What a marvelous day it has been. My dear friend, Judy, and I went out to eat...Chinese food, of course! And we had a blast, as usual. It was incredible. We laughed, we shared, we ate and we had a great time together. What a blessing she is to our family! And the story gets better.
A few weeks ago, we met for lunch, (another Chinese restaurant, of course), and she handed me a baby gift bag. When I reached in, I was thrilled to find several adorable pair of Virginia Tech socks for our baby girl/s!!! If any of you know me...you know I'm a huge VT fan! Our entire family loves Virginia Tech, (my old stomping ground)...as well as Ohio State, (Tim's neck of the woods), and a couple other schools. So I was ecstatic! But Judy told me that more was to come...and she was right.
Today she handed me another baby gift bag. Enclosed were two pair of baby Croc shoes...plus the little decorative attachments to go on them...Donald Duck, Daffy Duck...and Virginia Tech!! They are adorable! Can you imagine me squealing with laughter? Yes...it really happened. :) It was a wonderful moment. I wish I knew how to transfer (upload?) pictures on here and I'd show these precious items to you. Someday I'll learn. (Helpful hints are welcome!) Anyway, we had such a great time with those. I understand Judy's sister, Joyce---another precious friend---helped select these items during one of their famous shopping trips. Not only will we enjoy these wonderful items for our baby girl/s...but we'll always cherish the love, friendship and kindness that they represent. Thank you so much, Judy, Ralph and Joyce! I believe we'll be packing some VT items to take to China with us!
Although the wait remains long...we are continually blessed and enjoying every step of this journey. A friend reminded me this week, (thanks, Kenna!), that it is worth it...and as an adoptive Mom herself, she certainly understands. We truly believe that every step of this journey to our baby girl/s will be in God's perfect timing and master plan. We rejoice that as we long to embrace our little one/s in our arms someday, there are so many of you embracing us along this journey today. We love you all and we are thankful for each of you!
Cherishing the journey,
Terri and family
Jenna Elizabeth (aka "JennaBeth") Song Lorenz
Waiting For Our Little One To Come Home From China!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Another Blessed Day in our Journey
We were very surprised and delighted when we went to the mailbox today and found an envelope from USCIS, (Homeland Security). We received THE document that officially approves our updated status in the adoption process! Yay!!!! We thought it might take a little longer but thankfully, it didn't. So...it's official! We're entering a new "waiting season" for our little girl/s from China. Whether we will go through this updating process again remains to be seen. But one thing we do know...we are one step closer to our baby girl/s and we are thrilled. What a wonderful day and what an incredible blessing!
As always, thank you for your continue prayers and encouragement. This journey is long but amazing in the many ways we have been blessed. There will definitely be joy in the moment that we post the referral picture of our JennaBeth (and maybe EmmaKate) on this website. But we are also very joyful to know there are such precious family and friends who are walking beside us in this exciting journey. It wouldn't be the same without you!
Cherishing the moment.
Tim, Terri and family
As always, thank you for your continue prayers and encouragement. This journey is long but amazing in the many ways we have been blessed. There will definitely be joy in the moment that we post the referral picture of our JennaBeth (and maybe EmmaKate) on this website. But we are also very joyful to know there are such precious family and friends who are walking beside us in this exciting journey. It wouldn't be the same without you!
Cherishing the moment.
Tim, Terri and family
Monday, August 18, 2008
Miles Between....
It's not easy being separated from loved ones. Yet we seem to do that often in our lives, don't we? The past week has been a true example of that yet again. Last week, our son began another year in high school. It doesn't seem like his summer lasted more than a few weeks. So as wonderful as the opportunities are there, I wasn't ready for him to return to school. He has quite a schedule this year with pre-college and advanced courses, marching band, concert band, driving, etc.. I'm sure a job search is just around the corner for him, too. So life continues with great blessings and then some major adjustments, as well.
Yesterday we moved our daughter back to the university. That wasn't easy, either. She was very excited to return to her friends, classes, concert choir, a new dorm room, etc.. And she is working two jobs this year. So she's going to be a busy young lady. We're also excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for her. But again...there are miles between us and that's not always easy. As I told her last night, at least we're less than two hours away from her. It could be much worse. And we are very thankful for that. But the Mom's heart in me knows that life is very blessed yet always changing.
As we've watched the Olympics on tv, I can't help but wonder about another special part of our family. Viewing the scenes from China has been exciting, interesting and encouraging. Yet it also brings that ache in a Mom's heart for our precious baby girl/s we long to see...and hold...and love. We miss our baby girl/s so much. I don't travel as much as I used to but seeing the scenes from China gets me more excited about going there to meet our daughter/s. It will be the journey of a lifetime, no doubt. China is her home country and will always be a part of our family so that makes it special to us! And the miles between us seem great now...but will eventually bring us together.
