We finally made it to Guangzhou!!

Oh what a journey to Guangzhou!! On Friday morning at 3:30 a.m. we woke up and headed to the Birmingham International Airport. My parents followed us there and took this picture of us. Our last family of 4 picture! When we return little Ruthie will be in the middle!!! Thanks Mom and Dad!! :)

Our flight to Chicago was fun! It was Steve and the kids first flight! They really enjoyed it and everyone traveled well!! When we arrived in Chicago we had a few hours to rest and to explore the airport. We ate pizza at 8:00 a.m.!! Then we had Chicago style hotdogs for lunch!! Yum!! We knew that our next flight was a long one!!! 

So, we finally got on our flight to Hong Kong. It was really neat, we were able to watch movies! The kids loved it!! We were able to sleep for a while, eat on the plane and watch the screen that showed where we were located in the sky!! They enjoyed knowing where we were on the map. :) The food and service was fabulous on United!!! 

So, when we arrived in Hong Kong, 17 hours later, we arrived an hour late. So, that put us behind and we missed our last flight to Guangzhou. Our luggage was lost, so we had to stick around Hong Kong a little longer to wait on our luggage and decide whether or not we wanted to take a train, plane or automobile!! :) We sat there and just watched everyone grab their luggage and continue on their journey. Our luggage finally came all by itself and no one else was around. So, then we decided to take a shuttle bus to Guangzhou. That added another 2 hours to our trip. Boo!! Imagine taking a shuttle bus for another 2 to 2 1/2 hours with no one like yourself and no one that speaks the same language!! I prayed and asked God to give us all the strength to get through this change in plans and additional 2 hours of traveling. Ugh!! He gave me the peace that I needed and I continued to pray for the next few hours and asked  God to please reveal what he wants me to learn from the detour that we are on. While on the interstate, we were able to see these apartment looking buildings. Every apartment looked really, really worn down and they had clothes lines with clothes hanging on them outside their doors. We also passed a few places that people were sleeping on the steps with absolutely nothing with them except what they had on their bodies. I just didn't understand at all!! While this is all different to us and a huge learning experience, it finally dawned on me. God was trying to remind us was that he is in control and when something happens, he is going to take care of us. What he was also trying to tell us was that we came to China to pick up our daughter and rescue one of his children. When we thought our luggage was gone, Ruthie comes to us with nothing. When we were confused and felt helpless because no one understood what we were trying to say(most of what we were saying), Ruthie is going to feel that way when she first comes to us. She is going to feel like her world that she has always known is gone and now she is with these people that look nothing like her and sound really funny. The anxiety that I felt when we missed our flight and had to reschedule something else on our own was not comfortable to me at all. That is exactly what Ruthie will feel when she comes into our arms tomorrow. Last night God wrapped his arms around us, led us and guided us! When we travel to the Civil Affairs office tomorrow, we are going to wrap our arms around Ruthie, pray for her and just love her unconditionally just like God does for us!!! I love love love God's story's and how he opens our hearts and eyes to him to realize that he is still in control!! It excites me to know that we get the joy and He gets the GLORY!!! Praise Him!!! 

Our Gotcha Day is tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. While you guys are sleeping at 1:00 a.m., we will be getting loving from our sweet daughter! Until another update.....God bless you all!!

Blessings and Love,

Julie

P.S. Here are some pics of what we see from our hotel room and some of the kids.

WE ARE GOING TO CHINA!!!

On Monday, we received the call that we received our TA, travel approval, from China!!! We were told that we should received our CA, consulate appointment, within a few days. Well, yesterday, we got the email that WE ARE GOING TO CHINA!!! Hallelujah!! Our Gotcha Day is August 13th!!! That is in 12 days!!! Our consulate appointment will be on August 21 and we will head home on August 22!!! Sooner than we thought! PTL! Just a few more sleeps before we head to China to pick up our daughter, Ruthie Grace!! 
I will post more information as soon as I receive our itinerary from Lifeline. Please continue to follow our journey to China as I will be blogging and posting pictures while we are in China, especially Gotcha Day!! 


