See What's NEW!!!!

Hey there my blogger followers!!! ;) Soooo, we are still waiting for our LOA, I've had some pretty big lows in this wait-but I am growing so much and I am living for the NOW.

So I thought I'd give ya some what's new around me...

For ONE! I have a friend who is having an AMAZING auction fundraiser. She is leaving very soon for travel and is short on funds, but I have no doubt with this awesome auction that she will see God move mountains! For every $5 you bid you get entered into a drawing to win an American Girl doll AND a cute dress for your little girl and her doll!!!! Go check it out, I promise you will NOT be disappointed!!! http://www.gracelikerainauction.blogspot.com/

In other news-I have 3 girlfriends and we chat EVERY DAY! We are all AP(Adoptive Parent) mamma's and they have been a blessing, an encouragement, a shoulder to cry on, cheerleader, and much needed prayer warriors! They truly have been a Godsend through this journey. One of my mamma friends, (our Fashionista southern bell) is now home with her sweet and incredibly cute cute boy!!! If you want to follow her journey her blog is http://mylifesongkb.blogspot.com/2013/07/4-weeks-since-gotcha-day.html.This awesome mamma is also apart of many organizations that help orphans and one of them is the Asher Foundation which helps raise medical expenses for orphans who need it! They sell all kinds of things to raise money for this! You can look them up at:

http://asherbracelets.blogspot.com http://theasherfoundation.org

 Another one of the mamma's is leaving in 15 days!!!!! This sweet friend has a heart of gold! While getting ready to head to China she signed up to for a program called Safe House, where families can take in children while their parents are trying to find a place to stay or get themselves together. She is now gearing up to go get her boy and I just can't wait to see him in her arms!!! This is her blog www.lacockfam.blogspot.com!!!

And last but certainly not least is my sweet friend who is our fighter and our Abraham :)! She  JUST found out yesterday God blessed her families socks off by FULLY funding their adoption to bring their sweet boy home!!! Read her blog, you will see and hear the wisdom in her words! :) http://babyabell.blogspot.com/2013/07/thank-you.html

ANNNNND I told you all I was working on a project to raise more money for our own adoption...well we are ready to kick it off!!!
                                          Our Connected Hearts Project

This design was done by my sweet friend Steph that I was talking about earlier. We are selling them for $15 (shipping included) and all money is going towards bringing home Isac and Nina. If you would like to help show your China love for our babies Email me at joshnsara51504@yahoo.com or leave a comment below! I also have a silver charm that the design can go in but waiting to get a chain for that, so if your interested in silver let me know! We are also working to get other designs together! I would REALLY like to continue to sell these both for other families adopting and for other organizations that helped us out by giving us grants! But first things first...WHO WANTS ONE!!!

And I want to give a BIG thank you to all of you who have bought one of the Adoption Bug shirts! Those are still for sale as well!!! The link to those is on the side! 

Please PLEASE feel free to share the necklace sale with family and friends!!! Let's get these babies HOME! <3 <3!!!

Things to pray for--still waiting for LOA (letter of Approval), and we are having a BIG kids sale this weekend with A LOT of our kids items! We are praying we sell a lot and we are also putting out donation jars there.

That's all for now folks have a Great Week peeps!!

"GOD! Are We There Yet?!"

WELL...still no news.

I remember one Christmas when we got in the car to start another VERRRRY long trip to Michigan, we decided to leave Christmas Eve night after service and drive through the night. We had been in the car for about 5 minutes when we stopped at a gas station to top off our gas when I heard Elli call from the back seat, "mommy are we there yet?! How much longer?! I'm getting tired of driving." HA! Tired already? Was she for real! Some of you are probably laughing because you can relate to how funny it is that little kids have no real grasp on time or distance.

