Meaty Meeting

Long story short: Life is flying by so quickly that its taking forever. I know that doesn't make any sense, but parts of my life seem to be snail slow (school...) while others seem to be flying high (adoption...)! Needless to say, exams are next week, so it's only gonna get tougher.

Today we went to an "Adoption Travel Meeting". However, it wasn't all about travel as I anticipated. It was almost 3 hours long. I was not excited. After having been there, done that, I am so glad that I went! There was so much information that I am not sure how to sum it up! Basically its a huge super long tedious process, and we're so close (relatively)! We are waiting for a certain form to be cabled from America to China, signed off there, and sent back here (should take a weeks or so, but a family we talked to has been waiting for over 3 weeks...). Then we begin the wait for Travel Approval (TA), which should take about 3 weeks. It's all so exciting, and only just now beginning to feel real! I can't believe this is actually going to happen! :)

We got the gist of the trip when we will finally to China as well as some advice about when we get back. Basically, they encouraged moms to be the ones to care for the needs of the child, the dad to be the assistant, and the children to be the playmates. Our case is very different from all of the other families in that we have 4 older children, and she is 6, not a baby. So, my mom will be following up with a social worker about post-adoption (for our specific case) later.

We also got financial estimates. Excuse me as I go pull my hair out...

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I know God will provide for us, but that's a lot of money. Please pray :)

So as you can see we feel very close, and the anticipation is building, but still have a month or two to go. But I believe in miracles. :)

In Him,
Chelsey :)

It's Never Not Time to be Thankful

Well, I'm not sure what to say. I suppose "Happy Thanksgiving" would be appropriate, but the current aura in our house says something different. It doesn't feel like Thanksgiving, and quite frankly, the Bennett household is not in a particularly celebratory mood. Our family has been on extaordinarily high stress levels all week. One of my close relatives is now in a treatment facility for depression/anxiety/insomnia, etc, which is adding emotional turmoil to the family. I love this individual so much that I share in his suffering. Granted, not nearly as much as my his parents, but the mutual burden remains. If you get the chance, please pray for him. He just went through an emotional break-up, and is now being housed in a treatment facility (unfamiliar to him) away from his family during the holiday. (I don't release all information simply beacause it is not necessary. God hears us when we call, and he knows our hearts. You don't have to know someone's name to pray for them.)

Beyond the constant reminder of this individual's absence, my family is very excited about the adoption. We are incessantly reminded of God's divine plan for us, Yang Yi, and our relative in need. We know it is not our plan, but God's and we know that He fulfills His promise for our own hope, benefit, and future (Jeremiah 29:11). We don't understand everything that's going on right now, and we don't know how treatments will go for our loved one... all we know is that a sovereign, loving, all-powerful, all-knowing God is watching and holding onto us for our dear lives. (And we will always remember to have H.O.P.E.)

It seems that there's never a dull moment in the Bennett household. Theres always some sort of drama, stress, or waiting. Then again- that's life. God promised us that we would suffer. Life is not all "honky-dory". We are sinners in need of the cleansing blood of Christ, and being constantly reminded of this is something to be thankful for. I never want to go a day without being reminded of Christ's steadfast love and abundant mercy.

So, on that note, I want everyone to know that amidst the pain and suffering, beyond the yearning and waiting, I AM THANKFUL for Christ's love and mercy, and I am thankful because of it. I am thankful for the beautiful ways that He's touched my heart (and used other's hearts to touch mine). I AM THANKFUL that he made this treatment opprotunity so clear and gave his parents wisdom. I am thankful that Carson, my brother got to come home for Thanksgiving, I AM THANKFUL for IHOP, where we ate Thanksgiving dinner (no one really felt like cooking or cleaning given the circumstances). I am thankful for God's beautiful creation and the people He's used to further our knowledge of it. I AM THANKFUL for so much in my life right now! Yet the cool thing is: I will never be able to appreciate all of what God has done for me. never. and for that: I AM THANKFUL. I am so thankful that I will never be too thankful. I am so thankful that God will always be more than enough for me. I AM THANKFUL.

I want to encourage you all right now, that even if you're not celebrating Thanksgiving in the typical way, it's never not time to be thankful.

In Him,
Chelsey :)

painting, showers, and THANKS-GIVING!

My school has graciously given their students an entire week off for Thanksgiving break! :) I am so Thankful! We've been painting a lot in our house. We're painting Carli and Yi's room, my room, and both of our vanities. Carli chose a brown for their room and a yellow for her bathroom vanity, I chose two different shades of green. Hope they turn out well! Carli finished the brown base yesterday, and will be adding polka dots today. I will be finishing my vanity and starting my room today. So that's what is currently going on in the Bennett house- painting and sore arms!