Blessings & Love,
Julie

Lifeline Travel Meeting!! Getting Closer......

I have finally gotten a chance to write about the travel meeting that I
attended on Friday. Unfortunately, Steve was unable to attend because of
issues at work. :( None the less, the notes I took explained everything to
him, Carson and Hailey. Boy are they excited now!! :)

Basically, we went over the itinerary of the trip. Some folks have asked me
why we have to stay 2 weeks and if it is necessary. I don't believe 2 weeks
is long enough. My thoughts are that in Ruthie's eyes, these strange people
are about to come and take her from all she has ever known for 18 months
and get on a big plane and come back to where no one looks like her and
doesn't sound like her. That would be hard on anyone. Please pray for her
transition.

If I bore you, I apologize, but some of asked how our 2 week stay would be.
So, during the 2 weeks of our stay below is basically what we will be
doing. We will not know for sure until we get our confirmation of dates
from China.

Thursday - Leave U.S
Friday - skip a day (China is a day ahead of U.S.)
Saturday - arrive in Hong Kong, get on a train for 2 1/2 more hours and
head to Guangzhou
Sunday - rest and get ready for the remainder of the 2 weeks and of course
like any other vacation, visit Wal-Mart!
Monday - Gotcha Day - We will receive Ruthie Grace Sidan Boyd. We will pick
her up from the Civil Affairs office. Basically, imagine a big room with
lots of chairs (doctor's office) and waiting for someone to call your name.
We will walk over to the red curtain and will be handed Ruthie Grace by her
Nanny and the orphanage director. We will have about an hour to spend with
her and the Nanny, ask questions and get answers about Ruthie. We will
spend the remainder of the day with her without a guide. We will probably
stay in the hotel to get to know her, play and then go to dinner.
Tuesday - We will go back to the Civil Affairs office and complete some
more paperwork
Wednesday - sight seeing, shopping. Apparently in Guangzhou there are lots
of shops (tea, electronic, jewelry and furniture stores). Lots of places to
eat. The one thing that they told us was that we shouldn't eat anything on
a stick!! :) We will be going to the Guangzhou Zoo and Botantical Gardens.
The zoo apparently is a very nice zoo and has lots of animals, including a
dalmation dog and squirrel! :) That seems funny to us, but I am sure that
they rarely see them. A new friend of mine is currently in Guangzhou
picking up her little girl. She took lots of pictures of the animals and
they look well taken care of. The panda and white tiger are beautiful!!
Thursday - another day of sight seeing and shopping
Friday - We will be traveling 4 hours to visit Ruthie's orphanage, Maoming
Orphanage. Our guide will drive a "limo" a.k.a. van for us. All 5 of us
will be traveling with her. This will be a bitter sweet visit for us. I am
anxious to see what she has known for the past 18 months, her nanny, her
friends and where she laid her pretty head every night. I am forever
grateful for her parents for making the decision to not parent her so that
she would be given to a good family to be taken care of and loved!  We will
be able to meet her friends and have pictures made with them and just see
their everyday life. After the orphanage visit, we will then go to her drop
off spot. This spot will be where she was abandoned when she was 2 days old
last February. She was dropped off under a pavilion in a box in the
freezing cold near a hospital. As it saddens my heart, I know Jesus wrapped
her with his warm arms!! :) As you may be thinking, "Why would you do that
to her?" "Why would you want to go back to where she was abandoned?"  The
day will come when Ruthie will ask her dad and I all about her past. I want
to be able to tell her everything and be completely honest with her. I want
her to know it all. I know she will appreciate the loving family and home
she will grow to love dearly. I want her to also know that her parents are
not bad people, they just wanted better for her. So yes, this will be a
very emotional day.
Saturday - Medical visit. Ruthie will have her last medical check-up in
China.
Sunday - sight seeing and shopping
Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday - will be our final Consulate Appointment.
This is where everything becomes final. We sign lots of paperwork and
finally pick up her passport to travel back to the United States!!  Other
days I am sure sightseeing and resting for our trip home.

