Have I Mentioned...

Have I mentioned that I’ve become a runner? To be honest, it just seems strange to call myself a runner because I’m just not the running type. I’ve been known to say, “If you see me running down the street, STOP and help me, because someone must be chasing me!!” But, with more than 250 miles under my belt, I guess it's safe to say that I am a runner.

I’ve attempted to become a runner twice before. About 12 years ago Chris and I were stationed in Korea. He was running a lot of miles each day, and I thought it would be good idea to have him help me become a runner too. We went on one run together – just one. We felt it was in the best interest of our marriage that Chris NOT be my running coach. As he yelled, “DON’T STOP” at me, I considered smacking him (but I couldn’t catch him)! I’m sure if he was the author of this post he would say it all ended because I was the whiniest wannabe runner he had ever seen, and he would be right. My second attempt was in the fall of 2008. I decided I wanted to run a 5k, so, I started a run program and was doing pretty good. About 4 weeks into the plan, I found out I was pregnant with Miss Hailey. Very soon after, horrible nausea set in and I was DONE.

So what was different this time? I guess it wasn’t just one thing that changed, but more like a few things came together. In January we filed our application and kicked off our adoption journey. I wanted to lose weight with this “pregnancy” as opposed to the other 3 where I ate WHATEVER I wanted! Then, in February, one of my besties, April, heard about the Chosen Marathon for Adoption. This marathon (and half marathon) was created to help adopting families raise some of the necessary funds for thier adoption costs. The inaugural Marathon for Adoption took place in New Braunfels in Oct 2010. April thought the October 29th 2011 race would be a fabulous fundraiser for our adoption and offered to take the lead on creating a team for us. So, the desire to make a change and the need to raise money to bring our daughter home collided and I became a runner!



Team "Halvorson Family" was created and we have been blessed to have 58 people sign up on our team. The entry fees paid by the members of our team ($65 for the half marathon and $85 for the full) will go directly to our adoption expenses! A few team members are running the full marathon with Chris (including his college roommate, Paul), many are walking or running the half marathon with me, and many opted for the sleep in option! These supporters have signed up on our team so we are blessed with their entry fee, but and have decided they are more interested in sleeping in on race day than lacing up their running shoes. In late June the marathon had a contest. The team that had the most people sign up during the 2 week period would win an additional $1,000 bonus! Family members, coworkers, friends, and friends of friends rallied and grew our team from 6 to 58 people during the contest period. WE WON and we were blown away by the support of so many!!!!

If you want to visit the marathon website click on this link:

http://www.marathonforadoption.com/

If you want to watch a short video about how the marathon came to be, you will enjoy this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoKnAt69Now

I you are interested in joining our team (to run, walk or sleep in) it isn’t too late! The more the better!!! Contact me or click here to register. Select team Halvorson Family. We can pick up your race packet in New Braunfels if you need us to.

http://www.marathonforadoption.com/race/register/

A financial (tax deductible) gift can also be made to our team through this link.

http://www.bethesdafund.org/2009/04/bethesda-now-helping-families-adopt.html

So how did I actually become a runner, you may be asking? Well, it didn’t happen overnight. It hasn’t been without loads of determination and sweat, but it has been an amazing journey. Chris ran for many years during his A&M Corps and Army days. It had been awhile since he had run regularly, so we both needed to jump in slowly. We started with the couch to 5k program – a running program that starts with running just one minute at a time and gradually builds until you are conquering a 5k (3.1 miles). We ran our graduation 5k on May 1st. After that we worked on increasing our mileage. In July we ran a 15k (9.3 miles). Now we are growing our mileage so that I can complete the half marathon and Chris can run the full marathon on October 29th. To date our longest runs have been 11 miles for me and 12.5 miles for Chris. We are on our way.

I couldn’t have predicted the blessing running would be in my life. Before all of this, I never really understood people who “love” running. I don’t know if I “love” running, but I enjoy it quite a bit now! Physically it has helped me drop 30 pounds, and who wouldn’t love that?!?!!! Many nights my run has been my time to get away and pray. My time to hash out my feeling or fears with God. It has been a time to beg for his guidance and a time to thank him for his provisions! I remember the run where I prayed God would give us clarity about little Hannah. God confirmed that she was “the one” on that memorable run and did the same for Chris when he went for his run later that night. I remember my first run after matching with Hannah. It was such a nice time to thank God for her and to thank him for calling us to this entire journey! During my runs, I pray for God's timing to reign in this process, for his protection to be with my baby and for his name to be glorified through it all! With all of the unexpected blessing that come with the adoption process, who knew that running would be one of them???

