{UPDATE}

We got an update on Makayla this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so excited!!!! Here is a LO I created this morning of her new pictures:) I cannot believe how much she has already grown since last month! She is so cute with her little smirk in the first picture!

{WE GOT OUR...}

Log In Date (LID) TODAY and a Lady Bug Letter from our Adoption agency!!!! However, our LID is was actually dated for August 27, 2009 because China releases them in batches. So, it was only 6 days after our Dossier went to China that we got our official LID. Clearly God has a plan and I am freakin' excited to live it!!!!

Now, we are waiting for a SPEEDY Letter Seeking Confirmation (LSC). That states that we do in fact want our Makayla and then when that is returned to CHINA with a big YES, we will then receive our Travel Approval (TA)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are one step closer to our little girl!!!

Also, the family that is taking our photo album and stuffed animal to Makayla, will be there on the 21st of this month. That is only 11 days until she sees US, her FOREVER FAMILY!!!!! I cannot wait to see MORE pictures of absolute sweetness.

In the mean time, I have been working on Makayla's 100 Good Wishes Quilt. I have 48 squares ready to sew and 27 coming in the mail from a Yahoo Group I joined. The 27 squares are from women all over the world who are also adopting from China and making their child a quilt. I just mailed 25 letters with fabric and wishes in it. Some are doing two quilts, so I sent two in an envelope. I am so excited and can't wait to get fabric back!!! There were women from Puerto Rico, Australia, Canada and all over the USA. This is going to be a beautiful quilt!!!! I will post pictures when I get started sewing.

I also finished reading another book...Saving Levi. If you have not read this book, you should!!! It was a fast read and a very touching. It shows God's Hands in one family's entire adoption process. You will be amazed!!!

OK, well there is your update! Keep praying...it's working!!!!!!

Hugs,
The Sweeney's

{Makayla's Room}

I finally had a moment to post a picture of Makayla's room for you all to see. I just LOVE to be in her room right now! I sometimes just lay on the floor and imagine that I am that much closer to her.
My neighbor and friend Christine painted Makayla's wall for me and we love it!!! Then only thing we are waiting for is her actual crib mattress and of course the most important is her!

~NEWS~NEWS~NEWS~NEWS~
We also had some other exciting news...we sent Makayla a small package (8-27-09) with a photo album and a stuffed animal blanket. I had so much fun making the album for her, it made me realize that this very album I am putting together for her will actually be in her tiny hands THIS MONTH!!!! It has pictures of all of us, her Grand parents, our house, her room and her pets. There is another family going to get their little one from the same orphanage that Makayla is at and they were willing to take her a package for us. I am so excited for her to get it, maybe it will put a smile on her little face!
Here area couple of pictures of us with her items...we are actually at the post office because I forgot the camera!!! I had just had a corneal bandage (contact) put on my eye and I was NOT thinking that morning! I had a paper-cut on my eye and it would not heal with out this contact!!! Thank God for contacts, the pain was awful until the bandage! Enough about me...here is the picture taken with my cell phone...Have a wonderful week!!!
The Sweeney's


And now these three remain: Faith, Hope and Love. But the greatest of these is love.
~1 Corinthians 13:13

{YIPPPPPYYYYYY}

OUR DOSSIER OFFICIALLY WENT TO CHINA TODAY (jumping up and down)!!!! We are finished with our paper chase for our little girl!! We feel so blessed at how quickly our process has gone. We feel God is in control of everything and he really wants us to have our Makayla. I cannot wait for the moment I can hold her in my arms, kiss on her little cheeks, and hear her giggle for the first time!! I don't even know her yet, but I love her and miss her. Mommy is ready...!!!

Next step is waiting for our Log In Date (LID) and our Letter Seeking Confirmation (LSC) When those come in, which can take 6 weeks to a couple of months (we have faith is will be soon), we will then get our travel plans. We basically have to have an appointment at the American Embassy in China and permission from the Chinese government and Makayla's province to come in to the country. We were assigned a new person, Beth is her name, at GWCA today. She will be arranging our travel for us. Can you believe how FAST God has worked in our lives for this little girl!!!