We will be staying at The Garden Hotel and it is very nice! Our guide will
be helping us with translations, exchanging money with the bank in our
lobby of the hotel and many many other things. She will be my best friend
for 2 weeks!! There is a nice swimming pool and apparently it is mandatory
to wear swim caps! Ha! You really don't want to know what Steve had to say
about that!! It had something to do with a speedo! Not sure! :) Other than
the itinerary we discussed bonding and post adoption visits. Lifeline will
be a part of our family for the next 5 years. They will come and visit a
few weeks after we come home and continue to come and visit for 5 years to
come. Lifeline has been fabulous! They not only have a "J-O-B" to do, but
they love our family and others as well. They pray with us and they guide
us correctly. They pray for us to get everything back as soon as possible.
They have held our children. They have loved on them and told them that
they will be united with their forever family soon!!
Getting Ruthie will be like having a newborn in so many ways! We will
basically be starting over as she would as a newborn to get her comfortable
in her new home and surroundings. We know it is not going to be easy, but
we know we can get through it!! There will be good days and bad days, but
through it all, she is getting exactly what she needs!! PTL!! I am sure her
personality will reflect it all soon!!

I can't believe that it is almost time! She will be with her forever family
soon and will be loved so very much!! We pray that we will receive travel
approval this week and then our consulate appointment at the beginning of
next week. As soon as we get that information, then we will book our
flights. They say that typically you travel 2 weeks after you receive your
TA!! We have all prayed for this day to come and it will be here soon!!

Please pray for her mom and her nanny. As I know that her mom has no idea
what Ruthie is about to endure this or even cares, but just maybe the
prayers will open her heart and eyes to Jesus!! It is all because of her
that Ruthie is alive and has brought so many blessings upon us all!!
Ruthie's Nanny is one of the most admired ladies in the world to me right
now. She loves, care for, feeds, nurtures and plays with Ruthie! I just
pray that Ruthie will look at me as she does her Nanny. I will do the same
and I will make that promise to her. I can't wait to meet her to give her a
big hug and tell her thank you for taking care of our daughter. We made a
promise to God to let him guide us on this journey to bring Ruthie home and
give her a better life. We never thought that Ruthie's journey would better
our lives like it has today!

As soon as I get travel dates, they will go out immediately!!

Blessings & Love,

Julie

LOA, 800 Approval and now waiting on Article 5

So in the international adoption world all these acronyms mean so much to us! When we hear any of the above, we get very excited!! It just means one step closer to our babies. To you that don't understand the acronyms, I thought I would explain them a little more in detail because I have brought you into this journey and I feel like you should know....so here goes!!

International Adoption Lingo

My lingo list will be specific to China.

Dossier: The compilation of official documents about the prospective adoption family. This includes birth & marriage certificates, medical exams, police back ground checks, employment letters, tax returns. All items in the dossier have to be notarized, certified by the secretary of state you live in, certified by the US secretary of state and authenticated by the Chinese embassy. COMPLETED!!

LL: Lifeline Children's Services, this is the fabulous agency that we are using.

DTC: Dossier to China, this the date that your agency sends your dossier to China. COMPLETED!!

LID: Log In Date, this is the date that the ChIna Center for Adoption Affairs records the acceptance of your dossier. COMPLETED!!

SN: Special Need, this is the program that refers children with a specified special need.

Referral: this is the package of information that contains your child's photo, medical and personal information. COMPLETED!!

LOI - This is the Letter of Intent that we sent to China asking them to give us approval to move forward with Ruthie's adoption. COMPLETED!!

LOA: Letter of Acceptance, this is the approval that China issues after you have accepted your referral. FINALLY COMPLETED!!!

I800A - Application to U.S. Immigration asking permission to bring a foreign born orphan into the country. COMPLETED!!


