaine more than we can.  He has a plan.

* The timing of the embassy investigation is difficult to understand.  We (our lawyer) are in court right now in Congo to adopt Zaine.  Once we have judgement from court we will have a 30 day wait and then Zaine is considered our child in Congo.  He will be ours!  The silly part is after that we  file papers from Congo court to the US embassy - that's when the US embassy will begin investigating to make sure Zaine is an orphan.  Ummm...  did I already mention that he will already be ours?!?  The embassy could choose to not issue his visa at that point which would not allow us to bring him home.  We're not concerned about this necessarily because we are working with an amazing lawyer and facilitator who have ethics at the TOP of their list and are ensuring children are true orphans before referring them and looking for red flags along the way.  Still confused about all of this though!

* Today's devos from the Jesus Calling was exactly what God knew I needed today:

Feb. 1

Follow Me one step at a time.  That is all I require of you.  In fact, that is the only way to move through this space/time world.  You see huge mountains looming, and you start wondering how you're going to scale those heights.  Meanwhile, because you're not looking where you're going, you stumble on the easy path where I am leading you now.  As I help you get back on your feet, you tell Me how worried you are about the cliffs up ahead.  But you don't know what will happen day, much less tomorrow.  Our path may take an abrupt turn, leading you away from those mountains.  There may be an easier way up the mountains than is visible from this distance.  If I do lead you up the cliffs, I will equip you thoroughly for that strenuous climb.  I will even give My angels charge over you, to preserve you in all your ways.  Keep your mind on the present journey, enjoying My presence.  Walk by faith, not by sight, trusting Me to open up the way before you.

* These extra months of waiting mean I'm going to miss more milestones of our baby boy.  He's going to crawl, talk, walk, wave, etc etc etc and I'm going to miss it.  I know that once he's in our arms, I'll be totally focused on the first that we do get to experience with him but right now my heart hurts because I know I'm going to miss more of those 1sts.

* Another sweet DRC adoptive momma friend of mine encouraged each of us to pray to FALL IN LOVE WITH HIS TIMING.  What a hard thing to pray because honestly, sometimes (like today) I don't like His timing.  But I can rest in the fact that I love Him and He loves me and He can allow me to love His timing through prayer.

* I wanted Zaine to be home this summer so we could all enjoy our summer together.  The crazy little boys running around wild in the backyard together and Addison bossing them around...  I had it all planned out perfectly in my head.  :-)

* Jeremiah 29:11 "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you, not to harm you.  Plans for a future and a hope."  He's got this!

* If you have seen a picture of our sweet boy, you know why it has been hard to hear and grasp this news.  Having seen his picture and knowing who he is has made this so much more difficult.  It's no longer about what we "want" and "our plans" but about that precious face not being home with us for a few more months.  

My prayer when we began this adoption was that 

God would mold me and grow me through it.  

Guess what - He's working on it!   

I knew this would be a growing experience, a faith builder, a learn to rely on God like never before, a lesson of prayer and bringing me to my knees, and a journey unlike anything I had ever been on.  It's living up to those expectations!  I continue to pray for God to build us through this.  It's been a life changing journey already and we haven't even made it to Africa yet!  

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On a different note, Todd and I got our shots today for our international travel.  Addison was so excited for us because she got to put up another piece of our Africa puzzle. Still waiting on official word that we went to court last week and where we're at with that. 

Waiting to be called back for our shots.

a few Cheerios while we waited...  kinda gross it stuck there due to snot.

 

A few updates...

Here's a quick update on the happenings recently with Zaine...

A wonderful fellow DRC adoptive family decided to make a visual countdown of the adoption process to help their children at home understand.  I thought this was a fantastic idea so we started our own for Addison, Xavier and ourselves.  If you are adopting from Africa and want to do this - I'm linking their instructions here. They had a great tutorial/pattern which saved me TONS of time!

Here is the page before we began 

covering up sections we've completed.

Here's Addison putting up the pieces that 

we've completed on the journey thus far.

Here's our up-to-date map...

We have completed:

Home Study, I600a, Dossier, Referral, PV and Consent.

We were informed we were supposed to go to court last week - 

hoping this happened and we'll hear good news soon!

Addison keeps asking when Todd and I will get our shots (because that's a piece of our Africa puzzle) and she simply cannot wait to help Zaine put on the heart piece of the puzzle which says "home".  

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We were able to take a quick overnight trip to Louisville to have dinner with a bunch of other DRC adoptive families who are also adopting independently with DRC Adoption Services.  What a blessing to meet and chat with other families who completely "get" this journey!  We were also able to give one family a few gifts for Zaine - they are headed over in the next week or so to bring their son home so they will be able to deliver our gift for us.  I'm slightly giddy about Zaine being able to see pictures of his family.  I was able to translate "Mommy loves you", etc and write those on the pages with the correlating picture.

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We've also painted his room and working on getting 

things in order to decorate/organize it.  

I had a little helper along the way...

Hoping I get to update soon with news that we passed court 

and we're in our 30 day wait called CONA.  

Addison is also hoping this happens because 

it means another piece of Africa we get to cover up! 

We cannot wait to get this little guy home to us!

What's in a name?

What's in a name?

 

We named our children 

Addison Mackenzie and Xavier Thomas

because we liked those names.  

We didn't (and still don't) have a clue what they mean.  

"Thomas" is the only name that came with a purpose - 

Xavier's middle name is my Dad's first name.

Todd and I both decided when we chose a name for our son from Africa, we wanted a rich meaning.  Africans choose names based on meanings, not likes.  This was a way we could honor his heritage.

Our son was abandoned so he didn't have a name (or age).  