So it's a sentimental time in our home for many reasons. It's much too quiet here...for now. :) Our children are back in school. Our baby girl/s are halfway around the world. And I long for us all to be together....again...and for the first time. But one thing I remember is that no matter how many miles separate us from loved ones...it doesn't change the love in our hearts except it makes it stronger.
Have a great new school year, Rachel and Micah. We're proud of you. Hold on, dear baby girl/s...we are moving closer to you each day. Someday soon, we'll all be together as the family we already cherish so dearly.
Loving across the miles,
Terri and family
Yesterday we moved our daughter back to the university. That wasn't easy, either. She was very excited to return to her friends, classes, concert choir, a new dorm room, etc.. And she is working two jobs this year. So she's going to be a busy young lady. We're also excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for her. But again...there are miles between us and that's not always easy. As I told her last night, at least we're less than two hours away from her. It could be much worse. And we are very thankful for that. But the Mom's heart in me knows that life is very blessed yet always changing.
As we've watched the Olympics on tv, I can't help but wonder about another special part of our family. Viewing the scenes from China has been exciting, interesting and encouraging. Yet it also brings that ache in a Mom's heart for our precious baby girl/s we long to see...and hold...and love. We miss our baby girl/s so much. I don't travel as much as I used to but seeing the scenes from China gets me more excited about going there to meet our daughter/s. It will be the journey of a lifetime, no doubt. China is her home country and will always be a part of our family so that makes it special to us! And the miles between us seem great now...but will eventually bring us together.
So it's a sentimental time in our home for many reasons. It's much too quiet here...for now. :) Our children are back in school. Our baby girl/s are halfway around the world. And I long for us all to be together....again...and for the first time. But one thing I remember is that no matter how many miles separate us from loved ones...it doesn't change the love in our hearts except it makes it stronger.
Have a great new school year, Rachel and Micah. We're proud of you. Hold on, dear baby girl/s...we are moving closer to you each day. Someday soon, we'll all be together as the family we already cherish so dearly.
Loving across the miles,
Terri and family
Monday, July 28, 2008
A Truly Blessed Day!
Yes...it is a Monday...and it's been raining...but it's been an incredibly blessed day for our family in this journey! Today around noon, our social worker came to visit us for the Home Study update inspection and interview. What a precious, precious lady! We all sat around the kitchen table sharing from our hearts and laughed...and completed the necessary paperwork. We truly thank God for her and the gift she is to our family. We can hardly wait for JennaBeth (and maybe EmmaKate) to meet her!
So...except for the updated Home Study, (which is in progress at this moment), we are pretty much officially "updated." Once we have the USCIS (Homeland Security) document in our hands, we're all set for awhile. Whew! It's been a pretty awesome process this time around. We thank each of you for your continued prayers and support. Knowing you're praying makes all the difference! The journey is long...and sometimes we find ourselves fighting impatience and discouragement. But it's pretty safe to say that today was a vast reminder that God STILL has this journey in His hands...and He's going to carry it through in His perfect timing and master plan. We were surprised to find out that one of our documents needed in this updating process usually takes a long time to return. But guess what? For "some reason"...our report came back in an impressively shorter time frame. Yay God!!! He indeed has it all in His hands!
Hold on, Jenna Elizabeth (and maybe Emma Katherine)! We're another step closer to you and we love you so very much! The same God who is leading our journey to you is also holding you in His mighty and loving hands! We love you and are praying for you, dear baby girl/s. We're holding you in our hearts and will someday hold you in our arms!
Love to all,
Tim, Terri, Rachel and Micah
So...except for the updated Home Study, (which is in progress at this moment), we are pretty much officially "updated." Once we have the USCIS (Homeland Security) document in our hands, we're all set for awhile. Whew! It's been a pretty awesome process this time around. We thank each of you for your continued prayers and support. Knowing you're praying makes all the difference! The journey is long...and sometimes we find ourselves fighting impatience and discouragement. But it's pretty safe to say that today was a vast reminder that God STILL has this journey in His hands...and He's going to carry it through in His perfect timing and master plan. We were surprised to find out that one of our documents needed in this updating process usually takes a long time to return. But guess what? For "some reason"...our report came back in an impressively shorter time frame. Yay God!!! He indeed has it all in His hands!
Hold on, Jenna Elizabeth (and maybe Emma Katherine)! We're another step closer to you and we love you so very much! The same God who is leading our journey to you is also holding you in His mighty and loving hands! We love you and are praying for you, dear baby girl/s. We're holding you in our hearts and will someday hold you in our arms!
Love to all,
Tim, Terri, Rachel and Micah
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Pausing for Prayers...
As our journey continues, we have made great progress in gathering updated documents. We continue to wait for one, though, which our social worker told us would take awhile. Our adoption agency advocate also told us this week to wait a little longer before contacting Homeland Security again. So that's one less document to send this week. But the majority of the paperwork has been handled, thankfully. Once our homestudy is updated, we will be in good shape for awhile.
