The rest of the story...

As I said in the previous post, we were matched with Hannah Ryan on Wednesday, January 9.  That morning I had flown to Las Vegas for the Usborne Books & More Advanced Leadership Retreat.  That evening the president of our company was treating the President's Club members to Cirque de Soleil at the MGM Grand.  It was in the lobby of Cirque de Soleil that I got a text from Ryan that said we have been matched!  I called him immediately and hung on every word as he told me about our daughter.  My sweet friend, Katie Meyerpeter, was off to the side literally jumping up and down.  While Katie was jumping & squeeling, one of our Directors with Usborne, Nancy Ann Wartman (who has also adopted from China) was circling around me taking pictures of me on the phone like the paparazzi!  I am sure that there were plenty of people around us wondering what in the world was going on!  :)

We got the referral on Wednesday and my training in Las Vegas lasted until Sunday.  So, poor Ryan had to sit on the news until I got back 5 days later!  For me, word spread fast about my exciting news among the consultants at the training.  It was such a reminder of the Lord's faithfulness.  When I started my Usborne business 5 1/2 years ago, I never would have dreamed that it would be something that the Lord would use to provide for us to adopt from China.  Yet, he has poured out his graces on my business and has allowed me to save all of my income from the past year...half of our adoption expenses He graciously provided through my business!  And, the rest He supplied through our Show Hope grant and the generosity of our sweet friends & family!

I got Ryan to print HR's picture, put it in a frame, and wrap it up for the boys.  So, Sunday night they picked me up from the airport and we went out to dinner.  At dinner we gave them the gift to open...

 

I think it took a few minutes for Hudson to completely understand.  He asked if it was a picture of a boy because her hair is so short!  Hahaha!  We had to explain that she is just a baby and her hair will grow.  :)  After we stopped recording and it had completely sunk in, Hudson got a little emotional...he has such a tender heart!!!

Here are a few more pics of the proud big brothers...

Meet Hannah Ryan!!!

We have been matched with our little girl!!!  We were actually matched on January 9 but needed to wait until we had our PA (pre-approval) from China to tell the world.  To say we are smitten would be an understatement.  There is no doubt that this little cutie is our daughter!  The Lord was so sweet in how He worked out all the details...

One week before we were matched, the last of the money that we needed to pay for the adoption came in. The Lord provided every penny that we needed before we were even matched!

We were matched with Hannah Ryan on her 19-month-old birthday.

She is at Love Manor, an orphanage in ChongQing (CQ)...the city that both Ryan & I have spent time in together.  Not only that, but friends of ours who live in China actually visited this orphanage with the group from Lifeline this past fall!  As far as orphanages go, it is a really good one.

We have had her name, Hannah Ryan, picked out for months.  Her Chinese name is Qian Anna.  Anna is part of the name we had chosen for her!

She is just 8 days younger than our niece, Savannah...they are going to be the best of friends.

But, my absolute favorite thing the Lord did was a picture that was included in Hannah Ryan's file.  She has a Mongolian spot on her hand.  These are birthmarks that are very common in Asian children.  However, they are not as common on the hand...they are usually found on a child's back or ankles.  Because of this, they included a picture of her hand in her file.  Here is the picture...

For those that know our family well, I am sure you have already picked up on what sign her hand is making.  Her hand is laying on the table in the sign for "I love you."  When I saw this the first time, my breath caught in my throat.  Because of our sweet Hudson this sign is a daily occurrence in our family...at carpool in the morning as the boys are entering school, at bedtime, and all throughout the day.  If our family had a gang sign, this would be it!  When I showed this picture to Hudson, I told him, "That was for you, buddy."  I prayed that the Lord would make it crystal clear when we were matched that the child was our Hannah Ryan.  He went a step further...He gave us a sign.

So, now we ask for your prayers for our little girl...

Please pray that her needs are being met and pray for the sweet woman in this picture who is caring for her daily.

Pray that we will be able to travel to get her in April.  That is pretty much the soonest that the paperwork trail will allow us to travel.  Now that we have her picture, we are ready to hop on a plane!!!

Pray that she will bond and attach with us quickly!

I will post more this week...I can't wait to share the reactions of her sweet big brothers when they heard the news and saw their baby sister for the first time!  :)

LifeSong for Orphans

More exciting news!!!  We found out on Wednesday that we qualified for fundraising through LifeSong for Orphans.  LifeSong is a non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to help meet the needs of orphan children around the world, and obey God’s call to “visit the fatherless…in their affliction” (James 1:27).  They have set up an account in our name to go towards our adoption of Hannah Ryan.  Funds donated to Lifesong for Orphans in our name between now and December 5, 2012 will be given to help cover our adoption expenses. Since LifeSong is a 501(c)3 organization, your gift will be tax deductible.  100% of all funds raised will go directly to cover our adoption costs--nothing will be taken out for Lifesong for Orphans administrative costs.

