Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The End of Day 71

Tonight is the end of our 71st day of waiting for our LOA.

We are hopeful to hear news soon!

We received an email from our case manager with all of our last set of papers to fill out and send back. These papers are usually completed at the same time you receive your LOA and then returned. We will be mailing ours back to our agency tomorrow evening so that they might have time to look them over before the weekend.

Although, it's not our LOA, it's movement and it's one step closer to bringing our Jackson home...One Step At A Time!

As soon as we have our LOA we will send Jackson a care package with our pictures!

Blessed Beyond Belief!

Sydney and Jadon selling lemonade and chocolate chip cookies to help bring their little brother home!
We even had dogs come by and purchase items...I believe 4 or 5 dogs came!

Grandma taking a break...did I tell you that FL was setting record high temps for October???


People are still coming...

and coming...!!!!

The final hour I finally get a chance to sit down!

Sydney, Grandma, and Jadon napping after a long day...now DISNEY!






The Night Before

My mom and Kurt's mom (Oma and Grandma) helping tag items.

1:30 am before the garage sale...hoping to get the garage door to shut!




Friday, October 23, 2009

Mid-Autumn Moon Festival---Late Post







I decided to take the kids to the "Oriental Grocery" that is near our church to see if we could find any yummy goodies for our little Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. The closest thing the owner could find for me looked like Perogies and filled with red beans. Not quite what I had in mind for a special treat after dinner. We opted for the Choco-Pies and then ran to Cracker Barrel to buy some good ole southern Moon Pies.
We were spending the evening cleaning out the garage to prepare for our garage sale fundraiser. The weather was pretty nice, so we ate dinner in lawn chairs out in the drive way and then finished up with the Choco-Pies and Moon Pies. Sydney sat in a lawn chair with her lantern watching Jadon hit golf balls.
Kurt now believes he knows why you eat Moon Pies with an RC Cola!






Saturday, October 10, 2009

OUR GOD IS AMAZINGLY GOOD!

Today was our garage sale fundraiser. My mother-in-law was here from Michigan, as well as my mom. We worked until 1:30 this morning preparing and were up by 6:30! Kurt and I drove and put the signs up, moved all of the furniture out to the driveway and then moved the tables out of the garage onto the driveway! Customers began arriving at 7:30 for our 8:00 start time:)

Kurt and I are NOT the garage sale kind of people. Kurt and I love to just put everything on the curb and peek out the window and watch people find new treasures in our "trash". My mom, my sister-in-law, a family from our church all donated items to sell, as well as our own things. We are so GREATFUL for their donations! God was right in the middle of it all! I can't begin to explain how many people came...cars lined the cul-de-sac and down the street CONTINUOSLY from 7:30am-12:00. Twice I stopped myself in the middle of it all and felt God's presence. Only HE could bring this many people to our small neighborhood!

Are you just dying to know how much we raised to bring our sweet, precious Jackson home????Well....Sydney and Jadon sold chocolate chip cookies and lemonade for a total of $42 and change and our GRAND TOTAL for the day was $1,113.91!!!!!!!! Can you believe it???? OUR GOD IS AMAZINGLY GOOD!!!!!

We did take pictures and will post later. We are off to Disney for the rest of the weekend.

Today is day 54 of waiting for LOA. We are ready! (well...almost!) We are hopeful to hear something within the next 2 weeks!

Thank you for all of your prayers! There is almost 1 less orphan in the world!!!

Blessings,
Stacy

Monday, September 21, 2009

He's REAL!!

Kurt and I have been checking the computer NON-STOP for a couple of weeks, hoping to receive pictures of Jackson with his birthday cake! 5 pictures arrived today of a very HAPPY boy and 1 BIG, BIG birthday cake! My favorite picture is of Jackson sitting at the table with the cake in front of him and he is leaning on his elbows on the table (sorry Christi, he'll fit right in here at the Swartzlander household!) with his yellow birthday crown on. The expression on his face says, "This party is for ME! It is finally my turn for a mommy and daddy to send me a birthday cake!" After looking at the pictures, Jackson became more REAL to me! Although our journey has not been as long as most who travel this long, long adoption road, the feelings must be the same. To see his response to something that we, his mommy and daddy, sent to him!

I know you must be wondering why we aren't posting the pictures, but Kurt and I have agreed to follow our agency's instructions to wait until he is legally ours in China. After we have signed our papers in China, which I believe is the day after we get him, we will be posting pictures...from the first one that captured our hearts to the moment he was in our arms! I promise you, you won't be disappointed!

He is as REAL as CHRIST is in our lives! Our LOVE for Jackson is as REAL as it is for CHRIST!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Surreal!


We received a picture today from Ann at Red Thread China of our care package to Jackson. He should be receiving it sometime next week, along with his birthday cake. Hopefully we will receive pictures back of him enjoying the cake rather than getting the camera back when we travel to China. We are told that it just depends on the orphanage.
We will not be able to post any pictures of Jackson until we have LOA, although I know most people post them as soon as they have them. Kurt and I really just want to do what our agency has asked of us. Words can not describe what it feels like to have pictures of him and not to be able to share them with our family and friends afar! He is beautiful! My husband would correct me and say that he is "handsome", just as he corrected me in the delivery room the moment I saw Jadon, once someone finally gave me my glasses back! My arms ache to hold him and rock him and to snuggle up with him. He has the most adorable cheeks!!!! Bright eyes and a sweet smile!
We are now Day 24 in our wait for LOA and we are resting in God's perfect plan!