As usual, though, when we are trusting, working and waiting, it is no surprise that satan tries to discourage and distract us. There are always rumors about the adoption wait going around and we deliberately ignore them. But there does seem to be some consistent concerns that the wait may be prolonged anywhere in the three to five year range!!!!! Wow! That's a huge "lump in the throat" to swallow. However, we continue to believe that God is in control and will bring our sweet little girl/s into our lives as He has planned all along. Please pray for our little girl/s..and for God's master timing and perfect plan to continue as He knows best.
Something else we have been considering for a long time is the possibility of special needs adoption. We've known all along that this is something to consider but we have not taken any formal steps to pursue it. We are still in the "seeking God's direction" stage. Considering our ages, we know we could not accomodate a major special needs case. But we could consider less intense ones. So please pray that we will listen and learn God's will for us in this journey and in this special consideration. Special needs waiting times are not as extensive as non-special needs. But we do not want to base our decision solely on waiting times. We want to bring into our family and home the child that God has called us to call our own and that is the most important part of our journey. We truly cherish your prayers for our daughter and for our family as we continue to step closer and closer to her.
I'll admit. Our hearts sink when we hear the words "three to five years' wait." It doesn't make sense. But distraction, discouragement and impatience do not mix well with faith so we need to remind ourselves that the same God who led us to this journey will see us through this journey and no one...no one...except God Himself knows the answer to how long it will take. It's up to Him...and He knows best. Thank you for your kindness, prayers and encouragement as we continue in this journey of blessings. It will be worth every moment when we hold her in our arms!
Cherishing the moment,
Terri and family
As usual, though, when we are trusting, working and waiting, it is no surprise that satan tries to discourage and distract us. There are always rumors about the adoption wait going around and we deliberately ignore them. But there does seem to be some consistent concerns that the wait may be prolonged anywhere in the three to five year range!!!!! Wow! That's a huge "lump in the throat" to swallow. However, we continue to believe that God is in control and will bring our sweet little girl/s into our lives as He has planned all along. Please pray for our little girl/s..and for God's master timing and perfect plan to continue as He knows best.
Something else we have been considering for a long time is the possibility of special needs adoption. We've known all along that this is something to consider but we have not taken any formal steps to pursue it. We are still in the "seeking God's direction" stage. Considering our ages, we know we could not accomodate a major special needs case. But we could consider less intense ones. So please pray that we will listen and learn God's will for us in this journey and in this special consideration. Special needs waiting times are not as extensive as non-special needs. But we do not want to base our decision solely on waiting times. We want to bring into our family and home the child that God has called us to call our own and that is the most important part of our journey. We truly cherish your prayers for our daughter and for our family as we continue to step closer and closer to her.
I'll admit. Our hearts sink when we hear the words "three to five years' wait." It doesn't make sense. But distraction, discouragement and impatience do not mix well with faith so we need to remind ourselves that the same God who led us to this journey will see us through this journey and no one...no one...except God Himself knows the answer to how long it will take. It's up to Him...and He knows best. Thank you for your kindness, prayers and encouragement as we continue in this journey of blessings. It will be worth every moment when we hold her in our arms!
Cherishing the moment,
Terri and family
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Thankful...
The process of updating our paperwork is in full gear now. We've already received reports back from a couple government offices and continue to wait for others. It's also been a joy to talk with those kind folks who previously wrote letters of reference/recommendation for us and are now renewing those letters for us. So the journey continues...and we are so thankful.
We heard from our adoption agency yesterday and it appears that there is some encouraging news, as well. At one time a year or two ago, referrals were made in month-by-month groupings. For example, the dossiers of that month usually received a month's worth of referrals. But as things progressively slowed down, only a few days of referrals were being matched during a month which meant that more waiting time extended for the adoptive parents. For the first time in a year, about eight days of referrals (instead of two or three days) were matched for the month of June! This is a wonderful step in the direction of possible reduced waiting time. So we rejoice in that slight but optimistic direction. We still have no idea when our baby girl/s will be with us but we are so thankful that there is good news in this area. It is already apparent to our family that the second year of this process is more challenging. The dossier has been sent and logged in...fourteen months ago tomorrow, to be exact!! We are updating paperwork this month and next. And then we wait...more.
Yet I can't help but remember what some wonderful friends continue to tell us. Some have said that "it's all in God's master timing and perfect plan." Another has said "God's timing is always right." And another has said "When you hold her in your arms, it all makes sense." So it is not for us to question the "whys" and "how much longer"...although that comes to mind every day. We'd rather focus on the fact that God indeed knows the specific baby girl/s He has in His plan for us...and He will bring us together when the time is right. So why? Because God isn't finished with this process yet. How much longer? As long as it takes to bring our baby girl/s into our family and home as God has planned! It is tough to wait, I'll admit. While walking through the mall today, I saw a precious little Asian girl and my heart jumped with joy and excitement. Then I realized that our little girl IS on the way...at just the right moment and in just the right way. She may not even be born yet. But she is in God's mind...and in His plan...and in our hearts. As our dear friend also reminded me recently, "God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways." We will trust in Him.
