Swine Flu

Friends,
Please add the swine flu situation to your prayers. It is of course a concern to all, and now it is making its mark on international adoption. Travels to China are understandably being affected, as the introduction of this disease could reek havoc to underdeveloped nations and rural areas such as much of China. The protection of our daughter and all the children in the orphanages are to be priority, and thus possibly delaying their home comings by months. Lord, please keep Breanne and all children safe.
Thanks for your prayers.
Blessings,
Tammy

Prayer Warriors

For anyone following this blog who would do us the honors of becoming a prayer warrior with us in bringing our Breanne home, I ask that you would pray for two things; 1) A timely USCIS re-finger print appointment, and 2) An official Letter of seeking Confirmation from China (LOSC). I won't bore you with the details of these documents, but they are vital as well as their timing. Not only are they vital but they are also completely out of our hands. Only God can influence the movement of these documents and we know prayer can influence or move God so please pray.
Thank you, in advance for helping pray our daughter home.
Blessings,
Tammy

Surprise Update!!!

Tonight my husband and I went with my parents to a lovely dinner at the home of some wonderful people in Shreveport. At the end of the evening I found myself talking to a preacher that I had never met before. He really refers to himself as a foreign missionary. Anyway, this meeting really was more of a political meeting and I am not too versed in political conversation, so most of my conversations naturally turn to children , and mine to be even more exact ( tee-hee). This pastor has a special needs daughter, and he was able to encourage me in a way that really spoke to the depths of my soul. I came home wanting my baby girl home. I went to check my emails before going to bed and low and behold a surprise update from China sent of our little Breanne. There were about seven pictures of her, and all had today's date on them, so I know three things from them 1) They took the pictures for her new family to see her, so she is being prepared for her new family, 2) I can tell she is cared for by her foster mom. She is dressed well, with matching clothes that fit, and she looked so cute, with a thick head of black hair. Also, she is looking at some fish in a pond in one of the pictures, and it touched me to see that the foster mom had her hand placed on Breanne's arm in loving protection so that she would not fall in the water. I am so thankful for that woman's arms, for they are the arms that feed, hold, rock, dress, love and protect my daughter for me. I can't wait to get to do all those things for Breanne, but right now I am touched by the love of a foster mom!!! I hope I will be able to tell her how thankful I am when we go to China.
I can not wait to be able to post pictures of her. She looks so much like Brooklyn it is amazing. Somebody pinch me, is this really happening? Thank you Jesus, you give beauty for ashes. He'll do it every time, if we will let him. I don't know who reads this blog, but if you by any chance need to hear that again this one's for you...."Jesus gives beauty for ashes" He can take the bad and make it good. He's done it for me, He's doing it for my Breanne, and He will do it for you.
Blessings,
Tammy

This is our family minus one. Mike, Tammy, Baylee, Nathan, Noah and Brooklyn. We can't wait for Breanne to join our gang.

The Call

We received a phone call this Friday, March 27th, 2009, that honestly I thought would never come. This phone call was from our adoption agency in New York ( Homeland Adoption Services) informing us that they had a referral for us. To make a long story short, this has been one roller coaster ride of an adoption, and it has been going on for almost two years. We have adopted from China once before, so we knew it could get a little unpredictable, but we truly were not prepared for the twists and turns this adoption would take. Along the way have been changes in China's adoption program that have taken all involved in international adoption by surprise. Those changes led us to make a move from a previous agency to one we thought would better suit our circumstance. That in itself was a hard decision, because we loved the agency we had used before. Once we got settled in the second agency, they experienced major change. Although it was no fault of their own, it just happened, so our future our adoption was looking less like a reality. Not to mention in the middle of all the above, we were presented with a domestic adoption opportunity that seemed to be straight from God to us. Our hearts were open to receive this little blessing, and as it turns out it was not in the Father's plan. It was very painful to say the least. Due to that, I just needed time to heal, so we officially postponed the China adoption until we could get direction. We were so confused and wore out. Yet there was one little fact that remained, we had all this paper work done and basically ready to send to China and thus give a home to someone who needed one. We decided after a few months of prayer and healing, to allow the Lord to work to bring one more orphan home through us if it was in fact His will to do that. I knew He could not do it if I wouldn't send the paper work off, so I did. Honestly we sent that paper work off, saying "Lord if it be your will." The truth is we have four precious children and enough to keep us plenty busy, so obviously that is not what this adoption is about. It is about allowing ourselves to be stretched just a little bit more, so that we can bless another's life, and as we know, receive a bigger blessing in the long run. You just can't out give God. So we are at the point of waiting, and waiting and then some more waiting. Meantime many rumors are flying around that are so discouraging concerning the state of international adoptions, including the special needs program, which is what we are apart of. The time is quickly approaching to renew some of our required paper work, and Mike and I had basically put a fleece out before the Lord (not our usual custom- but felt this involved a life and we needed divine intervention) that if our referral had not come by April 24th we would not renew the paper work. We believed it would mean God was telling us it was time to get off this ride and rest. I had convinced myself (most likely out of protection) that there was no way we would get the referral before the time limit was over. I was no longer allowing myself to check our adoption yahoo group or even talk about adoption. I had seriously taken an adoption fast. Just gave it to God ...daily, sometimes hourly, and said "Lord, I will not pick this back up." I wanted it to be God and God alone to move the mountain or use us in His Kingdom work in another way. So when the call comes out of the blue, and with a month to spare, I was shocked but thrilled. Mike and I feel God has answered us, we have received an answer to our prayers, so we are ready to bring sweet little Breanne home. That is our background, in a nut shell. I will tell you more about her when we are allowed, but I can tell you that she is 2 1/2 years old, she looks just like Brooklyn did at that age. Her special need is cleft lip/palate. Her lip has been repaired and it is possible she was misdiagnosed on the palate. Her records contradict each other. She will need some minor reconstructive surgery when she gets home at sometime, but it is my hope that she will be seen for the absolutely beautiful child that she is, and not her special need. I know this will be an amazing journey, and I thank you for being a part of it. More to come soon...... I am honored to be the chosen mother of Breanne Virginia-Li Jones. Thank you Father!!!
Blessings,
Tammy