But one day as I heard Elli say that from the back seat (yes a different time, she says it often) I thought to myself, "is that what God thinks of me?" When hears me PLEADING with Him, "God, my children are in an orphanage, in a place of no hope and no future and no love, possibly fighting for all that they have or need. Lord, don't you hear me?! Why aren't you moving the computer systems quicker? Why am I not getting the call I need to move forward?!"

In the Bible it says:

2 Peter 3:8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

So in the grand scheme of things, I haven't been waiting that long. It seems like it. Right now I am the child in the backseat screaming for the drive to be over because I have been here for so long. Because my life is uncomfortable. I long to be back to the semi normal of life, doing life the way I feel I have more control. Yes my children are far away, they are missing out on every kiss and moment of love with a family that is fighting hard to get them. But God knows that. He sees them with His own eyes. He cares more about the children HE created than I do. He created them for a purpose. He brought us to this with a PROMISE.

This morning in church my pastor hit me right where I needed it most. He said. "God has placed you in a unique time in history." 

Esther 4:14b And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

And "God has given you EVERYTHING that you need to accomplish what he has called you too do TODAY."

2 Peter 1:3  His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

I need to live life TODAY! Right where I am. I need to stop living for August or September. It doesn't mean I will stop thinking about it, or planning for it. BUT I need to stop living for those days. I need to keep my mind here and now. Who knows how many opportunities I will, or have missed telling people about adoption because I was sulking the day away because I missed getting something I was hoping for. Or how many days i missed enjoying my kids because I had a bad day adoption related. I will always and forever be grateful for this journey. It has been HARD and had many ups and downs, but I have grown so much, learned a LOT and I have had my eyes made WIDE OPEN to another world, but I want to soak as much up of this moment as I can. Because we were made for "such a moment as THIS"! 

Moral of the story: next time you hear YOUR 'Elli' in the back seat yell "ARE WE THERE YET? Remember Not one of us has refrained from complaining when we are stuck in an uncomfortable situation. Live where you are to the best that you can! 

Thank you friends! Please pray for the computer systems in China. There are rumors that this week could be a big one for those of us who have been waiting for a while...we shall see ;)

A Promise of Soon and a Big Boy Birthday Wish

When I was pregnant, well I'll be honest, I was a HOT MESS!!! I wasn't the picture of motherly bliss that I had always hoped and thought I would be. I was HOT, and tired because though I really didn't have to get up for the bathroom much I NEVER slept, I was insanely emotional (poor hubby),  and had pre-eclampsia each time so I was a balloon! And being the ever impatient one I strongly disliked hearing someone say, she will be hear soon. Not because i didn't believe them, I knew they weren't going to stay in there forever-but because I was ready to get to the good part. Don't get me wrong I LOVED feeling them kick and move inside me but I wanted to see who they looked like, what personality traits they got from Josh or me, or watching them play and trying to guess what their future might hold.
Why do I tell you all of this (if you haven't guessed yet), I LOVE seeing the blessings during this adoption. I have LOVED meeting some of the people I've met who have AMAZING hearts, around the WORLD, that I would have missed out on, I love getting pictures of our children from far away to see a little into the life they are living now, and I love getting to see God MOVE mountains so we can get these children home. BUT I want to see their faces. I want to know when Isac wakes up in the morning he will be greeted with a kiss and a hug and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY little man!! I want to know Nina is being told how beautiful she is and how much she is loved! I so want them to feel safe and not have to fight for a pair of shoes or food for their bellies. I want them to laugh and play and not have to manipulate one more day to survive. I know these things WILL happen SOON-but I'm ready for soon to be TODAY!
BUT I know that I know that I KNOW, that this plan was not mine from the beginning-so I KNOW that my God had a plan from the beginning to bring them both into our lives at just the time HE wants them here.
SOOOO in the mean time I shall continue to plan a million play dates. This will be the most productive summer EVER!

Join me in wishing this sweet boy a happy birthday!!!  I look at Levi daily and wonder what my other sweet 2 year old is doing on the other side of the world. Not too much longer and these two will be running me ragged no doubt!

