We Received Our Article V

Woo Hoo!!  Our Article V was approved!!  After speaking with Holt today, I will say that everything that has happened the last couple weeks was for a reason!  God knew the Plan- I just didn't! We still do not have an exact travel date however we are closer to finalizing one.  With the Chinese New Year on Feb. 10th and government offices close for a week (Feb. 9-15th) it does throw a wrench it scheduling. :(  It makes it very hard for them to give us exact dates until after the New Year!!  We can not book until we have our US Consulate appointment.  As hard as it is for me to wait, I know it is HIS timing. We have waited 11 months whats 1 more, right??!!!  Here is an overview on our trip, regardless of when we leave!!!

Wednesday- Fly out
Thursday- Arrive in Beijing
Friday- Beijing
Saturday- Beijing
Sunday- Fly to Shanghai
Monday- Shanghai
Tuesday- Shanghai
Wednesday- Shanghai
Thursday- Shanghai
Friday- Fly to Guangzhou
Saturday- Guangzhou
Sunday- Guangzhou
Monday-Guangzhou
Tuesday-Guangzhou (1st day of Visa appts)
Wednesday- Guangzhou
Thursday- Fly home

Total trip should be about 16-18 days!!!!

(The Consulate does Visa appts. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays.  Whenever we get our consulate appt. day- we will fly home two days LATER!!)

We have spoken to Lotus Travel who will plan and book our entire trip..Start to end!!  We have started a file with them and should receive more information tonight about on travel plans.  :)

While we wait for our Travel Approval (TA), I am praying God is working on Riley and preparing her for a big CHANGE!! I am also praying for him to prepare our hearts and minds for this BIG change. I have no idea what we are getting into... God does and I know he will provide!!!   The saying...God does not give us what we can handle; God helps us handle what we are given.....is speaking LOUDLY with me right now.

So when do we leave?  As of right now......

 WE WILL BE HEADING TO CHINA-

Wednesday, March 6th!! 

 Countdown is on!!!  After receiving our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) we were told of three possible travel dates...This is the last of the three but the one that will work out the best for all.  Why???

• Rheagan will only miss 7 days of school compared to 13 days because of Spring Break!
• Riley's furniture has been delayed now 4 different times...it WILL be here before we leave!!  We will be able to set it up and not have to count on family to put it together while we are gone!

• My mom and sister-in-law are both in education and they will have off 1 whole week due to Spring Break and are able to watch the boys for us....day and night!!
• Shawn is in the process of taking on another company and merging it under his.. this has been a very quick and recent event and a little stressful so this gives him more time to finalize all plans and get everything in working order prior to us leaving.    
• And last.. It gives me more time to shop, shop, and SHOP for Riley!!  I am keeping all receipts however her closet is quite full already with clothes and shoes, and shoes, and more shoes!!  I have every size from 3-5 in there!!!

We are one LEAP and a JUMP away from heading to China.  Please pray not only for us and Riley but that God will help with bringing in the remaining funds we still have to raise!!  

Our love is in China just waiting for us!!!

 We are coming, Riley Jiner Handy...we are coming!!  

Two weeks and counting...

Today it has been two weeks since our agency forwarded our Article V letter to the Guangzhou office.  We are still anxiously waiting for the Consulate to issues our Article 5 b.  Holt International, our agency, says this normally takes two to three weeks and it has been TWO weeks to the day!!  I am staying by the phone and checking the answering machine as soon as I arrive back home just in case they called.  Every time the phone rings, I am hoping and praying for the caller ID to say HOLT INTL!!!  :)

We have been busy in the last two weeks, Riley's room is actually a girl's room now!!!  We have painted over the blues and now it is ALL Pink!!  Her name is up on the wall and clothes are hanging in the closet! We are just waiting on the her furniture!  It has been delayed ONCE again but I know it is coming!!

Over the weekend my family throw me a shower for little Riley.  It was very neat, very special and very different from all the other ones I have had.  I could breathe easily, sat comfortably, and looked quite small for being in my 11th month of paper pregnancy!!  However, the wait from these last 11 months has put some weight on me!!  Ha, HA!!!  At least I have some excuse!!  Riley received tons of diapers, wipes, clothes, shoes, all kinds of bathing supplies and lotions and even some good books!!  I can't wait to love her, hug and kiss on her, read to her, bathe her, cuddle her and rock her to sleep!!!

 

We are starting to think about what we need to pack/take to China.  I have washed several things and purchased her baby bag!  It was even personalized for her.  We are taking over just a couple outfits as I am still not sure what size she is.  We have found some toys we will be taking over too.  Rheagan, Ryan, and Reece just can't wait!!  Neither can WE!!!  We told the boys...After Christmas, Riley will be coming... Well,  I have been reminded often that it IS after Christmas and our baby is still NOT here!!  Now I am saying..  I am waiting on the phone CALL so we know what day we can leave and go get her!!

