Still Chasing Paper . . .

Hello!

So I figure we are more than overdue for an update! We have been in a little bit of a lull over the past month or two.  Matt and I finished gathering most of our necessary documents and completing our part of the home study so it was time to sit and wait on others to complete their tasks before we could proceed to the next steps.  I have to admit, at first I was a bit frustrated with the waiting, however it has been a nice reprieve.  

In the meantime we completed our t-shirt design and collected orders from family and friends-many of them you!  We so appreciate the support we have received!  We know that the Lord has placed so many of you in our lives to encourage us along the way and we are so grateful!  The t-shirts are being printed now and we are hoping they will arrive in the next week to us so we can begin to distributing them.  I also took on a new endeavor as a Matilda Jane Trunk Keeper in order to help contribute money towards our adoption funding.  For those of you who are not familiar, Matilda Jane is a company of clothing for babies, girls, tweens and women and it is absolutely ADORABLE and fantastic.  I have enjoyed using one of my "hobbies", as Matt refers to it (AKA buying cute and quality clothing for Taylor, Madelyn and myself), and sharing it with others while providing towards our adoption.  It's a win for everyone!  You can see the clothing at www.matildajaneclothing.com and look me up! (Jenn Wallace, Trunk Keeper #3223)

Today Matt and I continued our paper chase with a visit to the County Clerks Office in Memphis.  We have to have each of our documents that are notarized confirmed by the County Clerk (and of course each there is a fee for each document ;) ).  We had the sweetest lady helping us.  Each step is so stressful in the process because if anything is messed up you have to start the whole thing over again for that document.  And the rules are CRAZY.  Like "Don't mess up the staples or it will look like you tampered with the document and you will have to re-do it."  WHAT THE HECK?!?  So every time she stapled I watched with sweaty palms. . .seriously, not joking.  If I survive this process without hypertension I will be amazed.  Next the documents go to Nashville and then Washington D.C. and then the Chinese Consulate (also in D.C.) and then to CHINA in the Dossier!!!!  That will be a fantastic day.  We still lack one document called the I800A which is the governments approval for us to adopt a child from another country.  This approval can take up to 90 days (holy moly) but we are hoping that it will be more like 45ish days.  We shall see.  This will be the last document we wait on for the Dossier (AKA large pack of documents that goes to China).

Our sweet friend who helped us at the County Clerks Office!

We literally had to search through these books for a notary that wasn't in the computer system.  Matt was pretty sure I was going to be arrested for taking this picture!

Outside the County Clerk Office with "The Adoption Files Box"

So that is our update for now.  Still paper chasing.  But getting closer all the time to seeing the precious little one that the Lord has chosen for us!  I think about what he/she is doing now.  I pray for him/her as I am certain he/she is born.  I pray the Lord covers him/her with His feathers and protects them from pain and sorrow and keeps them safe until we can come to bring him/her to their forever family!  I was in Sunday School (I still call it Sunday School even though I'm a grown up now) the other day and a verse we read jumped out at me and brought tears to my eyes.  The Lord was telling me that He is still in control, as He always is and I so easily seem to forget.  I love this verse as it is so fitting for our family right now.

I also LOVE the song by Natalie Grant called "King of the World".  It talks about how we can sometimes forget how great and mighty and powerful and AMAZING God is.  After all if He created this whole world, I'm petty sure He can handle all of the "goings on" of the world as well.  So when I get stressed that things aren't working on MY timeline or how I want them to go, I realize it isn't about what I think should or shouldn't happen; but that I serve an All Powerful, All Knowing God who's got this under control!  Praise the Lord!  Here are a few of the lyrics:

When did I forget that you've always been the king of the world?

I try to take life back right out of the hands of the king of the world

How could I make you so small

When you're the one who holds it all

When did I forget that you've always been the kind of the world

Ohhh, you set it all in motion

Every single moment

You brought it all to me

And you're holding me