We sent Isac a birthday package with an outfit, a doll some more pictures of his family a birthday cake, a flash drive, some fruit and veggies for his family and balanced it out with some candies for the other children if there are any) and for his parents. A lady who delivers packages for families will send our package to the orphanage where Isac's foster parents will pick it up hopefully Isac will get to enjoy them all. And we hope to get pictures of him eating the cake (we are still waiting on Nina's pictures.) We aren't sure where when or if they will celebrate it but we hope it is soon!

Happy Birthday little man! This WILL BE your last birthday with out a mommy and daddy! I hope your day is filled with celebration of you! 

I pray for your parents, where ever they are, will get a chance to know God and one day they can see your sweet face again. I pray if their hearts are aching around this time of year they get a chance to know you are loved and will be loved for the rest of your life.  Know sweet boy we pray for you daily. We pray your are happy and healthy and that God is preparing your young heart for the change that is about to come.  I can not wait for you to meet  your little brother and 4 sisters! Oh how they pray for you and talk about you daily!  We love you Isac!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Have a great Week everyone!!!

The Big Reveal-Nesting

Okay, you remember when you were pregnant and you couldn't stop cleaning and preparing? Well, the same is true of adoption. I have decided one way to fight the blues of feeling the ache in my arms from not having my babies here,  instead of being frustrated at a process that hits bump after bump, and instead of sitting on the couch on my computer waiting for the next email or phone call and getting sad, I am going to try and put that energy to thinking about all that just HAS to be done before they arrive! (After all no child can come home to an empty room right!! LOL) Right, so as you will see below I have gone a little crazy, umm I mean had a little fun, decorating. And I will admit, this is way more nesting than I have EVER done before, so I have a little catching up to do! Sorry hon. xox

That's a picture of China if you couldn't tell-the picture is tiny-easier to tell in person.

Still working on getting Isac's name on the wall. (Hubby and I are going back and forth the the spelling. He will not win. :))

Bigger picture of China in this room. :)

Used to be more sticker's on the wall, all the ones Levi could reach...are off! LOL STINKER!

If your wondering why it looks like there is more done to Nina's room it is because Nina's room used to be the playroom so there was NOTHING in there on the walls...and well...I just got crazy! REMEMBER!  Hehe. 

Anyway I want to say a BIG thank you to my hubby who has appeased me to get this room done! :) 

Now I just need my babies to be in THEIR beds!!!

I leave you with a song that a friend on our adoption page posted today...and they never meant more to me than they do now!

these words get me...

'Cause I just wanna be with YouI just want this waiting to be overI just wanna be with You[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/smile-lyrics-chris-rice.html ]And it helps to know the day is getting closer

And every minute takes an hourEvery inch feels like a mile'Til I won't have to imagineAnd I finally get to see You smile
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVApAfA0iG0


-Disclaimer for any of you who listen to the song-I know what it is really talking about, but thought it could still apply :)-

Thank you Friends! Have a great Week!!!!

A Little Light Reading

So to keep everyone updated Isac's paper work has been sent off to China last Tuesday. So now we wait for LOA (Letter Of Approval) for him to come. This process can usually be a 60-90 day wait but some of that wait time is getting logged into China's data base, but we already did that for Nina, so they just have to approval us officially for Isac and then we can move on to the next step. Sadly though, we have NO clue how long this could take. Like I said, we have been told it shouldn't take long since we are already in the system, but there have been so many back ups that it's really hard to know. 

To catch you up with the hold ups. The U.S. side of the process wanted to catch up to the rest of the world and scan in all of our paper work to send it to China instead of waiting for it to get there via snail mail. Well in all the updating, a job that was suppose to take a few days turned into weeks, backing up and holding up more families from moving forward and making more children wait even longer. The system does still have it's kinks, there has been rumors of things getting lost and such, but things are moving...s   l   o   w  l  y...