We almost have her room ready too. My friend and neighbor Christine has hand painted the most adorable cherry blossoms on Makayla's wall. My friend Sandy has loaned us a beautiful crib. My friend Cortney gave us a car seat, books, DVDs, and clothes. My friend Lisa surprised me with some super cute gifts for Makayla when we were in Seattle. THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU!!!! This is so FUN shopping and planning for a little girl again. I will take some pictures soon of her room and post them for you to see.

A Special Thank You~
We could not have done this so quickly and efficiently with out our coordinator Cortney and her husband Sean, who paved the path before us in their adoption. They were both a wealth of knowledge and when ever we needed anything or had any questions, they would be there for us. Even if they didn't have the answers then, they would research and ask questions until they did. The bonus is that through this process we have become friends. Their little girl is from the same orphanage as Makayla, so I hope they will be close and kind of like sisters. This has been an absolutely wonderful experience and we are grateful to be chosen by God to be Makayla's parents.

Have a wonderful evening and THANK YOU for all your prayers and continued support!
The Sweeney's

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ~Mark 11:24

{WE GOT IT}

We got our Pre-Approval (PA) letter from CHINA today!!! We have been officially matched with our little girl, Makayla!!! We were so excited that it only took China 7 days to process our request, the time frame should have been 2-4 weeks!! Now, our dossier will be sent to China matched with Makayla. They are saying that the process time for our Dossier is running 70-120 days. We will just see about that, I cannot imagine it going that slow with as fast as the rest of our process has been, but again it is all in God's hands and I am trusting in Him! When they have fully processed our Dossier we will get our Log In Date (LID) and Letter Seeking Confirmation ( LSC). The LSC is China asking us one last time if we are sure we want to accept Makayla as our daughter. When we send that letter back with a giant YES, we should get our travel plans in about 2-4 weeks after that.


Here is what you have all been waiting for...I made this LO on the way to Seattle Sunday morning, when we received updated pictures of her. She most likely just woke up from a nap, but she is still so CUTE, sleepy eyes and all!!! I cannot wait to hold this precious little girl in my arms and call her my own!!! God is so good!!!! Makayla has a "Forever Family" and we have a "FOREVER daughter"!

Thank you for all your prayers and please continue to pray for all of us in this process.

The Sweeney's

{SCREECHING HALT}

Picture created by FlowerFlora at Two Peas in a Bucket

Well, kind of!!! After all the RUSH to get our FINAL Dossier to GWCA, we found out that we had two documents that needed to be re-done and I had forgotten to add the original passport photo's!! However, it again is God's Plan...turns out that if we had sent our Dossier in this Friday, we would have had to pay the FULL price going the Non-Special Needs route. We had in fact chosen Makayla, but China still needs to send us the Pre-Approval letter and say YES to that. Once that happens, which takes about two weeks, we can then be matched with Makayla and it will be the Waiting Child route. That route is about $400 dollars cheaper, not that that is a big deal, but that will be $400 towards the orphanage donation instead! So, we will wait the two weeks for the Pre-Approval letter and then send in the Dossier. Thank you Lord!!! It seems so confusing when you hear about it, but when you actually experience it, it all makes so much more sense!!! I did get all the new documents in the mail to Jessa by 2:00pm, so she should receive them this week. WHEW!!!!

What else happened today you ask?!?! We went to our church and picked up our Letter of Recommendation from our very own Pastor Cathy!!! We just love her and I am so honored she would write this letter for us and then get her picture taken! She will forever be a part of our adoption process and that just makes my heart smile. She is more than just a Pastor to me, she is my sister and friend! Thanks Cathy!!!

Well, that is your NEWEST update for today and we will continue to pray for grants and wait for China to send our Pre-Approval letter. I can't believe it has almost been a week since we said "YES" to our Makayla!!!