A couple we meet, Mark and Tammy, through a mutual friend left yesterday for China to pick up their son!  We are following their blog often and can't wait for our turn to go get Riley!! We are all praying that God will prepare our hearts and HER heart as we bring her home to a unknown place and unknown people she has only seen in pictures of a book we made her!!

Waiting on Article 5...

We received the NVC letter and it was sent to our agency.  They have already sent it off to their Guangzhou office in China.  We are told it takes typically 2-3 weeks for an Article 5 to be issued.  This is the second to LAST step in the process.  When our Article 5 arrives, we will be speaking to our agency and travel agents to plan and book our trip. That is the LAST STEP-- TRAVEL APPROVAL.  That means between Jan. 23-30th we should have a better idea on when we will be traveling for sure.  I couldn't t be more excited!!  :)  

Thank you very much for all the tax- deductible donations that have come in. We can not thank each of you enough!!  Your generosity is amazing!!  Every dollar helps!!  We still have a ways to go but we see the Lord working hard!!  We appreciate all the continued prayers for our family and for our little girl and can't wait for each of you to be a part of her life!!   God Bless!

To donate: http://adopttogether.org/rileyjiner/

Waiting and waiting!!

On Facebook, I am friends with Joel Osteen. I really enjoy listening to him speak!  Today his post hit the spot! It read: "Something's we don't understand why we are waiting, often it is because God has something great in store, it's just not the right time!!"

As I wait and wait for our "cabled" letter to arrive via email ....wanting it to hurry up so we can get to the next step I realized the timing isn't in my hands, it's in Gods hands!! I spoke to our case manager tonight and she is thinking it will be more likely for us to travel March 1st rather than Feb. 15th. While this was difficult news to hear because I want to get her as soon as possible, I have to remind myself it's Gods timing NOT mine!! Sometimes I don't understand His timing but in the end.. It will all make sense!!

NVC has received our request

The National Visa Center has received our case!!  BIG STEP!!!!  They will be sending it onto our assigned Consulate General in China.  As soon as this happens, we get the 'ok' to email our agency, Holt International. They double check all of our documents that we have sent them over the last 11 months to  ensure they follow the Consulate guidelines.  After they are sent and the Consulate approves the, the Consulate will ISSUE our Article 5!!!!  WOO HOO!!!! That is sent to Beijing.  (This normally takes 2 -3 week!!) We are hoping they do not have any questions on our paperwork or this could delay us.   After our Article 5 is sent we wait on our TRAVEL APPROVAL to be issued.  Holt will apply for our visa appointment and provide us with our travel dates as soon as our TA is received !  We will then TRAVEL TO CHINA!!!

Through all the ups and downs we have had along the way, God has been in control and it is very obvious. We could not do this alone!!  The Lord open the doors for us and lead us to the people we needing the most at the right times!!  In looking back, over these past 11 months,  It has been a fun and educational ride!!   Started off with working with the States of Texas, Missouri and Kansas to get all the birth certificates and marriage licenses.  Working and dealing with Immigration on fingerprints and background checks.  And yes, with my sweating hands, fingerprinting was not FUN!!  Making sure every piece of paper had exactly what it needed to have on it; nothing more or nothing less or it would be rejected. The many trips to the bank to get documents notarized and then back to banks to let them know they did not notarized correctly.  I am now an expert of notarizing documents!!  Not because I wanted to be, because I HAD to be!!   The many trips to Topeka, to have all the notarized documents... state certified.  The kids didn't mind the trips, we would go to the Topeka Zoo.  We should have bought a season pass since we went there three times in the month and a half.  Sending all documents to the US Embassy through a courier services.  Then finding out two of your documents have expired (They are only good for 6 months)  Our documents were 6 months and 2 days!!! The many emails and phone calls to Holt to make sure I know what I am suppose to be going next and making sure I am doing them right!!! Waiting for the phone calls from HOLT to come in as every step was one step closer to bring Riley HOME!!

I am filled with tears of joy that she is in our reach now or so I can feel it.  We do have several weeks to go but I never thought we would be at this point.  It seemed almost out of reach!!  I have a 3 inch binder full of documents, instructions, directions, things I should know FULL!!  I have a spiral full with every receipt for every dollar we have spent on document fillings, fingerprints, home-study fees, post placement fees, mailings, China's fees for Riley...and it is all worth it because soon SHE WILL NO LONGER BE AN ORPHAN!!!!

Thanks for praying for us!!    Thanks for donating for little Riley!!!   We are still in need of funds for our journey over there. Any amount will help!!  This picture below SAYS IT ALL!!!