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us RUN with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1

LOA!!!!!

Our agency received our LOA today and the trusty FedEx man should be delivering it to my house tomorrow! After 57 days of waiting - it is here!!!! There is such a nice relief knowing that China has reviewed our dossier and has approved us to adopt Hannah!

We have more steps to go. We actually have a bunch of little steps that add up to about 2 more months until China issues our TA (Travel Approval). Once we get our TA, we can arrange or travel. After TA we could travel in as little as 3 or 4 days, but more likely a few weeks. It looks like we could be China bound in Oct, but most likely we will travel in November.

We celebrated our LOA tonight by stuffing ourselves at PF Changs! It's my favorite and it just seemed to fit the occasion! It was beyond yummy and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face! The kids are all very excited! They don't really understand what each steps means, but they know China said YES and that we are one giant step closer to going to get their sister!

We are beyond blessed, beyond excited and beyond thankful for the Lord's provisions!!!

50 Days

Today we have been waiting for our LOA for 50 days.

Quick refresher - our LOA is China's official permission to adopt Hannah. We received our PA (Provisional Approval) to adopt her on 5/26. The PA means they know we want to adopt her and they intend to review our dossier for that purpose. The LOA is the biggie! It means they HAVE translated our dossier, reviewed it and approved us to adopt her! So, it is a huge milestone on this adoption road and it means we could travel to get her in 2-3 months!

Okay, so as I was saying, we have been waiting 50 days for our precious LOA. The average wait for LOA for families that are matched prior to their dossier being sent to China (us) is about 54 days, so this really could be our week! LOA wait times are so variable. Recently, some have gotten their LOAs in 25 days, 34 days, 42 days, 47 days, 49 days, so I've been thinking it could be our week for awhile now. *SIGH* Some have waited much longer than 54 days, and really there is no way to tell WHEN it is coming. This has led me to wake up everyday and wonder if TODAY will be THE day. This can wear you out after awhile. It's like when you are 39 weeks pregnant and you wake up everyday excited that you might go into labor that day. You think about it all day. No matter what you have going on, it's never far from your mind. As you head to bed, you can't help being ticked off that another day has come and gone without any action. I've tried to not be too obsessive about this, although it is totally my nature to obsess about things like this. I'm trying hard to not drive my friends and dear sweet husband nuts with comments like "A family got their LOA today and they were on day 49 of their wait. We are just 4 days behind them, so maybe ours is coming!!!" So, I'm trying, but I think if our LOA doesn't come soon, all bets are off and I will be in total "drive you crazy" and "overly analytical crazy girl obsessive mode". Beware - you have been warned!!! Pray for Chris!!!

Earlier when I was putting Hailey down for her nap, I missed a call from CA #. My agency is in CA and other than them, I'm not expecting ANY calls from CA! I anxiously listen to the voicemail, pretty convinced that this is THE CALL. The nice guy says, "This message is for Amy Halvorson..." YES YES YES...THAT'S ME!!! Then he starts babbling on and on about something related to one of my clients. UGH.... Not it. My heart was beating a mile a minute. What a let down!

I'm trying to stay calm by reminding myself that our LOA WILL actually come one day even if it sometimes seems like it will never happen. Ultimately, I want God's timing on this whole process, even it means that our fast moving train comes to a complete stop. I trust that God's plans are better than mine. He has proven it to me over and over again.

When our LOA DOES come, we will immediately mail off our I800 with US Customs and Immigration. This is our petition to allow us to bring Hannah home and for her to become a citizen upon arriving in the US. Then we will celebrate at P.F. Changs!!! Seems appropriate, right!

Until then, I'll be her counting the days, praying often and W A I T I N G....

NEW PICTURES!!!!

We got new pictures and updated measurements of sweet Hannah! I'll start with the pictures since that is what you really want!






Don't you just want to grab her and hug her!!!!


Look at that sweet face!


I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture! Look at her adorable legs! Her round little face is just precious!


Closer up.