Meanwhile, we'll continue the updating process...and my friend, Judy, and I may eventually give in and buy those precious little girls' shoes that we've been watching! I mean...a girl can never have too many shoes anyway, right? :] And we want to be ready when the time...and our baby girl/s...arrive! Being "paper pregnant" is not always easy and it is the longest pregnancy I've ever known...but it sure gives us more time for shopping and preparing!!!!! ;]
We are so thankful in our journey for your prayers, your love, your reminders, your encouragement...and for all those who are helping us as we update the paperwork! This is truly a journey of blessings every step of the way! Thank you so much! Blessings to you and yours!
Cherishing the moment,
Terri and family
We heard from our adoption agency yesterday and it appears that there is some encouraging news, as well. At one time a year or two ago, referrals were made in month-by-month groupings. For example, the dossiers of that month usually received a month's worth of referrals. But as things progressively slowed down, only a few days of referrals were being matched during a month which meant that more waiting time extended for the adoptive parents. For the first time in a year, about eight days of referrals (instead of two or three days) were matched for the month of June! This is a wonderful step in the direction of possible reduced waiting time. So we rejoice in that slight but optimistic direction. We still have no idea when our baby girl/s will be with us but we are so thankful that there is good news in this area. It is already apparent to our family that the second year of this process is more challenging. The dossier has been sent and logged in...fourteen months ago tomorrow, to be exact!! We are updating paperwork this month and next. And then we wait...more.
Yet I can't help but remember what some wonderful friends continue to tell us. Some have said that "it's all in God's master timing and perfect plan." Another has said "God's timing is always right." And another has said "When you hold her in your arms, it all makes sense." So it is not for us to question the "whys" and "how much longer"...although that comes to mind every day. We'd rather focus on the fact that God indeed knows the specific baby girl/s He has in His plan for us...and He will bring us together when the time is right. So why? Because God isn't finished with this process yet. How much longer? As long as it takes to bring our baby girl/s into our family and home as God has planned! It is tough to wait, I'll admit. While walking through the mall today, I saw a precious little Asian girl and my heart jumped with joy and excitement. Then I realized that our little girl IS on the way...at just the right moment and in just the right way. She may not even be born yet. But she is in God's mind...and in His plan...and in our hearts. As our dear friend also reminded me recently, "God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways." We will trust in Him.
Meanwhile, we'll continue the updating process...and my friend, Judy, and I may eventually give in and buy those precious little girls' shoes that we've been watching! I mean...a girl can never have too many shoes anyway, right? :] And we want to be ready when the time...and our baby girl/s...arrive! Being "paper pregnant" is not always easy and it is the longest pregnancy I've ever known...but it sure gives us more time for shopping and preparing!!!!! ;]
We are so thankful in our journey for your prayers, your love, your reminders, your encouragement...and for all those who are helping us as we update the paperwork! This is truly a journey of blessings every step of the way! Thank you so much! Blessings to you and yours!
Cherishing the moment,
Terri and family
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Another Step Forward
Well, the updating process has officially begun! Yesterday we mailed several documents out for updating our status. Our social worker will visit our home next month so it's really happening! Of course when she comes, we know we're going to have a wonderful visit. She's amazing! So the journey continues and we are grateful for every blessing involved.
It's been a long two years since our journey began with the application process. We've been logged in China's system for almost fourteen months now. But the wait ahead remains very long. It isn't easy...but we know each step takes us closer to our baby girl/s. This is a true faith-builder and an enormous patience-builder. But she is definitely worth every step we take toward her.
Thank you for your continued prayers. Thank your for caring. Thank you for your support during this exciting yet extended season in our lives. It would not be the same without you walking beside us. We'll keep you posted.
Have a great day and know you are always in our thoughts, hearts and prayers. We are so blessed in this journey and we love you all!
Terri & Family
It's been a long two years since our journey began with the application process. We've been logged in China's system for almost fourteen months now. But the wait ahead remains very long. It isn't easy...but we know each step takes us closer to our baby girl/s. This is a true faith-builder and an enormous patience-builder. But she is definitely worth every step we take toward her.
Thank you for your continued prayers. Thank your for caring. Thank you for your support during this exciting yet extended season in our lives. It would not be the same without you walking beside us. We'll keep you posted.
Have a great day and know you are always in our thoughts, hearts and prayers. We are so blessed in this journey and we love you all!
Terri & Family
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