bodner003

We have been presented with a unique opportunity to raise funds for our adoption! The owner of Blue Deuce Entertainment  (who happens to be a friend through tennis) approached us recently and said that his company would love to help with our adoption expenses. We are always grateful when people are touched by our story and want to help.  Blue Deuce Entertainment is involved in putting on a big event at the New Orleans Fairgrounds each year called Tails & Ales. This year the event will be held Saturday, September 7th from 4-8pm. Tales & Ales includes world class quarter horse racing, premium beer tasting, lots of food and fun. Every year at this event, Blue Deuce sponsors a raffle where attendees can purchase a $5 ticket to win a huge mound of premium beer from around the world. The proceeds are always given to a cause they deem worthy. This year, Blue Deuce has decided that "Bringing Home Emily Hope" will be the one and only recipient of all fu...

This is the question we hear more than any other. Everyone wants to know when we actually go to China to pick up our daughter. Man, we want to know too! The truth is, we really don't have an answer for that, only an estimation. I'd love to explain a little more about the process and timeline to give you an idea of why it's such a rough guess. I'll spare you the time frame on milestones passed. Currently, our dossier documents are being authenticated. When this is complete (in about 1 week), it will be sent to China and we will receive a log-in date (LID) about a week later. This is an important step because it means we are officially in China's database to begin the process with them. Once we have a LID, we are eligible to receive a referral. A referral is the package that has a sweet baby's picture, possibly a short video of her, any medical history and other information they have about her (possibly when and where she was abandoned, birth date if it's kno...

I actually wrote this post on 8/19. I was literally typing the last line when the mail lady pulled up and I ran to find our Immigration approval letter in the mail. I couldn't post twice in one day so I saved this. :) Today was my Anna Grace's first day of Kindergarten. Mercy. After dropping her off (and holding back the tears), I got a lot done this morning as I was finally on my own with the day off of work. I love my kiddos but the summer was loooooong. I spent most of the morning talking to businesses about our event in November. Can someone please remind me why I was ever in outside sales? Seriously... Yuck! Our house had plenty of laundry and dishes waiting for me but I decided to put that off. I decided instead to mow the lawn and weed our front beds. Disclaimer: I am by NO means a tree hugger but I'm just warning... I'm about to weird out on y'all. God wooed me today as I completed the simple task of working in the yard. It was hot and hard. There were earth...

Another major milestone conquered! Woot woot! We have been waiting for our USCIS (Immigration) approval since they received our application on June 7th. We found out that an officer had been assigned to our case on Tuesday, August 6th. She reviewed our file (home study, fingerprints, etc.) and approved us to be adoptive parents of a Hague convention country on Wednesday, August 14th! We received our approval letter in the mail today and immediately scanned it to our social worker at Lifeline. Now what? While we were waiting for our Immigration approval, we were busy gathering all the required documents for our dossier (the packet that goes to China). Our I800A approval letter was all that our social worker was waiting for to complete our dossier. Now that she has every piece, she begins authentication (Secretary of State seal and other legal necessities). It takes 2-3 weeks to authenticate our dossier and then it's off to China! I must say, completing this step and seeing our dossi...

I just want to remind y'all of what an amazing impact your encouragement has on us. Seamus ran in to an acquaintance the other day. Like so many, he revealed that he has been following our journey through our Facebook page  and blog. "I saw your adoption thing. I'm following you. I'm rooting for you!" Seamus was grateful and told me, "It gave me goosebumps. Like Death Valley on a Saturday night!" Okay, you may or may not be an LSU fan but if you are, you understand exactly what Seamus was talking about. You know the chills, the tears, the pride. It's overwhelming and AWE. SOME. If you're not... well, I'm really sorry. ;-) My response to Seamus, "... but better." And it is, y'all. Your words of encouragement, your promises to pray for us, the hugs, all of it gives us the same feeling... times a thousand! It's hard to explain the effect every encouraging comment has. It's big. Way bigger than Death Valley. So from our purp...

God loves to be in relationship with his children. I'm humbled by the access I have to boldly approach His throne with my eucharist, repentance, and petitions. He doesn't just tolerate my prayers. He loves them. He longs to still my heart, for me to talk to Him, listen to Him. This is a mystery I may never figure out, this mystery that a perfect God who created the universe loves to be in relationship with me. Yes, He loves my prayers. But they are far from perfect, I assure you (thank you, Jesus, for your blood that washes my imperfect prayers clean). Far too often my prayers are shallow, self-centered, lacking faith. They remind me of many of the songs we hear on Christian radio. My intentions are good but oh how easy it is to take my focus off of Him, even in prayer. Through my shallow requests, the Holy Spirit often reminds me that the answer to all my prayers is simple. It's all about who God is. My prayers (and my entire life) should be central to who He is. My prayer...

Progress... sweet, sweet progress. I wish I were talking about our Immigration status but I'm pretty stoked about what's recently been accomplished for our November Orphan Awareness Fundraiser. First, a very special friend stepped up to take the lead and be chair-awesomeness over the event (or chair-lady, but I personally prefer "chair-awesomeness"). A special thank you to Renee Cresap for responding to God's lead on this. You are awesome, not just because of your dedication and faithfulness but because you are so stinking good at this!! Second event news to report... we have our live music lined up and although I can't reveal the name just yet, I'm excited to tell you that there will be amazing praise music on the village square that afternoon! Put "bring blanket" on your calendar reminder because you're gonna want to stay put and relax for this gig! I also had the opportunity to have lunch with an amazing lady named Barbara Kellar, who will...