March's Major Milestone

After early morning dentist appointments, we packed up and drove 90 minutes south to our state capitol, Richmond.  There, we found the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.  Her job was to place a seal on each of the documents that we will send to Haiti.  These documents have been assembled with care and precision to ensure that every questions that someone in Haiti might ask has been fully answered.  These papers prove that we are financially blessed, that we are a suitable home for you, that we are a family with a great support system, ans that this will be a wonderful place for you to grow up.  These papers are worth more money that you might think, and hours of effort.  But without that seal, they are useless.

As I sat down to write about this tonight, I realized that this is so much like what the Bible teaches us about the work of Jesus in lour lives.  In 1 Corinthians 1:13-14 it says

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth , the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of his glory."

These papers with a fancy seal guarantee you a spot at our table, and a share in the inheritance Daddy and I leave behind, but they are nothing compared to the seal set upon us when we are sealed by our belief in Christ Jesus who is our salvation.  That seal will grant you an inheritance that you cannot even begin to fathom.


 I thanked God today as I drove to Richmond that we lived close enough that I could drive these documents in as opposed to mailing them off for authentication.  We loved exploring the Capitol while we waited for them to be completed, and we especially enjoyed having Nana meet up with us to share our excitement and to enjoy lunch with us.  These were our celebration cookies!!

As the kids waited with Nana after lunch, I ran in to collect paperwork.  Upon my return they were all enjoying this culture outside of the capitol building.  The text did not just speak, but screamed to me.  We had a neat chat about building bridges through adoption.

17 Dossier documents, notarized and authenticated!!

As soon as we were back in town we made all of the necessary copies and shipped the documents off to the agency for further processing.  We are one leap closer to holding our girls.

Six Plus Two Equals 8!

Some times in life there is no denying that the God of the universe, and He alone, orchestrates the events of our lives.  This is one of those times when the little things in life are adding up to prove that God is bigger than anything we can fathom.  Here is why.......
On January 26, 2012 a mother, with no other options, brought two little girls to Lifeline Orphanage  in Croix-de-Bouquets, Haiti.  She delivered them into the hands of a Christian ministry team knowing that they would one day get opportunities in life that she could no longer afford them.  It was her desire that they be given a chance at a better life, one with food, medicine, education, and countless other opportunities.
On January 27, 2012 Ryan came home and told me that he thought we needed to consider growing our family trough adoption.
God's plan was seemless.
For roughly 5 weeks Sunshine and Sleyca's future was uncertain to those who stood by on this earth, but God always knew their future.  He knew that a second home was already being prepared for them.  A home that he had blessed with medicine, food, education, English language coaches, peers, grandparents, and many other amenities.
On March 7, 2012 The Yoho family formally accepted a referral for these two precious little girls.  They are healthy, and they are happy, and they are coming to our house just as soon as these earthly powers can get them here.
As of right now they are 5 and 2.  They will reside at the orphanage and attend school, receive medical attention as needed, and be fed and cared for until they are allowed to come home (roughly 15-18 months from now).  The waiting will be hard as hard for us as the grieving is for them right now, but we know that God is in control of this situation and we are grateful that he is revealing His plan to us in such clear and obvious ways.
Some day in the next many months we will meet them both, and tell them all about the life and the siblings and the opportunities waiting for them.  But, more importantly we will tell them about how their God loved them enough to rescue them, first from their sin natures, and then from a life without a family.  What a mighty God we serve!

The Red Notebook

Today we achieved a milestone in the paper chase process.  We were given a red notebook by our social worker.  Her instructions to us were to go home and fill it with all of the required paperwork, and once it was completed, she would begin her part of the process.  We had most of the papers completed, but there were still a few that needed to be done so we committed all of Monday, March 5th, to getting things done for the Red Notebook.
Yesterday daddy took the day off work so that we could go and request police clearance reports, get fingerprints taken, attend a mental health check-up, and get healthy sibling reports completed.  Little one, you do not know at this time how much you are a part of our family, but you are greatly loved already.  I saw evidence of that all day long as we worked to complete our paperwork.  We traveled through a blizzard to get to the police records office.  Your brothers and sisters took their school work along with them and did it in the waiting area.  We had a neat opportunity to see how the fingerprints are now digitally captured (we also had a conversation in the car following the prints discussing why those are necessary and what the police might use them for).  We got great reports from the doctors on all of the siblings, and Silas didn't even cry at his 4 vaccines.  He was brave-I think he is getting himself ready to be a BIG brother to you!!!

Elizabeth had to skip her ballet class so that daddy and I could attend  our mental health check-up. She didn't mind missing it because she knew it would help the process of getting you home sooner. We needed the doctor  to interview us and write a letter to your government telling them that we are in good health.  As soon as Abigail saw us after the appointment she said, "Are you mentally stable?"  Of course we are!!

This process so far has been blessed by the Lord.  Each step of the way things are working out with His kindness showering on us.  I know that he is caring for you right now too.  What a mighty God we are serving!  I look forward to talking to Him with you in my lap.  I can't wait until we can both tell him "thank-you" at the same time for bringing us together.

Dropping off the Red Notebook today was a celebration for us.  It means that Mrs. Jackson can interview us and write our home study report.  Then we can send out papers to Haiti where they will join your papers ans await approval.  After that it is only a matter of time before we will get to meet and play together.