Well just as soon as things start moving in our systems China started working on theirs and there were set backs. Now the building that everyone has to go through to get Visa's for their children will be closed for 2 weeks as they move to another building. So another slooow down for families. 

Last week we also received medical updates on Isac's and we were so excited to see how he was doing!!! We also learned more about his background which was heartbreaking, but his future is extremely bright! And i can't wait to wrap my arms around this sweet boy!

Last week if you would have asked me I was a mess!!!  I was sad about waiting, I was tired of the process and I was being beaten down left and right. I was tired of feeling stuck and i was letting it get to every part of my present life. My feelings of, "am I going to be good enough to raise these to precious children" "are we ever going to be able to get enough money", "who am I to be called to such an amazing journey"....

But I'm in a good place right now. I have great friends and an amazing husband, (who I might add sees me at my worst and comes home from work to paint a tree on the wall for me in Nina's room) xoxox. 

Nina's room! that reminds me! I'm not ready to reveal all the work I've been doing in her room yet, but we were so blessed to find very sturdy bunk beds for Nina and Anna's room that have dressers in them and they were in our price range!!!!!  AND Josh was able to find van seats that go to our van that turn our van into a 8 passenger van instead of a 7!!!! And again at a very good price! And both of those items were more perfect than what we were hoping for!!! Oh how i love watching God supply all our needs!!!!

While my heart is split between two countries-my babies here and my babies over seas- the verse my pastor gave us to memorize this week will be my go to to get through verse...

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

And as i rest in my Father's arms, I will get there to my babies eventually...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAMbEPZfWCY

Have a great week everyone!!!! 

PS-If you can pray for a few great friends I've gotten to know through this journey-they will be meeting their babies tonight!!! (Their 8a-1p China time, our midnight time) PRay for their sweet hearts that they will be ready to leave. They will be leaving all they have ever known, seen, heard, smelled and  felt any feelings for. Pray for the new momma's as it may be heartbreaking for some of them to watch their child grieve the loss, and for these sweet children to learn to crave their momma's. 

Happy Birthday To Such a Special Child

Right now as my children are getting ready to wake up and start their day and I begin to write my blog post, my sweet China baby is laying her head down to sleep after a day of celebrating her birthday. I pray her day was special for her because she has a mommy and daddy on the other side of the globe praying daily for her. I pray her day was special because this sweet girl has made a HUGE mark on our hearts already and we love her as if she were born from my womb. I pray she got to spend her day giggling with her friends and eating the cake we bought for her and opening the gifts we sent. I pray these small things will help her to see, and know, and feel so loved and wanted, because she is.
I also pray for her parents...two people Josh and I pray for daily. The laws of China make keeping children very hard. We may never know the reason behind Nina's story, but as a mother, I can't even begin to imagine having to make that choice. I pray one day she and Nina's father have the opportunity to learn about God, so one day she can hold her sweet baby again.
Our family went to dinner to celebrate and remember our sweet girl. We also bought a balloon and wrote messages to her...

Elli ended the evening with, "So mommy then the balloon has to fly past the playground to get over to China?" How small our world around us seems. :)

Not a day goes by that my heart doesn't ache for this process to be over so my girl can be home with her family and she can know the love of a mommies arms, the attention of an amazing father and the laughter and secrets shared with her brothers and sisters....and today, today it aches just a little bit more...

Happy Birthday Sweet girl! Hope your day is filled with lots of fun! And praying your day more than any other day was special!

Love you all!

PS Here birthday DATE is actually the 20th (well the orphanage day they gave her anyway) I'm getting a day ahead of myself-no surprise there)

BIG BIG NEWS!!!

HEADS UP:THIS IS A LONG ONE-BUT YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!

