WE HAVE TA!!!

I received the call from our agency Friday morning at about 11 and the rest of the day is a blur. We will soon have Oakley in our arms!! After months of waiting, waiting, waiting, now we race to get everything done before we travel. Our agency has requested a consulate appointment in early June, and based on which date is granted, we expect to leave for China on May 23, 24, or 25. That's less than four weeks away! Once the date is confirmed, I can begin to make accommodations and plans for Hagan and Sullivan, who will remain here with family while we travel. It won't be easy to leave them but my little sister, Marla, has offered to keep them. We are comforted by the fact that they'll be in safe and loving hands while we're halfway around the world.

We were really hoping to be home for Sawyer's Confirmation and Finals Week at school, but it looks like we're going to miss both. Mike and I actually discussed postponing travel for a week but we truly feel that this is God's timing. We trust that everything will work out just the way He intended. Sawyer will also make Confirmation when we return and our church has granted permission for Shelby to remain his sponsor, even though he'll be at Boot Camp and will, more than likely, not be able to attend. Sawyer's fellow confirmation candidates will stand up with him as proxy in Shelby's absence. He may be able to take some of his finals prior to travel and he can make the others up when we return.

We also found out on Friday that our Shaohannah's Hope Grant Request was declined. Shaohannah's Hope is a wonderful organization dedicated to helping prospective adoptive parents overcome the financial barriers associated with adoption by awarding financial grants to qualified families already in the process of adopting. They receive hundreds of grants per month and simply cannot fund each one. I will admit that receiving TA on Friday totally trumped this bit of disappointing news, and as Hagan pointed out, "We probably didn't get the grant become some other family needed it even more than us." Out of the mouths of babes.

We began our adoption fundraising efforts with our neighborhood yard sale last June and it looks like we'll wrap up our fundraising efforts with our neighborhood yard sale, scheduled for Saturday, May 19! We feel fortunate to have another opportunity to raise funds this close to travel. I've been cleaning out closets and cabinets and have a growing inventory of items to sell. We'll also be soliciting items from family and friends who may want to get rid of unwanted items and donate them to the yard sale.

THANK YOU to all who have supported us in this journey of faith through contributions, prayer, friendship, compassion and understanding. We will keep you updated as soon as we know more and will post our travel itinerary when available.

Tomorrow I make my packing list!!