tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29618652392848551012024-03-06T01:20:26.368-08:00Our Journey to JazlynJodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502339133910961278noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2961865239284855101.post-42651419762604510202016-10-14T15:15:00.001-07:002016-10-14T15:15:42.991-07:00We are getting so close to travel, I can hardly stand it! We received our I-800 provisional which means we are moving along and next week we should be able to apply for our visas! So excited but yet I am so scared. We had thought travel would be around $8,000. We just found out it's going to be more like $17,000!! YIKES! 😁 We are currently doing a shoe fundraiser in hopes to raise some of<br />
that travel cost. So, if you have any new to gently used shoes that you are not in need of, we would love them! I will drive 2-3 hours from our home in central MN. Or you can always send them to me.<br />
If you are a business owner and need a tax deduction, you can donate to our FSP as it is tax deductible. http://reecesrainbow.org/104053/sponsornavratil.<br />
Our agency also asked the orphanage for an update on Jazlyn, it's been almost a month and we have not heard anything. I may or may not be stalking my email. So, to ease some of all the stress we mailed off a package to her. In it is a big stuffed bear wearing a t-shirt with our picture on it, a purse filled with hair accessories, candy and sunglasses. We also included a disposable camera, flash drive, in hopes they will fill it with pictures of her past 5 years, and a little photo album introducing her to her family. As far as we know, she has no idea we are coming for her. I hope they capture a video or at least pictures of her opening it. She will be getting it late next week to early the following week.<br />
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we hope to travel late Nivember. Pray that finances are there and Jazlyn is prepared to be taken from all she knows. Thank you, it's greatly appreciated.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502339133910961278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2961865239284855101.post-10272590835198884112016-09-18T14:13:00.000-07:002016-09-18T14:13:00.676-07:00Here are the videos we received last Oct. I am sure she has changed and grown so much since then. I love to watch these, I may have watched them a FEW times, like a 100 times or more! I just love how feisty she is. She will fit in just perfectly. I can not wait to hug and kiss her. I hope you enjoy them as much as me.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502339133910961278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2961865239284855101.post-2300029416085085102016-09-18T14:08:00.003-07:002016-09-18T14:08:47.883-07:00Video 2<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UPxk95BMLtM" width="480"></iframe>Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502339133910961278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2961865239284855101.post-66340921414031238552016-09-18T14:08:00.001-07:002016-09-18T14:08:02.011-07:00Video 1<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ArFqnAP-AQs" width="480"></iframe>Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502339133910961278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2961865239284855101.post-53098632188112425082016-09-18T12:55:00.003-07:002016-09-18T12:55:37.819-07:00So, I haven't posted in quite awhile. Why? Because I have been doing it from my phone and well, that it a bit difficult when I am trying to type a lot and add videos and pictures. But we finally got a new computer and it should make my life easier as far as blogging goes. A lot has happened with our adoption. We finally got our dossier done and it was mailed to China on July 29th, 2016. It was LID (logged in date in China) on Aug.3rd, 2016. And then we wait to here as it is translated and then reviewed. It feels like forever!!! But we received information from our agency (CCAI) on Sept. 7th, 2016 that our dossier had been translated and then on Sept. 9th, 2016 it had been reviewed and we would be receiving our LOA very soon.(letter of Acceptance). This it the best news ever!! Now we do a little more paperwork and wait for China to say come get her. Our agency says we will probably be traveling in 6-9 WEEKS!! EEK! I have so much to get done, fundraising to help us get closer to our goal of being fully funded, deciding what to pack and bring for Jazlyn. Getting freezer meals together so suppers are easy for Russ as he will be staying home with the other 5 kids to keep some normalcy in the home. I haven't been able to sleep at night as my brain just starts going crazy with everything.<br />
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I was also asked to come up with five question that we wanted to ask Jazlyn's orphanage about her, as they are asking for an update so we can get info on her height, weight and foot size to help us prepare for her homecoming and what to pack. I thought we would be packing for winter, now it may be more fall. I need to rethink what we will need. I can't wait for the update and to hopefully get some new pictures and maybe even a video of her. Pray we get something. Not all orphanages give an update. I was going to had some pictures and a video that we have from earlier in the year but I forgot its not on this new computer. so I will go do that now and come back an post them. We would really love that you continue to pray for our family as we move ahead in our adoption journey, such and exciting time for us but also a scary and sad time for Jazlyn as she will soon lose everything she has known. We are about to turn her little world upside down. Pray for an easy transition for her and that she bonds with us without too much trouble. Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502339133910961278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2961865239284855101.post-32388962487884965612016-03-05T00:45:00.001-08:002016-03-05T00:47:05.086-08:00Thursday, March 3, 2016<br />
