Saturday, May 15, 2010

Did ya know that May is foster awareness month???

O pen your heart to orphans: Understand God’s heart for the orphan. He cares for them and expects us to care as well.

R ecognize your responsibility: Every person can care for a child who is vulnerable or orphaned in practical ways both locally and globally. Become involved in an orphan-care ministry in your church.

P
revent children from becoming orphans: Advocate for children. Prevent children from becoming orphans by offering care and treatment of mothers, fathers, and children who are living with HIV.

H
elp in practical ways: Offer relief, food, and clothing but don’t stop there. Focus on family-based, church-initiated solutions which are sustainable and wholistic emphasizing education and community development.

A
ccept orphans into families: Work toward solutions which allow children to grow in families—not just homes or institutions. Promote adoption and permanency as God’s idea for the health, growth, and healing of a child.

N
ever forget the church: The local church via the family is God’s answer for the orphan. Create partnerships with churches worldwide, encouraging the local church to own and direct orphan-care efforts. (courtesy of Saddlback Church)

Friday, May 14, 2010

A Ladybug's Legacy!

Please be praying for this precious family. I learned of their tragedy a couple of days ago and I am so devastated for them. I honestly can not understand the deepness of their grief...to never get to hold their precious daughter...the sweet baby girl, McKenna, that they were about to travel and bring home....so terribly sad! Please head on over to their blog and love on them and please lift them up!

A dream!

I had my first dream about Solomon last night...I'm still so shaken by it...in the deepest parts of my heart, I am distraught that I can't get to him. He was absolutely wonderful...giggly and sweet. He was standoffish for a bit but ultimately ran to his mama and clung to my neck...I can still feel him holding me.

Why does this wait have to be so hard...so long! Praying for my Lord's perfect peace and sovereign timing and my willingness to accept His perfect plan!! Now to scoop myself back up and press forward :) My baby is waiting and I can't change the length of the wait. We've done everything possible and now we wait and watch in complete awe at all the Lord is going to do. My God is good ALL the time even when we don't understand why He does what He does. His plans are for good...His plans are good for me, for my hubby, for my children, for YOU!!! May the joy of His beautiful plan for your life bless you deeply today!!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

YAY!!!!

We just received our LID (log in date) of May 13th. Now the official wait begins :) What's next??

~We wait 30-60 days for LOA (letter of acceptance...aka: Letter of Seeking Confirmation)
~Then the 2 week difficult part of the wait begins!!
~2 weeks for i800 provisional approval,
~2 weeks to receive the NVC cable letter (national visa center)
~2 weeks until Article 5
~2 weeks until TA (travel approval)
~2-4 weeks until actual travel

Of course all of these timelines are approximate and can take longer or shorter!

One step closer my sweet boy! We love you so much and ache to hold you! We are praying the Lord will allow us to get to you soon!!!!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Laughter...

Watch out....it's contagious!!!!

WHAT BEAUTIFUL JOY
LIVE YOUR LIFE SHOUTING THE JOY OF THE LORD!

Happy Birthday precious girl...I can't believe you are 4 years old today. We love you so much and are still amazed at the beautiful miracle...precious treasure...amazing gift you are!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Mini Vacation

We had an absolute blast taking our annual mini-vacation to San Diego. Both of my sisters and their families came too.....we had so much fun....we are talking lifelong memories for sure!!!!

NEXT YEAR there will be one more little sandy, giggly body on that beach with HIS family!!! Ohhhh, I can't wait!!!

Monday, May 10, 2010

$1000 Scholarship for YOU!!!!!!!!

Just got an email from my agency, Nightlight Christian Adoptions. They are offering a $1000 for the first 10 families that apply to their China sn's program. Just think....you could start the adoption process to Zhu or another waiting child with a $1000 scholarship...HURRY...WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR????? Let's get these babies home!!!!

Nightlight Christian Adoptions is offering a $1,000 scholarship to the first 10 families who apply and are accepted into the China special needs program before June 7, 2010. Thanks to the adoption tax credit and other grant opportunities, adoption in general is becoming more and more affordable. For further information, please read the article below prepared by our South Carolina office Director.

The China special needs program, in which more than 500 children are on the Shared List are awaiting homes, is one of the most straightforward international programs. For those who are diligent in completing their paperwork, China is also one of the fastest programs in which to bring home a child-usually in about 9-12 months from the time that you send in your application. Yes, next year, you could have a child in your home.

Once your paperwork is logged into China, most likely you will receive a referral within a matter of days to a couple of weeks. This is true even for those who are seeking children with minor and correctable special needs. Although we have to always add the caveat that time frames can vary and we cannot always guarantee that you will be assigned a child as quickly as this, these are the time frames that we have been consistently experiencing with our families.


Not only is this special China program, which we call Children in His Image Program, one in which families have been able to adopt children quickly, it is also one of the most affordable programs.

The fees and expenses of the program total about $25,000-$30,000. If you consider the new generous tax credit/refund and adopt a child before December 31, 2011, the net cost to you could be as low as $11,830.

You could further reduce your costs if you could get your employer to count some of your pay-up to $13,170-as an adoption benefit. That income to you would not be federally taxed. If you earn under $182,520, you could receive the full adoption benefits tax free. So let's say that you are not taxed on $13,170 of your income-and save $1,500 in taxes. Then you add in the $13,170 that you could receive as a tax credit/refund, you could be getting back close to $14,670 in tax benefits and refunds. (To receive the $13,170 in credit/refund in addition to $13,170 in full employer-provided benefits, you would have to spend $26,340 on adoption fees and expenses.)


If you are fortunate enough to have an employer who provides outright adoption benefits, and you receive say $5,000, this would mean that you receive the $13,170 plus $5,000 in employer benefits for a total of $18,170. In fact, here in SC, state employees can receive up to $10,000 in adoption benefits when adopting a child with special needs and $5,000 for a non-special needs child. . For a SC state employee, your net cost of an adoption from China could be about $2,000!!


Other ways that you can offset the cost of an adoption is through fundraising and grants. If you were to receive about $5,000 through grants and fundraising efforts and save about $1,500 in taxes by having part of your salary used as tax-free employer-provided adoption benefits, you could further bring down the cost of your adoption by another $6,500. This means that the net cost of your adoption could come to about $5,330.


And now the news gets even better. Here at Nightlight, we are offering a $1,000 scholarship to the first 10 families who apply to the China Children in His Image Program by June 1, 2010. After you send in the free preliminary application (have link to free application), and then receive the green light to complete the full application, you will receive the $1,000 scholarship immediately.

If you want more information about this program, contact Lisa Prather, Assistant Director, at 864 268-0570.