The orphanage director named him when 

he was brought to the orphanage. 

He was named "Safari", a Congolese name.

I was mainly worried that people would look at us and think "Really?  They adopted a cute little boy from 

Africa and couldn't come up with anything better?"

When we researched the name Safari we found it means "journey".

How appropriate.  

He is on a journey...  to our family.

We liked it! 

We decided to keep it as his middle name.  

Next was deciding his first name. 

We didn't really have any "set-aside" names 

we had thought about and liked; 

nothing we had been saving for that moment.

After really looking over possible names online, 

I ran across a name I liked 

and then I saw the meaning 

and instantly knew I had found our son's name.

 

Zaine Safari 

Zaine means "God's gracious".  

Safari means "journey".

Our son's name means "God's gracious journey".

It makes me smile just thinking about 

how God is going to use Zaine.  

God has been gracious to Zaine.  

He's been gracious to each of us.  

And He continues to be gracious with each 

      of us on our journeys through life.      

 

The process... kinda boring, but people have asked.

Thank you to everyone for your excitement for us!  

Please continue to pray for our little guy and us while we're in the waiting phase.

After sharing our exciting news - lots of people have wanted more details about the process...

Where are we in the process?

When will we travel?

How long till we meet him?

Etc, etc etc.

Let me outline the process for you and explain why we can't jump on a plane and go get him 

(like we so badly want to do).

__x__  Step 1:  Home Study

__x__  Step 2:  File I-600a (immigration form for the US) and get approval

__x__  Step 3:  Prepare dossier (bazillions of papers and signatures)

__x__  Step 4:  Sign on with an attorney in the DRC.

__x__  Step 5:  Receive referral!!!!  

____  Step 6:  Obtain Abandonment Certificate and Commune Consent:  

These papers will hold his "story" of abandonment.  They will go to the commune where to child resided (or was found) to receive consent that we can go to court.

***  This is the step we're waiting on currently.

____  Step 7:  Court Hearing:  After getting consent, a hearing is requested.  After the hearing, the court conducts an investigation to determine the adoption is legitimate and legal.

____  Step 8:  Judgement:  Once the investigation from court is complete, we will get judgement.

____  Step 9:  We have a 30 day wait period and then the adoption is FINAL!

____  Step 10:  CONA:  The certificate of non-appeal is issued which makes the adoption legal and final. 

____  Step 11:  We will get his birth certificate.

____  Step 12:  We will apply for his passport.

____  Step 13:  We will file I-600 with US immigration and await approval for our specific child.

____  Step 14:  Request embassy appointments (our lawyer will complete these for us in country).

____  Step 15:  Orphan Investigation:  The US Embassy will conduct an investigation in the DRC to make sure everything is legal and correct.

____  Step 16:  We will get his Visa.

____  Step 17:  TRAVEL to get our son!!!!!!!!

____  Step 18:  We wait for our exit letter from the country (meanwhile we will get to know our son and explore his country).

Step 19:  Travel home to begin life as a family of 5!

As you can see, we have a ways to go.  

Some steps will go quick and others will go slow.  

I will definitely keep you updated.  

Please pray through the list with us as we progress. 

Watch for a post later this week about his name...  

What a special little dude he is to us already!

Our Christmas Gift

We got the greatest Christmas gift this year...

We received our referral!!!

What does this mean?  

This means, we have an adorable little boy living in the DRC that we are pursuing (via all the paperwork) to become our son.  

We had talked with our attorney and knew things were close and we would be receiving an email with details any day...  Todd was at work and I was at church with our kids when I received the email.  I stared at my phone for a few minutes trying to decide what to do.  I SO badly wanted Todd and I to open the email and see our son's sweet face together but I also was DYING to see his face right then!  I worked on my "surprised" face for a few minutes and decided I couldn't pull off peaking and then acting like I hadn't seen the pictures later.  I called Todd and told him he needed to get home ASAP!  2 very.long.hours.later - he was finally home.  It worked out well because my mom and brother were at our house and able to take video and pictures for us.  (The video probably won't be posted because a certain gross adorable 4 year old girl was picking her nose and eating the seemingly yummy boogers during the entire video.  We obviously were a little preoccupied to notice.)

Anyways...  

Did I mention that he is just precious???  

We received 4 pictures of him (which are all a little blurry).  

I wish so badly we could share the pictures of our sweet boy with you on the blog, but for safety and security reasons, we are not able to do that.

He is just adorable though!

He is said to be around 4 months old but his pictures definitely make him look much closer to 7-8 months old.  Age discrepancy is common to see in DRC adoptions and something we expected.  

Looks like we're going to have 2 crazy boys close in age!  Xavier just turned 10 months old so we're guessing they are about 2-3 months apart.  Our little guy was placed in an orphanage when he was found but has already been moved to a foster home which is a huge blessing. 

What's next???

We wait.  

We're waiting on 2 initial documents and then our attorney can take our case to court.  We've hit the "hurry up and wait" phase of the adoption.  

Please pray with us as we walk through these next few months of waiting.  

We couldn't wait to see his face and know who our son was...  

but let me tell you.. Wow!  It's hard to wait now!!!

We look at his pictures throughout the day and share them with everyone we run into, we think and talk about him all day and our arms ache to hold him.  

My devotion book (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young) for today said this:

"Trust Me by relinquishing control into My hands.  Let go, and recognize that I am God....  When you bring Me prayer requests, lay out your concerns before Me.  Then thank Me for the answers that I have set into motion long before you can discern results." 

Please join us in praying for our little boy and while you're at it -

thank God for placing him in our family and for bringing him home to us.