Update Day 87, Being Refined

We are on day 87 of our wait on the letter that confirms our adoption of Sam. Most letters come before day 90, however, it seems that ours will take longer. We got an update from our agency that we are still in translation room. There are three rooms in the adoption process: Translation, Proofing, and Matching. It seems that when our dossier got pulled from the non special needs line to the special needs line, it had not been finished being translated. We were orignally logged in November 30, 2006 and we thought we were finished with translation, however, with so many people waiting to adopt, it is taking longer to ge through each room. Now for the good news. Pat, our agency director, says they put priority on special needs so we can go through the other rooms quickly. There are two other families in our travel group and they are ahead of us in the process and should receive their Letter Seeking Confirmation soon. We know that God's timing is perfect and we also know that all things are possible with God. Please pray for our application to go through each room in record speed. Pray that each person reviewing and holding our file will expedite their work. Continue to pray for Sam's health and that his caretakers are providing all his physical and emotional needs. Also pray that God is preparing Sam for us so that when he is put in our arms he will know us and bond with us quickly.
We know God is sovereign over all things (even our hardships and setbacks). We can take comfort in the fact that God is behind our trials. He does not train those whom He does not intend to use in wonderful ways. Praise God!
Romans 8:28 "FOR WE KNOW that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose". This is our assurance in all situations. This is our assurance that Sam will be home shortly and we will gladly share our witness and testimony with all who will listen. God is refining our faith and we give all glory to Him.

Baby Shower Fun

Ray, Joetta, Alethia, Shannon, and Clare

Me and my cousin Judy (Sam, you are going to LOVE her)!

Beautiful Cake!

I'm pretty excited about the Diaper Genie!

Hello Ray!


Sam's cousins Tyler and Ryan take a dip in the pool

Sherry, Bev, and Angie

We were showered with gifts!

Playing games

Knoxie holding Mary Grace

My dear friend Sherry gave me a baby shower Saturday, August 18. We had a great time and Sam was showered with lots of gifts. We are so thankful to all of our family and friends who are waiting anxiously with us. Sam is loved by so many. While we were having the shower he was on the other side of the world sleeping, not aware of all that is going on in Alabama to prepare for his arrival! We hope to get our Letter Seeking Confirmation real soon. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Thank you to Sherry for hosting our shower. Sherry and I have been friends since we were about 13 years old. She has held my hand and shared many tears with me during the last two years since we began our adoption. She is going to be a wonderful Aunt to Sam!

Updated Photo and Health Report

God has answered our prayers and has given us the joy and priviledge of getting an update on our son. Can you believe how much he has changed? Look at that hair!! Here is the story of how we got the update. We joined a yahoo group of other families who have adopted children from Sam's orphanage. There was a post with the email address of the Director of the orphanage. Everyone talked about how nice she is and how much she cares for the children. I took a chance and emailed her and introduced myself to her, explaining that we had sent in our Letter of Intent to adopt Zhang Jin Hao. That was about two weeks ago and I thought I wasn't going to get a reply. Imagine how thrilled we were this morning to check our email and see those chinese symbols in our inbox! I sent the email to our translator, Amy Chen, and she translated the email to read: "Greetings! I have received your mail. I am so glad you will be Zhang JinHao's parents. Jinhao is an active, lovable, and adorable child. He is loved by everyone. Last year he had heart surgery and since that time his health is excellent. Now his only other condition is his extra digit on right hand. Doctors do not want to do surgery now due to his recent heart surgery. His current physical is: height 78 cm (30 inches), weight 9.3 kg (20 pounds), head 45 cm (17 inches), chest 46cm (18 inches), 7 teeth, and feet 11cm (4 inches). I have enclosed his recent picture. I hope to see you next time." Director Gu.

We are so amazed by his growth and excellent health. We are thankful to God for being faithful to us and answering our prayers. Now we continue to wait on the CCAA to send us our LOA so we can get this child and give him a loving home. We know it will happen in God's perfect timing.