CRIB NOTES

Brenda and I attended our travel meeting this week! Lots of information to sift through, but it feels like we are getting closer and closer to bringing Katie home. Thanks to the ladies in Brenda's Friday morning Bible study group, Katie will have a crib to sleep in when we finally get her home. When I walk past her room it seems too empty. Still, the adoption is beginning to feel very real.

This weekend we'll get to spend time worshiping with some dear friends at Camp Kaotik. Keith Coast, Brent Weber, and Jagee Melton are amazing people with hearts for helping kids worship and grow in their relationship with God. I can't wait to attend camp with them next year and introduce them to Katie Joy!

Manger - Check!

We're nesting. Last weekend I went into the attic and located Bryan's old crib, worked it awkwardly down the ladder and put it into Katie's room. The only thing I was missing was the instructions for putting it back together. I went to my office at church to google the model number so I could print off some directions. That's when I learned that the crib had been recalled. There was a warning saying to stop using the crib immediately. There was no fix available. "Just great," I thought, "another unexpected expense." A couple of weeks ago I had ordered some new cribs for the church nursery. We needed a fourth for the Mothers' Day Out program and the ones we had were pretty worn down. This morning I was putting one of those cribs together when some ladies from the Bible study Brenda leads came in with a brand new crib as a Christmas gift for Brenda. Over 2,000 years ago God provided a bed for Jesus in an unusual way. Now he has done the same for Katie.

Another Approval

We received our I-800A approval last night. Our I-800 was sent out this morning. We're looking at two weeks' wait for that paperwork. Bryan received approval from his school to travel with us yesterday. Things are moving along. Please continue to pray for us as we prepare to bring Katie home!

Clutter For Katie

Today an Alsbury small group led by the Tim and Jenifer Newton held a garage sale at church to help us bring Katie home. Once again, we're blown away by God's provision. We praise God for the incredible blessings he has given us through our church family. Garages are a little emptier so our home can be a little fuller. Thank you to everyone who has allowed God to work through them to help us go to China and bring Katie Joy home to Texas!

God Providing (Again)

With each approval comes more requirements. This week we owe $4,000 to our adoption agency. We had $2,000 set aside in our adoption fund. If you do the math, that leaves $2,000 we didn't have yet. On Saturday, Alsbury Baptist Church hosted a yard sale to raise funds for our adoption. Once again, God provided what we needed plus a little more. Between the yard sale and donations, $2,188.65 was raised. I'm convinced that God keeps providing a little more than we need so we are constantly reminded that we are to help others with their adoptions. To the friends and family who helped with the yard sale, know that God used your generosity to meet our immediate need. During this week set aside for giving thanks, we thank God for each of you. We can't begin to thank God enough for his provision, not only for Katie's adoption, but for every one of our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Praise God in all things.

Another Approval!

We received our referral approval this week! That means we are approved not only to adopt in China, but to adopt Yu Niu Jiao. More paperwork, money, and patience are due now, but we are another big step closer to bringing our sweet girl home. We'll be having a garage sale at Alsbury Baptist Church on Saturday, November 20 to raise funds for the adoption. Stop by if you are in the area!

Great News!

We received pre-approval from the CCAA today! We're one step closer to bringing our baby girl home to Texas! We also received a few new pictures of Yu Niu Jiao. She is absolutely gorgeous. She looks like her daddy if you ask me.