Have a wonderful evening!
The Sweeney's

{MIND-BOGGLING NEWS}

We have had so much to do since we locked Makayla's file on Friday (July 31st)!!! We had to send a letter of Intent (LOI), pictures and more paperwork to Stephanie at Great Wall China Adoption (GWCA) by Saturday evening!! After our LOI was checked by Stephanie, all those documents were sent to China on Sunday (August 2). Now, we wait for our Pre-Approval (PA) letter. That could take anywhere from 2-4 weeks. We are praying for it to go smoothly and that they accept our letter, so we can be matched with our little girl!!!
On Monday (August 3) all our Dossier documents came in the mail from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco!! I checked the date on the envelope of when they sent it back to us and it was the same day we said "YES" to our Makayla (July 31st)!!! That was no coincidence, but God at work with His master plan and another Red Thread!
We still had a couple things to complete with the Dossier back in our hands. We were going to have to move pretty FAST to get it all in the mail on the same day we got it back!!! We had to go make 2 copies of the entire Dossier, fill out the cover letters, passport photo's...etc!!! We ran out the door to Kinko's and it took us an hour to make all those copies. We then jump back in the car to head to the Post Office to mail the FINAL Dossier to GWCA. We made it with 15 minutes to spare before the Post Office closed for the day!!!! WHEW!!!
If our Dossier gets to them by today, August 5th (praying), Jessa will be able to review it. If everything look good then our Dossier will be mailed to CHINA this Friday (August 7th)!!!! That would mean that our LOI and our Dossier got to China in the same week! GW only mails the Dossiers to China on Friday's, so if there is any problem at all we will have to wait for the next Friday. We are praying hard for THIS Friday!!! Then, we wait again, but this time it is for our Log In Date (LID). When that happens, which could take up to 90 days, we can then be ready to travel to CHINA to get our little Makayla. We are hoping before the end of the year to travel.
Mike and I have been filling out grants like crazy to hopefully help us with a portion of the adoption expenses. We were not planning on going so soon, but very excited to be able to hold her in our arms!!!! Please continue to pray for us, so we can move quickly to bring Makayla home.

I think I have talked enough for one morning:) I hope you all have a blessed day and thank you for you prayers!

HUGS,
The Sweeneys

This was my favorite picture that Missi took of us making all the copies!!! He loves me ya ya ya:)

This is us right before running out the door of the copy center to mail the FINAL Dossier!!! Yes, it is in a plastic Ziploc bag, for protection. I guess more than one family has had their Dossier arrive and it had been dropped in a puddle or caught in a rain storm. All the documents were wet and the ink had ran all over!!

{GOD is GOOD}

WE ARE SO THRILLED TO TELL YOU THE NEWS............I do not have a lot of time to post tonight, but I did want to let you all know we locked a little girls file today and our Makayla has found us!!!!!!!!!! It has been a roller-coaster for the last 3 days, but God has held our hands the entire way. I cannot post pictures of her, her real name, or her birthday until the CCAA gives us approval. What I can tell you she is sooooo ADORABLE!!! She is just 2 years old this month, 22 lbs, and 30 inches tall!!! We are on cloud 9 and are so EXCITED to be chosen as her Mom and Dad!!! We will be traveling to China in hopefully less than 6 months to get her and bring her home. I will come back later to fill you in with more details, but for now we are exhausted and in awe of God and how quickly He has brought us together as Makayla's FOREVER family!!!

The Sweeney's

{WOOHOO}

Update time, grab a cup of tea and have a sit, this could take a while...LOL

I hadn't posted it, but on the 20th of July we got our Authenticated document back from Olympia!!! That only took them a few days!!! I was then on the phone with our Coordinator and our Dossier Consultant to make sure I had all the proper information to send my 13 documents to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco for more Authentication!!! It took me just a day to get it all together (copies of all documents, G1, cover letter, money order, and a self addressed postage paid envelope) and it was in the mail for just $35!!! LOL I sent it EXPRESS overnight both ways! Here are our pictures at the post office. You cannot take pictures inside the post office, but he let us run back outside with the document and take each others pictures and then take it back in to be mailed.