Today we met with our Social Worker for the very last time. Now we wait for our homestudy to get written and approved by our agency. Praying this goes quickly so we can get, yet another set of fingerprints done. This time through immigration. It won't be long now, soon our dossier will on its way to China!Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502339133910961278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2961865239284855101.post-53896948197552271552016-02-27T07:46:00.002-08:002016-02-27T08:18:40.956-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hooray!! We got an update the other day with new pictures!! She is beautiful. She has really grown up. It stated that she had heart surgery in 2014, and she is doing well. It also said she <span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 18px;">likes places bustling with noise and excitement and she likes to play games together with other children. Ha! She's going to hit right in to our bustling family. She is 4 yrs and 6 months and weighs 30 pounds. Even though she looks big in her pictures she's still a peanut. We are just finishing our homestudy and should be getting our fingerprints done with immigration in the near future. Once our dossier is in China, things will really start moving. We are hoping to have her home before school starts. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to do fundraisers, to help defer the crazy cost of adoption.</span>Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502339133910961278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2961865239284855101.post-59131027062569339852015-12-28T21:09:00.004-08:002015-12-28T21:22:04.757-08:00How we came to the decision to adopt againWhere do I start? Do I start with my dad coming to me in a dream, telling me our family wasn't complete. Or the multitude of dreams of my dad showing me a beautiful child. Maybe it's the stranger that appeared on my Facebook page, advocating for aging out boys in China. Well, all of the above happened. I really thought it was pretty crazy to think that we weren't done yet. We have six kids, live in an average house. But I really felt the calling again. So, I secretly started looking at the almost 4,000 kids listed on Recce's Rainbow. Then, one day, my husband asked me if I thought our family was complete. WHAT!? I calmly said to him, nope, not really. He said he didn't feel like it was either.<br />
He said he really felt it needed to be a little girl. I didn't share with him yet that I had been looking or that my dad had been showing me a little boy in overalls, so I thought. Then one day I was looking on Reece's Rainbow to look at the new listings and look at little girls. I followed a link that took me to a different page, and there she was!! The little girl my dad had been showing me!!! Her name was Clover, she was wearing red overalls, and she was beautiful! I started to cry happy tears. I started reading her story, found lying on the floor of a building just a few days old. She was sent to the hospital and later to the orphanage, where she had been the past 4 years. She had a heart condition and Down Syndrome. With my background in special education I was excited to start this new adventure. But, I was not sure Russ would be as receptive to the idea, he has had no interaction with a special needs child. I decided to just throw it out there and tell him about her and see what he thought. I showed him her picture, had him read her story. He did, but didn't say much. So I left it alone. If we weren't on the same page then it wasn't meant to be. A few days had passed, I was looking at new listings again when my daughter came into the room and asked me what I was doing. I told her about all the kids living in orphanages and showed her some of the kids. She was very interested and made comments about wanting a little sister. So I clicked to the other page where Clover was, when my daughter saw her she said that's my sister!!! I couldn't have agreed more. But, it had to be a mutual thing. I continued to keep quiet and wait, wondering if this was God's plan. Then, 2-3 weeks later, my husband calls me from work and says, I want Clover to be our daughter!! What do we need to do to get started? I told him I would make a phone call and get the ball rolling. I made a call to our agency, they were able to get her file and send it to us to review. We then submitted out LOI to China. China said yes!!! So now we are working on our homestudy and dossier. With agency fees and homestudy fees things are tighter than ever, but we know this is our calling and are following God's plan. Some days I question his plan, wondering how we will ever come up with the funds needed. I do know, we will do whatever it takes to get our little girl home. We will be doing fundraisers, asking for donations and applying for grants. Ever person that contributes will be apart of Clover's story. If you feel it in your heart to make a donation to help bring our little girl home, we deeply appreciate it. You will be helping to get her home where she will know she was wanted and loved unconditionally by a mom, a dad, six siblings and God.<br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Help Bring Jazlyn Home: <a href="https://de.gofund.me/forJazlyn&rcid=b7c4183f185843a18de0cb45683fb8ad">https://de.gofund.me/forJazlyn&rcid=b7c4183f185843a18de0cb45683fb8ad</a></span></blockquote>