Of course its exciting to be thinking about Yi while we paint away! We decided to let Carli choose how to decorate because it's her room. And I wont be here much longer (wow!) if they hate rooming together (which i doubt) then maybe Yi can move to my room... or vice-versa... thats a long way away, though...

My mom has been discussing dates with a friend for a possible "baby shower". People can support us by giving things to Yi (whether clothes, toys, books, etc). If you think about it, people usually have a lot of things built up in their house by the time a child is 6 years old. Yi will be 6 1/2 when we get her (hopefully) and at that point will have a backpack filled with belongings. This is more than the typical orphanage supplies. Yi's orphanage (Zhongshan CWI (Child Welfare Institute)) is fantastic and well supported by the government!! (We've just found out that among the many bedrooms, cafeteria, playgrounds, classrooms, there are two "wading-type" pools!)
All that to say: we're very excited, and a shower would be a great way for people to love on us! After it is confirmed and decided, I will announce the date...

Thank you everyone for your prayers and encouraging words of wisdom! I admit at times I feel as though I am typing all these messages for mine and my mom's eyes only. But even if that is the case, I know God has a perfect divine plan for me and this blog. I still find it hard to believe that I actually have a blog, but true it is. :)

In Him,
Chelsey :)

Let's See How Far We've Come

The "new and improved" timeline: So neat to see God's work :)


June 15, 2008- Home from China missions trip


July 27, 2008- Initial paper work finished


August 2, 2008- First official home-study meeting


December 3, 2008- Fingerprints complete


April 6, 2009- Complete Home-study sent to Immigration


June 15, 2009- Immigration Approval


July 27, 2009- DTC/Docier to China


September 16, 2009- Official Referral for Yang Yi


September 17, 2009- LOI/Letter of Intent sent


September 28, 2009- LID/Log In Date


October 12, 2009- PA/Pre-Approval


November 16, 2009- LOA/Letter of Acceptance

(This is a picture of my parents just after they signed the LOA this morning)

December 16, 2009- Visas recieved from China

December 22, 2009- I-800 completed and sent to America

NOW- Completing a few forms, in the process of turning them into the US government, then a few more tedious steps, and we wait for the TA- Travel Approval. That will be the next BIG news... and very possibly the biggest! This feels so surreal... in a good way!

In Him,
Chelsey :)

Nothing Less Than a Miracle

Yesterday we recieved the LOA! It was so exciting! My mom says she couldn't hold back the tears as Karla surprised her with the call. I told you about the detailed Monday I had yesterday, but that was before the rest of the day had begun...

My sister and I got home at about 3:00. We were excited and sat down to chat with my mom at her computer. I updated the blog, then- litterally- the minute I got off of the computer the doorbell rang. A package? My shaking hand signed on the dotted line as the mailman handed me a small package. I immediately noticed the chinese scrawled all over it. The bracelets! I exclaimed as we headed to the living room to open the package.

My mom carefully opened the package and we proudly donned our official Red Thread Bracelets! Now we match Yang Yi! At least we think- there was an extra child's bracelet in the package so our hope is simply that Ann of Red Thread was feeling generous :)

This was exciting in itself! LOA and bracelets in one day! wow! THEN about an hour later my mom recieved an e-mail from China! It was Yang Yi's answers to our questions that we sent her about 2 weeks ago! How wonderful! We were shocked. So much happened in one day! At this point Carli remarked, "At this rate we could get her by Christmas! Heck- tomorrow!"

So as you can see we are very excited. We actually ended up going to Wal-Mart and bought her an outfit and a stuffed animal. :) I love all these beautiful surprises God keeps giving us! This is such a fantastic journey! Hard and long, but good; truly good.

"Life is hard, God is good."

In Him,
Chelsey :)

LOA!!!!!!

It is now day 35 from our PA. Today's Monday. Like every other Monday, the morning was hard, long, and that thought flashes through your head, "Oh my gosh this is only the beginning of the week." My friend and I love to make count-downs. One of our countdowns is the number of Mondays left until a certain anticipated event/break.

Anyways, today started out like every other Monday until about 2nd period. Once again, Carli and I were called to the office to talk to our mom on the phone. We eagerly called my mom. As soon as the dial-tone stopped we heard the word: LOA. I could hear my mom grinning as she spilled out the good news: We've recieved our LOA! Out of the blue! Karla, our social worker, was even surprised! God is good! So much for typical Mondays- today was a day to remember! Carli and I emerged from the office bubbling over with pride as we proceeded to tell the whole school that we got LOA! After only 35 days we got LOA! That is very quick! It hasn't felt quick. I feel like we have been waiting a few months atleast, but its really been just over a month! How exciting! Oh God has perfect timing! Just last Friday I had accepted that things were slowing down. Very exciting. We now have rejeuvenated hope and joy! Thank you all for your prayers! We're very excited!

