The 411

Hi all!
I promised an update and here I am. :)
Well, I'm bringing you the most pathetic attempt of an update anyway.
Here's the 411:
Several months ago a European couple traveled
to China to adopt this precious angel.
As they prepared for her adoption physical,
they thought she couldn't hear & requested a hearing screen.
The hearing screen results showed at least partial hearing loss
and they knew she needed medical follow up.
For whatever reason, they didn't have the resources
to provide her with adequate medical care.
So, she was returned to the orphanage.
That's right, she made her second trip to the orphanage.

Now I've got to tell you,
we have thoroughly scrutinized this from every angle.
Here's the part that holds true:
The child I thought needed a family yesterday,
I now realize REALLY needs a family.
Corrected heart defect,
possible hearing deficit,
whatever!
That baby girl needs the warmth of a home
and the love of a family, a forever family.

Please pray that God will send provisions.
He's located the willing bodies,
now He just has to equipt them. :)

God's blessings, Sarah

P.S. Wanna know the coolest resource thus far?
My sweet cousin is a Sign Language Interpreter
and is willing to teach us the basics.
Is God crazy cool or what?!

Please pray for the financial backing to take the next step.
My body needs to travel to China to bring that baby girl home...
and recover my heart.

An Orphan That's Real

An orphan is not real,
until you let them in your heart.
And then they become so vivid
that you awaken during a rain storm,
wondering if they're ok.

It's been pretty crazy here the last 24hrs.
The kinda peaceful, quiet crazy
where everything just falls into place.

You read a blog post.
God speaks to your heart.
You check the waiting child list
and a child that has been there for months,
catches your attention.
Her eyes pierce your heart
and you can't turn away.
You watch her video,
you review her file
all the while thinking,
I can parent that child.
She needs a family and a home.
She needs the love of a mother
and the one on one time of being worked with.
That little girl needs brothers who love to play ball.
She needs a father to teach her
how to slide without falling.
And hair bows, she needs a hair bow.

There comes a point in all this where
you began to feel like a deer in the headlights.
You keep thinking, is this really "it"?!
In your heart you know,
but in your head you approach cautiously.

You tell your friend you'd love to see
a burning bush right about now,
and God speaks through her saying
"No, that would be too easy.
And this isn't suppose to be easy.
It's a faith journey."
The minute the words leave her mouth
you know Who authored them.

The boys watch the video,
James is bothered by the children's cries.
You resume the video later with Joseph.
The boys love her plumber's crack
and how she runs in tiny little steps.
And several minutes into it they ask
(just like they always do)
"Can we have HER?!"
When you reply that she doesn't
have a family yet,
Joseph becomes your burning bush...
"YES, we can have HER?! 
Well then what are we waiting for?!!!!!"
So you send the email and receive confirmation,
she is on hold for your family.
James spends the rest of the night
practicing his ball playing skills
and shopping for her Christmas presents
in the toy catalogs.
He thinks he can get a deal on
one of those Pottery Barn pink & green
polka dotted rolling suitcases,
the small one of course...
she'll need it for the beach he explains.

Every time you wake up during the night
you hear this song playing in your mind.
"I wanna love because you love,
I wanna give because you gave,
I wanna reach my hand to the lost,
Because I know your love can save."

And you know.

Today I'm praying for God to rain down
his provisions for our family
and for a certain little girl.
Because I know His love can save.

God's blessings friends, Sarah :)

Thankful for...

Good morning all
& happy Thanksgiving!
This year we have SO much to be thankful for.
But the one thing I'm especially thankful for is this...
I'm holding a copy of our home study draft!!!

Is that not the happiest, 

cheesiest mama you've evah seen?!

The emotions right now are c-r-a-z-y.

I feel like I've been working 

my whole life for this moment,

and then again I'm blown away that it's here.

God is so good!

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Now, if you find any loose change in the 

sofa cushions during your Thanksgiving nap,

send it my way.

I've got a payment to make before we send this bad boy off.

Feeling SO very Thankful!!!

GOD's blessings, Sarah :)

Thankful For God's Grace

Good morning all!

It's me, the mama in continuous pursuit of her baby girl.

It looks like we might really be
almost through with our homestudy.

As you know we finished the visits months ago,

but it took forever to finish all the paperwork.

Our latest snag has been
updating our financial section.

Not because there's so much to write. 

Just trying to document all Andy's job changes.

Advice to others: 

Unless you're asking to take the slow route to China

never, ever change jobs mid-homestudy. 

The past couple of weeks has been wild
trying to tie up the loose ends.

Then yesterday, our file finally made it
to the Senor Social Worker at our agency.

It's my understanding that she picks everything apart
and then puts it back together again.

She was thorough AND exact.

But the best part?

She was patient AND kind.

Exactly what this gal needed!

If you listened in on our conversations you'd hear me saying

"... does all that make sense?
... Yes mam, if you'll just tell me what it needs to say
I'll make those changes and email it right back to you."

Really, I'm not internationally wise,

but I am willing to follow someone to is.

Today Ms. Lea Anne will be in the office for a few hours,

before she leaves for a week long vacation.

She's hoping to have us all wrapped up before she goes.

Me too! 

Now on to the good part.
I need to share my perspective on what will

certainly go down as the longest adoption process ever.

Ok, maybe not. But it sure does feel like it. 

For the majority of the past year,

I have been trying to do things myself.

Granted, I got the word from God to adopt.

We prayed about it.

We were led, and we started the process.

But somewhere between the calling and 

the foot work, I was missing it.

Here's an example of my daily thought process... 

The agency emailed, they didn't recieve our "___".

If I don't get "____" done today,

there's no way they'll finish our homestudy this month.

Then when the next list comes out we won't be matched.

If we're not matched soon then there's no way we'll travel by "____".

Yes my friends, that was this mama's thought train

every time the agency needed something.

Hello koo-koo bird.

Until a quote from Beth Moore's
Esther Bible Study played out in my mind.

"If ______, then ____."

Her study taught me that even if everything comes apart,

then there's still God.

It doesn't mean we won't fall to pieces,

kicking and screaming in the floor.

It just means that when we get back up,

we'll seek the Father.

His grace will always guide us through those hard times.

So here it is.

The statement that changed how 

my heart handles this bumpy road.

If we never adopt, then we'll still praise God 

for His unfailing wisdom.

Finding comfort in His mercy and grace.

As you make final Thanksgiving preparations today

I pray that you're hands & feet will work busily for God,

as your heart allows Him to fill in the details.

God's blessings friends, Sarah :)

Still Going

Good morning all!
I'm here with an update.
After more paperwork was sent in
and files updated, we're still going.
We're  r-e-a-l-l-y close to
finalizing our home-study.
I should know more on Monday. :)

Now a quick letter to Emily Margaret...
Sis, the Bearcats made it to the playoffs!
That's big stuff in boy world.
We checked your brothers out early
yesterday to have some family fun.
Big Daddy treated us to a
delicious lunch at P.F.Chang's,
YUM!
We made a stop at Dick's Sporting Goods.
Don't panic, they have super cute girl stuff too.
Then we headed to the stadium for the game.
It's was seriously cold.
But the Bearcats pulled through and we won.
All this to say,
I missed you yesterday.
I know it's crazy to miss someone I've never met.
Maybe a mama's heart is another one 
of God's amazing creations??
Anyway, we LOVE you sis
and can't wait to bring you home.
You're gonna love being a Hinson! :)

Friends, I'll keep ya posted on our progress.
Thanks for your prayers.
God's blessings & Love, Sarah :)