NVC: National Visa Center. After USCIS approves your immigrant visa petition (I-800/I-600), your petition is forwarded to the NVC in New Hampshire for immigrant visa pre-processing. This is only for U.S. adoptive parents.


Article 5 - letter authorizing permanent residence for Ruthie in the U.S.

TA - This is the Travel Authorization document that comes from the CCAA inviting us to come to China to adopt Bailey!  Boy will that be a wonderful day when we get the call that the TA has come!!!

CA: Consulate Appointment, this is the swearing in ceremony at the US Consulate in ChIna 

Gotcha Day - This is the day when we will finally be united with our sweet Ruthie Grace in China!

So where are we now?? Well we received our LOA after 100 days!! That was the longest wait during the entire process!! We received our Chinese Visas! That was pretty neat!! Our 800 paperwork was approved and now we are waiting on our Article 5 ....As soon as we get our Article 5, then we will only have one step between us and Ruthie!! Then off to China we will go!! Keep the prayers coming!! Fingers crossed our travel date will move up to August!! Woohoo!!

Blessings and Love to you all!!

Julie

GOD PROVIDED IT ALL!! ALL TO HIM WE OWE!!! PRAISE JESUS!! After a little over a year of fundraising to bring Ruthie Grace home, we have finally reached our goal of $35,000.00!! Hallelujah! A year ago when we started the process we were told before receiving our application and manual that the approximate costs would be around $25,000. That amount did not include the kids traveling with us, but should be about $28,000 with them to go with us. The year went by and the costs continue to rise, which was a very uneasy feeling because once we got to a certain level of raising money we just knew that we were almost there. In the middle of all cost changes China decided to make it mandatory to have post adoption visits from Lifeline for 5 years after we bring Ruthie home, which a little over a $1000. Then the travel costs went up, the costs for Carson and Hailey to go went up, the orphanage costs went up and a few other costs went up......UGH! Why is it so hard to get our daughter home from China?? I have continually asked myself that over and over again. I asked God, "Why does it cost so much and why does it take so long????" Well, he turned the tables on me and asked me, "Why does it matter??" I have lead you on this journey, you should obey me and not question me or my work....Trust in me!!!  There are millions of orphans that will never have a home, never be loved and never hear about the Lord. They ask themselves every day if they will ever be loved or if they will age out of the orphanage before becoming adopted. So, the stress of raising $35,000 or the wait time is nothing compared to what the orphans of the world worry about.......Will I ever be loved??  Will someone take on the adoption journey for me? Will someone not worry about the costs and wait time for me? Will I have a forever family??? These are just a few of the questions that they ask. My worries are small compared to theirs......Ruthie will be home soon!!!

So, I really wanted to recap what this past year has brought through the fundraisers to get to the final penny. As you all know, we have done so many, that it really is hard to comprehend!! We have worked hard on attending craft fairs with our handmade items. We had a Christmas open house with our handmade holiday items!! I took photographs for baseball/softball. We had a golf tournament and had a blast!! We won a matching grant through Lifesong for $2500 that many contributed to, including Kathy McCulley that matched it for us in honor of her niece. At the same time, we had a Ordinary Hero contest to win a grant for $500. So many of you purchased lots of items to help us win the grant including commission. That total came to $1410.38 including a donkey named "Boyd" that Kathy McCulley purchased to help a lady that needs help carrying food for her family in Africa!! What a blessing!! We had a Pampered Chef party and all the commission was donated to the adoption fund, thank you Lauren Kimbrel!! We had two Thirty One parties with Candi Boissel!! Ruthie is set on bags!! :) We sold flips flops and made $1000!! Goodness at the flip flops and the adoption tshirts!! We just recently had a charity event at the Blue Bumble Bee! Thank you to everyone who came out, purchased and enjoyed the wonderful cake from Marilyn Montgomery!! Thanks to Bevin for helping me organize the charity event!! Thanks to Bevin and Adam Tomlin for the silent auction! It was a huge success!! The yard sales, that would be 3!! They were a huge success!! Thanks to Jason and Jennifer Slye for their generous donation! Thanks to Brittany Cobern for her generous donation!! Thanks to Craig and Crandi Miller for their generous donation!! Thanks to Grace Life Baptist Church for their generous donation!! Thanks to my sister, Missy, for sewing and sewing and sewing when I need just one more crayon roll!! Goodness, there are crayon rolls all over the world now!! Ruthie even has one that was mailed to her along with enough for her friends at the orphanage!! Thanks to my sister, Brandi, for organizing Ruthie's shower and always buying something at every party or show that we did! It was a huge success and she will dressed to impress for a long time!! She and Ryan also provided their home to have the yard sales and let us keep the items there until the next yard sale!!  There are so many many more that I want to thank that I know I am missing........................ Just know that you are all loved and appreciated so very much!!!