As soon as that nice FAT envelope comes back to me (and we are praying hard that it is FAST with no complications),we have everything ready to send to GWCA!!!! That is including the funds to pay our last fee and the money for the CCAA. GOD is good! We sat down two nights ago and figured out all we have paid already for this paper chase. We felt totally blessed how God has brought every dollar we need to get through this first phase. We have sold as much stuff as we could, we have had fabulous friends donate their things for our yard sale, and had extra money in our check book!!! It is so obvious to us that this is Gods plan for our lives.

Our next financial piece is saving for the Orphanage Donation, which is $5, 100 dollars.

I am on page 40 of my cookbook, so that should be ready soon. I was hoping by then end of July, but it may be more like August. Sorry, if you were hoping for July.

Also, I was asked if I wanted to do a fundraiser through Creative Memories to earn money for the adoption. A friend of mine is a consultant and would love to have a bunch of ladies over to scrap and everything they buy, we would get her profit from. That was her way of helping us out!!! I will be planning that one as soon as school starts again and everyone is able to come and have a BLAST scrap booking!

Still not sure of the BINGO night, but it is definitely still on the list to do.

Oh, I also went to Colville and spent some time with family. While I was there I made a stained glass Cherry Blossom for Makayla's room. My mother-in-law is very much into stained glass and had everything I needed for my first project. Here is a picture of me with my Cherry Blossom.


Thank you all for your continued prayers for our famiy and for Makayla!!!
We love you all!
The Sweeney's


"Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your ways to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass." Psalms 37:3-5

{GONE AGAIN}

...but of these, the greatest is love.

Our I-797C is out of my hands again...well, not the original this time but a copy! I had to get a copy of it and then have the document notarized. After that and a $15 check, it is in the mail to Olympia to be authenticated!!!! Whew, another step complete! Now, we wait...again! lol
While I am waiting, I will be getting all 13 documents ready to send off the the Chinese Consulate and hopefully, it won't take Olympia too long to authenticate ONE document. Please continue to keep us in your prayers...
The Sweeney's

{WE GOT IT}

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!! We got our APPROVAL letter from the FBI today and our fingerprints passed!!! We are the proud owners of a I-797C!!!!! I am so relieved I do NOT have to do my prints again, God is good!!! I now have to get it notarized at our bank and then Authenticated at the State level. After that is complete, all of our documents are mailed to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, California. We are one step closer and almost FINISHED!!!!!Have a blessed week!!!
The Sweeney's

{FBI Finger Printing}

Whew, that is over...I hope! Mikes prints were great, but mine may not be. The gentleman who did our prints was very nice, but was not sure if mine would be accepted by the Department of Homeland Security. If even one print is not good, they reject the entire printing! I had two fingers that would not produce a good print, they were visible, but not deep dark prints. He is not the one who ultimately decides, someone else is. He said I need to use "Corn Huskers" and by rubbing that on my fingers on a daily basis, it will rebuild my finger prints! I never knew you could grow them back?!? One of the worst things you can do is garden...ummm...hello, I am a gardener! lol

We are praying that I will not have to go back again. We really want to get moving on the final steps of our adoption paperwork and that could hold us up a week or more. Please keep us in your prayers on this one! We really want our Dossier to China by the end of the month!!!

Other than that...not much else is happening! I am almost finished with cooking all the recipes that will be in my cookbook and we are all enjoying every bit of it. These are all the recipes I cook my family on a regular basis, but I had to cook it all again, so I could take pictures. Trust me on this, you will be hungry when you see the photos! I am also beginning to make some baby quilts to sell and we will still be having our BINGO Night & Silent Auction in the future. I am not sure of the dates yet, but I will be sure to post and let you know!