Glory be to God in the highest! And on earth- peace and goodwill towards men.

In Him,
Chelsey :)

The Tortoise and the Hare

The other day we recieved an e-mail from Ann of Red Thread saying this: "Yang Yi and another girl got their packages today. The were very happy to have the gifts." That was it. It was a little disappointing, but it was enough. I've noticed how much things have slowed down. The past 2 months have been pretty fast paced. We got a referral, new information and pics, sent a carepackage, and are waiting for LOA (Letter of Acceptance) and answers from our questions. Now it seems that things have decelerated back to the typical pace. Now- we're waiting and holding on with patient expectation.

In Him,
Chelsey :)

Updates!

We got a pleasant surprise from Ann of "Red Thread" yesterday! She sent us updates of Yang Yi, and 2 new pictures!



Yang Yi is so beatiful! Getting updates and pictures makes the wait seem shorter. I have also noticed that staying busy does as well. Of course, I don't have to try to do that- Junior year in High School is hectic enough! But if you find yourself restless- fill your time. Don't give yourself time to worry and fret. Fill your time with prayer, thoughts of God, reading scripture. Be in constant prayer. My favorite verse is Philippians 4:6-7 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Amen :) This verse either pops into my head, or is spoken to me by my mom or best friend when I begin to feel stressed- and God relieves my burden! :)

Anyways! The point of this post was to share Yang Yi's new pictures! Oh- and updates! Here are her new measurements:

Height :104cm (40.9")
weight :17kg (37.4 lbs)
head :50cm (19.7")
chest :52cm (20.5")
feet:16cm (6.3")

The referral measurements are often not very recent (or so I've heard), but it would seem that her last measurements were not too far off. She's grown .9 inches and gained 5 pounds since her last measurements. So she's still little! Which will be intersting because my whole family is tall (tallest- 6'4", shortest (13)- 5'5") ... haha oh well! She'll always be our "little" sister! I have a feeling that will be a joke in the years to come...

Please continue praying! Anything can happen and we still wish for things to move quickly! We have absolutely 0 control over the situation- this is ALL God! Thank you!

In Him,
Chelsey :)

Care Package #1

Today is day 31 from our LID. We ordered our carepackage from Red Thread China on Sunday (?) And recieved pictures yesterday of our carepackage from Ann. We had a good letter, but that seems to be it- haha. This is what the package she will recieve from her family looks like:

Ann said the orphanage should recieve the package Thursday or Friday. However, we realized after we sent it that 1) the photo album looks as though it may be appropriate for a younger age (pray she isn't offended) and 2) its kind of a wimpy care package. I saw pictures of some other families' care packages and they were huge! So we decided to do some shopping (!!!) for Yang Yi and send her an even better, more personal, care-package through Lily later. We got so excited, that as soon as I finished my homework, I created what I call a "virtual carepackage" where I searched things I considered appropriate (or just cute :) and copied and pasted them onto a Word document. Long story short I have a page full of Hello Kitty, Pleasant Goat (apparently a popular tv show over there-on Yang Yi's shirt :), stickers, candy, etc. It was very fun to be able to dream like that! We are just hoping that she likes Hello Kitty... most adopted chinese children do...

In Him,

Chelsey :)

PA!!

So it turns out we were going backwards for some reason, and we got our LID before our PA. However, my mom recieved an email this morning confirming that we have recieved Pre-Approval! So basically- we've got her!!! ;) Karla sent us the care-package information today. How exciting is that?!? I am so thrilled to see God work through this process. I dare say we wouldv'e gotten PA sooner if the agency had not been on vacation the past week. When we got the care-package information my mom couldn't help but choke up. We are so close!! This is day 14 from our LID (log-In Date). To set high hopes in the knowledge that God can work through all things, lets say our goal is 60-90 days... that would be by New Years!! Woah! :) As you can see, I and the rest of my family, are very excited! We have already considered names, and we know it must be a "C" name, because all of the kids in our family have "C" names. We have favorites, but I won't reveal them yet.:) Thanks for your support! Please pray for continual hope and trust in God's ultimate plan! This has been a crazy, challenging process, but it is so very worth it! Can't wait to meet Yang Yi!

Love In Him,
Chelsey :)