What's next and how you can help!

The question I receive most about this adoption process is: What's next? and "How long will that take?" I ask these same questions, but to be honest I'm not positive about the answers! I can tell you that we have been told that we will be traveling to China in 10-14 weeks. I have also been told by an adoptive mother that enjoys plotting timelines that we will most likely be in China by the end of April. Yikes and hooray! There is so much to do between now and then!

Currently our I800 paperwork is heading overnight to the US government to request they allow Chloe to enter the US. This process takes 2-4 weeks. After we receive the approval we will wait for the National Visa Center to issue her visa approval (i think). This happens 4-7 days from I800 approval.  We then fill out more documents which along with the previous 2 documents are then be sent to the US Consulate in China. We then wait approximately 2 weeks for an Article 5 (i don't know), which will be picked up and sent to the Chinese Government for Travel Approval. Once we receive Travel approval we request a consulate appointment in China making Chloe legally our daughter. Once that is confirmed we book our tickets and go get our baby!

Yes, its very confusing, and no I don't know what I am doing. I am very thankful for a supportive Facebook adoption group that has much more knowledge than I, and is more than happy to share!

Many people have asked how they can help us. Let's be honest, adoption is expensive! So far we have been able to pay-as-we-go and all the fees up to this point have been paid without taking any loans or incurring debt! That is a testimony of God's provision. If you had told me a year ago that we could cash flow this adoption I would have laughed out loud! We are down to the finish now and there are a few large payments that will need to be paid with travel to China. This is where we are asking for you to partner with us. We have set up a T-shirt fundraiser with Bonfire Funds. I was able to create my own design and they give us all the proceeds after manufacturing costs. They sell T's in Adult, Kids, Long Sleeve and hoodies! All the funds raised from this will go towards Chloe's orphanage donation. In China it is customary to give the orphanage a cash donation as a thank you for providing care for your child. We are very grateful for the care Chloe has received and are thankful that the money will go towards the children that are awaiting their forever families.

https://www.bonfirefunds.com/lyttle-family-adoption-1
Here is the link to our T-shirt fundraiser. Thank you for checking it out!

An update!

We decided to spend the afternoon at Seaworld with the kiddos today. Much to our surprise, as we waited for the kids to get off a ride we got  an email from our agency with an update!! Chloe is doing wonderfully! She is in a special area of the orphanage which allows her to get more individual care.  Our agency has partnerships in her province, and we are hoping to hear shortly that we can sponsor our sweet girl until we travel to pick her up. Made this mommas heart so happy to hear! She appears to be walking and growing well.

Isn't she gorgeous? We are beyond ecstatic!

We are coming soon sweet girl!

What a great weekend!

The day has finally arrived! We received a call from our agency CCAI last night. I happened to be out of the room when I heard my phone ring. I called jokingly to Sean "don't pick it up unless it's our agency!" The next thing I hear is Sean saying, "Yes, this is Sean..." My heart started racing a mile a minute. Could it be? I rushed into our bedroom and Sean is anxiously trying to put the phone on speaker. It says CCAI! They have called to tell us that they have a file of a little girl who just turned 2, would we be interested in looking at it? Uh, yes!!! The next 15 minutes were pure agony as we waited for her file to arrive in our inbox. We prayed that this would be our daughter, and we waited.

When we are finally able to get the information pulled up on the computer, we are ecstatic at how healthy she looks. She is a tiny peanut, and clearly needs to gain some weight, but she is otherwise 100% healthy. After consulting some friends in the medical field, and praying lots, we are confident that this is the little girl God has picked for our family.

Sharing her picture with the kids, I so wish I had thought to video tape their reactions. There was much jumping and squealing

March 14, 2012

We arrive at the church, dressed in Sunday best for the first time at our casual church. As we enter the auditorium we see the faces of friends and family. We are embraced in loving arms, words of encouragement are spoken over us as we make our way to the front. We are here to say our final goodbyes to our youngest daughter, Sophie. Tears pour freely down our faces as pictures of her short life flash across the screens. We hear, for the first time, gut wrenching sobs from our stoic oldest son. Words of truth are spoken from the pulpit about the value of life. Every life. Our child that lived 95 minutes was celebrated as a testimony to God's grace.

Across the ocean, an infant is found on the side of the road. The police rush to the scene and try to locate her parents, but they are gone. She is quickly placed into an orphanage and given immediate attention. She is tiny, but a fighter. She grows strong over the next few months, but is now one of many children fighting for the love and attention of the nannies. Her world is turned upside down...

Stepping back, I can see that God has woven our stories together perfectly. Our little one was abandoned the same day that we said our final goodbye to Sophie. The same day that our world was torn apart, our newest daughter was also experiencing the loss of family. Left in hopes that another family could take care of the little one they were unable to care for. I have no doubt that her family loved her. She was over a month old when she was abandoned, her mother loved her and cared for her as long as she was able. It is likely that her family just didn't have the resources to ensure her health. Two families, deep in grief, worlds apart. I can't relate to the grief of a birth mother, but I imagine that our hearts were equally broken that day.

So without further ado... Here is the newest Lyttle one:



Chloe Faith