Hope your 4th was fantastic and have a blessed week!
The Sweeney's

{NEWS}

{picture taken by Fonnetta of our Weeping Cherry Tree 5-2009}

YAY!!! We have our appointments for our FBI fingerprinting with Homeland Security! We are so excited at the thought of being finished with this paper chase. Our journey has been so smooth, so I really cannot complain. However, I would love to take a deep breath and know that China has our file and have given us a log in date. That should happen in July sometime.

In the mean time, I am working on my cookbook. It too should be completed and ready to sell in July. I have been having so much FUN cooking and taking pictures of all the yummy food that will be in it. I will keep you posted when it is ready to sell. I don't want it to cost more than $20. We are hoping for success with this fundraiser. We need all the funds we can get right now for the adoption.

I have also started preparing to make Makayla a "100 Good Wishes Quilt" or "Bai Jai Bei". I have just finished the letter and will be sending it out soon. A little history about what this is...

When a baby is born, family and friends would donate to the child's mother fabric scraps. It is said that the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed the fabric surrounds the child when she is wrapped in the quilt. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

After our coordinator told us about the quilt she made for her daughter, I fell in love with the idea. I am really excited to start sewing this masterpiece. I made a quilt for each one one of our children when they were babies, so it is only fitting. Like I said, I will be mailing out those letters soon. It has a lot more information in it. If you have any questions, please just shoot me an email or make a comment and I will try to answer it.

Have a blessed day!
The Sweeney's

Romans 5:1-4 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through out Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this Grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

{UPDATE}

We have made some serious progress this week:) I forgot to post that our last two documents were authenticated in Olympia on June 5th. THANK YOU Mr. Otis!!! Now we have all of our documents authenticated and ready to send to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco to be authenticated for the last time! Then...lookout GWCA our Dossier will be on its way!!!



We had our second yard sale Saturday, for the adoption and we raised $800.00!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it?!?! We were so excited. Just about everything we had, sold on Saturday. We are donating the leftovers now.

~A SPECIAL THANK YOU~ to Mike's parent for ALL their help, we could NOT have accomplished this Yard Sale with out YOU!
Also, Thank You to:
The Daniels Family
The Bowers Family
The Otis Family
The Davidson Family
The Fisher Family
and all the fabulous people who shopped here!

I spoke with our Dossier Consultant, Jessa, she cleared up several questions and then reviewed our family pictures which will be attach to our Dossier! We passed with flying colors! I made three scrapbook pages to send. We could have up to 10 photos. So check that off the list! We are so ready:)







~NEWS~
We just got word today that our I-800A was received at Homeland Security!!!! Then in the mail came the Notice of Action!!! I cannot begin to comprehend the speediness of our process with everything! Now, we should get word in a day or two that we need to go be fingerprinted. They will give us a time and date to get that done again.

Have a WONDERFUL day and THANK YOU for your support and continued prayer in our adoption process!

The Sweeney's

Isaiah 43:5
Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the East
and gather you from the West.

{several things}

I wanted to give an update on our progress...
On May 30th we received our approval letter form Great Wall regarding our Home Study!!! That was so fast, not the actual Home Study process, but the actual approval letter after it was finished!!! We were so excited, because we needed that to be attached to our Home Study to make it official and for when it is sent for the Authentication, I-800A, and the Dossier. Here is a picture...





Also, I was able to go on Monday, June 1st and pick up our four notarized copies of our Home Study from Nora. That is a huge weight off my shoulders. We are now ready to send our I-800A and begin researching grants for our adoption.



Yesterday, June 2nd, I sent our I-800A by 2 day mail:) They should receive it by Friday!!!! Then, from what I understand, it will take them about 37 days to process the information and we are ready to get our last fingerprinting by the FBI and compile our Dossier!!!! (special thanks to my friend Chris for coming with me to snap my picture)



While that is all happening our last two documents are in Olympia being Authenticated!!!!

Thank you again for all your continued prayers! Our adoption would not be going this smoothly if it wasn't for all of our fabulous friends and family. We know with out a shadow of a doubt that this is His plan and we are so thrilled!!!

I always like end with a scripture and this one just spoke to my heart!!!

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11