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<br />Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502339133910961278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2961865239284855101.post-27101146292571967182015-11-14T17:25:00.005-08:002015-11-14T17:25:54.479-08:00The kidsSaturday, November 14th, 2015<br />
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I think the kids are getting excited to meet their new little sister. Today they were all playing together and they were on their way to the Great Wall of China. They ran into a little bit of trouble in Japan, but I am hoping they make it on their journey and will stop to visit their little sister. I just love my kids and their loving hearts! I feel so blessed.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502339133910961278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2961865239284855101.post-48957334450384806242015-11-11T09:04:00.003-08:002015-11-11T09:04:25.677-08:00While we wait...<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
What Does It Mean...the Acronyms...</h3>
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<strong>CCAA</strong>: China Center of Adoption Affairs - organization responsible for all aspects of inter-country and domestic adoption in China<br /><br /><strong>PAP:</strong> Prospective adoptive parent<br /><br /><strong>AP:</strong> Adoptive parent<br /><br /><strong>SW:</strong> Social worker<br /><br /><strong><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">DTC</span>:</strong> Date to China - date dossier was sent to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">CCAA</span> in China<br /><br /><strong>LID:</strong> Log in Date - date <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">CCAA</span> registered receipt of dossier<br /><br /><strong><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">NSN</span>:</strong> Non Special Needs - what the healthy child program is called<br /><br /><strong>SN:</strong> Special Needs - “<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">children</span> with medical needs” program<br /><br /><strong>WC:</strong> Waiting Child - new term used for older child or child with medical needs and Special Needs program<br /><br /><strong><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">SWI</span>:</strong> Social Welfare Institute - this is what the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">orphanage</span> is called. There are often disabled and older adults living in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">SWI</span>’s as well<br /><br /><strong><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">CWI</span>:</strong> Children’s Welfare Institute - this would be an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">orphanage</span> strictly for <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">children</span> under the age of 16<br /><br /><strong><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">LOI</span>:</strong> Letter of Intent - letter issued by PAP to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">CCAA</span> asking to adopt an identified WC, outlining understanding of need and care plan<br /><br /><strong>PA:</strong> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Pre</span>-Approval - issued by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">CCAA</span> to PAP approving <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">LOI</span> contingent upon approval of dossier<br /><br /><strong><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">LOA</span>/<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">LSC</span>:</strong> Letter of Acceptance/Letter Seeking Confirmation - formal approval of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">LOI</span> signed by PAP’s confirming adoption of WC<br /><br /><strong>TA:</strong> Travel Approval - sent to PAP when all immigration docs are ready and child is made ready by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">SWI</span><br /><br /><strong>CA:</strong> Consulate Appointment - this is when the official adoption ceremony and appointments for visa & medical exam are confirmed. The travel itinerary is based on this date<div style="clear: both;">
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Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502339133910961278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2961865239284855101.post-57221209682737348002015-10-28T17:30:00.001-07:002015-10-28T17:30:07.503-07:00We got PA!Wednesday, October 28, 2015<br />
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Today we got an email letting us know that China has approved us to adopt Jazlyn!!<br />
We are doing the happy dance in our house!! 💃🏽<br />
And to top off the day, it's snowing!! For those that know me, know that winter is my favorite season. So the snow just makes the day better.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502339133910961278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2961865239284855101.post-39259093608554319122015-10-25T20:57:00.000-07:002015-10-25T20:57:16.478-07:00Friday, October 23, 2015. We got word from our agency today, that they have locked our little girl's file and have sent our paperwork to China. We should be hearing from them in a week- three weeks. Oh how I hope it doesn't take three weeks. I am not patient when it comes to adoption paperwork.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502339133910961278noreply@blogger.com0