                 "The first gave you a need for love, the second was there to give it."
I am there to give HER the love and support she needs!!  We are there,,,YOU are included!  Thanks Friends!!
You can donate online at hhtp://www.adopttogether.org/rileyjiner/
Every donation is TAX-DEDUCTIBLE!!!

Funding!!

Believing in Psalm 68:6 "God sets the solitary in families", we would like to introduce you to a very special little girl.  We are in the process of adopting this precious little girl from China.   We have not met her.  We do not know what she likes and dislikes.  What we do know though, is her Chinese name is Jin Er Jiang, known to us as Riley Jiner Handy. Riley was born on August 13, 2011 in Shanghai, China.  She was abandoned on the side of the road and found within hours of birth.  She was born with special needs; cleft lip, cleft palate and a mild hearing loss.  She has lived in the Shanghai Orphanage ever since.  She has never known the warm and loving embrace of a mother, or the joy of a piggy-back ride from a father. She doesn't know what it feels like to be tucked in, read to, and kissed goodnight.  She has yet to receive the full medical attention, nutritious food, and a childhood that allows her to be in an environment where she can thrive, flourish and reach her full potential.  She needs a loving family the most!!

God laid adoption on both of our hearts about the same time.  He has opened all the doors and led us to where we are today.  We believe God is bigger than all things.  We are relying on faith that He will provide for her.  We knew starting this journey that we would need to come up with a lot of money to bring her home. 

Our adoption will cost approximately $35,000.  I know that sounds like a lot and don’t get us wrong, it is, but we are hoping we will receive $12,000 from the Adoption Tax Credit.  The rest will be up to us.  Just as the Great Wall of China was constructed one stone at a time, we are relying on God for $1 at a time.  We would be incorrect if we didn't also ask for help from our family and friends who would be willing to donate funds to rescue our precious daughter from the inside the walls of the orphanage so she can come home to family and many friends, who will love, adore and support her.  

We have the pleasure of working with a non-profit organization, Adopt Together, who help families like us raise funds for adoptions.  All donation are tax-deductible.  We are set to travel late February if all stays on schedule.  Shawn, Angela and Rheagan will travel to China for a stay of 16-18 days when we will get to finally hold her.    

Could you please help us bring her home?

Two ways you can help. 

1.  Donate online at  https://adopttogether.org/rileyjiner/   Again, all donations are tax-deductible! Your donation will not go not waste.  If you would like to mail a check instead, please write Riley Handy on the envelope and in the memo of your check and mail to:  

                  Adopt Together

                  251 West Central Ave. #278

                  Springboro, OH 45066

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

2.  Prayers!!  Prayers!! Prayers!!  Please pray daily for Riley!  The power of prayer is HUGE.  Please pray that God will open the resources to provide and move mountains to bring our little girl home.  

If you have any questions or just want to chat, please call or email us.  Thank you for taking the time to let us share our journey with you.

  

Love, Shawn & Angela Handy                                                          

"And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me."  Matthew 18:5

WOO HOO!!!!

I guess I need to update and write on this thing more often!!  Our passports with our Visas arrived today via UPS!!  I was so excited!!  I spoke to two of my friends, Nicole and Mollie who are both not far behind us in the adoption process and was just stating I hope everything arrives soon!!  We ran some errands, came back, and I checked the MAILBOX!!  (Up until a few days ago- this is something I did not do!!  Mail would sit for a couple of days!!) We have received our I-800-- her paperwork that states she is OURS and she can travel back with US!! I of course came in and did what I was suppose to for our agency..  I spoke to them on the phone and they said we can except to travel 6 weeks or less from NOW!!!!!   We are so excited.  I have butterflies in my tummy!!!  God is good!!

Every good and perfect gift comes from above!  James 1:1

Still on Schedule

We are still on schedule for an early March departure to China!  After talking with our agency, they have two trips scheduled for March.  We would arrive in Shanghai on the 1st or 8th!  We are still awaiting for our passports to return with our visas in them!! A little nervous just because you send them off and hope for them to return!! Our 1800-- is being processed. We received a letter right before Christmas verifying they have everything and are in the process of issuing it to us!  I keep checking the mail everyday!!!
We have been busy shopping for Riley!  We purchased 2 cars eats, a jogging stroller, diaper bag, booster seat, clothes and shoes!!! I found her arriving home outfit!! I am going to get Rheagan one similar too!!  this plane ride is SO LONG we may be putting them in it right before we land!! We are so excited and can't wait for our official travel date to be assigned!

This blogging stuff is all new to me so I am going to try to start being better at it.  My Shanghai Adoption Facebook friends have been so helpful and I love this group.  I can ask anything and they are all there with their expertise answers!! I have started following their blogs and it has made me want to keep up with mine better!!

Photos

Riley's 1st photo

Updated Photos:  12/11/12

Surgery Number 3- Lip Repaired