Of course we could not have done it without the help and guidance from Ruthie's grandparents!! We could not have done the handmade items without Nana and Gda Boyd. They have worked so hard to cut out the crosses, frames, carrots, stockings and so on...We have sold hundreds and hundreds of different items and lost so much sleep. We attended so many craft fairs and reached so many people! We now have a booth that is at Encore Resales in Pelham that they furnish items. They have spent alot of time refinishing furniture and making more handmade holiday items that have taken off well and sold extremely well!!! Not only is someones house going to look lovely, but their granddaughter will be home soon. We could not have done all of this without them!! 

We also could not have done it without Maw Maw and Paw Paw Bates. MawMaw made alot of handmade headbands and hairbows to sell at the events. They supported us through all of the craft fairs as well. After each fundraiser they would ask, "O.k. how much more??" They wanted to help us, but I would say that I needed to get another fundraiser in because I wanted to reach more people and see how much more I could raise. They wanted to do something to help bring Ruthie Grace home. So, as you all may know, my dad is also an electrician. He wired a house last month and told me to let him know after the Blue Bumble Bee charity event to let him know just how much was left to raise. He told me that I needed to spend the remainder of the time with my family and get rested up for the trip. So, that night I let he and my mom know exactly what was left to raise. He wired the house to help raise the remainder of our goal!! They are so proud and excited that so much came out of wiring a house. Not only was the home owner going to have power, but his granddaughter is now coming home!! 

Their granddaugher will be forever grateful and love them so much!!  We are also forever grateful for having such wonderful parents!! Their love and support through this all is very overwhelming and means so much to us!! 

Carson and Hailey have had a huge part in this journey as well. Hailey has helped with craft fairs, painting and praying!! She has helped with picking out clothes and lots of fun stuff for Ruthie. She had a picture of Ruthie on her desk at school and prayed for her daily!! Carson has also helped with craft fairs and yard sales and also lots of prayers!! A few weeks ago he asked how he could help. We were discussing Ruthie and the amount of money left to raise to get her home. I explained to Carson that God has been so good to us this past year and has provided every penny of $30,000.00!!!! We have about $5,000 left to raise within the next few months, which will and can be done. He went down stairs grabbed his wallet and came back upstairs witha huge smile on his face. He said " Mom, I may not have much, but I do have $105 that I want to contribute to help bring Ruthie home." " I just want my sister home!!" As hard as it was to take his hard earned money from his grass cutting, I couldn't rob him of his blessing!! I am so proud of him and his love for his sister that he has never met and for our God that loves him so much!! God gets the glory for shining through my sweet kiddos!!! My heart is so full of joy!!! Love my kids!!!

Thanks to everyone that has had some part in this journey whether it be financially or through prayer!! Please continue to pray for us and these last few months of waiting. God knows what he is doing through all of this as we may not see it now, we will see it in a few months! God bless you all!! Ruthie will be home soon!!

Praise Jesus that we are in our waiting stage and RUTHIE WILL BE HOME SOON!!

Blessings & Love,

Julie

Ruthie receiving care package

Ruthie's Care Package!!