Now able to travel January 9th!!!!

It was 10:30 AM today when Amy called me and told me that the US consulate in China had scheduled our appointment. Someone had canceled their appointment and we were scheduled in their place. Our adoption agency shared with us that it is extremely rare for someone to cancel their consulate appointment.

We feel this is another answer to prayer and we are overjoyed. Regardless of all the obstacles we have faced, God has been faithful. Please take some time today and praise God on our behalf. Thank you for all of your prayers, encouragement, and support. We are very fortunate to have such wonderful friends.

My parents, Elizabeth and I will now be preparing to travel this Friday, January 9th. Please continue to pray for logistics and for Amy while we are away.

Not able to leave on Jan. 8

We finally received the paper we need from Homeland Security today, but now our agency's telling us that James won't be able to travel this week because the American Consulate in China is not making any more appointments for January. We have to have an appointment to bring Haiyan home, and since the Chinese New Year is coming up, the Consulate has been refusing to make anymore appointments this month. So, our agency's telling us that the next travel group James could go with doesn't leave until January 30.

So, needless to say, this has been another very frustrating day. We really thought that things were going to work out this time for him to go, and we hadn't been warned about the possible delay with the Consulate.

Right now we're just praying that something might happen that would allow him to still leave this week. The trip is 2 weeks, and to wait until Jan. 30 to leave puts us so close to my due date of Feb. 28.

We're so thankful that his parents are still willing to travel with him, since I can't go now. And we decided that Elizabeth will most likely go too, to help make Haiyan's transition to our family go smoother.

Thanks so much to everyone who has been praying for us and asking how things are going.

Plannning to Leave Jan. 8

We found out last week that there is more paperwork from Homeland Security that we need, so our agency told James to plan to leave with a group that is flying to China on January 8. So, we're hoping that everything will come together and that he and his parents will be able to leave on that date.
We're sad that it didn't work out to get Haiyan before the end of the year, but we're happy to be able to be together at Christmas and spend some time relaxing in Indiana. We're just praying now that everything will work out for the 8th, and that I don't have our baby early!

Travel Approval Extended-but only verbally

Our agency heard from China today that they would extend our travel approval. So, that's great news, but our agency has to have the actual paper before they can make our Consulate appointment in China. So, we're still unsure about when James & his parents can travel. We're trying to get everything ready so they can leave anytime. It seems crazy that everything continues to be so uncertain, but slowly, all our issues seem to be getting resolved.

USCIS Approved HaiYan's Immigration Papers

This past Friday was exciting. Amy and Elizabeth visited me at work in order for us to notarize some adoption papers. While getting them notarized we received a phone call informing us that HaiYan's immigration papers had been approved. What a strange thing to hear after desperately flailing for help for so long. I felt as if I had been buried alive for months with a shovel. Desperately digging in all directions hoping for just a glimpse of light. Once in the light I wasn't exactly sure what to think or feel. Like clockwork, I went blind in the left eye and my left arm went numb. Fear not, it was not a stroke, but my old childhood migraine. I pulled the car over and let Amy drive. It hurt but at the same time I couldn't help invariably smiling to myself throughout the day. How does Amy feel? Well, she feels pregnant, and the list of things for her to do just tripled in size. Relief is there for both of us, but apprehension is there as well.

Currently, China's approval for us to travel will expire three days before our meeting with the US consulate in China. Therefore, we will need to either get China's approval extended tomorrow, or change our travel plans to accommodate China's process time. There are so many reasons why we would like to travel before the year ends, but we know there is a small possibility that it will actually happen in December. Most likely we will travel the first week of January.

Amy is due in February and therefore will not be traveling with me to China. Instead it will be my mom and dad. Please pray with us for China's approval for us to travel as well as all necessary travel arrangements that would need to happen soon. Also, please continue to pray for HaiYan and her difficult transition.

Still Waiting

So, it looks like our original immigration petition is never going to be approved, even though James has spent countless hours on the phone and internet trying to get people to help us change it.

Our new petition was sent in last week, and we know it has been received, because our check was cashed this week (it figures that our government takes our money quickly, but moves slowly to give us what we're paying for).

It's been a very rough couple days, because we were supposed to leave yesterday for China, so that's mostly what we've been thinking about. We're still hoping that the congressional offices can help get our petition expedited. We know that there is probably some purpose in all of this being delayed, we just hope that someday we know what it is.

On a happier note, I get to have another ultrasound next week, so we should know for sure if we're having a boy (we won't have to wonder if 75 percent sure is good enough to decorate a room on!).

Thanks for all your prayers and concern.

Immigration Denied Again

The immigration form that we needed this week to be able to travel by Oct. 23 was denied again. The Congress offices of Melissa Bean & Barack Obama put in a congressional request to Homeland Security for us, but they said that there is nothing they can do to process it, because it was turned in a few days late. So, that's sad news for us.

But, the good news is, that both offices said that they would help us in any way they can to expedite the new application that will hopefully be ready to turn in next week. The processing time is running about 4 months, so if they can help in any way to cut down the waiting time, we will be so grateful. The people in Bean & Obama's offices have been really helpful and we have been surprised at how good they have been at keeping us updated on any progress.

Thanks so much to Pat Carey, former Grayslake mayor, who helped us get a contact in Melissa Bean's office!

So, we have no idea when we'll be be able to pick Hai Yan up now. Hopefully soon, so I (Amy) will be able to go. Also, we received good news that our agency got China to let Hai Yan stay with her foster family until we arrive. So, she shouldn't have to be moved back to the orphanage.