Waiting, waiting, and more waiting

Hi everyone!  I wanted to check in and give you an update, as best I can.  We are still awaiting our LOA to arrive from the CCCWA (China Center for Children’s Welfare Adoption).  June 1^st they changed computer systems to make the process better, however it caused those of us in process slight delays.  No big deal though, it just gives us more time to raise funds.  Speaking of which, I would like to say thank you to those who came out to the paint parties that were put on for us.  It was a great fundraiser for us and helps tremendously.

The reason for my update is because I have been thinking of Primrose a lot lately. Her birthday is coming up (July 28) and it pains me to think that she will not be spending her first birthday with family.  We are sending her a photo album and a toy for her special day, even though she will not get them before or on her day.  She is young enough that it probably really will not matter to her though.

My baby girl Primrose

Another reason for my update is because as I type, our friends The Belks have just picked up Sophie in China.  You can follow their trip in China here http://thebelkfamilysomewhereoutthere.blogspot.com/ it is surreal to watch their journey in China as I know that will be us in the next few months.  

This is the Belks in China.

Pray for the Belks and Sophie’s transition to their family.  Pray for their trip as they come back to the US (Aug 3).  Pray for us also.  We still have a mountain to climb as far as funds are concerned.  We still are selling squares on the canvas and we are still taking coffee orders.  Any help or donation is greatly appreciated, just click the donate button and leave a message indicating if you want to buy a square, coffee, or just a donation.  God bless you all and thanks for your interest in our journey of adoption.

The moment many of you have been waiting for!

As we are awaiting our LOA from China we have received an update on Primrose.  With this update came more pictures much to our surprise.  It is with a heart full of love for this little girl that we share her pictures with all of you.  Stay tuned as we are about to post information about our Coffee for Hope fundraiser and our T-shirt fundraiser.  We still have our canvas we are trying to fill with colors for Primrose's bedroom.  The next blog post will be about the fundraisers, but for now I want you to see our little girl who is waiting on us to come and get her.

She is more than just paperwork now!

It was Tuesday, May 7^th at 11:55 am.  I was sitting in my wife’s classroom eating lunch.  My phone rang and we saw that it was Holt International.  My heart dropped, this is THE CALL that we have been waiting for.  Masha was on the line and told us all about our match.  We were overwhelmed with emotion, unexpectedly.  But she said she wanted to send us the file on our match.  Fast forward 20 minutes.  My email specifically for our adoption process alerted me that I had new mail.  I texted my wife and pleaded with her to come to my classroom because I could not wait to open it.  She came to my room and we opened the email and the attachments.  Then the most incredible thing happened, our hearts instantly connected with this little beauty before us.  Again we were overcome with emotion at the site of her.  How can someone we never met before make us feel this way?

To say that Tuesday was a wonderful day is an understatement.  Not only did we receive THE CALL, but our students who have been with us through this process were also able to celebrate with us about our match.  And then came probably the best part of the day, we were able to show Belle that we now know what her little sister looks like.  Belle’s reaction was priceless and heartwarming.  Looking ahead to fundraising needed to complete the process seems insurmountable, but now that Primrose is more than just a pile of paperwork we are determined.  We know have our baby girl and we MUST go rescue her!

Here is a little bit about her:

She is 10 months old and will turn one on July 28.  She is a very happy and active little girl.  There are a few developmental delays, but nothing out of the ordinary for an orphanage baby.  We are not allowed to share her pictures just yet, but we will as soon as we can.

We are so excited about the next few weeks.  Be on the lookout either here on the blog or our page on FB for fundraisers.  We will be selling Coffee for Hope and T-shirts very soon.  We need you help to bring this little one home.  

With grateful hearts,

The Satchers

Let the Egg Bombing begin...

As Easter Sunday is right around the corner, we are up to our eyeballs in plastic eggs… and that is a good thing!  April’s new fundraiser is blowing up, and we now have to make another egg run.   I have to give her props on this one, even though she borrowed it form someone else.  As I can foresee a  light night for our “special deliveries”  this Saturday night, I am just grateful that we are not doing a sunrise service at CHC.  As we are still awaiting the results and final tally of this fundraiser, I want to personally say thank you to each of you who have ordered some Egg Bombs.  We truly hope that you enjoy this experience as much as we have.

