a dream coming true

We've always had a desire to adopt from China. We've talked about it, prayed about it, waited on it, had 4 kids in less than 3 1/2 years and waited on it some more. We've actually been pursuing adoption for more than a year, waiting for the agency(s) the Lord had for us. We are working with CCAI for our China placing agency and ABI for our Home Study agency. Neither are in St. Louis which is probably why it took me so long to find them. And also the fact that both were recommended to me through friends in less than a week's time the end of this April (definitely the Lords time). We began our official Application and Adoption process on May 1. We have been approved by both agencies and are currently working on the MASSIVE paperwork chase for our Dossier (collection of notarized, certified, authenticated documents to be filed in China). We are so excited about our sweet little one, who needs a loving family and most of all the love of Christ. *I originally wrote this post a MONTH ago, and have since had such a guard to post it. Putting yourself or your child's story out there (especially when her story isn't like most), i've been hesitant. Please read with a non-judgmental, graceful heart, thank you:) We are currently done with our homestudy (woohoo!), and have a few more steps for our dossier (waiting for the chinese consulate in chicago and tx, filing our I800A-immigration paperwork, getting that back and then certifying and authenticating those and getting fingerprinted one more time, ...whoa....then finally on to our agency who will triple check it all, translate it all, bind it together in a book and send it to China!) *A few facts about our adoption: *I recently read an article from the Gospel Coalition regarding the devastating numbers of abortions reported in the past 2 decades in China. Because of the 1 child per family rule (which has lightened slightly), sadly many women have chosen abortion. China is SO populated that the numbers are staggering and really incomprehensible. When those women who do chose life have a child with a moderate or severe special need, those families are usually too poor to care for them, and those sweet babies make their way to the over crowded orphanages. The agency we are working with actually built a "safe house" which is a little room on the side of the street with an incubator, crib, and baby supplies where mothers are able to leave their babies without having to place them on the side of the streets. So far they have received over 200 babies. Again, China is so populated, the numbers are staggering. The way we see it is SO grateful these moms are choosing LIFE! And SO grateful that if they cannot care for them, they find a safe place to "place" them, hoping for a better life for their child. *we are doing a "waiting child" adoption which means SHE (yes we want a GIRL) will have a minor special need. Something that can be fixed here in the US with medical care/surgery. *the timeline is around 18-24mths from the time your Dossier is logged in to China. Ours will HOPEFULLY be finished this Fall and logged in sometime after that. (Please pray I complete the paperwork correctly, send it to the correct officials, and get it all done within the specified timeline. China is VERY strict with their paperwork.) *we are prepared to wait even up to 3 years for our little one. Simply because we are requesting such minor special needs it may take longer to get a match. *we are hoping she will be around 1 year of age *one of the major reasons we didn't think we could ever move forward with our hoped China adoption was the financial cost. The Lord has already been so sweet in the way he provided enough funds for us to move forward with the agency fees, dossier fees, cost of ordering documents, getting fingerprinted, home study, etc. We are SO thankful He honored our stepping out in faith. It was just days after we said "lets DO IT!!" and we applied, that the Lord gave us our first financial donor and showed us some funds hidden in a stock account. Praise His name! Thank you Lord for that confirmation and reassurance that because He has a heart for orphans and those with no family, He desires our little one to be IN a family! We are still saving and praying for the second half of our adoption fund, knowing the Lord will remain faithful in this call. *thank you for your prayers for us as we pursue adopting a little girl from China! My hope is to keep my blog updated with news and information regarding our adoption. There are some pretty amazing blogs out there, amazing families, who have a fancy blog with creative words, amazing photography, and make money from their blogs. I want you to know this is just me being me, here on my simple little blog, sharing our families journey in a real life way. May the Lord be lifted high, His heart for orphans shared and spread, and may this Hunter baby #5 be loved, protected and prayed for before she is even born! Thank you Jesus, Thank you friends

we have spent a LOT of time filling out paper work, and recently more and more time at UPS:)