We got new measurements too! She is currently 16 months old and she is 18.74 pounds and 28.5 inches. She is in the 3rd percentile for both height and weight. Her head circumference is at 58%, which means that even though she is a tiny little thing, her brain has been able to maintain adequate growth during her development.

The update we received said "she is the beautiful girl in her orphanage, every nanny likes her !!" It is always good to know that the people with her like her! I hope they love her and show her love each day! It is evident in the pictures that she looks clean and well kept. It appears they did the best they could to dress her nicely for her pictures. All of these are signs that she is special to her caregivers.

We are already so in love with her and can't wait to go and get her! We continue to wait for our LOA (day 42, but who's counting). The average wait for LOA is 54 days, so maybe it is coming soon. After getting it, travel could happen in 2 - 3 months. Until then, we are thankful for our new information on our little darling! We pray for God's timing to continue to guide this adoption. We are thankful for his provisions so far. When I worry about Hannah, I do my best to remind myself that she belongs to God and that he knows her every need. He knows how many hairs are on her head and she is worth more than many sparrows!! She is His, not mine! But my mama's heart wants her here and not there. We want to be the ones kissing her boo boos, singing songs with her and teaching her that Jesus loves her! But, God knows my heart, and so I will trust him and wait on his most perfect timing.

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! Psalm 27:14

Update and Care Package

Well, the last I checked in was when our Dossier went to China and China gave us our Log In Date of 6/13/11. Since then we have been waiting for China to give us our LOA (official permission to adopt Hannah). Getting your LOA is so difficult to predict. Some people have waited 100+ days while others have gotten theirs in 20 days. Our agency told us to expect it to take 2 months. We are currently on day 35, so hopefully we are at least half way there! After we get our LOA, there are many small steps that lead to us getting our TA (Travel Authorization). Based on current estimates, we reasonably expect to travel to China in early November. There are still so many steps so estimating our travel is difficult.

Last week we arranged to have a package delivered to Hannah and her care givers. It should be delivered to her this week! We are so excited that she will be getting something from us. Included in her package was a blanket lovie, beautiful pink and white blanket, disposable camera, cookies and candy for her care givers, a letter from us, and a soft photo album with pictures of us. This will be the first time that Hannah lays eyes on her family!!! We are glad she will be able to get familiar with our faces and that her care givers will see what we look like.

A lady in China is arranging the delivery of her package. When she called the orphanage she requested new pictures and updated info on Hannah. We are hopeful that they will supply the requested information. If so, I'll post them to the blog so you can all enjoy them too!

Here are some pictures of the care package we had sent...





We hope you are all enjoying your summer! We have been having a great summer! Hailey turned 2 in June. She has ditched her binkie and moved into a big girl bed! She is really growing up! The boys are busy with swim lessons and enjoying the low key days of summer! We all went to Pennsylvania for 12 days in late June/early July to visit our family in PA. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed escaping the Texas heat for a bit! Blessing to you all!

LID (Log In Date)!!!!!!

We have LID (Log In Date)!!!!! China has officially recognized that they have recieved our dossier! Now it needs to be translated and approved. We are now waiting for our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) from China approving us to adopt Hannah. It takes on average 50 - 60 days to get our LOA. For unknown reasons, some people get their LOA much faster (20 days) and some people have to wait a lot longer (100 days). I pray our LOA is one of the quicker ones! I can't wait to get my hands on our baby girl! Thanks for your continued prayers for us and Hannah. We are thankful for another step done!

Adoption is a Rescue Mission

Adoption is a rescue mission, but not in the way you may think. God is rescuing MY heart in this process and drawing me closer to him. He shows us through an earthly adoption how wonderfully glorious our heavenly adoption is. He has redeemed ME. He has saved ME. He has grafted me into his heavenly family. God’s nature is so evident in adoption and he has brought my family on this journey to see more fully the depth of his love for us. I believe God calls people to adoption to display a beautiful example of his redemption of us.

We can’t save Hannah. It’s not our job to rescue her. That’s God’s job. We are simply obeying God by going to get her. In the process he is saving me a little more and rescuing me a little more from myself and the things of this world that just don’t matter. I pray that one day Hannah will choose to accept God’s gift of salvation, and invite Jesus into her heart. That’s when the real rescuing happens! That’s the adoption that will really matter. The rejoicing on that day will remind me of how God used Hannah’s earthly adoption to help us see our adoption into God’s kingdom more clearly.

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— Ephesians 1:4-5