Since the last blog update we have successfully completed our paperwork with the exception of one artifact.  All that is left is to get this final piece certified and authenticated so we can send it to Holt and our dossier will be officially complete and ready to be logged in.  Did I mention that we have paid our dossier processing fee in full??  That was a big step and a big relief.  Now comes the big time push for funding.

As we are anxiously awaiting our match phone call we are doing all we can to make fundraisers available that are creative and useful.  I wanted to remind you of a few fundraisers we are still doing and inform you of some others that are on the horizon.

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• Canvas fundraiser - $10 donation and you pick the color and square you would like to have painted on our “Family” canvas for Primrose’s room.  Below are some pictures of the canvas when we started, and where we are currently with it.

Family (start)

Current progress

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•  Flip-Flop to Adopt – It is that time once again, you know Spring (I know that old man winter hasn’t given up just yet).  This fund raiser will kick-off April 3^rd.  Be on the lookout on both our Facebook page and here on the blog for pictures of the flip-flops and prices.

•  We are also selling cookbooks through our church’s orphan ministry 4theVoiceless.  These cookbooks contain a variety of recipes that are multicultural and there are stories of adoption throughout.  This cookbook is available through the ministry and we will benefit directly from the sales of the cookbooks as they are being used to create an adoption fund at our church.  Click this link http://mad.ly/7bd553  for more information and you will have the option to order one.  The cost of the cookbook is $12 plus shipping and handling.

Cookbook Cover

 

•  Last but not least, we will be having a garage sale in the next month or so.  Details to come, but don’t worry if you do not live close by because some of the items will be on Facebook or Ebay and you will be able to buy them there.  Stay tuned…

Please continue to remember us in prayer as we are applying for grants from various organizations and as we await for our daughter to be matched with us.  This is a very exciting and overwhelming time.  If you would like to participate in the canvas fundraiser, please refer to our Facebook page for the details and color choices.  All you have to do is click donate and send the details through Paypal about color and square location.  Thank you all for joining us on this amazing journey. 

She shall be called Primrose

Recently some friends of ours received “The Call” from the agency regarding being matched.  We were excited that they got their match with Sophie Wei and to see her precious little face just melted my heart.  The Belks (their blog is to the right, check it out) started the process about the same time as April and I did, in fact we rode together to Jackson for our initial intake meeting with the social worker.  Seeing this as reality for them has lit a fire in me and we are gearing up for our chance to receive “The Call.”

Here is where we are currently in the process.  Barring any discrepancies in our FedEx package tomorrow, our dossier will be authenticated by the Chinese consulate.  That leaves us only to send it to Holt with our processing fee and we will receive our log-in date.  Once we get our log-in date we will be in line for our little girl.  Needless to say we are so excited.

I realized the other day that we have yet to reveal what name we have decided on for our little girl.  Well as the title says, we are going to name her Primrose.  How the name came about is strange, however you would be correct if you are thinking Hunger Games.  You know, the little sister that Katniss volunteers to take the place of.  I was showing the movie in class at the end of school last year, relax it was an exam day and I only had about 7 students in my room.   I digress…  I heard the name Primrose and fell in love instantly.  I texted April about using that name, not thinking she go for it.  Well, she LOVED it.  Also, upon further investigation we learned that Primrose was the name of one of the last fairies in the original story of Sleeping Beauty not the Disney version.

As we continue to move forward in this process, we have a financial mountain to climb.  We have many fundraisers coming up that will appeal to almost anyone, yes even you!   Continue to pray for us, for our finances, and probably most importantly little Primrose.  I pray that she is in a loving foster situation, but then again I just want to hold her in my arms and let her know how much she is loved.

The Satchers

Brief update... bigger update coming soon

First of all, I want to apologize for not updating.  Life has been moving pretty fast and we both have been super busy.  So, here is a brief update to let everyone know what is currently going on with our adoption process.

As I am typing this, we have sent our last paperwork to get it state certified.  It will then be “fedexed” to Houston on Monday to be authenticated by the Chinese consulate.  And the next step will be to send it to Holt with the processing fee, which we are still short a little on, to be logged in and matched with our little girl.  We are excited to see the end in sight.

Please keep us in prayer, and pray for the fundraisers to be successful.  Pray for us for trust and patience as we work on the fundraising and apply for grants.