If you want to contribute to our LifeSong account, make your checks payable to "LifeSong for Orphans" and put this in the subject line: "Akers #3104 adoption."  You can mail your check to LifeSong between now and December 5.

Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40
Gridley, IL 61744

Thanks so much for your prayers for our family and for Hannah Ryan!!!  Daily we are amazed at how the Lord is providing for us to bring our baby girl home!!!

Adoption Yard Sale

We had our BIG adoption yard sale this past Saturday.  Ryan & I are still amazed at the generosity of our friends.  The outpouring of love in the form of clothes, toys, & furniture was overwhelming….not to mention the HOURS that some of friends spent helping us set up for the yard sale on Friday.  So many of our dear friends came and shopped at our yard sale as well.  At this point, the yard sale has raised over $2500 for our adoption!!!  I say “at this point” because now we will begin Phase 2:  selling the remaining items on eBay, Craig’s List, and Facebook yard sales sites.  So, please continue to pray that the Lord will provide for our adoption through these sales…and that one day soon, we will once again be able to park in our garage!  Hahaha!

There were a couple of times on Saturday that I was overwhelmed to the point of tears.  One moment was when a sweet woman, who I don’t even know, made her purchases and then pulled out a 50 dollar bill and insisted I take it for our adoption.  I may never see her again, but I will always remember her generosity.  The second moment was having the opportunity to meet Chinese neighbors that live a couple of streets over.  Ryan has noticed the man several times before walking his dogs in the neighborhood.  On Saturday as he was walking his dogs, he stopped to look at our yard sale.  He and Ryan began talking and he noticed the sign we had up about how our yard sale was benefiting our adoption from China.  The man’s eyes lit up and he immediately began telling us about himself, that he was from Beijing, and how excited he was to hear about us adopting from China.  Before he left, he offered to help us in any way he could…translating documents or talking in Mandarin to Hannah Ryan when we get home.  Later in the day, his wife came by to meet us.  He had told her about our adoption.  As we talked with her she said, “We appreciate what you are doing so much.  You are saving her life.”  I just about fell to pieces right there in our driveway.  How sweet of the Lord to give us Chinese neighbors AND to allow us to meet them on the day of our adoption yard sale!!!  Thanks to so many of you who were praying for this event...the Lord continues to provide and we are so humbled!!!

More praises!!!

How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.  Psalm 31: 19

The Lord just keeps pouring on His blessings today!!!  I just went to the mailbox to find a letter from Show Hope...we are receiving an adoption grant from them!  Praise the Lord with us for His goodness!!!  Along with that, He is graciously blessing my Usborne business through so many sweet friends & customers who know that my income is going towards our adoption.  We are so overwhelmed by the Lord's faithfulness today.  He is good!

Log In Date!!!!

We are officially logged in with the CCCWA in China!  Our LID (log in date) is today August 27, 2012...just 10 days after our dossier was shipped to China!  We are blown away by God's goodness...we were prepared for a wait a 3-4 weeks before we were logged in.  So, this means that we are eligible to be matched with our baby girl!!!  Please be in prayer for this process...that the Lord will clearly lead the Lifeline staff and us to Hannah Ryan.

We are DTC!!!

In China adoption lingo, DTC means our dossier has been sent to China!!!  That means that in approximately one month we will receive our LID, which stands for Log In Date!  (Seriously, adoption lingo is like another language in itself!)  Once we are logged in, we are eligible to be matched with a child.  This is SO EXCITING, but also very sobering.  There is a very good chance that this fall we will see a picture of our little girl for the first time.  But, even after we are matched with our Hannah Ryan, it will still be 6 months or more before we can travel to get her.  Everything is becoming so real, but we know we still have a long time to wait before we get to hold her in our arms!

In light of our exciting news, we have a few important prayer requests to share:

• Please pray for wisdom for the staff at Lifeline...that the Lord will clearly lead them to Hannah Ryan when the matching process begins.

• Pray also for the Lord to continue to provide for our adoption: 
• We have applied for 2 adoption grants...please pray that the Lord would allow us to receive grants from both of these wonderful organizations.

• Pray for the Lord to continue bless my home business with Usborne Books & More this year...all of my earnings are going towards our adoption.

• We are having an Adoption Yard Sale on Saturday, October 6...please pray that the Lord would pour out His blessings and provide abundantly through that event.

• Please continue to pray for Hannah Ryan...that loving arms are caring for her and that all of her needs are being met. 

Thank you so much for joining us on this journey!