Nine years of marriage and four children later, God called Josh and I to step forward and answer the call to care for His children through adoption. Though we were doubtful, confused and ...well scared as ALL GET OUT, we stepped forward and answered His leading to bring home a little girl. We became more confident, yet still unsure of what our future would hold for us but we knew our God always promises to fulfill His plan, in His time and in His way. While we waited I was hearing God's still small whisper saying, "don't be afraid I have more in store." But I was sure I must have heard wrong. After all we are moving forward, we are answering His call, surely He wasn't saying, keep giving, I have more to show you. But as I prayed the whisper became more and more audible, as if He was screaming so loud I could hardly think of anything else. I cried out to GOD! Lord, I love you and I want to do what you ask, but honestly, I don't want to be Noah. Building a boat in the middle of the dessert, claiming he needed it because it was going to flood all over the world, WHAT IS RAIN?!?! Why an even BIGGER STEP?!?! Lord you know one of my biggest life struggles is what people think (sad I know), what are they going to say now! But still very unsure I brought my thoughts to Josh. I told him, I am not saying this is what we should do,or even something I thought we COULD do, but I can't ignore what God has been telling me any more and I thought if I said it out loud to you, you would give me an answer and we could move from there. (Ready to hear him say what we had been saying, no way, we weren't ready for this, we can't do anything else, these big plans would have to wait.) My husband (who has way more faith in me than I do in myself self most days) is such an amazing man of faith, though what may lay ahead is HUGE and WAY more than either of us were ready to even think about, said let's pray. The chances of it even being able to happen are so small, that we will know for sure. So we prayed, we prayed and we cried and we prayed like mad crazy some more. But we both couldn't deny it any more. God WAS telling us to try and bring home TWO of His children.
In the mist of all this I saw the face of a sweet baby boy about Levi's age that a sweet friend was advocating for. He even looked like a Chinese version of Levi. He had my heart, though I was trying desperately to not get attached since in the adoption world, you NEVER know. After asking my social worker it turned out another family was moving forward with adopting him. Always a bitter sweet moment as you want him to have a forever family, but it made me question if this was what God really wanted us to do, or was it all just emotional decisions, after all I first saw his face right before Josh and I decided to move forward. But in my heart I felt God was using this sweet face to move my heart forward in following His plan, and made a SUPER sweet friend in the process.
Now if you read our story from the beginning, you know we just barely qualified for China's adoption financial qualifications, but they didn't ask us for a waiver, which we were very happy and grateful for. We just saw it as another sign from God we were in His will. Well being that we barely qualified for one, neither of us thought we would qualify for two, especially without filling out a waiver, so we figured that would be another God thing if it was going to happen and it was His will. So we filled out all the paper work and started all the work in looking for a little boy. On March 5th I saw a picture of a little boy that another AP (Adoption Parent) was advocating for and I emailed her to get more information. Little "Danny" (his agency given name)  caught my heart again. He was with another agency which had me doubtful, some agencies aren't big on transferring files, but after a call to a sweet woman who worked at the agency she was willing to transfer if we were sure we were going to move forward.
So after much prayer and a LOT of waiting (I'm getting a little better at this...well I'm trying to get better at this) we got an email from our agency saying we were PA (pre-approved) for "Danny"  on April 8th!!!! And as far as we know, with NO waiver!!! Josh and I just stared at each other in shock! Now God was just showing off! :)
So without out making you wait any longer-I want to introduce to you...Isac David Ning Noll

He is two months younger than Levi. Those of you who have seen our adoption video...does he look a little familiar? :)

Some may wonder if we are crazy. (I think this question was answered and confirmed when we had three close together and then had another, ya know because apparently 50 million 4 kids is WAY A LOT!!!!)  Some may wonder how in the world we can afford this. The answer is, I don't know how the Lord is going to show up in all this, but I know it was His plan from the beginning and He will complete it. I'm just lucky enough to get a front row seat in watching Him work. :)

I'll leave you with a video of us telling the girls last Friday...needless to say they were very excited and Elli a little prophetic! LOL.

http://vimeo.com/68419307

Hope you all have a fabulous day!